Basic accounting setup [in-depth guide]
Guide contents: Overview | Security rights | Global settings | GL settings
Overview
The purpose of this user’s guide is to outline 'The way' (our suggested workflow) for setting up the accounting module in Workamajig. Reading this guide on the 'Basic setup' should give you the tools to get familiar with the basic requirements and guidelines to follow for setting up your accounting procedures.
'Basic setup' of the accounting module in Workamajig includes everything necessary in the System setup menu. These are the menus and topics that are covered in this guide:
- Global options menu: Setting up the security rights needed to access the accounting module and setting up your departments & offices if applicable.
- GL settings menu: Setting up GL companies if applicable, setting up your chart of accounts (GL accounts), GL tracking options – setting up how the system will track your financial transactions including setting your default GL accounts and WIP tracking (if applicable), recurring transactions, and check formats.
Basic setup procedures
Security rights:
Before we can get started with accounting procedures in Workamajig, we need to make sure you are set up with the proper security access to the accounting areas of the system. If you are not currently set up with administrative access to the system you will need to have your system administrator set you up with the following security rights. If you already have admin access, you can follow these steps yourself for other users that may need access to the accounting module.
Go to Menu > Admin/manager > System setup > Account information > Security settings. You will be brought to a screen listing your security groups on the left side and the list of available security rights on the right side.
From the list of security groups on the left side, select the security group you are setting up with accounting module rights. Then from the list of security rights on the right side of the screen scroll through and select all or some of the following rights:
1. Maintain setup information: This right must be selected to access the rest of the security rights listed below.
2. Edit global options: This right will allow the users access to the menus in the System setup > Global options menu. The Global options menu holds many of the items pertaining to the setup of your accounting module.
3. Edit GL settings: This right will allow the user access to the GL settings menu where they can access many of the basic accounting setup items like 'control accounts' – where you designate specific GL accounts as default accounts for transactions to post to automatically, etc.
4. Edit labor budgets: Allows the user to edit labor budgets created in Workamajig.
5. Enter journal entries: This right will allow the user access to the Journal entry screen to enter journal entries.
6. Enter GL budgets: This right allows users to create & edit financial budgets.
7. Maintain GL accounts: This right will allow users access to GL accounts, control accounts, GL tracking options, and check formats. There are 3 subcategories under this security right giving access to view/edit labor budgets for each office or department and to view any or all people on the charge ability summary report. Each of these 3 rights can be selected at your own discretion.
NOTE: To maintain GL accounts the user must also have the right to 'edit GL settings' selected.
8. Reconcile GL accounts: This right will allow the right to the Account reconciliation screen to create, view, and edit an account reconciliation.
9. Post WIP to GL: This right will allow access to the screens necessary for posting WIP to the GL.
10. Post transactions to the general ledger: The right to access the Post transactions screen as well as to run the pre-posting and missing transactions reports, and to post transactions to the GL.
11. Edit transactions after approval: This right allows users to edit or unapproved any transaction they can access.
12. Enter receipts: Allows the user access to the Receipts screen in WMJ and allows the user access to enter client receipts into the system.
13. Add and edit payments: This right allows the user access to create a vendor payment, select invoices for payment and cut checks.
14. View AR reports: This right allows users access to the other reports listed in the AR reports center.
15. AR account aging: Allows users access to run the AR aging report in Workamajig.
16. Sales journal: Allows users access to the sales journal report.
17. Cash receipts journal: Allows users access to the cash receipts journal report.
18. View AP reports: This right allows users access to the other reports listed in the AP reports center.
19. AP account aging: This right allows users access to run the AP aging report in Workamajig.
20. AP exceptions report: Allows users access to the AP exceptions report.
21. AP listing: This right allows users to access a list of all vendor invoices including line detail.
22. Purchase journal: This right allows users access to the sub-ledger report of vendor invoices by date range.
23. Cash disbursements journal: Allows users access to the sub-ledger report of vendor payments.
24. 1099 vendor detail: Allows users to access the 1099 vendor detail report and print 1099 & 1096 forms.
25. AP accrued order detail report: Allows users access to the accrued order detail report which shows all orders with accrued balance as a result of pre-billing. Pre-billing means that you are billing your client the order amount before you receive the actual vendor invoice expense for the order.
NOTE: This is not a complete list of available security rights. This is only a suggested list to set up users to view & edit the areas of the accounting module that will be covered in this guide
For further assistance setting up your security groups, please contact your Workamajig account manager by emailing support@workamajig.com.
Next up is global settings
Global settings
Go to Menu > Admin > System setup > Global options:
Here we will focus on two areas under the “Lists” section, offices and departments. Ask yourself - do I have more than one office and do I need to separate out my employees and projects by office? Do I have a need to record the different departments in my company to be able to sort and run reports by department? If your answer is YES to all or either question, keep reading. If you answered NO feel free to skip to the next section on your GL settings menu.
Offices:
Menu > Admin/manager > System setup > Global lists > Offices
This feature separates your employees and projects by “office”. This can be useful when running certain reports like your chargeability or project profitability reports. Offices are set at the project level and can be used to run profit & loss reports at the office level. If using offices, every GL transaction (like client & vendor invoices) tied to that project will post under the office selected at the project level based on the referenced project number. Your office prefix can be used to number your projects in Workamajig automatically for you. Your project numbering method is something that is set up in your Transaction preferences menu. For more information about project numbering methods please contact your account manager by emailing support@workamajig.com.
If you intend to use offices to separate your employees, projects, and info for financial reporting and organizational purposes, you’ll need to enter your offices here:
Departments:
Menu > Admin/manager > System setup > Global lists > Departments
Like offices, departments are used to group and separate your information; only departments are global across a company and will be the same from office to office. Departments are set at the item & service level and can be used to run profit & loss reports at the department level. Departments can be used on several reports for filtering and grouping data as well. Each service & item can be set up with a department designation. Each GL transaction will then post to its pertaining department ONLY if you have selected to 'post sales using detail' (an option in your GL tracking options menu explained below). If you would like to use departments for grouping your information in Workamajig, please list them here:
Next up is your GL settings menu.
GL settings
Go to Menu > Admin/manager > System setup > GL settings:
There are six sub-menus in GL settings: GL companies, GL classes, GL accounts, GL tracking options, recurring transactions, and check formats. The GL setting menu is where we will be setting up everything behind the scenes for your accounting module in Workamajig.
GL companies:
GL companies are used when you need to keep a separate set of books for example if you have an east coast company and a west coast company that is the same business but your financials are kept separate. GL companies are used to separate transactions posted to the general ledger. GL companies are also set at the project level and will enable you to run financial reports like your balance sheet and/or your profit & loss report separately for each financial company. If you want to use GL companies as a means to segment your transactions, enter your GL company names and info here:
NOTE: Please contact your Workamajig account manager for more guidance on using GL companies and determining whether or not it is the right choice for you. You can contact your AM by emailing support@workamajig.com :
GL classes:
GL class is another level of financial separation in Workamajig but this is a feature no longer recommended by the Workamajig support & training team. GL classes will eventually be phased out in favor of using departments, offices, and GL companies.
GL accounts:
This is your chart of accounts. Different types of accounts assist in tracking different types of financial information. They also control how and where records will appear on financial statements. The type of account combined with the account number controls the order in which account items will appear on your reports.
You can also create roll-up accounts that will roll up amounts from sub-accounts for summarized reporting. You cannot post values directly to a roll-up account. While you can have more than one of each account type, Workamajig requires that you have at least one bank account, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and ONLY one retained earnings type.
Take a look at the default chart of accounts that have been preloaded into your system. What you need may already be there. If you need to change an account name or number you can by selecting the Pencil icon next to the account then make the changes you need and save.
To add a new account simply select 'new' and fill in the account type, number, and name. Then select whether or not it will be a 'roll-up account' or a 'sub-account' (take note of the 400 accounts listed above in the screenshot for an example of a roll-up account and its sub-accounts), keep it marked 'active' and save:
Importing your chart of accounts is possible too! Simply refer to the Import overview [guide]. Please contact your AM for more assistance with importing your information into Workamajig by emailing support@workamajig.com
GL tracking options:
This is where you will manage how the system will keep track of your financial transactions. There are five parts to this menu: GL tracking options, default GL accounts, work-in-progress tracking, prebilled purchase orders & media, advance sales tracking, and legacy integration.
The first portion of this menu is called GL tracking options:
● GL closing date: The GL closing date is used to determine the earliest date that a transaction can be posted to the ledger. All reports are date sensitive and dynamically calculated based on the underlying transactions. You cannot post transactions to the ledger with a posting date before the date you have entered here as your GL closing date. You can modify this date at any time if you need to open a prior transaction and modify it.
● First month of fiscal year: Enter the first month of your fiscal year here. This will be used to run year-end financial reports.
● Require GL accounts: This option is checked by default. This option is required if you intend to use the accounting module in Workamajig and post transactions to the general ledger.
● Track WIP in GL: If you intend to track work in progress, this option must be selected. To track WIP in Workamajig is to track the value of unbilled labor & expenses as assets on your balance sheet. If this option is selected, the system will require you to enter items on your expense entries. If checked, a complete section of the Default GL accounts called “Work In Progress Tracking”(below) will appear and need to be filled out for this feature to work. NOTE: WIP will be covered in detail in the Month end procedures [in-depth guide].
● Show/require GL companies: If you intend to use GL companies to segment your financial transactions, you must select 'show'. To require a GL company to be selected on each transaction entered into the system select 'require'.
● Show/require offices: If you intend to use offices to separate and group your employees & projects, select 'show'. To require that an office is selected on every employee record & project select 'require'.
● Show/require departments: If you intend to use departments to organize & group your information select 'show'. To require a department to be selected when entering info into the system select 'require'.
● Show/require tasks on expenses: When adding an expense to a project in the system you can select to show which task within the project the expense pertains to. To require a task to be selected when adding an expense select 'require'. Showing and requiring tasks on your expenses is recommended by the Workamajig support team.
● Show/require items: If this option is checked, the system will allow you to select which type of item will be linked to each transaction. It is recommended that this is checked and required.
● Track quantity on hand: This allows you to track the amount of an item you have on hand. Each item can be manually updated with a quantity on hand value. When a vendor invoice is approved, the quantity on hand is increased for each item on the vendor invoice. When an item is used on a project as a miscellaneous expense, the amount is reduced for that item.
● Default expense account from item: If this option is selected the expense account used will be the one obtained from the actual purchase item on vendor invoice lines rather than the account designated as the overall default expense account.
● Show/require class: Disregard this option as 'class' is no longer recommended in Workamajig.
Once you are finished filling in your preferences here you can move to the next portion of the GL tracking options menu, Default GL accounts.
Default GL accounts: In this section, you will designate which GL accounts will be your default accounts for specific transactions to post to.
● Next general journal #: Enter the next journal entry number you would like your journal entries in Workamajig to start with.
● Billing account (AR): Enter the default AR account you would like to be used on your client invoices.
● Default sales account: Enter the default Sales account you would like to be used if the system cannot determine the sales account from the client or a billing item.
● Vendor invoice account (AP): Enter the AP account you would like the system to use on your vendor invoices.
● Default expense account: Enter the expense account you would like the system to use if it cannot determine an expense account from either the item or vendor record.
● Cash account: This is your main checking account. Enter the bank account that should be used when entering cash receipts into the system.
● Unapplied cash receipts account: This essentially going to allow you to work backward in the system. For example, if a client pays you before a job is created or before you have invoiced them, or if a client overpays you, it will be considered a temporary asset in your default unapplied cash receipts account until you are ready to apply it to a client invoice.
● Unapplied payments account: This works the same way as your unapplied cash receipts account but will be used when you need to pay a vendor before you have a vendor invoice to apply it to.
● Write-off account: This is your bad debt expense account. Enter the account that should be used for items that are uncollectable.
● Advance billing account: This is different from your unapplied receipts account. This is your deferred revenue as a result of billing before a job starts. For example, if you charge your client 50% of the total bill upfront before you start work on the project, that 50% will be considered deferred revenue until work is applied to it. When you post an advance billing invoice, your AR account will be debited and your advance billing account is credited instead of sales.
● Purchase discounts account: This account is used as a result of early payment discounts offered by vendors.
Work in progress tracking: If you have selected 'post WIP to GL' above in the GL tracking options section, you will need to complete this portion designating which WIP accounts will be used as defaults when WIP is posted to the ledger. NOTE: WIP posting procedures will be covered in depth in the Month end procedures [in-depth guide].
Labor
● Agency time (asset): When posting WIP, this account is debited, and the account you enter as your default agency time adjustment account (below) is credited as deferred revenue. When you bill for the labor, the system will automatically reverse it out and credit your agency time asset account and debit your agency time adjustment account.
● Agency time adjustment (income): When posting WIP, this account is credited, and your agency time asset account is debited. When labor is billed, the system will automatically reverse it and this account will be debited, and your agency time asset account will be credited.
● Agency write-off (contra income): When labor is written off, your agency time asset account will be credited and this write-off account will be debited.
Other expenses
● Other expense (asset): Enter the GL account for miscellaneous expenses and expense reports.
● Re-billable expenses (income): Enter the GL account that should be used for tracking the income side of other expenses when posting WIP. When other expenses are posted to WIP, this account is credited.
● Expense write-off account (COS): Enter the GL account that should be used when transactions are written off. When you write off transactions and then post WIP to the ledger the system will credit the other expense asset account and debit the expense write-off account.
Media
● Media invoice accrual (asset): Enter the GL account for vendor invoices related to the broadcast orders & insertion orders.
● Media invoice write-off account (COS): enter the GL account that should be used when media transactions are written off. Once WIP is posted to the ledger, the system will credit the media invoice accrual (Asset) account and debit the media invoice write-off account.
Production invoice
● Productions invoice accrual (asset): Enter the account that should be used to track the asset side of the direct expenses when posting WIP
● Production invoice write-off (COS): Enter the GL account that should be used to track the write-off amount when direct expenses are written off from a project.
Prebilled purchase orders & media: This portion of your GL tracking options menu must be filled out if you intend to pre-bill your clients for purchase & media orders before receiving an actual expense from your vendor(s).
Automatic accrual and reversal entries are made when client & vendor invoices containing orders are posted to the ledger. This ties the revenue of the sale and adds an accrued cost of sales in the same period. The reversal simply re-classifies the accrued cost of sales to the actual cost of sales based on the period that the actual vendor expense is received & posted to the GL.
When a client invoice containing orders is posted to the GL, it will do the following:
>Debit AR, Credit sales
>Debit accrued cost account (expense), Credit pre-bill accrual account
When a vendor invoice is entered against the pre-billed order & posted to the GL, it will do the following:
>Credit AP, Debit COGS (based on the expense account set up on the item)
>Credit accrued cost account (expense), Debit pre-bill accrual account
● Accrued cost account (expense): Enter the account that should be debited when the order is billed and credited when the vendor invoice is posted. This is typically a COGS account.
● Prebilled accrual account: Enter the account that should be credited when the order is billed & debited when the vendor invoice is posted. This is typically a current liability account
● Accrued cost to item expense account: When this option is checked the system will use the expense account designated at the individual item level when posting the prebilled accrual instead of the default accrued cost account designated above.
Advanced sales tracking
● Post sales using detail (default): In most cases, people will keep this option checked. This is used as a default setting for invoice line items. When this option is selected, the system will look at each transaction and those tied to billing items and determine the sales accounts & departments to post to.
● Track sales over/under: This option tracks variance sales on an invoice based on standard vs. actual. When this option is checked, the system will post an entry to its normal sales account based on the standard bill rate or gross amount. The system will then create a second entry to the sales or expense over/under account for the difference between the standard amount and the amount that was actually billed. If you were to bill one hour of time at $100.00 per hour and you actually billed the time for $80.00 the system would post $100.00 to the normal sales account and ($20.00) to the labor over/under GL account.
● Labor over/under income account: Enter the GL account that should be used to track the variance in labor sales.
● Expense over/under income account: Enter the GL account that should be used to track the variance in expense sales.
After going through the GL tracking options menus, return to your GL settings menu for the two remaining subjects.
Recurring transactions:
In Workamajig, you have the ability to create recurring transactions. Perhaps there is a journal entry that needs to happen at the end of every month or maybe you have a vendor that you pay regularly and you’d prefer the convenience of having the system create those transactions automatically for you. This screen lets you keep track of all of your recurring transactions in one place. Instead of going to your Journal entry screen to look up a recurring entry and then to your Invoice listing to look up a recurring invoice, etc. you can just come here and find everything you need in one menu.
Check formats:
This is where you will customize the layout, font, and style of your printed checks cut from Workamajig. There are three default check layouts that you can choose from: 'check-stub-stub', 'stub-check-stub', and 'stub-stub-check'. Or you can create your own. NOTE: it is much easier to edit an existing default than to start over from scratch.
Most of our users have a 3-part check ('check-stub-stub') therefore, we recommended using one of the default preloaded check formats and maybe adding a few tweaks here and there as needed. Before actually printing a check from Workamajig it is a good idea to make a photocopy of a sheet of your checks and do a test print run on that photocopy to make sure everything lines up. If you need to make any changes to the margins or font, this is where you will make those changes! Instructions for creating payments and cutting checks will be covered in detail in the Accounts payable procedures [in-depth guide].
Remember to contact your Workamajig AM with any further questions by emailing support@workamajig.com.