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2.4. Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping 101

Bookkeeping is the process of matching the items on your bank statements to the transactions recorded in inniAccounts - this is also known as reconciliation.  The aim is to make the list of transactions in inniAccounts exactly match those printed on your bank statement.  This is a a really important process to allow you to make accurate and informed decisions and reduce the risk of unexpected surprises - such as unforeseen tax bills.

Fortunately, inniAccounts makes this process easy. The majority of your transactions will already be available in the bookkeeping area when you receive your bank statements, so all you'll need to do is confirm the date and amount, and add any missing items such as interest or bank charges.

Two-stage bookkeeping

Bookkeeping in inniAccounts consists of two stages:

• First, when you pay a pending payment (for example paying a tax bill or a payslip) you need to confirm that you've made the payment. This allows inniAccounts to provide you with an up to date view if your finances.
• Secondly, when you receive your bank statement you need to confirm that the transactions and bank balance matches those held in inniAccounts. Ideally you should complete this each month when you receive your bank statements, or more frequently if you prefer.

Marking pending payments as paid

When you've paid a pending payment you should update inniAccounts as follows:

Locate the transaction in the pending payment area at the bottom of the screen, click on the 'confirm' icon to the right of the transaction

The transaction will now appear underneath the bank statement - you should check the details of the transaction. At this point leave the 'confirmed' check box un-checked, unless you can already see this item on your bank statement.

Click the save button and the transaction will move from the pending payments onto your bank statement.

Confirming transactions

Once you've received your bank statement you can go on to confirm your transactions. Locate the transaction in the bank statement area, select it and click on 'edit'. Click the 'confirmed' checkbox and enter the date and amount as it appears on your bank statement.

Click on 'save' - your transaction will now have a green tick next to the date and the bank balance will be updated.

Adding missing transactions

If you have additional transactions that aren't in the pending payments area you can use the 'enter company transaction' to create a new transaction.

Select one of the four options:

• Other outgoings - use this to record outgoings taken directly from your business bank accounts, for example bank charges, bills and other purchases.
• Other income - use this to record income where you haven't created an invoice - for example income from blog advertising, interest on savings, etc. This income will be included in your VAT return.
• Transfer - this allows you to transfer money to another business bank account. If you are using a company credit card you should use this feature to transfer payment to your credit card account.
• Purchase asset - use this when purchasing an asset. The asset will be entered into your company's asset register, as used during corporation tax calculations.

Setting up regular payments
The money manager feature allows you to schedule regular payments - like a mobile phone bill. These payments will automatically appear on your pending payments page, saving you time when you're bookkeeping. Check out the link at the bottom of this page for more details.

Balancing the books

It's important to ensure that the transactions in inniAccounts match your bank statement.  Here's a hint to help you match transactions: the balance figure on the right hand side of the bookkeeping table is a handy way to check for errors. When you confirm a transaction check that the balance displayed in inniAccounts checks the balance on your bank statement.  If it doesn't try checking the following:

• Is the date and amount of the transaction entered correctly?
• Does opening balance of the bank statement match the balance of the last confirmed transaction in inniAccounts?
• Have you included additional items on your bank statement, such as interest payments, bank charges or direct debits?
• Have you remembered to confirm previous transactions?

Related Pages

• inniAccounts User Guide > Administration and settings > Accounts and adjustments
• inniAccounts User Guide > Administration and settings > Assets
• inniAccounts User Guide > Day to day usage > Money manager