Controlled Online Accounting General Ledger and Adjustments

Reports Main Page Clicking the “Reports” tab displays the Financial Reporting Main Page. This page provides access to standard and supplemental financial reports, as well as navigation to general ledger actions. Standard financial reports include the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows. Supplemental reports include details of sales and purchases, as well as balances owed by customers and owed to vendors. Income statements by department can be used to monitor results of specific profit or cost centers, and to distribute responsibility for different aspects of the organization to different people. The Reports Main Page offers access to create, edit or approve adjustments to users with Adjustments Entry or Adjustments Approval permission. The Reports Main Page offers access to the Chart of Accounts, the Budget and Items to users with General Ledger Maintenance permissions.

Chart of Accounts The Chart of Accounts is a list of all general ledger accounts and their financial statement and tax mapping. All SafeBooks clients begin with a standard Chart of Accounts, and can add additional accounts or rename accounts as needed. Additional accounts can be added to track transactions or balances of specific interest. For example, companies should establish a separate general ledger account for each bank account they own, making it easier to reconcile cash accounts on a regular basis. The Financial Account Type determines how the account appears in the financial statements. Completing the Tax Line Item mapping facilitates the import of results into income tax preparation software.

Items Items aids in the creation of customer invoices and recording expenses. Items provide user-friendly references for normal operating activities and standard prices for recurring services and/or products. Users with the General Ledger Maintenance permission are able to create and update Items. Once created, Items are available for selection when creating customer invoices or when recording expenses. They allow operating personnel to create customer invoices or record expenses without having to identify the appropriate general ledger account s for the details contained in those documents. An example of how Items work: A sales person has access to SafeBooks to create customer invoices. They create a new invoice with two Items: four hours of “Installation Assistance” and one “Widget”. By picking these Items, the dollars associated with the “Installation Assistance” are automatically recorded in account (Consulting Income) and the dollars associated with the “Widget” are automatically recorded in account (Product Sales). Additionally, the standard price of $40 per hour for “Installation Assistance” and the standard price of $500 each for the “Widget” are pre-populated in the Price column on the invoice.

Recording Adjustments Journal entries are the most basic way of recording transactions or adjusting balances in the general ledger. A department field allows journal entries to have impact on departmental results. The effective date field ensures that the adjustment impacts the appropriate financial statement period. Enter the description for the adjustment Select the general ledger account for each line in the journal entry and the debit and credit amount (total debits and credits need to be equal before the journal entry can be submitted or approved) Select the general ledger account for each line in the journal entry and the debit and credit amount (total debits and credits need to be equal before the journal entry can be submitted or approved) Select the approver for this invoice (this can be the same person entering the details, if they have been granted the Sales Approval permission) Select the approver for this invoice (this can be the same person entering the details, if they have been granted the Sales Approval permission)

Edit and Approve Adjustments Saved adjustments and adjustments submitted for approval are accessed from the “Edit/Approve Adjustment” tab. Adjustments must be approved before they have an impact on the company’s financial statements. Saved (not submitted or approved) adjustments can be accessed by anyone with Adjustments Entry or Adjustments Approval permissions.

Budgets Budgets can be maintained by department or for the company in total, and are recorded on a monthly basis. Budgets are useful for tracking results by profit or cost center, and for delegating responsibility for a portion of the company’s performance to different individuals or teams.