Accountant — Finance guide

1Open the chart of accounts #

Where Finance » Chart of accounts

1. From the launcher, click the Finance tile.
2. In the left menu, find the BOOKS group.
3. Click Chart of accounts.
4. Click the small arrow beside any heading row — 1000 Cash and cash equivalents, for example — to open the accounts beneath it.
5. Use Expand tree, top right, to open every level at once.

You should see The full account tree for your country is already there — you do not build it from scratch.

Watch out An account with an arrow is a heading, not a place to post. Post to the accounts underneath it.

2See the books your entries land in #

Where Finance » Journals

1. In the left menu, open the BOOKS group.
2. Click Journals & numbering.
3. Read the short code beside each journal name.

You should see Sales, purchases, bank and general each have their own book and their own numbering.

Watch out Changing a journal's numbering affects every entry made afterwards, not the ones already posted.

3Find any entry ever posted #

Where Finance » Journal entries

1. In the left menu, under DAILY LEDGER, click Journal entries.
2. Click one of the summary boxes across the top — Drafts, for example — to narrow the list to those entries.
3. Click the same box again to clear the filter.

You should see Everything the business posted is in this one list, newest first.

Watch out The filter is written into the web address, so you can bookmark the filtered list or paste it to a colleague and they see the same thing.

Worth knowing The box you click also changes the web address, so you can bookmark the filtered list or send it to a colleague.

4Start a new journal entry #

Where Finance » Journal entries » New entry

1. On the Journal entries page, click New entry at the top right.
2. Fill the header: the date, the journal, and a memo saying what this is.
3. In the lines table, choose the account, then type the amount into either Debit or Credit — never both on one line.
4. Add a line for the other side of the entry.
5. Watch the totals under the table: they turn even when the two sides match.
6. Click Save as draft to come back to it, or Post to put it in the books.

You should see Debits and credits are totalled as you type, and the entry cannot be saved until the two sides agree.

Watch out Saving as a draft changes nothing in the books. Posting does, and a posted entry is corrected by reversing it — never by editing.

Worth knowing Close the form without saving and nothing is created — you can open it just to look.

5Check the books balance #

Where Finance » Reports » Trial Balance

1. In the left menu, under INSIGHTS, click Reports.
2. The page opens on the Trial Balance tab.
3. Set As of to the date you want the position for.
4. Read the totals row at the very bottom.

You should see The debit and credit totals match. If they ever do not, something is wrong upstream — not in the report.

Watch out If the two totals differ, do not go looking in this report — the problem is upstream, in an entry, and this is how you found out.

6Read the profit and loss #

Where Finance » Reports » Profit & Loss

1. Still on Reports, click the Profit & Loss tab.
2. Set From and To to the period you are reporting on.
3. Click a section heading to open the accounts inside it.

You should see Income, costs and the result for the period — all built from entries already posted.

Watch out This report covers a period between two dates. The balance sheet is a position on one date — that is why their date pickers differ.

7Read the balance sheet #

Where Finance » Reports » Balance Sheet

1. Click the Balance Sheet tab.
2. Set As of to the closing date.
3. Compare the two halves: what the business owns against what it owes plus what it is worth.

You should see What the business owns, owes and is worth on that date.

8Open the customer and supplier list #

Where Finance » Customers & vendors

1. In the left menu, under BOOKS, click Customers & vendors.
2. Type part of a name, a code or a tax number into the search box.
3. Use the All kinds dropdown to show only customers or only suppliers.
4. Turn on Show archived to find a record somebody tidied away.

You should see One list for both sides of the business, so a company you buy from and sell to is a single record.

Watch out Search matches the tax registration number too, which is usually the fastest way to find the right company when names are similar.

9Add a customer or supplier #

Where Finance » Customers & vendors » New customer or vendor

1. On Customers & vendors, click New customer or vendor at the top right.
2. Fill the name and choose the kind.
3. Add the tax details if you have them — they drive how tax is applied later.
4. Click Save.

You should see One record serves both sides: if you later buy from a customer, you do not create them twice.

10See money in and money out #

Where Finance » Receivables, then Finance » Payables

1. In the left menu, click Receivables to see what customers owe.
2. Then click Payables to see what the business owes suppliers.

You should see Both lists open for you, so you can reconcile the two sides without asking anyone.

11Tidy several records at once #

Where Finance » Customers & vendors » tick rows » Archive

1. Open Customers & vendors.
2. Tick the checkbox at the left of each row you want to tidy away.
3. A bar appears along the bottom saying how many are selected.
4. Click Archive in that bar.
5. Read the confirmation, then confirm.

You should see The records leave the everyday list without being deleted. Anything that cannot be archived is named, and the rest still go through.

Watch out Tick the box in the header row and you select everything the current filter shows — not the whole list. Filter first, then select all.

Worth knowing Archiving is reversible. Turn on Show archived to find a record again.

12See where your authority stops #

Where Finance » Payables

1. Open Payables from the left menu.
2. Tick a bill that is waiting for approval.
3. Read the bar at the bottom.

You should see There is no Approve button for you. Approval belongs to the controller, and the system enforces that — it is not just a missing button.

13Have the whole chart checked for you #

Where Finance » Chart of accounts » Review

1. Open Chart of accounts.
2. Click Review at the top right.
3. Wait a few seconds while the whole chart is checked.
4. Read the findings, grouped by the kind of problem.

You should see Duplicates, unused accounts and gaps come back in one pass, each finding naming the accounts involved.

Watch out This reads the chart; it changes nothing. Acting on a finding is a separate, deliberate step.

14Fetch today's rates #

Where Finance » Currencies » Fetch today's rates

1. Open Currencies.
2. Press Fetch today's rates.

You should see The rate table shows the source and the date.

Watch out A Manual source answers with a sentence naming the fix, not a silent nothing.

15Revalue foreign balances #

Where Finance » Currencies » Revaluation

1. Open Currencies and click the Revaluation tab.
2. Pick the As of date and press Preview.
3. Tick Reverse it on the next day if the entry should undo itself tomorrow, then Post the revaluation.

You should see One chip per currency with its closing rate, gain and loss; then each account with the booked rate, the closing rate, the balance and the adjustment.

Worth knowing The booked rate is what the ledger carries the balance at today; the gap to the closing rate is the gain or loss.

16Submit a claim that lacks a cost centre #

Where Finance » Expense claims » a claim » Submit

1. Open a draft claim and press Submit.
2. With the setting on, the refusal names the line; pick the dimension and submit again.

You should see Expense spend without a dimension is spend nobody owns.

17Read the anomalies #

Where Finance » Anomalies

1. Open Anomalies.
2. Kinds across the top with counts; open one; Dismiss with a note or open the entry.

You should see A dismissed finding never resurfaces.

18Add a custom field #

Where Finance » Custom fields

1. Open Custom fields.
2. New field on partners, invoices, bills, entries or claims.

You should see The field appears on the form and in the detail; required blocks save when empty.

19Read the cash forecast #

Where Finance » Cash

1. Open Cash.
2. The first negative week is red; click a week for the documents behind it.

You should see Receipts by predicted date, bills due, payroll and recurring entries, week by week.

20Read one account line by line #

Where Finance » Reports » General ledger

1. Open Finance, then Reports.
2. Click General ledger.
3. Set Start date and End date.
4. Pick an account.

You should see The opening balance, every posted line with its entry and description, the running balance and the closing balance.

Worth knowing Export CSV takes exactly the lines on screen, filters included.

21Read what a customer or supplier owes, entry by entry #

Where Finance » Reports » Partner ledger

1. Open Reports and click Partner ledger.
2. Set the dates; each customer and supplier shows the opening balance, every invoice, bill, payment and credit, and what is left.

You should see The same lines a statement is built from, so a dispute is settled from the ledger.

22Read the statements of one company #

Where Finance » Reports » Trial Balance » Legal entity

1. Open Reports.
2. Click the Legal entity box and pick the company.

You should see The picker shows the company you chose, and the address bar keeps it, so a shared link opens the same view.

Worth knowing The picker appears once your company has set up a legal entity.

23Download a designed report to Excel #

Where Finance » Report designer » a layout » Download Excel

1. Open Report designer.
2. Pick the layout.
3. Press Show the report.
4. Press Download Excel.

You should see The workbook has your company, the report name and the period on top, bold headings and totals, and figures you can add up — numbers, not text.

24Write off a debt that will not be paid #

Where Finance » Receivables » an overdue invoice » Bad debt and VAT relief

1. Open Receivables and the overdue invoice.
2. Scroll to Bad debt and VAT relief.
3. Press Write off as bad debt.
4. Type the reason and confirm.

You should see The invoice leaves the open balances and the panel shows the write-off. When the rules allow it, Claim VAT relief takes the VAT back in the next return; a payment that arrives later is entered with Record recovery.

Watch out The write-off books the whole amount still owed; VAT relief is a separate claim with its own rules.

Worth knowing Nothing is deleted: the write-off is its own entry, and it is shown on the invoice for good.

25Clear the stock moves waiting to post #

Where Finance » Stock journal » Waiting to post

1. Open Stock journal and click Waiting to post.
2. Read Why it is waiting and What to do on each row, fix the cause, then press Post now.

You should see Each move becomes one journal entry; pressing Post now twice never books anything twice.

26Put a customer invoice on a project #

Where Finance » Receivables » New invoice » Project

1. Open Receivables.
2. Press New invoice.
3. Pick the project in Project.
4. Fill the rest and save.

You should see The invoice's amount before VAT then counts as that project's revenue in its profit and loss.

Worth knowing The Project field shows when your company uses Projects and you may read projects. An archived project cannot take a new invoice.

27Record an asset under the VAT capital assets scheme #

Where Finance » Fixed assets » an asset » VAT capital assets scheme

1. Open Fixed assets and the asset.
2. Scroll to VAT capital assets scheme.
3. Enrol it once: building or not, the VAT paid, the first year's taxable use.
4. Each year: type the year and its taxable use, then Work out and record.

You should see Every row of the table is one year's adjustment, with a link to the ledger entry it booked. The threshold and the years are published defaults, labelled so you confirm them with your adviser.

Watch out An asset below the threshold cannot be enrolled; the badge says so.

Worth knowing Recording a year books an entry, so you also need the right to run depreciation; without it the form tells you who can record the year.

28Close the scheme when the asset is sold #

Where Finance » Fixed assets » a sold asset » VAT capital assets scheme

1. Open the sold asset.
2. Tick Sold or disposed of this year and say whether the sale was taxable.
3. Record it.

You should see The disposal adjusts every year that is left in one go. After it, the panel says the scheme is closed and offers no form for another year.

Worth knowing A disposal in the last year of the period leaves no years to adjust: record that year's own adjustment instead.

29Put a manual journal entry on a branch #

Where Finance » Journal entries » an entry » Branch

1. Open the journal entry.
2. Pick the branch in Branch.

You should see The FTA audit file for one branch lists the entries stamped with that branch; an entry with no branch appears only in the whole-company file.

Watch out An entry made from an invoice, a bill or a reversal takes its branch from that document.

Worth knowing An entry booked from an invoice, a bill or a reversal follows its document: change the branch there, not on the entry.

30Release prepaid costs and income month by month #

Where Finance » Deferred revenue & expense

1. Post an invoice or bill with a Service period on its line.
2. Open Deferred revenue & expense.
3. Press Run now, or wait for the nightly release.

You should see The report at the top puts the schedules against the ledger, account by account, so a difference shows before the month is closed.

Worth knowing Stop schedule ends a schedule early, for example when a contract is cancelled; what is still deferred stays on the balance sheet for you to clear.