BUSINESS PACK - An Overview
The Business Pack is designed to extend the flexibility of Budgets Get Real to a small business setting.
The result is an extremely simple and time saving method for preparing your accounts, managing cashflow and budgets, and producing Business Activity Statements.
The Business Pack adds the following:
- The ability to export your database as a text report or in a comma / tab delimited format (or .csv). This applies even if you chose not to enable extended business code reporting.
- Extended business code reporting through additional business codes and descriptions that may be attached to each transaction. This later feature is optional and must be activated to use.
Each transaction can be assigned an additional code - it can be used as a taxation code, sales analysis code or other dissection code. Codes can be grouped to provide very powerful, custom reports, and it can quickly prepare the required details for entry onto the Australian BAS form.
Upon import codes are automatically applied to transactions originating from selected “code enabled” accounts. This allows you to separate your personal accounts from your business accounts. A default code can be applied to each Income / Expense category.
Two extra descriptions (for use in reports) are provided for each transaction - Reminders / Memorandum. Typical uses are Invoice Numbers, sales and purchase references.
Changes to base Budgets GetReal application
While BGR is based on a robust double-entry accounting engine its primary focus was to make the interface as simple as possible for personal use and minimise the time to enter and categorise transactions by use of flexible importing coupled with artificial intelligence.
The base Budgets Get Real application transparently interfaces with this module providing the required support once the Small Business module is activated.
Users who chose not to activate the additional Business Codes still have access to the Export facility.
Users may wonder why there are no special Profit & Loss, Budget or comparison reports are included with the Business pack. These reports are included in the basic application and can be accessed from the Reports section of the sidebar menu.
Additional User Guides
Click on the following links to have these reports (in PDF format) download to the Bonus folder of your Budgets GetReal application.
Using Budgets GetReal for Business outlines how to get the most from Budgets GetReal and suggests some simple procedures to minimise your workload.
Budgets GetReal - Business Pack: Users Guide provides a more detailed background to this Help topic. It outlines the basis to all the Reports, export formats and how to use the program efficient in preparing Business Activity Statements.
Activate Business Codes
Until Activated the only options are Reports.
Select the required Template.
Templates provided suggest Codes and Groupings for various tasks. Currently there is a Default blank template and a pro-forma template for use with the Australian GST & BAS reporting system.
Templates are a suggested guide only - please check with your accountant and modify to suit your circumstances.
Once activated all of the tabs will become available.
Activating Business Codes is simple.
Select the “Activate Business Codes” tab, select a suitable template and Activate.
If this tab is not to be found, then your Business Codes should already be activated.
Business Codes
Create or Modify codes
To create a new code, simply select [Create Code]. Fill in the required details and select the code type. To create a new code type, simply select [New].
Included rate
Codes may include a rate (calculated as a percentage of the transaction amount). Report columns “Tax Amount” are generated in response to this Business Code.
Note: The rate is NOT stored against the transaction and represents the current rate applied to the allocated code. This allows you to update your reports quickly by altering the code, instead of needing to modify each transaction. More on this below…
Rates can be of either sign (+ / -).
Positive percentage rates are “inclusive” and are based as a simple percentage of the transaction amount i.e.
TaxAmount=InclRate * TransAmount / 100
Negative rates are “exclusive” i.e. the transaction amount shown applies after the tax has been deducted at the nominated percentage of the original sum. The following applies for rates less than 100%:
TaxAmount=abs (InclRate) * TransAmount / (100 - abs (InclRate) )
Rates are currently limited to the range -90 to 99%
Making codes inactive
Business codes can be made Inactive by checking “Code is no longer active” in the Modify Code window. Inactive codes show in the summary with a grey dot prior to their description.
Making a code inactive prevents its being applied when importing or categorising transactions. It does not effect previously categorised transactions or reports.
Where a code is used as a Category default (and then inactivated) that code will show coloured red in the Category default summary. You should review Category defaults and make the necessary adjustments.
Deleting codes
Codes cannot be deleted once they have been assigned to any transaction. Furthermore codes that are included within a Grouping cannot be deleted until they are removed from all Groups - they can then be deleted provided there are no associated transactions.
Enabled accounts
You can select certain accounts for automatic application of defaults on import or categorisation. These are called ‘Enabled Accounts’. To select those accounts - just click on the relevant line in the summary to change its status. This does not prevent the allocation of a code to any account or category - simply it will not be automatically suggested for non-enabled accounts.
Only currently active Banking, Credit Card or Loan accounts (i.e. active importable accounts) are displayed for selection.
Category defaults
Category defaults are set via the normal Category summary. This adds an additional column “Code” to show the current default setting. This default is the same across all enabled accounts and can be over-ridden at the Register and Search screens.
The default code is added as an extension of the normal category input. Note the extra field in the following:
What if code included rates change?
Consider the case where a taxation code requires a rate change. While you may simply change the code rate, this may invalidate previous transaction reports.
Instead you may wish to create a new code, change the default categories to the new code and then inactivate the original code.
Say GST went from 10% to 15%. To update the GST on all future transactions, whilst keeping it the same on all past transactions you could:
- Rename “GST” to “GST_past” (or similar), leaving the rate alone.
- Create a new “GST”, setting the rate as 15%. Use this “GST” for your new transactions.
Make sure the new code is added to any report Groups.
Codes are stored with transactions, not the rate. The rate x amount is calculated when you run a report.
Business Code Groupings
Business codes, when created, must be assigned to a user-defined code type. Codes can only belong to one code type. Transactions can be exported by code type (i.e. all codes within a type) by selecting the required code type in the Reports screen.
Business Code Groupings (as set at the Groupings tab) allow for the definition of custom groupings where codes can exist in more than one group. This significantly extends the reporting over that available with code types.
Furthermore, Groupings can be exported with consideration of whether a transaction is a Credit, Debit or either sign.
