The first column of my cashflow is empty!

In version 3.7 transactions backdated to the previous financial year will NOT appear in the main body of the Cashflow. Instead they appear in a code called “Last year”. The assumtion is that they were invoiced before balance date and for management reasons belong to last year. Their purpose in the last year section is to adjust the opening bank balance. This change is essential to allow for consistent financial year reporting.

If you really want all transactions to show in the main body of the cashflow, you must adopt a cash reporting policy for both your cashflow and for data sent to your accountant.

We strongly encourage you to adopt financial year reporting - it has significant management advantages. However if you do want to achieve cash reporting:-

1. In the future do not change the financial year as you enter transactions.
2. For transactions at the start of this financial year that you have previously adjusted back to last year, this adjustment must be removed.

Note:- Where last year is Closed, you must phone support and request a password that will let you “un-close” last year. Changing such transactions is then a simple task.

3. Changing past transactions has no effect on GST but the next time you provide data to your accountant, you must advise them your cashbook is now “strictly cash” with no opening and closing adjustments. Also advise them which transactions you changed.

NOTE: Many accountants prefer a cashbook that is strictly cash! If in doubt discuss the merits of cash reporting with them.

Understanding financial year budgeting

Sometimes a large item of income that clearly relates to last season appears in the first month of the new financial year.

Examples are:

• Livestock sold just before balance date
• May milk not paid until June

It makes this year's profit look great but last year bad.

Alternatively expenses occurring late in the season may appear in the new year, especially if they are on deferred payment.

Examples are:

• Fertiliser
• Feed
• Livestock purchases

They make last year's profit look much better and this year much worse.

From a management point of view they distort the results.

Previously Cashmanager RURAL allowed you to adjust actual data, but the same facility did not exist for budgets. This meant actual to budget comparison reports did not compare. Version 3.7 allows valid comparison of budget to actual.

The technical changes to make this happen are:

1. Budget worksheets allow you to set the financial year a worksheet line belongs to.
2. Where a line is changed to an earlier financial year, it will fly away out of the main body of the Cashflow and down into the last years section.
3. When viewing the previous year, that same item will appear in the 'End' month.
4. Lines entered into the end column will also appear in the 'Last Year' section of the next financial year.

This was a surprisingly large project to implement as the 'under the hood' changes were significant. Data structures needed updating and every report required major changes.

The choice between cash reporting or financial year reporting

Sticking to a strictly cash based system has merits. Some people prefer to mentally adjust for the handful of items that distort the seasonal figures.However performance reporting per kg, Ha, KgMS or SU will be distorted. This is the key reason why financial year reporting is highly desirable.

Version 3.7 does not stop you operating a cash based reporting system.

If transactions and budget worksheets are recorded without adjusting the financial year field, the last year section will be empty.

Some users desire to continue to record transactions by financial year but budget by cash only, as happened in versions before 3.7. Providing this inconsistent reporting as an option in 3.7 is not feasible. A choice must be made.

Setting up a financial year budget

Assuming you have or will adjust opening transactions back to the previous financial year, then the budget needs to be adjusted in a similar way.

Start of year:

If a budget exists, find the worksheet line for key items (such as large purchases paid this year but really belonging to last year) and set the financial year back. When you close the worksheet, these lines will fly away to the last years section at the bottom of the code list.

For new items you may enter them into last year codes.

The result is that the main body of the cashflow for the first month of the financial year will be largely empty.

NOTE: If you already have an Original budget in place, for every worksheet you adjust, add that same item into the "end month". This will preserve the same overall income and expenditure for the financial year as you had for the cash year.

End of year:

Items invoiced before balance date but paid after balance date should be entered into the end column.

These same items will appear in the 'last year' section of next year's budget.

Cash reporting

Cash reporting is where income and expenses appear in the cashflow reports in the month of payment, with no financial year adjustment. To achieve cash reporting it is important that transactions are not adjusted. Previously an anomoly allowed transactions to be adjusted for the transaction reports, but not for cashflow reports.This allowed an undesirable inconsitency between Transaction and Cashflow reports.This maismatch is not possible in 3.7, a choice must be made.

To remove the financial year adjustments to your 'opening'transactions (and thus have a 'cash' cashflow), first contact the helpdesk and ask them to open the last financial year.

Note that removing adjustements may affect your accountant when they receive the end of year export.

1. Advise them of the change - it is not a big task for them to enter journal adjustments (indeed some prefer to work this way . . . )
2. In the future do not backdate the finciacial year flag on transactions.

Exporting Cashmanager RURAL transactions to Solution 6 MAS4.

Accountants wishing to export Cashmanager RURAL transactions to Solution 6 MAS4 should download the following instructions. Exporting Cashmanager RURAL to SOL6