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How to spot check clients Bank Recs if they are using Sage

  • Companion Fellow PM.Dip
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  • # 70206

View the Sage PDF statements using the view History Button in the rec screen

Hi Aidrian 

If your clients are using sage  within the activity screen you can see the dates they were reconciled.

 I ask my clients to send be a back up with the  attachments included , your client has an option to pick this when they do their backup.  Every time a client or yourself completes a reconciliation Sage requires you to  put a statement  number or ref in when you press the button to reconcile.  Sage automatically saves a PDF of that statement at that point in time.  In version 2011 you have to put a statement ref, before you could choose not to , but most good bookkeepers using sage use this so they see where they were.  I use this on weekly basis to check my clients are doing it correctly when I visit their premises it like been big  brother.

1) If you highlight the Bank account you are wanting to check  your clients rec work , you could do the following

 press reconcile, then  press ok button , you are now in the Bank rec Screen.  If your clients are good they will have done the following.  I make sure my clients save their statement and I have shown them how to do it, if they don,t want to. We will  charge them for a full bank rec.  

2) In rec bank screen there are various buttons at the bottom of those buttons there is a View History Button and Report Button.

If you use the view history button every statement that has been reconciled will appear in a PDf format,  most good bookkeepers or clients will save it as the Bank Statement no or if they are the ball the date of their Internet Statement.

This is a really good way to have a spot check , that PDF shows everything from the start balance to close balance including every transaction that was included in the rec of each period they are reconciling. If they really know how to use sage they will have also entered the last date of the statement when reconciling so that when you are looking at the activity it is not random dates , which is also a very good indicator id they have done the Bank Rec correctly.

3) The Report button is also a useful tool.  

In order to view the PDFs recs a clients need to include the attachments in the Backup were you have the options

Hope this helps

 



Edited at 13 Apr 2011 07:34 PM GMT

  • Companion Fellow PM.Dip
  • Practice Licence
  • 1137 posts
  • # 70210

Other Bank Rec tips 

Bank recs and Sage 

When you are in the bank rec if you right click on the light grey area it will allow you to to pick the options you want to see ie customers code or suppliers code and other options .  

  • Companion Fellow PM.Dip
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  • 1137 posts
  • # 70211

One of the questions I was asked.

"Many years ago, the DOS version of Sage had a 'proper' bank reconciliation report along the lines:

Balance per bank statement

Add: Outstanding receipts/unrecorded lodgements

Less: Outstanding payments

Balance per cash book control

Sage's bank reconciliation report is just a record of the items reconciled, i.e. the statement in another form, or am I missing something?"

  

Bank Reports

Hi 

If it is the report I remember from the Dos version as you described I have been using it for years prior to upgrading to Version 2011 it is under Bank reports Reconciled and unreconciled reports and the report is called Bank Statement Reconciled and unreconciled report ,  some of the wording at the bottom used to be a bit strange but I used to export it and just change the bottom . I just found that it added the b/f balance for year before a bit odd but the figures did add up but it was like that in the DOS version as well.

 I have always used accounts plus above and I know from clients that this report was not available on anything below accounts plus which is why I always upgraded them.  It was the same for contra entries and suppliers and customers refunds were not available on the lower versions.  I have mentioned this to sage on a number of occasions about Sage Instant not really suitable for much more then a sole trader doing his invoicing.  From vague memory though I think this report might now be available on Sage Instant 2011

  • Companion Fellow PM.Dip
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  • # 70215

More and More companies are now using Credit Cards 


Creditors Procedures for purchases by credit cards to prevent fraud. Using 1240 Bank Account.

Setting up procedures can cut the costs of your credit card bills 

 In a time  when cash flow is tight and more companies are searching for better prices.  A large number of my clients are purchasing far more off the the Internet .  In some cases they are now purchasing more on their credit cards to get better deals then they are through the creditors ledger.   

But for some reason many people let the purchasing procedure go out the window. 

Just because you order it on the internet, this  does not mean you should not do a purchase order.  

We spend a lot of time completing bank reconciliations and I now think we now must integrate this same and strict procedure for the credit card statement, you would not let items go through your bank twice but yet this happens quite a lot with credit cards. 

I have set up a procedure using sage with my clients who purchase heavily using the company credit card, and I hope it may be of use to other sage users.  I am aware that fuel is purchased through credits cards, but for other purchases here are some recommendations.

Some of my clients have been delighted by the savings they have made with their credit cards

Credit Card Procedure : 

  • inform all users of the company credit card that they must have Purchase order and Authorisation before any purchases are done on the company credit card .  Exactly the same as you would have done for your creditors ledger.
  • Create a purchase order 
  • The purchaser should then give the invoice to the accounts department and should be entered into your purchase ledger
  • This will provide you with a more accurate Profit and Loss, Balance sheet and cashflow information
  • When the statement comes in you can now reference the items .
  • Instead of entering your credit cards using the bank payment , you will now do a purchase payment using the 1240 and the reference in the ref box just like a cheque number instead of the 1200  account and allocate the payment to the the right receipt or invoice. If you order quite a lot off one internet company, there is the potential for the credit card company to take 2 payments which very often happens .
  • You can now mark your purchase order as complete.
  • Then enter anything that cannot be done by the above using the bank payment.
  • when the direct debit comes out of your 1200 current account you can use the bank transfer option to transfer the payment in to your 1240 bank account.
  • Like with your bank rec , you can give it a statement reference and reconcile on the date your payment came out to Zero 
  • You are now ready for when the next statement comes in , and you can always view your PDF statements if you need to in view history within the Bank Rec window .

I am aware in the real world that bits and pieces are purchased  on credit cards,  but the company credit card is not for personal use.  Almost everyone these days has their own credit and Debit card, my experience is that when people do this they are well aware, and are hoping that the company does not have procedures set up to check.  

You would not let any one use your business bank account in that way.  Hence why I think it is must that you reconcile your monthly credit card statement.  In my experience the cards are either not enter correctly, and one of the reasons I am given is they do not have a receipt, or they have just enter it anyway, but that does not been the bank is not going to take the direct debit.

 

I am very interested in other people views and sage hot tips regarding credit card purchases or any other general functionality.

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