Accounting Section User Manual

1. Accounting Overview

The Accounting section is where the business keeps track of money coming in, money going out, invoices, receipts, vendors, customers, reports, and tax-related records.

What the Accounting Section Is For

Who Should Use This Section

• CEO/Admin: Can view and control all accounting records.
• Accounting Staff: Can add, edit, review, and report on financial records based on permission level.
• Department Heads: May be allowed to upload receipts or request purchases if permissions are enabled.

2. First-Time Setup

Before using Accounting every day, the app should be set up with the correct business information. This keeps invoices, reports, taxes, and records organized.

First-Time Setup Checklist

1. Add company details.
   Enter the company name, business email, logo, address if used, tax number if applicable, and payment details.
2. Confirm accounting access.
   Make sure only approved users can view, add, edit, delete, or export accounting information.
3. Set invoice defaults.
   Choose invoice number style, payment terms, tax settings, logo, footer message, and payment instructions.
4. Review categories.
   Confirm income and expense categories match how the business wants to organize records.
5. Add customers and vendors.
   Add regular clients, suppliers, contractors, platforms, and service providers.
6. Test with one sample entry.
   Add a test income, expense, invoice, and receipt to confirm the workflow is correct.

Why Setup Matters

If the app is set up correctly from the beginning, reports will be cleaner, invoices will look professional, and tax records will be easier to understand later.

3. Accounting Dashboard

The Accounting Dashboard gives a quick overview of the financial activity for the selected company. It is the starting point for checking business money.

What You May See on the Dashboard

How To Use the Dashboard

1. Open the Accounting section.
2. Confirm the correct company is selected.
3. Choose the date range, such as today, this week, this month, or custom dates.
4. Review income, expenses, unpaid invoices, and recent activity.
5. Click any card or number to open more details if available.

4. Company Selector

The company selector is used when the app manages more than one business. It keeps each company’s records separate.

Why This Is Important

If one app manages multiple businesses, you must make sure income, expenses, invoices, and reports are saved under the correct company.

How To Use It

1. Look for the Company dropdown near the top of the Accounting section.
2. Select the correct company before adding or viewing records.
3. Check the company name again before saving a transaction, invoice, or report.

Example

5. Transactions

A transaction is any money movement that needs to be recorded. In the app, transactions are usually income, expenses, refunds, payments, transfers, or adjustments.

Common Transaction Types

Adding a Transaction

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Click Add Transaction or New Entry.
3. Select the correct company.
4. Choose the transaction type.
5. Enter the date.
6. Enter the amount.
7. Choose the customer, vendor, or source if applicable.
8. Select a category.
9. Add a short description.
10. Attach a receipt or document if available.
11. Click Save.

What Every Transaction Should Have

• Date
• Amount
• Type
• Category
• Company
• Description
• Receipt or attachment when possible

6. Income

Income is money the business earns or receives. Recording income correctly helps show how much the business is making.

Examples of Income

• Customer payments
• Shopify sales
• Etsy sales
• Service payments
• Affiliate commissions
• Course or digital product sales
• Consulting payments
• Refunds received from vendors

How To Add Income

1. Open Accounting.
2. Click Add Income.
3. Select the correct company.
4. Enter the income date.
5. Enter the amount received.
6. Select the income source, such as customer, platform, or invoice.
7. Select an income category.
8. Add payment method, such as e-transfer, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, cash, cheque, or bank deposit.
9. Add notes if needed.
10. Attach proof of payment if available.
11. Click Save Income.

Income Categories

Categories help group income so reports are easier to understand.

7. Expenses

Expenses are business costs. Recording expenses helps show how much it costs to run the business and helps prepare for taxes.

Examples of Expenses

• Software subscriptions
• Website hosting
• Domain names
• Advertising
• Office supplies
• Contractor payments
• Bank fees
• Shipping supplies
• Business apps
• Accounting or legal fees

How To Add an Expense

1. Open Accounting.
2. Click Add Expense.
3. Select the correct company.
4. Enter the expense date.
5. Enter the amount paid.
6. Select or add the vendor.
7. Choose the expense category.
8. Add the payment method.
9. Add a short description.
10. Upload the receipt or invoice if available.
11. Click Save Expense.

Expense Categories

8. Categories / Chart of Accounts

Categories are labels that organize income and expenses. In accounting, a full category list is often called a chart of accounts.

Plain-English Explanation

Categories answer the question: “What kind of money activity is this?”

Why Categories Matter

• They make reports easier to read.
• They help with tax preparation.
• They show which parts of the business cost the most.
• They help compare one month to another.
• They help identify profitable and unprofitable areas.

How To Choose a Category

1. Ask what the transaction is for.
2. Choose the closest matching category.
3. If unsure, add a clear note in the description.
4. Do not create duplicate categories with slightly different names.

Bad vs Good Category Examples

9. Receipts & Attachments

Receipts prove that a transaction happened. Attachments keep the proof connected to the entry.

What Can Be Attached

• Receipt images
• PDF invoices
• Bank screenshots
• Email confirmations
• Payment receipts
• Contractor invoices
• Shipping receipts

How To Upload a Receipt

1. Open the transaction.
2. Click Attach Receipt or Upload File.
3. Select the file from your device.
4. Confirm the file belongs to the correct transaction.
5. Click Save.

Receipt Naming Best Practice

Use clear file names so files are easy to find later.

10. Customers

Customers are people or companies that buy from the business or receive invoices.

What the Customer Section Is For

• Saving customer names and contact information
• Connecting customers to invoices
• Viewing payment history
• Finding unpaid invoices by customer
• Avoiding retyping customer details every time

How To Add a Customer

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Customers.
3. Click Add Customer.
4. Enter customer name or company name.
5. Enter email address.
6. Add phone, billing address, or notes if needed.
7. Click Save Customer.

Customer Profile May Show

• Contact details
• Invoices sent
• Payments received
• Outstanding balance
• Customer notes

11. Vendors

Vendors are people, companies, platforms, or services the business pays.

Examples of Vendors

• Shopify
• Cloudflare
• Canva
• GoDaddy
• Google Workspace
• Contractors
• Suppliers
• Shipping providers

How To Add a Vendor

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Vendors.
3. Click Add Vendor.
4. Enter vendor name.
5. Add email, website, or account number if needed.
6. Select default expense category if available.
7. Click Save Vendor.

Why Vendor Records Help

Vendor records make it faster to enter expenses and easier to see how much the business spends with each supplier or service.

12. Invoices

An invoice is a payment request sent to a customer. It tells the customer what they are being charged for, how much they owe, and when payment is due.

What an Invoice Usually Includes

• Business name and logo
• Invoice number
• Invoice date
• Due date
• Customer name and email
• Product or service description
• Quantity
• Price
• Tax if applicable
• Total amount due
• Payment instructions

Invoice Statuses

How To Create an Invoice

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Invoices.
3. Click Create New Invoice.
4. Select the correct company.
5. Select an existing customer or add a new customer.
6. Confirm customer email and billing details.
7. Enter invoice date and due date.
8. Add line items for products or services.
9. Enter quantity, rate, discount, and tax if needed.
10. Review the total amount due.
11. Add notes or payment instructions.
12. Click Save Draft or Send Invoice.

Before Sending an Invoice

• Check the customer name and email.
• Check the invoice amount.
• Check the due date.
• Check tax, discount, and totals.
• Check spelling in the item descriptions.
• Make sure payment instructions are correct.

13. Payments

A payment is money received from a customer or paid out to a vendor. In this section, payments usually refer to money received for invoices.

Recording an Invoice Payment

1. Open Invoices.
2. Select the invoice that was paid.
3. Click Record Payment.
4. Enter payment date.
5. Enter amount received.
6. Select payment method.
7. Add reference number or notes if available.
8. Click Save Payment.

Payment Methods

Partial Payments

A partial payment happens when a customer pays only part of the invoice total. The invoice should remain open until the full amount is paid.

14. Recurring Transactions

Recurring transactions are income or expenses that happen repeatedly on a schedule.

Examples

• Monthly software subscriptions
• Website hosting fees
• Rent
• Insurance
• Regular contractor payments
• Monthly membership income

How To Add a Recurring Expense

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Recurring Transactions.
3. Click New Recurring.
4. Select Expense.
5. Enter the vendor or payment name.
6. Enter the amount.
7. Select category.
8. Choose frequency, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
9. Set start date and optional end date.
10. Choose whether the transaction should be automatically created or only suggested for review.
11. Click Save Recurring Transaction.

Recommended Recurring Options

15. Bank Statement Import

Bank statement import helps bring bank transactions into the app instead of typing each one manually.

Supported Import Types

• CSV bank statement files
• PDF bank statements
• Receipt scans
• Bank screenshots, if image scanning is enabled

How To Import a Bank Statement

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Bank Import.
3. Select the correct company.
4. Choose the bank account or payment account.
5. Upload the bank statement file.
6. Let the app scan the file.
7. Review the transactions found by the app.
8. Edit incorrect dates, names, amounts, or categories.
9. Approve the correct transactions.
10. Click Import or Save Transactions.

What To Check After Import

• Duplicate transactions
• Wrong dates
• Incorrect vendor names
• Deposits marked as expenses
• Expenses marked as income
• Missing categories
• Unclear transaction descriptions

16. Reconciliation

Reconciliation means checking that the app records match the bank records.

Plain-English Explanation

Reconciliation is like saying: “Does what we entered in the app match what actually happened in the bank?”

Why Reconciliation Matters

• Finds missing transactions
• Finds duplicate entries
• Finds incorrect amounts
• Confirms bank balance accuracy
• Makes reports more reliable

How To Reconcile

1. Open Reconciliation.
2. Select the correct company.
3. Select the bank or payment account.
4. Choose the statement start and end date.
5. Enter opening balance if required.
6. Enter closing balance from the bank statement.
7. Review transactions listed by the app.
8. Match app transactions to bank transactions.
9. Add missing transactions if needed.
10. Fix incorrect amounts or dates if needed.
11. Complete reconciliation when the difference is zero or approved.

Common Reconciliation Problems

17. Taxes

The Taxes area helps organize tax-related information, such as taxable income, deductible expenses, sales tax collected, and tax report summaries.

What This Section Is For

• Tracking tax amounts on invoices
• Tracking tax paid on expenses if required
• Preparing tax summaries
• Helping organize records for an accountant or bookkeeper

Tax Fields You May See

Using Tax Settings on an Invoice

1. Create or open an invoice.
2. Add the product or service line item.
3. Select whether the item is taxable.
4. Confirm the tax rate.
5. Review the total before sending.

18. Accounting Reports

Reports turn accounting records into summaries that are easier to understand.

Common Accounting Reports

How To Create a Report

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Open Reports.
3. Select the correct company.
4. Choose report type.
5. Select date range.
6. Add filters if needed, such as customer, vendor, category, or status.
7. Click Generate Report.
8. Review the report.
9. Export, print, email, or save if needed.

Report Date Ranges

19. Accounting Files

The Accounting Files area stores financial documents in organized folders.

Examples of Accounting Files

• Invoices
• Receipts
• Bank statements
• Tax summaries
• Vendor invoices
• Customer agreements
• Monthly reports
• Year-end reports

Recommended Folder Structure

• Accounting
  • Invoices
  • Receipts
  • Bank Statements
  • Reports
  • Taxes
  • Vendors
  • Customers

How To Upload an Accounting File

1. Open Files or Accounting Files.
2. Select the correct company.
3. Choose the Accounting folder.
4. Choose the correct subfolder.
5. Click Upload.
6. Select the file.
7. Add a clear file name or note.
8. Click Save.

20. Approvals & Review

Approval tools help make sure important accounting changes are checked before they become final.

Items That May Require Approval

• Large expenses
• New vendors
• Invoice write-offs
• Refunds
• Deleted transactions
• Changed bank records
• Year-end adjustments

How Approval Works

1. A user creates or changes an accounting item.
2. The item is marked as Pending Review if approval is required.
3. The CEO/Admin or approved reviewer checks it.
4. The reviewer approves, rejects, or requests changes.
5. The item becomes final after approval.

Review Statuses

21. Search, Sort & Filter

Search and filters help find records quickly without scrolling through long lists.

What You Can Search For

• Invoice number
• Customer name
• Vendor name
• Amount
• Category
• Date
• Payment method
• Status
• Description keywords

How To Search

1. Open the list you want to search, such as transactions, invoices, customers, vendors, or reports.
2. Click the search box.
3. Type a keyword, name, invoice number, or amount.
4. Review the filtered results.
5. Clear the search box to show everything again.

Common Filters

22. Export, Print & Email

Export tools allow you to save or share accounting information outside the app.

Common Export Options

How To Export a Report

1. Open the report.
2. Review the report details.
3. Click Export, Download, Print, or Email.
4. Choose the format.
5. Save the file or send it to the approved recipient.

23. Accounting Settings

Accounting Settings control how the Accounting section behaves.

Settings You May See

• Company details
• Invoice logo
• Invoice number format
• Default payment terms
• Tax rates
• Income categories
• Expense categories
• Default currency
• Payment methods
• User permissions
• Approval rules
• Report defaults

Who Should Change Settings

Accounting settings should usually be changed only by the CEO/Admin or authorized accounting manager.

24. Daily / Weekly / Monthly Workflow

This workflow helps keep accounting organized without letting records pile up.

Daily Accounting Tasks

• Add new income received.
• Add new expenses paid.
• Upload receipts.
• Check unpaid invoices.
• Review urgent accounting alerts.

Weekly Accounting Tasks

• Review transactions for missing categories.
• Check overdue invoices.
• Follow up on unpaid invoices.
• Review recurring payments.
• Upload any missing bank or receipt files.

Monthly Accounting Tasks

• Import bank statements.
• Reconcile accounts.
• Run profit and loss report.
• Run income and expense reports.
• Review tax summary.
• Save monthly reports to the correct folder.

Simple Monthly Close Checklist

1. Confirm all income for the month is entered.
2. Confirm all expenses for the month are entered.
3. Upload missing receipts.
4. Review unpaid and overdue invoices.
5. Import bank statement.
6. Reconcile bank account.
7. Generate monthly reports.
8. Save reports in the Accounting Reports folder.

25. Troubleshooting

I Added a Transaction Under the Wrong Company

1. Open the transaction.
2. Check if you have permission to edit company assignment.
3. Move it to the correct company if allowed.
4. If not allowed, contact CEO/Admin.

An Invoice Total Looks Wrong

• Check quantity.
• Check item price.
• Check discount.
• Check tax rate.
• Check whether the item is taxable.
• Check partial payments.

A Bank Import Created Duplicates

• Search for the duplicate amount and date.
• Confirm which version is correct.
• Delete or merge the duplicate if allowed.
• Re-run reconciliation after cleanup.

I Cannot Find a Receipt

• Search by vendor name.
• Search by date.
• Search by amount.
• Check the Accounting Files folder.
• Check whether the receipt was uploaded under the wrong company.

I Cannot Edit a Record

You may not have permission, or the record may already be approved, reconciled, locked, or exported. Contact CEO/Admin if a correction is needed.

A Report Looks Wrong

• Check the selected company.
• Check the date range.
• Check filters.
• Check transaction categories.
• Look for missing or duplicate transactions.

26. Beginner Accounting Glossary

This glossary explains common accounting words in plain language.

27. Quick-Start Checklist

Use this checklist when teaching a new accounting user how to get started.

New User Checklist

1. Log in to the Business Management System.
2. Open the Accounting section.
3. Confirm the correct company is selected.
4. Review the Accounting Dashboard.
5. Add one income entry.
6. Add one expense entry.
7. Upload a receipt.
8. Create a draft invoice.
9. Record a payment on a test invoice if needed.
10. Generate a basic income or expense report.
11. Search for a transaction by vendor, customer, or amount.
12. Ask CEO/Admin before changing settings, deleting records, or exporting sensitive reports.

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