General Ledger Accounting Software

Archive for August, 2010

Tampa, FL March 27, 2009 – Whether you operate a large multi-national corporation or a small local restaurant, understanding some basic accounting controls will go a long way towards creating more reliable financial results and rendering you a better night’s sleep. Basically, accounting controls are operational, financial, or technological mechanisms used by businesses to ensure or encourage a particular behavior or result. Internal controls give owners and managers some degree of assurance that people are doing what they are supposed to be doing and that material mistakes, accidental or otherwise, will be detected prior to going out the door. For example, segregating responsibility for check writing from the responsibility for reconciling monthly bank statements helps to control against improper check disbursements. In the example above, segregating such duties may be difficult in small businesses with limited staffing capabilities. However, alternate control mechanisms, such as manager or owner review of monthly bank reconciliations, can be implemented to partially mitigate such risks.

It’s no surprise that internal controls frequently come at a cost. As such, the number and strength of the controls within any given internal control structure is usually a function of the owner or manager’s resource capacity and risk tolerance level. As such, it is important to conduct a general risk assessment of the business process or function that you are looking to control in order to focus your efforts most effectively and gain the most bang-for-your-buck as they say.

First, let’s talk about some higher-level control concepts that should be present across most accounting processes to set the stage for more detailed transaction or process-level control mechanisms. One of the best ways to standardize behavior and set expectations is to create formal written policies and procedures to govern the actions and activities within your business or department. In accounting, such policies and procedures are frequently summarized in an Accounting Manual, which specifies the who, what, when, and how of common accounting procedures and activities. Another control concept, illustrated in the earlier example, is known as segregation of duties. Optimally, no single individual should have the responsibility or ability to initiate, authorize, process, and record a given transaction (i.e. they shouldn’t have end-to-end responsibility). Segregating such duties decreases the chances of errors, intentional or otherwise, going undetected.

Next, let’s look at some common accounting functions and give some examples of common internal controls specific to each. It is important to note that these are only examples and any good internal control system should be customized to the needs and risks within your organization or department. Below is a list of some common accounting areas, their functional objectives, and some common internal controls suggestions.

Accounts Receivable, Credit, & Collections - To ensure that all funds intended for the organization are received, promptly deposited, properly recorded, reconciled, and kept under adequate security. • Formally document policies and procedures governing accounts receivable, credit, and collection processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Require credit reporting on all customers prior to credit issuance • Require periodic review of key customers to ensure ongoing credit worthiness • Establish limits of authority for credit issuance and terms (system or otherwise) • Limit system access to alter credit limits and/or terms only to appropriate personnel • Require manager approval for adjustments to and/or write-offs of A/R balances • Sequentially number credit memo adjustments to A/R balances • Require periodic reconciliation of the General Ledger to the Cash and A/R subsidiary ledger balances along with managerial review of this reconciliation • Reconcile bank statements to the General Ledger on a regular basis • Set-up lock-boxes for receipt of customer payments in order to limit the handling of checks and other forms of payment • Establish a central point of contact for incoming mail, preferably someone without the ability to post cash and/or adjust customer A/R balances in the system • Create summary reporting to be reviewed by management on a periodic basis, such as A/R aging, credit memos by customer, credit memos by employee, write-offs by customer, write-offs by employee, etc. • Limit access to alter or create records in the customer master file to appropriate parties • Batch receipt input data is compared to control totals and differences are investigated and resolved • Mail account statements to customers • Maintain support files in a secured area and restrict to appropriate personnel

Accounts Payable, Purchasing – To ensure that funds are disbursed only upon proper authorization of management, for valid business purposes, and that all disbursements are properly recorded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing accounts payable and purchasing processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • System access to create, edit, or delete purchase orders is restricted to appropriate personnel • Ability to add, modify, or delete vendor records in the vendor master file is restricted to appropriate individuals • All new vendors or major modifications to vendor information require manager approval • The vendor master file is periodically purged of old and obsolete vendors • A three-way match between the invoice, PO, and receiver must be present before payment is released to the vendor • Adjustments to A/P balances (credit notes) require managerial approval and is restricted to appropriate personnel • Check stock, signature plates, etc are appropriates secured and access is restricted to appropriate personnel • Dual signatures are required on all manual check disbursements • Positive pay account maintained at bank • Check sequences and gaps are investigated • Bank statements are reconciled to the general ledger regularly and reviewed by management • Major supplier statements are reconciled to the A/P subsidiary ledger • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Payroll – To ensure that payroll disbursements are made only upon proper authorization to bona fide employees, that payroll disbursement is properly recorded and that related legal requirements (such as payroll tax deposits) are complied with. • Formally document policies and procedures governing payroll processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Access to add, modify, delete records from the employee master file is restricted to appropriate personnel. Modification to significant data (i.e. salaries, etc) requires managerial approval. • Payroll is disbursed manually with picture ID only on an annual basis in order to validate that paychecks are for bona fide employees (i.e. not ghost employees) • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Fixed Assets – To ensure that fixed assets are acquired and disposed of only upon proper authorization, are adequately safeguarded, and properly recorded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing fixed asset-related processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Assets are appropriately secured • Book to physical reconciliation is conducted annually to validate condition and existence • Access to the fixed assets register is restricted to appropriate personnel • Asset disposals and write-offs require managerial approval above certain levels • Asset acquisitions must be approved in advance of purchase • Pre-numbered asset tags are affixed to all fixed assets • Asset valuations are periodically reviewed by management for continued relevance • All supporting paperwork must be obtained prior to entry into the fixed asset register • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel

Inventory – To ensure that inventories are received and/or shipped only with proper authorization and documentation, properly recorded, and appropriately safeguarded. • Formally document policies and procedures governing inventory-related processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Inventories are appropriately secured • Book-to-physical or cycle counts are conducted periodically to validate condition and existence • Inventory will only be received with valid support paperwork (i.e. PO) • All inventory receipts must be verified for quantity and condition against the bill of lading and the packing slip and recorded on pre-number receiver forms or a log • The receipts log is reviewed and reconciled to system receipts by management on a daily basis • Support files are maintained in a secured area and restricted to appropriate personnel • Inventories are periodically marked to market to ensure proper valuation • Inventory write-offs require management review and approval • System access to process inventory adjustments is restricted to appropriate personnel • All inventory shipments must be accompanied by a valid order • Periodic managerial review of open work orders, inventory aging reports, etc • All shipments are recorded in a shipping log, which is reviewed and reconciled to the system shipments by management on a daily basis

Financial Closing or Reporting– To ensure that financial data is recorded, consolidated, and reported accurately, timely, and in compliance with US GAAP. • Formally document policies and procedures governing financial closing processes detailing timelines, responsibilities, actions, responsibilities, etc • Create and maintain a comprehensive close checklist of all close activities • Closing checklist and binder with all supporting entries should be reviewed and approved by the controller and/or owner prior to close • Segregate duties within the account reconciliation, journal posting, and management review/approval processes • All non-standard, adjusting, and/or manual journal entries require management approval • Establish a budgeting and forecasting process. Use trend analysis (horizontal and vertical) in order to sanity check results. Research and resolve any unusual variations • Ability and/or access to post journal entries is limited to appropriate personnel

Understanding the underlying concepts behind basic accounting controls will allow you and your organization to create an internal control structure, both within accounting and beyond, that enables more effective and efficient operating and financial results. And one more thing it provides…a little extra peace of mind.

For more information on accounting and auditing, please visit The Accounting Nation website at http://www.accountingnation.com.

A company would be in total disorder without some form of accounting in place. These systems need not be complicated and could be as simple as noting down the debits and credits for the day.  For most people, however, this can be a cumbersome task especially if they are just a one-man team.

This is where the various accounting software applications come in to the picture. These program applications are built in order to assist businesses of all sizes in streamlining and ensuring the accuracy of their accounting records. Oftentimes, these accounting applications feature a general ledger, accounts receivables, accounts payables, and inventory management. Some go to the extent of providing users with a way to process payroll as well as conduct business using multiple currencies.

If you are on the lookout for an accounting application that you can customize without necessarily having to spend much, then the Peachtree by Sage accounting application may just be the one for you. Backed by the powerful software vendor, Sage, Peachtree comes in five versions, each suited to a different company size and industry.

The first version of the Peachtree by Sage is the Peachtree First. This is a free, downloadable application that can be used by companies having only one employee and who would like to test first what Peachtree is all about. The features are limited, however, although you get to enjoy basic accounting functions minus the payroll feature.

The Peachtree by Sage Peachtree Pro is perfect for small companies that would only be commissioning one person to handle all the accounting transactions. It features standard accounting tools as well as business management tools including analytics, comparative budget, and integration with excel and word. The Peachtree Complete integrates the features of the Peachtree Pro with other features such as Customer Management Center, the ability to track multiple contacts, transaction history, electronic bill payment, integration with UPS, and support for multiple companies. These are the same features that can be found in the Peachtree Premium and Quantum. The former, however, also provides for advanced budgeting and departmentalized financial statements among others, while the latter is able to handle larger data requirements as well as create an order process work flow.

Any of these products can be easily integrated with two of the Peachtree Payroll solutions – the Peachtree Simple Payroll and the Peachtree Select Payroll.

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Matrix Absence Management Uses Intacct’s Cloud Financial Management System to Improve Business Operations
SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – 08/30/10) – Intacct, the leader in cloud financial management and accounting applications, today announced Matrix Absence Management has improved business operation by moving its financial management applications to the cloud with Intacct. Using Intacct, Matrix Absence Management, a subsidiary of Delphi Financial Group (NYSE: DFG – News ), has enhanced financial …

Read more on Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance

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MB7-515 Exam topics covered
The following list includes the topic areas covered on MB7-515 exam. The percentage indicates the portion of the MB7-515 exam that addresses a particular skill.

• Application Setup (30 percent)
Specific, General, and VAT Posting Groups
Determining Posting Groups
Managing User Rights, Including Logins, Roles and Permissions, and Advanced Security Setup
Create a New Company by Using the RIM Toolkit
Creating New Dimensions and Dimension Values
Combining Dimensions
Default Dimensions
Creating Journal Templates, Batches, and Entries
Posting Journal Entries
Recurring Journals
Posting Corrections in General Journals 
 
• General Ledger and Taxes (14 percent)
General Ledger Setup
Chart of Accounts
VAT Entries and Adjustment
Performing Bank Reconciliation
Creating General Ledger Budgets 
 
• Payables and Receivables (34 percent)
Applying Customer Ledger Entries
Applying Vendor Ledger Entries
Payment Discounts and Tolerances
Reminders and Finance Charge Memos
Payment Journals
Unapplying and Reversing Transactions 
 
• Multicurrency Operations (11 percent)
Updating Currency Exchange Rates for Foreign Currency Balances
Additional Reporting Currency 
 
• Business Intelligence (11 percent)
Performing Analysis from the Chart of Accounts
Making Calculations by Using Account Schedules
Annual Closing Operations
Financial Analysis by Using Dimensions 
 
Credit toward MB7-515 certification
When you pass Microsoft MB7-515 exam, you earn credit toward the following certifications:

• Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Specialist
• Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional – Applications for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
• Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional – Developer for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
• Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional – Installation and Configuration for Microsoft Dynamics NAV

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Microsoft Dynamics GP provides the Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP for external applications to integrate with the data contained in the Microsoft Dynamics GP.  eConnect acts as the middle engine internally to do the integration and business rules enforcement, therefore it provides an additional reliability to the Web Services tool.

The Web Services tool can help if you are using General Ledger, Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payables, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Project Accounting, Fixed Assets and many other modules.  You just need to provide the correct interface, data types and format of documents, and an interface can be created with programming tools like Visual Basic and C#.

This tool is ideal for doing web access like a web page to for Salespersons of the company to enter orders, or employee of the company to enter their time card every day.  The Web services use standard Internet transport protocols such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and standard XML-based document formats such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to exchange information.  Therefore it is always web access ready.

There are many external data sources like Excel, Access, text, web data, point-of-sale systems, or legacy application data can be interfaced with Dynamics GP.  The external applications can perform actions like creating, updating, retrieving, and deleting documents and transactions in Dynamics GP.   Internally, it uses eConnect and XML documents for communications and data conversion, business rules are enforced at the same time.  An XML schema specifies the data that is included in each type of XML document.

 

All Great Plains or Dynamics GP windows and reports are ready to customize, you can use modifiers to change the appearances or values.  If more advanced modification or customization is needed then VBA, Dexterity, Visual Studio Sdk are there to help.  Great Plains has been in the accounting software marketing for many years, and it is one of the first software to convert to Windows environment from DOS.  It is also one of the first accounting software to include the .Net in its tools, so the software has always been trying to be on top what are new with computers and operating systems.

Former Great Plains Dynamics is now part of Microsoft Dynamics family of Corporate ERP applications: GP, AX, NAV, SL.  While core Great Plains Financials modules are straight forward in their implementation, data conversion and reporting (General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Bank Reconciliation) – Distributions set of modules often requires Dynamics GP Partner dedication to such technologies as Supply Chain Management, Barcoding, Warehouse Management, Logistics, Manufacturing, and even be very comfortable with GP customization tools and programming options: Microsoft Dexterity, eConnect, SQL scripting, Barcode scanner programming.  Plus – industry expertise is often a big plus, including discrete manufacturing, consignment, picking and packing with regulation compliance:

1. WMS module overview and positioning.  If you are implementing Great Plains and now looking at Warehouse Management extension for GP, you are likely to be mid-size manufacturing, regional distributor or retailer.  This system is typically Barcode scanning based and its Software licenses cost and implementation could be comparable or even exceed core GP modules.  Business processes for Supply Chain Management might be difficult in their formalization, this is why you may expect some modifications to be required on the first or the second phase of WMS implementation.  There are two approaches in WMS module selection – pick External Warehouse Management Application or WMS extension, which work directly with GP modules and doesn’t require additional integration (as you would need in the case of External WMS).  Considering high WMS implementation cost, we recommend you to secure special commitment from your key personnel, and we do recommend you to assign or hire professional project manager in staff in additional to picking Dynamics GP WMS Partner and ISV.  From the technology standpoint Warehouse Management System is typically build upon SOP, POP and Inventory Control modules, sometimes extending also Bill of Materials or Manufacturing suite of modules.  ERP software industry also has some specifics, such as annual software support contracts (where you have automatic access to new version, when it is released, plus you have discounted price per support case) – please, incorporate this cost into your WMS and ERP implementation and support budget

2. Consignment and other elements of Supply Chain Management.  If you have contracts with your business partners, such as small retail stores, restaurants, vending machines to deliver merchandize on consignment with delivery route and dates optimization – this is available extension to the WMS module.  Consignment, besides being accounted on your books, is often very creative and may require customization in its implementation.  We often see Consignment needs in Food and Textile industries for Great Plains

3. WMS and Production functionality.  Besides the needs to open Manufacturing modules screens for Barcode integration, you may also need to implement Manufacturing Order integration and processing automation.  We recommend you to consider Workflow and Posting Server, where you can automate multiple steps (where no GP user intervention is required) with dialogs, where you would like to provide optional decision making

4. How to request WMS support and demo?  Please, call us 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com  You can enjoy local support in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego, plus we serve you USA, Canada , Mexico nationwide and internationally.  SCM industry requires dedication and it is common for WMS consultants to travel internationally for initial implementation and then provide ongoing support remotely

5. Related topic #1 – WMS Sales, Implementation and Support internationally.  If you are in US or Canada – there is no problem to pick and invite Barcoding and ERP consultants.  However, if you are located internationally, WMS people could be not ready to travel to your place due to various reasons, including not being familiar with your country language, business legislation and traditions.  In our case, we are dedicated to international Corporate ERP and MRP market and our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino, Russian.  Dynamics GP is only localized (local language support and legislation compliance) in English speaking countries (US, Canada – including Quebec in French, Australia, UK, New Zealand, South Africa, Oceania) , plus in Spanish for Latin America and Caribbean islands and in Arabic for Middle East.  There are Dynamics GP add-ons allowing you to have GP interface in Chinese, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Japanese, Korean, Italian,  again, please be sure that you do understand the difference between ERP being localized and supporting local language only (not being necessary compliant to local country tax code)

6. Related Topic #2 – Dynamics GP Programming and Software Development.  We are just back from Convergence 2010 in Atlanta, where we visited seminar on Dynamics GP customization tools.  David Musgrave, one of the Microsoft Dexterity gurus, indicated that Great Plains Dexterity is still current and robust and you can still rely on and trust to proven traditional Great Plains Software technologies.  In Alba Spectrum we traditionally develop our modules in Dexterity and we are Dynamics GP Source Code Partner (who has access Dexterity Source Code).  We invite existing or new Great Plains customers or resellers to view our Great Plains Dexterity Software Development Factory presentation