RCS Simple Cashbook
Table of Contents
Features of RCS Simple Cashbook
What is RCS Simple Cashbook?
RCS Simple Cashbook is a software programme to help SMEs manage their bank account and assist in financial planning. After entering a transaction the Cashbook balance will be automatically updated so that you are immediately aware of your cash position. When the actual bank statement is received for that month, the items in the Cashbook can be checked against those transactions debited and credited through the bank account. Items in the Cashbook can then be designated various reconciliation statuses and so variance between the Cashbook and bank account determined. Top
Features of RCS Simple Cashbook
1. Single bank account (however, you can run multiply copies of the programme with each covering a different bank account).
2. Single currency.
3. Intuitive and easy to use. Uses Office 2000 mouse and key operations.
4. Simplified data-entry through Payment Voucher and Receipt Slips forms.
5. SmartFinders. By double-clicking on certain fields can readily find account codes, customers and vendors.
6. Enter dates by using pop-up calendar. Double-clicking on a date field brings up a calendar for you to quickly pick and click to enter a date.
7. Reconcile items ‘live’ (do not have to wait for a month-end batch approach).
8. Not country specific.
9. Automatically computes Goods and Services Taxes.
10. Generates accounting information such as GL Distribution and Tax Analysis Reports.
11. Import Chart of Accounts, AR Customers and AP Vendors from Accpac for DOS.
12. Export transactions to Accpac for DOS GL, AP and AR, to MS Excel and MS Access.
13. Customisation is possible on an individually-negotiated basis. Top
System Requirements
RCS Simple Cashbook is written in MS Access 2000 and Visual Basic for Applications. As such, it has the system requirements of MS Access 2000, namely Pentium processor and at least 32Mb RAM. RCS Simple Inventory is not a standalone executable: it requires MS Access 2000. However, if you do not have the full version of MS Access 2000 then do not worry as a runtime version of MS Access 2000 is shipped with the product.
RCS Simple Cashbook can be run on a network. However, it has not been optimised for multi-user usage. Top
You set up your system with various parameters such as defining the Chart of Accounts, Tax Codes, Customers, Vendors etc (see Getting Started). Then you enter Payment Vouchers, Receipts and Bank Charges / Interest / Misc transactions through their respective data-entry forms (see Entering Transactions). Then you reconcile the Cashbook (see Reconciliation) and print off reports as Bank Reconciliation, Cashbook and Tax Analysis (see Reports). Finally, you may choose to export your data to Accpac for DOS (see Exporting). Top
F1 - Help
F2 - Calculator
F10 - Quit Cashbook
Esc - Undo/Cancel
Smart Finder:
Double-clicking in certain fields brings up the Smart Finder. When entering transactions, if you double-click the GL Account Code field then a Smart Finder for searching for an account code by description appears. Similarly, if you double-click the Vendor ID or Customer ID fields respectively then a Smart Finder for search by Customer or Vendor Name appears.
Date Picker:
Double-clicking a date field brings up a calendar for you to pick and have the resulting date entered for you.
Right-Click Pop-Up Menu:
Right-clicking the mouse button will pop-up a short-cut menu. This has various useful facilities such as being able to sort, search and filter on the field. Top
Getting Started
1.
Company Details
When you enter RCS Simple Cashbook for the first time, you are prompted to enter your company name and address. You will be prompted for this information each time you enter the system until you have provided the requested information. Top
2.
Enter Definitions
The second tabbed page of the Main Menu (see screenshot above) is ‘Setup’. Here is where you enter important parameters for the Cashbook. The transactional side of the system (such as entering payments and receipts) will not function until you provide some or most of these definitions/information.
a)
Fiscal Year and Bank Details
Martin. FiscalPeriodandBankDetails.jpg
This is an extremely important screen, and setting up the information correctly is vital for the successful operation of the Cashbook.
After installing the Cashbook, the Current Year and Current Month establish from when you want the Cashbook to commence. Thereafter, these values are incremented appropriately as you perform Period-End Closing.
The Take-On Bank Balance sets the beginning balance for the Cashbook and is lifted from the actual bank account for that date. For a newly opened bank account, these settings should be straightforward. However, for an existing bank account please start the Cashbook in a fiscal period in which you have already reconciled the bank account. In other words, because the system is designed assuming your Cashbook and your actual bank account commence with the same starting amount, you cannot simply take the balance from the bank account and enter ‘journal’-like entries into Cashbook for pre-existing unreconciled items. Those entries would add / subtract to the beginning amount of the Cashbook, which has already been taken from the bank account beginning amount, and so would never be reconciled.
The Next Cheque/Payment Voucher and Next Receipt fields are if you want the system to track and automatically generated these numbers for you. These are optional, and when doing entry of transactions you can override the suggested generated numbers.
Note that because of the importance of the settings on this form, the form is read-only by default. You must explicitly make the form editable by clicking the Edit button. Top
These have already been setup for you. When entering transactions, it is important to distinguish the nature of the transaction especially if you wish to export data to Accpac’s GL, AP and AR. Choosing the transaction type helps to determine whether the use of a clearing account for a respective ledger is required.
If you require additional types, this would necessitate customisation. Top
c) Reconciliation Statuses
These have already been setup for you. If you require additional statuses, this would necessitate customisation. Top
d) Chart of Accounts and Departments
A sample CoA is provided. You may modify this for your own requirements, or completely delete it and enter or import your own from Accpac for DOS.
You may also export your CoA to Accpac for DOS. This is useful when you have entered new account codes in Cashbook and you want to export transactions to Accpac. The importation of a transaction batch into Accpac’s GL will fail if there are account codes in that batch which do not exist in Accpac’s CoA.
After editing the account codes, it is very important that you click on the command button ‘GL Bank Account Code’ and select which account code represents your bank account. This bank account code will be used as the control account for the Cashbook. The Cashbook will automatically generate the book-keeping double-entry for this account code as you manually enter offsetting entries for your individual transactions.
Likewise, click on the GST Account Codes button to select appropriate codes. Top
The Accpac settings must correspond to how you have set up your Accpac’s GL. If your Accpac’s GL is single-currency and you do not wish to export to AP and AR then you only need to define the Source Code. However, if your Accpac’s GL is multi-currency then you need to define the Home Currency Symbol and Rate Type as well, and if you do wish to export to the other subledgers then control and clearing accounts must be stated. The Home Currency Symbol and Rate Type fields only become available if you state that your Accpac’ GL is multi-currency.
Note that if your Accpac’s GL is multi-currency then you must select multi-currency in the Cashbook even though the Cashbook itself does not currently allow you to enter multi-currency transactions (will be available in a future version).
If you wish to export to AP and AR then, in addition to stating the control and clearing accounts, you must also specify the control account set in AR and the Bank Code in AP which respectively have the clearing accounts defined within them.
The GL Source Code, Home Currency Symbol and Rate Type must have already been defined in your Accpac’s GL. The AR Control Account Set and AP Bank Code similarly must have already been defined in the respective subledgers.
Please note that if any of the Accpac Settings are not made and you attempt to import into Accpac data from the Cashbook then it is likely that the importation will fail. Accpac is unforgiving: one error in the imported data and the whole batch is rejected. Even worse, it is possible to corrupt the Accpac data itself.
Some common mistakes include:
a) Keeping the Accpac Setting as single-currency when the actual Accpac GL is multi-currency.
b) Entering a Source Code, AR Control Account Set or AP Bank Code which does not exist in Accpac.
c) Using an account code for transactions from the Chart of Accounts which does not exist in Accpac.
d) Using a Customer ID or Vendor ID which does not exist in Accpac.
e) Changing the Chart of Accounts and not checking whether the control and clearing accounts are still correct.
All of these mistakes are preventable with a bit of pre-planning. Top
f) Tax Tables
These are for defining your GST Tax Codes with their corresponding GL Account Codes and rates. Again, if you change the Chart of Accounts be careful to check that the GL Account Codes chosen here are still valid. Top
g) Customers
Here you can enter the Customer ID, Name, Address and Postal Code. Note that you can import from and export to Accpac. It is important that any Customer IDs you define here also exist in Accpac’s AR before you export data from Cashbook into AR. Top
Here you can enter the Vendor ID, Name, Address and Postal Code. Note that you can import from and export to Accpac. It is important that any Vendors IDs you define here also exist in Accpac’s AP before you export data from Cashbook into AP. Top
Entering Transactions
1.
Payment Vouchers
This is your main data-entry form for entering payments. When the form first opens it is in new entry mode and you are presented with a blank form. If you do not wish to enter a new PV but rather you want to modify an existing way then you can use the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen to go back and view earlier PVs.
You can modify existing PVs only whilst the transaction has Reconciliation Status ‘Outstanding’ (see Reconciliation).
Individual fields / Command Buttons:
a) Vendor ID
When you are presented with a blank form, you can only access the other fields after entering a valid Vendor ID. If the Vendor you want has not yet been entered into the system (see Vendors) then this field prompts and allows you to enter a new vendor. You will be presented the data-entry form for a new vendor. Top
b) Transaction Type
It is essential for you to distinguish between those transactions to go solely through Cashbook and those to go through Accounts Payable too. This is the purpose of the Transaction Type. Note that for PVs you can only choose Types ‘1’ (CB Payment) and ‘2’ (CB and AP Payment).
If you choose ‘1’ then you are required to pick the appropriate GL Account Code. You will also be required to enter the GST Amount.
If you choose ‘2’ then the GL Account Code is entered automatically for you (it will be the AP Clearing Account that you entered in Accpac Settings – see Accpac Settings). The GST Code will be disabled. This is because the GST Input will have previously been entered on a Purchase Invoice in AP. Top
c) PV / Cheque Number
If you have entered a starting number under Fiscal Year and Bank Details then you will be prompted as to whether you want to use the next available number. You are free to accept or decline. The suggested number is only committed to the system once the PV has passed validation. Top
d) Date
The current system’s date is automatically inserted for you when you are entering a new PV (once you have chosen the Vendor ID). You may manually enter a date. If you enter a date outside of the current fiscal period then the system will prompt you to confirm.
You may enter dates in standard formats such as M/D/YY, M/D/YYYY, DD-MMM-YY and DD-MMM-YYYY. You may also double-click the date field and a calendar will pop-up for you to pick a date from and have it automatically entered. For display purposes, the dates are shown in the format DD-MMM-YYYY. Top
e) Description and Detailed Comments fields
Free-flow textual entries for your own reference.
As you are allowed only one accounting entry per transaction, you might like to enter itemised details here. Top
f) GL Account Code
This has a drop-down Combo box for you to pick the appropriate account code. It also has a search facility on account code so that as you start to type an existing account code it will find it. It also has a Smart Finder. You may double-click and do a search by account description.
You must not enter the GL Bank Account Code, AR and AP Control and Clearing Accounts Codes. The system has validation to prevent this. These codes are used by the system to generate double-entries.
In order for this validation to work, it is essential that you identify to the system which are the relevant codes (see CoA and Accpac Settings). Top
g) Amounts and Tax Fields
The amount you enter in the Base Amount field depends upon the Transaction Type.
For non-GST:
Simply enter the Gross Amount in the Base Amount field and delete any Tax Code in the GST Code field.
For GST:
If you entering a transaction to go only through CB then the Base Amount should exclude GST. For transactions going through CB and AP then you should include GST. The system will compute GST automatically for transactions going only through CB depending upon your settings in the GST Code field. Top
h) Validate / Save Command Button
You may click this at any time. However, you would normally click when you are ready to save the PV. A variety of validations will be run to check values in various essential fields such as GL Account Code. You will only be allowed to save if the entries pass Validation. If an entry, for example no GL Account Code, does not pass validation then you will be prompted to correct it. Top
i) Print Payment Voucher Command Button
This will print preview the PV. A PV is printed twice on one page (one for the Vendor; one for your own files). Top
j) Close Command Button
If you try to close the PV without having saved it, then the system will prompt whether you want to save. If so, validation will be run first. If you say no then the system will cancel your entries and abandon the PV. Top
2. Receipts
This is your main data-entry form for entering receipts. When the form first opens it is in new entry mode and you are presented with a blank form. If you do not wish to enter a new receipt but rather you want to modify an existing way then you can use the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen to go back and view earlier receipts.
You can modify existing receipts only whilst the transaction has Reconciliation Status ‘Outstanding’ (see Reconciliation).
Individual fields / Command Buttons:
a) Customer ID
When you are presented with a blank form, you can only access the other fields after entering a valid Customer ID. If the customer you want has not yet been entered into the system (see Customers) then this field prompts and allows you to enter a new customer. You will be presented the data-entry form for a new customer. Top
b) Transaction Type
It is essential for you to distinguish between those transactions to go solely through Cashbook and those to go through Accounts Receivable too. This is the purpose of the Transaction Type. Note that for receipts you can only choose Types ‘3’ (CB Receipt) and ‘4’ (CB and AR Receipt).
If you choose ‘3’ then you are required to pick the appropriate GL Account Code. You will also be required to enter the GST Amount.
If you choose ‘4’ then the GL Account Code is entered automatically for you (it will be the AR Clearing Account that you entered in Accpac Settings – see Accpac Settings). The GST Code will be disabled. This is because the GST Output will have previously been entered on a Sales Invoice in AR. Top
d) Receipt Number
If you have entered a starting number under Fiscal Year and Bank Details then you will be prompted as to whether you want to use the next available number. You are free to accept or decline. The suggested number is only committed to the system once the receipt has passed validation. Top
e) Date
The current system’s date is automatically inserted for you when you are entering a new receipt (once you have chosen the Customer ID). You may manually enter a date. If you enter a date outside of the current fiscal period then the system will prompt you to confirm.
You may enter dates in standard formats such as M/D/YY, M/D/YYYY, DD-MMM-YY and DD-MMM-YYYY. You may also double-click the date field and a calendar will pop-up for you to pick a date from and have it automatically entered. For display purposes, the dates are shown in the format DD-MMM-YYYY. Top
f) Description and Detailed Comments fields
Free-flow textual entries for your own reference.
As you are allowed only one accounting entry per transaction, you might like to enter itemised details here. Top
g) GL Account Code
This has a drop-down Combo box for you to pick the appropriate account code. It also has a search facility on account code so that as you start to type an existing account code it will find it. It also has a Smart Finder. You may double-click and do a search by account description.
You must not enter the GL Bank Account Code, AR and AP Control and Clearing Accounts Codes. The system has validation to prevent this. These codes are used by the system to generate double-entries.
In order for this validation to work, it is essential that you identify to the system which are the relevant codes (see CoA and Accpac Settings). Top
h) Amounts and Tax Fields
The amount you enter in the Base Amount field depends upon the Transaction Type.
For non-GST:
Simply enter the Gross Amount in the Base Amount field and delete any Tax Code in the GST Code field.
For GST:
If you entering a transaction to go only through CB then the Base Amount should exclude GST. For transactions going through CB and AR then you should include GST. The system will compute GST automatically for transactions going only through CB depending upon your settings in the GST Code field. Top
i) Validate / Save Command Button
You may click this at any time. However, you would normally click when you are ready to save the receipt. A variety of validations will be run to check values in various essential fields such as GL Account Code. You will only be allowed to save if the entries pass Validation. If an entry, for example no GL Account Code, does not pass validation then you will be prompted to correct it. Top
j) Print Receipt Command Button
This will print-preview the receipt. A receipt is printed twice on one page (one for the customer; one for your own files). Top
k) Close Command Button
If you try to close the receipt without having saved it, then the system will prompt whether you want to save. If so, validation will be run first. If you say no then the system will cancel your entries and abandon the receipt. Top
3. Bank Charges / Interest / Miscellaneous
Here you can enter Bank Charges , Interest and any Miscellaneous transactions you wish.
Validation is similar to PVs and Receipts. The main differences are that you do not enter a Vendor or Customer.
You can enter an amount only in the Receipt or Payment field (not both). Top
This is a read-only screen for all the fields except the Reconciliation Status one. This is where you do your reconciliation. Once you change a Reconciliation Status to other than ‘Outstanding’ then that record is permanently marked and cannot be edited or deleted.
Note the two commands buttons ‘View Current Month CB’ and ‘View All Transactions’. By default, RCS Simple Cashbook filters the records so that you see all of the current month’s transactions regardless of reconciliation status and transactions from previous fiscal periods with ‘Outstanding’ reconciliation status. If however you wish to see all of the previous fiscal periods transactions regardless of reconciliation status then click ‘View All Transactions’. Top
Advances the system to the next fiscal period. If the current fiscal period is 12, then advances the year too.
The filtering of the Current Cashbook screen (see ViewCurrentCB) is affected by this function, that is if you advance the fiscal period then it is that fiscal period which is then displayed as the current month in Cashbook. Top
Reports
1. Cashbook Report
This report shows you the current CB Balance. It will show you the Opening Balance, current month’s transactions and Current Balance. Top
2. Bank Reconciliation Report
This report shows you the current Bank Balance. It prints all unreconciled and current month’s transactions. The Cashbook current balance is brought forward and the unreconciled transactions are subtracted. Top
3. All Transactions Report
Shows you a listing of all transactions sorted by date. Right-clicking on any of the fields brings up a short-cut menu which allows you to sort, search and filter by a variety of ways. Top
4. GL Summary / GL Listing Current Month Reports
These reports give you important accounting information showing the debits and credits to the various account codes. These are most valuable for confirming that the resulting accounting distribution is what you expect before exporting to Accpac’s GL and subledgers. Top
5. Tax Analysis Current Month
This gives you an analysis by tax codes of the GST, which should prove helpful in completing returns. Top
Before using either of the following two options, it is advisable to obtain a current month GL Distribution Report (see GLDistribution). Then you can see if the data available for export is what you are expecting.
1. Export
Current Month to MS Excel
Creates a spreadsheet file in Excel 2000 format. This exports the current fiscal period’s transactions.
This feature is used if you wish to take advance of Excel 2000’s capabilities. Top
2. Export
Current Month to Accpac for DOS
This will create an Accpac external transaction batch file called ‘GLBATCH.DAT’ in the root directory at the C: drive, and, if you are integrated with AR and AP and there are transactions, corresponding batch files for AR and AP. These files will be strictly formatted according to Accpac for DOS 6.1’s requirements. You must not try to edit the resulting files using a text editor etc.
For the files to be correctly formatted for Accpac’, you must complete the Accpac Settings accurately (see AccpacSettings). Failure to do so will result in the files being unsuitable for import into Accpac.
After generating the files, you are prompted whether you want to see a listing of the exported data. If you do, the respective files will be opened in a text editor (by default, Notepad.exe). Please do not edit the files. You may, however, save the files under a new drive, directory or name.Top
2. Export All Transactions to MS Access
This facility will export all your Cashbook data into another database called ‘Trans.mdb’ (the Cashbook database itself is ‘Cashbook.mdb’). The principal reasons for doing so are if you want to manipulate the data yourself outside the confines of the Cashbook, and as a means of backing up your data so that it can be imported into future upgrades of RCS Simple Cashbook. Top
Demo Version
The Demo Version is fully functional except that you can only create 10 Payment Voucher, Receipts and Miscellaneous transactions.
The Demo Version can be downloaded from our web-site in zip format. Unzip into a folder of your choice and open the MDB file with MS Access 2000.
Please note that you cannot download the runtime version of MS Access 2000 (for licensing and size of programme reasons). If you require it, then a CD can be despatched to you along with the Demo Version of RCS Simple Cashbook. Top