General Ledger Accounting Software

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Many bookkeeper, ar, ap, clerks require knowledge of quickbooks and general ledger software. How am I suppose to learn this stuff if none of the companies are willing to teach? Buying the programs are really expensive. College never he talked about any of these programs. If i’m suppose to know these programs where should i go to learn them? Thanks.

Part 3: Sharon Quilter teaches Bank Reconciliation in Microsoft Dynamics GP

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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.

Business may be large or small in size it does needs an efficient accounting system. Accounting department is similar to the spine in the human body, without its support no business can function in a sound manner. You will never get to know what you have invested and how much gained. Let us see how small business accounting can be supportive in sorting out financial woes of your small firm.

In order to learn something, one should always begin from basics. So, the basic component of small business accounting that needs your attention outright is the General Ledger. It is the engine that regulates the fuel of financial figures and data into the entire mechanism of accounting. Some of the most important information which general ledger contains includes:

• Orders placed

• Items Received

• Inventory of sale/purchase

• Amount invested

• Profit and loss made

• Payable accounts

• Payroll of the staff

• Costing

• Fixed assets of the firm

Now, all these entries are referred to as sub ledger entries and the amount recorded into these entries must be equal to the amount filled in general ledger. If any of the financial entry goes wrong or erroneous, then it may lead to huge losses in the business.

There are two kinds of ledgers available in the business houses-

1. Manual Ledgers

2. Automated Ledgers

Manual Ledgers are the traditional sheets of paper wherein an accountant is required to enter the daily transactions records. On the other hand, an automated ledger is maintaining a balance sheet on computer. This is a computerized balance sheet and inventory list which is less time consuming then the manual ledgers.

For small business accounting it would be better to employ automated ledger system since , not only this will consume less time but will also deliver accurate results.

Second step towards marinating an efficient small business accounting system is to work in an organized manner. In most of the business firms professional accountants and CPAs are employed to do the accounting job. With computerized system and accounting software installed, it would be easier to make entries, organize, and track down the data in short span of time. You need not look into bundles of sheets just for a simple transaction.

More employees imply more distribution of work which in turn will take extra time for the compilation of data and financial records. Small businesses cannot afford expenditure of this much time and money on the number of accountants. So, to avoid such a huge mess it is better to limit small business accounting to a computerized system and hire a professional CPA who knows how to manage and handle accounting software and meet the deadlines without fail.

You will have three fold advantages with such an economic way of handling small business accounting

• Less the number of accountants, less is the scattering of data

• Cost-efficient

• Less time consuming

Now, you know how to well manage your small business accounting task without any discrepancy.

If you’re in a business where you charge your clients by the hour, you might have considered time billing software. For attorneys, this kind of software has become very necessary because it can be very difficult to keep manual track of the hours that are used on each specific case. Since attorneys generally bill in one-half or one-quarter hour segments, it can get even more complex when it comes to keeping track. Attorneys have had to do this manually for a long time, but now that they have other options in the form of various types of software.

By investing in this software solution, an attorney or an entire law firm would be able to keep much better track of several basis aspects of their job. This kind of software generally includes time tracking, accounts receivable and bill paying, trust accounting, general ledger and accounts payable information. It also works with other types of software programs so you will be able to input information that you already have from programs like QuickBooks into it. That’s a very large bonus if you already use some type of software to keep track of your billing, clients and time but are thinking about moving up to something that is more advanced and will provide you with more of what you need.   
 
A lot of the time billing software, time tracking software, and time sheet software out there is surprisingly affordable. There are also free trial options for as long as thirty days so you can make sure that you like the software that you’re getting. It’s very important to make sure that it does everything that it’s supposed to do and that you need it to do for your business. Not all of these software programs are created equally, and that’s important to remain aware of when you’re looking for these kinds of programs.
 
Attorneys are generally the people who use these kinds of software programs, but there are other people who use billable hours in their careers, and any of them could also use this type of software. Mostly, it depends on what you need the software to actually do. In addition to the kinds of software that offer billable hours there are also packages that can be purchased and that offer more standard payroll and time clock options. With time billing software, there are options for anyone and all different types of careers.

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I want to land a job in accounting, and I want to learn how to use the most popular software. I also want to learn everything I can about accounting….for free!