Banking
Business finance is regarded as an extremely important element for smooth functioning of a business and thus handy tools along with automation is extremely important for an accountant, to provide a hassle-free experience.
Adding a new bank account
For user convenience, Acting Office allows the user to add bank records for a client at various stages-
When setting up a business
During the setup process, the user can add a bank account using the add button.
Account type- The account type for a bank can be saved as either current account, savings account or credit card.
Bank- You can select the relevant bank from the list of banks provided. Then, input the account name.
User is also required to input account no. and sort code. Sort code is a 6-digit number which is used to identify a specific branch of the account held. Then insert IBAN, a 22-digit character string which is crucial for international transactions.
The user will be provided with a checkbox to mark an account as a primary account. Primary account is the account which is used to carry out frequent transactions for the business. Finally, click the save button.
Visibility of the bank accounts
A list of all the bank accounts will be visible on the client dashboard. Users can view all the bank accounts for the client using the 'View all accounts'. Additionally, a new account can be created by simply clicking on the add account button.
A separate banking section is also available in the bookkeeping module, to make the reconciliation process a simpler one. Upon entering the banking section, a list of all the banks will be listed and the process can be continued by selecting the bank. You also have the option to add a new bank account from this section. Additionally, if you wish to make any particular account inactive temporarily, option is available to do so by clicking 3 dots option and selecting 'inactivate' while to do the same permanently you can simply delete the account, if required.
Import transactions
From the banking section, you can import the bank transactions through import functionality. You can simply download the template using the 'download template' icon which is supported in CSV format.
Buttons are provided to directly import the transaction either in a CSV format, to connect from the bank feed, or to add transactions manually.
Import process
Upon importing the CSV file, the primary screen prompts you to map the fields correctly including date, category, reference, balance, notes, description, account head, and money in/money out. You also have the option to exclude specific columns from the import process based on your preferences by selecting ignore option. This ensures that AO maps the fields accurately facilitating a seamless and efficient transaction import experience.
CSV files import history
You can view your import history, including the date of each import, by selecting the button located in the top right corner of the screen. From there, you have the option to download the file, review imported transactions, or delete the entire file if necessary. Additionally, the system provides a clear overview of transactions, with explained transactions highlighted in green and unexplained transactions in red. You can also apply filters to view records for active or deleted imports.
Adding a manual transaction
Transactions can be added manually also through add icon available both in explained & unexplained tab directly. You simply need to enter the date of transaction, description and amount, next click ‘Save’.
Explaining a transaction
As soon as the bank is added in the system, for reconciliation purposes, the record will display bank balance and accounting balance as 0. The tile also has a badge which will highlight whether balance is reconciled or not. For the reconciled balance it will be highlighted in green and in red for the unreconciled balance with their respective amounts.
Once transactions are imported from any of the available sources, they are displayed on the screen in the unexplained tab. In cases where they match conditions of any existing rules, a suggested account head is displayed in front of them for users’ ease and review.
Our platform offers an advanced search functionality across all tabs—Explained, Unexplained and Excluded. This feature allows users to efficiently search for transactions by description or specific amount values. So just in case you remember the description of a particular transaction or just the amount, feel free to use the search bar. Additionally, you have the flexibility to sort data either alphabetically or in ascending/descending order, providing a streamlined and organised approach to transaction management similar to the sorting options available in Excel.
For each unexplained transaction, three key actions are available: Explain, Find Match, and Transfer. They can also use cash coding section for quick categorisation.
Under the explain option, you are required to enter the contact name of the involved party, select the appropriate account head, provide a relevant description, and specify the applicable VAT rate, if any. Once all details are filled in, click 'Explain' to complete the explanation process.
In the Find-Match functionality, begin by selecting the relevant contact from the dropdown menu. Then choose the corresponding invoice, credit note, or receipt/payment to match the transaction. In cases where you have raised an invoice, but have not created a receipt/payment, the same could be matched with an invoice to enter needed transactions in the background. Where a receipt or payment is already passed along with refunds in case of credit notes, the same should be matched to reconcile. Enter the allocated amount, and if there's a discrepancy, you can adjust it using the provided dropdown options for bank charges or rounding off. You also have the option to add additional invoices to fully match the transaction. Once completed, click 'Match' to finalise.
The third and final functionality is transfer, where you select the account to which the funds have been transferred. This is used for contra entries where funds have shifted from one bank to another. Provide an appropriate description, and click 'Transfer' to complete the process. Additionally, in all three options - Explain, Find Match, and Transfer—you have the ability to add a bank rule for future ease and attach supporting documents, if necessary.
Unexplaining a transaction
Once a transaction has been explained, it can be reverted to unexplained tab if a correction is needed or if you wish to re-explain it. This can be done by clicking the 'Unexplain' button at the end of each transaction line. For multiple transactions, you can perform a bulk unexplain by selecting the checkboxes for the relevant entries. The selected transactions will then move back to the unexplained tab accordingly.
Exclude a transaction
Each line item in the Unexplained tab includes an 'Exclude' option, which allows you to remove the selected transaction from the imported list. Once excluded, the transaction will appear in the excluded tab, from where it can either be revived to the unexplained tab or permanently deleted from the system, if necessary.
Search icon
The google search icon helps in searching the description of a transaction on google to understand the nature of the transaction.
Hide graphics
Adjacent to the 'Import file history', there is an option of hiding or showing graphics, which provide an overview of the respective client's bank account. These graphics include details on the percentage of explained and unexplained transactions offering a comprehensive view of the account's transaction status.
Editing an unexplained transaction
The system also offers the ability to edit unexplained transactions. You can modify the transaction date, adjust the amount for money in or money out, and provide a relevant description before finalising the explanation of the transaction. This ensures greater accuracy and flexibility in managing unexplained entries.
Bank rules
For user convenience, we have provided a list of bank rules in our system which will assist during the process of defining the bank transactions. Additionally, you can also create a new rule by clicking on the add button. Input the name of the rule and specify whether you want the particular rule to be applied on money in, money out or both transactions in the 'apply to' section. Input the account head from the dropdown list. Select the VAT rate. Users can also provide multiple conditions for a concerned rule, from which the system will understand the application of the same.
Users can also utilise the cloning functionality available to clone either a particular condition or a group of conditions to facilitate the process of recording multiple conditions for a concerned bank rule.
System generated reference numbers are allotted which can be drilled down to view the details of the bank rule.
Filters and search icons are available to find out a particular rule from the list available.
Cash coding
Cash coding enables users to quickly and efficiently record and categorise large volumes of bank transactions, streamlining the process of managing and defining transactions with ease and accuracy.
With our intelligent set of bank rules, the system will try to define the set of transactions in the relevant and most suitable account head. The system will also group similar transactions so that after explaining a particular transaction, all the groups of transactions will then get merged under the same head. For grouped transactions due to recommendations and similarity of description, there are checkboxes on the left side which are by default selected, in cases where a particular transaction needs to be excluded, you can un-check the same. The 'Quick fill' option allows the user to narrow down the account head in a single head, thus streamlining the process of grouping of entries.
Bank rule-A new bank rule can be created which will be required to set a particular rule for the concerned transaction.
Split-If a concerned entry needs to be divided into various parts, the split functionality comes into role. The user will be allowed to divide the concerned entry into different transactions thus facilitating the process of defining the bank statement.
Exclude- If any entry needs to be removed, you can do so by excluding the concerned transaction which removes the same from unexplained transactions. However, such transactions can be revived again, if needed.
While explaining transactions through cash coding, all the explained transactions are visible at the bottom. You can undo the explanation for a particular transaction by clicking the unexplain transaction icon. Transactions could be unexplained in bulk with the help of checkboxes and un-explain button.
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