Finance masters

The Finance Masters page holds the lists that TrakIT finance is built on: the account masters that jobs, quotations, invoices and bills are made of, the taxes of each country, the currencies, account groups, financial years, payment methods and adjustment types.

To open it, select Admin > Masters > Finance Masters. The page has seven tabs: Account Masters, Country Taxes, Currencies, Account Groups, Financial Years, Payment Methods and Adjustments.

For the order in which a new company sets these up, see Setting up a company. If the company keeps its books in TrakIT, also see Setting up accounting.

Account Masters tab

Account masters are the charges that jobs, quotations, invoices and bills are made of, for example ocean freight or handling. Each company has its own, in three trees: income, expense and disbursement (costs paid on the customer’s behalf and invoiced to them). In each tree, accounts sit in categories, and categories can contain other categories.

1. Choose the company in the list at the top. It shows the companies you have access to, and starts on your own.
2. Choose the View: By Structure shows the three trees side by side; By Table shows a list. TrakIT remembers your choice.

When you choose a company that has no account masters yet, TrakIT adds the three top categories, All Income, All Expense and All Disbursement. Everything else goes under them.

Find an account

1. Select Filters to open the filter panel, if it is closed.
2. Enter or choose the filters you need.
3. Select Search.

Reset clears the filters. TrakIT remembers your filters for the next time.

Filter	Finds
Top Category (By Structure)	Categories directly under the three top categories whose name contains the text, with everything in them.
Category (By Table)	Accounts whose category, or a category above it, contains the text.
Name	Accounts whose name contains the text.
Default/Custom Code	Accounts whose account code, expense code or custom code contains the text.
Account Status	– Any Status –, Active Only or Inactive Only.
Type (By Table)	The types of account to list: Income, Expense, Disbursement.

By Structure

Each tree shows its categories with a folder icon and its accounts with a bullet, each followed by its code in grey. Inactive accounts are shown in red. Select a category or an account to open it in the account popup.

By Table

The table lists the accounts, without the categories, grouped into Income Accounts, Expense Accounts and Disbursement Accounts. Accounts found counts them. Inactive accounts are shown in red. Select a row to open the account in the account popup.

Column	Shows
ID	The account master’s number in TrakIT.
Category	Its category, with the categories above it, for example All Income > Freight.
Name	The account name, with its local name below it.
Code	The account code. For a disbursement account, the income code and the expense code.
Custom Code	The custom code, if any.
Entity Type	The entity type the account is restricted to, or -.
Approval Mode	None, If Modified or Always.
Use Count	How many workflow default accounts use it. Grey when none.
Status	Active or Inactive.
Created	How long ago it was created.

Export downloads the accounts that match the filters as an Excel file. It has the same information, with the income and expense codes in separate columns, and a Workflow column with the workflows that allow the account.

The account popup

Selecting a category or an account opens a popup with its name as its title. It shows:

Field	Shows
Local Name	The name in another language, if it has one.
Transaction Type	Income, Expense or Disbursement.
Account Code, or Income Code and Expense Code	The codes. A disbursement account has an income code, used when it is invoiced, and an expense code, used when it is billed.
Custom Code	The custom code, if any.
Job Count	Accounts only: how many accounts on jobs, quotations and other documents use the master.
Entity Type, Approval Mode, Active	Accounts only: see Account fields.

If your role can update finance masters, Select Action offers what you can do with it. Choose the action, fill in the fields that appear and select the button at the bottom, for example Create. Close or Cancel closes the popup.

Action	For	What it does
Create Sub Account	Categories	Creates a category or an account in this category.
Modify Account	Categories and accounts, except the three top categories	Changes its details.
Move Account	Categories and accounts, except the three top categories	Moves it, with everything in it, to another category of the same tree.
Duplicate Account	Accounts	Creates a copy in the same category.
Delete Account	Categories and accounts, except the three top categories	Deletes it.

Your company can also have its own checks that stop a change with a message, and its own actions that run after it.

Create a category or an account

1. Open the category to add to, and in Select Action choose Create Sub Account.
2. In Account Type, choose Category or Account.
3. Fill in the fields.
4. Select Create.

The new item belongs to the same company and tree as the category. A category is always active.

Account fields

Field	Notes
Account Name	Up to 100 characters. Required.
Local Name	The name in another language, up to 300 characters. Invoice templates can print it.
Account Code (Income Account Code for a disbursement)	Up to 30 characters: letters, digits, -, /, . and +. Spaces are removed and letters stored in capitals. Required.
Expense Account Code	Disbursements only, with the same rules. Required.
Custom Code	An extra code, up to 50 characters, for example for an interface that sends finance data to another system. Spaces are removed and letters stored in capitals.
COA Account	Modify Account on an account only: the ledger account its amounts post to, if the company keeps its books in TrakIT. The list shows the company’s ledger accounts that take postings. – Not Mapped (use default) – uses the company’s default income or expense account. See Setting up accounting.
Restrict Entity Type	Accounts only, not disbursements: the entity type the account is for, for example a transporter. On a job, its entity must be of that type, and TrakIT fills it in from the work orders. See Finance job.
Approval Mode	Accounts only. No Approval Required. If Modified from Estimate: an actual copied from the estimates is approved, and needs approval again once changed. Approval Always Required: every actual needs approval. See Approve accounts.
Active	Accounts only. Inactive accounts are no longer offered on jobs, quotations or invoices.

Move, duplicate or delete

• Move Account: choose the Destination Category, then select Move. The list shows the categories of the same company and tree, except the current one and those inside the item being moved.
• Duplicate Account: select Duplicate. TrakIT creates a copy of the account in the same category, with all its settings and _C added to its name and code. Open the copy to change it. An account can be duplicated only if its name has at most 98 characters and its code at most 28.
• Delete Account: select Delete. Deleting an account also removes it from the default accounts and allowed accounts of the workflows. Deleting a category also deletes what is directly in it. An account in use cannot be deleted: TrakIT says Cannot delete account in use. Make it inactive instead.

Messages

Message	What to do
Please select account type	Choose Category or Account.
Account Name must be specified, Code must be specified, Income Code must be specified, Expense Code must be specified	Fill in the field.
Code already exists	The category already has an account with the same name and code: change one of them.
Code has invalid characters (or Income Code, Expense Code)	Use only letters, digits, -, /, . and +.
Account Name has possible html tags or disallowed text	Remove the special characters.
This account is no longer available. Please select it again.	Select the account again in the tree or the table.
Destination category Transaction Type does not match, Cannot move a category into itself or into one of its own sub categories	Choose another destination category.

Country Taxes tab

Taxes are set per country. A company’s accounts can take the taxes of the company’s country.

1. Choose the country. The list shows the countries of the companies you have access to.
2. The table lists the country’s taxes.

Column	Shows
Tax Code	The tax, from the list of taxes that TrakIT Support keeps.
Rate (%)	The rate. A negative rate, for example for a tax withheld, is shown in red.
Finance Code	The code that identifies this tax of the country on accounts and in exports.
Display Name	The short name, if any.
Transaction Type	Any, Income Only or Expense Only. See Income-only and expense-only taxes.
Description	The description, if any.
Added By	Who added it.

Elsewhere, TrakIT shows each tax with its code, rate and description, for example VAT 18.0% - Standard rate, followed by its finance code in brackets when that differs from the tax code.

Add or modify a tax

1. Choose the country, then select Add Tax, or select a tax in the table to change it.
2. In Add New Tax or Modify Tax, fill in the fields below.
3. Select Save.

Field	Notes
Select Tax	The tax, from the list of taxes that TrakIT Support keeps. It cannot be changed once added. Required.
Rate	The rate in percent, from -50 to 50. Required.
Finance Code	Up to 20 letters and digits. It must be unique within the country. Leave it empty to use the tax code: the box shows it as a hint. To add the same tax twice to a country, for example at two rates, give each its own finance code.
Display Name	A short name for the tax that documents can show, up to 20 characters.
Transaction Type	Any Type, Income Only or Expense Only.
Description	Up to 50 characters.

A changed rate applies to the tax when it is next added to an account. Accounts that already have the tax keep the rate they were given.

System administrators can delete a tax: open it and select the cross (Delete Tax) at the bottom left. It is deleted at once, without asking you to confirm.

Message	What to do
Tax must be selected, Rate must be numeric	Choose the tax and enter the rate.
Rate is invalid	Enter a rate from -50 to 50.
Finance code already specified.	Another tax of the country has that finance code: choose another.
Finance Code can contain alphanumeric characters only	Use only letters and digits.

Income-only and expense-only taxes

A tax set to Income Only or Expense Only goes only on accounts of that type. Disbursement accounts can take any tax. TrakIT checks this:

• when a tax is added to an account: on an account of the other type, it stops with a message such as VAT 18.0% applies to income accounts only;
• in the lists of taxes offered for an account, or for several accounts of the same type, which leave out taxes for the other type;
• when the default taxes of a workflow’s finance accounts are saved, which are refused in the same way, and when quotations take those default taxes.

Changing the setting does not remove the tax from accounts that already have it.

Currencies tab

The currencies are shared by all companies. Each company chooses those it works in, under Available Currencies on the company.

The table lists the Code, Name and Decimals of each currency, 20 per page. Select the Code or Name heading to sort by it. Decimals is the number of decimal places amounts in that currency are shown with.

System administrators can delete a currency with the cross (Delete Currency) on its row. It is deleted at once, without asking you to confirm. A currency in use cannot be deleted: TrakIT says Currency in use cannot be deleted.

Add a currency

1. Select Add Currency.
2. In Add New Currency, choose the currency in Select Currency. Type to search the list of world currencies.
3. Choose the Decimals: from 0 to 3. It starts on 2.
4. Select Add.

This is for system administrators only. Currency already exists means it is in the list already.

Account Groups tab

An account group shows several income or disbursement accounts as one line, with the group’s name, on the invoice document. The group is chosen on each account of a job, or on a workflow’s default accounts: see Finance job.

The table lists each group’s Group Name, the company it is For Company (– All – for all companies), its Remarks, and who updated it last and when. A group for one company is offered only on that company’s accounts.

Create or modify an account group

1. Select Create, or select a group in the table to change it.
2. In Create New Account Group or Modify Account Group, enter the Group Name, up to 200 characters. It must be unique.
3. Choose the company in For Company, or – All –.
4. Enter Group Remarks if needed, up to 500 characters.
5. Select Create or Save.

To delete a group, open it and select the cross (Delete Group) at the bottom left. It is deleted at once, without asking you to confirm. A group in use cannot be deleted: TrakIT says Cannot delete Group in use.

This tab is for system administrators only: other users see the list.

Financial Years tab

Financial years divide a company’s books into accounting periods, and let the finance lists show one year at a time. How they work, what closing a year does and the year-end checklist are explained in Financial years.

Choose the company at the top of the tab. The table lists its years with their name (Financial Year), Start Date, End Date, who created them (Created By), and who closed them and when (Closed By), or Open. Closed years are grey.

Create a financial year

1. Choose the company.
2. Select Create New FY. It appears while the company has fewer than two open years.
3. In Create Financial Year, enter the Start Date, for the company’s first year. For any later year, the start date is the day after the previous year ends and cannot be changed.
4. Check the Period: One Year, Nine Months or Six Months. Only system administrators can change it.
5. Select Create.

A year cannot be changed or deleted once created. The first year needs the company’s Default Currency to be set. See Create a financial year.

Close a financial year

1. Choose the company.
2. Select Close FY. The Close Financial Year popup names the oldest open year: that is the year it closes.
3. Read the message, then select Close FY.

Closing cannot be undone. What it needs and what it does are described in Close a year.

Payment Methods tab

Payment methods are the ways money is received or paid, such as a bank transfer or cash. Receipts and payments record one as their Transaction Mode: see Receipt or payment.

The table lists each method’s Name, its Company ([Global] for all companies), the bank or cash ledger account it posts to (COA Account), and when it was created. A receipt or payment is offered the methods of its company and the global ones.

To add or change one, see Add or change a method. This tab is for system administrators only: other users see the list.

Adjustments tab

Adjustment types are what users choose when they add an adjustment, such as a discount or a bank charge, to an invoice, a bill or a receipt or payment.

The table lists each type’s Name, its Company ([Global] for all companies), its Adj Type, its Acc Codes and its default Percent, and when it was created.

Adjustment type	The amount
Manual	Entered by the user.
Line Item	A percentage of the accounts whose code is one of the Account Codes.
Total	A percentage of the document’s total.
Tax	A percentage of the document’s taxes.

To add or change one, see Add or change a method. This tab is for system administrators only: other users see the list.

Add or change a method

Payment methods and adjustment types are added and changed the same way.

1. On the Payment Methods or Adjustments tab, select Add, or the pencil (Edit Method) of a row.
2. In Add Finance Method or Update Finance Method, fill in the fields below.
3. Select Save, or Update for an existing one.

Field	Notes
Payment Mode Name or Adjustment Name	Up to 200 characters. No two payment methods or adjustment types can have the same name, whatever their company. Required.
Company	The company that uses it, or [Global] for all companies. It cannot be changed afterwards.
COA Account	Payment methods only: the bank or cash account that receipts and payments with this method post to, if the company keeps its books in TrakIT. The list shows the company’s asset accounts, including accounts in a foreign currency. A global method cannot have one. See Setting up accounting.
Adjustment Type	Adjustments only: Manual, Line Item, Total or Tax.
Account Codes	Line Item only: the codes of the accounts it applies to, separated by commas. The box takes up to 10 characters. Required.
Default Percentage	Line Item, Total and Tax only: the percentage the adjustment starts with on a document: above 0, up to 99.9. Required.

To delete a method, open it and select the cross (Delete Method) at the bottom left. It is deleted at once, without asking you to confirm. A method that is in use cannot be deleted: TrakIT says Unable to delete Method.

Message	What to do
Method Name is required	Enter the name.
This method is already exists	A method has that name: choose another.
Account Codes are invalid or missing	Enter the codes, separated by commas: letters, digits, - and /.
Default Percentage is required, Percent value must be between 0.00 and 100.00 exclusive	Enter a percentage above 0, up to 99.9.

Who can use this page

Your role needs these permissions in the Finance Masters section:

Permission	Allows you to
Read	Open the page, see every tab, and open account masters to see their details.
Update	See Select Action in the account popup, and use Modify Account and Move Account.
Create	Use Create Sub Account and Duplicate Account. Also needs Update.
Delete	Use Delete Account. Also needs Update.
Create/Modify Taxes	Add taxes to a country and change them.
Open/Close Financial Year	Create and close financial years.

Only system administrators can add and delete currencies, create, change and delete account groups, payment methods and adjustment types, delete taxes, and create a financial year shorter than one year.