Top
Top
  1. Workamajig
  2. Training & Onboarding
  3. Training for Agencies

Articles in this section

See more

Agency Training: Accounting Go Live Checklist

Go-Live Procedures | Opening Bank Account Reconciliation | Other Considerations

This guide is recommended for your Accountant (CPA) and/or Bookkeeper to review and follow step by step, with the overall goal of going live with Workamajig's Accounting.

Why is this important? A pre-flight check to go over any questions or clarifications will ensure a successful deployment of Workamajig. This also includes a Post-Go-Live call so you can catch any issues that arise from the go-live and make fine-tune adjustments as your entire team moves forward with Workamajig.

  • All Balances and Open Transactions should be posted into Workamajig as of the last date of the month prior to the cut-over. This can be done at any time and will need to be done after you have the balances from your prior system. The data does not have to be entered on that date. You can backdate the transactions to match, as long as your reports tie out on the same date.
  • For example; all Opening Transactions (Invoices), Opening Balance JE and, Opening Reconciliation, should be posted to the GL on the Date Prior to your Go Live Date. However, the Invoice Date on your Opening Transactions (Invoices) can be dated in the past to help run the Again Reports by. Then your first Account Reconciliation on your Go Live Date should start up with no problems.
  • After the switchover, all new transactions in Workamajig would be dated the day after, and so on.
  • It is recommended that you use the Today Accounting page when going through this process.
  • NOTE: Workamajig highly recommends that you get all transactions prior to your Go Live Date entered into your previous accounting system before starting this process. This includes actions such as completing your AP check run and any other old invoices dated before the switch-over date to minimize the amount of data to enter in Workamajig. The only transactions that should be entered and posted into Workamajig are those connected with your Opening Balances and Open Transactions. This will prevent confusion regarding the transition between your old system into Workamajig.

Go Live Procedures

1. Pick a Go Live Date

Choose the Date you want to start using Workamajig exclusively for all your accounting procedures and financial reports (e.g., the Last Date of the Year/Month).

For example, if you want to be live in Workamajig as of Jan 1, plan to have all your accounting tie out in both system as of Dec 31 of the previous year.

2. What you will need from your previous accounting system

Run/Print the Trial Balance, AR Aging and AP Aging Reports from your previous accounting system as of the date you wish to switch over accounting to Workamajig (i.e. Last Date of the Year/Month).

3. Bring Over Balances

Get the Trial Balance from your previous accounting system, Run/Print it As Of the Date you chose to switch over your accounting to Workamajig (i.e. Last Date of the Year/Month).

Next, create a Journal Entry in Workamajig. Then, make its Posting Date match your switchover date as described above. Now, add lines for all Accounts and Balances so they match your previous Trial Balance.

Finally, Post the Journal Entry and run the Trial Balance financial report in Workamajig as of the switch-over date to see if your results match.

NOTE: If using Cash Basis Accounting, please see We use Cash Basis Accounting in the Other Considerations section below.

4. Bring Over Open Transactions

AR Aging

Using the AR Aging Report from your previous system, enter (or import) the Client Invoices into Workamajig. As a reminder, Client Invoices can be created from the Accounting - Today page using the '+' button in the center of the page.

You can simply enter in one invoice per client using one line in each invoice for the total open amount, or you can enter each invoice with similar details to match.

Next, you will want to check the Opening Transaction box for each invoice. This option can be located by clicking the pencil edit icon next to Details. The posting of an "Opening Transaction" invoice has no effect on the GL, as the open amount is included in your starting balance Journal Entry.

Opening Transaction - AR.png

We highly recommend you set the Invoice Date to match the date of the original invoice from your previous system, however, the Posting Date of the Invoice should be set to the switch-over date (i.e. Last Date of the Year/Month).

After all of your opening transaction client invoices have been entered, run the AR Aging Report in Workamajig and ensure that it ties to the AR Aging Report from your previous accounting system. AR Aging in Workamajig can be run from your report center (Main Menu->Everyone->Report Center->AR Reports->AR Aging) OR from your Today - Accounting page by clicking the AR Balanced text located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen under the Items Needing Attention heading.

NOTE: If you have Advance Billing Invoices, please see We have Advanced Billing Invoices in our old system in the Other Considerations section below.

BEWARE: If the Opening Transactions option is not checked, then the invoice will post to the GL and debit the AR account and Credit the Sales account on the invoice. This would then double up your AR balance on your GL since your opening JE would already have that invoice included in the AR balance.

AP Aging

Repeat the same process for your AP Aging Report. Run the AP Aging from your previous system.

Enter any Open Vendor Invoices into Workamajig. These can be added using the '+' button on the Accounting - Today page.

Similar to your client invoices seen in the screenshot above, click the pencil icon next to details in your vendor invoices and select Opening Transaction.

After you have finished entering your vendor invoices, run your AP Aging Report in Workamajig and ensure that it ties to the AP Aging Report from your previous accounting system. AP Aging in Workamajig can be run from your report center (Main Menu->Everyone->Report Center->AP Reports->AP Aging) OR from your Today - Accounting page by clicking the AP Balanced text located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen under the Items Needing Attention heading.

NOTE: If you have Prebilled your media in your previous system, please see Prebilled Media Orders in the Other Considerations section below.

5. Approve and Post ALL Transactions

Menu > Accounting > Today Accounting > Items Needing Attention. Verify there are no Unapproved Transactions or Unposted Transactions needing to be approved and/or posted under the Items Needing Attention section. If you don't see one or either of those options in this area, then there are no unapproved or unposted transactions and you are all set!

NOTE: Unapproved Transactions will need to be handled individually for the most part. While the Unposted Transactions can be mass posted.

6. Create your Opening Bank Account Reconciliation

Using the Opening Bank Account Reconciliation section below in this guide, create an Account Rec for each Bank Account you have.

Account Reconciliations do not affect the GL, but are there to report on the Bank To Book Balance.

7. Set the GL Closing Date

Set a GL Close Date as of Your Go Live Date (i.e. Jan 1), from either Today Accounting > More > Set Closing Date, or via Menu > Admin/Manager > System setup > GL Settings > GL Tracking Options : Closing Date. Setting this date prevents posting and unposting of transactions prior to but not including this date.

For example, if your Switch Over Date is 12/31, you will then set the GL Closing Date to 1/1. This will prevent any changes prior to your Go Live date.

8. Other considerations

Review this list of possible scenarios you may need to account for.

9. You are now Live with Accounting in Workamajig!

Now head on over to the Today Accounting page and start monitoring your success!

Need more? Check out the Accounting Overview and Month-End Procedures guides for more info.

Opening Bank Account Reconciliation

As part of your Go Live procedures Step 6 above, you will need to create an Opening Bank Account Reconciliation to allow the Beginning Balance of future reconciliations to be correct.

openrecbeg.png

1. Create a New Reconciliation. A reconciliation can be created using the '+' button located on your Today - Accounting page.

 

2. Enter a Statement Date prior to that of your Go Live Date.

3. Leave Starting Balance equal to Zero.

4. Open the Go Live Journal Entry you created in Workamajig. Enter the value for the selected bank account that you entered in your Go Live Journal Entry into the Statement Balance field. Click Save.

5. In the Window that opens, click the edit icon located next to Rec Balances. Click Show More and select the Opening Reconciliation option.

6. In Uncleared Opening Amount, enter the dollar amount of all payments that were made in your previous system and have not cleared the bank account. Click Save on this window.

TIP: Create a spreadsheet/text file with the reference number, Paid To and Amount for all uncleared transactions. After saving the reconciliation, use the +Attachment link to upload this file to the reconcile for future reference.

NOTE: If there are uncleared deposits, then subtract that from the amount of the uncleared checks and enter that amount (For example, if there is $1,000 of uncleared checks and $200 of uncleared deposit, then enter $800 as the uncleared amount on the opening account reconciliation).

7. In the Transactions > Increases area, select the Journal Entry.

NOTE: Your opening trial balance JE should be entered and posted prior to this step.

openacctrec.png

8. Click Finalize.

For more info, refer to the Account Reconciliations guide.

Other Considerations

As part of your Go Live Procedures from Step 8 above, here is the detailed list of possible scenarios which can exist that will need to resolved.

* We Have Prebilled Media OrdersIF: We prebilled the media orders and the client has partially paid/paid in full the client invoiceIF: We prebilled Purchase Orders in our old system:* We Have Prebilled Media Orders

* We Have 1099 Vendors That We Have Paid In Our Old System

When reporting on 1099 vendors, Workamajig only looks at payments created for the vendor. To ensure the accuracy of your 1099 report at the end of the year, you need to account for the payments from your old system.

  • Create a report from your old system with the total amount paid to the vendor prior to Go Live in Workamajig
  • In Workamajig, create a payment for the full amount of what was paid to the vendor. Enter a check # = TRNFR-01 or something similar. Make the payment and posting date equal to Go Live date>>Click on the + button next to Expenses and select an Expense account to apply the full amount of the payment towards>>Click on the edit icon next to details>enter a check memo to describe what you are doing. Check Opening Transaction box. >>SAVE then Post the payment.

When you create your 1099/1096 at the end of the year, the system will use the Payment(s) to drive the report. However, because you checked "Opening Transaction," this does not affect your GL accounts.

 

* We Use Cash Basis Accounting

If you are using Cash Basis Accounting, you MUST create TWO Journal Entries.

  • Enable the Exclude From Cash Basis option for the Starting Accrual Balance Journal Entry. (This is your primary/accrual-based Journal Entry).
  • Enable the Exclude From Accrual Basis option for the Starting Cash Balance Journal Entry. (This is your Cash-Based Journal Entry).

    The above options are accessible by clicking the edit icon in the Journal Entry.

NOTE: Failure to perform this step will cause the system to be incorrect when reporting your Cash-based financials.

 

* We Track Work In Progress (WIP)

Work In Progress (WIP) tracking requires actual transactions to be entered into Workamajig. This ensures that when WIP is posted, the amounts are correct in your WIP tracking accounts.

In the future, when the transactions are billed or marked as billed/write off, posting WIP will correctly reverse out the entries.

Set up a project for each client to track the WIP transactions.

Import or manually enter the unbilled time and expenses against these projects. These need to be entered in the same way that they would be billed to the client.

NOTES:

  • For unpaid vendor invoices: these would be entered just like your opening transactions for AP invoices with project numbers on the invoice lines. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box on those vendor invoices.
  • For paid vendor invoices: these would be entered like the opening vendor invoice for the project along with a payment also marked as opening transaction applied against the vendor invoice.

Post WIP to GL via The Accounting - Today page and Post Work In Progress. This will create the starting WIP balances in the GL.

Run the WIP Analysis Report, as of the posting date, to verify that the WIP balances are correct.

NOTE: The starting balance journal entry must exclude WIP balances from your old system since Workamajig has created them when you post WIP. When you run the Trial Balance in Workamajig, the WIP accounts should match those found in your old system, as seen in the old Trial Balance.

 

* We Have Advance Billing Invoices In Our Old System

An Advance Billing invoice has TWO parts to it in Workamajig: AR and Accrual (Go Here for a complete description). You need to account for these 2 parts when doing your opening balances.

Scenario 1: The client has paid the Advance Bill invoice in full, yet we have not recognized any revenue:

  • Create the AR Invoice, click the pencil icon next to Details, and select both the Advanced Bill and Opening Transaction checkbox. Create a line for the amount of the Advance Bill > Click Settings and check Opening Transaction > Post the invoice.
  • Create a receipt for the amount of the previous invoice. Set this receipt as an opening transaction.  Apply the receipt to the previous invoice. Post this invoice

The two invoices you created above will have no effect on your General Ledger because they are marked as Opening Transactions. The above process is to remove the AR amount associated with the Advance Bill invoice, and you should not see either invoice in your AR GL account or in the AR Aging report.

The opening balance Journal Entry should contain the total amount of your AB accruals. When you enter a revenue recognition invoice and associate it to the above AB invoice, upon posting, it will debit the AB Accrual account and credit the Item revenue account designated from the transactions contained on the revenue recognition invoice.

Scenario 2: The client has paid a portion of the AB invoice, we have not recognized any revenue:

You will follow the same steps as above. The difference is that you create the AB Invoice for the full amount of the invoice in your old system, while the credit memo will only be for the amount that was paid in the old system.

Scenario 3: The Client has paid the AB invoice in full, we have recognized a portion of the revenue:

In this case, it will depend on how you want to see the AB invoice in Workamajig:
1. Match the AB invoice to the old system - In this case, you need to create 2 invoices and 1 Receipt: One AB Invoice + One Receipt, both created the same as above. The second invoice will be a regular AR invoice. Check Opening Transaction via the pencil icon next to details. Enter a line amount that is equal to the amount you have already recognized. >click the Advanced Billing tab and associate to the AB invoice.

2. Match the Remaining AB Accrual Amount only - In this case, you can follow the steps outlined in "the client has paid in full, we have not recognized revenue". The AB invoice will only be for the remaining balance of unrecognized revenue.

Scenario 4: The Client has paid a portion of the AB invoice, we have recognized a portion of the revenue:

In this case, it will depend on the amounts remaining in AR and in Advance Bill Accrual:

If: The AR Amount is lower than the AB Accrual Amount

1. In this case, you will create an AB invoice for the full AB Accrual Amount. Check Opening Transaction in the invoice details. This means your AR matches the AB Accrual amount.

2. Then, create a receipt for the amount that was previously paid and applied to the AB invoice. Check Opening Transaction in the invoice details. This will reduce the amount of AR to the appropriate amount. POST both invoices.

If: The AR Amount is higher than the AB Accrual Amount

1. In this case, you will create an AB Invoice for the full AR Amount. Check the Opening Transaction in the invoice details. This means your AR matches the AB Accrual amount. Next:

2. Create a regular invoice for the amount of revenue that you have previously recognized and applied to the AB Invoice. Check Opening Transactions on the settings tab. This will reduce the amount of AB Accrual available to the appropriate amount. POST both invoices.

NOTE: In both cases, make sure you have accounted for the amounts in AR and AB Accrual in your opening balance Journal Entry.

 

* We Have Prebilled Media Orders

IF: We use Strata for Media

We prebilled the orders in our old system:

When you PreBill an order in Workamajig, the system posts the Net amount into a designated PreBill Accrual Account. To allow the system to track the accrual amount properly, you must create client invoices using the orders that have been synced from Strata.

  • Sync the previously billed orders to Workamajig.
  • Create a Client invoice using the synced orders.
  • Post the Client Invoice. Use a Posting Date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

When you post the invoice, the invoice will Debit-AR/Credit-Sales Revenue/Debit-COS Media (net)/Credit-Defined PreBill Accrual Account (net).

NOTE: Because you will be using actual transactions to create the accrual, you MUST adjust your opening balance Journal Entry to account for the amount posted into the AR, Revenue, COS, and PreBill Accrual accounts. Do NOT use the Opening Transaction check box. This must remain Unchecked so that the client invoice will post the accruals to the GL.

IF: We used a manual method for tracking Media

We prebilled the orders in our old system:

When you PreBill an order in Workamajig, the system will post the Net amount into a designated PreBill Accrual Account. In order for the system to properly track the accrual amount, you must create client invoices using the orders you have entered.

  • Enter the previously billed orders into Workamajig
  • Create a Client invoice using the orders.
  • Post the Client Invoice. Use a Posting Date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

When you post the invoice, the invoice will Debit-AR/Credit-Sales Revenue/Debit-COS Media (net)/Credit-Defined PreBill Accrual Account (net).

NOTE: Because you will be using actual transactions to create the accrual, you MUST adjust your opening balance Journal Entry to account for the amount posted into the AR, Revenue, COS, and PreBill Accrual accounts. Do NOT use the Opening Transaction check box. This must remain Unchecked so that the client invoice will post the accruals to the GL.

IF: We prebilled the media orders and the client has partially paid/paid in full the client invoice

Follow the appropriate steps for entering data in your Prebilled Media Client Invoices.

1. Create a Receipt for the amount the client has paid. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box in the details of the Receipt.

2. Apply the Receipt to the Client Invoice.

3. Post the Receipt. Use a Posting Date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

NOTE: Make sure you check the Opening Transaction check box to mark the invoice as partially/fully paid without affecting the GL balances.

IF: We prebilled the media orders and have associated a vendor invoice to some of the order lines

In this case, because some of the order lines will already be associated with a vendor invoice, there is technically not a prebilled accrual for the line. However, for tracking purposes, the order lines will still be synced or manually created in Workamajig. You will then take care of the lines to make sure they are not billable or are closed.
There will be two ways to deal with this, depending on if it is still open-AP on the vendor invoice:

When: There is still Open AP

1. Sync or manually create the media order.

2. Create a vendor invoice and associate it with the appropriate order lines. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box in the invoice details of the Vendor Invoice.

3. Post the vendor invoice. Use a posting date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

NOTE: Make sure you check the Opening Transaction check box to post the vendor invoice without affecting the GL balances.

When: There is no Open AP

You don't have to create a vendor invoice because there is no vendor invoice needed in Workamajig.

1. Sync or manually create the media order.

2. Open the order, click on the order line to edit, and select Close Line to close the order line.

NOTE: If you are manually entering the lines, you do not have to enter any lines that have already been associated with a vendor invoice that has no open AP.

 

* We Have Prebilled Purchase Orders

IF: We prebilled Purchase Orders in our old system:

When you PreBill an order in Workamajig, the system will post the Net amount into a designated PreBill Accrual Account. In order for the system to properly track the accrual amount, you must create client invoices using the orders you have entered.

  • Enter the previously billed Purchase Orders into Workamajig.
  • Create a Client invoice using the orders.
  • Post the Client Invoice. Use a Posting Date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

When you post the invoice, the invoice will Debit-AR/Credit-Sales Revenue/Debit-COS (net)/Credit-Defined PreBill Accrual Account (net).

NOTE: Because you will be using actual transactions to create the accrual, you MUST adjust your opening balance Journal Entry to account for the amount posted into the AR, Revenue, COS, and PreBill Accrual accounts. Do NOT use the Opening Transaction check box. This must remain Unchecked so that the client invoice will post the accruals to the GL.

IF: We prebilled the purchase orders, and the client has partially paid/paid in full the client invoice

Follow the appropriate steps for entering data in your Prebilled Purchase Order Client Invoices.

1. Create a Receipt for the amount the client has paid. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box in the invoice details tab of the Receipt.

2. Apply the Receipt to the Client Invoice.

3. Post the Receipt. Use a Posting Date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

NOTE: Make sure you check the Opening Transaction check box to mark the invoice as partially/fully paid without affecting the GL balances.

IF: We prebilled the purchase orders and have associated a vendor invoice to some of the order lines

In this case, because some of the order lines will already be associated with a vendor invoice, there is technically not a prebilled accrual for the line. However, for tracking purposes, the order lines will still be synced or manually created in Workamajig. You will then take care of the lines to make sure they are not billable or are closed.
There will be two ways to deal with this, depending on if there is still open-AP on the vendor invoice:

When: There is still an Open AP

1. Create the Purchase Order.

2. Create a vendor invoice, and associate it with the appropriate order lines. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box in the invoice details tab of the Vendor Invoice.

3. Post the vendor invoice. Use a posting date 1 day prior to your Go-Live date.

NOTE: Make sure you check the Opening Transaction check box to post the vendor invoice without affecting the GL balances.

When: There is no Open AP

Because there is no vendor invoice needed in Workamajig, you do not have to create a vendor invoice.

1. Create the purchase order.

2. Open the order, click on the order line to edit, and select Close Line to close the order line.

NOTE: If you are manually entering the lines, you do not have to enter any lines that have already been associated with a vendor invoice that has no open AP.

 

* We Use Multiple GL Companies

NOTE: If you have set up multiple GL Companies, you must perform the above steps for each GL Company.

You may also want to look at GL Company Security Setup.

 

* We Have A Balance Due On Our Credit Card

For each credit card with a balance that is carried forward into Workamajig, create a single Credit Card Charge for the amount of the Balance Due. Make sure to check the Opening Transaction box.

 

* We Set Up The Credit Card Connector

When you first set up the Credit Card Connector, there will be a number of transactions that were already accounted for in your old system. You will need to clear these prior to Go Live.

From the Connector screen, set the Date Range to everything prior to your Go Live date.

Select all of the Transactions and select Mark As Processed.

This will clear out all of the accounted-for transactions from the screen.

 

* We Use Multi-Currency

For more info, refer to the Multi-Currency Overview guide.

The opening balances for your Foreign Accounts are entered on the Journal Entry in the Foreign currency amount. All Home Currency accounts would be entered in their Home Currency amounts.

For example:

Accounts Receivable EUR account has a balance of 890.16 EUR. This is equal to $1004.37 in the USD Home Currency at a currency rate of 1.1283.

On the Opening Balances Journal Entry, the entry would be:

Accounts Receivable EUR: 890.16 / rate = 1.1283

Once the Journal Entry is posted, the Posting Detail will show the Home Currency Debits and Credits balance.

You Are Now Live With Accounting In Workamajig!

Now head on over to the Today Accounting page and start monitoring your success!

Need more? Check out the Accounting Overview and Month-End Procedures guides for more info.

As always, please contact support@workamajig.com if you have any questions about this guide or going live in the system.

Related articles