Switching your accounting system to ABRA Flexi is not a complicated process. To make your move to our system as easy as possible, we have prepared a detailed series that clearly walks you through all the steps required for a smooth launch.
When changing your financial and accounting software, the first thing to handle carefully is continuity from an accounting perspective.
In principle, there are two possible scenarios:
the organization switches at the same time as the start of a new accounting period, or
the organization switches during an accounting period.
The correct accounting transition procedure is similar in both cases. In the second case, however, it takes slightly more time, because you need to migrate documents from the beginning of the current accounting period. The procedure is therefore the same in both cases, but if you switch in the middle of a year, you should import all transactions for the current accounting period into the program.
Start with all the related items that must be resolved as of the transition date:
connect analytical records for selected balance sheet accounts covering unpaid receivables/payables and account balances;
set up the finance area – cash desks and bank accounts;
link inventory records, not only from an accounting perspective;
ensure complete accounting continuity between individual accounting periods.
Another important step is recording tangible and intangible fixed assets, or other types of assets where applicable, and setting up employees, including personnel records.
Data Transfer and System Setup
It is a good idea to schedule the data transfer so that individual processes follow one another logically and you can start using the software to its full extent as soon as possible. The procedure can be summarized in the following steps:
create the organization's cash desks and bank accounts;
add the balances of cash desks and bank accounts in the Money module;
set up the price list in the Goods module;
define the list of warehouses and populate inventory stock levels;
post any exchange rate differences related to advances;
record account balances;
thoroughly check the status and total values of the documents entered as of the transition date;
And a few practical tips to finish – useful not only for the transition:
In internal documents, do not use accounts that have the Balance flag selected. Internal documents cannot be matched to receivable/payable records. For operations such as writing off a receivable, use the Money – Offsets option;
Likewise, use cash and bank accounts only in the Money – Cash Desk and Money – Bank modules. If you used them, for example, in internal documents, not only the totals in the Cash Desk and Bank modules would not match, but the cash and bank books would not match either.
When matching payments to receivables/payables, always check carefully whether the document is fully matched (has the "Matched" flag). Documents that are not fully matched cause a discrepancy between the balance and the status of unpaid documents (see Sales/Purchases – Issued Invoices/Received Invoices – Calculate payment status as of date).
Regularly check the posting status of documents in Accounting – Accounting Outputs – General Ledger. Unposted documents are not included in summary outputs such as the Trial Balance, Account Balances, Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement, and Overviews, which distorts their informative value.
Why Use This Approach
Although the procedure described here is more time-consuming, in our long experience it is the optimal one – it ensures a perfect and completely accurate capture of the links between two different accounting systems. In the future, you will certainly appreciate the little extra work invested. However, you do not have to do everything immediately – for example, you can add the balances of accounts that do not track a balance after the final year-end closing, or you can enter assets during the new accounting period.
This article does not provide a fully detailed and comprehensive description of how to migrate your accounting. It is technically impossible to cover every situation and highly specific circumstance you may need to deal with. Nevertheless, we hope it has helped you, at least partially, to clarify the topic. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our customer support.
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