Section Contents

Entering Transactions
Option 1 – Bankbook Mode
Entering the Transactions
The Toolbar
The Transaction Details
Reviewing Your Work
Checking the Current Bank Statement Balance
Option 2 – Cashbook Mode
Entering Transactions
Processing to the Bank Statement
Reviewing a DCM Transaction
Processing a Transaction
Reconciling to the Bank Statement
Entering Occasional Transactions

Table of Figures
Figure 1: Finding the Bank Statement menu option
Figure 2: The Transactions Details screen
Figure 3: Transaction Analysis screen
Figure 4: Finding the Review Transaction menu option
Figure 5: Month selection screen
Figure 6: Finding the Review Transaction menu option
Figure 7: Finding the Daily Cash Manager
Figure 8: Process DCM to Bank Transactions

There are two ways that you can enter your transactions.  It is important that you realise which one you are using and the differences between them.  For further information on this topic see the previous section of the guide.

When you are operating in Bankbook mode you will be entering your transactions as they appear on your bank statement.

The transactions will be entered into the Bank Statement Transactions part of the program.  This is simply accessed by clicking Bank Statement from the Transactions menu on the main screen.

Figure 1: Finding the Bank Statement menu option

List Payee Codes.  Clicking this button will provide you with a list of your current Payee Codes.  When the list is displayed you select one of them by double clicking on the payee in the list.  Optionally you can click on the Payee once and then click the OK button.  You can also get this list of Payee Codes by pressing the F3 function key when your cursor is in the Payee Code field.
List Ledger Codes.  Clicking on this button will provide you with a list of all your Ledger Codes. When the list is displayed you can select one of them by double clicking on the Ledger Code in the list.  Optionally you can click on the Ledger Code once and then click the OK button.
List Bank Transactions.  Clicking on this button will provide you with a list of all the transactions that have been entered into Bank Statement Transactions for the current processing month.  The current month is displayed in the heading of the Bank Statement Transaction screen.
List Daily Cash Manager Transactions.  Clicking this button will provide you with a list of all the transactions currently in the Daily Cash Manager.  The Daily Cash Manager (DCM) is used for entering transactions when operating in Cashbook mode.
Change Processing Month.  Clicking this button will enable you to change the current month that you are processing in. 
Process DCM To Bank.  This button allows you to process Daily Cash Manager Transactions into the Bank Statement.  This option is only used if you are operating in Cashbook mode.  It is discussed in further detail in the Option 2 – Cashbook Mode section of the guide.

First Transaction.  Clicking this button will move you to the first transaction in the processing month.

Previous Transaction.  Clicking this button will move you to the previous transaction within the processing month.

Next Transaction.  Clicking this button will move you to the next transaction within the processing month.

Last Transaction.  Clicking this button will move you to the last transaction in the processing month.

Add A New Transaction.  Clicking this button will clear the current transaction screen and allow you to enter the details of a new transaction.  If you were in the middle of entering a transaction or modifying one then you should save the transaction first by clicking the OK button.

Refresh.  If you were changing the details of an existing transaction then clicking this button will refresh (update) the original details of the transaction.
Delete Transaction.  If you have the details of an existing transaction already on your screen then you can click this button to delete it.

This screen is where you would enter in the essential details of the transaction.  The program expects you to enter these in sequence.  To move between the fields press Enter.

Figure 2: The Transactions Details screen

Reference

Every transaction within the system requires a unique (within the current year) reference number to identify it.
If you are entering cheques you should place the cheque number in here.
Transactions that don’t normally have a reference number still require a unique number.  An example of these sorts of transactions would be Deposits, Automatic Payments, Bank Fees, Direct Debits, etc.  For these transactions we suggest you create a reference number in the following format.

Using this format to create your reference numbers gives you a very flexible way to manage your transactions.  A list of examples is included below.
AP030501         The first Automatic Payment on the 3rd of May.
DP041201         The first Deposit on the 4th of December.
DP041202         The second Deposit on the 4th of December.
DP051201         The first Deposit on the 5th of December.
If you type in a reference number that already exists in the current year then the system will display the details of this transaction for you to modify.

Date

The date entered here refers to the date that the transaction was presented at the bank i.e. the date that appears on your bank statement.
You can change it by typing the correct date.  You should ensure that you are using the correct format: DDMMMYY          E.g.            05MAY98          refers to the 5th May 1998
Alternatively you may increase or decrease the date by clicking on the up or down arrows on the right side of the date.
The EasyBooks software stores the transaction dates internally as four digit dates and is fully Year 2000 compliant.  The system knows the current processing year as set during the End of Year procedure.  This can be seen when editing the EasyBooks bank account details.

If you have been editing the details of an old transaction the system will remember this date as the date of the last transaction.  When you start a new transaction you need to be careful to change the date back to the present processing date.

Payment/Receipt

This button defines the transaction as either being a Payment or a Receipt.  To shift the tick and alternate between them you may either click tick box with your mouse or press the space bar, the plus key or the up and down arrow keys.  (When you have entered the date and pressed Enter the tick will default to the payment option.

Total

Type the total of the transaction into this box.

Payee Code/Payer Code

If you are using Payee Codes then you can enter that Code here.  If you are not using Payee Codes then simply leave this field blank and press Enter to take you to the Name field.
There are three different ways to select a Payee for the transaction.

1. If you know the Payee Code then you can type it in and press the Enter key. 
2. You can display a list of Payees by pressing the F3 function key on the top of your keyboard.  Once the list is displayed then you can double click on one of the entries to select it.
3. You can also display the list of Payees by clicking the toolbar button at the top of your screen.

Once you have entered or selected a Payee code, the system will display the name of the Payee and take you to the Transaction Analysis section of the screen.

Name

Normally this field is used to display the Payee Name.  A name is required.  However you can elect not to use a Payee code for this transaction.  Leaving the Payee code field blank and pressing Enter in the Payee Code field does this.  If you do this, the system will allow you to enter the Name of the people/company that you are paying with this transaction. 
Once you have typed in the name press Enter to progress to the Transaction Analysis section of the screen.

This section of the screen allows you to enter your Ledger Codes.  You must select at least one Ledger Code and you may choose up to 20.
If you have entered a Payee Code and have linked default Ledger Codes with it then these Ledger Codes will be suggested as you progress across the screen.

Figure 3: Transaction Analysis screen

Code

In this field you should type in the Ledger Code you wish to analyse this transaction to.  If you have associated Ledger Codes with the Payee Code then these Ledger Codes will be displayed line by line, but can be changed on individual transactions if required.
There are three different ways to select a Ledger Code for the transaction.

1. If you know the Ledger Code then you can simply type it in and press the Enter key. 
2. You can display a list of Ledger Codes by pressing the F3 function key on the top of your keyboard.  Once the list is displayed then you can double click on one of the entries to select it.
3. You can also display the list of Ledger Codes by clicking the toolbar button at the top of your screen.  (Second button from left).

Once you have entered or selected a Ledger Code then the system will display the name of the Ledger and proceed you to either the Qty or the $ Gross field.

Entering a Comment

It is possible to enter a comment on each transaction analysis line.  This is generally used to provide your Accountant with necessary information when they process your accounts at the end of the year.  A typical example for this would be to provide the details of an asset you were purchasing.
To enter a comment:

1. Your cursor must be in the Ledger Code field.
2. You must have typed in a Ledger Code
3. Press the F4 function key at the top of your keyboard.
4. The system will clear the Ledger Name and allow you to type in the Comment.
5. Once you have finished simply press the Enter key to proceed.  The comment will disappear after entry but will show in the Comments Report.

Qty

When you set up your Ledger Codes it is possible to tell the system that you would like to track quantity values for a particular Ledger Code.
If the Ledger Code you have chosen for this transaction has quantity tracking switched on then the system will allow you to enter a value in the Qty field.
The quantities entered are reported on in the Item Ledger, Month Ledger and Trial Balance Reports.

D/C

This field allows you to specify whether this transaction analysis line should debit or credit the ledger account.
Normally you won’t need to change this field because it is set up automatically when you make this transaction either a Payment or a Receipt.
You would generally only use it if you were entering a Journal between ledgers.  These types of transactions are explained in the Journals and Special Transactions section later on in this guide.

$ Gross

This field allows you to specify the Inclusive GST value that should be assigned to the Ledger Code chosen on this line of the Transaction Analysis screen.
It is at this point that you decide to assign the transaction to more than one Ledger Code.
If you place the total amount of the transaction in this field then the program will assume that you do not want to assign any more Ledger Codes.  If you do want to assign some more Ledger Codes to this transaction then you should type in the amount that you wish to assign to the current Ledger Code and press Enter.
Once you have entered the $ Gross amount the program will automatically separate out the GST portion.  The calculation of the GST portion at this point is defined in the definition of the current Ledger Code.  If the GST portion is incorrect then you should examine this Ledger Code to correct any errors.

Okay Button

Once you have finished entering the Transaction Analysis section of the transaction then you must click the OK button to store the transaction before entering another one.

There are three main ways that you can review your Bank Statement Transactions.

When you are in the Bank Statement Transactions part of the program you can view the transactions for the current processing month by clicking the toolbar button at the top of the screen.

You can also review your transactions by selecting Review Transactions from the Transactions menu on the main screen.

Figure 4: Finding the Review Transaction menu option

When you choose this option you are requested to select the range of months that you wish to review.

Figure 5: Month selection screen

Select a single month by clicking into the circle under the month label and click on OK. In the above example, information for May 2005 will be displayed when OK is clicked.
Increase the number of months you want review by clicking on the red up arrow button.
Or decrease the number of months to review by clicking on the red down arrow button.
Click on the Red Square in the middle of the Arrows to select all months
Then click the Okay button to see the transactions.
If you are running the system in Cashbook mode, the transactions seen here will represent the transactions from both Bank Statement and Daily Cash Manager parts of the program.

When you go into the Bank Statement Transaction screen the current bank statement balance is displayed on the right hand side of the screen.
Concern is sometimes raised when this balance doesn’t agree with the running balance from the list of bank statement transactions (achieved by pressing the toolbar button at the top of the screen.)
There are however a number of valid reasons why this figure may differ.  The three main ones are as follows:

1. Listing Transactions for a Previous Month

When you click the toolbar button, the list that is displayed is for the Current Processing Month.  This is the month that is displayed in the title bar of the Bank Statement Transactions screen.
You can change the Current Processing Month by clicking the toolbar button at the top of the screen.
The Current Bank Statement Balance is calculated from ALL the transactions that have been entered in to the Bank Statement Transactions screen.  If there are transactions for the next month (rather than the one being listed) then the Current Bank Statement Balance will include these transactions even though they won’t be displayed in the list for the Current Processing Month.

1. Future Transactions

If transactions have been entered by mistake with a future date, i.e. six months ahead, then these transactions will also be included in the Current Bank Statement Balance.
The easiest way to spot these transactions is to review your transactions within Transactions.  From the front screen select Review transactions from the Transactions menu or to display an updated cashflow report.

Figure 6: Finding the Review Transaction menu option

When you are asked to specify which months you want to see transactions for you should specify all the months that you haven’t supposedly entered transactions for.

If there are any transactions there then they will be very easy to spot.  If there are no transactions you will receive a message advising you that no transactions were found.

• You have not selected the correct Bank Account.  Go to Bank Account – Select Account.

Entering transactions in Cashbook Mode is very similar to entering them in Bankbook Mode.  Before reading this section you should have read the previous section detailing how to enter transactions in Bankbook Mode.

When in Cashbook Mode you should enter your major transactions (Payments and Receipts) into the Daily Cash Manager (DCM) on a daily basis from cheque butts and deposit slips rather than into the Bank Statement Transactions screen.  However, if you are entering this information from a Bank statement you should enter it into the Bank Statement screen.

Selecting the Daily Cash Manager option from the Transactions menu on the front screen can easily access the DCM screen.

Figure 7: Finding the Daily Cash Manager

For a description on how to enter transactions into this screen you should refer to the discourse on Bank Statement Transactions, starting on Page 25.

• Transactions entered into DCM do not at this stage affect the Current Bank Statement Balance.
• The date of the transaction in DCM is the date it was issued not the date it appears on the bank statement. (NOTE This applies to cheques, for transactions like A/P’s the Issue Date and the Presentation Date are the same).
• Once transactions have been entered you can print an accurate Bank Reconciliation report.
• When each transaction is presented (appears on the bank statement) it must be processed to the Bank Statement.  Refer below.
• When operating in Cashbook Mode DCM transactions ARE included in GST returns and reports.

So the first step is to enter into DCM all your cheques, payments and deposits except for transactions already on a Bank Statement.  These should be entered as regularly as they are generated, ie on a daily basis as the name suggests.

When the bank statement arrives you must process or tick-off the various transactions which have been presented by using the Bank Statement Transactions section of the program.
Clicking Bank Statement from the Transactions menu on the main screen accesses this.

This will take you in to the Bank Statement Transaction Screen.
Processing DCM transactions to the Bank Statement is a very simple and quick procedure.  You should click the Process DCM to Bank toolbar button at the top of the screen.
This will display a list of the current transactions in the Daily Cash Manager.

Figure 8: Process DCM to Bank Transactions

You can do one of two things at this point.  You can either Review the transaction or Process it.

Reviewing a DCM transaction brings the details of the transaction up on the screen in Bank Statement Transactions, allows you to change any of the details, and then allows you to process it.

To do this, click once on the transaction you would like to review and then click the Review button.  This will bring the details of the transaction up on the Bank Statement Transaction screen.

If you intend to process this transaction you must firstly change the Date of the transaction to the date that it was presented on the bank statement.

You may then change any of the details of the transaction (except the transaction number).  When you have finished and you want to process the transaction simply click Okay.

When you are looking at the list of DCM transactions they can very easily be processed.  You can do this in one of two ways.

Option 1

Click once on the transaction in the list that you want to process and click the Process button.

Option 2

Click the transaction with your RIGHT mouse key.
Having told the system to process the transaction it will display a message asking for the date that the transaction was presented.
To process the transaction simply type in the date that the transaction was presented on and click the OK button.

Having processed all the transactions that appear on the bank statement the current Bank Statement Balance should reflect the point that you have reached on the bank statement.
You can produce a Bank Reconciliation report to reflect your current cash position.
Choosing the Bank Reconciliation option from Cashbook from the Reports menu on the front screen easily does this.
The system will display the following message to ask you for a date at which to calculate the reconciliation.
Simply enter the date and click the OK button.

When working through your bank statement and presenting transactions you will find transactions that don’t exist in the Daily Cash Manager.  An example of these would be A/P’s or Bank Fees. 
These transactions don’t need to be entered into the Daily Cash Manager first but can be entered directly into the Bank Statement Transactions part of the program.

Transactions can be deleted at any time. This means that if an unpresented cheque is to be deleted and the issue date of the cheque means that it has already been included in a previous GST Return then you need to make an adjustment in the current GST Return for the cheque now to be cancelled.

Suggested procedure:

1. Via Bank statement screen present the cheque that is to be deleted.
2. Now enter a receipt transaction via the Banking Statement Screen for the same amount and credit the same ledger code(s). This will correct the system.