Simply Accounting Users Guide

SWC7UGTP.doc, printed on 03/08/99, at 10:50 AM. Last saved on 02/23/99 10:22 AM.
Simply Accounting
for Microsoft Windows
User Guide
Version 7.0
00-21-602-35040
ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL
SWC7UGTP.doc, printed on 03/08/99, at 10:50 AM. Last saved on 02/23/99 10:22 AM.
®
© Copyright 1999 ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC. All rights reserved.
ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC., Publisher
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ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC.

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AM.
Contents
Chapter 1: Protecting Your Data

Setting Up Passwords .......................................................... 1-1
Changing and Removing Passwords ......................................... 1-2
Checking Data Integrity ........................................................ 1-4
Correcting Integrity Errors .................................................. 1-4
Backing Up Data ............................................................... 1-5
How to Back Up ........................................................... 1-6
When to Back Up ........................................................... 1-7
Restoring a Backup ......................................................... 1-8
Using Simply Accounting on a Local Area Network .......................... 1-10
Chapter 2: Maintaining Records

Filing and Backing Up .......................................................... 2-1
Adding Records ............................................................... 2-2
Adding Accounts .......................................................... 2-2
Adding Vendors (Suppliers)................................................. 2-6
Adding Customers ......................................................... 2-9
Adding Employees ........................................................ 2-11
Adding Inventory Items and Services ....................................... 2-14
Adding Projects ........................................................... 2-16
Changing Records............................................................. 2-18
Removing Records ............................................................ 2-20
Clearing Data, Disk Space, and Memory ........................................ 2-23
Clearing Data ............................................................. 2-24
Clearing Data Automatically ............................................... 2-32
Clearing Disk Space ....................................................... 2-33
Clearing Memory ......................................................... 2-34
User Guide iii
Confidential ACCPAC International

AM.
Chapter 3: Budgeting
What Is Budgeting? ............................................................ 3–1
Why Budget? .................................................................. 3–1
Setting Up a Budget for Your Company ......................................... 3–2
Turn On the Budget Option ................................................. 3–2
Add Budget Information ................................................... 3–3
Setting Up Project Budgets ..................................................... 3–4
Add Budgets to the Project Record .......................................... 3–5
Changing Your Budget ......................................................... 3–6
Comparing Actual Performance to the Budget ................................... 3–6
Turning Off Budget Options .................................................... 3–7
Chapter 4: Entering Miscellaneous Transactions

Why and When to Enter Miscellaneous Transactions ............................. 4–1
Recording Miscellaneous Transactions .......................................... 4–2
Chapter 5: Making Purchases

Recording a Quote ............................................................. 5–2
Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or Invoice ............................... 5–4
Recording a Purchase Order .................................................... 5–5
Converting a Purchase Order to an Invoice ...................................... 5–7
Accounting for Purchases ...................................................... 5–7
Accounting for a Purchase with Payment ................................... 5–10
Purchase Discounts ....................................................... 5–12
Accounting for Payments...................................................... 5–15
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor............................. 5–17
Making Remittances to Federal and Provincial Authorities ................... 5–18
iv Simply Accounting

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Chapter 6: Making Sales

Converting a Quote to a Sales Order or Invoice ................................... 6–4
Recording a Sales Order ........................................................ 6–5
Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice ........................................... 6–6
Accounting for Sales ........................................................... 6–7
Accounting for a Sale with Payment ........................................ 6–10
Sales Discounts ........................................................... 6–12
Accounting for Receipts ....................................................... 6–14
Recording Payments from Credit-Card Companies ........................... 6–15
Accounting for a Customer’s Prepayment or Deposit ......................... 6–16
Accounting for a Customer’s Overpayment .................................. 6–17
Processing a Credit Memo or Customer Refund .............................. 6–17
Writing Off Bad Debts ......................................................... 6–21
Chapter 7: Paying Employees

Processing a Single Paycheque with Automatic Deductions ........................ 7–1
Recording GST and QST on Employee Benefits ............................... 7–5
Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions Calculated Manually .............. 7–7
Processing a Cheque Run to Pay Several Employees at Once ....................... 7–9
Looking Up Paycheque Details ................................................. 7–11
Chapter 8: Keeping Track of Inventory and

Services
Assembling Items from Components ............................................ 8–2
Making Inventory Adjustments ................................................. 8–3
Keeping Track of Inventory Turnover and Service Sales ........................... 8–4
Invoicing for Untracked Inventory Items and Services ............................. 8–5
User Guide v

AM.
Chapter 9: Allocating Revenues and Expenses to

Projects
Keeping Track of Project Revenues and Costs .................................... 9–1
Select the Option to Allocate Amounts to Projects ............................ 9–1
Allocate Project Revenues and Costs......................................... 9–2
Chapter 10: Looking Up Invoices, Orders, and

Quotes
Saving Invoice Details......................................................... 10–1
Looking Up Invoices .......................................................... 10–1
Adjusting Invoices ........................................................ 10–2
Turning Off Invoice Lookup ................................................... 10–2
Looking Up Orders ........................................................... 10–3
Looking Up Quotes ........................................................... 10–3
Tracking Shipments ........................................................... 10–4
Turning on the Track Shipments Option .................................... 10–4
Locating Shipments Using the Internet ...................................... 10–4
Chapter 11: Correcting Entries

Automatically Correcting Entries .............................................. 11–1
Adjusting a Purchase Invoice .............................................. 11–2
Adjusting a Purchase Order or Quote....................................... 11–5
Adjusting a Sales Invoice .................................................. 11–6
Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote ......................................... 11–10
Adjusting a Paycheque ................................................... 11–11
Manually Correcting Entries .................................................. 11–12
Reversing a Miscellaneous Transaction .................................... 11–13
Reversing a Purchase..................................................... 11–14
Removing Reversed Amounts from the Payments Window .................. 11–15
Reversing a Payment for an Uncleared Purchase Invoice .................... 11–16
Reversing a Payment for a Cleared Purchase Invoice ........................ 11–17
vi Simply Accounting

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Reversing a Sale .......................................................... 11–18

Removing Reversed Amounts from the Receipts Window ...................11–19
Reversing a Receipt or an NSF Cheque for an Uncleared Sales Invoice ........11–20
Reversing a Receipt for a Cleared Sales Invoice .............................11–20
Reversing a Paycheque ................................................... 11–21
Reversing an Item Assembly Transaction ................................... 11–23
Reversing an Adjustment Transaction ...................................... 11–23
Chapter 12: Using Recurring Transactions to

Save Time
Storing a Recurring Transaction ................................................ 12–1
Recalling and Using a Recurring Transaction .................................... 12–2
Changing a Recurring Transaction .............................................. 12–3
Deleting a Recurring Transaction ............................................... 12–3
Chapter 13: Using the Business Assistant to Stay

Organized
Using the To-Do Lists ......................................................... 13–1
Displaying the To-Do Lists ..................................................... 13–2
Displaying Reminders ..................................................... 13–2
Processing Recurring Transactions from the To-Do Lists ...................... 13–4
Keeping Track of Purchase Orders and Invoices.............................. 13–5
Keeping Track of Sales Orders and Invoices ................................. 13–7
Using the Checklists .......................................................... 13–10
Displaying the Checklists ................................................. 13–10
Using the Built-In Checklists .............................................. 13–11
Working with Tasks ...................................................... 13–11
Getting Online Business Advice ............................................... 13–14
Setting Up a New Business.................................................... 13–15
User Guide vii

AM.
Chapter 14: Reconciling Accounts

Overview: Three Steps to Reconciling .......................................... 14-1
Keep in Mind ............................................................. 14-2
Preparing to Reconcile ........................................................ 14-4
Matching Transactions to the Bank or Credit-Card Statement ..................... 14-5
Making Adjusting Entries ..................................................... 14-7
Table 1: Summary of Transaction Statuses for Account Reconciliation ......... 14-9
Adding Reminders for Next Time ......................................... 14-10
Entering Service Charges, Discount Fees, and Interest Income ............... 14-11
What To Do with an Unresolved Amount .................................. 14-13
Reconciling the Account ...................................................... 14-15
The Effect of Reconciling an Account ...................................... 14-15
Helpful Hints ............................................................... 14-16
Print Your Work ......................................................... 14-16
NSF Status: Only for Customer Cheques ................................... 14-16
Save Time Reconciling Grouped Deposits .................................. 14-17
Disk Space and Account Reconciliation .................................... 14-17
Chapter 15: Period-End Processing

The End of a Work Session .................................................... 15-1
The End of a Month........................................................... 15-2
The End of a Calendar Year ................................................... 15-3
The End of a Fiscal Year ....................................................... 15-3
Handling Year-End Adjustments ........................................... 15-5
The End of Your GST, HST, or QST Reporting Period ............................ 15-6
Adjusting the GST, HST, or QST Report .................................... 15-7
Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return .............................. 15-9
Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return ................................... 15-10
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Payment ............................... 15-11
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Refund ................................ 15-13
Auditing Considerations ..................................................... 15-16
Transaction References ................................................... 15-16
Account Balances ........................................................ 15-16
viii Simply Accounting

AM.
Cheque and Invoice Numbering ........................................... 15-17

Audit Trail Reports ....................................................... 15-17
Chapter 16: Reports and Graphs

Drilldown .................................................................... 16–2
Account Reconciliation Status Detail Report ..................................... 16–3
Account Reconciliation Status Summary Report ................................. 16–4
Account Reconciliation Transactions Report ..................................... 16–5
Adjustment Transactions Report ............................................... 16–6
Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices Reports ....................................... 16–6
Aged Overdue Sales Invoices Reports ........................................... 16–7
All Transactions Report ........................................................ 16–8
Balance Sheet ................................................................ 16–10
Cash-Basis Accounting Reports ............................................... 16–13
Cash-Flow Projection ......................................................... 16–13
Chart of Accounts ............................................................ 16–14
Current Revenue vs. Last Year (graph) ......................................... 16–17
Customer Aged Reports ...................................................... 16–18
Customer List ............................................................... 16–21
Customer Sales Reports....................................................... 16–21
Customer Statements ......................................................... 16–22
Employee Detail Report ...................................................... 16–24
Employee List ............................................................... 16–25
Employee Summary Report ................................................... 16–25
Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue (graph) ............................... 16–26
Expenses by Account (graph) ................................................. 16–27
Expenses vs. Budget (graph) .................................................. 16–28
GST Report ..................................................................16–29
Imported Online Transactions Report .......................................... 16–30
Income Statement ............................................................ 16–30
Inventory and Services Activity Report ........................................ 16–33
Inventory and Services List ................................................... 16–34
Inventory and Services Sales Report ........................................... 16–35
Inventory and Services Transaction Report ..................................... 16–36
Inventory Quantity and Synopsis Reports ...................................... 16–37
User Guide ix

AM.
Invoices..................................................................... 16–39
Item Assembly Transactions Report ........................................... 16–40
Mailing Labels .............................................................. 16–41
Miscellaneous Transactions Report ............................................ 16–41
Online Account Statements Report ............................................ 16–42
Paycheque .................................................................. 16–43
Payment Cheque ............................................................ 16–46
Payment Transactions Report ................................................. 16–47
Payroll Transactions Report .................................................. 16–48
Pending Purchase Orders Report.............................................. 16–49
Pending Sales Orders Report ................................................. 16–50
Project Allocation Report ..................................................... 16–50
Project Budget Report ........................................................ 16–51
Project Income Report........................................................ 16–52
Project List .................................................................. 16–53
Purchase Orders ............................................................. 16–53
Purchase Transactions Report ................................................ 16–55
QST Reports ................................................................ 16–56
Receipt Transactions Report .................................................. 16–57
Receipts .................................................................... 16–58
Relevé 1 Slips ............................................................... 16–59
Revenues by Account (graph)................................................. 16–61
Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases (graph) ....................................... 16–61
Sales Order Confirmations ................................................... 16–62
Sales Quotes ................................................................ 16–63
Sales Transactions Report .................................................... 16–65
Sales vs. Budget (graph) ...................................................... 16–66
Sales vs. Sales Due (graph) ................................................... 16–66
T4 Slips ..................................................................... 16–67
Transactions By Account Report .............................................. 16–69
Trial Balance ................................................................ 16–70
Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period (graph) .................................... 16–71
Unpaid Purchases by Vendor (graph) ......................................... 16–71
Unpaid Sales by Aging Period (graph) ......................................... 16–72
Unpaid Sales by Customer (graph) ............................................ 16–72
Vendor Aged Reports ........................................................ 16–73
x Simply Accounting

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Vendor List ..................................................................16–75

Vendor Purchases Report ..................................................... 16–76
Creating Graphs ............................................................. 16–76
The Graphs Toolbar ...................................................... 16–77
Changing Print Fonts ..................................................... 16–78
Changing Colours ........................................................ 16–78
Exploding Pie Charts ..................................................... 16–79
Displaying Details for a Graph Segment .................................... 16–79
Changing the Legends in a Graph .......................................... 16–80
Chapter 17: Using Cash-Basis Accounting

Transactions in Cash-Basis Accounting.......................................... 17-1
Accounting for Purchases .................................................. 17-2
Accounting for Payments .................................................. 17-4
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor ............................. 17-5
Accounting for Sales ....................................................... 17-7
Accounting for Receipts.................................................... 17-9
Special Procedures in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes Window ................ 17-10
Printing Accrual-Basis Reports in Cash-Basis Accounting ........................ 17-14
Period-End Procedures ....................................................... 17-15
The End of Your GST (or HST) or QST Reporting Period ..................... 17-16
Adjusting the GST (or HST) or QST Report ................................. 17-17
Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return .................................... 17-20
Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Payment ............................ 17-21
Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Refund .............................. 17-24
Where To Now? ............................................................. 17-27
Chapter 18: Importing Data

Importing E-mailed Purchase and Sales Transactions ............................. 18–1
Preparing to Import Transactions ........................................... 18–2
Importing Transactions .................................................... 18–3
User Guide xi

AM.
Importing Bank or Credit-Card Statements ..................................... 18–5

Downloading Bank or Credit-Card Statements from the Internet .............. 18–6
Importing Miscellaneous Transactions .......................................... 18–7
Restrictions............................................................... 18–7
Formatting the Import File ................................................. 18–7
Importing a File........................................................... 18–9
Chapter 19: Exporting Data

Exporting Purchase and Sales Transactions ..................................... 19–1
Exporting Data in Microsoft Access Format ..................................... 19–3
Using Data Exported in Microsoft Access Format ............................ 19–4
Exporting Reports ............................................................ 19–5
Using DDE to Send Data to Other Windows Programs........................... 19–6
What Is DDE? ............................................................ 19–7
Graphs ................................................................... 19–7
Custom Reports .......................................................... 19–8
Letters to Clients and Employees ........................................... 19–8
DDE vs. Exporting ........................................................ 19–8
Preparing to Use DDE ..................................................... 19–9
Setting Up DDE Links to Other Programs .................................. 19–11
Entering Links with the Clipboard......................................... 19–11
Entering Links Directly ................................................... 19–15
DDE Sample: A Form Letter .............................................. 19–18
Exporting Data for E-filing Tax Returns ....................................... 19–22
The General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) .......................... 19–23
Exporting GIFI Data ..................................................... 19–23
Chapter 20: Using Simply Accounting Data with

Microsoft Office
Exporting Simply Accounting Data ............................................ 20–2
Working with Office Documents ............................................... 20–2
Using the Built-In Word Documents ........................................ 20–2
Built-In Word Documents ................................................. 20–5
xii Simply Accounting

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Using the Built-In Excel Spreadsheets ....................................... 20–8

Built-in Excel Spreadsheets ................................................. 20–9
Modifying Office Documents .............................................. 20–13
Creating Your Own Office Documents ..................................... 20–13
Simply Accounting Data ...................................................... 20–14
The SIMPLY.MDB File .................................................... 20–14
Database Tables .......................................................... 20–14
Database Queries ......................................................... 20–17
Chapter 21: Customizing Forms and Reports

Selecting Custom Forms for Printing and E-mailing .............................. 21-2
Selecting Management Reports for Printing...................................... 21-4
Before You Customize Forms or Management Reports ................................ 21-6
Edit Copies of the Reports or Forms that You Want to Change ................ 21-6
Print Forms or Reports at Least Once Before You Modify Them ............... 21-7
Modifying Custom Forms and Management Reports ............................. 21-8
Custom Form File Names and Fields ........................................... 21-11
Additional Fields Defined in Reports....................................... 21-13
The SETTINGS.CSV File .................................................. 21-13
Customized Invoice Form ................................................. 21-16
Customized Statement Form .............................................. 21-23
Customized Paycheque Form.............................................. 21-28
Customized Payment Cheque Form ........................................ 21-37
Customized Purchase Order Form ......................................... 21-40
Customized Sales Quote Form ............................................. 21-45
Customized Sales Order Confirmation Form ................................ 21-48
Customized Receipts Form ................................................ 21-51
Management Report File Names and Fields .................................... 21-54
Displaying and Printing Management Reports .............................. 21-55
Customizing Management Reports ........................................ 21-56
Contents of Management Reports .......................................... 21-56
Duplicated Account Names ............................................... 21-58
Accounts That Can Be Deleted ............................................ 21-59
Accounts with a Negative Balance ......................................... 21-60
Overdue Amounts Owed to Vendors ...................................... 21-61
User Guide xiii

AM.
Vendors with Decreased Monthly Purchases (Compared to Last Year) ....... 21-62
Vendors with Increased Monthly Purchases (Compared to Last Year) ........ 21-63
Customers Over Their Credit Limit........................................ 21-64
Customers with Decreased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year) .......... 21-65
Customers with Increased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year) ........... 21-66
Customers with Overdue Amounts........................................ 21-67
Employees with Decreased Hours Since the Last Pay Period ................. 21-68
Employees with Overtime Hours This Month .............................. 21-70
Employees with Pay Changes Since the Last Pay Period ..................... 21-71
Inventory Items Selling Below Cost ........................................ 21-72
Inventory Items with a Low Markup ...................................... 21-73
Inventory Items with a Low Profit Margin ................................. 21-74
Projects That Have Lost Money ........................................... 21-74
Unused Projects ......................................................... 21-76
Index
xiv Simply Accounting

SWC7UG01.doc, printed on 03/08/99, at 10:57 AM. Last saved on 02/22/99 9:13 PM.
Chapter 1
Protecting Your Data
Setting Up Passwords .......................................................... 1-1
Changing and Removing Passwords ......................................... 1-2
Checking Data Integrity ........................................................ 1-4
Correcting Integrity Errors .................................................. 1-4
Backing Up Data ............................................................... 1-5
How to Back Up ........................................................... 1-6
Labelling Backup Disks ................................................. 1-6
If You Have Changed the Custom Forms ................................. 1-6
When to Back Up ........................................................... 1-7
Restoring a Backup ......................................................... 1-8
Multiple Copies of Your Data ............................................ 1-9
Using Simply Accounting on a Local Area Network .......................... 1-10
User Guide 1–i
ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC. Confidential


Chapter 1
Protecting Your Data
This chapter explains how to:
■ Set up passwords to control access to your data.
■ Check data integrity to see whether your accounts balance.
■ Back up and restore your data files.
Setting Up Passwords
You can set up a system password that gives access to the entire
program, and up to three subsidiary passwords that allow
access only to the modules you specify.
If you have set up passwords, you cannot start the program

unless you enter the system password or a subsidiary
password. Users who start the program with a subsidiary
password can open only the features you allow for that
password. They do not have access to certain commands,
including the one to change passwords.
Before you begin Before assigning passwords, you should:

■ Decide on the modules people are allowed to use, and the
type of access (view, edit, or both) they can have to each
module.
■ Choose your passwords. A password can have a maximum
of seven characters, and they are not case-sensitive (the user
can enter capital or lower-case letters).
Upgrading from DOS If you are upgrading from Simply Accounting for DOS, you
must reassign your system password, as described in this
section.
Do not forget your Store the list of passwords and users in a secure place, in case
system password! you forget a password or need to make changes.
User Guide 1–1

To set up a password:
1. On the Setup menu, choose Set Security. Fill in the screen.
With Password 1, 2,
The system password gives or 3 selected,
access to the entire program. indicate the
You must set it before you restrictions for each
can set other passwords. module. See the
“Password Access”
You can set up a restricted table (facing page)
(or subsidiary) password to for details.
prevent access to some
modules.
Choose a secret word or
number. (You must enter
it twice, to check for typing
errors.) Do this for each
password you set up.
Changing and Removing Passwords
A user with the system password can remove any other

password, or change access privileges of any other password.
To change or remove a password:

1. Open Simply Accounting using the system password.
2. On the Setup menu, choose Set Security.
3. In the Set Password For box, choose the password you want
to change or remove, then:
■ To remove a password, press the Backspace key in the
Enter New Password field to clear it.
■ To change a password, type a different password in the
Enter New Password and Re-enter New Password
fields.
■ To change the access a password allows, select one of
the three restricted passwords (not the system
password), then change the View or Edit access boxes.
You do not need to reenter or change the password.
4. Choose OK. The changes take effect the next time you open
this company’s data.
1–2 Simply Accounting

Password Access
For this type of access: Check/ Symbol in the

Clear: Home window is:
No Access. Cannot use the module; The module’s icons do
cannot use the To-Do Lists. Can use not appear, except the
Checklists and related Microsoft Office Accounts,
documents. Miscellaneous
Transactions, and
Account Reconciliation
icons, which appear
with a no-entry symbol.
View only. Cannot add, change, or delete

information, export to Microsoft Access,
import purchase or sales forms, or display
the Recurring to-do list. Can display,
print, and export graphs and reports,
export GIFI data, use DDE, look up
invoices, and use Checklists.
Edit only. Cannot display, print, or
export graphs and reports, use DDE,
export to Microsoft Access, export GIFI
data, or look up invoices. Can add,
change, or delete records and entries,
import purchase and sales forms, display
the Memo and Recurring To-Do lists, and
use Checklists.
View and edit. Unrestricted access to the No symbol
module, including the To-Do Lists and
Checklists.
Note: Users of subsidiary passwords do not have access to Restore or Working
Copy on the File menu; Settings on the Setup, Wizards menu; Company Information,
Names, Settings, Credit Cards, and Set Security on the Setup menu; or to some Clear
commands. View access is required for Reports And Forms and to Check Data
Integrity on the Maintenance menu.
User Guide 1–3

Checking Data Integrity
Checking Data Integrity

It is important to use the program’s Check Data Integrity
feature regularly to check that your accounts balance. Using this
feature can warn you of possible serious errors in your data.
Always check data integrity before you use a restored backup.

Do not back up damaged data onto an older backup.
To check data integrity:

1. On the Maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity.
The program checks your data, then displays an Integrity
Summary screen. If there are errors in your data files, you
see a screen such as this:
An asterisk
shows where
your data is
out of balance.
A message tells you whether

your data is out of balance,
or damaged.
2. If errors are reported, make a note of the amounts and the

affected areas, then follow the steps in the next section to
correct any errors.
Correcting Integrity Errors
If integrity errors are reported on the Integrity Summary screen:

1. On the File menu, choose Restore. Follow the on-screen
steps to restore your most recent backup.
2. Check the integrity of the data you restored. If the data
contains errors, restore an earlier backup and check its
integrity.

Backing Up Data
Once you have restored a backup copy that is free of

integrity errors, use it as the new master copy of your data.
3. Reenter all the transactions and other data that were
entered after the date and time of the backup copy.
4. On the Maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity to
confirm that your data is now free of errors.
5. If your data still has errors, reinstall the program using the
original Simply Accounting 7.0 disks. (Follow the steps in
Chapter 3, “Installing and Starting Simply Accounting,” in
the Getting Started manual.) Then repeat steps 1 to 4, above.
Backing Up Data
Making backup copies of your Simply Accounting data is quick,
easy, and inexpensive. Do it often! With good backups, you can:
■ Restore damaged data caused by a hardware error.
■ Undo an irreversible action, such as choosing Finish
Entering History.
■ Review cleared details, such as paid invoices.
■ Print historical reports from past months, and calendar or
fiscal years.
Multiple files Simply Accounting data is stored in a number of different files.

The Backup command copies them all, in one step, to the folder
or directory you specify.
If you discover that your data is damaged, you can restore a

recent, error-free backup, then quickly add any entries you
made after the last backup. The more often you back up, the
fewer entries you must redo.
However, when you back up frequently, be sure to use different

diskettes or different file names. It pays to check your data
integrity as well; there’s no benefit to backing up damaged data,
especially if you overwrite an earlier backup that was error-free.
User Guide 1–5

Backing Up Data
Diskettes or hard disk You can back up onto diskettes, or to a separate folder
(directory) on your hard disk, as described later in this section.
How to Back Up
To back up your data onto diskettes or your hard disk:

Backup 1. On the File menu, choose Backup, or click the Backup
button on the toolbar.
Add a comment that

explains why you’re Change the file name to
backing up. For example: avoid overwriting a
“Monday’s weekly backup.” previous backup and to
help you identify the backup
If you wish, choose Browse, later. This example uses
then select a different folder. the date format: MM-DD-YY.
2. Fill in the boxes and choose OK.

Tip: Check whether the backup is error-free before
putting it away, by restoring it to a temporary file as
described in “Restoring a Backup,” later in this chapter.
Labelling Backup Disks
When you back up, prepare a backup diskette(s) for each

working day, and carefully label each diskette as shown below:
Company name (this may

Simply Accounting — Backup Data also be the name of your
Folder (directory) where
Universal Construction data file, if you use long
you store the master copy
of your data. C:\PROGRA~1\WINSIM\DATA document names).
May 15, 2000 Date.
Time period covered MONDAY BACKUP
by this backup data.
Diskette #2 of 2 Diskette number.
If You Have Changed the Custom Forms
Crystal Reports If you have revised the Crystal Reports custom forms that come
with Simply Accounting, be sure to back them up.

Backing Up Data
Note: If you upgraded to Simply Accounting 7.0 from Simply

Accounting 5.0 or an earlier version of the program, you can
still use the CA-RET program for your Simply Accounting
report writer.
To back up Crystal Reports or CA-RET forms:

1. In Crystal Reports or CA-RET, choose Save As from the File
menu.
Note: Choosing Save As from the File menu in the Home
window in Simply Accounting does not save
Crystal Reports or CA-RET files.
2. Fill in a different file name (and folder, if you wish), then
choose OK.
When to Back Up
On this day: Back up onto this disk: Store in:

Monday to Thursday Daily backup diskette(s), a A safe place in your office.
different set for each day.
Friday New “Friday” diskette(s). A safe place, preferably away
Do not overwrite the previous from your office.
Friday’s data.
Last day of the month New “Monthly” diskette(s). Another building.
Do not overwrite the previous
month’s data.
December 31 (end of New “calendar year-end” One set in a safe place in your
calendar year) diskette(s). Make two sets. office, one set off-site.
Last day of your New “fiscal year-end” One set in a safe place in your
fiscal year diskette(s). Make two sets. office, one set off-site.
Note: Reusing disks will eventually wear them out and make
the data irretrievable, especially disks you reuse weekly.
Replace them from time to time.
User Guide 1–7

Backing Up Data
Tip: You can reuse an old Friday disk after six weeks. We
suggest you keep monthly and period-end backups for
several years.
Restoring a Backup
Backed up data can be used again, when you need it, by

restoring it into the usual Simply Accounting file format. A
backup can be restored many times. Restoring can be useful to:
■ Print a report from a previous year.
■ Check details that you cleared to save disk space.
■ Replace damaged data.
■ Check that a new backup is error-free before storing it.
To restore a backup:
1. On the File menu, choose Restore, then follow the on-screen
instructions.
Note: When restoring a new backup to check whether it is
error-free, be sure to restore it to a temporary file. Do not
restore it over the file containing your company’s data.
2. On the Maintenance menu, choose Check Data Integrity.
Ensure that your restored data is free of errors.
If your data has errors, follow the instructions in
“Correcting Integrity Errors,” earlier in this chapter.
Restore from the You can also choose Restore From Backup from the Select
Select Company Company window that appears when you start Simply
window Accounting. Follow the on-screen instructions, and be sure to
check the integrity of the backup afterwards.

Backing Up Data
Multiple Copies of Your Data
You should keep only one working copy of your data for
day-to-day use. Normally, this is kept on your computer’s hard
disk, in the \Program Files\Winsim\Data folder.
Occasionally, you may find yourself with more than one set of
data files. For example, you may have restored a backup, or
used the Save As command to make a copy of your data.
If you lose track of which file is which, try one or more of the
following:
■ Note the name of the file you have open.
The title bar at the top of the
Home window shows the name
of the data file you are using.
■ On the Setup menu, choose Company Information, then

check the data’s session date.
■ Check the last entry on the All Transactions report to see
whether it is the last one you made.
■ Check the date and time the data was last saved, using
Windows Explorer.
To delete unneeded data files, use Windows Explorer. For more

information about deleting files, check your Windows manual
or Windows online Help.
User Guide 1–9

Backing Up Data
Using Simply Accounting on a Local Area Network

Creating a working If you use Simply Accounting on a local area network, you may
copy of your data wish to process transactions in a working copy of your
company files, and save your changes to the network when you
are finished. Using a working copy:
■ Reduces the chance of your data being damaged by
transmission problems on the network.
■ Speeds up the processing of transactions and other changes
to your data.
When you choose Working Copy from the File menu in the
Home window, Simply Accounting creates a temporary
duplicate of your company files on your hard disk. You enter
transactions, reconcile accounts, and update records as usual.
When you finish working with the data or you quit the
program, Simply Accounting updates the original file on the
network and removes the copy from your computer’s hard disk.
System password If you set up a system password for your company, only users
required opening your company files with that password can change the
Working Copy settings.
To use a working copy of your data:

1. In the Home window, from the File menu, choose
Working Copy.
2. Check the Make A Working Copy box.
3. Click OK to accept the location displayed, or enter a
different one.
4. Use Simply Accounting just as you normally would.
When you finish, Simply Accounting automatically saves
your changes to the network and deletes the working copy.
Working copy option Once you select the Make A Working Copy option, Simply
remains on for all Accounting will save a working copy of your data each time a
users user opens this company.

Backing Up Data
Change the option If you no longer wish to use this feature, you (or a user with a
whenever you wish system password) can turn it off by selecting Working Copy
from the File menu, and then unchecking (clearing) the option.
User Guide 1–11

SWC7UG02.DOC, printed on 03/08/99, at 11:00 AM. Last saved on 03/02/99 11:21 AM.
Chapter 2
Maintaining Records
Filing and Backing Up .......................................................... 2-1
Adding Records ............................................................... 2-2
Adding Accounts .......................................................... 2-2
Account Numbers and Types ............................................ 2-2
Using the Modify Accounts Wizard to Add Accounts...................... 2-3
Using the Accounts Icon Window to Add Accounts ....................... 2-3
Adding Vendors (Suppliers)................................................. 2-6
Adding Customers ......................................................... 2-9
Adding Employees ........................................................ 2-11
Adding Inventory Items and Services ....................................... 2-14
Adding Projects ........................................................... 2-16
Changing Records............................................................. 2-18
Removing Records ............................................................ 2-20
Clearing Data, Disk Space, and Memory ........................................ 2-23
Clearing Data ............................................................. 2-24
Clearing Transaction Entries ............................................ 2-25
Clearing Vendor or Customer Invoices .................................. 2-26
Clearing Payroll Data .................................................. 2-27
Clearing Account Reconciliation Information ............................ 2-27
Clearing the GST, HST, or QST Report .................................. 2-30
Clearing Inventory Tracking Data ....................................... 2-31
Clearing Invoice Lookup Data .......................................... 2-31
Clearing Previous Fiscal Year’s Data .................................... 2-32
Clearing Data Automatically ............................................... 2-32
Clearing Disk Space ....................................................... 2-34
Clearing Memory ......................................................... 2-35
User Guide 2–i


Chapter 2
Maintaining Records
This chapter tells you how to add, change, and remove
records — the background information about your accounts,
vendors, customers, employees, inventory and services, and
projects. It also tells you how to clear transaction entries and
other information you no longer need.
If you have not yet set up your Simply Accounting system, do

this first. Work through the Getting Started manual now,
especially Chapters 5 and 6. Those chapters describe how to set
up a chart of accounts and organize your records before you
add account information and begin using the program for your
day-to-day operations.
Filing and Backing Up

As you work, whenever you make significant additions or
changes to your records, you should:
■ Print the records and file them.
■ Back up your work.
Backup For example, if you add some new customer records, print the
Customer List, then back up your data. (On the File menu,
choose Backup. In the Comment field, identify the backup. For
example, enter “Made after adding customer records on [date].”
For more information about backing up, see the section
“Backing Up Data” in Chapter 1, “Protecting Your Data.”)
User Guide 2–1

Adding Records
Adding Records
Help (F1) If you need help as you work, check the status bar (message
line) at the bottom of the screen, or press the F1 key, or use the
Help menu or button for more information.
Adding Accounts
Changing and This section describes how to add accounts to the Accounts
removing accounts window. To change or remove an account, see “Changing
Records” or “Removing Records,” later in this chapter.
The Accounts window lists the accounts you use to keep track
of your company’s assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, and
expenses. You can also use it to set up a budget to help you plan
your revenues and expenses and track your company’s results,
as described in Chapter 3, “Budgeting.”
Account Numbers and Types
There are five types of accounts you can add to the Accounts
window. They are described in Chapter 5, “Choosing Options
and Setting Up Accounts,” in the Getting Started manual.
When adding accounts, you must use this numbering system:

Asset accounts 1000 to 1999
Liability accounts 2000 to 2999
Equity accounts 3000 to 3999
Revenue accounts 4000 to 4999
Expense accounts 5000 to 5999
You cannot enter account numbers outside these ranges. Use

the correct range for each of your accounts, to ensure the correct
functioning of your accounting system.
When you assign account numbers, leave gaps between them

(of perhaps 10 or 20 numbers). If you later need to add an
account in the same section, you can insert it in the gap.

Adding Records
You can run the Modify Accounts wizard to add accounts, or

you can use the Accounts icon window. The Modify Accounts
wizard guides you through adding accounts by prompting you
for the account details. The Accounts icon window lets you
reorganize your chart of accounts as you add new accounts.
Using the Modify Accounts Wizard to Add Accounts
To use the Modify Accounts wizard to add an account:

1. On the Setup menu, select Wizards, then choose Modify
Accounts.
2. Select Create, and then follow the instructions in the
wizard.
3. When finished, follow the instructions in step 4 of the next
section, “Using the Accounts Window to Add Accounts,” to
check your work.
Using the Accounts Icon Window to Add Accounts
Display accounts by The Accounts icon window, with Display By Type turned on,
type arranges your accounts and their balances like a financial
statement, making it easier to see how your accounts are
grouped.
One advantage of this display is that you can add new accounts
right from the icon window, and the program will help you
with the numbering scheme.
Reorganize your Another advantage is that you can easily reorganize your chart
chart of accounts of accounts from this view. You can move or delete any account
in the Accounts icon window if:
■ It has not been used in transactions.
■ It is not a linked account.
To use this view, if a different display appears in the Accounts

icon window, choose View, Icon Windows, Accounts in the
User Guide 2–3

Adding Records
Home window. Then choose Display By Type from the toolbar

in the Accounts window.
To use the Accounts icon window to add an account:

1. In the Home window, open the Accounts window (choose
the Accounts icon).
Use the Check The Validity Of

Accounts button to ensure that
your accounts are organized
logically.
Select the Display By Type
button.
Highlight the position where you

want to insert the new account.
The new account will be
inserted above the highlighted
one.
2. If you are adding to an existing set of accounts, position

your cursor where you want to add a new account.
3. Press the Insert key on your keyboard, or choose Create on
the Edit menu, or choose the Create button from the
toolbar. Fill in the name and the fields on the Account tab.
If you are creating a set of company files from scratch, or if
you prefer a different number from the one displayed, enter
a new account number.

Adding Records
If your bank has a Web site, and you have access to the
Internet, you can download your bank statements and let
Simply Accounting help you to reconcile your account.
If you have an existing set of

accounts, the program will
suggest a new account number.
If you enter a different account Name the
number, follow the numbering account clearly.
system described earlier in this
section.
To format and organize the

presentation of your financial
statements, use account types.
(See Chapter 5 of the Getting Enter a GIFI code if you
Started manual.) file your corporate financial
statements electronically.
Check the status bar for information (Contact Revenue Canada
about any check box, menu item, or your accountant for
or field you point at with the information on GIFI
mouse. codes.)
4. Check your work, then choose Create to add the account.

Tip: You can use Simply Accounting to reconcile an
account you are using as a bank or credit-card account.
See Chapter 7, “Setting Up an Account for
Reconciliation,” in the Getting Started manual.
Check the accounts 5. After you finish adding accounts, check your work
carefully:
Check The ■ From the toolbar, or the Edit menu, choose Check The
Validity Of Validity Of Accounts, to ensure that your accounts are
Accounts logically organized.
■ Print the chart of accounts. (In the Home window, on
the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Chart Of
Accounts, and then choose Print from the File menu.)
On the printed copy, confirm that:
– You added all the accounts you need.
– The accounts appear in the order you want them.
– There are gaps between account numbers (if
possible), so you can later add more accounts, as
needed.
User Guide 2–5

Adding Records
– The account names, types, and GIFI codes are

correct.
The program may tell you your accounts are in the
wrong order. If this happens, read the on-screen Help.
Check the balances ■ Print a trial balance. (In the Home window, on the
Reports menu, choose Financials. Choose Trial Balance,
select Current Year, choose OK, then choose Print from
the File menu.) On the printed copy, confirm that the
account balances are correct.
■ Keep the printed copies for your files.
If you need to make changes or corrections, see “Changing

Records,” later in this chapter.
Budgeting You can budget any revenue account (numbered 4000 to 4999)
or expense account (numbered 5000 to 5999). See Chapter 3,
“Budgeting.”
Adding Vendors (Suppliers)
The Vendors window keeps track of all the vendors you do

business with, and the amounts you owe and pay them.
Changing and This section describes how to add records to the Vendors
removing records window. To change or remove a vendor record, see “Changing
Each vendor (supplier) record in the Vendors window lists the

vendor’s name and address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail
address, Web site name, a contact name, early-payment terms,
whether the vendor calculates discounts before tax, and
whether you normally print or e-mail purchase orders for the
vendor. Each record also tracks how much you owe the vendor,
and your total purchases from the vendor, last year and this
year.

Adding Records
To add a vendor record:

1. In the Home window, open the Vendors window (choose
the Vendors icon).
2. On the Edit menu, choose Create (or choose the Create
button from the toolbar). Fill in the vendor’s name and the
fields on the Address tab that apply to this vendor.
You can click this button to send

a note by e-mail to a vendor…
…Or click this one, to visit the

vendor’s Web site.
Enter the vendor’s Business

Number, here. If the vendor does
not have a Business Number,
enter their Social Insurance
Number. Revenue Canada
requires you to report this number
along with payments for certain
kinds of services.
Check the status bar for hints
about on-screen items you are
pointing at with the mouse, or
choose a topic on the Help menu.
3. When finished, choose the Options tab and fill it in.

Enter the vendor’s payment terms, if
you know them. (See Chapter 5 of the
If this vendor gives you a Getting Started manual for details.)
discount based on the total
invoice price, including tax,
leave this box blank. Otherwise,
check the box.
If you use the Contact field as

an extra address line, check this
box to include it on cheques.
Check this box to include GST you pay in the GST report. In
Quebec, check the Include In QST Report box also.
4. When finished, choose the Activity tab and fill it in.

Note: You can fill in the Year-to-Date Purchases and Last
Year’s Purchases fields only when you are entering history.
5. When finished, choose the Memo tab and fill in the fields, as
follows:
User Guide 2–7

Adding Records
Type any notes you wish to

keep about the vendor, such
as what you need to discuss
the next time you talk to
them.
Check this box if you want

the memo to appear in the
To-Do Lists window. Type the date you want the memo to first appear in the To-Do Lists
window, or leave this field blank if you want the memo to appear
right after you add the vendor record. (Note that you must also
check the Display This Memo In The To-Do Lists box.)
Tip: The To-Do List displays only the memo’s first

40 characters until you select the memo to view it all, so
you might find it useful to summarize longer memos in
the first 40 characters.
6. When finished, choose the Import/Export tab and fill in the
fields as follows:
If this vendor has e-mail and

uses Simply Accounting, they
can import your purchase
orders electronically. Check this
box to be able to export
purchase orders to this vendor.
If this vendor uses the same
item numbers as you do, you
do not have to fill in the rest If this vendor uses item numbers different from yours, enter them in this
of this tab. chart along with your corresponding item numbers, for all items you
purchase from this vendor. For non-inventory items, match this
vendor’s item number with your asset or expense account.
7. Check your work, then choose Create to add the record.

Check your work 8. After you finish adding vendor records, print the Vendor
List and check your work. (In the Home window, on the
Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Vendors, and then
choose Print from the File menu.) Keep the printed copy for
your files.


Adding Records
Adding Customers
Changing and This section describes how to add records to the Customers
deleting records window. To change or delete (remove) a record, see “Changing
Each customer record in the Customers window lists the

customer’s name, address, phone and fax numbers, contact
name, e-mail address, Web site name, early-payment terms,
whether you print statements for this customer, whether you
normally print or e-mail forms, and credit limit. Each record
also tracks the amount the customer owes you, and the total
sales to that customer, last year and this year.
To add a customer record:

1. In the Home window, open the Customers window (choose
the Customers icon).
button from the toolbar). Fill in the customer’s name and
the other fields on the Address tab that apply to this
customer. The address you enter here is the customer’s
business address, to which you direct invoices and other
correspondence.
You can click this button to send
a note by e-mail to a customer…
…Or click this button to visit the

customer’s Web site.

about on-screen items you
are pointing at with the mouse.
3. When finished, choose the Ship-To-Address tab, and enter

the contact person and address to which you normally ship
User Guide 2–9

Adding Records
products for this customer. This address is displayed in

sales invoices, orders, and quotes, and can be different from
the one you specify in the Address tab.
4. When finished, choose the Options tab and fill it in.
Enter the payment terms you want to give
the customer only if they differ from the
ones you set on the Customers and Sales
tab (under Settings on the Setup menu).
Check this box to include GST
you collect in the GST report. In
Quebec, check the Include In
QST Report box also.
Check this box only if you send
statements to your customers.
You can print or e-mail customer statements, sales

order confirmations, invoices and quotes. Select the
method you wish to use for this customer.
5. When finished, choose the Activity tab.

Note: You can fill in the Year-to-Date Sales and Last Year’s
Sales fields only while you are entering history.
Enter the customer’s credit limit in the Credit Limit field.
follows:
Type any notes you wish to keep

about the customer, such as what
you need to discuss the next time
you talk to them.
Check this box if you want the

memo to appear in the To-Do
Lists window. Type the date you want the memo to first appear in the To-Do
Lists window, or leave this field blank if you want the memo to
appear right after you add the customer record. (Note that you
must also check the Display This Memo In The To-Do List box.)


Adding Records
7. When finished, choose the Import/Export tab and fill in the

fields, as follows:
If this customer has e-mail and

uses Simply Accounting, they
can import your sales invoices
and quotes electronically.
Check this box to be able to
export invoices to this customer.
If this customer uses the same
item numbers as you do, you
do not have to fill in the rest of
this tab. If this customer uses item numbers different from yours, enter them in
this chart along with your corresponding item numbers, for all items in
your inventory. For non-inventory items, match this customer’s item
number with your asset or revenue account.

Check your work 9. After you finish adding customer records, print the
Customer List and check your work. (In the Home window,
on the Reports menu, choose Lists, then Customers, and
then choose Print from the File menu.) Keep the printed
copy in your files.

Adding Employees
Each employee record in the Employees window lists an

employee’s name, address, hire date, date of birth, and other
identifying information. Each record also tracks the employee’s
pay rate or salary, required and optional deductions (such as
taxes and employee-paid benefits), and payroll history, for last
year and the year to date.
Changing and This section describes how to add records to the Employees
To add an employee record:

1. In the Home window, open the Employees window (choose
the Employees icon).
User Guide 2–11

Adding Records

button from the toolbar). Fill in the employee’s name and
the fields on the Personal tab that apply to this employee.
You can view amounts for the year to date on the Income, Deductions,
and Taxes YTD tabs, at any time. You can view a Quebec employee’s
tips in the Year-To-Date Quebec Tips tab, if you selected Track Quebec
Tips, in Settings, in the Payroll tab. However, you can enter year-to-date
amounts only while you are entering history. To find out about entering
employee history, see Chapter 5 in Getting Started.
You can pay only employees

whose status is active, but you
can produce reports for both
active and inactive employees.

about buttons, menu items,
or fields you point at with the
mouse.
3. When finished, choose the Income tab and fill it in.

If the worker is paid by the hour, enter the regular and
overtime pay rates, and, if you wish, the usual number of
hours. If the employee is on salary, enter the salary and the
number of hours in a pay period. (Hours per pay period are
used to determine Employment Insurance eligibility.)
4. When finished, choose the Deductions tab and fill it in. If
you need to rename any deductions, go to the Home
window and choose Setup, and then Names.
Enter the amounts or percentages you want the program to
deduct from the employee’s paycheque each time you make
an entry in the Paycheques window.
Using pre-set deductions saves you time and helps prevent
errors. You specify whether the deductions are a percentage
of gross pay or a fixed amount, in the Payroll tab, in Setup,

Adding Records
Settings. However, you can change the pre-set amounts

when you make an entry in the Paycheques window, if
needed.
Deductions The program can deduct amounts either before or after it
before or after tax calculates taxes. To specify when to make the deductions,
without closing the Employee Records dialog box, switch to
the Home window and on the Setup menu choose Settings,
then choose Payroll, and check or clear the box for each
deduction. Choose OK, then switch back to the Employee
Records window.
CDN:GST and QST on If the employee’s benefits are subject to GST or QST, enter
benefits the amount of GST or QST to deduct per pay period in the
field you are using for GST deductions or QST deductions.
For information about setting up GST or QST deductions,
see Chapter 5 in the Getting Started manual.
EI insurable earnings 5. If the employee already has EI insurable earnings this year,
choose the YTD Income tab and enter the amount of
previously earned EI Insurable Earnings in the box.
You would not normally change the total in this field.
6. When finished, choose the Taxes tab and fill it in.
follows:
Type any notes you wish to

keep about the employee,
such as the date of their next
scheduled holiday.
Check this box if you want the

memo to appear in the To-Do
Lists window.
Type the date you want the memo to first appear in the To-Do
Lists window, or leave this field blank if you want the memo to
appear right after you add the employee record. (Note that you
must also check the Display This Memo In The To-Do List box.)

User Guide 2–13

Adding Records


Check your work 9. After you finish adding employee records, print an
Employee Summary report and check your work. (In the
Home window, on the Reports menu, choose Payroll, then
Employee. Select the employees with changed records (or
Select All), and choose OK. Then choose Print from the File
menu.) Keep the printed copy for your files.

Adding Inventory Items and Services
Each record in the Inventory and Services window keeps track

of goods or services you sell. Each record contains an item
number, description, unit of measure, and selling price. Item
records also contain a minimum stock level (for reordering),
quantity on hand, total value, quantity on purchase order, and
quantity on sales order. Records also show the revenue and
expense accounts associated with each service, and the revenue,
cost of goods sold, asset, and variance accounts associated with
each inventory item.
Changing and This section describes how to add records to the Inventory and
deleting records Services window. To change or delete (remove) a record, see
“Changing Records” or “Removing Records,” later in this
chapter.
To add an inventory item or service:

1. In the Home window, open the Inventory and Services
window (choose the Inventory and Services icon).
button from the toolbar). Fill in the item number,
description, and type, and the fields on the Item tab that
apply to this item.

Adding Records
Indicate whether you are adding

an inventory item or a service.
The item number can

contain up to 13
numbers and letters.

about buttons, menu items, or
fields you point at with the
mouse.
3. When finished, choose the Linked tab and fill it in.

Asset. Use this account to keep track of the actual cost of
this inventory item when you buy or sell it.
Revenue. Use this account for amounts you receive when
you sell this item or service.
Expense. Use this account for the amounts you pay when
you buy this service.
Cost of Goods Sold (C.O.G.S.). Use this account for the
amounts you pay when you buy this inventory item.
Variance. Use this account for the difference between the
average cost and the actual cost of this inventory item when
its inventory level drops below zero.
4. When finished, choose the Activity tab and fill it in.
5. Check your entries and choose Create to add the record.
Print reports and 6. After you finish adding inventory records, print the
check your work following reports to check your work:
Inventory and Services List. In the Home window, on the
Reports menu, choose Lists, then Inventory and Services.
User Guide 2–15

Adding Records
Confirm that you entered the item numbers, descriptions, and

account numbers correctly.
Inventory Quantity. On the Reports menu, select
Inventory and Services, then choose Inventory, then select
Item Quantity, and Select All. Choose OK, then confirm that
you entered the minimum levels correctly.
Inventory Synopsis. On the Reports menu, select Inventory
and Services, then choose Inventory, then select Item
Synopsis, and Select All. Choose OK, then confirm that you
entered units, price, quantity, and cost correctly.
You can also obtain these reports from the Inventory And
Services icon window. (If you have chosen not to display
this icon window, but wish to see it now, in the Home
window, on the View menu, select Icon Windows and then
Inventory And Services.)

Adding Projects
The Project window contains a list of all the projects your

company is working on, and their balance-forward amounts
and start dates.
After the other modules are ready for day-to-day use, you can
allocate revenues and expenses to projects by making
transaction entries in the following windows:
■ Miscellaneous Transactions
■ Purchases, Orders, and Quotes
■ Sales, Orders, and Quotes
■ Paycheques
■ Payroll Cheque Run
■ Adjustments

Adding Records
Note that the Project module does not have its own
transaction-entry window.
Changing the name If you wish, you can customize the name of the Project module
to match your profit centres. For example, you could call it
Team, Job Cost, Branch, Location, or Department.
To customize the name of your module, on the Setup menu,

choose Names, then change the Project Title. The new name
appears in the Home window as well as on screens and reports.
If you are unfamiliar with project accounting, read Chapter 20,

“Cost Accounting,” in the Accounting Manual, to learn about
allocating revenues and expenses in your business.
Changing and This section describes how to add records to the Project
To add a project:
1. In the Home window, open the Project window (choose the
Project icon).
button from the toolbar). Fill in the project’s name and the
fields on the Project tab.
Name your project.
Enter the project information.

about any button or field you
point at with your mouse.
User Guide 2–17

Changing Records
3. If you selected Budget Project, (on the Project tab under

Settings on the Setup menu), you can enter budget amounts
for this project. Select the Budget tab, and then select
Budget This Project. Enter budget amounts in the fields that
appear.
4. Check your entries and choose Create to add the record.
Print the Project List 5. After you have added projects, print a Project List and
and check your work check your work. (In the Home window, on the Reports
menu, choose Lists, then choose Project, and then choose
Print from the File menu.) Keep the printed work for your
files.
If you need to make changes or corrections, see the next section,

“Changing Records.”
Changing Records
You can change most of the information stored in your
company data: account names, customer addresses, employee
pay rates, inventory item and service prices, and so on. Once
you have finished entering history, there may be restrictions;
check the following table before you follow the steps later in this
section.

Changing Records
Before changing Note the following restrictions:

this:
Account The account must not have been used since the earliest
transaction date.
If you change the number of a linked account, the new number
must be within the same section of the chart of accounts (for
example, asset accounts must be within the 1000 to 1999 range).
To change a subgroup or group account to a group heading,
subgroup total, or group total, you must delete the account,
then re-enter it with the new account type.
If you file your tax return electronically, check with your
accountant to ensure that you are using the correct GIFI code.
Vendor record You can change last-year purchase amounts and year-to-date
purchase amounts only if you have not finished entering
history for this module. If you have finished entering history,
make entries in the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window
and the Payment Cheques window to change these balances.
Customer record You can change last-year sales and year-to-date sales only if
you have not finished entering history for this module. If you
have finished entering history, make entries in the Sales,
Orders, and Quotes window and the Receipts window to
change these balances.
Employee record You can change year-to-date totals only if you have not
finished entering history for this module. If you have finished
entering history, make entries in the Paycheques window to
change these balances.
Inventory record You can change quantity and total value only if you have not
finished entering history for this module. If you have finished
entering history, change these balances by making entries in
the following windows: Purchases, Orders, and Quotes; Sales,
Orders, and Quotes; Item Assembly; and Adjustments.
Project record No restrictions.
As you work, if you need help, check the status bar at the
bottom of the screen, or use the Help menu for more
information.
User Guide 2–19

Removing Records
Backup To change a record:

1. Back up your data, in case anything goes wrong while you
are working. (On the File menu, choose Backup, then fill in
the screen.)
2. Open the window. For example, open the Vendors window
to display the list of vendor records you can change.
Using the Modify You can run the Modify Accounts wizard to change
Accounts wizard accounts, or you can go to step 3 to change the accounts
manually. The Modify Accounts wizard guides you through
changing accounts by prompting you for the account details.
To use the Modify Accounts wizard to change an account:
a) On the Setup menu, select Wizards, then choose Modify
Accounts.
b) Follow the instructions on the screen.
c) When finished, go to step 5.
3. Select the record you want to change, and enter the changes.
Repeat this step for each record you want to change.
4. Close the window to record your changes.
5. Print a report and use it to check your work. Keep the
printed report for your files.
6. Back up your data again.
Removing Records
You can weed unneeded records from your data. For example,
you may want to remove the record of a former employee, a
customer who went bankrupt last year, or a vendor who
merged with another vendor.
Removing is not Removing records clears only a little disk space and memory. If
clearing! you want to improve the efficiency of your computer and the

Removing Records
program, see “Clearing Data, Disk Space, and Memory,” later in

this chapter, for instructions about clearing unneeded details
without affecting your account balances.
Before you remove records you no longer need, check the

following table.
Before deleting this: Be sure that:

Account The account has a zero balance.
The account has not been used since the earliest transaction
date.
The account has not been used in current or last-year
transaction entries.
The account is not being used as a linked account.
If you file your tax return electronically, do not remove Group
or Subgroup Total accounts. They are needed to balance the
GIFI report, as required by Revenue Canada. Also, be sure to
file your GIFI report before deleting any accounts.
Vendor record All transactions have been cleared (on the Maintenance menu,
choose Clear Paid Invoices, then choose Clear Paid Vendor
Invoices).
There are no outstanding purchase orders or quotes.
The account has a zero balance.
Customer record All transactions have been cleared (on the Maintenance menu,
choose Clear Paid Invoices, then choose Clear Paid Customer
Invoices).
There are no outstanding sales orders or quotes.
The account has a zero balance.
User Guide 2–21

Removing Records
Before deleting this: Be sure that:

Employee record There are no unpaid advances or vacation pay owing.
You have printed a T4 slip and a Relevé 1 slip (Quebec only)
for the employee.
You have printed the T4 Summary report and Relevé 1
Summary report (Quebec only) at the end of the calendar year.
You have printed the Employee Summary and Detail reports at
the end of the calendar year.
Inventory record The quantity on hand is zero for the inventory item.
The inventory item is not on outstanding purchase orders or
sales orders.
Project record You have printed all reports that contain information about the
project (Project reports; Miscellaneous Transactions, Purchases,
Sales, Payroll, and Adjustments transaction detail reports).
After you remove the project, the information does not appear
on the reports.
To remove a record:
As you work, if you need help, check the status bar at the
bottom of the screen, or use the Help menu for more
information.
Backup 1. Back up your data in case anything goes wrong while you
are working. (On the File menu, choose Backup, then fill in
the screen. In the Comment field, identify the backup, for
example: “Made before removing vendor records on [date].”)
2. Open the window from which you want to remove records.
Using the Modify If you are removing accounts, you can run the Modify
Accounts wizard Accounts wizard to remove them, or you can go to step 3 to
remove the accounts manually. The Modify Accounts
wizard guides you through removing accounts by
prompting you for the account details.
To use the Modify Accounts wizard to delete an account:
a) On the Setup menu, select Wizards, then choose Modify
Accounts.

Clearing Data, Disk Space, and Memory
b) Follow the instructions on the screen.

c) When finished, go to step 5.
3. Display the record you want to remove. On the Edit menu,
choose Remove. Repeat this step for each record you want
to remove.
4. Close the window to record your changes.
5. Display and print a report to check your work. (For
example, print the Customer List and confirm that the
customer records you removed are no longer on it.) Keep
the printed work for your files.
6. Back up your data. (On the File menu, choose Backup.) Be
sure not to overwrite the backup you made in step 1.

When you record transactions, Simply Accounting updates files
containing details of paid transactions, details of unpaid
transactions, inventory tracking data, invoice lookup details,
and a GST, HST or QST file. The program also saves, at other
times, account reconciliation details and downloaded bank
statements in separate files.
Details of paid transactions are cleared, automatically, after two

years. However, other details, such as invoice lookup and
inventory tracking data, are stored until you clear (remove)
them.
To run your Simply Accounting program as efficiently as

possible and to protect against running out of disk space, you
should periodically clear unneeded data from your computer’s
hard disk.
Clearing keeps the same totals in each account, but removes

information such as transaction-entry details, invoices, and
account reconciliation details.
User Guide 2–23

To save disk space and guard against reporting the same tax
information twice, you should also clear the details of Goods
and Services Tax and Quebec sales tax after you have reported
them to the government.
You can let Simply Accounting clear data automatically for you
at year end. However, be sure to read this entire section
carefully before choosing this option, so that you are aware of
the consequences of removing each type of data. To find out
more about clearing data automatically, see the section,
“Clearing Data Automatically,” later in this chapter.
This section tells you how to clear data from your Simply
Accounting data files, and what to do if the program warns you
that you are running out of disk space or memory.
Clearing Data
Cleared data is After you clear data, it is no longer available for the program
unavailable to use. For example, you cannot:
■ Look up a cleared invoice.
■ Automatically adjust a cleared invoice.
■ Drill down from reports to a cleared invoice, transaction
entry, or record.
For information about looking up invoices, see Chapter 10,

“Looking Up Invoices, Orders, and Quotes.” For information
about automatically adjusting invoices and purchase orders, see
Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries.” For information about
drill-down, see Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs.”
If you later decide you need to review cleared information, you

can restore a backup or check your printed records.
Before you clear any data, do the following:

1. On the File menu, choose Backup, then enter a file name for
Backup
the backup. Add a comment that will help you identify the
backup later, such as “Before clearing vendor invoices on
Jan. 1, 1999.”

Back up your data Do not skip this step! If a problem occurs with your
computer while the program is clearing data, you could lose
your company’s accounting records if you do not have a
copy of them. Also, you can use the backup copy to print
reports of transaction details, if you need such reports after
you have cleared the data from your current data files.
Print reports 2. Print all the reports you need for your records, then file
them.
Note that, if you clear transaction entries that contain project

allocations, project reports will not contain detailed information
from before the clearing date. Only a balance-forward amount
will appear. Be sure you have copies of all the detail reports
before clearing.
Clearing Transaction Entries
Follow these instructions to clear transaction entries from your

Simply Accounting data files. The program will clear all
transaction entries and project allocations up to and including
the date you specify.
Print reports 1. Print and file all transaction detail reports and the Project
report.
2. In the Home window, choose Clear Transaction Details
from the Maintenance menu.
Specify this year’s or 3. If you keep last year’s data, specify whether to clear the
last year’s data current year’s or previous year’s data.
4. Enter a date and choose OK.
A message warns you that the program is about to delete
data, and gives you a chance to cancel the procedure.
5. If you are not sure you want to clear the data, choose No to
leave the screen.
If you have made a backup copy of your data and are ready
to proceed, choose Yes to clear the entries.
User Guide 2–25

Clearing Vendor or Customer Invoices
If you need to free some space on your computer’s hard disk,

you can clear the details of fully paid vendor or customer
invoices from your Simply Accounting files.
You can clear paid invoices either as soon as they are fully paid,
or by date, as described in this section. Keep in mind, however,
that you will not be able to look up or automatically adjust a
cleared invoice. Also, you will not be able to drill down from
reports to a cleared invoice.
Clearing invoices To clear invoices when they are paid, for individual vendors
when paid or customers, check the Clear Invoices When Paid box in the
vendor or customer’s record, before you enter invoices or
payments for that vendor or customer. The program will clear
invoices for the vendor or customer as soon as the invoices are
fully paid.
Clearing by date You can clear invoices that were fully paid before a certain date,
for one or several vendors or customers, or for all at once.
To clear paid invoices:

1. Print and file the Vendor Aged Summary and Vendor Aged
Detail reports (or Customer Aged Summary and Customer
Aged Detail reports).
2. In the Home window, on the Maintenance menu, select
Clear Paid Invoices, then choose Clear Paid Vendor Invoices
or Clear Paid Customer Invoices.
The program will

remove, from the
Payments or Receipts
window, invoices fully
paid on or before this
date. Also, the invoices
will be removed from
Check this box to clear the Vendor and
details of paid invoices. You Customer Aged Detail
will no longer be able to look reports, and from the
up invoices or adjust them customer statement.
automatically.

3. Fill in the information on the screen.

4. Choose OK. The program displays a warning message,
reminding you to back up your data and print reports.
Choose Yes to clear the invoices for the vendors or
customers you selected.
Clearing Payroll Data
If you keep two years of payroll details, you may decide to

delete the previous year’s payroll data to save space on your
hard disk. You can still see the past 52 weeks of data, in the
Employee Detail report.
To delete last year’s payroll data:

1. On the Setup menu, choose Settings, then select the
Payroll tab.
2. Select the Keep Employee Details For One Year option.
Clearing Account Reconciliation Information
If you use Simply Accounting to reconcile your bank or credit

card accounts to your statements, follow the instructions in this
section to clear the details of reconciled transactions from your
data files. For information about reconciling bank or credit card
accounts, refer to Chapter 14, “Reconciling Accounts.”
You should clear account reconciliation information regularly,

to prevent the file from taking up too much disk space and to
remove unnecessary information from the Account
Reconciliation Detail report.
To clear completed account reconciliation information:

1. Back up your data as described under “Backing Up Data” in
Chapter 1, “Protecting Your Data.”
User Guide 2–27

Print the Account 2. Print the Account Reconciliation Detail report for the
Reconciliation Detail date up to which you plan to delete records, and check it
report for transactions you do not want to remove, such as NSF
cheques.
3. In the Home window, on the Maintenance menu, choose
Clear Account Reconciliation, then Clear Account
Reconciliation Data.
Select an account
and enter a date.
The program will clear items
Normally, you would reconciled before this date
check this box. (and only from statements
dated before this date, if you
select Clear By Statement
Select the type of account End Date).
reconciliation information
you want to clear.
After you fill in the dialog box,
choose OK to begin clearing.
Enter a date 4. In the Clear Up To field, enter the date up to which you
want to clear account reconciliation information. Normally,
you would enter either:
■ The latest statement date for which you want to clear
details. The program will clear transactions reconciled
to all statements that are dated on or before this date.
■ The latest transaction date for which you want to clear
details. The program will clear reconciled transactions
that are dated on or before this date.
5. In the Clear By Statement End Date box, indicate whether
you want to clear reconciled transactions by statement date
or by transaction date:
■ To remove transactions reconciled to statements issued on
or before the date you entered in the Clear Up To box,
check this box.
For example, if you entered May 15, 1999, and your
latest statement is dated May 13, 1999, the program will
clear only the transactions that were reconciled with the
May 13, 1999 statement. Transactions dated May 14,
1999 or May 15, 1999 will not be cleared.

■ To remove reconciled transactions with transaction dates

on or before the date you entered in the Clear Up To
field, leave this box unchecked.
For example, if you entered May 15, 1999, the program
will clear all reconciled transactions with transaction
dates of May 15, 1999, or earlier, regardless of the dates
of the statements on which the transactions appeared.
Normally, you would check this box.
Specify types of 6. Under Remove These Status Types, indicate the types of
transactions to reconciled transactions you want to remove. Check a box
remove to remove transactions of that type; leave the box
unchecked to retain the data so that you can still list the
transactions on the Account Reconciliation Detail report.
(For example, you may need to keep a record of the NSF
cheques you have received.)
You can remove or keep the following types of transactions:
Cleared. All transactions you marked as cleared in the
Account Reconciliation window.
Deposit Error. The amount of the difference, if any,
between the total you entered on a deposit slip and the
amount of the deposit that is reported on the bank
statement.
Payment Error. The amount of the difference, if any,
between a cheque amount you processed in Simply
Accounting and the amount of the cheque that is reported
on the bank statement.
NSF. Cheques issued to vendors or received from
customers that were returned by the bank due to
insufficient funds.
Reversed. Cheques that were returned by the bank or a
vendor, lost cheques, and cheques that were cancelled by a
stop-payment order.
Void. Cheques that were issued, then cancelled, such as
cheques that were damaged during printing.
Adjustment. Amounts of offsetting transactions entered to
adjust items such as NSF cheques or voided cheques.
User Guide 2–29

Compare your 7. Check your entries and compare them to the Account
entries to the Reconciliation Detail report you printed in step 2, to be
Account sure you have specified the correct transaction types to
Reconciliation be cleared and have entered the rest of the information
Detail report
correctly.
8. When the entries are correct, choose OK to begin clearing
the specified transactions.
A message warns you that the program is about to remove
information, and reminds you to back up your data.
Do one of the following:
■ If you are not sure you want to clear the data, choose
No to leave the screen without clearing any
transactions.
■ If you have backed up your data and printed the
necessary reports, choose Yes to clear the information.
9. After clearing transactions, print the Account Reconciliation
Detail report again. Compare it to the report you printed in
step 2 of these instructions to be sure you cleared all the
transactions you intended to clear.
Clearing the GST, HST, or QST Report
Clear the details of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Harmonized

Sales Tax (HST), or Quebec sales tax (QST) you have paid or
charged, after you have reported the information to the
government. It is important to clear the data in preparation for
the next reporting period, to guard against reporting the same
transactions twice and to save disk space. Follow the
instructions under “The End of Your GST, HST, or QST
Reporting Period,” in Chapter 15, “Period-End Processing.”

Clearing Inventory Tracking Data
If you wish, you can clear the details of your inventory turnover
to save disk space.
Invoice lookup data Note: When you clear inventory tracking data, the program
is also cleared also clears the details of invoices. Be sure you have a backup
of your data before you clear inventory tracking data, in case
you need to look up invoice details later.
Clearing the data 1. On the Maintenance menu, choose Clear Inventory

Tracking Data.
2. Enter a date, then choose OK.
information, and asks you whether you want to proceed.
3. Choose Yes. The program clears inventory tracking details
up to and including that date.
Clearing Invoice Lookup Data
If you have chosen to store invoice lookup details (the

line-by-line details of invoices, shipping dates, and so on), you
should clear the details regularly to save disk space:
Clearing the data 1. On the Maintenance menu, select Clear Invoice Lookup
Data, then choose one of the following:
■ Clear Vendor And Customer Invoice Lookup Data
■ Clear Vendor Invoice Lookup Data
■ Clear Customer Invoice Lookup Data
2. Enter a date, then:
■ Select the vendors or Select All if you are clearing
vendor invoice lookup data.
■ Select the customers or Select All if you are clearing
customer invoice lookup data.
3. Choose OK.
User Guide 2–31


4. Choose Yes. The program clears invoice lookup details up
to and including that date.
Turning off the If you never need to look up invoice details, you can turn off
invoice lookup this option:
feature
1. On the Setup menu, choose Settings.
2. Select the System tab, then clear (uncheck) the Store Invoice
Lookup Details box.
Clearing Previous Fiscal Year’s Data
If you have been storing data for all of your last fiscal year, as
well as for the current year, and decide that you need only the
current year, you can clear the previous year’s data.
1. Back up your data. (On the File menu, choose Backup.) In
the Comment field, identify the backup. For example, enter
“Made before clearing [year] data.”
2. On the Maintenance menu, choose Clear Previous Fiscal
Year Data.
3. Choose Yes. The program clears the previous year’s data.
If you change If you later decide that you need the last year’s data as well, you
your mind can choose Merge Previous Fiscal Year Data from the
Maintenance menu to bring the data back. For detailed
instructions, refer to the online Help (on the Help menu, choose
Search For Help On, then type merge and choose the topic
“Merge Previous Fiscal Year Data”).
Clearing Data Automatically
Simply Accounting stores GST, inventory tracking, and invoice

lookup data until you clear it. Therefore, it is a good idea to

clear data periodically. This prevents your company files from

becoming too large, slowing down your system and taking up
valuable space on your hard drive.
You can clear data from time to time, as described in the section
“Clearing Data,” earlier in this chapter. However, it will save
you considerable time and effort to let Simply Accounting
automatically clear, at fiscal year end, data older than a
specified age.
Be sure to read the section “Clearing Data” before you consider

clearing data automatically. Also, it is a good idea to discuss
with your accountant the types of data you ought to clear
automatically, to ensure that required information is not
automatically removed when you start a new year.
To have Simply Accounting clear data automatically at

year end:
1. In the Home window, from the Maintenance menu, choose
Automatically Clear Data, and then fill in the fields.
Specify how
many months of
data you want to
keep. (You can
retain up to
Select each type of data that 60 months of
you want Simply Accounting data.)
to clear automatically.
■ When you enter a date in the new fiscal year, or choose

Start New Year and then Fiscal Year from the
Maintenance menu, Simply Accounting will clear the
data you selected.
User Guide 2–33

Clearing Disk Space
You may occasionally see a message telling you that there is not
enough free space left on your computer’s disk for the task you
are trying to do.
To clear disk space:

2. Clear some space on your computer’s hard disk. For
example, you may be able to:
■ Delete files you do not need, such as old word
processing documents, export files, spreadsheets, and
programs you never use. Be careful not to delete your
Simply Accounting data. (Your accounting data is
stored in \Program Files\Winsim\Data, or in the folder
you specified when you set up your Simply Accounting
system.)
■ Transfer files such as backup copies of data, and current
word processing documents and spreadsheets, to
diskettes, then remove them from the hard disk.
■ Reduce the amount of detail kept in your data files. For
example, you may be able to clear transaction entries,
paid invoices, and other details from the files, as
described in the “Clearing Data” section, earlier in this
chapter.
You may also be able to delete inactive accounts,
following the steps in the “Removing Records” section
earlier in this chapter.
Note that removing a project does not free up a
significant amount of space on the data storage disk,
because all the project-related information is stored in
the transaction entries for the related transaction-entry
windows.
■ Transfer accounting data files to a larger disk. Be sure
you transfer all the files to the same folder or directory,
then specify the new location the next time you start
Simply Accounting.

To prevent the condition from recurring, you should clear data

and delete unneeded files more often. You may also need to
purchase additional disk capacity for your computer.
Clearing Memory
You may occasionally see a message telling you that you do not
have enough free memory to complete the task you are trying to
do.
To make more memory available:

2. Delete inactive vendor, customer, and employee records,
following the instructions in the “Removing Records”
section earlier in this chapter.
3. Close any reports that are currently open, and close any
other programs you are currently running in Windows.
4. Clear completed vendor and customer invoices, as
described under “Clearing Vendor or Customer Invoices,”
5. Shut down any memory-resident programs you are
running.
You may need to remove, temporarily, memory-resident
programs that start automatically when you start Windows.
Refer to your Windows manual for instructions.
To prevent the condition from recurring, you should delete

unneeded records and clear completed transactions more often.
You may also need to purchase additional memory for your
computer.
User Guide 2–35

Chapter 3
Budgeting
What Is Budgeting? ............................................................ 3–1
Why Budget? .................................................................. 3–1
Setting Up a Budget for Your Company .......................................... 3–2
Add Budget Information .................................................... 3–3
Setting Up Project Budgets ...................................................... 3–4
Add Budgets to the Project Record........................................... 3–5
Changing Your Budget ......................................................... 3–6
Comparing Actual Performance to the Budget .................................... 3–7
Turning Off Budget Options .................................................... 3–7
User Guide 3–i


Chapter 3
Budgeting
This chapter describes budgeting, and tells you how to set up a
budget and when to use budget information.
What Is Budgeting?
A budget is a financial plan, usually for a year. It is a thoughtful
prediction of your company’s resources, income, and expenses.
Developing your budget means translating your realistic
expectations into numbers. Base your budget on:
■ Your company’s past performance (called actual results).
■ Your best forecast, considering what you know about:
– Your company (its products, pricing, distribution or
location, advertising, staffing, fixed expenses, variable
costs, and so on).
– Your industry and your competitors (their products,
pricing, distribution or location, advertising, and so on).
– The marketplace, and the economy in general (industry
regulation, wages, busy seasons, consumer confidence,
product acceptance, interest rates, inflation, and so on).
Why Budget?
As part of a business plan, a good budget for your company can
help you negotiate a line of credit, attract investors, or even sell
your business. Furthermore, developing budgets for individual
units of your business, such as departments or product lines,
can help you make your business more profitable.
User Guide 3–1

Setting Up a Budget for Your Company
Keep your company A budget also helps you compare your company’s performance
on target to your expectations. Without a budget you may not notice that
your business is off target or in trouble — until it’s too late. If
you’re off target, you can take corrective measures to manage
the growth of your business.
Once you’ve set up a budget, Simply Accounting lets you

quickly gauge your company’s performance. You can:
■ Compare actual results to your budget, by fiscal period.
■ Compare this year’s budget to last year’s budget.
■ Graph sales vs. budget, or expenses vs. budget.
Keep projects on Simply Accounting can help you keep individual projects within
target budget. A project can be any unit you choose. It may represent
a contract for work you are doing, such as building a shopping
centre; or it can represent a division or department within your
company, such as Research and Development.
Comparing actual results to a project budget can help you to

manage contracts more effectively. Comparing budgeted to
actual results for internal departments can help you to pinpoint
areas within your company that may need to be managed
differently.

Before you set up your company budget, be sure you have all
the revenue and expense accounts you need. If you need to add
accounts, see “Adding Accounts” in Chapter 2, “Maintaining
Records.”
Turn On the Budget Option

1. On the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then select the
General tab.

Check this box to be

able to set up a budget.
Select a budget period. Monthly
budgeting is the most common
choice.
2. Choose OK. Next, budget the individual revenue and

expense accounts. Follow the steps in the next section, “Add
Budget Information.”
Add Budget Information
After selecting the Budget option and a budget period on the

General tab in the Settings dialog box, add information to
budget each revenue or expense account:
1. In the Home window, choose the Accounts icon to open the
Accounts window. Then choose the account you want to
budget.
Reminder: Revenue accounts are numbered 4000 to 4999.
Expense accounts are numbered 5000 to 5999.
2. Select the Budget tab and fill in the amounts you want to
budget.
If you want to enter equal amounts for all the budget
periods, just enter the total annual amount in the Total
Budgeted Amount field, and choose Allocate. Simply
Accounting will enter the amounts for you.
Tip: To clear all budget amounts from an account
record, enter 0 in the Total Budgeted Amount field, and
then click Allocate.
User Guide 3–3

Setting Up Project Budgets
Check this option.
Click this button to allocate the

total budget in equal amounts
to each period.
If you set the budget period to

Annual, a single budget amount
field appears here.
3. Repeat step 2 for each revenue and expense account you

want to budget, and then close the Accounts window.
Tip: Budget accurately. Don’t feel that you must fill in
the same amount for each period. Consider seasonal
sales, one-time or annual expenses, and so on.

You can set up a budget for any project. Then, you allocate
amounts to projects as you record revenues, expenses, or other
costs.
To find out how to allocate amounts to projects in Simply

Accounting, see Chapter 9, “Allocating Amounts to Projects.”
For more information about cost allocation in general, read
Chapter 20, “Cost Accounting,” in the Accounting Manual.
Turn On the Budget Option

1. On the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then select the
Project tab.

Check this box to be able

to budget projects.
Select a budget period for your
projects. The period can be
different from the interval you use
for your own company budget.
2. Choose OK. Next, to set up project budgets, follow the steps

in the following section, “Add Budgets to the Project
Record.”
Add Budgets to the Project Record
After selecting the Budget Project option and a budget period

on the Project tab in the Settings dialog box, add budget
information to each project record:
1. In the Home window, choose the Project icon to open the
Project window. Then choose the project you want to
budget.
2. Select the Budget tab and fill in the expected revenues and
the expenses for each given period.
When you check this box, the

budget columns appear.
The number of budget periods

that the program displays
depends on the budget period
frequency you chose in
Settings.
This calculation can be useful

when negotiating contract
prices, or in controlling
expenses, to help you achieve
your desired profit level.
3. Repeat step 2 for each project you want to budget, and then
close the Project window.
User Guide 3–5

Changing Your Budget
Changing Your Budget

If you change the budget period during the fiscal year, the
program reallocates the original amounts over the new periods.
For example, if you change from quarterly to monthly, a budget
amount of $300 per quarter will change to $100 per month. Note
that the program will allocate an equal amount to each new
budget period, even if the old periods contained various
amounts.
Budgeting from At the start of a new fiscal year, you can quickly prepare the
year to year year’s budget by first increasing or decreasing all budgeted
amounts at once (by the inflation rate, for example), then
adjusting the budget for individual accounts.
To change budget amounts:

1. On the Maintenance menu, choose Update Budget
Amounts, then enter a percentage (positive to increase,
negative to decrease).
If you update the budget amounts during the fiscal year, the
program recalculates the budget for the entire fiscal year,
allocating equal amounts to each budget period.
2. Make adjustments to individual budgeted accounts. Follow
the steps in “Add Budget Information,” earlier in this
chapter.
3. Use reports to check your work by comparing, for example,
last year’s budget to this year’s budget. See “Comparing
Actual Performance to the Budget,” later in this chapter.
Note: You cannot budget future fiscal years in this year’s data.
Instead, budget each year as it starts, or work in advance on a
printed copy of this year’s statements.

Comparing Actual Performance to the Budget
Comparing Actual Performance to the Budget

Once you’ve set up a budget, the program’s reports and graphs
are a quick way to compare your company’s actual performance
to your budget targets.
You can view or print reports that show:

■ Actual performance compared to the budget.
■ Information from the current year or the previous year.
■ The shortfall or surplus, in dollars or percentages.
■ Cash-flow projection for a specified period of time.
You can view or print graphs that show:

■ Actual revenue, or actual sales, compared to the budget.
■ Information from the current year or previous year.
■ All budgeted accounts or a selection. For example, you may
decide to:
– Exclude the costs of upgrading your building from the
graph, to show only your core business results.
– View all staffing costs, including benefits and insurance.
– Print the sales results of one department, for a sales
meeting to recognize excellent performance.
Comparing actual to budget figures can help you keep your

business on track, since you can find unexpected results sooner,
and react more quickly. See Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs,”
for more information on: comparative income statements,
graphing Sales vs. Budget or Expenses vs. Budget, and project
reporting.
Turning Off Budget Options

If you no longer want to use the budgeting features:
1. In the Home window, choose Setup, then Settings.
User Guide 3–7

Turning Off Budget Options
■ In the Settings dialog box, choose the General tab, then

uncheck the Budget Revenue And Expense Accounts
box, if you no longer need a budget for your company.
■ On the Project tab, uncheck (clear) the Budget Project
box if you no longer need to budget projects.
The program removes all budget amounts from your company

files.
Turning off the budget feature does not clear much disk space.
See “Clearing Disk Space” in Chapter 2 for more productive
ways to free up disk space.

SWC7UG04.DOC, printed on 03/08/99, at 11:04 AM. Last saved on 03/01/99 3:50 PM.
Chapter 4
Entering Miscellaneous
Transactions
Why and When to Enter Miscellaneous Transactions .............................. 4–1
Recording Miscellaneous Transactions ........................................... 4–2
User Guide 4–i


Chapter 4
Entering Miscellaneous
Transactions
In this and the following chapters, you will learn how to record
day-to-day transactions using the transaction windows.
Before using Before you can use any of the transaction windows, you must
follow the instructions in the Getting Started manual to set up
your company’s accounts and choose the options that are best
for your company.
Cash-basis If you intend to use cash-basis accounting, read Chapter 17,

accounting “Using Cash-Basis Accounting,” for important information
about recording transactions using this accounting method.
Importing If you would like to import miscellaneous transactions from

transactions another program, such as a spreadsheet, refer to Chapter 18,
"Importing Data," for instructions..
Why and When to Enter Miscellaneous Transactions

Use the Miscellaneous Transactions window to record all
transactions that cannot be made elsewhere. For example:
■ You transfer funds from one Bank account to another.
■ An owner takes some cash out of the business.
■ You make a loan payment.
You also use miscellaneous transactions at the end of a fiscal

year, to record adjustments for the old and new fiscal years. For
more information about year end, see Chapter 15, “Period-End
Processing.”
User Guide 4–1

Recording Miscellaneous Transactions
Recording Miscellaneous Transactions

To record a miscellaneous transaction:
1. In the Home window, choose Miscellaneous Transactions,
then fill in the information.
Enter a source, such as

a cheque number.
To allocate
Enter a description or revenues and
reason for the transaction. expenses to a
project, see
Chapter 9.
If you are not sure of what to

enter, check the status bar at
the bottom of the screen, or
press F1 to display Help.
2. On the Report menu, choose Display Miscellaneous

Transaction Detail, and check your work.
Process 3. Choose Process.
Correcting errors If you record a transaction and then find you want to change or
undo it, use the steps in “Reversing a Miscellaneous
Transaction,” in Chapter 11.

Chapter 5
Making Purchases
Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or Invoice ............................... 5–4
Recording a Purchase Order .................................................... 5–5
Converting a Purchase Order to an Invoice ....................................... 5–7
Accounting for Purchases ....................................................... 5–7
Accounting for a Purchase with Payment .................................... 5–10
Purchase Discounts ........................................................ 5–13
Early-Payment Discounts............................................... 5–13
Price Reductions ....................................................... 5–14
Accounting for Payments ...................................................... 5–16
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor ............................. 5–18
Making Remittances to Federal and Provincial Authorities .................... 5–19
User Guide 5–i


Chapter 5
Making Purchases
This chapter explains how to record day-to-day transactions
related to purchases.
Why and Use the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window to keep track of
when to use the money you owe your vendors (suppliers) for the goods and
services they provide to your company, and to record your
requests to purchase goods. Use the Payments window to keep
track of what you pay your vendors.
If you are not familiar with open-invoice accounting for

purchases, read Chapter 17 of the Accounting Manual. It explains
open-invoice accounting and how to account for discounts and
late-payment charges.
For a list of Vendors and Purchases reports to print at period

end, see “Audit Trail Reports” in Chapter 15.
Before you can Before you can enter a transaction, you must follow the
use the transaction instructions in the Getting Started manual to set up your
window company’s accounts.
Cash-basis If your company uses cash-basis accounting, read Chapter 17,

accounting “Using Cash-Basis Accounting,” for important information
about creating transactions using this method.
E-mail If you have a compatible e-mail program (for example,

Microsoft Mail, or Lotus Domino), you can e-mail purchase
orders to your
vendors. You can either include the e-mail address in the
vendor’s record, or add it “on the fly” when you e-mail the
vendor. Simply Accounting can also automatically e-mail your
vendor a note to confirm receipt of a purchase invoice or
purchase quote.
User Guide 5–1

Recording a Quote
For more information about setting up e-mail options in Simply

Accounting, see the section “E-mail Options,” in Chapter 3 of
the Getting Started manual.
If your vendors have Simply Accounting (version 7.0 or later),

they can import your e-mailed purchase orders into their
Simply Accounting program as sales orders. To find out more
about exporting purchase orders, see Chapter 19, “Exporting
Data.”
Similarly, you can import purchase invoices and quotes that

your vendor e-mails from Simply Accounting as sales invoices
and quotes. To find out more importing purchase invoices and
quotes, see Chapter 18, “Importing Data.”
Track You can include shipping details on your purchase invoices.

Shipments Then, if a shipment is late, or missing, you can easily trace it on
your shipper’s Web site. For more information about tracing
shipments, see the section “Tracking Shipments,” in Chapter 10
of this manual.
Recording a Quote
If your staff requires management approval before entering a
purchase order, or if you are getting price estimates from
several vendors, you can use Simply Accounting to record
quotes. Once approved, a quote can easily be changed into a
purchase order or an invoice.
Quotes do not affect your inventory reports — only purchase

orders and invoices update your inventory records.
To record a quote:
1. In the Home window, choose Purchases, Orders, and
Quotes.

Recording a Quote
Click this button to Accept or change You can e-mail

keep the same the quote number your vendor
vendor displayed for the program confirmation of
Click this button to display the next transaction. assigns. receipt of a quote.
the Home window in the
foreground.
In the Transaction field, select
Quote.
Fill in the details of the quote.

If they are not included in your
company records, you can add
a vendor, an inventory item, or
an account “on the fly.”
If the vendor record contains

payment terms, they appear here.
If you are not sure what to enter,

check the status bar at the bottom
of the screen, or press F1.
2. If you chose E-mail Confirmation Of Purchase Invoices And

Quotes in the vendor record, the program sends the
confirmation automatically when you choose Process.
If you did not choose this option in the vendor record, and
now you want to e-mail confirmation that you have
received the quote, on the File menu or toolbar, choose E-
mail. The program prompts you for an e-mail address if you
have not included one in the vendor record.
The program stores the quote until you delete it, or convert
it to a purchase order or an invoice.
Changing a quote If you record a quote and then find you want to change it, use
the steps in “Adjusting a Purchase Order or Quote,” in
Chapter 11.
Deleting a quote If you want to delete a quote (for example, if you decide
not to make the purchase):
Quotes.
User Guide 5–3

Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or Invoice
2. In the Transaction field, select Quote.

3. Select or enter the quote number, and press Tab to leave the
field.
Remove 4. On the Purchase menu or toolbar, choose Remove Quote.
Quote
Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or

Invoice
You can easily convert a quote to a purchase order or an invoice
without having to re-enter the information.
Convert a quote to a To turn a quote into a purchase order:

purchase order
Quotes. In the Transaction field, select Quote.
2. In the Quote Number box, select the quote you wish to
convert, and then press Tab.
3. Now, in the Transaction field, select Purchase Order.
4. Choose Process.
To-Do Lists The program will update the Purchase Orders tab of your
To-Do Lists with the purchase order information, to remind you
when the order is due to be shipped. If the shipment is late, you
can follow up with your vendor, or track the order on your
shipper’s Web site.
Convert a quote to To turn a quote into a purchase invoice:

an invoice
Quotes. In the Transaction field, select Quote.
2. In the Quote Number box, select the quote you wish to
convert, and then press Tab.
3. In the Transaction field, select Invoice.
4. If you wish to pay now, in the Paid By field, select Cash,
Cheque, or a credit card that you have set up in the Credit

Recording a Purchase Order
Cards Used tab, under Setup, Credit Cards. Otherwise,

select Pay Later.
5. If you are paying by cash or cheque, and you have two
linked Bank accounts, select the one you need in the Paid
From field.
6. Before you process the invoice, refer to the section
“Accounting for Purchases,” later in this chapter, for
important information about filling out invoices.
To-Do Lists If you selected Pay Later in the Paid By field, the program will
update the Purchases Due tab of the To-Do Lists with the
invoice information, to remind you when the invoice is due to
be paid.

A purchase order is a request to buy inventory items or services
from a vendor. Simply Accounting lets you record, print, and
e-mail purchase orders.
When you fill a purchase order, the program automatically

updates the quantity on the order. When a shipment arrives,
you can quickly fill all or part of the order. If you receive a
partial shipment, the program keeps track of the back-ordered
items and quantities.
To record a purchase order:

Quotes.
User Guide 5–5

Click this button to display the same To e-mail the purchase order To print the purchase
vendor for the next transaction. to a vendor, click this button. order, click this button.
Select Purchase Order.
You can either accept the

purchase order number the
program assigns, or change it.
If they are not yet recorded in

your company records, you can
add a vendor, an inventory item,
or an account “on the fly.”
If the vendor record contains

payment terms, they appear
here.
If you are not sure of what to enter, check the status bar at
the bottom of the screen, or press F1.

The program updates your inventory records to include the
details of this order, but it does not update the Transaction
Details reports or account balances, since no inventory or
money has changed hands.
Correcting an error If you record a purchase order and then find you want to
change or delete it, use the steps in “Adjusting a Purchase
Order or Quote,” in Chapter 11.
Filling the order When you receive part or all of the order, you can change the
purchase order to an invoice without having to re-enter the
information. See the next section for instructions.

Converting a Purchase Order to an Invoice
Converting a Purchase Order to an Invoice

To turn a purchase order into an invoice:
Quotes. Select Purchase Order in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote Number box, select the purchase order
you wish to convert, and then press Tab.
3. Now, in the Transaction field, select Invoice.
4. In the Paid By field, if you want to pay now, select Cash,
Cheque, or a credit card that you have set up in the Credit
Cards Used tab, under Setup, Credit Cards. Otherwise,
select Pay Later.
5. If you have linked two Bank accounts to the Vendors and
Purchases module, and you are paying by cash or cheque,
select the Bank account you need.
6. Enter the invoice number.
7. Choose Process.
update the Purchase Discounts and Purchases Due tabs of the
To-Do Lists with the invoice information, to remind you of the
early-payment deadline and when the invoice is due to be paid.
Using the To-Do Lists You can also easily convert a purchase order to an invoice from
to convert a the To-Do Lists. Refer to the section “Keeping Track of Purchase
purchase order Orders and Invoices,” in Chapter 13 of this manual.
Adjusting a Purchase If you find, later, you need to correct a sales order, you can
Order easily change it. Refer to the section “Adjusting a Purchase
Order or Quote, “ in Chapter 11 of this manual.
Accounting for Purchases

Simply Accounting lets you record purchases of:
■ Items for inventory.
User Guide 5–7

■ Items, such as services, which do not affect the value of

inventory.
You can also create an invoice from an existing purchase order

or quote. Refer to the sections “Converting a Purchase Order to
an Invoice” and “Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or
Invoice,” earlier in this chapter.
You must pay for purchases from one-time vendors at the time
you make the purchases. Because there is no record of the
vendor on the Vendors List, the program will be unable to
address a payment cheque later. To record a cash purchase (in
which you pay for the goods at the same time as you buy them),
go to the next section, “Accounting for a Purchase with
Payment.”
To record a purchase:
Quotes.
2. To enter an invoice for a vendor you expect to pay only
once, and who should not be added to your Vendors List,
follow the steps in the next section, “Accounting for a
Purchase with Payment.”
3. If you expect to repeat business with the vendor, and the
vendor is not yet included in your Vendors List, add the
vendor “on the fly.” Begin typing the new vendor’s name in
the Purchased From box, and then press Tab.
■ Choose Quick Add to add only the name to the Vendors
List, or
■ Choose Full Add to complete all the information in the
new vendor’s record.
4. Fill in the purchase invoice information.
If you are not sure of what to enter, check the status bar at
the bottom of the screen, or press F1 to display Help.

If you are filling a purchase order, select This field appears

the purchase order number before you when you select
Click this button to display enter any other information on the Cheque in the
the same vendor for the next invoice. Then press the Tab key. Paid By field.
transaction.
Credit cards you set up for
making purchases (in Setup,
Credit Cards, Credit Cards Used)
appear here.
The name of the Invoice field
changes to Reference if the Invoice
Received box is not checked.
The Invoice Received field
appears if you chose the Store
Invoice Lookup Details system
setting. (See Chapter 8 for more
information on invoice lookup.) If
you have the vendor’s invoice in
hand, check this box, and enter
the invoice number in the Invoice
field. Otherwise, leave the box
unchecked and enter a reference
number in the Reference field.
If you entered payment terms in the Include shipping details to be able to track the shipment
vendor record, the terms appear here. later on your vendor’s web site.
Invoices based on If you base the invoice on a purchase order, you can do the
purchase orders following:
Fill ■ Fill the entire order. Fill in all the quantities in the
Backordered Received (Rec’d) column with the quantities in the Back
Quantities Order (B/O) column, by choosing the Fill Purchase
Order button, or by choosing Fill Purchase Order from
the Purchase menu.
■ Fill part of the order. Type quantities being received in
the Received (Rec’d) column.
Cancel ■ Cancel all items on back order. Set all quantities in
Backordered the Back Order (B/O) column to zero, by choosing the
Quantities Cancel Backordered Quantities button, or by choosing
Cancel Backordered Items from the Purchase menu.
■ Cancel individual items on back order. Type zeroes
in the Back Order (B/O) column to cancel items on the
order.
■ Change the number of items on back order. Type
the new quantities over the quantities in the Back Order
User Guide 5–9

(B/O) column to change the number of items on back

order. The new quantity cannot be greater than the
quantity in the Order column.
Check your entries 5. On the Report menu, choose Display Purchase Transaction
Detail, and then check your work. At this time, you may
wish to note the transaction number associated with this
invoice. The transaction number can help you locate this
invoice, later, in reports.
E-mail 6. To send the vendor confirmation that you have received the
invoice, from the File menu or toolbar, choose E-mail. (If
you selected E-mail Confirmation Of Purchase Invoices And
Quotes in the vendor record, the program e-mails the
confirmation automatically when you choose Process.)
The program updates your inventory records, and the
Accounts Payable and inventory accounts linked to this
module. If you entered Refundable QST, the linked
Refundable QST account is also updated.
Correcting errors If you record a transaction and then find you want to change or
undo it, use the steps in “Automatically Correcting Entries,” or
in “Manually Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
Accounting for a Purchase with Payment
If you have already paid the invoice you are entering, or if you
are paying for goods (by cash, cheque, or credit card) at the
same time as you are purchasing them, you can enter both the
invoice and the payment as one transaction.
You must pay for purchases from one-time vendors at the time
of purchase, because the program does not keep track of where
to send the payment cheque later.

Reports Details of the transaction will appear on the All Transactions

report, Purchase Transactions report, and Transactions By
Account report. If you did not select the option Clear Invoices
When Paid in the vendor’s record, the transaction will also
appear on the Vendor Aged report and in the Payments
window.
To record a purchase with payment:

Quotes.
2. Select Invoice in the Transaction field, and then select
Cheque, Cash, or a credit card in the Paid By field. (To be
able to use credit cards, you must set them up in Setup,
Credit Cards, Credit Cards Used.)
3. If you are entering an invoice from a vendor you expect to
pay only once, whom you do not want to add to your
Vendor List:
a) Select One-time Vendor in the Purchased From box, and
press Tab to reach the address box.
b) Type the name and address of the vendor, as you want
them to appear on the cheque.
User Guide 5–11

If you are paying an existing purchase Press this button to

order, you must select the vendor before e-mail your vendor
the Order/Quote Number field will display. confirmation that
Select the order/quote number, and tab you have received
to the next field before entering any other the invoice.
If you have linked two Bank
information on the invoice.
accounts to this module, select the
account you need.
In the Purchased From field, select

a vendor, or select One-time Vendor.
If you select One-time Vendor in

the Purchased From field, type the
vendor’s name as you want it to
appear on the cheque, on the first
line of the address box.
If the vendor record includes payment

terms, the discount percentage and
amount appear.
4. Fill in the invoice information. If you are unsure of what to

enter, check the status bar, or press F1 to display Help, or
refer to the previous section.
5. To print a cheque for the items being purchased, on the File
menu or toolbar, choose Print.
The program updates the Transaction Details reports and
your inventory and vendor records. If you purchased a
service or a non-inventory item, the program updates the
account you specified on the invoice. The program also
updates the Bank account and inventory accounts linked to
this module.
If you pay by credit card, the program updates the Credit
Card Payable account (specified under Credit Cards, on the
Setup menu) by the amount due to the credit-card
company.
If the payment includes a discount for early payment, the
discount is credited to the Purchase Discount account
linked to this module.

If you selected the option E-mail Confirmation Of Purchase

Invoices And Quotes in the vendor record, the program
e-mails the vendor to confirm that you have received the
invoice.
If you selected the option Clear Invoices When Paid in the
vendor record, the program removes the invoice.
Correcting errors If you process a transaction and then find you want to change
or undo it, use the steps in “Automatically Correcting Entries,”
or in “Manually Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
Purchase Discounts
Early-Payment Discounts
The program calculates early-payment discounts automatically,

based on the early-payment terms included in the individual
vendor’s record, and includes the discount amount in the
Purchase Discounts account.
Using the To-Do Lists Use the To-Do Lists to remind you of early-payment deadlines,
to pay early to make sure you receive the early-payment discounts offered
by your vendors. To read more about using the To-Do Lists,
refer to Chapter 13, “Using the Business Assistant to Stay
Organized.”
Tip: Set the To-Do Lists to display when you start the
program, so Simply Accounting can remind you about
early-payment deadlines whenever you open your
company files. (On the View menu, choose To-Do Lists, and
then At Startup.) When Simply Accounting displays the
To-Do Lists, be sure to check the Purchase Discounts tab!
Other discounts To find out how to keep track of other discounts, read the next
section.
User Guide 5–13

Price Reductions
This section explains how to keep track of price reductions in a

separate account.
Volume discounts and other bargains are reductions in the

purchase price, which the vendor offers you at the time of
purchase. They are not included in the Purchase Discounts
account. You should account for special “deals” by reducing the
price of the item directly on the invoice.
Net price is not If you do not wish to keep track of price reductions in a separate
tracked account, process the purchase in the normal way, but enter the
item or service price net of the discount. For example, if the
vendor gives you a 10 percent discount on a $200 purchase,
enter the price as $180.
Note that price reductions are not the same as discounts for
early payment. If you receive a discount for early payment of an
invoice, process the purchase in the normal way, but enter the
early-payment discount rate in the Terms field. For instructions
on recording a purchase, see “Accounting for Purchases,”

Tracking price To process a discounted purchase and record the discount

reductions in a separate account:
Create Purchase 1. In the Accounts window, create an expense account called
Price Reductions Purchase Price Reductions, with a number between 5000
account and 5999.
2. In the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window, record the
items and services you are purchasing from this vendor.
“Price Reduction” 3. On a new line, type Price Reduction in the Description
line field.
GST 4. If GST is charged on any items, enter the code in the GST
field. When you enter a negative amount (in step 6), the
program reduces the GST by the amount of GST on the
discount.
PST 5. If PST is charged on any items, and if you are required to
pay sales tax after a price reduction is applied, enter the tax
rate in the PST field. When you enter a negative amount (in
step 6), the program reduces the sales tax by the amount of
tax on the price reduction.
If your vendor charges tax before applying price reductions,
leave the PST field blank on the price reduction line.
QST If you use Quebec sales tax, the QST field replaces the PST
field. Enter the QST code. When you enter a negative
amount (in step 6), the program reduces the QST by the
amount of QST on the price reduction line.
Enter negative 6. Calculate the amount of the price reduction that you
amount received. Enter that figure in the Amount field, preceded by
a minus sign.
Use Purchase Price 7. Enter the Purchase Price Reductions account number in the
Reductions account Account field.
Check your work 8. On the Report menu, choose Display Purchase Transaction
Detail, verify that the transactions are correct, and then
return to the Purchases window.
9. To print the invoice, on the File menu or toolbar, choose
Print.
User Guide 5–15

Accounting for Payments
The program updates the Purchase Price Reductions

account and reduces Accounts Payable accordingly.
Adjusting an invoice If you record an invoice, and later find you need to correct it,
you can easily adjust it. To find out how to adjust invoices, refer
to the section “Automatically Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11
of this manual.

This section explains how to record payment of a purchase
invoice or credit-card statement. (For sales invoices, see
Chapter 6.)
Cash purchase If you pay an invoice at the time of purchase, you can record
both the invoice and the payment in the same window, and you
can print a cheque with just one extra step. For more
information, see “Accounting for a Purchase with Payment,”
Customize your To find out how to customize your Simply Accounting cheques,
cheques see Chapter 21, “Customizing Forms and Reports.”
To record the payment of an unpaid invoice or credit-card

statement:
Payments 1. In the Home window, choose Payments.
2. Fill in the payment information. If you are not sure of what
to enter, check the status bar at the bottom of the screen, or
You can enter an unlimited number of invoices for payment,
but a cheque has room to print only the first 36 payments. If
you want to pay more than 36 invoices, you can print more
than one cheque, or write a cheque by hand.

If you have linked two Bank accounts to this module, choose the
account from which you want to make this payment.
Select Vendor or Credit Card Bill.

When you select Vendor, the By
field appears. You can pay by
cash, cheque or credit card.
You can backdate cheques
as far back as the earliest
transaction date.
If you checked the Print Contact
On Cheques box in the vendor
record, the name of the contact
person appears.
If you are paying within the

discount period, the program
calculates the discount, and
displays it when you click in the
Discount Taken field.
To pay less than the full amount, type over the amount displayed, or
press Delete or Backspace to remove the amount.
When you select Credit Card Bill in the Pay field, the
display is different. The balance in your Credit Card
Payable Account appears, along with a Payment Amount
field that lets you enter the amount you are paying. (If you
set up an expense account for interest or additional fees,
you enter these charges in another field that appears. The
Payment Amount includes any additional amounts you
enter.)
Print cheques 3. When you finish entering items on the cheque, print it. (On
the File menu or toolbar, choose Print.)
Examine the cheque carefully before processing the
payment. If the cheque is damaged, you can print an
identical cheque by again choosing Print. Printing copies of
the same cheque does not affect your records, or the
numbers of subsequent cheques, unless your cheques are
pre-numbered. If you use pre-numbered cheques, type the
matching cheque number in the Number field in the
Payment Cheques window.
Be sure to destroy any unacceptable cheques.
User Guide 5–17


The program updates this vendor’s record and the
inventory records, as well as the Accounts Payable and
inventory accounts linked to this module. If the payment
includes a discount, it adds the discount to the Purchase
Discount account linked to this module.
Using the To-Do Lists To read about how to pay an invoice from the To-Do Lists, refer
to pay an invoice to the section “Keeping Track of Purchase Orders and Invoices,”
in Chapter 13 of this manual.
Correcting an error If you process a transaction and then find you want to change
or in “Manually Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor
Simply Accounting uses the open-invoice accounting method,

so prepayments and deposits to a vendor are recorded as
negative invoices. (For more information about open-invoice
accounting, refer to Chapter 17 of the Accounting Manual.)
To process a deposit or prepayment to a vendor:

1. In the vendor’s record, clear the Include In GST Report box
and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST Report
box for this vendor. This ensures that the transaction does
not appear on the GST or QST reports.
Quotes.
3. In the Transaction field, select Invoice, and in the Paid By
field, select Pay Later.
4. Enter the vendor name in the Purchased From field.
Cheque number 5. In the Invoice field, enter the payment cheque number.
6. In the Description field, note the purpose of this payment.
Negative amount 7. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the cheque,
preceded by a minus sign.

Account number 8. In the Account field, enter the Bank account number.
Check your work 9. From the Report menu, select Display Purchase Transaction
Detail to verify that this transaction debits the Accounts
Payable account and credits the Bank account.
10. Choose Process.
Turn on GST and QST 11. In the vendor’s record, check the Include In GST Report box
reporting and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST Report
box for this vendor.
Making Remittances to Federal and Provincial Authorities
To issue cheques to federal or provincial authorities for such

expenses as Canada and Quebec Pension Plan contributions,
federal income tax, Goods and Services Tax, or Quebec Sales
Tax, you must set up an account for that authority.
For information about calculating the GST, HST, or QST you

remit to the government, see “The End of Your GST, HST, or
QST Reporting Period,” in Chapter 15.
To issue a cheque to a government authority:

Create a vendor 1. In the vendor’s record, create a new vendor account for the
record for the tax “vendor,” for example, the Receiver General of Canada or
authority the Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
Leave GST and QST 2. Do not include these “vendors” in the GST or QST reports;
unchecked leave the Include In GST Report and Include In QST Report
boxes unchecked.
3. If you pay monthly, look up the liability account balances
on the month’s end-of-month balance sheet to find out the
amount owing to the authority for a particular liability (for
example, GST Payable).
Quotes.
5. Select Invoice in the Transaction field. If you select Cheque
in the Paid By field, you can enter the invoice and issue a
cheque as described in step 8.
User Guide 5–19

6. Enter the “vendor.”

Enter payment 7. Enter the remittance balances and their liability account
amount numbers as on a normal purchase, as described in
“Accounting for Purchases,” earlier in this chapter.
This transaction transfers the liability account balance to
Accounts Payable on the balance sheet. The amount is
recorded in the balance owing for the vendor.
8. In the Payments window, issue a cheque to the authority in
the normal way, as described in “Accounting for
Payments,” earlier in this chapter. If you are treating the
transaction as a purchase with payment, follow the steps
under “Accounting for a Purchase with Payment” instead.

Chapter 6
Making Sales
Converting a Quote to a Sales Order or Invoice ................................... 6–4
Recording a Sales Order ........................................................ 6–5
Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice ........................................... 6–6
Accounting for Sales ........................................................... 6–7
Accounting for a Sale with Payment ........................................ 6–10
Sales Discounts ........................................................... 6–12
Early-Payment Discounts............................................... 6–12
Price Reductions ....................................................... 6–12
Accounting for Receipts ....................................................... 6–14
Recording Payments from Credit-Card Companies ........................... 6–15
Accounting for a Customer’s Prepayment or Deposit ......................... 6–16
Accounting for a Customer’s Overpayment .................................. 6–17
Processing a Credit Memo or Customer Refund .............................. 6–18
Writing Off Bad Debts ......................................................... 6–21
User Guide 6–i


Chapter 6
Making Sales
This chapter explains how to record day-to-day transactions
related to sales.
Why and when Use the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window to keep track of sales
to use quotes, orders, and invoices, and the Receipts window to keep
track of the amounts your customers pay you for the goods and
services you provide.
Where to find other If you are not familiar with open-invoice accounting, you
Customers and Sales should read Chapter 17 of the Accounting Manual. It explains the
information principles of open-invoice accounting and how to account for
discounts, late-payment charges, and bad debts.
For a list of sales-related reports you should print at period end,

see “Audit Trail Reports,” in Chapter 15.
Before you can use Before you process sales and receipts, follow the instructions in
the window the Getting Started manual to set up your company’s accounts.
Cash-basis If your company uses cash-basis accounting, you should also

accounting read Chapter 17, “Using Cash-Basis Accounting,” for important
information about processing transactions using this method.
E-mail If you have a compatible e-mail program (for example,

Microsoft Mail, or Lotus Domino), you can e-mail quotes, sales
order confirmations, and invoices to your customers. You can
either include the e-mail address in the customer’s record or
add it “on the fly” when you send the e-mail.
For more information about setting up e-mail options in Simply

Accounting, see the section “Customizing Rates, Settings, and
Formats,” in Chapter 5 of the Getting Started manual.
User Guide 6–1

Recording a Quote
Exporting sales orders Your customers who have Simply Accounting (version 7.0 or
and quotes later) can import your e-mailed sales invoices and sales quotes
into their Simply Accounting program as purchase invoices and
purchase quotes. To find out more about exporting sales quotes
and invoices, see Chapter 19, “Exporting Data.”
Importing sales Similarly, you can import sales orders that your customers
orders e-mail to you from Simply Accounting. To find out more about
importing sales orders, see Chapter 18, “Importing Data.”
Track You can include shipping details on your sales invoices. Then, if
Shipments a shipment is late, or missing, you can easily trace it on your
shipper’s Web site. For more information about tracing
shipments, see the section “Tracking Shipments,” in Chapter 10
of this manual.
Recording a Quote
If a customer asks you for a price quote, you can quickly put
one together and print it. You can select from your list of
inventory items and services, and the program will calculate the
taxes and other amounts for you. You can also record details
manually. You can change a quote very quickly into a sales
order or an invoice.
Quotes do not affect your inventory reports — only sales orders

and invoices update your inventory records.
To record a quote:
1. In the Home window, choose Sales, Orders, and Quotes.

Recording a Quote
Select Quote in the To e-mail the quote to To print the quote,

Transaction field. your customer, click click this button.
To add a customer “on the fly,” this button.
type the name and Tab out of the
field. (Quick Add adds only the
name to the customer’s record.
With Full Add you can enter a
complete record.)
Accept or change the quote

number the program assigns.
You can accept the displayed

price, or type a new price.
Comments you enter in
Settings, in the Comments
tab, display here. You can type
a different message when you
prepare the quote.
If you entered payment terms in
the customer record, the terms
appear here.
If you are not sure of what to enter, check the status bar at the bottom of
the screen, or press F1.
2. If you chose E-mail Forms For This Customer, in the

customer record, the program will automatically e-mail
your quote to the customer when you choose Process.
E-mail If you did not select this option, and you wish to e-mail this
quote, choose E-mail from the toolbar or the File menu. The
program prompts you for an e-mail address if you have not
included one in the customer record.
Process 3. To record the quote, choose Process.
The program stores the quote until you delete it, or convert
it to a sales order or an invoice.
Changing a quote If you record a quote, and then find you want to change it, use
the steps in “Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote,” in Chapter 11.
Deleting a quote If you want to delete a quote (for example, if the customer
decides not to make the purchase):
2. Select Quote as the transaction type.
User Guide 6–3

Converting a Quote to a Sales Order or Invoice
3. Select or enter the quote number, and press Tab to leave the
field.
Remove 4. On the Sales menu or toolbar, choose Remove Quote.
Quote
Converting a Quote to a Sales Order or Invoice

You can convert a quote to a sales order or an invoice without
having to re-enter the information.
To turn a quote into a sales order:

Select Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote Number box, select the quote you wish
to convert, and then press Tab.
3. Now, in the Transaction field, select Sales Order.
Process 4. Choose Process to convert the quote to an order.
To turn a quote into a sales invoice:

Select Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote Number box, select the quote you wish
to convert, and then press Tab.
4. In the Paid By field, select the method of payment your
customer is using. You can select Cash, Cheque, or any
credit card you set up under Credit Cards Accepted, in
Setup, Credit Cards. Or, select Pay Later.
5. Before you process the invoice, refer to the section
“Accounting for Sales,” later in this chapter, for important
information about filling out invoices.
Process 6. Choose Process to convert the quote to an invoice.

Recording a Sales Order
update the Sales Due tab of the To-Do Lists with the invoice
information, to remind you when the invoice is due to be paid.
Recording a Sales Order

A sales order is a customer’s request to buy inventory items or
services from your company that you will ship or give to the
customer later. Simply Accounting lets you process and print
sales orders.
When you make a shipment to the customer, you can quickly fill
the sales order, or just part of it. If you ship part of a sales order,
the program keeps track of any back-ordered items and
quantities.
To process a sales order:

2. In the Transaction field, select Sales Order.
3. Fill in the order information. If you are not sure of what to
enter, check the status bar at the bottom of the screen, or
User Guide 6–5

Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice
Click this button to keep this The program automatically Click this button to confirm the order
customer displayed for the assigns the sales order to the customer by e-mail.
next transaction. number, but you can change it.
Select Sales Order.

Enter the details of the order.
You can add inventory items,
customers, and accounts “on
the fly.”
To add a customer “on the fly,”
type the name of the customer
and tab out of the field. Quick
Add adds only the name to the
customer’s record. Full Add lets
you enter complete information.
If you entered payment terms

in the customer record, the
terms appear here.
4. To print the sales order, on the File menu or toolbar, choose

Print.
The program updates the inventory record by the number
in the Back Order (B/O) field, but it does not update the
Transaction List or change your account balances, since no
inventory or money has changed hands.
Changing a If you process a sales order and then find you want to change it,
transaction see “Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote,” in Chapter 11.
Filling the order When you fill part or all of the order, you can change the sales
order to a sales invoice without having to re-enter the
information. See the next section for instructions.
Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice

To turn a sales order into an invoice:

Accounting for Sales
2. In the Transaction field, select Sales Order.

3. In the Order/Quote Number box, select the sales order you
wish to convert, and then press Tab.
4. Now, select Invoice in the Transaction field.
5. In the Paid By field, select the method of payment your
customer is using. You can select Cash, Cheque, or any
credit card you set up in Setup, Credit Cards, Credit Cards
Accepted. Or, you can bill the customer later.
6. Enter the invoice number.
The program will update the Sales Due tab, on the To-Do Lists,
to remind you to collect from the customer.
Check your work From the Reports menu, choose Transaction Details, and then
Sales to check that the transaction was entered correctly.
Using the To-Do Lists You can also easily create an invoice from a sales order using
to convert a sales the To-Do Lists. Refer to the section “Keeping Track of Sales
order Orders and Invoices,” in Chapter 13 of this manual.
Adjusting a sales If you find, later, you need to correct a sales order, you can
order easily change it. Refer to the section “Adjusting a Sales Order or
Quote,” in Chapter 11 of this manual.

Simply Accounting lets you record the sale of items and
services. The program also tracks inventory details, such as
costs, and re-order reminders.
To record a cash sale (in which you receive payment for the
goods at the same time as you sell them), go to the next section,
“Accounting for a Sale with Payment.”
User Guide 6–7

Printing invoices Use the program to print or e-mail invoices, or prepare the
invoices by hand. If you are preparing the invoices manually,
you may choose not to enter some of the optional fields in the
Sales, Orders, and Quotes window. However, the program will
prompt you when you try to process an invoice if any required
fields are missing.
To process a sale on account:

3. Complete the invoice.
Click this button to invoice a customer by e-mail.
See
Chapter 9
Select Invoice, and then to allocate
Pay Later. revenues
to a
To add customers “on the fly,”
project.
type the name of the customer
and press Tab. Quick Add This field
adds only the customer’s changes
name. Full Add lets you enter to QST if
complete information. you
check the
Click twice to add an inventory
Use
item “on the fly”.
Quebec
Sales Tax
Comments you enter in box on
Settings, on the Comments the Sales
tab, display here, or you can Taxes tab
type another message. in the
Settings
Include the shipper’s name and the shipment’s tracking dialog
number, to trace the shipment later on the shipper’s Web site. box.
If you base the invoice on a sales order, you can do the

following:
Fill ■ Fill the entire order. Fill in all the quantities in the Ship
Backordered column with the quantities in the Back Order (B/O)
Quantities column, by choosing the Fill Backordered Quantities
button, or by choosing Fill Sales Order from the Sales
menu.
■ Fill part of the order. Type quantities being shipped in
the Ship column.

Cancel ■ Cancel all items on back order. Set all quantities in

Backordered the Back Order (B/O) column to zero, by choosing the
Quantities Cancel Backordered Quantities button, or by choosing
Cancel Backordered Items from the Sales menu.
■ Cancel individual items on back order. Type zeroes
in the Back Order (B/O) column to cancel items on the
order.
■ Change the number of items on back order. Type
the new quantities over the quantities in the Back Order
(B/O) column to change the number of items on back
order. The new quantity cannot be greater than the
quantity in the Order column.
■ GST. Enter a GST code for each item, including freight.
If you do not enter a code for an inventory item, the
program uses the last GST code you entered, either on
the current invoice or the last time you entered a sale.
■ QST. If you use Quebec sales tax, enter a QST code for
each item, including freight. If you do not enter a code
for an inventory item, the program uses the last QST
code you entered, either on the current invoice or the
last time you entered a sale.
Check your work 4. From the Report menu, choose Display Sale Transaction
Detail to check your work. At this time, you may wish to
note the transaction number associated with this invoice.
The transaction number can help you locate this invoice,
later, in reports.
Print or e-mail the 5. To print the invoice, from the File menu or toolbar, choose
invoice Print. Or, to e-mail the invoice, choose E-mail.
The program updates your inventory records, and the Accounts

Receivable and inventory accounts linked to this module. It also
updates the Sales Due tab, on the To-Do Lists, to remind you
when the customer’s payment is due.
User Guide 6–9

Cost is averaged When it updates the materials or services expense account

linked to the item sold, the program uses the average cost of the
inventory item.
Discounts The Sales Discount account linked to this module is not affected
until you process a payment in the Receipts window.
or “Manually Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
Accounting for a Sale with Payment
If you are receiving payment for goods (by cash, cheque, or

credit card) at the same time as you are selling them, or if you
have already received payment for the invoice you are
processing, you can process the sale and the receipt at one time.
You must receive payments from one-time customers at the

time you make the sale, because the program does not keep a
record of where to send an invoice or statement later.
To process a payment for an unpaid invoice you entered earlier,

use the instructions under “Accounting for Receipts,” later in
this chapter.
Reports Details of the transaction will appear on the All Transactions

report, Sales Transactions report, and Transactions By Account
report. If you did not select the option Clear Invoices When
Paid in the customer’s record, the transaction will also appear
on the Customer Aged report and in the Receipts window, if
you check Include Fully Paid Invoices.
To record a sale with payment:

1. 1n the Home window, choose Sales, Orders, and Quotes.

Click this button to display If you have linked two Bank accounts To e-mail the invoice,
the same customer for the to this module, select the one you need. click the E-mail button.
next transaction.
Select Invoice. Then, in the

Paid By field, select Cash,
Cheque, or a credit card.
Select a customer, or select
<One-time Customer>.
Comments you enter in

Settings, on the Comments
tab, are displayed here, or you
can type a different one now.
Any payment terms you entered

in the customer record appear
here.
If you are unsure of what to enter, check the status bar, or press
F1 to display Help.
Process 2. Choose Process to update your records.

The program updates the Transaction Detail reports, and
the Bank (or cash clearing) account linked to this module. It
also updates your inventory records and linked inventory
accounts. (If you sold a service, or a non-inventory item, the
program updates the account you specified on the invoice.)
If the payment includes a discount, the discount is included
in the Sales Discount account linked to this module.
If the customer paid by credit card, the program updates
the asset and expense accounts specified for the credit card
under Credit Cards, on the Setup menu. The program
increases the asset account by the amount due from the
credit-card company, and records the transaction fee in the
expense account.
If you selected the option to Clear Invoices When Paid in
the customer’s record, the program removes the invoice.
User Guide 6–11

Sales Discounts
Early-Payment Discounts
Only early-payment discounts are included in the Sales

Discounts account. The program calculates the discount
automatically, based on the terms you entered when you set up
your Customers and Sales options. (In Settings, you can choose
whether to give your customers early-payment discounts based
on the full invoice price, including tax, or on the amount before
tax.) If your customer pays early, Simply Accounting calculates
the discount and updates the accounts when you process the
payment.
Other discounts To find out how to track other types of discounts, read the next
section.
Price Reductions
This section explains how to keep track of price reductions in a

separate account.
Volume discounts, and other price reductions you offer the

customer at the time of sale, are not included in the Sales
Discounts account because they are not early-payment
discounts.
Net price is not If you do not wish to keep track of price reductions in a separate
tracked account, process the sale in the normal way, but enter the item
or service price net of the discount. For example, if you are
giving a 10 percent discount on $200, enter the price as $180.
Note that price reductions are not the same as discounts for
early payment. If you want to allow a discount for early
payment, process the sale in the normal way, but enter the
early-payment discount rate in the Terms field. For instructions
on processing a sale, see “Accounting for Sales,” earlier in this
chapter.

Tracking price To process a discounted sale and allocate the discount to

reductions a separate account:
Create Sale Price 1. In the Accounts window, create a revenue account called
Reductions account Sale Price Reductions, with a number between 4000
and 4999.
2. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, record the items
and services you are selling to this customer.
“Price Reduction” 3. On a new line, type Price Reduction in the Description
line field.
GST 4. If GST is charged on any items, enter the code in the GST
field. When you enter a negative amount (in step 6), the
program reduces the GST by the amount of GST on the
discount.
PST 5. If PST is charged on any items, and if you are required to
charge sales tax after a price reduction is applied, enter the
tax rate in the PST field. When you enter a negative amount
(in step 6), the program reduces the sales tax by the amount
of tax on the price reduction.
If you charge sales tax before applying price reductions,
leave the PST field blank on the price reduction line.
QST If you use Quebec sales tax, the QST field replaces the PST
field. Enter the QST code. When you enter a negative
amount (in step 6), the program reduces the QST by the
amount of QST on the price reduction.
Enter negative 6. Calculate the amount of the price reduction that you wish to
amount give to your customer. Enter that figure in the Amount
field, preceded by a minus sign.
Use Sales Price 7. Enter the Sales Price Reductions account number in the
Reductions account Account field.
Check your work 8. On the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail to verify that the transactions are correct, and then
return to the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window.
9. To print or e-mail the invoice, on the File menu or toolbar,
choose Print or E-mail.
User Guide 6–13

Accounting for Receipts
The program charges the Sale Price Reductions account and

reduces Accounts Receivable accordingly.

This section explains how to account for a payment received for
an unpaid sales invoice.
Cash sale If your customer pays at the time of the sale, you can process
both the invoice and the payment in the same window, and you
can print a receipt with just one extra step.
For more information, see “Accounting for a Sale with

Payment,” earlier in this chapter.
Deposits, If the customer is making a prepayment or deposit, or is paying

prepayments, and more than the full amount of the invoice, see “Accounting for a
overpayments Customer’s Prepayment or Deposit” or “Accounting for a
Customer’s Overpayment,” later in this chapter.
To record a payment received for an invoice:

1. In the Home window, choose Receipts.
2. Fill in the receipt information.

Press this button to Press this button

send the receipt by e-mail. to print the receipt.
If you have linked more than

one account to this module,
select the Bank account to
which you will make this
deposit.
If the customer is paying within
the discount period, the
program calculates the
discount, and displays it when
you click in the Discount Taken
field.
If the customer is paying less

than the full amount, type over
the amount displayed. To remove
an amount, press Delete or
Backspace.
If you are not sure what to
enter, check the status bar
at the bottom of the screen,
or press F1.

The program updates this customer’s record, and the linked
Bank and Accounts Receivable accounts. If the payment
includes a discount, it adds the discount to the Sales
Discount account linked to this module.
To-Do Lists You can also use the To-Do Lists to record a customer’s
payment. Refer to the section “Keeping Track of Sales Orders
and Invoices,” in Chapter 13 of this manual.
Recording Payments from Credit-Card Companies
When you receive a payment from a credit-card company, you

do not use the Receipts window to record the deposit. The
Receipts window is used only to record payments from
customers. The credit-card company is not your customer but a
financial institution, like your bank.
Instead of updating your Bank account when you make

credit-card sales, Simply Accounting updates your Credit Card
User Guide 6–15

account. Later, the credit-card company transfers the amounts it

owes you directly to your bank, one financial institution to
another.
Record a transfer In Simply Accounting, you record this transfer between the
between accounts credit-card company and your Bank accounts as follows:
1. In the Home window, choose Miscellaneous Transactions.
2. In the Source field, type the credit-card company’s reference
number, or batch number.
3. In the Comment field, type the month (or other period) to
which the credit-card company’s payment relates, and any
information you need to help you identify the related sales.
You may find this additional detail helpful when you
reconcile your bank or credit-card statements.
4. In the first detail line, in the Account column, select the
bank account you use to record credit-card company
deposits. In the Debit column, type the amount deposited.
5. In the second detail line, in the Account column, select the
account you use to record amounts due from the credit-card
company. In the Credit column, type the amount received.
Process 6. Choose Process to update the accounts.
Correcting an error If you process a transaction and then find you want to change
If you reconcile Tip: If you use Simply Accounting to reconcile your Bank
accounts accounts, you may want to enter the same deposit slip
number for all receipts that you deposit together, so that
you can clear them in one step when you reconcile. For
instructions, see “Save Time Reconciling Grouped
Deposits,” in Chapter 14.
Accounting for a Customer’s Prepayment or Deposit

Because Simply Accounting uses the open-invoice accounting
method, prepayments and deposits are processed as negative

invoices rather than payments. (For more information about

open-invoice accounting, refer to the Accounting Manual.)
To process a customer’s prepayment:

Turn off GST and QST 1. In the Customers window, clear the Include In GST Report
reporting box and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST
Report box for this customer. This ensures that the
prepayment does not appear on the GST or QST reports.
3. In the Transaction field, select Invoice. Then select Pay Later
in the Paid By field.
4. In the Sold To field, enter the customer name.
Cheque number 5. In the Invoice field, enter the customer’s cheque number.
Negative amount 6. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the cheque,
Account number 7. In the Account field, enter the Bank account number.
Remove terms 8. In the Terms field, remove any terms.
Check your work 9. From the Report menu, select Display Sales Transaction
Detail to verify that this transaction debits the Bank account
and credits the Accounts Receivable account.
10. Choose Process.
Turn on GST and QST 11. In the Customers window, check the Include In GST Report
reporting box and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST
Report box for this customer.
Accounting for a Customer’s Overpayment
Because Simply Accounting uses the open-invoice accounting

method, you can apply overpayments against unpaid invoices.
If there are no unpaid invoices for the customer, or the total of
the unpaid invoices is less than the amount of the overpayment,
treat the overpayment as a prepayment (see the previous
section).
User Guide 6–17

To apply a customer’s overpayment against an invoice:

1. In the Home window, choose Receipts.
2. If you have linked two Bank accounts to this module, select
the one to which you want to deposit the payment, in the
Deposit To field.
3. Enter the customer name.
4. Enter the cheque number and date.
5. In the Payment Amount field, accept the amount of the
invoice being paid, or enter a different amount.
Check your work 6. From the Report menu, choose Display Receipt Transaction
Detail to verify that this transaction debits the Bank account
and credits the Accounts Receivable account.
7. Choose Process.
Processing a Credit Memo or Customer Refund
When you return part or all of a customer’s payment, you can:

■ Issue a credit memo. You can apply the credit memo to the
customer’s next invoice.
■ Issue a refund. You can manually write a cheque when you
process the refund in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes
window. Refunds are described later in this section.
To process a credit memo:

2. In the Transaction field, select Invoice. Then select Pay Later
in the Paid By field.
3. In the Invoice field, enter CM (for credit memo) plus the
original sales invoice number.
4. Enter the date of the credit memo.
5. If the credit memo is for a service or returned item that you
track in Simply Accounting, and that you could sell again:
■ Enter the item number.

Negative quantity ■ In the Ship field, enter a quantity, preceded by a minus

sign.
6. If the credit memo is for a returned service or item that you
do not track in Simply Accounting, enter a description of
the item in the Description field.
7. If the credit memo is for a returned inventory item that you
track in Simply Accounting, but that cannot be sold again, do
not enter an item number. Instead:
■ In the Ship field, enter a quantity, preceded by a minus
sign.
■ Enter a description of the item in the Description field.
■ In the Account field, select the expense account you use
for writing off inventory, such as Adjustment Write-off.
(If you do not have such an account, create one in the
5000 range, as described in “Adding Accounts,” in
Chapter 2.)
Negative amount 8. Enter the dollar amount, preceded by a minus sign.
GST 9. Enter the GST code, and enter or accept the PST percentage
displayed. If you use Quebec sales tax, enter the QST code.
Cost allocation 10. If the original transaction included allocations to projects,
enter the projects, and the amounts or percentages.
11. In the Comments field, briefly describe the reason for the
credit memo. For example, enter “Item was returned,” or
“Original price reduced to ensure customer satisfaction.”
No payment terms 12. In the Terms field, remove any payment terms.
Print 13 If you wish to print the credit memo, on the File menu or
toolbar, choose Print.
Check your work 14. On the Report menu, choose Display Sale Transaction
Detail, and check your work. If the credit is for returned
inventory,
the entry should debit the revenue and inventory asset (or
write-off) accounts you used when you made the sale; it
should also credit Cost of Goods Sold (the expense account
linked to the returned item) and Accounts Receivable. For a
User Guide 6–19

service item, the entry should debit the revenue account

and credit Accounts Receivable.
You must now remove the reversed amounts from the Receipts
window, as described in “Removing Reversed Amounts from
the Receipts Window,” in Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries.”
To process a refund:
1. Using the customer’s original invoice as a guide, decide on
the refund amount. Using a typewriter or cheque printer,
write a cheque for that amount.
(You can also issue the refund in cash, as described in
step 14, below).
3. Select Invoice in the Transaction field, and Cheque in the

Paid By field.
4. In the Invoice field, enter the cheque number of the cheque
that you have prepared for the customer. (This will help
you when you reconcile your Bank account.)
5. Enter the date of the refund.
6. If the refund is for a service or inventory item that you track
in Simply Accounting, and that you could sell again:
■ Enter the item number.
Negative quantity ■ In the Ship field, enter a quantity, preceded by a minus
sign.
7. If the refund is for a returned service or item that you do
not track in Simply Accounting, enter a description of the
item in the Description field.
8. If the refund is for a returned inventory item that you track
in Simply Accounting, but that cannot be sold again, do not
enter an item number. Instead:
■ In the Ship field, enter a quantity, preceded by a minus
sign.

Writing Off Bad Debts
■ Enter a description of the item in the Description field.

■ In the Account field, select the expense account you use
for writing off inventory, such as Adjustment Write-off.
(If you do not have such an account, create one in
the 5000 range, as described in “Adding Accounts,” in
Chapter 2.)
Negative amount 9. Enter the dollar amount, preceded by a minus sign.
GST 10. Enter the GST code, and enter or accept the PST percentage
displayed. If you use Quebec sales tax, enter the QST code.
Cost allocation 11. If the original transaction included allocations to projects,
enter the projects, and the amounts or percentages.
12. In the Comments field, briefly describe the reason for the
refund. For example, enter “Item was returned,” or
“Original price reduced to ensure customer satisfaction.”
No payment terms 13. In the Terms field, remove any payment terms.
14. If the refund is cash, on the File menu or toolbar, choose
Print
Print. Have the customer sign the refund slip, and keep it
for your records.
Check your work 15. On the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail, and check your work.
You must now remove the reversed amounts from the Receipts
window, as described in “Removing Reversed Amounts from
the Receipts Window,” in Chapter 11.

A sales invoice that cannot be collected may have to be written
off.
To write off a bad debt:

Set up accounts 1. In the Accounts window, create an expense account (with a
number between 5000 and 5999) called Bad Debts Expense.
User Guide 6–21

2. If the bad debt included GST, create an account called ITC

(Input Tax Credit) Adjustments in the Accounts window.
3. The ITC Adjustments account should be a subgroup
account, located with your other GST accounts.
4. If you use Quebec sales tax, create an account called ITR
(Input Tax Refund) Adjustments in the Accounts window.
The ITR Adjustments account should be a subgroup
account, located with your other QST accounts.
Turn off GST and 5. In the Customers window, clear the Include In GST Report
QST reporting box and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST
Report box for this customer. This ensures that the reversal
does not appear on the GST or QST reports.
7. In the Transaction field, select Invoice. Then, in the Paid By
field, select Pay Later.
9. In the Invoice field, enter BD for bad debt.
Subtract GST, 10. Subtract the GST, PST, or QST, if there is any, from the bad
PST, QST debt.
Negative amount 11. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the bad debt (after
subtracting taxes), preceded by a minus sign.
Bad Debts 12. In the Account field, enter the Bad Debts Expense account
expense account number.
13. On the next line, in the Amount field, enter the amount of
the GST, preceded by a minus sign.
14. In the Account field, enter the ITC Adjustments account
number.
Negative PST or QST 15. If you use provincial sales tax or Quebec sales tax, enter the
amount of the PST or QST, preceded by a minus sign, on the
next line in the Amount field.
16. In the Account field, enter the PST Payable or the ITR
Adjustments account number.
17. On the Report menu, choose Display Sale Transaction
Check your work
Detail, and verify that this transaction debits the Bad Debts

Expense
account and the ITC Adjustments account, and credits the
Accounts Receivable account. If you use PST or QST, it also
debits the PST Payable account or the ITR Adjustments
account.
18. Choose Process.
Turn on GST and 19. Check the Include In GST Report box and, if you use
QST reporting Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST Report box for this
customer in the Customers and Sales module.
You must now remove the bad debt from the Receipts window.
See “Removing Reversed Amounts from the Receipts Window,”
in Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries.”
For more information on input tax credit adjustments, contact

your local Revenue Canada Excise office, or refer to the
Accounting Manual. For information on input tax refunds for
Quebec sales tax, contact the Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
User Guide 6–23

Chapter 7
Paying Employees
Processing a Single Paycheque with Automatic Deductions ........................ 7–1
Recording GST and QST on Employee Benefits ............................... 7–5
Deducting GST from Each Paycheque .................................... 7–6
Recording the GST as a Payroll Expense .................................. 7–6
Recording QST on Employee Benefits .................................... 7–7
Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions Calculated Manually .............. 7–7
Processing a Cheque Run to Pay Several Employees at Once ....................... 7–9
Looking Up Paycheque Details ................................................. 7–11
User Guide 7–i


Chapter 7
Paying Employees
This chapter explains how to process paycheques.
Paycheques or To record payroll transactions and to print paycheques one at a

Automatic Payroll time, you use the Paycheques window. To record payroll
Run transactions and issue paycheques to more than one employee at a
time, you use the Payroll Cheque Run window.
If you are not familiar with payroll accounting and the

requirements of federal and provincial authorities, read
Chapter 18, “Payroll Accounting,” in the Accounting Manual.
Before processing Before you process paycheques, follow the instructions in the
paycheques Getting Started manual to set up your accounts.
Tax tables If you are not sure which tax tables the program is using to
calculate taxes on paycheques, from the Help menu in the
Home window, choose About Simply Accounting to see the tax
table edition.
Processing a Single Paycheque with Automatic

Deductions
This section describes how to record a single paycheque, and
have the program calculate and fill in most of the information
automatically.
Define income fields Simply Accounting lets you name up to five income fields (in
Setup, Names), allowing great flexibility in paying employees.
Define default You can also set up ten optional deduction fields, so that you do
deductions not have to calculate and enter deductions manually on
User Guide 7–1

Processing a Single Paycheque with Automatic Deductions
paycheques. You specify (in the Payroll tab, in the Settings

dialog box) for each deduction whether it is to be calculated:
■ Before or after tax.
■ Based on a percentage of the gross pay, or as a fixed
amount.
Then, in the employee record, you enter the deduction amount

or rate to be used when you issue a paycheque for that
employee. To read more about entering default deductions in
employee records, see “Adding Employees,” in Chapter 2,
“Maintaining Records.”
Overwrite default Later, if you need to, you can enter a different deduction
deductions on amount on a paycheque. For information about how to enter a
manual paycheques different deduction amount, see “Processing a Single Paycheque
with Deductions Calculated Manually,” later in this chapter.
Link payroll accounts For each deduction or income field that you set up, you must
specify a linked account to receive the transaction whenever
you issue a paycheque. (To link payroll accounts, choose Setup,
then Linked Accounts, and then Payroll. Then select the
Deductions tab.) To be able to track expenses more easily, you
can link each field to a different account. If you decide to do
this, make sure you have set up all the accounts you need first.
To find out more about changing your payroll settings, see

Chapter 5,“Choosing Options and Setting Up Accounts,” in the
Getting Started manual.
To process a paycheque:
1. In the Home window, choose Paycheques.
Calculate 2. On the toolbar, be sure the Calculate Taxes Automatically

Taxes button is selected.
Automatically
Tip: If you are trying to issue a cheque to an employee
who does not appear on the list, it could be because the
employee status has been set to Inactive. Check the
record (in the Employees window) and set the status to
Active.

This date is printed on the cheque stub for the

employee’s information only. It does not affect
the processing date or the pay calculation.
Click the Calculate Taxes
Automatically button.
To print a backdated or postdated

cheque, enter a date earlier or
later than the session date.
If you entered two overtime

rates in the employee record,
two fields appear here. Enter
hours worked at each rate.
You can change the names of
these fields by choosing Names
from the Setup menu.
The total from the Income tab.
The combined total of the
Deductions and Taxes tabs.
You can point to any fields you are unsure about,
and check the status bar for helpful information.
You can change the names of

these deduction fields by
choosing Names from the
Setup menu.
To deduct the same amount or percentage on each cheque for this

employee, use the Payroll tab in the Settings dialog box. Then specify
the amount or percentage in the employee record.
You can enter information

in these fields only if you
are entering a manual
cheque. See “Processing a
Single Paycheque with
Deductions Calculated
Manually.”
User Guide 7–3

Enter the sales amount on which tips are collected.

Enter the amount of tips based on tippable
These fields appear if you sales collected by the employee.
selected the Track Quebec
Tips option in the Payroll Enter the net amount of Columns C, D, and E
tab, in Settings. you entered on the employee’s Register and
Statement of Tips (form TP-1019.4.U-V).
The Quebec government requires Tips From Sales plus

Tips Allocated to be 8 percent of Tippable Sales. Simply
Accounting calculates and enters the correct amount.
3. Fill in the payroll information. If you are not sure of what to

enter, check the status bar at the bottom of the screen, or
press F1 to display Help. Pay particular attention to the
following fields:
Benefits Benefits. Type the amount of taxable benefits paid on the
employee’s behalf for the period. For example, if the
employee had personal access to a company car, enter the
taxable benefit determined according to Revenue Canada’s
regulations.
The program adds this amount to the gross pay before
calculating taxes. However, since benefits are not paid in
cash, these amounts are deducted from the gross pay before
calculating the net pay.
Taxes on benefits Do not enter the amount of GST or QST (Quebec sales tax)
charged on the taxable benefits in the Benefits field. Instead,
use a GST (or QST)/Benefits field, as explained later in this
chapter.
Vacation pay Release. To pay vacation pay to an employee on every
paycheque, be sure the Retain Vacation box in the
employee’s record is unchecked, then accept the amount in
the Release field, or type a different amount.
Or, to continue retaining the employee’s vacation pay, to
pay out later, be sure the Retain Vacation box in his or her
employee record is checked. In the Paycheques window, the
Release field will be blank, and the cheque will not include
vacation pay.

Advances Advance. The program does not calculate tax or

deductions on advances. When the employee pays back the
advance, enter a negative amount in this field; the program
deducts this amount from the employee’s net paycheque
(after tax and other source deductions) and reduces the
Advances Paid amount in the employee’s record.
Deductions before or [Deductions]. Simply Accounting can make deductions
after taxes before or after taxes. In the Home window, on the Setup
menu, choose Settings, then Payroll, and then check or
uncheck the box for each deduction.
Check your work 4. From the Report menu, choose Display Payroll Transaction
Detail to check your work.
Print the cheque 5. To print the cheque, on the File menu or toolbar, choose
Print.
If the printing does not line up correctly on the cheque,
print it again. Printing copies of the same cheque affects
neither your records nor the cheque numbers of subsequent
cheques, unless they are pre-numbered. If your cheques are
pre-numbered, you must type the corresponding cheque
number in the Number field. Destroy any unacceptable
cheques.
Writing cheques by If you prefer to write cheques by hand, take note of the
hand information on the screen before you choose Process. You
will need it when you issue the cheque.
7. The program updates the employee’s record and the related
accounts, and allocates the expenses to projects (if you
chose to do so).
or undo it, use the steps in Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries.”
Recording GST and QST on Employee Benefits
When an employee receives benefits subject to GST, the

government normally requires that you pay the tax as you
would for a sale. However, there are situations where you are
User Guide 7–5

not required to do so. Refer to your Employers’ Guide to

Payroll Deductions—Taxable Benefits, available from Revenue
Canada.
You can either deduct the GST on taxable benefits from each
paycheque, or pay the tax on behalf of the employee, recording
an additional payroll expense.
Deducting GST from Each Paycheque
Before issuing To be able to deduct the GST from each paycheque:

paycheques
■ Create a liability account called GST Payroll Deductions.
■ From the Setup menu, choose Names, and then change the
name of Deduction A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, or J to
GST/Benefits.
■ From the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then select
Payroll. Beside GST/Benefits, check the Deduct After Tax
box.
■ From the Setup menu, choose Linked Accounts and select
Payroll. Then, in the GST/Benefits box, select the GST
Payroll Deductions account.
To deduct the GST from each paycheque:

■ When you issue a paycheque, enter the sum of the taxable
benefit plus GST in the Benefits field.
■ In the GST/Benefits field, enter the amount of GST to be
paid by the employee.
When you process the paycheque, the GST you owe the
government is recorded in the GST Payroll Deductions account,
and an expense is recorded in the GST/Benefits account.
Recording the GST as a Payroll Expense
If you prefer not to deduct GST from each paycheque, you can
record the following transaction as a prior-year expense in
February, when you calculate the total taxable benefits given to

Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions Calculated Manually
employees for the previous calendar year. (Alternatively, you

could record this transaction each pay period.)
Before issuing To be able to record the GST as an additional payroll

paycheques expense:
■ Create a liability account called GST Payroll Deductions.
■ Create an expense account called GST Paid On Benefits.
When you pay the employee, enter the taxable benefit net of the
GST in the Benefits field.
To record the GST expense:

■ In the Miscellaneous Transactions window, record the GST
expense by debiting the GST Paid On Benefits account and
crediting the GST Payroll Deductions account.
Recording QST on Employee Benefits

If you use Quebec sales tax in your business, create a
QST/Benefits field, similar to the GST/Benefits field. You
can charge and report the QST annually when you print T4
or Relevé 1 slips, by recording a miscellaneous transaction
to debit the QST Payroll Deductions account.
Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions

Calculated Manually
Sometimes you may need to enter a paycheque manually, for
example, to enter deductions that differ from the ones the
program calculates automatically, or to pay a bonus.
You may also need to adjust or reverse an incorrect transaction.

To do this, follow the instructions in Chapter 11, “Correcting
Entries.”
User Guide 7–7

Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions Calculated Manually
To process a manual paycheque:

1. In the Home window, choose Paycheques.
Click the Enter Taxes Manually
button.
If you change the amounts in

any of the income fields, the
program does not automatically
recalculate the taxes. You can
choose the Recalculate Taxes
button, or enter your own
amounts.
These fields are available only if

you select the Enter Taxes
Manually button on the toolbar.
When you select an employee, the program fills in the fields

for which it has calculated the amounts.
Active.
Enter Taxes 2. Choose the Enter Taxes Manually button, so the program
Manually will not calculate tax deductions automatically and you can
enter the tax deductions you want.
3. Fill in or change the fields you require.
Detail to check your work.
Print the cheque 5. To print the cheque, on the File menu or toolbar, choose
Print.
Process 6. Choose Process. The program updates the employee’s
record and the related accounts, and (if you have chosen to
do so) allocates the expenses to projects.

Processing a Cheque Run to Pay Several Employees at Once
Calculate 7. If you normally let the program calculate taxes for

Taxes paycheques, on the toolbar, choose Calculate Taxes
Automatically Automatically to turn this option back on.
Processing a Cheque Run to Pay Several

Employees at Once
If you have many employees whom you pay on a regular basis,
you do not have to issue paycheques one at a time. By
processing payroll for all your employees at once, you can save
considerable time and effort.
You can accept or change the income and benefit amounts for
each employee. However, if you wish to change deduction,
advance, or vacation pay amounts, you must follow the steps
under “Processing a Single Paycheque with Deductions
Calculated Manually.”
Note: To issue paycheques with dates in the previous fiscal

year, you must issue individual cheques, calculating taxes
manually, as described earlier in this chapter.
To process a payroll run:

1. In the Home window, choose Payroll Cheque Run.
User Guide 7–9

Processing a Cheque Run to Pay Several Employees at Once
The Pay Period End The program uses this Cheque Date and
Date appears on each the Date Last Paid from each employee
employee’s cheque stub. record to calculate this payroll run.
If you selected Confirm Printing

For Cheques, in the Forms tab
in the Settings dialog box,
check marks appear beside the
names of all employees who will
receive a printed cheque. If you
need to prevent a cheque from
being printed, remove the check
mark by clicking in the column
next to the employee.
Check marks indicate which
employees should be paid,
according to the Pay Period
Frequency you select. You
can add or remove check Amounts for salaried employees appear automatically. For hourly-paid
marks by clicking in this employees, enter the number of regular and overtime hours worked
column. during the pay period. Enter any other income or benefit amounts.
2. Fill in the fields.

In the Pay Period Frequency field, select the frequency for
the employees you wish to pay in this payroll run. If you
have more than one pay cycle, All Periods appears
automatically; you can change it if you wish.
■ Selecting All Periods inserts a check mark beside the
names of all active employees due to be paid on or
before the cheque date.
■ Selecting a different pay period frequency inserts a
check mark beside the names of active employees who
are due to be paid on or before the cheque date and
who are paid according to the selected frequency.
You can also enter amounts for employees not scheduled to
be paid at this time. To be able to pay an employee not
normally paid now, enter a check mark beside the
employee’s name by clicking in the first column next to the
name.
Active.

Looking Up Paycheque Details
Enable printing 3. Click the Print button at the top of the second column to be
able to print reports and paycheques for this payroll run.
Or, you can click in the column beside individual employees
who you wish to pay at this time.
If you selected Confirm Printing For Cheques, on the Forms
tab in the settings dialog box, the check marks appear
automatically.
Check your work 4. From the Report menu, choose Payroll Cheque Run
Summary to print a report showing the amounts that will
appear on employees’ cheque stubs. Check the amounts you
have entered to ensure they are correct. Make any necessary
adjustments, and print the summary again. Keep this
summary for your records.
5. From the Report menu, choose Display Payroll Run
Transaction Detail to ensure that all the accounts used in
this transaction are correct. Then, close the report window.
Print the paycheques 6. From the File menu or toolbar, choose Print.
To find out more about printing paycheques, see
“Paycheque” in Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs.”
Process 7. Choose Process. The program updates the employees’
records and the related accounts, and (if you have chosen to
do so) allocates the expenses to projects.

Whether you issue paycheques in the Paycheques window or in
the Payroll Cheque Run window, the steps to look up
paycheque details are the same.
To review details from an existing paycheque:

1. In the Home window, on the Reports menu, select Payroll,
and then Employee.
2. Select one or more employees. If you want to include
inactive employees in the report, be sure to select All
Employees in the Report On box.
User Guide 7–11

3. Select Detail, then the range of dates and the details you
want to include in the report. (You can select up to 13 types
of details for each report.)
4. Choose OK.

Chapter 8
Keeping Track of Inventory and
Services
Assembling Items from Components ............................................ 8–2
Making Inventory Adjustments ................................................. 8–3
Keeping Track of Inventory Turnover and Service Sales ........................... 8–4
Invoicing for Untracked Inventory Items and Services ............................. 8–6
User Guide 8–i


Chapter 8
Keeping Track of Inventory and
Services
This chapter explains how to process transactions related to
your physical inventory. It also explains how to handle invoices
for untracked items or services.
Why and when Use the Item Assembly window to record the assembly of items
to use from components. Use the Adjustments window to record
adjustments to your physical inventory.
Where to find other If you are not familiar with inventory operation, read
inventory information Chapter 19 of the Accounting Manual. It explains the principles
of inventory accounting.
For a list of inventory reports you should print at period end,

see “Audit Trail Reports,” in Chapter 15.
Before using Before you can record transactions in the Item Assembly and
Adjustments windows, follow the steps in the Getting Started
manual to set up your company’s accounts.
Cash-basis If your company uses cash-basis accounting, you should also

accounting read Chapter 17, “Using Cash-Basis Accounting,” for important
information about recording transactions using this accounting
method.
Negative item Before you can process an inventory adjustment that results in a
quantities negative quantity, be sure you have chosen the option that
allows this. In the Home window, choose Setup, Settings, then
Inventory And Services. Check the Allow Inventory Levels To
Go Below Zero box.
User Guide 8–1

Assembling Items from Components
Assembling Items from Components

When you build inventory items from component parts, use the
Item Assembly window.
For example, assume you keep a supply of hinges, wood, and

glue, which are used to build doors. Each time you build a door,
you must enter a transaction in the Item Assembly window to:
■ Identify the components used in manufacturing.
■ Include additional costs, such as labour.
■ Identify the item that has been manufactured.
To record the assembly of an item:

1. In the Home window, choose Item Assembly.
Use the Assembly Components

section to list the parts you
are using.
Enter any additional costs,

such as labour, setup cost,
and wasted material.
Enter the item or items you

have assembled from the
components.
If you are not sure what to

enter, point at the field with
your mouse, and then read
the status bar.
2. Fill in the item assembly information.

When you display a list in the Item field, the inventory
items are sorted either by number or by description,
depending on the option you selected on the Inventory And
Services tab in the Settings dialog box.

Making Inventory Adjustments
Check your work 3. From the Report menu, choose Display Item Assembly
Transaction Detail to check your work. You cannot process
the transaction until the totals balance.
Store Tip: If you plan to manufacture or assemble this item
often, on the Item Assembly menu or toolbar, choose
Store to create a recurring transaction. Then, save time
when you next manufacture this item by recalling the
entry with details already filled in. For more
information, see Chapter 12, “Using Recurring
Transactions to Save Time.”
Process 4. When you have completed your entry, choose Process.
Correcting an error If you record a transaction and then find you want to change or
undo it, use the steps in “Manually Correcting Entries,” in
Chapter 11.
Making Inventory Adjustments

Use the Adjustments window to record adjustments to your
inventory (for example, due to breakage or spoilage).
To record an inventory adjustment:

1. In the Home window, choose Adjustments.
Enter a description or reason

for the transaction.
If the stock is increasing, enter a

positive number. If it is
decreasing, enter a negative
number. If the quantity of the item
will not change, enter zero (0).
A typical account for this field

would be an expense account
such as Shrinkage, Damage,
or Obsolescence.
User Guide 8–3

Keeping Track of Inventory Turnover and Service Sales
2. Fill in the adjustment information. If you are not sure of

what to enter, move the mouse pointer to the field you want
to use, then check the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
The inventory items are sorted either by number or by
description, depending on the option you selected on the
Inventory And Services tab in the Settings dialog box.
3. From the Report menu, choose Display Adjustment
Check your work
Transaction Detail to check your work.
Correcting an error If you record a transaction and then find you want to change or
undo it, use the steps in “Manually Correcting Entries,” in
Chapter 11.
Keeping Track of Inventory Turnover and Service

Sales
Simply Accounting keeps a record of the details related to sales
of services and inventory turnover. For each inventory item or
service, the program records:
■ The quantity and revenue for goods and services sold for
both the current and past year.
■ The number of transactions recorded for the item, for the
current and past year.
■ The date of the last sale.
■ For each inventory item, the cost of goods sold in the
current and past year.
This information can be useful to determine which items or

services sell well, and which do not. You could also use it to
identify the vendors you buy from most, and ask for volume
discounts; or you could identify your best customers and focus
sales efforts more effectively. The program updates this
information each time you process a purchase, sale, item
assembly, or adjustment.

Keeping Track of Inventory Turnover and Service Sales
Inventory tracking information is available in the following

reports:
■ Inventory Quantity
■ Inventory Synopsis
■ Inventory and Services Activity
■ Inventory and Services Sales
■ Customer Sales
■ Vendor Purchases
For a description of these reports and instructions on how to

display and print them, see Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs.”
Look up invoices The inventory tracking feature also allows you to look up
details of sales and purchases invoices. For more information,
see “Looking Up Invoices,” in Chapter 10.
More disk space Storing inventory tracking details over a long period takes up
required space on your hard disk. If you run out of space, you can
remove inventory tracking details that you no longer need,
although the inventory tracking details that you remove will no
longer be available when you look up invoices.
To remove inventory tracking details:

1. In the Home window, from the Maintenance menu, choose
Clear Inventory Tracking Data.
If you wish, Simply Accounting can clear inventory tracking

details automatically for you. To read about this feature, see
“Clearing Data Automatically,” in Chapter 2, “Maintaining
Records.”
User Guide 8–5

Invoicing for Untracked Inventory Items and Services
Invoicing for Untracked Inventory Items and

Services
Occasionally, you may buy or sell an item or a service that is not
part of your company’s core business activity.
You do not need to create inventory records for such items or

services. However, because the Inventory and Services module
cannot track items and services that have no inventory record,
they are not included in any Inventory and Services reports.
To process an occasional service or item on an invoice:

■ Process the invoice in the usual way, but include the
untracked service or item as follows:
Enter a description of the item or
service. You can use more than
one line, if needed.
If needed, enter the quantity shipped or received.
You can enter much of the same information as for an

inventory item, including price, tax codes, and allocation
details.

Chapter 9
Allocating Amounts to Projects
Keeping Track of Project Revenues and Costs..................................... 9–1
Select the Option to Allocate Amounts to Projects ............................. 9–1
Allocate Project Revenues and Costs ......................................... 9–2
User Guide 9–i


Chapter 9
Allocating Amounts to Projects
You can allocate (distribute) all or part of a transaction to one or
more projects. Suppose, for example, you hire someone to
oversee the construction of two new buildings. You want to
know how much it costs to build each one, so you can set the
right price when you sell the buildings. If the supervisor spends
four days a week at one site and one at the other, you can
allocate 80 percent of the payroll expense for that employee to
one project and 20 percent to the other.
Allows budget Allocating revenues and expenses also makes it possible to

comparisons compare the actual cost of construction to budgeted estimates
for periods that you specify. Noticing cost overruns early on
may help you to keep the project profitable over the long term.
To read about how to budget projects, see Chapter 3,
“Budgeting,” in this manual.
More information If you want to know more about cost allocation to different
projects or departments, read Chapter 20, “Cost Accounting,” in
the Accounting Manual. To find out about project allocation
reports, see Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs.”
Keeping Track of Project Revenues and Costs
Select the Option to Allocate Amounts to Projects

Option is The option to allow allocations to projects from revenue and
pre-selected for expense accounts is already selected if:
revenue and
expense accounts ■ You set up your company with one of the templates that
come with Simply Accounting; or
■ You set up your company with an earlier version of the
program.
User Guide 9–1

When you must However, you must select the option Allow Project Allocations
select the option in the individual account records if:
yourself
■ You did not use a template, or an earlier version of the
program, to set up your company; or
■ You wish to allocate amounts from other types of accounts.
Before deciding to allocate amounts from accounts other than

revenue and expense accounts (such as assets or liabilities),
check with your accountant.
To select the option:

1. Open the account record.
2. In the Account tab, check the Allow Project Allocations box.
Allocate Project Revenues and Costs
You can allocate amounts to projects from the following

transaction windows:
■ Paycheques.
■ Automatic Payroll Run.
■ Purchases, Orders, and Quotes.
■ Sales, Orders, and Quotes.
■ Miscellaneous Transactions.
■ Adjustments.
To allocate an amount to a project:

Enter a transaction 1. In the Home window, choose the transaction window you
need, and enter the transaction as you normally would.
Allocate 2. Highlight the amount you want to allocate, and then choose
the Allocate button to open the Project Allocation dialog
box.

Double-click or press Enter

to display a list of projects,
and then select one.
Enter an amount or percentage,

depending on the allocation
method you chose on the Project
tab in the Settings dialog box. If
you chose to allocate paycheques
by hours, these columns are
replaced by one Regular and two
Overtime columns.
3. Fill in the information, then choose OK.

In the Allocate column of the transaction window (except
Paycheques, which has no Allocate column), a check
mark (9) appears to show that you have allocated all or
part of the amount.
4. If you wish, repeat steps 2 and 3 for other amounts you
want to allocate.
Process 5. When you have completed your transaction, check your
work, then choose Process.
User Guide 9–3

Chapter 10
Looking Up Invoices, Orders, and
Quotes
Saving Invoice Details ......................................................... 10–1
Looking Up Invoices .......................................................... 10–1
Adjusting Invoices ........................................................ 10–2
Turning Off Invoice Lookup ................................................... 10–2
Looking Up Orders ........................................................... 10–3
Looking Up Quotes ........................................................... 10–3
Tracking Shipments ........................................................... 10–4
Turning on the Track Shipments Option ..................................... 10–4
Locating Shipments Using the Internet ...................................... 10–4
User Guide 10–i


Chapter 10
Looking Up Invoices, Orders, and
Quotes
Simply Accounting stores the details of all sales and purchase
invoices, orders, and quotes, so you can look them up whenever
you wish. Then, you can reprint invoices, orders, or quotes,
trace shipments, and answer queries easily.
The invoice lookup feature is turned on when you install Simply

Accounting. Unless you turn off the option, the program stores
details of all invoices processed after installation.
Saving Invoice Details

To save invoice details to look up later:
1. From the Setup menu, choose Settings, then select the
System tab.
2. Select (check) the Store Invoice Lookup Details box.
3. Choose OK. The program will begin storing details of
invoices the next time you process one.
Looking Up Invoices
To look up details of invoices:
1. In the Home window, open the window (Purchases, Sales,
Payments, or Receipts) in which you want to look up an
invoice.
Look Up 2. Choose the Look Up button, and then fill in the fields.
User Guide 10–1

Turning Off Invoice Lookup
If you do not know the

Select the customer or invoice number, choose
vendor… Browse to select the
invoice from a list for
the specified customer
…Then type the number
or vendor.
of the invoice to look up,
and click OK.
The program displays a copy of the invoice. If the Allocate
column is checked, you can double-click in the Allocate
column to see how revenues and expenses were allocated to
projects.
Print 3. To print the displayed invoice (Sales only), on the File menu
or toolbar, choose Print.
Adjusting Invoices
Adjust Invoice When you use the lookup feature to display an invoice you need
to change, you can use the Adjust Invoice button on the toolbar
to update purchase or sales details. For more information about
adjusting existing invoices, see “Automatically Correcting
Entries,” and “Manually Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
Turning Off Invoice Lookup

More disk space Keeping track of additional invoice details takes up space on
required your hard disk. If you run out of space, you can remove the
invoice details. (In the Home window, from the Maintenance
menu, choose Clear Invoice Lookup Data.)
You can also turn off the Invoice Lookup option, in the System
tab in the Settings dialog box, if you wish to conserve space on
your hard disk. However, turning off the Invoice Lookup option
means you will no longer be able to track shipments using
Simply Accounting, or look up, adjust, or print invoices, or
produce reports that rely on invoice detail, such as the
Inventory and Services Activity report.

Looking Up Orders
Looking Up Orders
Because Simply Accounting saves the details of purchase and
sales orders, you can display them any time. In addition, when
you look up an order, you can quickly adjust it or convert it to
an invoice with a single extra step.
For more information about turning orders into invoices, see

“Converting a Purchase Order to an Invoice,” in Chapter 5, or
“Converting a Sales Order to an Invoice,” in Chapter 6. To find
out how to adjust an existing order, see “Adjusting a Purchase
Order or Quote,” or “Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote,” in
Chapter 11.
To look up a purchase or sales order:

1. In the Home window, open the window in which you
created the order.
2. Select Purchase Order or Sales Order as the transaction
type.
3. If you know the number of the order you want to look up,
select it from the Order/Quote Number box, and then press
Tab.
4. If you do not know the order number, select the customer
or vendor from the Sold To or the Purchased From box.
Then select the number from the Order/Quote Number
box, and press Tab.
Looking Up Quotes
Simply Accounting saves the details of purchase and sales
quotes. You can display the details at any time, and you can
quickly convert a quote to an order or an invoice.
For more information about turning quotes into invoices, see

“Converting a Quote to a Purchase Order or Invoice,” in
Chapter 5, or “Converting a Quote to a Sales Order or Invoice,”
in Chapter 6.
User Guide 10–3

Tracking Shipments
To look up a purchase or sales quote:

1. In the Home window, open the window in which you
created the quote.
2. Select Quote as the transaction type.
3. If you know the number of the quote you want to look up,
select it from the Quote Number box, and press Tab.
4. If you do not know the quote number, select the customer
or vendor from the Sold To or the Purchased From box.
Then select the number from the Quote Number box, and
press Tab.
Tracking Shipments
If you include the shipper’s name and tracking (waybill)
number when you create an invoice, you can trace a shipment
on your shipper’s World Wide Web site.
Store Invoice Lookup If you wish to be able to trace shipments, make sure that the
Details option Store Invoice Lookup Details is turned on before you
create invoices. (On the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then
the System tab. Check the Store Invoice Look Details box.) Also,
be careful not to clear details for invoices that you may need to
look up.
Turning on the Track Shipments Option
Before you can record shipping information on an invoice and

use Simply Accounting to trace the shipment later, the Track
Shipments option must be turned on. From the Setup menu,
select Shippers, and choose Track Shipments. If they are not yet
listed, type in the shipper’s name and Web site.
Locating Shipments Using the Internet

1. Open the transaction window where you created the
invoice for the merchandise you need to trace.

Tracking Shipments
2. From the Purchase or Sales menu or the toolbar, choose

Look Up Invoice, and select the invoice you need.
Track 3. From the toolbar, choose Track Shipments.
Shipments
4. Follow the instructions on the Web site to retrieve
information about your shipment.
Adjust Invoice Tip: If you did not include shipping details when you created
the invoice, you can add them later. Follow the instructions
in “Automatically Correcting Entries,” in Chapter 11.
User Guide 10–5

SWC7UG11.doc, printed on 03/08/99, at 11:13 AM. Last saved on 02/22/99 11:08 AM.
Chapter 11
Correcting Entries
Automatically Correcting Entries ............................................... 11–1
Adjusting a Purchase Invoice ............................................... 11–2
Changing the Payment Method for a Purchase ........................... 11–2
Changing Invoice Details for a Purchase ................................. 11–3
Cancelling an Invoice .................................................. 11–4
How to Correct a Purchase Invoice ...................................... 11–4
Adjusting a Purchase Order or Quote ....................................... 11–5
Adjusting a Sales Invoice................................................... 11–6
Changing the Payment Method for a Sale ................................ 11–7
Changing Invoice Details for a Sale ...................................... 11–7
Cancelling an Invoice .................................................. 11–8
How to Correct a Sales Invoice ......................................... 11–8
Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote .......................................... 11–10
Adjusting a Paycheque.................................................... 11–11
Manually Correcting Entries .................................................. 11–12
Reversing a Miscellaneous Transaction ..................................... 11–13
Reversing a Purchase ..................................................... 11–14
Removing Reversed Amounts from the Payments Window ..................11–15
Reversing a Payment for an Uncleared Purchase Invoice .....................11–16
Reversing a Payment for a Cleared Purchase Invoice ........................11–17
Reversing a Sale .......................................................... 11–18
Removing Reversed Amounts from the Receipts Window ...................11–19
Reversing a Receipt or an NSF Cheque for an Uncleared Sales Invoice ........11–20
Reversing a Receipt for a Cleared Sales Invoice .............................11–21
Reversing a Paycheque ................................................... 11–22
Reversing an Item Assembly Transaction ................................... 11–23
Reversing an Adjustment Transaction ...................................... 11–24
User Guide 11–i


Chapter 11
Correcting Entries
Automatically Correcting Entries

Automatic You can correct certain entries automatically if you have not
adjustments removed (cleared) the transaction details from your records. When
you correct a transaction, the program reverses the incorrect
transaction and replaces it with a new one. The incorrect,
reversed, and new transactions appear in both the All
Transactions report and the Transaction Details report for the
window in which you are working.
Automatic reversals To cancel an existing transaction, without replacing it, simply

reverse the entry, as described later in this chapter. If you
reverse an invoice, however, you cannot use the Invoice Lookup
feature to review the invoice later.
Transactions you can adjust automatically are:
■ Purchase invoices
■ Sales invoices
■ Paycheques
Other entries you can adjust automatically are:
■ Purchase orders ■ Purchase quotes
■ Sales orders ■ Sales quotes
Manual reversals If you find an error in any other type of transaction, or if you
have removed the details from your records, you must reverse
the entry manually. To read about manual reversals, see
“Manually Correcting Entries,” later in this chapter.
User Guide 11–1

Current fiscal year You can automatically adjust only those transactions processed
in the current fiscal year. If you need to adjust a transaction
from the previous fiscal year, you must reverse it manually.
Negative inventory To allow a quantity in inventory to become negative when you

levels adjust an invoice, select the Allow Inventory Item Levels To Go
Below Zero option on the Setup, Settings, Inventory And
Services tab.
Adjusting inventory Do not confuse correcting entries, described in this chapter,

levels with adjusting the quantities and costs of items in your inventory
and services records. To read about making adjustments to your
inventory, see Chapter 8, “Keeping Track of Inventory and
Services.”
Adjusting a Purchase Invoice
If you discover an error in a purchase invoice, you can adjust or

cancel the invoice. You cannot adjust a purchase invoice,
however, if any of the following are true:
■ The Store Invoice Lookup Details option is turned off.
■ You deleted the vendor record.
■ You are using cash-basis accounting.
■ You have removed the invoice details from your records.
Changing the Payment Method for a Purchase
At any time, you can change an invoice from a cash, cheque, or

credit-card purchase to a purchase to be paid later. However,
you can change a purchase to be paid later to a cash, cheque, or
credit card purchase only if you have not recorded a payment for
the invoice.
The following table explains what the program does when you
change the payment method on an invoice:

If you do this: The program does this when you process the change:
Change a cash, cheque, Reverses the original invoice and payment, and creates a new
or credit-card invoice as a purchase to be paid later, so the full invoice
purchase to a purchase amount is owing. When you pay the invoice, you must record
to be paid later. the payment in the Payments window.
Change a purchase to Reverses the original invoice, and creates a new invoice as a
be paid later to a cash, cash, cheque, or credit-card purchase. The Payments window
cheque, or credit-card records the payment of the full amount owing on the invoice.
purchase.
Changing Invoice Details for a Purchase
You can change the other details of a purchase to be paid later

at any time. However, you can change the details of a cash,
cheque, or credit-card purchase only if you have not changed the
related payment in the Payments window. If you have changed
the payment, you must correct the transaction manually, as
explained in the section “Manually Correcting Entries,” later in
this chapter.
change details, other than the payment method, on an invoice:
Adjust a cash, cheque, Reverses the original invoice, and creates a new invoice with
or credit-card the changes you made.
purchase.
If the total amount owing on the new invoice differs from the
original invoice, the program also reverses the payment for the
original and records a payment for the amount of the new
invoice.
Adjust a purchase to Reverses the original invoice, and creates a new invoice with
be paid later. the changes you made. If you recorded a payment for the
original invoice, and the amount paid exceeds the new total,
the program records a credit note for the difference. On the
credit note, the program fills in an invoice number (starting
with CN) based on the original number. You can enter a
different one if you wish.
User Guide 11–3

Cancelling an Invoice
You can cancel a purchase to be paid later at any time.

However, you can cancel a cash, cheque, or credit-card
purchase only if you have not changed the related payment in the
Payments window. If you have changed the payment, you must
correct the transaction manually, as explained in the section
“Manually Correcting Entries,” later in this chapter.
cancel an invoice:
Cancel a cash, cheque, Reverses the invoice and the payment. Also, the program
or credit-card reverses all the inventory quantities on the original invoice.
purchase.
Cancel a purchase to Reverses the invoice.
be paid later.
If you have already recorded a payment for the original
invoice, the program records a credit note to the vendor’s
account. On the credit note, the program fills in an invoice
number (starting with CN) based on the original number. You
can enter a different one if you wish.
How to Correct a Purchase Invoice
To correct a purchase invoice:

1. In the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window, select
Invoice in the Transaction field.
Adjust Invoice 2. Choose the Adjust Invoice button, or choose Adjust Invoice
from the Purchase menu.
3. In the Invoice Number field, either type the number of the
invoice you want to adjust and press Enter, or choose the
Browse button and select the invoice from the list.
Reversals 4. If you are reversing (cancelling) the invoice, delete every
detail line on the invoice. To delete a detail line, select the
line by clicking it with the mouse, or by using the Tab key

and the Up and Down Arrow keys, then choose Remove

Line from the Edit menu.
Adjustments 5. If you are adjusting (changing) the invoice, you can change
any information except the vendor name and the order
quantity. You can change the back-order (B/O) quantity
only if the invoice is based on a purchase order.
Don’t type the When changing quantities or amounts, type the new
difference quantity or amount you want, not the difference between
the original and what you want. For example, to change 100
to 80, type 80, not -20.
6. From the Report menu, choose Display Purchase
Transaction Detail, and check your work. If you are
reversing the invoice, the debits and credits must both be
zero. If the purchase is to be paid later, skip step 7 and go to
step 8.
Cash, cheque, or 7. If you are adjusting the invoice, and you want to print a
credit-card cheque for a cash, cheque, or credit-card purchase, on the
purchases File menu or toolbar, choose Print. Or, print the cheque later
using the Payments window.
For more information about using the Purchases, Orders, and

Quotes window, read Chapter 5, “Making Purchases.”
Adjusting a Purchase Order or Quote
If you discover an error in a purchase order or a quote, you can

adjust it.
To adjust a purchase order or quote:

1. In the Purchases, Orders and Quotes window, select
Purchase Order or Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote No. field, type the number of the
purchase order or quote you want to adjust, or click the
arrow at the right of the field, and then select the number
from the list. Press the Tab key.
User Guide 11–5

Adjust 3. From the Toolbar, or the Purchase menu, choose Adjust

Purchase Purchase Order (or Adjust Quote).
Order
4. Make the changes needed.
When you adjust a purchase order, the program updates the

quantity on order in the inventory record to reflect any changes
you made to the back-order (B/O) quantities.
To cancel a purchase order or quote:

1. In the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window, select
Purchase Order or Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote No. field, type the number of the
purchase order or quote you want to adjust, or click the
arrow at the right of the field, and then select the number
Remove 3. From the toolbar, or the Purchase menu, choose Remove
Quote Quote (or Remove Purchase Order).
For more information about using the Purchases, Orders, and

Quotes window, read Chapter 5, “Making Purchases.”
Adjusting a Sales Invoice
If you discover an error in a sales invoice, you can adjust or

cancel the invoice.
You cannot adjust a sales invoice if any of the following are true:
■ The Store Invoice Lookup Details option is turned off.
■ You deleted the customer record.
■ You are using cash-basis accounting.
■ You have removed (cleared) the invoice details.

Changing the Payment Method for a Sale
At any time, you can change an invoice from a cash, cheque, or

credit-card sale to a sale to be paid later. However, you can
change an invoice from a sale to be paid later to a cash, cheque,
or credit-card sale only if you have not recorded a payment for the
invoice in the Receipts window.
change the payment method on an invoice:
Change a cash, Reverses the original invoice and payment, and creates a new
cheque, or credit-card invoice as a sale on account, so the full invoice amount is
sale to a sale to be owing. When you receive a payment for the invoice, you must
paid later. record it in the Receipts window.
Change a sale to be Reverses the original invoice, records a cash, cheque, or credit-
paid later to a cash, card sale, and records a receipt for the full amount owing on
cheque, or credit-card the new invoice.
sale.
Changing Invoice Details for a Sale
At any time, you can change the other details of a sale on

account. However, you can change the details on a cash,
cheque, or credit-card sale only if you have not changed the related
receipt in the Receipts window.
change the details of an invoice:
Adjust a cash, cheque, Reverses the original invoice, then creates a new invoice with
or credit-card sale. the changes you made.
If the total amount owed on the new invoice differs from the
total amount owed on the original invoice, the program also
reverses the original receipt and processes a receipt for the full
amount owed on the new invoice.
User Guide 11–7

Adjust a sale to be Reverses the original invoice, then creates a new invoice with
paid later. the changes you made.
If a payment recorded for the original invoice was more than
the new invoice’s total amount, the program records a credit
note to the customer’s account for the difference. By default, the
credit note the program creates is numbered CN-invoice
number, but the program allows you to override this number.
Cancelling an Invoice
You can cancel a sale to be paid later at any time. However, you
can cancel a cash, cheque, or credit-card sale only if you have not
adjusted the related payment.
cancel an invoice:
Cancel a cash, cheque, Reverses the invoice and the payment.
or credit-card sale.
Cancel a sale to be Reverses the invoice.
paid later.
If a payment for the original invoice has been recorded, the
program records a credit note to the customer‘s account. By
default, the credit note the program creates is numbered
CN-invoice number, but the program allows you to override
this number.
How to Correct a Sales Invoice
To correct a sales invoice:

1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select Invoice in
the Transaction field.
Adjust Invoice 2. Choose the Adjust Invoice button.

3. In the Invoice Number field, type the number of the invoice

you want to adjust, and then press Enter, or choose the
Browse button, and select the invoice from the list.
Reversals 4. If you are reversing (cancelling) the invoice, delete every
detail line on the invoice. To delete a detail line, select the
line by clicking it with the mouse, or by using the Tab key
and the Up and Down Arrow keys, then choose Remove
Line from the Edit menu.
Adjustments If you are adjusting (changing) the invoice, you can change
any information except the customer name.
Don’t type the When changing quantities or amounts, type the new
difference quantity or amount you want, not the difference between
the original and what you want. For example, to change 100
to 80, type 80, not -20.
5. Check your work. (From the Report menu, select Display
Sales Transaction Detail.) If you are reversing the invoice,
the debits and credits must both be zero.
Adjustments 6. If you are adjusting the invoice, print it. (On the File menu or
toolbar, choose Print.)
Reversals If you are reversing the invoice, skip this step and go to
step 7.
8. When you reverse an invoice for which payment was made

by cash, cheque, or credit card at the time of sale, and if you
use Simply Accounting to reconcile your Bank or Credit
Card accounts, you should clear both the original invoice
and the reversing transaction in the Account Reconciliation
window. For information about how to change the status of
an item in the Account Reconciliation window, see Table 1
in Chapter 14.
For more information about using the Sales, Orders, and Quotes
window, read Chapter 6, “Making Sales.”
User Guide 11–9

Adjusting a Sales Order or Quote
If you discover an error in a sales order or quote, you can adjust

it.
To adjust a sales order or quote:

1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select Sales Order
or Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote No. field, type the number of the sales
order or quote you want to adjust, or click the arrow at the
right of the field, and select the sales order or quote from
the list. Press the Tab key.
Adjust Sales 3. From the toolbar, or on the Sales menu, choose Adjust Sales
Order Order (or Adjust Quote).
4. Make the changes needed.
You can use the Edit menu to

insert or delete rows, copy
and paste, or close the
window.
You can change the address

on the sales order or quote
without altering the address in
the customer’s record.
5. Choose Process.
When you adjust a sales order, the program updates the
sales quantity on order in the inventory record for any
items whose back-order (B/O) quantity you changed.

To cancel a sales order or quote:

1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select Sales Order
or Quote in the Transaction field.
2. In the Order/Quote No. field, type the number of the sales
order or quote you want to adjust, or click the arrow at the
right of the field, and then select the number from the list.
Press the Tab key.
Remove 3. From the toolbar, or on the Sales menu, choose Remove
Quote Quote (or Remove Sales Order).
Adjusting a Paycheque
If you discover an error in a paycheque, you can adjust or

cancel the paycheque automatically.
Whether the original paycheque was issued individually or as

part of a cheque run, the steps to adjust or cancel it are the
same. If you normally use the Payroll Cheque Run to pay this
employee, however, remember to check the Process column in
the Payroll Cheque Run window during the next payroll run.
When to adjust a If you are not adjusting the employee’s most recent paycheque,
paycheque manually you should reverse and correct it manually, as described later in
this chapter, rather than adjust it automatically. If you use the
Adjust Cheque command to adjust or reverse the transaction
automatically, the government deductions listed on the
Employee Summary report might not be correct.
Before you begin If the paycheque was processed in an earlier version of Simply
Accounting, or if you have deleted the employee’s record, you
must adjust the paycheque manually, as described later in this
chapter.
Check the date If you choose Calculate Taxes Automatically from the toolbar,
make sure the cheque date you enter falls into the range of dates
for the pay period the cheque covers. This ensures that Simply
Accounting calculates taxes using the rates in effect during the
pay period for which the original cheque was issued.
User Guide 11–11

Manually Correcting Entries
To adjust a paycheque:
Adjust 1. In the Paycheques window, choose the Adjust Cheque
Cheque button, or choose Adjust Cheque from the Paycheque menu.
2. From the list, select the paycheque you wish to adjust.
Adjustments 3. If you are adjusting the cheque, make the changes needed.
You can change any information except the employee’s
name.
Reversals If you are reversing the cheque, delete the dollar amounts
from all fields, then go to step 5.
Recalculate taxes 4. If you are adjusting the cheque, choose the Recalculate Taxes
button, or choose Recalculate Taxes from the Paycheque
menu, to update tax deductions.
Check your work
5. Check your work. (From the Report menu, select Display
Payroll Transaction Detail.) If you are reversing the
paycheque, the debits and credits must both be zero. When
finished, close the Payroll Transactions display.
Print a new 6. If you are adjusting the cheque, print it. (On the File menu or
paycheque toolbar, choose Print.)
For more information about using the Paycheques window,

read Chapter 7, “Paying Employees.”

If you discover an error in a transaction after processing it, you
can reverse (cancel) the entry. Both the original transaction and
the reversal appear in the All Transactions report and the
window in which you are working.
After you reverse a transaction, re-enter it correctly. Be sure to

check it before processing.
Faster reversals and You may not need to make a manual adjustment. You can easily
adjustments reverse or even correct some entries without having to re-enter

the details. You can adjust invoices, orders, quotes, and

paycheques automatically, if you have not removed the
transaction details from your records. To learn how to reverse
or correct entries automatically, see “Automatically Correcting
Entries,” earlier in this chapter.
When to record a However, you must correct the entry manually if:
manual adjustment
■ You have removed the details from your records.
■ You are correcting a payment, receipt, miscellaneous
transaction, or an item assembly transaction.
■ You are correcting a transaction from the previous fiscal
year.
■ You are correcting a paycheque for an earlier period.
Note incorrect Before you begin, note the details of the incorrect transaction.
transaction details Use the All Transactions display to look up the incorrect
transaction. (From the Reports menu, choose Transaction
Details, and then All.) If the original transaction was allocated
to a project, be sure to allocate the adjustment too.
Negative inventory To permit a quantity in inventory to become negative when you

quantities adjust an invoice, select the Allow Inventory Levels To Go
Below Zero box (on the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then
the Inventory and Services tab).
Reversing a Miscellaneous Transaction
To reverse a miscellaneous transaction:

Identify “Corrections” 1. In the Miscellaneous Transactions window, enter the source
or “Adjustments” number of the original transaction, followed by the letters
COR or ADJ.
2. Enter a comment to explain the reversing transaction.
Reverse debits 3. Enter the same account numbers and amounts as in the
and credits original transaction, but change debits to credits and credits
to debits.
Allocate to projects 4. If you allocated revenues or expenses to a project in the
original transaction, you must reverse those allocations.
User Guide 11–13

Choose Allocate from the Entry menu, enter the same

projects and amounts or percentages you used in the
original transaction, and then choose OK.
Check your work 5. From the Report menu, select Display Miscellaneous
Transaction Detail, and check your work.
6. Choose Process.
Reversing a Purchase
To reverse a purchase:
1. In the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window, enter the
vendor’s name (or <One-Time Vendor>) in the Purchased
From field.
2. Select Invoice in the Transaction field.
3. If the invoice has been paid, in the Paid By field, select the
method of payment used in the original invoice.
Reversing a purchase To reverse the purchase and payment in one step (so you do
and a payment in not have to reverse the payment cheque separately), in the
one step Cheque field enter the number of the cheque you used to
pay for the item, followed by COR or ADJ.
Reversing an unpaid If the invoice has not been paid, select Pay Later in the
purchase Paid By field.
Identify “Corrections” 4. Enter an invoice number, followed by the letters COR or
or “Adjustments” ADJ.
5. Enter the date.
Negative quantity 6. If the item purchased is an inventory item, enter the item
number, then enter the same quantity as in the incorrect
transaction, preceded by a minus sign.
Negative amount The program fills in the price and amount, but you can
change these numbers. The amount should be the same as
in the incorrect transaction, preceded by a minus sign.
8. If the item purchased is not an inventory item, enter the
same amount as in the incorrect transaction, preceded by a
minus sign.

9. Enter the same account and project allocations, if applicable.

Negative freight 10. If freight is included in the original transaction, enter it as a
negative number in the reversing transaction.
Negative GST 11. If GST or QST is included in the original transaction, enter
and QST the amount as a negative number in the reversing
transaction, or let the program make the calculation for you.
Check your work 12. From the Report menu, choose Display Purchase
Transaction Detail, and check your work. Make any changes
required, and then choose Process.
13. After you reverse a purchase that you have not paid for,
remove the amounts due from the Payments window. If
you do not remove the amounts due, they remain on the list
indefinitely. Follow the steps in the next section.
Removing Reversed Amounts from the Payments Window
To remove reversed amounts from the Payments window:

Identify “Reversals” 1. In the Payments window, enter the vendor, date, and a
or “Adjustments” cheque number, such as 123-REV, that indicates a reversal
or adjustment.
2. On the invoice list, select the original amount and the
reversing amount by tabbing to the Payment Amount field
for each detail line. The total of these two amounts should
be $0.00.
If, on the vendor’s record, the option to Clear Invoices
When Paid is:
■ Checked, the program does not track the invoices any
further.
■ Cleared (unchecked), the original and reversing
invoices appear on the Vendor Aged Detail report, and
in the Payments window (if you check the option to
Include Fully Paid Invoices).
To remove these invoices from your records, in the
Home window, on the Maintenance menu, select Clear
User Guide 11–15

Paid Invoices, then Clear Paid Vendor Invoices. Then,

enter a date, select this vendor, and choose OK.
The program can remove paid invoices automatically at
year-end, if you wish. To find out more about clearing
data automatically, see the section “Clearing Data
Automatically,” in Chapter 2.
Reversing a Payment for an Uncleared Purchase Invoice
To reverse a payment for an invoice that has not been

removed:
1. In the Payments window, in the To The Order Of field,
select the vendor for whom you are reversing the payment
cheque.
To reverse an invoice for a vendor who is not listed in the
Vendors list (one-time vendor), or to change inventory
information on an invoice, follow the instructions under
“Reversing a Purchase,” earlier in this chapter.
Identify “Corrections” 2. If you paid by cheque, enter the number of the cheque you
or “Adjustments” used for the payment, followed by the letters COR or ADJ.
If you paid by credit card, in the Paid By field, select the
card you used originally to pay the invoice.
3. Enter the date.
4. If you wish to reverse all or part of a fully paid invoice,
check the Include Fully Paid Invoices box. Details of the
invoices appear in date order on the list of invoices.
Negative amount 5. In the Payment Amount field, enter an amount, preceded by
a minus sign, next to the payment you are correcting. In the
Discount Taken field, enter the amount of any discount,
preceded by a minus sign. You can reverse all or part of the
invoice amount.
Check your work 6. From the Report menu, choose Display Payment
Transaction Detail, and check your work. The transaction
should credit
the linked Accounts Payable account, and debit the Bank
account. If the payment includes a discount, it also either

debits or credits the Purchase Discount account, depending

on whether you use a revenue or an expense account to
keep track of discounts.
7. Make any changes required, and then choose Process.
Reversing a Payment for a Cleared Purchase Invoice
To reverse a payment for an invoice that has been

removed:
1. In the vendor’s record, clear (uncheck) the Include In GST
Report box and, if you use Quebec sales tax, the Include In
QST Report box for this vendor. This ensures that the
reversal does not appear on the GST or QST reports.
Quotes (not the Payments window).
3. In the Transaction field, select Invoice; in the Paid By field,
select Pay Later.
4. In the Purchased From field, enter the vendor whose
payment cheque you are reversing.
Identify “Corrections” 5. Enter the invoice number of the original incorrect
or “Adjustments” transaction, followed by the letters COR or ADJ.
6. Enter the date.
7. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the incorrect
payment. (Do not enter a minus sign.)
8. In the Account field, press Enter. From the list, choose the
linked Bank account.
Transaction Detail, and check your work. Make any changes
required, and then choose Process.
When you process this transaction, the program reverses
the incorrect payment. Simply Accounting keeps a record of
both the original payment and the reversal.
10. Re-enter the payment correctly in the Payments window,
being sure to check before processing it.
User Guide 11–17

11. Check the Include In GST Report box and the Include In
QST Report box for this vendor in the vendor record, if
applicable.
Reversing a Sale
To reverse a sale:
1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, enter the
customer’s name in the Sold To field.
If you are reversing a transaction for a customer who is not
listed in the Customers list, select <One-Time Customer>,
and enter the customer’s name and address.
Identify “Corrections” 3. If you have already received payment for the sale and the
or “Adjustments” customer paid by cheque, in the Paid By field select Cheque.
Then, in the Cheque field, enter the customer’s cheque
number, followed by the letters COR or ADJ.
If the customer paid by cash or credit card, select Cash or
the credit card used in the original transaction.
4. If you have not received payment, select Pay Later in the
Paid By field.
5. Enter the invoice number of the original incorrect
transaction, followed by the letters COR or ADJ.
6. Enter the date.
Negative amount 7. If the item sold is an inventory item, enter the item number,
then enter the same quantity as in the incorrect transaction,
preceded by a minus sign. The program fills in the price and
amount, but you can change these numbers. The amount
should be the same as in the incorrect transaction, preceded
by a minus sign.
If the item is not an inventory item, enter the same amount
as in the incorrect transaction, preceded by a minus sign.
8. Enter the same GST code, and enter or accept the same PST
rate. If you use Quebec sales tax, enter the same QST code.
9. Enter the same account, and the same project, if applicable.

Negative freight 10. If freight is included in the original transaction, enter or

accept the same GST rate for freight, and enter the freight as
a negative number in the reversing transaction.
Check your work 11. From the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail, and check your work. Make any changes required,
and then choose Process.
12. After you reverse a transaction for a sale for which you
have not received payment, you should remove the
amounts from the list of unpaid invoices in the Receipts
window. If you do not, the amounts remain on the list
indefinitely. Follow the steps in the next section.
Removing Reversed Amounts from the Receipts Window
To remove reversed amounts from the Receipts window:

1. In the Receipts window, enter the customer and date.
Identify “Reversals” 2. Enter a receipt number, such as 123-REV, that indicates a
reversal.
3. On the invoice list, select the original amount and the
reversing amount by clicking in the Payment Amount field.
The total of the two amounts should be $0.00.
5. If, on the customer’s record, the option to Clear Invoices
When Paid is:
■ Checked, the program does not track the invoices any
further.
■ Cleared (unchecked), the original and reversing
invoices appear on the Customer Aged Detail report,
and in the Receipts window (when you check the option
to Include Fully Paid Invoices).
To remove these invoices from your records, in the
Home window, on the Maintenance menu, select Clear
Paid Invoices, and then Clear Paid Customer Invoices.
Enter a date, choose this customer, and then choose OK.
User Guide 11–19

The program can remove paid invoices automatically at

year-end, if you wish. To find out more about clearing
data automatically, see the section “Clearing Data
Automatically,” in Chapter 2.
Reversing a Receipt or an NSF Cheque for an Uncleared Sales

Invoice
To reverse a receipt for an invoice that has not yet been

removed:
1. In the Receipts window, select the customer whose receipt
you are reversing.
2. If you need to reverse an invoice for a customer who is not
listed in the Customers list (that is, a one-time customer), or
change inventory information on an invoice, use the
instructions under “Reversing a Sale,” earlier in this chapter
Identify “Reversals” 3. Enter the number of the customer’s original cheque
or “NSF” cheques followed by, for example, NSF or REV, to show that you are
accounting for an NSF cheque or reversing a transaction.
4. Enter the date.
5. If you wish to reverse all or part of a fully paid invoice,
check the Include Fully Paid Invoices box. Details of the
invoices appear in date order on the list of invoices.
Enter negative 6. In the Payment Amount field, next to the invoice whose
amount payment you are correcting, enter the amount you are
reversing, preceded by a minus sign. You can reverse all or
part of the amount paid on the invoice, but you cannot
reverse more than the amount paid.
Detail, to ensure you are debiting the Accounts Receivable
account, and crediting the Bank account. If the payment
includes a discount, you must also either debit or credit the
Sales Discount account, depending on whether you use a
revenue or an expense account to keep track of discounts.
Make any changes required, and then choose Process.

Reversing a Receipt for a Cleared Sales Invoice
To reverse a receipt for an invoice that has been removed:

1. In the customer’s record, clear (uncheck) the Include In GST
Report box and the Include In QST Report box (if
applicable) for this customer. This ensures that the reversal
does not appear on the GST or QST reports.
2. In the Home window, choose Sales, Orders, and Quotes (not
the Receipts window).
3. Select the customer whose receipt you are reversing.
Identify “Corrections” 4. Enter an invoice number. You may want to enter the invoice
or “Adjustments” number of the original incorrect transaction, followed by the
letters COR or ADJ, to show that you are correcting this
transaction. For example, you might enter 123-COR or
123-ADJ.
5. Enter the date.
Positive amount 6. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the incorrect
receipt. (Do not add a minus sign.)
7. In the Account field, press Enter.
8. From the list, choose the linked Bank account.
Detail, and check your work.
10. Make any changes required, then choose Process.
When you process this entry, the program reverses the
incorrect receipt. Both the original and reversing entries
appear in the All Transactions report.
11. Re-enter the receipt correctly in the Receipts window,
checking before processing it.
12. Check the Include In GST Report box and, if you use
Quebec sales tax, the Include In QST Report box for this
customer in the customer’s record.
User Guide 11–21

Reversing a Paycheque
Whether the original paycheque was issued individually or as

part of a cheque run, the steps to reverse it are the same. If you
normally use the Payroll Cheque Run to pay this employee,
however, remember to enter a checkmark in the Process column
during the next payroll run.
To reverse a paycheque:
1. From the Setup menu, select Settings, and choose the
Payroll tab. Look at the EI and EHT boxes, and make a note
of the rates. Then, enter the rates in effect when the original
cheque was issued.
2. In the Employees window, choose the record for the
employee whose cheque you are reversing. Make a note of
the WCB (or CSST, in Quebec) rate displayed in the Taxes
tab. Then, enter the WCB (or CSST, in Quebec) rate in effect
for this employee when the original cheque was issued.
3. In the Home window, choose Paycheques, and select the
employee whose record you are correcting.
Enter Taxes 4. From the toolbar, choose the Enter Taxes Manually button.
Manually
5. Enter a cheque number. You may want to enter the number
of the original incorrect transaction, followed by the letters
COR or ADJ, to show that you are correcting this
transaction. For example, you might enter 123-COR or
123-ADJ.
Negative amounts 6. Enter all the amounts from the incorrect cheque, each
Note that if you are using the original Payroll transaction as
a reference, the amount of employment insurance deducted
from the employee’s paycheque is the EI Payable amount
minus the EI Expense amount.
If the original transaction included allocations to projects,
enter the projects, and the amounts, percentages, or hours.
Detail, and check your work. Then, choose Process.

8. From the Setup menu, select Settings, and then the Payroll
tab. In the EI and EHT boxes, restore the rates for the
current period.
9. From the Employees List, choose the record for the
employee whose cheque you are reversing. In the Income
and Taxes tab, restore the WCB (or CSST, in Quebec) rate
for the current period.
Reversing an Item Assembly Transaction
To reverse an item assembly transaction:

Identify “Corrections” 1. In the Item Assembly window, enter a source number, date,
and a comment to explain the transaction. You may want to
use the source number of the original incorrect transaction,
followed by COR to show that you are correcting the
transaction.
Negative quantities 2. In the Assembly Components section, enter each inventory
item number, with the same quantity as in the incorrect
transaction, but preceded by a minus sign. Remember to
include additional costs, preceded by a minus sign.
If the unit cost has changed since the time of the incorrect
transaction, enter the previous cost in the Unit Cost field.
Do not enter a minus sign.
3. In the Assembled Items section, enter each inventory item
number, with the same quantity as in the incorrect
transaction, but preceded by a minus sign.
In the Unit Cost field, enter the previous unit cost. Do not
enter a minus sign.
Check your work 4. From the Report menu, choose Display Item Assembly
Transaction Detail, and check your work. Make any
required changes, and then choose Process.
User Guide 11–23

Reversing an Adjustment Transaction
To reverse an adjustment transaction:

Identify “Corrections” 1. In the Adjustments window, enter a source number, date,
and a comment to explain the transaction. You may want to
use the source number of the original incorrect transaction,
followed by COR to show that you are correcting the
transaction.
Opposite quantity 2. Enter the inventory item number, with the same quantity as
in the incorrect transaction, but with the opposite sign.
Opposite amount 3. Enter the same amount as in the incorrect transaction, but
with the opposite sign.
4. Accept the account displayed, if it is the same as in the
incorrect transaction, or enter an account number.
Allocate to projects 5. If the original transaction included allocations to projects,
choose Allocate from the Adjustment menu or toolbar, and
then enter the projects, and the amounts or percentages.
Check your work 6. From the Report menu, choose Display Adjustment
Transaction Detail, and check your work. Make any
required changes, and then choose Process.

Chapter 12
Using Recurring Transactions to
Save Time
Storing a Recurring Transaction ................................................ 12–1
Recalling and Using a Recurring Transaction .................................... 12–2
Changing a Recurring Transaction .............................................. 12–3
Deleting a Recurring Transaction ............................................... 12–3
User Guide 12–i


Chapter 12
Using Recurring Transactions to
Save Time
In Simply Accounting, you can save time and avoid errors by
storing recurring transactions, such as rent payments or
paycheques, for future use. When you need to use a stored
transaction, you simply recall it, change details as necessary,
and process it. You do not need to re-enter all the details each
time you process the transaction.
You can use recurring transactions in these windows:

■ Miscellaneous Transactions
■ Purchases, Orders, and Quotes
■ Sales, Orders, and Quotes
■ Paycheques
■ Item Assembly
■ Adjustments
Storing a Recurring Transaction

You can save transactions that you use often, and recall and
reuse them later.
To store a recurring transaction:

1. In the Home window, choose an icon to open the window
in which you want to create the entry.
2. Enter information as you normally would, but do not
process the transaction yet. If you are not sure of what to
User Guide 12–1

Recalling and Using a Recurring Transaction
enter in a field, check the status bar at the bottom of the

screen, or press F1 to display Help.
Store As 3. Choose the Store As Recurring Transaction button and fill
Recurring in information about the transaction.
Transaction
4. Choose OK. The program stores the information as a
recurring transaction, but it does not update the accounts
unless you choose Process.
Recalling and Using a Recurring Transaction

When you want to use a recurring transaction, recall it, make
any needed changes, and process it.
To recall and use a recurring transaction:

in which you want to use a recurring transaction.
2. Choose the Recall Recurring Transaction button.
The entries are listed in

order, with the earliest
Next Due Date at the
top of the list.
New date 3. Choose a transaction from the list of stored entries.

(Double-click it, or highlight it, then choose the Select
button.) The program displays the transaction, with the next
due date in the Date field. You can change this date if you
wish.
4. Check to make sure the entry is complete and correct, then
choose Process.

Changing a Recurring Transaction
Changing a Recurring Transaction

You may occasionally need to change the information stored in
a recurring transaction. For example, your rent may increase.
To change a recurring transaction:

Recall 1. In the Home window, choose an icon to open the window
Recurring in which you want to change a recurring transaction, and
Transaction then choose the Recall Recurring Transaction button.
2. Select the transaction, and make the changes you want.
Store As 3. Choose the Store As Recurring Transaction button.
Recurring
Transaction 4. If necessary, change the name and frequency of the
transaction in the Store Recurring Transaction dialog box.
If you do not change the name, the revised entry replaces
the original one. If you save the transaction under a new
name, the program adds it as a new recurring transaction
and leaves the old one intact.
5. Choose OK. The program stores the changes to the
transaction.
Deleting a Recurring Transaction

To delete a recurring transaction:
in which you want to delete a transaction.
2. Choose the Recall Recurring Transaction button.
User Guide 12–3

Deleting a Recurring Transaction
3. Select the transaction you want to delete, then choose the

Remove button. The program deletes the recurring
transaction.

Chapter 13
Using the Business Assistant to
Stay Organized
Using the To-Do Lists ......................................................... 13–1
Displaying the To-Do Lists ..................................................... 13–2
Displaying Reminders ..................................................... 13–2
Processing Recurring Transactions from the To-Do Lists ...................... 13–4
Keeping Track of Purchase Orders and Invoices.............................. 13–5
Changing a Purchase Order to an Invoice ................................ 13–5
Taking Advantage of Early-Payment Discounts on Purchases ............. 13–6
Making Payments ..................................................... 13–7
Keeping Track of Sales Orders and Invoices ................................. 13–7
Changing a Sales Order to an Invoice .................................... 13–8
Collecting Payments from Customers ................................... 13–8
Identifying Overdue Customer Invoices ................................. 13–9
Using the Checklists .......................................................... 13–10
Displaying the Checklists ................................................. 13–10
Using the Built-In Checklists .............................................. 13–11
Recreating the Built-In Checklists ...................................... 13–11
Working with Tasks ...................................................... 13–11
Displaying a Task..................................................... 13–12
Updating a Task ...................................................... 13–12
Creating a Task ....................................................... 13–13
Deleting a Task ....................................................... 13–14
Getting Online Business Advice ............................................... 13–14
Setting Up a New Business.................................................... 13–15
User Guide 13–i


Chapter 13
Using the Business Assistant to
Stay Organized
Every small-business owner knows how critical it is to meet
deadlines and follow up on outstanding issues with customers,
vendors, and employees. There may be so many important tasks
to keep track of that staying organized seems like a full-time job
itself.
The Business Assistant has tools to help you to manage all these
demands efficiently:
■ To-Do Lists save you time and help you stay organized by
keeping track of deadlines for you.
■ Checklists help you keep track of the tasks you must
complete to meet your business and personal goals.
■ Business Advice contains tips on various aspect of running
a business — that you can display with the click of a button.
■ The New Business Guide steps you through the process of
starting a new business in your province.
You can display either or both lists at startup, or whenever you

change the session date.
Using the To-Do Lists

The To-Do Lists display all your invoices, orders, and
reminders by date priority. You can easily process any of them,
simply by choosing it from the list.
The To-Do Lists can remind you to:

■ Pay vendors before early-payment discounts expire.
User Guide 13–1

Displaying the To-Do Lists
■ Ship sales orders as they become due, and invoice.

■ Invoice customers when you fill sales orders.
■ Process recurring transactions, such as rent or insurance
payments, your monthly depreciation expense, or
paycheques.
■ Follow up on business relating to customers, vendors, or
employees.

The program can display the To-Do Lists automatically at
startup and whenever you change the session date. In the Home
window, from the View menu, choose To-Do Lists, and then
choose either, or both:
■ At Startup.
■ After Changing Session Date.
Display the To-Do To view the To-Do Lists at any other time, from the Business
Lists whenever you Assistant menu, choose To-Do Lists. Or you can choose To-Do
wish Lists from the Toolbar.
Tip: You may find the To-Do Lists most useful at startup,
especially if you are an extremely busy person, because they
let you do much of your bookkeeping from one point in the
program.
Displaying Reminders
Simply Accounting can display any reminder you record on the
Memo tab of a customer, vendor, or employee record. For
example, if you prepare a quote for a customer, you might want
to call the customer in a few days’ time to find out whether they
are ready to place their order. Or, you might want to remind
yourself to pay an employee a bonus for making a special effort.

To store a memo in the To-Do Lists:

1. In the Home window, open the Customers, Vendors, or
Employees window, and open the specific record you want.
2. Select the Memo tab.
3. In the Memo box, type a memo or reminder.
4. Check the Display This Memo In The To-Do List box.
5. Enter a date in the To-Do Date box to display the memo in
the To-Do List for that date.
If you do not include a To-Do Date, the program will display

the memo from the date that you record the memo until you
remove it from the record.
To display a memo in the To-Do Lists:

1. In the Home window, choose the To-Do Lists button from
the toolbar. Or, from the Business Assistant menu, choose
To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Memo tab.
The program automatically lists
items due within a week from the
session date. You can accept or
change the date as you need.
The program displays the type of

record that contains the memo.
The program displays the name

and the task described in the
customer, vendor, or employee
record. Double-click the line, or
highlight it and press Enter, to
open the record and update the
Memo tab.
The To-Do Date you enter in the

customer, vendor, or employee
record is the “due date.”
User Guide 13–3

Processing Recurring Transactions from the To-Do Lists
You can save time and avoid errors by storing recurring

transactions, such as rent payments or paycheques, for future
use. To use a stored transaction, you simply recall it, change
details as necessary, and process it. You do not need to re-enter
all the details each time you process the transaction. To find out
more about how to store a recurring transaction, refer to
Chapter 12, “Using Recurring Transactions to Save Time.”
Simply Accounting lets you recall and process recurring

transactions right from your To-Do Lists, so you can always
meet your deadlines.
To process a recurring transaction from the To-Do Lists:

To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Recurring tab.
The program automatically

lists items due within a week
from the session date. You
can accept or change the
date as you need.
The program displays stored

transactions you entered in
the transaction windows.
Double-click the line, or
highlight it and press Enter,
to open the transaction
window and process the
entry.
3. Choose the transaction you want from the list. (Double-click

it, or select it and press Enter.) Simply Accounting opens
the related transaction window to let you process the
transaction.

Check your work 4. From the Report menu, choose Display [ ] Transaction
Detail to check the transaction. Then, close the display to
return to the transaction window.
Process 5. Make any necessary corrections, and then choose Process.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 to enter any remaining
transactions you need to process now.
Keeping Track of Purchase Orders and Invoices
Simply Accounting keeps track of all the purchase orders and

invoices you process. It displays them in the To-Do Lists by
their due dates, so you can take advantage of early-payment
discounts.
You can change purchase orders to invoices, or pay the invoices

as they are due, right from the To-Do Lists.
Changing a Purchase Order to an Invoice
To change a purchase order to an invoice from the To-Do

Lists:
To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Purchase Orders tab.
3. Either accept the date displayed, or change it and press Tab
to leave the field.
4. Double-click the purchase order you wish to convert to an
invoice, or select it and press Enter.
5. Enter the invoice number, fill in the quantities of items
received, and change the backorder quantities as necessary.
Transaction Detail to check the transaction. Then, close the
display to return to the transaction window.
User Guide 13–5

The program will update the Purchases Due tab, to remind

you to pay the invoice when it is due.
For more information about purchase invoices, refer to the

section “Accounting for Purchases,” in Chapter 5.
Taking Advantage of Early-Payment Discounts on Purchases
The To-Do Lists display purchase invoices whose

early-payment deadlines fall due within the next week. (You
can change the date displayed, to include a different range of
invoices.)
To pay an invoice before the early-payment deadline:

To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Purchase Discounts tab.
3. Either accept the date displayed on the tab, or change it and
press Tab to leave the field.
4. Double-click the invoice you wish to pay, or select it and
press Enter.
5. Fill in the payment information.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to pay the remaining invoices for
which the early-payment deadline has arrived.
For more information about paying invoices, refer to the section

“Accounting for Payments,” in Chapter 5.

Making Payments
Simply Accounting keeps separate track of purchase invoices

for which early-payment discounts do not apply, and displays
them on the To-Do Lists by due date. Because they are listed by
their due dates, you can easily identify the invoices you need to
pay now. Also, you can pay an invoice right from the To-Do
Lists.
To pay a purchase invoice from the To-Do Lists:

To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Purchases Due tab.
3. Either accept the due date displayed on the tab, or change it
and press Tab to leave the field.
4. Double-click the invoice you want to pay, or select it and
press Enter.
5. Fill in the payment information.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to pay the remaining invoices that

are now due.
For more information about paying invoices, refer to the section

“Accounting for Payments,” in Chapter 5.
Keeping Track of Sales Orders and Invoices
Simply Accounting makes it easy to track sales activity from the

To-Do Lists. You can easily convert sales orders to invoices, and
record a customer’s payment, right from the To-Do Lists. The
To-Do Lists can also let you know when a customer’s payment
is late, so that you can follow up with the customer right away.
User Guide 13–7

Changing a Sales Order to an Invoice
To create a sales invoice from the To-Do Lists:

To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Sales Orders tab.
3. Either accept the shipping date displayed on the tab, or
change the date and press Tab to leave the field.
4. Double-click the sales order you wish to convert to an
invoice, or select it and press Enter.
5. Enter the invoice number, fill in the quantities of items
shipped, and change the backorder quantities as necessary.
Detail, and check the transaction. Close the display to
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 to process any remaining sales

invoices that are now due.
The program will update the Sales Due tab, to remind you
to collect payment from the customer when it is due.
For more information about sales invoices, refer to the section

“Accounting for Sales,” in Chapter 6.
Collecting Payments from Customers
You can easily record the payment of a sales invoice, right from
the To-Do Lists.
To use the To-Do Lists to record a customer’s payment:

To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Sales Due tab.

3. Either accept the due date displayed on the tab, or change

the date and press Tab to leave the field.
4. Double-click the sales invoice that is being paid, or select it
and press Enter.
5. Fill in the receipt information.
Detail, and check the transaction. Then, close the display to
Identifying Overdue Customer Invoices
The To-Do Lists display Sales Due by date, so you can easily tell
if a customer’s payment is late. Then, you can follow up right
away with the customer, to collect the overdue amount.
To-Do Lists.
2. Select the Sales Due tab.
The session date is automatically

displayed in this field. If the
session date is not today’s date,
enter today’s date in this field.
Sales invoices are listed by

due date. Invoices with
positive numbers in the Aged
column are overdue.
User Guide 13–9

Using the Checklists

Checklists are great tools for keeping track of tasks that involve
a number of steps. The Business Assistant’s checklists keep a
record of your ongoing tasks and the steps you have taken
toward completing them. You can use Simply Accounting’s
built-in checklists, and you can also create your own.
Displaying the Checklists
You can display the checklists (both built-in and any you have
created) at startup, and whenever you change the session date.
In the Home window, from the View menu, choose Checklists,
and then choose either, or both:
■ At Startup.
■ After Changing Session Date.
You can also display the checklists at any other time. In the
Home window, choose Checklists from the toolbar or from
Business Assistant menu.
Each item in the Checklists

window is a task. To
display the details of a
task, double-click it.
When you complete a task,

the program inserts the
date, here.
The program displays a

check mark beside tasks
that you are working on.

Using the Built-In Checklists
To save you time, Simply Accounting comes with four built-in

checklists that contain procedures to follow at the end of
various periods. They are:
■ Calendar Year-End Procedures.
■ Fiscal Year-End Procedures.
■ Month-End Procedures.
■ Day-End Procedures.
Unless you delete them, the built-in checklists appear whenever

you open the Checklists window. You can use these checklists
as they are, or you can modify them to suit your particular
needs.
Recreating the Built-In Checklists
If you delete or revise the built-in checklists, and then decide

you want to use the originals again, you can reinstate the lists
that were installed with the program. From the Edit menu,
choose Recreate Built-In Checklists. The program will display
the built-in checklists, in addition to any new ones you may
have created.
Working with Tasks
When you open the Checklists window, Simply Accounting

displays a list of tasks. These tasks are detailed checklists that
you display in a separate window.
A task consists of a series of items, or steps, that you check off

as you complete them. You can add, delete, or modify any task
in the Checklists window.
User Guide 13–11

Displaying a Task
To display a task:
1. In the Home window, choose Checklists from the toolbar or
from the Business Assistant menu.
2. In the Checklists window, double-click the task you need, or
select it and then choose the Edit button.
As you complete each step,

click in the Done column to
insert a check mark.
When you complete all the

steps in this task, click Task
Completed.
Whenever you update a task, click

Save to save your changes and
return to the Checklists window.
Updating a Task
You can modify any task to meet your specific requirements.

You can add or delete items, and you can change the order in
which the items appear in the list.
To update a task:
2. In the Checklists window, double-click the task you want to
use.

3. In the task window, position the cursor where you wish to

make the change. You can then make any of the changes
indicated in the diagram:
To move the selected item up or down, choose
Move Item Up or Move Item Down.
Press this button to delete the
selected item.
Press this button to insert an

item before the selected one.
Then enter a description of
the new step.
In the Done column, click

beside the selected item to
insert a check mark indicating
that you have completed this
step.
Choose Save, to keep your changes and return to the Checklists

window. When you have finished all the steps, choose Task
Completed to close the task window. The program inserts the session
date in the Date Last Completed field in the Checklists window.
Creating a Task
You can create a checklist whenever you need to keep track of

steps completed in a procedure. For example, you could
develop a list of steps your employees can follow when taking
inventory, or before sending advertising copy to a printer. You
could even use a checklist to keep track of your personal goals.
To add a new task (checklist):

2. Choose Create.
User Guide 13–13

Getting Online Business Advice
Type a name for the task. You can press this button to delete any item.
To print the checklist, press this

button, or choose Print from the
File menu.
Press this button to insert an

item before the selected one.
Then enter a description of the
new step.
You can also enter new items

by positioning your cursor in
the next available line and
typing a description.
When you finish entering

items, save the task.
Deleting a Task
When you no longer need a checklist, you delete the task from
the Checklists window.
If you delete one of your own checklists, and later change your
mind, you must create it again, as described under “Creating a
Task.” However, if you delete the built-in checklists, you can
re-create them easily, as described under “Recreating the Built-
In Checklists,” earlier in this chapter.
To delete a task:
2. Select the task you want to remove, and click Delete.
Getting Online Business Advice

Simply Accounting comes with online advice about a variety of
business and accounting topics.

Setting Up a New Business
To view advice topics:

1. From the Business Assistant menu, select Business Advice.
2. Select the module for which you want to see advice, or
select All Modules to see a list of all the advice topics.
3. Double-click the topic you want to read about, or select it
and choose OK.

The New Business Guide steps you through the process of
starting a new business. It includes checklists for the following
business types:
■ Sole proprietorship.
■ Partnership.
■ Provincially incorporated company.
■ Federally incorporated company.
Each checklist shows the steps you must follow to set up a

business, such as choosing a unique company name, obtaining
licenses, and registering to collect provincial or federal taxes.
The lists also contain addresses and telephone numbers for the
government departments you need to contact.
To use the New Business Guide:

1. In the Home window, select Business Assistant and then
choose New Business Guide.
User Guide 13–15

From the Report menu, choose an option to

print the complete checklist or a summary.
Select the province in which

you do business.
Select the type of business you

have.
Click in the check box to indicate

that you have completed this
step.
Double-click an arrow to display

a detailed list of related steps.

Chapter 14
Reconciling Accounts
Overview: Three Steps to Reconciling ........................................... 14-1
Keep in Mind ............................................................. 14-2
Debits and Credits ..................................................... 14-3
A Note About Credit Cards ............................................ 14-3
Save Your Work Any Time ............................................. 14-4
Preparing to Reconcile ......................................................... 14-4
Matching Transactions to the Bank or Credit-Card Statement ..................... 14-5
Making Adjusting Entries ...................................................... 14-7
Table 1: Summary of Transaction Statuses for Account Reconciliation .......... 14-9
Adding Reminders for Next Time ......................................... 14-10
Removing Reminders ................................................. 14-11
Entering Service Charges, Discount Fees, and Interest Income ................ 14-11
Enter Income Paid to You by the Bank .................................. 14-11
Enter Charges Withdrawn by the Bank or Credit-Card Company ......... 14-12
Review Your Entries .................................................. 14-13
What To Do with an Unresolved Amount .................................. 14-13
Reconciling the Account ...................................................... 14-15
The Effect of Reconciling an Account ....................................... 14-15
Helpful Hints ................................................................ 14-16
Print Your Work ......................................................... 14-16
NSF Status: Only for Customer Cheques ................................... 14-16
Save Time Reconciling Grouped Deposits .................................. 14-17
Disk Space and Account Reconciliation..................................... 14-17
User Guide 14–i


Chapter 14
Reconciling Accounts
Account When you receive a bank or credit-card statement, you can use
Reconciliation Simply Accounting to check it against a Bank or Credit Card
account in your accounts list. This process of comparing a bank
or credit-card statement to your account, and explaining any
differences, is called “reconciliation.”
Setting up an Before you can use the account reconciliation feature, follow the
account for steps in Chapter 7, “Setting Up an Account for Reconciliation,”
reconciliation in the Getting Started manual. Simply Accounting then keeps
track of the information you need to reconcile.
Import online Simply Accounting can reduce much of the work of reconciling.
statements to speed The Import Online Statements feature clears transactions
up the reconciliation automatically, so you don’t have to compare transactions in
process your records with those on your statement. You can use this
feature if:
■ You have access to the Internet; and
■ Your bank or credit-card company has a Web site.
Set up your accounts If you wish to use the Import Online Statements feature, you
for online banking must first set up your Bank or Credit Card accounts to use
online banking. See “Setting Up an Account for Online
Banking,” in Chapter 7 of the Getting Started manual.
Overview: Three Steps to Reconciling

There are three main tasks to complete when reconciling. They
are outlined here, and described in detail later in this chapter.
User Guide 14–1

Match the
Bank or
Ô Follow these steps each month (when you receive the bank or
Credit Card
Make any credit-card statement) for each account you want to reconcile:
adjusting
account
and the Ó transactions 1. Identify the Bank or Credit Card account you want to
statement reconcile. Then clear the deposits and withdrawals that
Ð appear on your statement.
Process the account
reconciliation
If you use online banking, import your statement. Then let
the program clear these transactions automatically.
Clear grouped Tip: If you deposit receipts as a group, you can clear
deposits easily them all quickly with the Clear Deposit feature. (For
more information on grouping deposits, read the section
“Save Time Reconciling Grouped Deposits,” later in this
chapter.)
2. Identify any differences between the statement and your
account. Adjust or correct differences between the
statement and your account, if any. Repeat step 1, if needed.
3. Process the reconciled information.
When you have finished your reconciliation, print the Account

Reconciliation reports and file them with the reconciled bank or
credit-card statement. Remember to back up your data.
Keep in Mind
The first few times you reconcile your accounts will be the most
challenging. As you reconcile your accounts, keep two things in
mind:
■ Every transaction in your Bank or Credit Card account
must be explained, a process that is often as simple as
marking each transaction with a check mark (9).
■ Every transaction on your bank or credit-card statement
must appear in your Bank or Credit Card account by the
time you have finished reconciling. You may need to add or
correct transactions in your Bank or Credit Card account
after you see your statement.

Debits and Credits
The instructions in this chapter refer to debits and credits as

they affect the account in your Simply Accounting records, not
as they appear on your bank or credit-card statement.
The words “debit” and “credit” simply refer to “left” and

“right,” respectively, as shown in the following diagram:
Asset (or Expense) Liability (or Revenue)
debit credit debit credit
increases balance decreases balance decreases balance increases balance
Although your bank or credit-card account is an asset to you, it

is a liability to your financial institution. The bank or credit-card
company owes you that money. Therefore, a debit in your own
records appears as a credit on your bank or credit-card
statement, and vice versa.
A Note About Credit Cards
Confirming total For each day’s sales, compare the increase in your Credit Card
credit-card sales account to the credit-card slips, the credit-card report generated
by the cash register, and the batch listing from your bank for
that day.
Transferring credit- If you have a separate Credit Card account (or accounts), you
card deposits must transfer your credit-card sales, less the discount fees, to
your Bank account. Otherwise, your Bank account balance will
not agree with your bank statement.
If you make this transfer on a daily basis, you will find it easier
to identify deposits from the card company, which will appear
as lump-sum amounts, by date, on your merchant statement.
To transfer the credit-card sales to your Bank account:

1. If you have set up a credit-card record with a discount fee
(under Credit Cards on the Setup menu), transfer the net
sales (credit-card sales less the discount fees). In the
Miscellaneous Transactions window:
User Guide 14–3

Preparing to Reconcile
a) Credit the Credit Card account with the day’s net sales.
b) Debit your Bank account with the same amount.
2. If there is no discount fee in the credit-card record, transfer
the net credit-card sales to the bank, and charge the
discount fee to an expense account you set up for this
purpose. In the Miscellaneous Transactions window:
a) Credit the Credit Card account with the day’s total
sales.
b) Debit the expense account with the total discount fees
for the day.
c) Debit the Bank account with the net sales.
Save Your Work Any Time
Save (Ctrl+S) If you need to stop reconciling, choose Save. Then you can
switch to another window, or even close the Account
Reconciliation window and return to it later, without losing the
transactions already reconciled.
Preparing to Reconcile
Backup 1. On the File menu, choose Backup, then fill in the screen.
(Before you match your Bank or Credit Card account
transactions to your statement, always back up your data.)
2. In the Home window, choose the Account Reconciliation
icon.

Matching Transactions to the Bank or Credit-Card Statement
Select the Bank or Credit

Card account you want to
reconcile.
Enter the period end date,

usually at the top of your
bank statement.
Identify the work you are doing.

For example, enter: “May 3,
1999 bank rec.”
You can display transactions

processed up to the latest
transaction date, or any other
date you enter here.
Enter the ending balance
from your bank statement.
3. Fill in the information that identifies the bank or credit-card

statement you want to reconcile. Then, go to the next
section and begin matching transactions.
Matching Transactions to the Bank or Credit-Card

Statement
Match the
Bank or
Ô Once you have entered the general information from the bank
Credit Card
Make any or credit-card statement in the Account Reconciliation window,
adjusting
account you can begin reconciling. The Account Reconciliation window
and the Ó transactions
displays the outstanding transactions you need to reconcile.
statement
Ð 1. If you are reconciling manually, for each transaction that
Process the account
reconciliation matches your statement, click in the Cleared (C) column to
clear it. A check mark (9) shows which transactions you
cleared, and the Status column changes to “cleared.”
If you want Simply Accounting to match and clear
transactions for you, use the Import Online Statements
feature to import your statement. Then, proceed to step 2.
To find out how to import your statements from your
financial institution’s Web site, see “Importing Bank
Statements,” in Chapter 18, “Importing Data.”
User Guide 14–5

Matching Transactions to the Bank or Credit-Card Statement
The Work Sheet area Click this button to use an online Click this button to visit your
changes as you work. Once statement to reconcile your account. financial institution’s Web site.
you’ve added all Income,
Expense, and Cleared
amounts, the Unresolved
amount should be zero. If it
isn’t zero, you’re not finished.
Display the Bank or Credit

Card account’s uncleared
transactions.
A check mark shows which

transactions you have
cleared. If you are using an
online statement to
reconcile the account, the
program will clear matched
transactions for you.
If you accidentally mark the wrong transaction, click the

incorrect check mark to remove it.
Tip: As you work, write on your bank or credit-card
statement or source documents to keep track of what
you have cleared.
2. At this point, if you find any errors or transactions that do

not yet appear in the Account Reconciliation window,
identify them on your statement and process them in the
next section, “Making Adjusting Entries.”
3. If you are using Online Banking to reconcile your account,
check the Matched Transactions report to see if there are
any unmatched transactions. Compare the unmatched
transactions in this report with the outstanding transactions
in the Account Reconciliation window.
If there is any discrepancy in the source or amount between
Simply Accounting and the online statement, the program
will not clear the transaction automatically. Where there is a
difference, the transaction will be counted as an unmatched
transaction in the Matched Transactions report.
■ If the difference is in the source number, mark the
transaction as cleared.

Making Adjusting Entries
■ If the difference is in the amount, make an adjustment

as described in the next section, “Making Adjusting
Entries.”

Match the
Bank or
Ô In accounting, you cannot undo processed transactions. You can
Credit Card
Make any correct them by taking additional steps — process transactions
adjusting
account that correct (adjust) the ones you want to undo, or add new
ones.
statement
Ð
Process the account You will need to make adjustments if:
reconciliation
■ The bank or credit-card company withdrew or deposited
the wrong amount.
■ The bank didn’t deposit a cheque because it bounced.
■ You processed a payment cheque, then decided not to use it
(a voided cheque).
You will need to add transactions if the statement shows:

■ You didn’t enter a cheque that was deposited in the bank.
■ You printed a cheque without processing it, and it was
cashed.
■ The bank deposited interest earned on the account, or the
bank or credit-card company withdrew service charges or
loan interest you owed.
Tip: You can add service charges and interest income
more easily from the Account Reconciliation window
than from a transaction window. (See “Entering Service
Charges, Discount Fees, and Interest Income” later in
this chapter.)
To add a transaction or make an adjustment during your

account reconciliation:
1. Switch to the Home window and use the transaction
windows to add entries or make adjustments.
User Guide 14–7

Adjust in the Adjustments must be made in the original transaction

original transaction window (for example, correct a paycheque in the
window Paycheques window).
If you find a bank or credit-card company error, use the
Miscellaneous Transactions window to process an
adjustment to the Bank or Credit Card account and the
Account Reconciliation Adjustment account.
Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries,” explains how to make
adjustments.
2. Switch back to the Account Reconciliation window.
To change a transaction’s status, first clear it (9), and then
double-click in the Status column to update the status.
A bank payment error, with its
adjusting entry. After noticing
that the bank withdrew
$1,791.40 instead of $1,719.40,
the user entered an adjustment
of $72.00 in the Miscellaneous
Transactions window before
finishing the reconciliation. A $75,000 cheque bounced. After entering a negative payment
(of –$75,000) for the previously paid invoice in the Receipts window,
the user opened the Account Reconciliation window and updated the
status of the NSF cheque and its reversal.
3. In the Status column, update the status of each transaction

you just entered, to ensure each amount is correctly
identified and included on account reconciliation reports.
(See “Table 1: Summary of Transaction Statuses for Account
Reconciliation.”)
Tip: If you made manual or automatic adjustments, look
for pairs of transactions (the original and the
adjustment).
4. After reviewing Table 1 that follows, continue with the
steps in “Entering Service Charges, Discount Fees, and
Interest Income.”

Table 1: Summary of Transaction Statuses for Account Reconciliation

Status * When should I use it? What else should I do?
Outstandin ■ When a transaction doesn’t yet 1. Leave the transaction’s status as

g appear on a bank or credit-card Outstanding (for next time).
statement. (For example, a
cheque you issued has not yet
been cashed.)
■ When you add reminders or
notes for next time (described in
the section after this table).
Cleared ■ When you successfully match a 1. Use Cleared for the transaction
transaction. (For example, you status.
issued a cheque; it was cashed and
is now on the bank statement.)
■ When you want to remove
reminders or notes.
Void When you decide not to use a 1. Use Void for the original
cheque you processed. (For transaction’s status.
example, you issued a cheque
for the wrong amount, which you 2. Use Adjustment for the
destroyed and replaced with a correction’s status.
correct one.)
NSF When a customer’s cheque 1. Use NSF for the original
bounces. transaction’s status.
2. Use Adjustment for the
correction’s status.
3. Decide whether to charge an
NSF fee; review the customer’s
credit and payment terms.
User Guide 14–9

Status * When should I use it? What else should I do?
Deposit When the bank or credit-card Make an adjustment in the

error company made an error. Miscellaneous Transactions window
(For example, you deposited $1000, (described earlier under “Making
Payment but your bank statement says you Adjusting Entries”), then:
error deposited only $100. Another
example: you issued a cheque for 1. Use Deposit Error or Payment
$50, but the bank paid out $60 from Error for the original
your account.) transaction’s status.
2. Use Adjustment for the
correction.
3. Notify the bank or credit-card
company of the error.
Reversed When you want to undo a 1. Use Reversed for the original
transaction. (For example, you transaction’s status.
receive a payment; the customer later
returns the goods, so you issue a 2. Use Adjustment for the
credit note for the full amount.) transaction that undoes the
original.
Adjustment When you have made changes 1. Use this status as described in
‡
(corrections) to an entry. any step 2, above.
This status is always part of a pair
of transactions: an original and its
adjustment.
* You can change any transaction’s status once it is checked (9) in the Cleared column.
‡
If you are often adjusting mistakes, review Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries.”
Adding Reminders for Next Time
You can add short reminders or notes to the Account

Reconciliation window, for your next reconciliation. Just type
the note in the Comment field of the last (blank) line of the
transaction list. For example, add: “Bank to correct dep. error.”

Add a short reminder

or note in the blank
line at the bottom of
this list. Name your
reminder (try Note,
Memo, or Reminder). Use the Outstanding status
The period-end date (from the
bank statement) helps if you to keep this reminder after
need to retrace your steps in processing the reconciliation.
later months.
Removing Reminders
To remove a reminder or note, set its status to Cleared. For

example, set the status of the note “Bank to correct dep. error”
to Cleared, after:
■ The bank has corrected its error, and the correction appears
on your bank statement;
■ You have entered an adjustment for the amount of the error
in the Account Reconciliation window; and
■ You have assigned the Adjustment status to the correction,
so it clears from the Account Reconciliation window when
you process the reconciliation.
Entering Service Charges, Discount Fees, and Interest Income

Calculate bank Certain transactions are easily entered directly through the
interest and service Account Reconciliation window. You usually discover them
charges when you reconcile, because your bank decides to make the
entries, then adds them to your bank statement.
For example, you may see entries for bank service charges,
interest income, or other expenses and income that do not yet
appear in your own records.
Enter Income Paid to You by the Bank

1. By hand, calculate the lump-sum totals that your bank
decided to deposit in your account (such as interest earned).
User Guide 14–11

2. In the Display area of the Account Reconciliation window,

select Income, and fill in the screen.
Click here to display Income

1, 2, and 3.
You may have renamed

these (by entering new
names under Linked
Accounts, in the account
record).
To save you time, the

program fills in the related
account you selected when
setting up this account for
reconciliation.
Enter the lump-sum total

you calculated in step 1.
3. Do the same for the other two income accounts, if needed.
Maximum of three You can enter three income transactions in the Account
income totals Reconciliation window. If you need to enter more income, you
can either:
■ Enter some of the totals manually, as transactions in the
Miscellaneous Transactions window, or
■ Combine some of the similar totals into a single transaction,
and enter it in the Account Reconciliation window, so the
program can update your accounts automatically.
Enter Charges Withdrawn by the Bank or Credit-Card Company
1. By hand, calculate the lump sum totals that your bank

decided to withdraw from your account (such as service
charges, or bank-loan interest).
2. In the Account Reconciliation window, display the
Expense1 account. (In the Display area, select Expense, then
Select Expense1.) Fill in the screen.
3. Do the same for the other two expense accounts, if needed.

Maximum of three You can enter three expense transactions in the Account
expense totals Reconciliation window. If you need to enter more expenses you
can either:
■ Enter some of the totals manually, as transactions in the
Miscellaneous Transactions window, or
■ Combine some of the similar totals into a single transaction
and enter it in the Account Reconciliation window, so the
program can update your accounts automatically.
For example, if your credit-card company charges you a
monthly rental for an electronic terminal and a monthly
merchant fee, you can add the two amounts and enter the
total as one expense, using the three steps earlier in this
section.
Review Your Entries
The totals of the income amounts and expense amounts you

enter are displayed in the Work Sheet area (at the top right of
the Account Reconciliation window).
To see the transactions you created by adding bank income and

bank charges, choose Report, then choose Display Account
Reconciliation Transaction Detail.
What To Do with an Unresolved Amount
The unresolved amount in the Work Sheet area (at the top right
of the Account Reconciliation window) changes as you reconcile
transactions and enter income and expense amounts. After you
account for:
■ All transactions initiated by your company, such as cheques
or cash paid, and cheques received and deposited, and
■ All transactions the bank decided to make, such as bank
income, service charges, and interest charges,
the unresolved amount in the Work Sheet area should be zero.
Zero means your account is reconciled.
User Guide 14–13

If the unresolved amount is not zero:

■ Find your bank or credit-card statement and all related
source documents, such as cancelled cheques, cheque stubs,
credit memos, debit memos, deposit slips, and automatic
withdrawal or deposit records.
■ Make sure the amounts on your source documents
(cancelled cheques, cheque stubs, and so on) match the
amounts on the bank statement.
■ Make sure that you did not receive someone else’s source
documents, and that you received all of yours.
■ Make sure you entered the correct closing bank balance
from the bank statement in the Work Sheet area.
■ Make sure you have adjusted everything that needed to be
adjusted (see “Making Adjusting Entries” earlier in this
chapter).
■ Make sure every item on the bank or credit-card statement
has been accounted for.
■ Make sure the status of each transaction is correct in the
Account Reconciliation window. For details, review
“Table 1: Summary of Transaction Statuses for Account
Reconciliation.”
■ If the difference is divisible by nine, look for a transposition
error in your work or on the statement. For example, you
might have typed 87 instead of 78.
If the unresolved amount is still not zero, ask your accountant

for help in reconciling your account.
Avoid adjustments! As a last resort, you can process the reconciliation with an
unresolved amount, but the program will process an automatic
adjustment to the Account Reconciliation Adjustments account.
We do not recommend this method of “balancing” the statement to

the account, particularly if the unresolved amount is more than
a few dollars, because:
■ Your banker may not accept your financial statements when
you apply for bank loans or lines of credit.

Reconciling the Account
■ If you are unable to trace where your money went, you may
be overlooking bank or credit-card company errors or
employee fraud.
■ The graphs and reports you use for your business analysis
may be negatively affected by unresolved amounts.
■ Lax accounting can reduce the resale value of your business.
Reconciling the Account

Match the
Bank or
Ô Once you have reconciled every item on the statement and
Credit Card
Make any matched or checked everything in the Account Reconciliation
adjusting
account window, the unresolved amount (in the Work Sheet area at the
top right of the window) will be zero. The unresolved amount is
statement
Ð zero only if you completed the reconciliation correctly.
Process the account
reconciliation
You are now ready to update the accounts.
Process 1. In the Account Reconciliation window, choose Process. If

you are trying to process the reconciliation with an
unresolved amount, the program warns you. You have two
choices:
■ Choose Cancel and follow the steps earlier in this
chapter, in “What To Do with an Unresolved Amount.”
■ Choose Yes (not recommended), then select the account to
which you want the program to process the adjustment.
2. Print the Account Reconciliation reports, so you have a
record of your work. File them with your bank or
credit-card statements.
Backup 3. Back up your work. (From the File menu or toolbar, choose
Backup, and fill in the screen.)
The Effect of Reconciling an Account
When you reconcile an account, the program:
User Guide 14–15

Helpful Hints
■ Updates the income and expense accounts you selected for

the total bank income and bank charges you calculated and
entered in the Account Reconciliation window.
■ Removes from the Account Reconciliation window all
transactions whose statuses you updated. Any transaction
with a status of Outstanding will remain in the transaction
window.
■ Updates the Account Reconciliation window to prepare for
the next time you reconcile. The program advances the
statement end date by one month, and changes the ending
balance in the Work Sheet area to the new Balance Forward.
■ Processes any unresolved amount to the adjustment account
you selected.
Helpful Hints
Print Your Work
If you’re feeling lost, print the account reconciliation

information you have entered before you process it. Then use
the report to help finish reconciling. (For example, on the
Account Reconciliation Detail report, see what adjustments you
need to make before you can complete the reconciliation.)
From the Reports menu, choose Account Reconciliation, then

Account Reconciliation Status Report, and print a Detail report
showing only those transactions dated after the last account
reconciliation you processed. (See Chapter 16 for more detailed
instructions.)
NSF Status: Only for Customer Cheques
Don’t change the status of your own bounced cheques to NSF.

Use the NSF status only for customer cheques that bounced.
Then, when you print the Account Reconciliation Status Detail

Helpful Hints
report for transactions with the NSF status, you will have a
useful list of delinquent customers.
Tip: You may want to put an NSF customer on credit hold.
In the Customers window, on the customer’s record,
immediately set the credit limit to zero and the payment
terms to zero days. Continue to do business with the
customer, but accept only cash, certified cheques, or COD.
Meanwhile, try to collect the NSF amount, plus an NSF
service charge if you wish.
Save Time Reconciling Grouped Deposits
When you go to the bank to make a deposit, you could have a

number of receipts (cheques and cash) to deposit at once —
using one deposit slip. After you make a deposit, you can use
the Account Reconciliation window to enter the deposit slip
number for each transaction in that deposit. Later, when the
deposit clears the bank, you can use the Clear Deposit feature to
clear all transactions sharing that deposit number, as one group.
To clear all receipts with the same deposit number:

1. Open the Account Reconciliation window and select the
Bank account.
2. If the group deposit has cleared the bank, mark any one of
the transactions as Cleared (9).
3. Click the button at the top of the Cleared column. The
program changes the status of all other transactions with
the same deposit number to Cleared.
Changing statuses If needed, you can now change the status of individual
transactions. For example, one cheque in the group deposit may
have bounced; change its status to NSF.
Disk Space and Account Reconciliation
From time to time, clear the data from reconciled statements, to

clear disk space and to remove old information from the
User Guide 14–17

Helpful Hints
Account Reconciliation reports. See “Clearing Account

Reconciliation Information” in Chapter 2, “Maintaining
Records.”
Switch off the option The program continues to save bank account transactions in
to save disk space the Account Reconciliation window until you turn off the Save
Transactions For Account Reconciliation option in the account
record. If you decide to use account reconciliation later, you
must repeat the setup process for each Bank or Credit Card
account, as outlined in the Getting Started manual, before you
can again use the program to reconcile an account.

Chapter 15
Period-End Processing
The End of a Work Session ..................................................... 15-1
The End of a Month ........................................................... 15-2
The End of a Calendar Year .................................................... 15-3
The End of a Fiscal Year ....................................................... 15-3
Handling Year-End Adjustments ........................................... 15-5
The End of Your GST, HST, or QST Reporting Period ............................ 15-6
Adjusting the GST, HST, or QST Report ..................................... 15-7
Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return ............................... 15-9
Table 1: How to Fill Out the GST/HST Return ........................... 15-9
Table 2: How to Fill Out the QST Return ................................ 15-10
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Payment ............................... 15-11
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Refund ................................ 15-14
Auditing Considerations ...................................................... 15-16
Transaction References ................................................... 15-16
Account Balances......................................................... 15-17
Cheque and Invoice Numbering ........................................... 15-17
Audit Trail Reports ....................................................... 15-18
Table 3: When To Print Audit Trail Reports ............................. 15-19
User Guide 15–i


Chapter 15
Period-End Processing
This chapter explains the period-end procedures you need to
follow. It also suggests ways to help speed up the auditing
process.
Using built-in Simply Accounting comes with several checklists, similar to the
checklists ones used in this chapter, that you can use at the end of a day or
work session, month, calendar year, and fiscal year. To learn
more about using the built-in checklists, see “Using the Built-In
Checklists” in Chapter 13, “Using the Business Assistant to Stay
Organized.”
The End of a Work Session

To do
Back up your On the File menu, choose Backup, and then fill in the screen. For
company files more details, see “Backing Up Data,” in Chapter 1.
Print the All Print the All Transactions report, listing all entries processed
Transactions during the session. Check all transactions; then file the report.
report To find out about printing reports, see Chapter 16, “Reports and
Graphs.”
Print lists Print a list for any module in which you added, changed, or
removed records. Check all entries, and then file the reports.
Enter deposit If you use the Account Reconciliation window and are making a
slip numbers bank deposit, open the window now. For each amount in the
deposit, enter the deposit-slip number. Later, you can reconcile
and clear the whole deposit at once (see “Save Time Reconciling
Grouped Deposits,” in Chapter 14).
User Guide 15–1

The End of a Month
Check data See “Checking Data Integrity” in Chapter 1, “Protecting Your

integrity Data.”
The End of a Month

To do

integrity Data.”
data more details, see “Backing Up Data,” in Chapter 1.
Reconcile Do this at the end of the month, or when you receive your bank
accounts or credit-card statements. You can use Simply Accounting to
reconcile your accounts. See Chapter 14, “Reconciling
Accounts.”
Print reports Before entering a session date for a new month, print reports as
of the last day of the current month. See Table 3, “When to Print
Audit Trail Reports,” at the end of this chapter.
Check your If you use the budgeting feature to maintain a budget for your
budgets company, and your budget period frequency is monthly, print a
comparative income statement, compare actual amounts to the
plan, and then make adjustments if necessary. Similarly, if you
budget projects on a monthly basis, print a Project Budget
report for each project, compare actual to budgeted amounts,
and make any adjustments necessary. See Chapter 3,
“Budgeting.”
Clear paid Clear (remove) paid invoices every three to six months, to save
invoices disk space. See “Clearing Vendor or Customer Invoices,” in
Chapter 2.

The End of a Calendar Year
The End of a Calendar Year

When you enter a session date for a new calendar year, the
program will begin accumulating payroll information for the
new calendar year.
Start a new calendar You can also begin a new calendar year by selecting Start New
year Year from the Maintenance menu, and then choosing Calendar
Year.
The program moves all existing year-to-date payroll amounts to

last year, except advances paid and vacation pay owed to each
employee. These amounts represent continuing assets and
liabilities.
To do before you start a new calendar year

integrity Data.”
data more details, see “Backing Up Data,” in Chapter 1. As a
precaution, you should make one backup to your hard disk, and
another to a diskette. You can use this backup to print T4 and
Relevé 1 Slips and payroll reports whenever you need them.
Print payroll Print the required reports. See Table 3, “When to Print Audit
reports Trail Reports,” at the end of this chapter.
The End of a Fiscal Year

Simply Accounting automatically keeps two years of data,
except for the payroll details (you choose either one year or two
years). When you start a new fiscal year, the program enters the
balance from all revenue and expense accounts into the
Retained Earnings account for the new year. It also accumulates
balance-forward amounts for projects, and moves these
balances to the Project report.
User Guide 15–3

When you enter a session date for a new fiscal year, the
program advances the Fiscal Start date of the company’s
accounting year to the day following the current Fiscal End,
resets the Fiscal End date to 12 months from the new Fiscal Start
date, and changes the earliest transaction date to match the new
Fiscal Start date.
Start a new fiscal You can also begin a new fiscal year by selecting Start New Year
year from the Maintenance menu, and then choosing Fiscal Year.
To do before you start a new fiscal year
Check data For instructions, see “Checking Data Integrity” in Chapter 1,

integrity “Protecting Your Data.”
Reconcile At fiscal year end, or when you receive your bank or credit-card
accounts statements, reconcile your accounts. See Chapter 14,
“Reconciling Accounts,” to find out how to use Simply
Accounting to reconcile your bank and credit-card accounts.
Print year-end Print all the fiscal year-end reports listed in Table 3, “When to
reports Print Audit Trail Reports,” at the end of this chapter, and
include any additional reports required by your auditor.
Export GIFI If you file your corporate tax returns (T2) electronically, you
data must also submit your chart of accounts electronically, in the
format prescribed by Revenue Canada. See “Exporting Data for
E-filing Tax Returns,” in Chapter 19, “Exporting Data.”
Print budget If you use the budget feature, do not update your budget now.
reports Instead, print a comparative income statement showing actual
and budgeted amounts. You will need it later (see “To do after
you start a new fiscal year”).

To do after you start a new fiscal year
Budget your If you use the budgeting feature, check last year’s income
revenues and statement, showing actual and budgeted amounts, and update
expenses this year’s budget. See “Changing Your Budget,” in Chapter 3,
“Budgeting.”
Make To make corrections to last year’s accounts, follow the
year-end instructions in the next section, “Handling Year-End
adjustments Adjustments.”
Tip: If you decided to keep only one year of data (by
clearing, or removing, the previous year’s data), reserve the
first day of your new fiscal year for adjusting transactions.
When you process normal business transactions taking
place on the first day of the fiscal year, use the next day’s
date.
Handling Year-End Adjustments

You may not receive your final financial statements and
adjusting transactions from your accountant until well into the
new year. In this case, you will have to start a new fiscal year to
enter current transactions before you enter the adjustments
required to close the old year. When your accountant
determines what transactions are required to complete the old
year, process these adjusting entries to the previous year.
To find out more about period-end adjustments and why they

are required, see Chapter 11 in the Accounting Manual.
To make adjustments to last year:

1. Make day-to-day entries for the new year in the usual way.
2. When you are ready to make your adjustments to last year,
start Simply Accounting with your current session date.
3. From the Setup menu, choose Settings. Select System, and
then check the Allow Transactions In Previous Year box if
this option is not selected. (This box appears only after you
have advanced the session date into the new fiscal year, and
only if you did not clear, or remove, last year’s data.)
User Guide 15–5

The End of Your GST, HST, or QST Reporting Period
Tip: If you cleared (removed) last year’s data, you can

merge it back in (for detailed instructions, refer to the
online Help topic “Merge Previous Fiscal Year Data”),
or you can process the adjustments using the starting
date of the current fiscal year.
Enter adjustments to 4. Process your adjustments with a date in the previous fiscal
the previous year year. If you enter a prior-year payroll transaction, you must
calculate and enter all deductions manually.
The program will recalculate last year’s balances, and the
new year’s opening balance for the Retained Earnings
account.
5. Be sure to clear (uncheck) the Allow Transactions In
Previous Year box after you finish making adjustments, to
avoid accidentally processing to the previous year.

The end of your reporting period may be the end of a month, a
quarter, or a year. To find out your reporting period, contact
Revenue Canada, the Ministère du Revenu du Québec, or your
accountant.
Renaming the tax Note: When you first install Simply Accounting, the federal
sales tax is named “GST.” If you do business in a province that
uses harmonized sales tax (HST), you can rename the tax (on
the Setup menu, choose Names). Simply Accounting will also
rename the related options, reports, and menu commands.
To do at the end of your reporting period
Print reports Print a balance sheet, and the GST, HST, or QST report (in detail
and summary form) as at the last day of your reporting period.
The report should include information for this reporting period
only.
Adjust reports Use the balance sheet to make adjustments to the GST, HST, or
QST report amounts. See the next section, “Adjusting the GST,
HST, or QST Report.”

Fill out the tax See “Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return” or “Filling
return Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return” later in this chapter.
Clear your Clear your GST, HST, or QST accounts. See “Accounting for a
accounts GST, HST, or QST Payment” or “Accounting for a GST, HST, or
QST Refund,” later in this chapter.
Clear report Clear the details of the GST, HST, or QST report up to the last
details day of your reporting period:
■ To clear (remove the details from) the GST or HST report,
on the Maintenance menu, choose Clear GST Report or
Clear HST Report.
■ To clear (remove the details from) the QST report, on the
Maintenance menu, choose Clear Tax Report.
It is important to clear (remove) the transaction details at the

end of each reporting period, both to free up disk space and to
prevent reporting the same transactions twice. The program
clears tax details entered on invoices that were processed on or
before the date you specify.
File your File the balance sheet and GST, HST, or QST report with other
reports reports and supporting documents for this reporting period.
Adjusting the GST, HST, or QST Report
The GST, HST, or QST report includes information for

purchases and sales only. It does not include information for
entries made in the Miscellaneous Transactions window.
For example, if you process a miscellaneous transaction to

record the purchase of an asset, the GST or HST report does not
include this transaction, even though the GST, HST, or QST you
paid on the asset may qualify as an input tax credit or input tax
refund.
User Guide 15–7

Similarly, if your employees’ income includes GST-, HST-, or

QST-taxable benefits (such as the use of a company car), the
GST, HST, and QST reports do not include the amount of GST,
HST, or QST you withheld.
You must compare the GST, HST, or QST report amounts to the
GST, HST, or QST account totals on the balance sheet (as at the
last day of your reporting period), to see whether any
transactions are missing from the GST, HST, or QST report. You
must then adjust the report amounts to add any missing
transactions before filling in your return.
To adjust your GST, HST, or QST report:

Compare GST, HST, 1. Compare the GST Paid, HST Paid, or Refundable QST Paid
or QST Paid to the amount on the GST, HST, or QST report to the GST Paid On
balance sheet Purchases, HST Paid On Purchases, or Refundable QST
Paid account total on the balance sheet.
Print and check 2. If the two amounts are different, print the Transactions By
Transactions By Account report for the GST Paid On Purchases, HST Paid
Account report On Purchases, or Refundable QST Paid account.
3. Check this Transactions By Account report for any
transactions that are not included on the GST, HST, or QST
report, such as the purchase of an asset processed as a
miscellaneous transaction.
Make corrections 4. If needed, write in corrections to any of these totals on the
form:
■ Purchases ■ Total Purchases
■ GST/HST Paid ■ Refundable QST
For example, you may need to include ITC adjustments.
Compare GST, HST, 5. Compare the GST Charged On Sales, HST Charged on
or QST Charged Sales, or QST Charged At Rate 1 and 2 totals on the GST,
HST, or QST report to the GST Charged On Sales, HST
Charged On Sales, or QST Charged At Rate 1 and 2 account
totals on the balance sheet.
Check the 6. If the amounts are different, print the Transactions By
Transactions By Account report for the GST Charged On Sales, HST
Account report Charged On Sales, or QST Charged At Rate 1 and 2
accounts.

7. Check the Transactions By Account report for any

transactions that are not included on the GST, HST, or QST
report, such as the sale of an asset that was processed as a
miscellaneous transaction. Circle the amounts that you need
to add to the totals on your GST, HST, or QST report.
8. If you make GST, HST, or QST payroll deductions, print the
Transactions By Account report for the GST, HST, or QST
deduction accounts and circle the amounts that you need to
add.
Correct the report 9. On the form, write in any corrections (from steps 7 and 8) to
the Taxable Sales total and GST Charged or HST Charged
totals on the GST or HST report, or to the Total Sales and
QST Charged totals on the QST report.
10. Go to “Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return,” or
“Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return,” to find out how
to fill out the return.
Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return
After you make adjustments to the GST or HST report amounts,

use the corrected GST or HST report and your balance sheet to
fill out the GST/HST Return.
Table 1: How to Fill Out the GST/HST Return

Enter this from the GST or HST In this section of the GST/HST
report: return:
Corrected taxable sales total Total Taxable Supplies
Enter this amount from the In this section of the GST/HST

balance sheet: return:
The total of the GST/HST GST Collectible
Charged On Sales account and
the GST/HST Payroll
Deductions account (if any)
GST/HST Adjustments GST/HST Adjustments
account total
User Guide 15–9

GST/HST Paid On Purchases Input Tax Credit

account total
ITC Adjustments account total ITC Adjustments
Follow the additional instructions on the form to calculate your

refund or payment. Then Refer to “Accounting for a GST, HST,
or QST Payment” or “Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST
Refund,” later in this chapter, to find out how to handle a
payment or refund and clear the accounts in preparation for
your next reporting period.
For additional assistance in filling out the return, contact your

local Revenue Canada Excise office, or your accountant, or refer
to the Guide to the GST Tax Return for Registrants (R3130),
available from Revenue Canada.
Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return
After you make adjustments to the QST report amounts, use the
corrected QST report and your balance sheet to fill out the
Quebec Sales Tax Return.
Table 2: How to Fill Out the QST Return

Enter this from the QST report: In this section of your
QST return:
Corrected total sales Total Supplies
Enter this amount from the In this section of your

balance sheet: QST return:
The total of the QST Charged Total of QST Collectible
accounts and the QST Adjustments and Adjustments
account and QST Payroll
Deductions account (if any)
Total of the Refundable QST Paid Total of ITRs and
and the ITR adjustment account Adjustments

If you wish, you can use the combined tax return

(GST/HST-QST return) to report GST, HST, and QST for the
same period. For example, if you pay GST quarterly, you can
use the combined form to report GST, HST, and QST at the end
of each quarter, and use the QST Return for the months
between, when you are not paying GST. For more information
about calculating a GST payment or refund, read the section
“Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return,” earlier in this
chapter.

refund or payment. Then, refer to “Accounting for a GST, HST,
or QST Payment” or “Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST
Refund,” later in this chapter, to find out how to handle a
payment or refund and clear the accounts in preparation for
your next reporting period.
For additional assistance in filling out the return, contact the

Ministère du Revenu du Québec, or your accountant.
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Payment
If you owe GST, HST, or QST to the government, you must

create an invoice in the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window,
issue a cheque for the GST, HST, or QST owing, and clear your
GST, HST, or QST accounts to prepare for the next reporting
period.
To account for a payment:

1. If you have not already done so, open the Vendors
window (in the Home window, choose the Vendors icon)
and create a new account for either the Receiver General
of Canada or the Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
Do not include the tax authority in the GST, HST, or QST
report; leave the Include In GST Report and Include In QST
Report boxes unchecked.
User Guide 15–11

2. Open the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window. Make

sure that Invoice is selected in the Transaction field. Then,
do one of the following:
■ If you want to issue a cheque immediately, in the Paid
By field, select Cash, Cheque, or any credit card you
have set up (in the Credit Cards Used tab, in the Credit
Cards dialog box). Now, you can issue a cheque from
the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window without
having to open the Payment Cheques window.
Enter a cheque number, or accept the number
displayed.
■ If you plan to issue a cheque later, make sure Pay Later
is selected in the Paid By field. Then, follow the rest of
these steps, and issue a cheque later in the normal way.
Select the Receiver General

of Canada or the Ministère du
Revenu du Québec.
Describe the payment.
Enter the date.
The total should match what

you owe on the adjusted GST
or QST return.
3. Fill in the rest of the screen. Pay particular attention to:

Enter this amount as GST Paid On Purchases or Refundable QST Paid. In the
a negative number Amount field, enter the amount in the GST Paid On
Purchases or Refundable QST Paid account, as shown on
the balance sheet. Enter these amounts as negative numbers.
In the Account field, enter the GST Paid On Purchases or
the Refundable QST Paid account number.

Enter the rest as GST Charged On Sales or QST Charged At Rate 1. On

positive numbers the next line, enter the amount in the GST Charged On Sales
or the QST Charged At Rate 1 account, as shown on the
balance sheet. Enter these amounts as positive numbers.
In the Account field, enter the GST Charged On Sales or the
QST Charged At Rate 1 account number.
[Other GST, HST, or QST Accounts]. Similarly, enter the
amounts and account numbers for the remaining GST, HST,
or QST accounts: QST Charged At Rate 2; GST, HST, or
QST Adjustments; ITC or ITR Adjustments; and the GST,
HST, or QST payroll-deduction account (if you have one).
Enter these amounts as positive numbers.
The invoice total should be equal to the amount you owe
the government, as calculated on the adjusted GST, HST, or
QST Return.
Check your work 4. To check the transaction, choose Display Purchase
Transaction Detail from the Report menu.
■ If you selected Cash, Cheque, or a credit card in the
Paid By field, the amount you owe should be shown by
a credit to the Bank account.
■ If you selected Pay Later in the Paid By field, the
Accounts Payable account (not the Bank account) shows
the amount you owe.
5. If you wish to print a cheque, on the File menu, choose
Print.
Process 6. Choose Process. This clears the GST, HST, or QST accounts,
making their balances zero, in preparation for a new
reporting period.
Backup 7. On the File menu, choose Backup, and then fill in the screen.
For more details, see “Backing Up Data,” in Chapter 1.
Clear tax details 8. Clear the details of the GST, HST, or QST report to prepare
for a new reporting period. Clear the report up to the last
day of your reporting period.
■ To clear (remove the details from) the GST or HST
report, on the Maintenance menu, choose Clear GST
Report.
User Guide 15–13

■ To clear (remove the details from) the QST report, on

the Maintenance menu, choose Clear Tax Report.
9. If you have not already issued a payment cheque for the
GST, HST, or QST, do so in the normal way when you are
ready, as described under “Making Remittances to Federal
and Provincial Authorities” in Chapter 5.
Accounting for a GST, HST, or QST Refund
If the government owes you a refund, you must create an

invoice in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, and then clear
the GST, HST, or QST accounts to prepare for your next
reporting period. Enter the amount of the cheque in the Receipts
window when you receive your refund.
To account for a refund:

1. If you have not already done so, open the Customers
window (in the Home window, choose the Customers icon)
and create a new account for either the Receiver General of
Canada or the Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
Do not include the tax authority in the GST, HST, or QST
reports; leave the Include In GST Report and Include In QST
2. Open the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select the
Receiver General of Canada or the Ministère du Revenu du
Québec in the Sold To field, and then enter an invoice
number, such as March ‘99 GST or QST 03-31-99, for the
March reporting period.

Select the Receiver General

of Canada or the Ministère
du Revenu du Québec.
Describe the payment.
Enter the date.
The total should match the

refund on your adjusted GST
or QST return.
3. Fill in the rest of the screen. Pay particular attention to:

Enter this amount as GST Paid On Purchases or Refundable QST Paid. In the
a positive number Amount field, enter the amount in the GST Paid On
Purchases or the Refundable QST Paid account, as shown
on the balance sheet. Enter these amounts as positive numbers.
In the Account field, enter the GST Paid On Purchases or
the Refundable QST Paid account number.
Enter the rest as GST Charged On Sales or QST Charged On Sales. On
negative numbers the next line, enter the amount in the GST Charged On Sales
or QST Charged On Sales account, as shown on the balance
sheet. Enter these amounts as negative numbers.
In the Account field, enter the GST Charged On Sales or
QST Charged At Rate 1 account number.
[Other GST, HST, or QST Accounts]. Similarly, enter the
amounts and account numbers for the remaining GST, HST,
or QST accounts: QST Charged At Rate 2; the GST/HST or
QST Adjustments account; the ITC or ITR Adjustments
account; and the GST, HST, or QST payroll-deduction
account (if you have one). Enter these amounts as negative
numbers.
The invoice total should equal your refund amount, as
calculated on the GST, HST, or QST Return.
User Guide 15–15

Auditing Considerations
Check your work 4. To check the transaction, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail from the Report menu. The Accounts Receivable
amount should be shown as a debit. (This is the amount the
government owes you.)
Process 5. Choose Process. This clears the GST, HST, or QST accounts,
making their balances zero, in preparation for a new
reporting period.
Backup 6. On the File menu, choose Backup, and then fill in the screen.
For more details, see “Backing Up Data,” in Chapter 1.
Clear (remove) tax 7. Clear the details of the GST, HST, or QST report to prepare
details for a new reporting period. Clear the report up to the last
day of your reporting period:
■ To clear (remove the details from) the GST or HST
report, on the Maintenance menu, choose Clear GST
Report or Clear HST Report.
■ To clear the QST report, on the Maintenance menu,
choose Clear Tax Report.
8. When you receive the refund cheque, open the Receipts
window and create a receipt for the Receiver General or the
Ministère du Revenu du Québec in the normal way, as
described under “Accounting for Receipts” in Chapter 6.
This section contains some information for your auditor that
may reduce the amount of time spent auditing your company’s
records. It also lists the reports you should print and when.
Transaction References
Transaction numbers Simply Accounting stores all transactions together,
automatically
assigning a transaction reference number to each in sequence
from 1 to 65,000. (It resets the counter when it reaches 65,000.)

Transaction dates The program normally records transactions using the session
date as the reference date. The session date can be any date
within the current fiscal year. However, you are not bound by
the session date. You can enter a transaction reference date as
far back as the earliest transaction date.
Also, if you choose the option Allow Transactions In The Future

(on the System tab in the Settings dialog box), you can enter a
date up to the end of either the fiscal year or the calendar year,
whichever comes first. You can also choose the option Allow
Transactions In Previous Year, if you need to enter a transaction
for the previous fiscal year.
Comments All transactions include a comment, such as the vendor’s,

customer’s, or employee’s name; a source document reference
number, such as an invoice or cheque number; and, if
applicable, a breakdown of the revenues and expenses you
allocated to various projects or divisions.
Account Balances
The year-to-date balances displayed in the Accounts, Vendors,

and Customers windows include transactions processed with a
future transaction date. To see the latest transaction date used,
in the Home window, choose Setup, and then Company
Information.
Balances shown in reports, however, include only transactions

that fall within the range selected when the report is produced.
Cheque and Invoice Numbering
Simply Accounting assigns a number to each cheque before

printing. It assigns numbers sequentially from 1
to 2,000,000,000, and then resets the counter when it
reaches 2,000,000,000. The program handles invoice numbers in
the same way.
User Guide 15–17

You can enter a different cheque or invoice number before

printing, as long as it does not duplicate a number already used
for the same vendor or customer. (Duplicate numbers are
possible, however, after the related transactions are removed.)
If you do not use the program to print cheques, enter your own
cheque numbers when you record the cheques in Simply
Accounting, or accept the number displayed.
Audit Trail Reports
The transaction reference numbers, comments, and invoice and

cheque numbers appear on the All Transactions report and the
Transactions By Account report, and provide a complete audit
trail. However, you must print and keep the relevant reports.
Whenever you modify an account, print a copy of the new chart

of accounts and mark on it the changes that you made to the old
version. Keep the printouts in a safe place.
Table 3 lists the reports you should print, and when.

Table 3: When To Print Audit Trail Reports
Calendar Fiscal
Report Month End Year End Year End
Income Statement
Month-to-date 9 9
Year-to-date 9 9
Balance Sheet 9 9
Transactions By Account (past month) 9 9
All Transactions (past month) 9 9
Chart of Accounts 9 9
Vendors and Purchases
Purchase Transaction Details 9 9
Payment Transaction Details 9 9
Vendor Aged (summary and detail) 9 9
Customers and Sales
Sales Transaction Details 9 9
Receipts Transaction Details 9 9
Customer Aged (summary and detail) 9 9
Payroll
Payroll Transaction Details (past 9 9
month)
Employee Summary for all employees 9
Employee Detail for all employees 9
T-4 slips and Summary 9
Relevé 1 slips and Summary 9
Inventory and Services
Inventory (Quantity and Synopsis) 9 9
Item Assembly Transactions (past 9 9
month)
Adjustment Transactions (past month) 9 9
Project Report 9
GST Report At the end of GST reporting period.
QST Report At the end of QST reporting period.
Account Rec. Report (summary and detail) During and after reconciliation.
User Guide 15–19

Chapter 16
Reports and Graphs
Drilldown .................................................................... 16–2
Account Reconciliation Status Detail Report ..................................... 16–3
Account Reconciliation Status Summary Report ................................. 16–4
Account Reconciliation Transactions Report ..................................... 16–5
Adjustment Transactions Report ............................................... 16–6
Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices Reports ....................................... 16–6
Aged Overdue Sales Invoices Reports ........................................... 16–8
All Transactions Report ........................................................ 16–9
Balance Sheet ................................................................ 16–10
Cash-Basis Accounting Reports ............................................... 16–14
Cash-Flow Projection ......................................................... 16–14
Chart of Accounts ............................................................ 16–15
Current Revenue vs. Last Year (graph) ......................................... 16–18
Customer Aged Reports ...................................................... 16–19
Customer List ............................................................... 16–22
Customer Sales Reports....................................................... 16–22
Customer Statements ......................................................... 16–23
Employee Detail Report ...................................................... 16–25
Employee List ............................................................... 16–26
Employee Summary Report ................................................... 16–27
Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue (graph) ............................... 16–27
Expenses by Account (graph) ................................................. 16–29
Expenses vs. Budget (graph) .................................................. 16–29
GST Report ..................................................................16–30
Imported Online Transactions Report .......................................... 16–31
Income Statement ............................................................ 16–32
Inventory and Services Activity Report ........................................ 16–34
Inventory and Services List ................................................... 16–35
Inventory and Services Sales Report ........................................... 16–36
Inventory and Services Transaction Report ..................................... 16–37
User Guide 16–i

Inventory Quantity and Synopsis Reports...................................... 16–39

Invoices..................................................................... 16–40
Item Assembly Transactions Report ........................................... 16–41
Mailing Labels .............................................................. 16–42
Miscellaneous Transactions Report ............................................ 16–43
Online Account Statements Report ............................................ 16–44
Paycheque .................................................................. 16–44
Payment Cheque ............................................................ 16–47
Payment Transactions Report ................................................. 16–48
Payroll Transactions Report .................................................. 16–49
Pending Purchase Orders Report.............................................. 16–50
Pending Sales Orders Report ................................................. 16–51
Project Allocation Report ..................................................... 16–52
Project Budget Report ........................................................ 16–53
Project Income Report........................................................ 16–53
Project List .................................................................. 16–54
Purchase Orders ............................................................. 16–55
Purchase Transactions Report ................................................ 16–56
QST Reports ................................................................ 16–57
Receipt Transactions Report .................................................. 16–58
Receipts .................................................................... 16–59
Relevé 1 Slips ............................................................... 16–60
Revenues by Account (graph)................................................. 16–62
Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases (graph) ....................................... 16–63
Sales Order Confirmations ................................................... 16–63
Sales Quotes ................................................................ 16–65
Sales Transactions Report .................................................... 16–66
Sales vs. Budget (graph) ...................................................... 16–67
Sales vs. Sales Due (graph) ................................................... 16–68
T4 Slips ..................................................................... 16–68
Transactions By Account Report .............................................. 16–70
Trial Balance ................................................................ 16–71
Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period (graph) .................................... 16–72
Unpaid Purchases by Vendor (graph) ......................................... 16–72
Unpaid Sales by Aging Period (graph) ......................................... 16–73
Unpaid Sales by Customer (graph) ............................................ 16–74
16–ii Simply Accounting

Vendor Aged Reports ........................................................ 16–74

Vendor List ..................................................................16–76
Vendor Purchases Report ..................................................... 16–77
Creating Graphs ............................................................. 16–78
The Graphs Toolbar ...................................................... 16–78
Changing Print Fonts ..................................................... 16–79
Changing Colours ........................................................ 16–80
Exploding Pie Charts ..................................................... 16–80
Displaying Details for a Graph Segment .................................... 16–80
Changing the Legends in a Graph .......................................... 16–81
User Guide 16–iii


Chapter 16
Reports and Graphs
This chapter explains each of the reports you can produce with
the Simply Accounting program, including a description of the
report’s purpose, its main features, the options available at the
time you print, and how to display and print it.
Each report includes:

■ Company name, as entered in the Company Information
dialog box.
■ The date, range of dates, or range of transaction numbers
selected for the report.
■ The report title, in the upper left corner.
■ The page number, in the upper right corner.
■ The date the report is printed, in the lower left corner. (This
option can be turned on from the Setup menu, under
Reports And Forms. Choose the Reports And Graphs tab
and check Print System Date on Reports.)
Customized forms Management reports list records that meet the criteria you
and management specify, to highlight areas of your business that may need
reports attention. You can customize management reports and forms
using Crystal Reports 5.0 (or later), and your company files.
You must purchase Crystal Reports separately from Simply

Accounting, if you want to customize management reports and
forms.
Note: If you upgraded to Simply Accounting 7.0 from an

earlier version of the program, you may have the CA-RET
report writer installed. If so, you can use CA-RET to customize,
display, and print reports.
See Chapter 21, “Customizing Forms and Reports,” for

information about customizing your forms and reports.
User Guide 16–1

Drilldown
Graphs Simply Accounting can also display and print graphs, to help
you analyze the state of your business and keep an eye on your
cash flow and profits. In the Home window, choose Graphs,
then choose the graph you want from the menu. For more
information about displaying graphs, see “Creating Graphs,”
later in this chapter.
Printing reports If you want to see reports without account numbers, on the
without account View menu, choose Account Numbers, then uncheck the In
numbers Reports option.
Date formats The date format in the sample reports might not exactly match
the format on your reports. Simply Accounting uses the date
format you have chosen in the Windows Control Panel.
How to print To print a report, display the report, then choose Print from the
File menu.
Drilldown
You can double-click parts of a financial statement and some
reports to display transaction details or related information that
you have not cleared from your company data. Going deeper
into an entry in this way to see more detail is known as
“drilldown.”
The illustration shows where to double-click the All

Transactions list, to quickly check the information you want.
Drilldown works similarly on any report where the mouse
pointer changes to a magnifying glass with a plus sign in it.

Account Reconciliation Status Detail Report
Double-click the source (for Double-click the comment to display the Customer Aged or
example, an invoice or Vendor Aged report for a customer or vendor, to find out
cheque number) to see how much you owe, or how much the customer owes.
details of the transaction
that created this entry.
From there you can adjust
the entry, if needed.
Double-click the account

number to find out its
balance and to see other
entries to the account.
The status bar tells you

what information will
appear when you double-
click (unless you Double-click the comment to see what
unchecked Show Status you have spent on this employee to
Bar on the View menu in date, in the Employee Detail report.
the Home window).
Account Reconciliation Status Detail Report

Description The Account Reconciliation Status Detail report lists the statuses
of the transactions entered in the Account Reconciliation
window, and the outstanding (unreconciled) transactions in the
account you specify. The report also includes the ending date of
the last account statement and other information you entered
from the account statement.
Purpose Use the report to identify transactions that need further action,
such as NSF cheques, and as a record of processed
reconciliations.
When to print Print the report when you are preparing to reconcile a new
account statement, to identify the transactions to clear and
whether you need to add adjusting transactions to make the
balance in your account equal the closing balance on the
statement. Also, print the report after reconciling the statement.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Account Reconciliation, then

choose Account Reconciliation Status Report.
2. Select Detail.
User Guide 16–3

Account Reconciliation Status Summary Report
3. Select the number of the account you want to include on the

report.
4. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the period.
5. If you want to list all transactions, check the All Deposit
Numbers box. If you want to list only transactions for which
a specific deposit number was entered, uncheck this box
and enter the deposit number you want to list in the
Deposit Number field (this option is only available if you
have selected an asset account).
6. To list transactions in order by the dates of the account
statements on which they appeared, check the Sort By
Statement End Date box. The report will also list the totals
allocated to interest, expense, and adjustments for the
statement.
To list transactions in order by transaction date, uncheck
this box. The report will not show interest, expense, or
adjustments.
7. Under Report Status, select the transaction statuses to
include on the report.
8. Choose OK.
9. To print the displayed report, choose Print from the File
menu.
Account Reconciliation Status Summary Report

When to print The Account Reconciliation Status Summary report summarizes
the totals entered in the Account Reconciliation window and in
the Miscellaneous Transactions window for the specified
account in each of the months included on the report. It
includes the account statement end balance, the total for each
report status type, the total of income and expense amounts,
and the unresolved amounts.
Purpose Use the report to determine the amount by which the account
and the statement are out of balance, and to make notes about

Account Reconciliation Transactions Report
adjustments and other transactions you need to process in other

Simply Accounting windows.

choose Account Reconciliation Status Report.
2. Select Summary.
3. Select the number of the account you want to include on the
report.
4. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the period.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Account Reconciliation Transactions Report

Description The Account Reconciliation Transactions report shows the
details of account reconciliation transactions processed using
the Account Reconciliation window, for the selected range of
dates or transaction numbers.
When to print Print the Account Reconciliation Transactions report at month

end, before entering a report date for a new month. Print it after
making entries in the Account Reconciliation window, to have a
permanent record of a work report, and at the end of your fiscal
year for auditing purposes.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Transaction Details, then

choose Account Reconciliation.
2. If you keep two years of data, select Current Year or
Previous Year.
3. Select By Date to list all the entries between the start and
finish dates you specify. Or, select By Transaction Number
to display a report listing all the entries between the start
and finish transaction numbers you enter.
4. Choose OK.
User Guide 16–5

Adjustment Transactions Report

menu.
Adjustment Transactions Report

Description The Adjustment Transactions report shows the details of
adjustments processed using the Adjustments window, for the
selected range of dates or transaction numbers. You can also
choose to include project allocation details on the report.
When to print Print the Adjustment Transactions report at month end, before
entering a report date for a new month. Print it after making
entries in the Adjustments window, to have a permanent record
of a work session, and at the end of your fiscal year for auditing
purposes.

choose Adjustments.
Previous Year.
4. To include project allocations on the report, check the
Project Allocations box.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices Reports

Description The Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices detail report lists the
overdue and currently due invoices for all or selected vendors, for

Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices Reports
each aging period. Each vendor’s invoices are listed by due

date.
The summary report displays total, total current, total overdue,

and overdue aged amounts that you owe to the selected
vendors.
The aging begins at the date you specify in the Age As Of field.
To change the aging periods, on the Setup menu, choose
Settings, Vendors And Purchases tab, then enter the new aging
periods.
When to print Print the report whenever you want to review overdue amounts
that you owe to vendors.
Before you print Select a compressed font such as Roman 17 cpi to ensure that
the entire report fits on the page. To select a compressed font,
on the Setup menu, choose Reports And Forms, then choose the
Reports And Graphs tab. Select a compressed font in the Font
field.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Vendors And Purchases, then
choose Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices.
2. To display total, total current, total overdue, and overdue
aged amounts, select Summary.
To display a list of all overdue and current invoices, select
Detail.
3. Select individual vendors or use the Select All button, then
enter a date in the Age As Of field.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
User Guide 16–7

Aged Overdue Sales Invoices Reports
Aged Overdue Sales Invoices Reports

Description The Aged Overdue Sales Invoices detail report lists the overdue
and currently due invoices for all or selected customers, for each
aging period. Each customer’s invoices are listed by due date.
The summary report displays total, total current, total overdue,

and overdue aged amounts that selected customers owe you.
The aging begins at the date you specify in the Age As Of field.
To change the aging periods, on the Setup menu, choose
Settings, Customers And Sales tab, then enter new aging
periods.
When to print Print the report whenever you want to review overdue amounts
that customers owe you.
field.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Customers And Sales, then
choose Aged Overdue Sales Invoices.
2. To display total, total current, total overdue, and overdue
aged amounts, select Summary.
To display a list of all overdue and current invoices, select
Detail.
3. Enter a date in the Age As Of field, and select individual
customers or use the Select All button.
4. Choose OK.

menu.

All Transactions Report
All Transactions Report

Description The All Transactions report shows the details of all transactions
processed using the transaction-entry windows in Simply
Accounting, for the selected range of dates or transaction
numbers. The report includes: account reconciliation
transactions, adjustments, item assemblies, miscellaneous
transactions, payments to vendors, paycheques, purchases
(including payments for cash purchases), receipts (customer
payments), and sales (including payments for cash sales).
It does not include imported online transactions, but does

include imported sales and purchase invoices.
You can also choose to include project allocation details on the

report.
Note: See the following sections to find out how to print details
for particular types of transactions:
■ Account Reconciliation Transactions Report.
■ Adjustment Transactions Report.
■ Imported Online Transactions Report.
■ Item Assembly Transactions Report.
■ Miscellaneous Transactions Report.
■ Payment Transactions Report.
■ Payroll Transactions Report.
■ Purchase Transactions Report.
■ Receipt Transactions Report.
■ Sales Transactions Report.
When to print Print the All Transactions report at month end, before entering a
report date for a new month. Print it after making entries in
Simply Accounting’s transaction-entry windows, to have a
permanent record of a work session, and at the end of your
fiscal year for auditing purposes.
User Guide 16–9

Balance Sheet

choose All.
Previous Year.
4. To include project allocations on the report, check the
Project Allocations box.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Balance Sheet
Description The balance sheet is a summary of what your company owns
and owes on a particular date. It lists your company’s assets,
liabilities, and equity.
When to print Print the balance sheet at month end, at the end of your fiscal
year for auditing purposes, and at other times as required.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Financials, then choose

Balance Sheet.
2. If you keep two years of data, select the type of report
(current year, previous year, or comparative) in the Select A
Report field.
If you selected Current Year or Previous Year, enter a date
in the As At field.
3. If you selected Comparative Balance Sheet, additional
Comparative
balance sheet fields appear. Define the report as follows:
■ Enter a date for the first period to be compared, for

example, the end of your previous fiscal year.

Balance Sheet
■ Enter a date for the second period, for example, the

current report date.
■ In the Report Type field, select the way you want to
compare the two periods.
The program can show either dollar amounts alone for
the two periods, or dollar amounts as well as the
difference between the periods, in dollars or percent.
4. Choose OK.

menu.
Features A sample balance sheet is shown following this list of features.

The balance sheet includes:
➀ Section heading — in this case, Assets. The balance sheet
has three sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity.
➁ Group heading — in this case, Current Assets. The three
main sections are divided into groups. Each group is a
different type of asset, liability, or equity.
➂ The accounts that make up the group, including subgroup,
group, and subgroup total accounts. (The accounts in the
group indicated are classified as Current Assets.) The
program takes the account descriptions from the account
records.
➃ The current balance for each account as of the date you
specify. These are consecutive subgroup account balances
within a group, followed by a subgroup total in the right
column.
➄ Group total — in this case, Total Current Assets.
➅ Simply Accounting shows asset accounts that have a credit
balance (opposite to their normal or “debit” balance) with a
negative sign. (Liability or equity accounts with a debit
balance also have a negative sign.)
➆ Section total — in this case, Total Assets.
User Guide 16–11

Balance Sheet
➇ Liabilities and Equity. This total must be equal to Total

Assets.

Balance Sheet
cd UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION
Comparative Balance Sheet
ASSETS As At 31/12/97
Page 1
As At 15/05/98
f
CURRENT ASSETS
e
Regal Bank: Current 450243.84 48019.18
Regal Bank: Savings 421.32 421.32
Oakville Dominion Bank: Payroll -88198.56 26996.81
Cash: Net 362466.60 75437.31
g
Accounts Receivable 245774.20 382339.90
Advances Receivable 0.00 0.00
Receivables: Net 245774.20 382339.90
Prepaid Expenses -11544.43 5955.57
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 596696.37 463732.78
INVENTORY ASSETS
Drywall 2315.72 4341.99
Hardware 5983.32 4373.26
Lumber 96531.38 6918.68
Roofing Materials 231164.20 5943.00
h
TOTAL INVENTORY ASSETS 335994.62 21576.93
CAPITAL ASSETS
Buildings 80000.00 80000.00
Accum Amort: Buildings -30000.00 -9000.00
Buildings: Net 50000.00 71000.00
Equipment 156738.75 156738.75
Accum Amort: Equipment -41500.00 -41500.00
Equipment: Net 115238.75 115238.75
Vehicles 10737.56 10737.56
Accum Amort: Vehicles -3810.00 -3810.00
Vehicles: Net 6927.56 6927.56
Land 195000.00 195000.00
i
TOTAL CAPITAL ASSETS 367166.31 388166.31
TOTAL ASSETS 1299857.30 873476.02

============ ============
LIABILITIES
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable 177492.98 230891.76
Vacation Payable 12532.24 2948.24
EI Payable 2030.79 505.23
CPP Payable 2872.00 263.64
Income Tax Payable 124189.98 2369.97
Receiver General Payable 129092.77 3138.84
WCB Payable UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION 0.00 0.00
QPP Payable Comparative Balance Sheet 212.48 212.48 Page 2
Quebec Tax Payable 1480.65 As At 31/12/97 1480.65
As At 15/05/98
QHIP Payable 225.00 255.60
Quebec Minister of Finance
EQUITY 1918.13 1948.73
RRSP Payable 487.98 141.32
Union Payable PAID IN CAPITAL
Class A Common
374.22
50000.00
111.28
50000.00
Medical Payable Class B Common 98.40
30000.00 30000.00 63.20
Misc A TOTAL PAID IN CAPITAL 0.00
80000.00 80000.00 0.00
Misc B 0.00 0.00
PST Payable RETAINED EARNINGS 33052.08 0.60
Retained Earnings
GST Paid On Purchases -72678.92 107808.74 -4460.31 107808.74
Current Earnings 618810.71 287583.62
GST Charged On TOTAL
SalesRETAINED EARNINGS 47567.97 726619.45 0.00 395392.36
GST Payroll Deductions 0.00 0.00
j
GST Adjustments 0.00 0.00
TOTAL EQUITY
ITC Adjustments 0.00 806619.45 0.00 475392.36
Net GST Owing/Refund ____________
-25110.95 ____________
-4460.31
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 1299857.30 873476.02
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 329937.85
============ 234783.66
============
LONG TERM LIABILITIES
Bank Loan 46000.00 46000.00
Mortgage Payable 100000.00 100000.00
Shareholders' Loan 17300.00 17300.00
TOTAL LONG TERM LIABILITIES 163300.00 163300.00
TOTAL LIABILITIES 493237.85 398083.66

____________ ____________
User Guide 16–13

Cash-Basis Accounting Reports
Cash-Basis Accounting Reports

Description If you use cash-basis accounting, you can list purchases for
which you have not yet recorded a payment and sales entries
for which you have not received payment from a customer,
even though these transactions are not included in the
transaction detail reports until payment is made.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Unpaid Entries, then choose
Purchases or Sales.
2. Enter the Start date and Finish date for the report.
3. Choose OK.
menu.
Cash-Flow Projection
Description The Cash-Flow Projection reports show how aged payments
due, aged receipts due, and recurring entries due are expected
to affect an asset account’s balance for the period you specify.
The detail report includes one line of detail for each entry
affecting the account balance.
The summary report includes total amounts for aged receipts

due, aged payments due, and recurring entries due.
The detail and the summary reports both display the following
account information for the specified period:
■ Current balance.
■ Balance at the end of the period.
■ Net change in the balance.
■ Lowest balance during the period.
■ Highest balance during the period.

Chart of Accounts
When to print Print cash-flow projections at any time to check the company’s
cash flow for the period you specify.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Financials, then choose Cash
Flow Projection.
2. Select Summary or Detail.
3. Select an asset account from the Select Cash Account list.
4. Enter a date and number of days in the Show Cash Flow
From [ ] For The Next [ ] Days field.
5. Select the options you want to include on the report. Check
Include Overdue Transactions to show anticipated invoice
or bill payments. Check Include Recurring Transactions to
show recurring invoice or bill payments. Check the Account
For Purchase Discounts box to deduct discounts from
purchase transaction amounts. (The program will assume
that you will take advantage of purchase discounts
available.) Check the Account For Sales Discounts box to
deduct discounts from sales transaction. (The program will
assume that customers will take advantage of
early-payment discounts you offer.)
6. Choose OK.
menu.
Chart of Accounts
Description The chart of accounts is a list of all the accounts in ascending
order by account number.
When to print Print the chart of accounts at month end, at the end of your
fiscal year for auditing purposes, and each time you add,
modify, or delete an account.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Chart Of
Accounts.
2. To print the displayed list, choose Print from the File menu.
User Guide 16–15

Chart of Accounts
Features A sample chart of accounts is shown following this list of

features. The chart of accounts includes:
① Section heading — in this case, Assets. The five section

headings in the chart of accounts are Assets, Liabilities,
Equity, Revenue, and Expense.
② Group heading — in this case, Current Assets. Each main

section is divided into groups.
③ Group total — in this case, Total Current Assets.

④ Accounts included in the group, listed in ascending order
by account number. The program uses the account
description entered in the account record.
⑤ Type of account:
H = Group Heading
A = Subgroup
G = Group
S = Subgroup Total
T = Group Total
X = Current Earnings

Chart of Accounts
UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION
cd
Chart of Accounts 15 05 1998 Page 1
ASSETS
g
1000 CURRENT ASSETS H
f
1080 Regal Bank: Current A
1090 Regal Bank: Savings A
1100 Oakville Dominion Bank: Payroll A
1120 Cash: Net S
1200 Accounts Receivable L
e
1240 Advances Receivable L
1250 Receivables: Net S
1320 Prepaid Expenses UNIVERSAL
R CONSTRUCTION
1400 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS Chart
T of Accounts 15 05 1998 Page 2
1500 INVENTORY ASSETS H

1520 Drywall 3500
R RETAINED EARNINGS H
1540 Hardware 3560
R Retained Earnings G
1560 Lumber 3600
R Current Earnings X
1580 Roofing Materials 3620
R TOTAL RETAINED EARNINGS T
1690 TOTAL INVENTORY ASSETS T
REVENUE
1700 CAPITAL ASSETS H
1720 Buildings 4000
L REVENUE: Services H
1740 Accum Amort: Buildings 4020
L Drafting G
1750 Buildings: Net 4040
S Engineering Consulting G
1780 Equipment 4060
L Estimating Consulting G
1800 Accum Amort: Equipment 4080
L Surveying G
1810 Equipment: Net 4100
S Freight Revenue G
1840 Vehicles 4120
L Bank Interest G
1860 Accum Amort: Vehicles 4200
L TOTAL REVENUE: Services T
1870 Vehicles: Net S
1890 Land 4400
R REVENUE: Residential H
1900 TOTAL CAPITAL ASSETS 4420
T Single Family G
4440 Apartments G
LIABILITIES 4500 TOTAL REVENUE: Residential T
2000 CURRENT LIABILITIES 4700

H REVENUE: Commercial H
2200 Accounts Payable 4720
R Shopping Mall G
2300 Vacation Payable 4740
R Office G
2310 EI Payable 4800
L TOTAL REVENUE: Commercial T
2320 CPP Payable L
2330 Income Tax Payable EXPENSE
L
2340 Receiver General Payable S
2350 WCB Payable 5000
R DIRECT COSTS H
2360 QPP Payable 5020
L Material: Drywall A
2370 Quebec Tax Payable 5040
L Material: Hardware A
2380 QHIP Payable 5060
L Material: Lumber A
2390 Quebec Minister of Finance 5080
S Material: Roofing A
2400 RRSP Payable 5100
R Materials: Net S
2420 Union Payable 5150
R Equipment Rentals G
2440 Medical Payable 5300
R Wages A
2445 Misc A 5310
R EI Expense A
2450 Misc B 5320
R CPP Expense A
2460 PST Payable 5330
R WCB Expense A
2490 GST Paid On Purchases 5340
L QPP Expense A
2510 GST Charged On Sales 5350
L QHIP Expense A
2515 GST Payroll Deductions 5360
L Burden: Net S
2520 GST Adjustments 5380
L Subcontractors G
2525 ITC Adjustments 5390
L Union G
2530 Net GST Owing/Refund 5400
S Freight Expense G
2550 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 5440
T Transfer Costs G
5450 Adjustment Write-off G
2600 LONG TERM LIABILITIES 5490
H TOTAL DIRECT COSTS T
2620 Bank Loan R
2630 Mortgage Payable 5500
R GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION H
2640 Shareholders' Loan 5520
R Accounting and Legal Fees G
2700 TOTAL LONG TERM LIABILITIES 5540
T Advertising and Promotion G
5560 Bad Debts G
EQUITY 5580 Bank Charges G
5590 Bank Rec. Adjustments G
3000 PAID IN CAPITAL 5600
H Amortization G
3020 Class A Common 5620
R Insurance G
3040 Class B Common 5640
R Office Rent G
3100 TOTAL PAID IN CAPITAL 5660
T Telephone G
5680 Utilities G
5800 TOTAL GENERAL & ADMINISTRATION T
User Guide 16–17

Current Revenue vs. Last Year (graph)
Current Revenue vs. Last Year (graph)

Description A bar graph showing current revenue and last year’s revenue
for all or selected revenue accounts for each month. This graph
is available only if you keep two years of data.
Purpose Use it to compare the current year’s revenue to last year’s

revenue.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Current Revenue vs Last Year.
2. Select Monthly or Cumulative figures.
3. Select the revenue accounts you want to include in the
graph.
Print 4. Choose OK, then choose the Print button in the Toolbar.
Options For more information about displaying and changing graphs,

see “Creating Graphs,” later in this chapter.

Customer Aged Reports

Description The Customer Aged detail report lists the invoices and
payments for all or selected customers, for each aging period.
Payments and fully paid invoices you have cleared from your
Simply Accounting files do not appear on this report.
The summary report displays total, current, and aged amounts

that selected customers owe you. If you have not entering
historical information, you can also choose to view the
difference in opening balances. (See Chapter 6, “Entering
Account History.”)
The aging begins at the date you specify in the As At field. To

change the aging periods, on the Setup menu, choose Settings,
Customers And Sales tab, then enter new aging periods.
When to print Print the report at month end and at fiscal year end.
field.
choose Customer Aged.
2. To display total, current, and aged amounts that selected
customers owe you, select Summary.
To display all invoices and payments for the selected
customers, select Detail. Check (select) the Include Terms
box if you want payment terms displayed for invoices.
3. Select individual customers or use the Select All button,
then enter a date in the As At field.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
User Guide 16–19

Features A sample aged report is shown following this list of features.

The aged report includes:
① The customers selected for the report, in alphabetical order.

② For each transaction, the report shows invoice number or
cheque number, invoice or cheque date, transaction type,
transaction total, and the amount, in the aging category to
which it belongs. The report also shows any payment terms
entered on invoices.
Invoices are listed in order by invoice date. Payments and
discounts are shown as negative amounts. If one cheque
paid several invoices, the cheque number appears below
each invoice it paid, with the amount paid toward that
invoice. As well, invoice payment terms (if any) are printed
below the invoice to which they relate.
③ Total owing for the customer, and in each aging category.

④ Aging periods. Invoices are aged according to the invoice
date. The report lists cheques (receipts) on the line below
the invoice they paid, in the same aging category as the
invoice.
⑤ Total owing for all customers selected for the report, and
total owing in each aging category.
⑥ The summary report shows the total owing for the

customer, and the total owing in each aging category.

c
Customer Aged Detail As at 5/17/1999 Page 1
Total Current 31 to 60 61 to 90 91+

Ashburton Reinforcing
17517 1998-02-25 Invoice 2319.57 0.00 0.00 0.00 2319.57
d
1543 1998-03-05 Payment -2319.57 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2319.57
17536 1998-04-19 Invoice 3210.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3210.00
1590 1998-04-29 Payment -3210.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3210.00
17550 1998-05-15 Invoice 35845.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 35845.00
67931 1998-08-08 Payment -35845.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -35845.00
17565 1998-07-28 Invoice 18000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 18000.00
2%/30, Net 60
67931 1998-08-08 Payment -18000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -18000.00
17596 1999-01-28 Invoice 71202.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 71202.80
2%/30, Net 60
468 1999-03-20 Payment -71202.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 -71202.80
17600 1999-02-28 Invoice 71202.80 0.00 0.00 71202.80 0.00
2%/30, Net 60
468 1999-03-20 Discount -1424.06 0.00 0.00 -1424.06 0.00
468 1999-03-20 Payment -69778.74 0.00 0.00 -69778.74 0.00
17607 1999-03-28 Invoice 71202.80 0.00 71202.80 0.00 0.00
e
2%/30, Net 60
f
17613 1999-04-28 Invoice 71202.80 71202.80 0.00 0.00 0.00
2%/30, Net 60
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
142405.60 71202.80 71202.80 0.00 0.00
Askew Shopping Centre

17513 1998-02-02 Invoice 12820.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 12820.00
A-3235 1998-04-30 Payment -12820.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -12820.00
17519 1998-03-04 Invoice 805.98 0.00 0.00 0.00 805.98
A-3235 1998-04-30 Payment -805.98 0.00 0.00 0.00 -805.98
17537 1998-04-20 Invoice 746.92 0.00 0.00 0.00 746.92
39 1998-05-10 Payment -746.92 0.00 0.00 0.00 -746.92
17552 1998-05-30 Invoice 20000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 20000.00
2%/30, Net 60
1078 1998-09-03 Payment -20000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -20000.00
17569 1998-07-29 Invoice 34051.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 34051.20
2%/30, Net 60
1078 1998-09-03 Payment -34051.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 -34051.20
17578 1998-09-28 Invoice 70000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 70000.00
2%/30, Net 60
356 1998-11-02 Payment -70000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -70000.00
17587 1998-11-30 Invoice 10000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10000.00
2%/30, Net 60
456 1999-02-08 Payment -10000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -10000.00
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Bayswater School Board

17524 1998-03-20 Invoice 2718.90 0.00 0.00 0.00 2718.90
668 1998-05-02 Payment -2718.90 0.00 0.00 0.00 -2718.90
17548 1998-05-15 Invoice 1212.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 1212.85
4577 1998-08-13 Payment -1212.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1212.85
17559 1998-06-30 Invoice 24642.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 24642.00
2%/30, Net 60
251 1998-10-06 Payment -24642.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -24642.00
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Belvedere Nursing Home

17534 1998-04-09 Invoice 21400.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 21400.00
733 1998-04-30 Payment -21400.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -21400.00
17577 1998-09-28 Invoice 12137.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 12137.12
2%/30, Net 60
6578 1998-11-02 Payment -12137.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 -12137.12
17589 1998-12-05 Invoice 60000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 60000.00
2%/30, Net 60
346 1999-03-12 Payment -60000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -60000.00
17617 1999-04-26 Invoice 15000.00 15000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
2%/30, Net 60
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
g
15000.00 15000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

157405.60 86202.80 71202.80 0.00 0.00
=============== =============== =============== =============== ===============
Customer Aged Summary As at 5/17/1999
Ashburton Reinforcing
Belvedere Nursing Home
Total
142405.60
15000.00
Current
71202.80
15000.00
h 31 to 60
71202.80
0.00
61 to 90
0.00
0.00
Page 1
91+
0.00
0.00
Brown, Jerome B. 16490.32 8245.16 8245.16 0.00 0.00
Garry High School Board 17100.00 17100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Kent Industries Inc. 84413.80 42206.90 42206.90 0.00 0.00
Mainline Rail Ltd. 50000.00 50000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
New Look Exteriors 30000.00 0.00 30000.00 0.00 0.00
Village Realty 45475.00 45475.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
West Coast Development 32100.00 16050.00 16050.00 0.00 0.00
_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________
432984.72 265279.86 167704.86 0.00 0.00
=============== =============== =============== =============== ===============
User Guide 16–21

Customer List
Customer List
Description The Customer List is an alphabetical list of all your customers,
together with the address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail and
Web site addresses, and contact person for each, and the total
number of customers in the list.
When to print Print the Customer List whenever you add, change, or delete a
customer record.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Customers.
Customer Sales Reports

Description The Customer Sales report shows the quantity, revenue, cost of
goods sold, profit, and markup or margin (depending on your
choice on the Inventory And Services tab in the Settings dialog
box). You can print a summary or detail report.
choose Customer Sales.
2. Select Summary or Detail, depending on whether you want
to list the totals, or the details of each transaction.
3. Select the customers you want to appear on the report.
4. Under Select From, choose one of the following:
■ Assets, to list items grouped by asset accounts (for
example, hardware).
■ Inventory, to select individual inventory items (for
example, hinges).
■ Services, to select individual service items (for example,
bookkeeping).
■ All Items, to select individual inventory items and
service items.

Customer Statements
5. Select the asset accounts or items you want.

6. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the report.
7. Select the categories you want to appear on the report.
“Other Amounts” includes all goods and services not listed
in the Inventory And Services list.
8. Choose OK.
menu.
Customer Statements
Description Customer statements list unpaid current and overdue invoices,
and payments received. You can print or e-mail a statement but
cannot display it on the screen. Display the Customer Aged
report instead, if you do not want to print or e-mail a customer
statement.
Paid invoices on You can specify how long paid invoices appear on customer
statements statements. On the Setup menu choose Settings, then choose
the Customers And Sales tab, then specify how long you want
the paid invoices to appear.
Note that statements do not include paid invoices that you have
cleared (using the Clear Paid Invoices command on the
Maintenance menu), or paid invoices for customer records
whose Clear Invoices When Paid box is checked.
When to send Send statements at the end of each billing cycle, for one or more
customers.
E-mailing statements You can e-mail statements to customers, following the steps
later in this section. If you have not already added the
customer’s e-mail address to the customer record, the program
asks you to supply it when you e-mail the statement.
User Guide 16–23

Customer Statements
You can use the e-mail form for statements that comes with
Simply Accounting, or create your own statement forms using
Crystal Reports.
Before you print Specify the printer you want to use, and choose the size of form
(8½ x 7-inch, 8½ x 11-inch, or custom), font type, font size, and
margins. On the Setup menu, choose Reports And Forms, then
choose the Statements tab.
To include your company’s address on statements, on the Setup

menu choose Settings, then choose the Forms tab. Under Print
Company Address On, check the Statements box.
Customizing forms You can use Crystal Reports or CA-RET, if you have either of
them installed, to design your own customized statement forms,
or to modify the custom forms that come with Simply
Accounting. Or, you can order pre-printed forms, as described
in the information included in your Simply Accounting
package.
How to print or e-mail 1. On the Reports menu, choose Customers And Sales, then
choose Customer Statements. The program lists only those
customers whose Print Statements For This Customer box is
checked in the customer record.
2. Select the customers you want to send statements to.

3. Select Print, E-mail or By Preference. (The By Preference
option recognizes any existing settings in the customer
record).
If you want to include invoice due dates on statements,
check the Include Due Dates box.
4. Select the As At date.
5. Choose OK. If you selected Print in step 3, you are done. If
you selected E-mail or By Preference go to step 6.
6. If you selected a customer whose e-mail address is not in
the customer record, the program displays the Customer
E-mail Address dialog box. Do one of the following:

Employee Detail Report
■ Type the customer’s e-mail address, if you know it, then

choose Update (the program adds the address to the
customer’s record).
■ Choose Skip if you do not know a customer’s e-mail
address. (Make a note of the customer’s name so you
remember to send their statement later when you get
their e-mail address.)
8. Read the subject and message displayed in the E-mail
Information dialog box. You can change the subject and
message if you wish.
Tip: To change the default e-mail message, on the Setup
menu, choose Settings, then select the E-mail tab. Under
Forms, select Statements, then enter the new message.
9. Choose Send.
Employee Detail Report

Description The Employee Detail report is a list of the details of your
employees’ paycheques for the past 365 days.
The report includes the number of pay periods and the gross
earnings, as well as one or more of the following earnings and
deductions: EI, CPP, QPP, tax, Quebec tax, company pension,
union, medical, and miscellaneous deductions (Deductions A to
J). regular hours, overtime hours, EI insurable earnings, Quebec
tips, and salary hours. You can include this information for one
date or a range of dates. If you have not completed entering
Account History,” in the Getting Started manual.)
To see information about year-to-date earnings, deductions, and

expenses, print an Employee Summary report.
When to print Print the report after processing entries in the Paycheques
window, to have a permanent record of the paycheque details
for the pay period. If you do not use Simply Accounting to issue
User Guide 16–25

Employee List
paycheques, you can use the report as a source document for

filling out cheques.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Payroll, then choose

Employee.
2. Select an employee or employees from the list, or choose
Select All to include all active employees.
3. Select Detail, then select a date or range of dates you want
the report to cover.
4. In the Report On box, ensure Active Employees Only is
selected.
5. Check (select) up to thirteen boxes for the earnings and
deductions you want to appear on the report. The program
will display these settings for all employees until you
change them. If you need to include more than thirteen
earnings and deductions, print the report, then check
different boxes and print the report again.
6. Choose OK.
menu.
Employee List
Description The Employee List is an alphabetical list of all employees, with
their addresses and phone numbers.
When to print Print the Employee List whenever you add, change, or delete
employee records.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Employees.

Employee Summary Report
Employee Summary Report

Description The Employee Summary report lists year-to-date payroll
information for selected employees as of the session date. It
includes background information about the employee, pay
rates, earnings, employer’s expenses, and deductions. If you
have not completed entering historical information, you can
also choose to view the difference in opening balances. (See
Chapter 6, “Entering Account History,” in the Getting Started
manual.)
Note: This report also includes Quebec tips fields, except for
Federal Taxable Tips. You can calculate Federal Taxable Tips by
adding the Tips from Sales and Other Tips amounts.
When to print Print the Employee Summary report at the end of each calendar
year, or at other times as required.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Payroll, then choose

Employee.
Select All to include all employees.
3. Select Summary.
4. If you keep two years of data, select the year you want.
5. In the Report On box, select the option to report on All
Employees (both actively employed and terminated), or
Active Employees Only (only employees currently on
payroll).
6. Choose OK.
menu.
Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue (graph)

Description A pie chart showing net profit, and expenses for all or selected
expense accounts. Each pie segment shows the amount for a
User Guide 16–27

Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue (graph)
particular expense account (or for net profit) as a percentage of

total revenue.
Purpose Use this graph to see the proportion of your revenue that goes
to various expenses and to net profit.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Expenses And Net Profit As %
Of Revenue.
2. If you keep two years of data, choose Current Year or
Previous Year.
3. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the graph.
4. Select the expense accounts that you want to show
separately on the chart. Each account you select will have its
own slice of the pie. Expense accounts that are not selected
will be grouped into one category on the graph called
“Other Expenses.”


Expenses by Account (graph)
Expenses by Account (graph)

Description A pie chart showing all or selected expense accounts. Each pie
segment shows the amount and the percentage of the total that
an expense account represents.
Purpose Use this graph to see individual expenses in relation to total

expenses.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Expenses By Account.

Previous Year.
3. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the graph.
4. Select the expense accounts that you want to show
own slice of the pie. Expense accounts that are not selected
“Other Expenses.”

Expenses vs. Budget (graph)

Description A bar graph showing actual and budgeted expenses for all or
selected expense accounts for each month in the current or
previous fiscal year.
Purpose Use this graph to compare the actual expenses for the month
against the expenses you planned for in your budget.
When to print Print the graph at the end of a budget period for a true
comparison of expenses to budget.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Expenses vs Budget.
User Guide 16–29

GST Report

Previous Year.
3. Select the expense accounts you want to include in the
graph.

GST Report
Description The GST report shows GST paid on purchases, GST charged on
sales, total purchases, and total taxable sales. Total purchases
includes all goods and services purchased, provincial sales tax,
and freight. Total taxable sales includes sales classified as GST
taxable.
You can print a detailed report showing individual transactions,

or a summary report showing totals only.
Purpose Use the GST report to help you calculate the information
required for the Goods and Services Tax Return. Note that the
GST report contains information only for entries in the
Purchases and Sales windows. It does not include information
for entries made in the Miscellaneous Transactions window. For
more information on the GST Return, refer to “The End of Your
GST, HST, or QST Reporting Period” in Chapter 15.
When to print Print the report at the end of your GST reporting period. The
GST report shows information for the period since the last time
the report was cleared.
Before you print To include a vendor or customer on the GST report, be sure the
Include In GST Report box is checked for that vendor or
customer in the Vendors or Customers window before entering
purchases or sales.

Imported Online Transactions Report
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose GST. (If you use Quebec sales
tax, select Tax, then choose QST.)
2. Enter a date in the As At field to define the period to be
covered by the report. (The program displays the report
date.)
3. Select Summary or Detail.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Clear the GST report Clear the GST report at the end of each reporting period after
filing your GST Return for that period. To clear the report,
choose Clear GST Report on the Maintenance menu. (To clear
the GST report if you use Quebec sales tax, choose Clear Tax
Report on the Maintenance menu, then choose GST.)
Imported Online Transactions Report

Description The imported online transactions report shows the transactions
you imported into Account Reconciliation from your bank or
credit-card company for a specified period. It includes the
account number, the date of each transaction, and type of
payment or withdrawal. (See Chapter 18, “Importing Data.”)
When to print Print an imported online transactions report each time you
import bank or credit-card statements into Account
Reconciliation. This will provide you with a record of the last
statement you imported.

choose Imported Online Transactions Report.
2. Select the account you want in the Account field.
3. Enter the Start and Finish dates of the period to be covered
by the report, then choose OK.
menu.
User Guide 16–31

Income Statement
Income Statement
Description The income statement shows revenue, expenses, and net income
for the specified time period. Alongside the actual results, you
can choose to print your budgeted revenues and expenses for
the current and previous fiscal year, as well as the difference
(dollars or percentage) between actual and budgeted amounts.
When to print Print a month-to-date and a year-to-date income statement at

month end and at the end of your fiscal year for auditing
purposes, or at other times, such as when applying for a line of
credit.
Print statements with budget amounts at the end of a budget

period, for a true comparison of actual and budgeted figures.
Zero-balance If you do not want to print accounts with zero balances, select
accounts Omit From Financial Statements If Balance Is Zero in the
account records. For example, a zero account could be an
insurance appraisal account that you use only every other
year.

Income Statement.
2. Select the type of report you want in the Select A Report
field.
by the report.
4. If you selected Comparative Income Statement, additional
Comparative
income statement fields appear. Define this comparative report as follows:
a) Enter a Start and Finish date for the first period.
a) Enter a Start and Finish date for the second period.
b) In the Report Type field, select the way you want to
compare the two periods:
■ dollar amounts only, or
■ dollar amounts as well as the difference between
the periods, in dollars or percent.

Income Statement
5. If you selected Comparison Of Actual To Budget, different

Comparison of
actual to budget fields appear. Define this report as follows:
a) Enter a Start and Finish date for the report.
b) In the Report Type field, select the way you want to
Features A sample income statement is shown following this list of

features. The income statement includes:
① Section heading. The two section headings on the income

statement are Revenue and Expense.
② Group heading. The two main sections of the statement are

divided into groups. Each group includes accounts for a
different type of revenue or expense.
③ The accounts that make up the group, including subgroup,

group, and subgroup total accounts. The accounts in the
group indicated are all classified as Revenue: Services. The
report uses the account descriptions entered in the
Accounts window.
④ Budgeted amounts and the percentage by which they differ

from actual figures.
⑤ Consecutive subgroup account balances within a group.

These are followed by a subgroup total, in the right column.
⑥ Group total — in this case, Total Direct Costs.

⑦ Section total — in this case, Total Expense.
⑧ Net income for the period specified, calculated by
subtracting Total Expense from Total Revenue.
User Guide 16–33

Inventory and Services Activity Report
cd UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION
Income Statement Comparison of Actual to Budget January to April for Fiscal End 98
REVENUE Actual Budget Percent
e
REVENUE: Services
Drafting 49009.69 60000.00 -18.32
Engineering Consulting 88630.71 140000.00 -36.69
Estimating Consulting 46300.22 40000.00 15.75
Surveying 28250.00 30000.00 -5.83
Freight Revenue 2260.00 4000.00 -43.50
Bank Interest 128.30
TOTAL REVENUE: Services 214578.92 274000.00 -21.69
REVENUE: Residential
Single Family 83883.85 70000.00 19.83
Apartments 97123.00 90000.00 7.91
f
TOTAL REVENUE: Residential 181006.85 160000.00 13.13
REVENUE: Commercial
Shopping Mall 290918.72 280000.00 3.90
Office 191890.50 190000.00 1.00
TOTAL REVENUE: Commercial 482809.22 470000.00 2.73
TOTAL REVENUE 878394.99 904000.00 -2.83

___________ ___________
EXPENSE
DIRECT COSTS
Material: Drywall 32618.16 42680.00 -23.58
Material: Hardware 23490.05 30120.00 -22.01
Material: Lumber 141978.68 171160.00 -17.05
Material: Roofing 34590.38 42680.00 -18.95
g
Materials: Net 232677.27 286640.00 -18.83
Equipment Rentals 76536.56 75800.00 0.97
Wages 77496.64 91080.00 -14.91
EI Expense 3152.57
CPP Expense 1434.30
WCB Expense 0.00
QPP Expense 106.24
QHIP Expense 384.48
Burden: Net 82574.23 91080.00 -9.34
Subcontractors 120000.00 75800.00 58.31
h
Union 1000.00
Freight Expense 8787.00 19080.00 -53.95
Transfer Costs 0.00 40.00 -100.00
Adjustment Write-off 0.00 1000.00 -100.00
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS 521575.06 549440.00 -5.07
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATION
Accounting And Legal Fees 5950.00 4000.00 48.75
Advertising And Promotion 28313.64 32200.00 -12.07
Bad Debts 1530.39 8600.00 -82.20
Bank Charges 1940.48 7100.00 -72.67
Bank Rec. Adjustments 0.00
Amortization 12000.00 12000.00 0.00
Insurance 16100.00 10000.00 61.00
Office Rent 8000.00 8000.00 0.00
ij
Telephone 4443.32 4000.00 11.08
Utilities 5939.00 9500.00 -37.48
TOTAL GENERAL & ADMIN 84216.83 95400.00 -11.72
TOTAL EXPENSE 605791.89 644840.00 -6.06

___________ ___________
NET INCOME 272603.10 259160.00 5.19
=========== =========== ===========
Inventory and Services Activity Report

Description The Inventory And Services Activity report shows the turnover
or activity of selected inventory or service items or assets,

Inventory and Services List
including the number of transactions, quantity sold, dollar

amount sold, cost of goods sold, and the date last sold. You can
include both year-to-date and last year’s details.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, select Inventory And Services, then
choose Activity.
2. Select one of the following:
■ Inventory By Asset, if you want to list inventory items
grouped by asset accounts (for example, hardware).
This option is available if you have inventory items.
■ Inventory By Item, if you want to select individual
inventory items (but no services). This option is
available if you have inventory items.
■ Service Items, if you want to select individual service
items (but no inventory items). This option is available
if you have service items.
■ All Items, if you want to select individual inventory
items and service items. This option is available only if
you have both inventory and service items.
3. Select the asset accounts, inventory items, or services, or
choose Select All.
4. Check the boxes for the details you want to appear on the
report. The program will display these settings for all
inventory items and services until you change the settings.
(Note that the Cost of Goods Sold option is not available if
you selected Service Items under Select From.)
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Inventory and Services List

Description The Inventory and Services List is a list of your inventory items
and services, together with their associated asset, revenue,
expense, and variance accounts, as of the report date.
User Guide 16–35

Inventory and Services Sales Report
Inventory items and services are listed in ascending order by

item number or in alphabetical order by description, depending
on your choice on the Inventory And Services tab, in the
Settings dialog box.
When to print Print the Inventory and Services List whenever you add,
change, or delete inventory or service records.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, select Lists, then choose Inventory
And Services.
Inventory and Services Sales Report

Description The Inventory and Services Sales report shows the quantity,
revenue, cost of goods sold, and profit on the sale of inventory
and service items. It also shows the cost of goods sold for
inventory items, and lists the margin or markup (depending on
the profit evaluation method you choose on the Inventory And
Services tab of the Settings dialog box). You can print a
summary report, showing totals for each item, or a detail
report, showing each transaction.
choose Sales.

Inventory and Services Transaction Report
■ Service Items, if you want to select individual service

items (but no inventory items). This option is available
if you have service items.
4. Select the asset accounts, inventory items, or services, or
choose Select All.
5. Enter a Start and Finish date for the report.
6. Choose OK.
menu.

Description For all or selected inventory items and services, or assets, the
Inventory And Services Transaction report shows the balance
forward, type of transaction, quantity in, quantity out, quantity
on hand, cost of goods in (revenue in for services), cost of goods
out (expense out for services), and balance. You can print a
summary report, showing totals by transaction type for each
item, or a detail report, showing each transaction.
choose Transaction.
User Guide 16–37

■ Services, if you want to select individual service items

(but no inventory items). This option is available if you
have service items.
4. Select the asset accounts, inventory items or services, or
choose Select All.
5. Enter a Start and Finish date for the report.
6. Select the types of transactions you want to include. (Note
that the Item Assembly and Adjustments selections are
unavailable if you chose Services under Select From.)
7. If you allow inventory levels to go below zero, and want to
show the difference between average and actual cost, check
the Include Variance box. (Note that the Include Variance
option is available to check only after you check at least one
option under Select Transactions To Report.)
8. To display the quantity and value of the inventory on hand
prior to the start date of the report, check the Balance
Forward box.
Note the following about the Balance Forward option:
■ It is unavailable if you chose Services under Select
From, and until you check all four transaction types
under Select Transactions To Report.
■ If you check the Balance Forward box, you must also
check the Include Variance box. (When you check the
Balance Forward box, Simply Accounting checks the
Include Variance box for you, if you have not already
done so.)
9. Choose OK.
menu.

Inventory Quantity and Synopsis Reports
Inventory Quantity and Synopsis Reports

Description The Inventory Quantity report shows information for selected
inventory items or asset accounts as of the report date. It shows
item number, item description, unit, quantity of stock on hand,
minimum stock level (at which the item should be re-ordered),
quantity of stock on purchase order and sales order, and the
number of items to order for items that have fallen below the
minimum level.
The Inventory Synopsis report shows quantity and price

information for selected inventory items or asset accounts as of
the report date. It shows item number, item description, unit,
price, quantity of stock on hand, cost, and value (quantity
multiplied by cost). The final column shows either margin or
markup, depending on your selection on the Inventory And
Services tab of the Settings dialog box.
Sorting of inventory Inventory items are listed either in ascending order by item
items number or in alphabetical order by description, depending on
your choice on the Inventory And Services tab of the Settings
dialog box.
When to print Print the Inventory Quantity and Inventory Synopsis reports at
month end, before entering a report date for a new month. Print
at other times as necessary.
choose Inventory.
2. Choose Inventory By Asset if you want to list inventory
items grouped by asset account (for example, hardware).
Choose Inventory By Item if you want to select individual
inventory items (for example, hinges and padlocks).
3. Select the accounts or inventory items you want, or choose
Select All.
4. Select the type of report you want, Item Quantity or Item
Synopsis.
5. Choose OK.
User Guide 16–39

Invoices

menu.
Invoices
Description An invoice is a list of the items or services you have sold to a
customer, with related charges.
When to send You can print or e-mail invoices when you enter them, before
you choose Process, and after choosing Process if you use the
invoice lookup feature.
E-mailing invoices You can e-mail invoices to customers, following the steps later
in this section. If you have not already added the customer’s
e-mail address to the customer record, you can supply it when
you e-mail the invoice.
You can use the e-mail forms for invoices that come with
Simply Accounting, or create your own invoice forms using
Crystal Reports.
Before you print Specify the printer you want to use, and choose the size of form,
font type, font size, and margins. On the Setup menu, choose
Reports And Forms, then choose the Invoices tab. If you want to
include subtotals on the printed invoice, check the Show
Subtotal In Invoice box.
To print your company’s address on invoices, on the Setup

Company Address On, check the Invoices box.
them installed, to design your own customized invoice forms,
or to modify the custom forms that come with Simply
package.

Item Assembly Transactions Report
How to print 1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, fill in the invoice
or e-mail fields, or choose Look Up Invoice to display the invoice you
want to print or e-mail.
2. From the File menu or Toolbar, choose Print or E-mail.
3. If you chose Print in step 2, you are done. If you selected
E-mail go to step 4.
4. Read the e-mail address, subject, and message displayed in
the E-mail Information dialog box. You can change them if
you wish. Note that you must type an e-mail address in the
E-mail Address field if it is empty (the program adds the
address to the customer’s record).
Forms, select Invoices, then enter the new message.
5. Choose Send.
Item Assembly Transactions Report

Description The Item Assembly Transactions report shows the details of
item assemblies processed using the Item Assembly window,
for the selected range of dates or transaction numbers.
When to print Print the Item Assembly Transactions report after recording the
assembly of inventory items, to have a permanent record of a
work session. Print it at month end for the past month and at
the end of your fiscal year for auditing purposes.

choose Item Assembly.
Previous Year.
finish dates you specify.
User Guide 16–41

Mailing Labels
Select By Transaction Number to display a report listing all

the entries between the start and finish transaction numbers
you enter. If you have processed entries in this work
session, the program displays the first transaction number
of the session. If you have not processed entries, it displays
the first transaction number on file.
If you select the arrow to the right of either the Start or the
Finish box, the program displays a list of transaction entry
numbers. The numbers are the first transaction on file, the
first transaction processed during the work session, and the
last transaction on file, in that order.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Mailing Labels
Description You can print mailing labels for customers, vendors, or
employees. Mailing labels show the following customer,
vendor, or employee information: name, contact name of
customer or vendor (if available), address, and postal code.
Before you print Set your printer options for labels. On the Setup menu, choose
Reports And Forms, then the Labels tab. Specify the printer,
font type, font size, page margins, width and height of labels,
and number of labels you wish to print across the page.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Mailing Labels, then choose
either Vendors, Customers, or Employees.
2. Select one or more vendors, customers, or employees, or
choose Select All.
3. If you are printing mailing labels for Customers, in the Print
box choose Mailing Address or Shipping Address.
4. If you are printing mailing labels for Employees, in the Print
Labels For box choose All Employees (both actively

Miscellaneous Transactions Report
employed and terminated), or Active Employees Only (only

employees currently on payroll).
5. Choose OK.
Miscellaneous Transactions Report

Description The Miscellaneous Transactions report lists transactions entered
in the Miscellaneous Transactions window for the range of
dates or transaction numbers you select. You can choose
whether to include project allocation details.
When to print Print the Miscellaneous Transactions report after making entries
in the Miscellaneous Transactions window, to have a permanent
record of a work session. Print it at month end for the past
month, and at the end of your fiscal year, for auditing purposes.

choose Miscellaneous.
Previous Year.
3. Select By Date to display a report listing all the entries
between the start and finish dates you specify.
you enter.
If you click the arrow to the right of either the Start or the
Finish box, the program displays a list of transaction
4. Check the Project Allocations box to include entries for
project allocations, or uncheck it to omit this information.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
User Guide 16–43

Online Account Statements Report
Online Account Statements Report

Description The online account statements report shows the transaction
details contained in each file you download from your bank. It
allows you to view the contents of the file before you import it
into Simply Accounting. It includes the account number, date of
each transaction, and type of payment or withdrawal. (See
Chapter 18, “Importing Data.”)
When to print Print the online account statements report after downloading
files from you bank, before you import them into Simply
Accounting.

choose Online Account Statements Report.
2. Select the name of the bank statement file you want (choose
Browse to look up the file name).
3. Choose OK.
menu.
Paycheque
When to print Print paycheques to pay your employees. You can print a
paycheque from the Paycheques window before you choose
Process, or print paycheques for several employees from the
Payroll Cheque Run window. (To find out how to print multiple
paycheques, see Chapter 7, “Paying Employees.”)
Reports And Forms, then choose the Payroll Cheques tab.
To print your company’s address on paycheques, on the Setup

Company Address On, select the Cheques box.

Paycheque
them installed, to design your own customized paycheque
forms, or to modify the custom forms that come with Simply
package.
Note: If you print paycheques for employees receiving tips in

Quebec, set up the Quebec tips option. On the Setup menu
choose Settings, then choose the Payroll tab. Check the Track
Quebec Tips box.
How to print To print several employee cheques at one time, see Chapter 7,
“Paying Employees.” To print one employee cheque at a time,
follow these steps:
1. In the Paycheques window, fill in the cheque information.
(For information on entering a paycheque transaction, see
“Processing a Paycheque” in Chapter 7.)
Print 2. Choose the Print button, or choose Print from the File menu.
Features A sample paycheque is shown following this list of features. The

paycheque includes:
① The amount of the employee’s net pay for the pay period,
the cheque number and date, and the employee’s name and
address.
② The cheque stub provides a record of the employee’s name,

cheque date and number, pay period ending date, and the
employee’s earnings and deductions for the pay period.
③ If you set the printer for 8½ x 11-inch cheques, the program

prints a duplicate cheque stub.
User Guide 16–45

Paycheque
Universal Construction Oakville Dominion Bank

102-3701 East Hastings St. Downtown Office
Vancouver, British Columbia 09527
c
Pay: Eight Hundred Ninety --------------------------------------------------------------------- 32/100
05-15-98 $******890.32
To the Belanger, Bruno

order 65 Pitt Street
of: Burnaby, British Columbia
V7T 7H9
Signature
Universal Construction
Belanger, Bruno 05-15-98 09527
Pay Period Ending: May 15, 1998
d Salary.........................1,200.00
-------------
Gross..........................1,200.00
EI.............................36.00
CPP.........................26.83
Tax.........................246.85
-------------
Gross......................1,200.00
Withheld.....................309.68-
-------------
Net..........................1,200.00
Withheld..............1,200.00
Belanger, Bruno 05-15-98 09527
Pay Period Ending: May 15, 1998
e
Salary.........................1,200.00 EI.............................36.00 Gross......................1,200.00
------------- CPP.........................26.83 Withheld.....................309.68-
Gross..........................1,200.00 Tax.........................246.85 -------------
------------- Net..........................1,200.00
Withheld..............1,200.00
Note: The amounts for Quebec tips fields and a Quebec

Taxable Tips field appear on the paycheque form for
Quebec employees. The Quebec Taxable Tips field is the
total of Tips From Sales + Other Tips + Tips Allocated. To
calculate the federal taxable tips, add Tips From Sales and
Other Tips.

Payment Cheque
Payment Cheque
When to print Print payment cheques to vendors (suppliers) to pay for
purchases. You print a payment cheque from the Payments
window before you choose Process.
Reports And Forms, then choose the Payment Cheques tab.
To print your company’s address on payment cheques, on the

Setup menu choose Settings, then choose the Forms tab. Under
Print Company Address On, select the Cheques box.
To print the name of the contact person or department on a

cheque, on the Options tab of the vendor’s record, select the
Print Contact On Cheques box.
them installed, to design your own customized payment cheque
package.
How to print 1. In the Payments window, fill in the cheque information.

(For information on entering a payment cheque transaction,
see “Accounting for Payments” in Chapter 5.)
Print 2. Choose the Print button, or choose Print from the File menu.
Features A sample payment cheque is shown following this list of

features. The payment cheque includes:
① The amount you paid for goods or services provided by a

vendor (supplier), the cheque number and date, and the
vendor’s name and address.
② The cheque stub provides a record of the vendor’s name,

the cheque date and number, and the invoice number and
amount paid toward the invoice.
User Guide 16–47

Payment Transactions Report
③ If you set the printer for 8½ x 11-inch cheques, the program

prints a duplicate cheque stub.
Universal Construction Central Bank

Downtown Office
102-3701 East Hastings St.
Vancouver, British Columbia 08372
Pay: Six Hundred Seventy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------00/100
1 05-15-98 $******670.00
To the Abercrombie Hardware Ltd.

order 65 Arrow Street
of: Vancouver, British Columbia
V2P 3P3
Signature
Abercrombie Hardware Ltd. 05-15-98 08372
C3104.........446.37
C3157.........223.63
Abercrombie Hardware Ltd. 05-15-98 08372
C3104.........446.37
C3157.........223.63
Payment Transactions Report

Description The Payment Transactions report lists transactions entered in
the payments window for the range of dates or transaction
numbers you specify. The report does not list payments made
for purchases with payment that were entered in the Purchases
window; these are included in the Purchase Transactions report.

Payroll Transactions Report
When to print Print the Payment Transactions report after making entries in
the Payments window, to have a permanent record of a work
session. Print it at month end for the past month, and at the end
of your fiscal year for auditing purposes.

choose Payments.
Previous Year.
session, the program displays the first transaction entry
number of the session. If you have not processed entries, it
displays the first transaction entry on file.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Payroll Transactions Report

Description The Payroll Transactions report lists transactions entered in the
Paycheques window for the range of dates or transaction
numbers you specify. You can also include project allocation
details.
When to print Print the Payroll Transactions report after making entries in the
Paycheques window, to have a permanent record of a work
User Guide 16–49

Pending Purchase Orders Report
of your fiscal year for auditing purposes.

choose Payroll.
Previous Year.
4. Check (select) the Project Allocations box to include entries
for project allocations on the Payroll Transactions report, or
uncheck it to omit this information.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Pending Purchase Orders Report

Description The Pending Purchase Orders report lists the unfilled purchase
orders for all or selected vendors.
For each purchase order, the report displays the purchase order
number and date, the requested ship date, and the total amount
of the purchase order. The report also displays the total amount
for each vendor’s purchase orders.

Pending Sales Orders Report
When to print Print the report whenever you want to review your unfilled
purchase orders.
choose Pending Purchase Orders.
2. Select individual vendors or use the Select All button.
3. Enter the As At date.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Pending Sales Orders Report

Description The Pending Sales Orders report lists the unfilled sales orders
for all or selected customers.
For each sales order, the report displays the order number, the
order date, the requested ship date, and the total price of the
order. The report also subtotals the order prices by customer.
When to print Print the report whenever you want to review your unfilled
sales orders.
choose Pending Sales Orders.
2. Select individual customers or use the Select All button.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
User Guide 16–51

Project Allocation Report
Project Allocation Report

Description The Project Allocation report shows which asset, liability, and
equity account amounts are allocated by project for the period
you specify. It also indicates current and cumulative amounts,
and can include balance-forward amounts for transactions
occurring before the start date of the report.
You can print a summary or a detail report. Project Allocation

reports can include up to two years of details.
When to print Print the report when you want to know what transactions have
been allocated to which asset, liability, or equity accounts.
Note: Once you clear transactions, project details are no longer

available.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Project, then Allocation.

2. Enter start and finish dates, or accept the dates displayed.
3. Select Summary to include totals for asset, liability, and
equity accounts, or select Detail to include all transaction
entries, as well as totals.
4. Select a project or projects from the list, or choose Select All.
5. Choose OK, then select an account or accounts from the list,
or choose Select All to include all asset, liability, and equity
accounts that have project allocations.
To include balance-forward amounts for the projects you
selected, check the Balance Forward box, or uncheck it to
exclude these amounts.
6. Choose OK.
menu.

Project Budget Report
Project Budget Report

Description The Project Budget report shows the actual revenues and
expenses for one or more projects, compared to the original
budget. You can show the comparative dollar amounts only, or
include the dollar or percentage difference for the range of
budget periods you specify.
When to print Print the report when you want to review budget status. Once
you clear transactions, project details are no longer available.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Project, then Budget.

2. Select Current Year or Previous Year.
4. Select Start and Finish budget periods.
5. Select a Report Type to show:
■ Dollar amounts only, or
■ Dollar amounts as well as the difference between the
periods, in dollars or percent.
6. Choose OK.
menu.
Project Income Report

Description The Project Income report shows the revenue and expense
amounts allocated to projects for the period you specify, and the
net balance for each. The report can include, for each project,
balance-forward amounts for revenues and expenses for
transactions occurring before the start date of the report.
The report also includes revenues and expenses allocated to the

project before the project’s start date; this is useful if, for
example, you want to allocate the expense for materials
purchased before a project begins.
User Guide 16–53

Project List
You can print a summary or a detail report. Project reports can

include up to two years of details.
When to print Print the report before clearing transaction details, and at fiscal
year end. Once you clear transactions, project details are no
longer available.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Project, then Income.

2. Enter Start and Finish dates, or accept the dates displayed.
3. Select Summary to include totals for revenue and expense
accounts, or select Detail to include all transaction entries,
as well as totals.
5. Choose OK, then select an account or accounts from the list,
or choose Select All to include all revenue and expense
accounts that have project allocations. You must choose
Select All if you want to include balance-forward amounts.
To include balance-forward amounts for the projects you
selected, check the Balance Forward box, or uncheck it to
exclude these amounts.
6. Choose OK.
menu.
Project List
Description The Project List is an alphabetical list of all your current
projects, along with their start dates.
When to print Print the Project List whenever you add, change, or delete
projects.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Project.
menu.

Purchase Orders
Purchase Orders
Description A purchase order is a request to purchase inventory items or
services from your vendors.
When to print/e-mail You can print or e-mail a purchase order when you enter it,
before you record the entry, and after recording.
E-mailing purchase You can e-mail purchase orders to vendors, following the steps
orders later in this section. If you have not already added the vendor’s
e-mail address to the vendor record, you can supply it when
you e-mail the purchase order.
You can use the e-mail form for purchase orders that comes
with Simply Accounting, or create your own purchase order
forms using Crystal Reports.
Reports And Forms, then choose the Purchase Orders tab.
To print your company’s address on purchase orders, on the

Setup menu choose Settings, then choose the Forms tab. Under
Print Company Address On, select the Purchase Orders box.
them installed, to design your own customized purchase order
package.
How to print 1. In the Purchases, Orders, And Quotes window, select

or e-mail Purchase Order as the transaction type.
2. In the Order/Quote Number field, type the number of the
purchase order you want to print or e-mail, or click the
arrow at the right of the field, then select the purchase order
User Guide 16–55

Purchase Transactions Report

E-mail, go to step 5.
address to the vendor’s record).
Tip: To change the default e-mail message, on the
Setup menu, choose Settings, then select the E-mail tab.
Under Forms, select Purchase Orders, then enter the
new message
6. Choose Send.
Purchase Transactions Report

Description The Purchase Transactions report lists transactions entered in
the Purchases, Orders, And Quotes window, including
payments for cash purchases, for the range of dates or range of
transaction numbers you specify. You can also include project
allocation details.
When to print Print the Purchase Transactions report after entering purchases,
orders, or quotes, to have a permanent record of a work session.
Print it at month end for the past month, and at the end of your
fiscal year for auditing purposes.

choose Purchases.
Previous Year.

QST Reports

4. To include entries for project allocations on the Purchase
Transactions report, check the Project Allocations box, or
5. Choose OK.
menu.
QST Reports
Description The QST (Quebec sales tax) report shows QST paid on
purchases, QST charged on sales, total purchases, and total
sales.
You can print a detailed report showing individual transactions,

or a summary report showing totals only.
Purpose Use the QST report to help you calculate the information
required for the Quebec Sales Tax Return. Note that the QST
report contains information only for entries in the Purchases,
Orders, And Quotes window and the Sales, Orders, And
Quotes window. It does not include information for entries
made in the Miscellaneous Transactions window. For more
information on the QST Return, refer to “The End of Your
GST,HST or QST Reporting Period” in Chapter 15.
When to print Print the report at the end of your QST reporting period
(usually a month).
Before you print To include a vendor or customer on the QST report, be sure the
Include In QST Report box is checked for that vendor or
User Guide 16–57

Receipt Transactions Report
customer in the Vendors or Customers window before entering

purchases or sales.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Tax.

2. Enter a date for the report in the As At field.
3. Select Summary or Detail, then select QST.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Clear the QST report Clear the QST report at the end of each reporting period after
filing your QST Return for that period. To clear the report,
choose Clear Tax Report on the Maintenance menu, enter a date
to clear tax information on or before, select QST, then choose
OK.
Receipt Transactions Report

Description The Receipt Transactions report lists the customer payments
that were processed in the Receipts window for the selected
range of dates or transaction numbers.
The report does not include payment received for sales with
payments that were processed in the Sales, Orders, And Quotes
window; these are included in the Sales Transactions report.
When to print Print the Receipt Transactions report after making entries in the
Receipts window, to have a permanent record of a work
of your fiscal year for auditing purposes. Use the report as a
permanent record of a work session, or of all entries for a time
period.

choose Receipts.
Previous Year.

Receipts

4. Choose OK.
menu.
Receipts
Description A receipt is a form you give to a customer to confirm a payment
for goods or services.
When to print Print receipts to give to customers when they pay for purchases.
You print a receipt from the Receipts window before you
choose Process.
E-mailing receipts You can e-mail receipts to customers, following the steps later
in this section. If you have not already added the customer’s
e-mail address to the customer record, the program asks you to
supply it when you e-mail the receipt.
You can use the e-mail form for receipts that comes with Simply
Accounting, or create your own receipt forms using Crystal
Reports.
User Guide 16–59

Relevé 1 Slips
Reports And Forms, then choose the Receipts tab.
To print your company’s address on receipts, on the Setup

Company Address On, select the Receipts box.
them installed, to design your own customized receipt forms, or
to modify the custom forms that come with Simply Accounting.
Or, you can order pre-printed forms, as described in the
information included in your Simply Accounting package.
How to print or e-mail 1. In the Receipts window, fill in the receipt information. (For
information on entering a receipt transaction, see
“Accounting for Receipts” in Chapter 6.)
E-mail go to step 4.
Forms, select Receipts, then enter the new message.
5. Choose Send.
Relevé 1 Slips
Description Relevé 1 slips list the earnings and tax information you must
submit to the Quebec government for employees resident in
Quebec at the end of the calendar year. This includes:
employment income before deductions, QPP contributions, EI
premiums, Quebec tax deducted, taxable benefits, employee

Relevé 1 Slips
name, address, and social insurance number, and the

employer’s name and address.
Relevé 1 information cannot be displayed or exported.

However, you can see the same information in the Employee
Summary report.
When to print Print Relevé 1 slips at the end of the calendar year. For a list of
other reports to print at calendar year end, see “The End of a
Calendar Year” in Chapter 15.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, select Payroll, then choose Print
Relevé 1 Slips (be sure your printer has Relevé 1 forms in it).
2. Select an employee or employees from the list (or choose
Select All to include all employees).
3. To print Relevé 1s for the selected employees, check the
Print Employee Relevé 1s box. (If you want to print only a
Relevé 1 summary for the selected employees, do not check
this box.)
To print a summary of the Relevé 1s printed, check the Print
Summary box. The summary provides income and
deduction totals for the slips printed. It appears on the last
Relevé 1 slip you print.
4. Check or uncheck the Print Quebec Benefits box. (Read the
explanation on private health insurance below.)
Private health The Quebec government requires that private health
insurance insurance premiums be reported separately in Box J on
Relevé 1 slips.
However, the Simply Accounting program cannot print in
Box J; if your company has a private health insurance plan,
you must fill in this box manually.
The way you fill in Relevé 1 slips depends on whether your
employees also receive benefits the government defines as
“Other Benefits.” The program prints benefits defined as
“other benefits” in Box L. (For a detailed explanation of
“other benefits,” contact an accounting professional or refer
to the booklet entitled “Employment and Other Income:
User Guide 16–61

Revenues by Account (graph)
Guide to Filing the RL-1 Slip,” published by the Ministère

du Revenu du Québec.)
If all your benefits are defined as “other,” you can use
Simply Accounting to print the benefits amount in Box L on
Relevé 1 slips. Check the Print Quebec Benefits box.
However, if your company has a private health insurance
plan, you must enter the premiums manually in Box J, and
enter other benefits manually in Box L.
5. If you are printing on a laser printer, check the Use Laser
Printed Relevé 1s box.
6. If you keep two years of data, select the year you want.
7. In the Report On box, select either All Employees (both
actively employed and terminated), or Active Employees
Only (only employees currently on payroll).
8. Choose OK.
Revenues by Account (graph)

Description A pie chart showing all or selected revenue accounts. Each pie
segment shows the amount and the percentage of the total
revenues that an account represents.
Purpose Use this graph to see individual revenues in relation to total

revenues.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Revenues By Account.

Previous Year.
3. Enter the start and finish dates for the graph.
4. Select the revenue accounts that you want to show
own slice of the pie. Revenue accounts that are not selected
“Other Revenues.”
Print 5. Choose OK, then choose the Print button on the Toolbar.

Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases (graph)

Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases (graph)

Description A bar graph showing the total unpaid sales coming due and the
total unpaid purchases coming due, within the number of days
you specify.
Purpose Use this graph to compare the total amount coming due that
you owe your vendors, and the total amount coming due that is
owed to you by your customers, to help you estimate how
much cash you will have for paying bills.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Sales Due vs. Unpaid
Purchases.

Sales Order Confirmations

Description A sales order confirmation is a form showing a customer
request to purchase inventory items or services.
When to print/e-mail You can print or e-mail a sales order confirmation when you
enter a sales order, before you record the entry, and after
recording.
E-mailing sales order You can e-mail sales order confirmations to customers,
confirmations following the steps later in this section. If you have not already
added the customer’s e-mail address to the customer record,
you can supply it when you e-mail the sales order confirmation.
User Guide 16–63

Sales Order Confirmations
You can use the e-mail forms for sales order confirmations that
come with Simply Accounting, or create your own sales order
confirmation forms using Crystal Reports.
Reports And Forms, then choose the Sales Order Confirmations
tab.
To print your company’s address on sales order confirmations,

on the Setup menu choose Settings, then choose the Forms tab.
Under Print Company Address On, select the Sales Order
Confirmations box.
them installed, to design your own customized sales order
confirmation forms, or to modify the custom forms that come
with Simply Accounting. Or, you can order pre-printed forms,
as described in the information included in your Simply
Accounting package.
How to print 1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select Sales Order
as the transaction type.
2. In the Order/Quote Number field, type the number of the
sales order you want to print or e-mail, or click the arrow at
the right of the field, then select the sales order from the list.
Press the Tab key.
3. Choose Print or E-mail.
Forms, select Sales Order Confirmations, then enter the
new message.

Sales Quotes
6. Choose Send.
Sales Quotes
Description Sales quotes provide information to potential customers who
inquire about prices for your company’s goods and services.
When to print/e-mail You can print or e-mail a sales quote when you enter it, before
you record the entry, and after recording.
E-mailing sales You can e-mail sales quotes to customers, following the steps
quotes later in this section. If you have not already added the
customer’s e-mail address to the customer record, you can
supply it when you e-mail the sales quote.
You can use the e-mail form for sales quotes that comes with
Simply Accounting, or create your own sales quote forms using
Crystal Reports.
Reports And Forms, then choose the Sales Quotes tab.
To print your company’s address on sales quotes, on the Setup

Company Address On, select the Sales Quotes box.
them installed, to design your own customized sales quote
forms, or modify the custom forms that come with Simply
package.
How to print 1. In the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, select Quote as
the transaction type.
2. Do one of the following:
■ Fill in the fields for a new quote, or
User Guide 16–65

Sales Transactions Report
■ In the Quote Number field, type the number of the

quote you want to print, or click the arrow at the right
of the field, then select the quote from the list. Press the
Tab key.
3. Choose Print or E-mail.
Forms, select Sales Quotes, then enter the new message.
6. Choose Send.
Sales Transactions Report

Description The Sales Transactions report lists transactions entered in the
Sales, Orders, And Quotes window, for the range of dates or
transaction numbers you specify. The report includes payments
received for cash sales that were processed in the Sales, Orders,
and Quotes window.
When to print Print the Sales Transactions report after making entries in the
Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, to have a permanent record
of a work session. Print it for the past month at month end and
at the end of your fiscal year for auditing purposes.

choose Sales.
Previous Year.

Sales vs. Budget (graph)

4. To include entries for project allocations on the Sales
Transactions report, check the Project Allocations box, or
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Sales vs. Budget (graph)

Description A bar graph showing actual and budgeted sales for all or
selected revenue accounts for each month in the current or
Purpose Use this graph to compare the actual sales for the month against
the sales you planned for in your budget.
When to print Print the graph at the end of a budget period for a true
comparison of sales to budget.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Sales vs. Budget.

Previous Year.
graph, or choose Select All.
User Guide 16–67

Sales vs. Sales Due (graph)

Sales vs. Sales Due (graph)

Description A bar graph showing sales made and sales due to be paid for all
or selected revenue accounts for each month in the current or
Purpose Use it to compare the total sales for the month against the
amounts your customers owe you.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Sales vs. Sales Due.
Previous Year.
graph, or choose Select All.

T4 Slips
Description T4 slips list the employee earnings and tax information you
must submit to the federal government at the end of the
calendar year. This includes: employment income before
deductions, CPP and QPP contributions, EI premiums, income
tax deducted, taxable benefits, employee name, address, social
insurance number, and province of employment, and the
employer’s name and address.
T4 information cannot be displayed or exported. However, you

can see the same information in the Employee Summary report.

T4 Slips
When to print The T4 slip is filed with the employee’s federal tax return. Print
T4 slips at the end of the calendar year.
Using a laser printer If you are printing the T4 slips on a laser printer, first set up
your printer options as follows:
1. In the Home window, on the Setup menu, choose Reports

And Forms, then the T4/Relevé 1 Slips tab.
2. In the Printer field, select your laser printer.
3. In the Size field, select a size of 10 points or less.
4. Choose the Setup button, and then select Letter in the Paper
Size box.
5. Choose OK twice to return to the Home window.
Remember to change your laser printer options back to their

original settings after printing T4 slips.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Payroll, then choose Print
T4 Slips (be sure your printer has T4 forms in it).
Laser printers Just before you print, remove the paper tray and shake it
from side to side to be sure the paper is properly settled in
the tray. Since the boxes on the forms are small, the slightest
misalignment of the paper may result in information being
printed in the wrong box.
Select All to include all employees.
Laser printers If you are printing on a laser printer, we recommend that
you first print T4s for one employee, to see if the forms
print properly.
If the text does not print correctly, adjust the margin
settings. (On the Setup menu, choose Reports And Forms,
then choose the T4/Relevé 1 Slips tab.) For information on
margin settings, see the Getting Started manual.
3. To print T4s for the selected employees, check the Print
Employee T4s box. (If you want to print only a T4 summary
for the selected employees, do not check this box.)
User Guide 16–69

Transactions By Account Report
4. To print a summary of the T4s printed, check the Print

Summary box. The summary provides income and
deduction totals for the slips printed. It appears on the last
T4 slip you print.
5. If you are printing on a laser printer, check the Use Laser
Printed T4s box.
6. If you keep two years of data, select the year you want, then
select from the Report on box, All Employees (both actively
employed and terminated), or Active Employees Only (only
employees currently on payroll).
7. Choose OK.
8. Under Income, select the box number to print each income
amount in, or leave the boxes blank. (Click the arrow button
to the right of a box to display a list of the numbers from
which you can choose.)
9. Under Deductions, select the box number to print each
deduction amount in, or leave the boxes blank. (Click the
arrow button to the right of a box to display a list of the
numbers from which you can choose.)
10. Choose OK.
Transactions By Account Report

Description The Transactions By Account report lists all or selected accounts
and their transaction details, for the dates you specify. For each
transaction, the report shows date, comment, source code,
transaction number, debit or credit to the account, and account
balance as a result of the transaction.
When to print Print the Transactions By Account report at month end for the
past month, and at the end of your fiscal year, for auditing
purposes. Print at other times as required.

Transactions By Account.

Trial Balance

Previous Year.
by the report.
4. From the Select Accounts box, select the account(s) you
want to include in the report, or choose the Select All
button.
5. Choose OK.
menu.
Trial Balance
Description The trial balance lists the balances of all the accounts in your
company’s data at a specified date. The report includes
transactions made on the date of the trial balance.
Note: If you have not finished entering historical details, (see

Chapter 6, “Entering Account History,” in the Getting Started
manual) you can also choose to add the Historical Opening
Balance to the trial balance report.
Purpose Use this report to ensure that there have been no processing
mistakes, and that the total debits equal the total credits.
When to print Refer to the report when preparing adjusting entries at month
end, and at the end of your fiscal year. Print the report before
you print a balance sheet or income statement.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Financials, then choose Trial
Balance.
If you keep two years of data you can select Current Year,
Previous Year, or Comparative Trial Balance.
Comparative trial 2. If you selected Comparative Trial Balance, fill in the
balance additional fields as follows:
a) Enter a date for the first period.
User Guide 16–71

Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period (graph)
b) Enter a date for the second period.

c) In the Report Type field, select the way you want to
3. Choose OK.
menu.
Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period (graph)

Description A pie chart showing the total amounts you owe your vendors
for the current period and three aging periods, and the
percentage of the total that each period represents.
Purpose Use this graph to see a quick overview of the proportion of the
amounts you owe in each period, to find out whether you are
paying most of your bills on time.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Unpaid Purchases By Aging

Period.
2. Enter a date, then choose OK.
Print 3. Choose the Print button on the Toolbar.

Unpaid Purchases by Vendor (graph)

Description A pie chart showing the amounts you owe to all or selected
vendors. Each pie segment shows the amount and the
percentage of the total purchases that each vendor is owed.

Unpaid Sales by Aging Period (graph)
Purpose Use this graph to see the amount and the proportion of your
total purchases owed to various vendors.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Unpaid Purchases By Vendor.

2. Select the vendors that you want to show separately on the
chart. Each vendor you select will have its own slice of the
pie. Vendors that are not selected will be grouped into one
category on the graph called “Other Vendors.”
3. Choose OK.
Print 4. Choose the Print button on the Toolbar.

Unpaid Sales by Aging Period (graph)

Description A pie chart showing the total amounts your customers owe you
for the current period and three aging periods, and the
percentage of the total that each period represents.
Purpose Use it to see a quick overview of the proportion of your unpaid

sales in each aging period, to find out whether most of your
customers are paying you on time.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Unpaid Sales By Aging

Period.
2. Set date, then choose OK.
Print 3. Choose the Print button in the Toolbar.

User Guide 16–73

Unpaid Sales by Customer (graph)
Unpaid Sales by Customer (graph)

Description A pie chart showing the amounts that all or selected customers
owe you. Each pie segment shows the amount and the
percentage of the total unpaid sales that each customer owes.
Purpose Use this graph to see the amount and the proportion of your
total unpaid sales that various customers owe.
How to print 1. On the Graphs menu, choose Unpaid Sales By Customer.

2. Select the customers that you want to show separately on
the chart. Each customer you select will have its own slice
of the pie. Customers that are not selected will be grouped
into one category on the graph called “Other Customers.”

Vendor Aged Reports

Description The Vendor Aged Detail report lists the invoices and payments
for all or selected vendors, for each aging period. Payments and
fully paid invoices you have cleared from your Simply
Accounting data do not appear on this report.
The summary report lists the total, current, and aged amounts
you owe selected vendors. If you have not completed entering
Account History.”)
The aging begins at the date you specify in the As At field. To

change the aging periods, on the Setup menu, choose Settings,
Vendors And Purchases tab, and then enter new aging periods.
When to print Print the Vendor Aged report at month end and at fiscal year
end.

Vendor Aged Reports
field.
choose Vendor Aged.
2. To display total, current, and aged amounts you owe
selected vendors, select Summary.
To display all invoices and payments for the selected
vendors, select Detail. Check (select) the Include Terms box
if you want payment terms displayed for invoices.
3. Enter a date in the As At field, and select individual
vendors or use the Select All button.
4. Choose OK.
menu.
Features A sample aged report is shown following this list of features.

The aged report includes:
① The vendors selected for the report, in alphabetical order.

② Aging periods. Invoices are aged according to the invoice
date. Cheques (payments) and discounts are printed below
the invoice they relate to, in the same aging category as the
invoice.
③ For each transaction, the report shows invoice number or

cheque number, invoice or cheque date, transaction type,
transaction total, and the amount, in the aging category to
which it belongs.
Invoices are listed in order by invoice date. Payments and
discounts are shown as negative amounts. If one cheque
paid several invoices, the cheque number appears below
each invoice it paid, with the amount paid toward that
invoice. As well, invoice payment terms (if any) are printed
below the invoice to which they relate.
User Guide 16–75

Vendor List
④ Total owing to the vendor, and total owing in each aging

category.
⑤ Total owing to all vendors selected for the report, and total
owing in each aging category.
⑥ The summary report shows the total owing to each vendor

selected, and the total owing in each aging category.
c
UNIVERSAL CONSTRUC TION
Vendor Aged Detail As at 5/17/1999
Abercrombie Hardwa re Inc.

C2764 1998-02-02 Invoice
Total
970.00
Current
0.00
31 to 60
0.00
d 61 to 90
0.00
Page 1
91+
970 .00
144 1998-04-30 Payment -970.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -970 .00
C2793 1998-03-01 Invoice 138.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 138 .15
131 1998-03-15 Payment -138.15 0.00 0.00 0.00 -138 .15
C3104 1998-03-31 Invoice 83.78 0.00 0.00 0.00 83 .78
144 1998-04-30 Payment -83.78 0.00 0.00 0.00 -83 .78
C3157 1998-04-25 Invoice 184.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 184 .02
144 1998-04-30 Payment -184.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 -184 .02
________ _______ _______________ _________ ______ _______________ ___________ ____
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
ACME Novelty Ltd.
10091 1998-02-04 Invoice 1755.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 1755 .66
129 1998-03-01 Payment - 1755.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1755 .66
10204 1998-04-17 Invoice 2 5175.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 25175 .00
142 1998-04-30 Payment -2 5175.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -25175 .00
________ _______ _______________ _________ ______ _______________ ___________ ____
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Blackwell Rentals Inc.
090-01 1998-03-18 Invoice 4226.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 4226 .50
137 1998-04-15 Payment - 4226.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4226 .50
099-85 1998-05-10 Invoice 1 5200.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15200 .00
170 1998-07-04 Payment -1 5200.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -15200 .00
76328 1998-07-31 Invoice 1 5000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15000 .00
e
2%/30, Net 90
193 1998-11-03 Payment -1 5000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -15000 .00
37169 1998-09-15 Invoice 1 3910.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 13910 .00
2%/30, Net 90
193 1998-11-03 Payment -1 3910.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -13910 .00
46783 1999-01-31 Invoice 1 7100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 17100 .00
2%/30, Net 90
220 1999-03-26 Payment -1 7100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -17100 .00
7432 1999-02-28 Invoice 1 7100.00 0.00 0.00 17100 .00 0.00
2%/30, Net 90
220 1999-03-26 Discount -342.00 0.00 0.00 -342 .00 0.00
220 1999-03-26 Payment -1 6758.00 0.00 0.00 -16758 .00 0.00
25945 1999-03-31 Invoice 1 7100.00 0.00 17 100.00 0.00 0.00
2%/30, Net 90
220 1999-03-26 Discount -342.00 0.00 - 342.00 0.00 0.00
f
220 1999-03-26 Payment -1 6758.00 0.00 -16 758.00 0.00 0.00
3521 1999-04-30 Invoice 1 7100.00 17100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
2%/30, Net 90
________ _______ _______________ _________ ______ _______________ ___________ ____
1 7100.00 17100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Catanach, Douglas
35793 1999-04-20 Invoice 2027.06 2027.06 0.00 0.00 0.00
2%/30, Net 90
Cheshire Developme nt
123093 1998-06-29 Invoice 1 0000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10000 .00
2%/30, Net 60
185 1998-10-11 Payment -1 0000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -10000 .00
006843 1998-07-31 Invoice 1 0000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10000 .00
2%/30, Net 60
185 1998-10-11 Payment -1 0000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -10000 .00
________ _______ _______________ _________ ______ _______________ ___________ ____
g
0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
________ _______ _______________ _________ ______ _______________ ___________ ____
1 9127.06 19127.06 0.00 0.00 0.00
======== ======= =============== ========= ====== =============== =========== ====
UNIVERSAL CONSTRUC TION

Vendor Aged Summar y As at 5/17/1999
Blackwell Rentals Inc.

Total
17100.00
Current
17100.00
h 3 1 to 60
0.00
61 to 90
0.00
Page 1
91+
0.00
Catanach, Douglas 2027.06 2027.06 0.00 0.00 0.00
Eagleridge Excavat ing Co. 1 40999.60 70499.80 70499.80 0.00 0.00
Farwest Telephone Corp. 2140.00 1070.00 1070.00 0.00 0.00
Harry's Lumber 3 55657.20 177828.60 0.00 177828.60 0.00
Inglewood Drafting Service 28500.00 28500.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Jackson Constructi on Ltd. 51943.56 0.00 5 1943.56 0.00 0.00
Office Equipment R entals 15000.00 15000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Performance Graphi cs 39900.00 22800.00 1 7100.00 0.00 0.00
Roxborough Paints 11470.09 11470.09 0.00 0.00 0.00
_______ ________ _______________ ________ _______ _______________ __________ _____
6 64737.51 346295.55 14 0613.36 177828.60 0.00
======= ======== =============== ======== ======= =============== ========== =====
Vendor List
Description The Vendor List is an alphabetical list of all your vendors,
together with the address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail and
Web site addresses, and contact person for each, and the total
number of vendors in the list.

Vendor Purchases Report
When to print Print the report when you add or delete vendors or make other
changes to the information in your company’s vendor records.
How to print 1. On the Reports menu, choose Lists, then choose Vendors.
Vendor Purchases Report

Description The Vendor Purchases report shows the details of purchases,
including quantity, cost per item, and total cost, for all or
selected vendors. You can print a summary or detail report.
choose Vendor Purchases.
3. Select the vendors you want to appear on the report.
4. Under Select From, choose one of the following:
■ Assets, to list items grouped by asset accounts (for
example, hardware).
■ Inventory, to select individual inventory items (for
example, hinges).
■ Services, to select individual service items (for example,
bookkeeping).
■ All Items, to select individual inventory items and
service items.
5. Select the asset accounts or items you want.
6. Enter the Start and Finish dates for the report.
7. Select the categories you want to appear on the report.
“Other Amounts” includes all goods and services not listed
in the Inventory And Services list.
8. Choose OK.
User Guide 16–77

Creating Graphs

menu.
Creating Graphs
You can change the look of a graph by using the buttons on the
toolbar at the top of the graph. For a quick reminder of what
each button does, position the pointer over the button and hold
down the right mouse button.
Printing You do not need a special printer to print Simply Accounting

graphs.
Saving graph settings The program automatically saves the graph settings you have
chosen when you close the graph window.
The Graphs Toolbar
This button: Does this:
Import. Displays a graph you have exported using the

export button. Enter the path (file name, folder or directory,
and drive) of the graph you want to display.
Export. Saves the graph to a separate file. Enter the path (file
name, folder or directory, and drive) of the graph you want
to export.
Copy to the Windows Clipboard as a bitmap. You can
insert the bitmap into another program, such as a word
processor, from the Clipboard.
Copy to the Windows Clipboard as text. You can insert
this data into another program, such as a word processor.
Print. Prints the graph. To enter printer settings for graphs,
on the Setup menu choose Reports And Forms, then select
the Reports And Graphs tab. Change the settings you need.

Creating Graphs
This button: Does this:
3D or 2D. Displays the graph in two or in three dimensions.
Rotate the graph. Change the angle of the vertical and

horizontal axes of the graph.
Zoom. Enlarges any area of a graph. This is useful, for
example, if you have a pie with many small slices. Click the
Zoom button, then position the pointer anywhere outside the
graph area. Hold down the left mouse button and drag a
rectangle over the part of the graph you want to enlarge. To
return the graph to its original size, click the Zoom button
again.
Show or hide the legend. Shows or hides the legend that
explains the colours in the graph.
Show or hide the series legend (bar graph only). A bar
graph has two legends. Show or hide the legend that
explains the coordinates along the bottom of the graph.
Vertical grid (bar graph only). Display the graph with a
background of vertical lines.
Horizontal grid (bar graph only). Display the graph with a
background of horizontal lines.
Edit titles. Change the text at the top, bottom, left, or right of
the graph.
Change text fonts. Change the fonts displayed on the
screen.
Changing Print Fonts
To change the font the program uses when printing graphs, on

the Setup menu choose Reports And Forms, then select the
Reports And Graphs tab, then select the font you want.
User Guide 16–79

Creating Graphs
Changing Colours
To change a colour used in a graph, drag a colour from the row

at the top of the graph to the colour you want to change. When
you release the mouse button, the program displays the graph
using the new colour.
Exploding Pie Charts
You can separate (explode) the slices of a pie chart. To do this,

click the slice you want to move, and drag it away from the
centre of the pie.
Displaying Details for a Graph Segment
To see the exact values for a pie slice or a graph bar,

double-click the slice or bar.

Creating Graphs
Changing the Legends in a Graph
You can move and change the legend (the box that explains the
colours) as follows:
■ To display or hide a legend, click the Legend button. (Bar
graphs have two legends.)
■ To display the Legend menu, click the legend background
with the right mouse button.
Choose where you want the legend to appear:
– To be able to size and move the legend window
anywhere on the screen, choose Float.
– To anchor the legend in a fixed position, choose Fixed.
■ Click the background of a floating legend to change it to a
fixed legend.
■ Double-click the background of a fixed legend to change it
to a floating legend.
User Guide 16–81

Chapter 17
Using Cash-Basis Accounting
Transactions in Cash-Basis Accounting.......................................... 17-2
Accounting for Purchases .................................................. 17-3
Printing Purchase Transactions ......................................... 17-4
Accounting for Payments .................................................. 17-5
Printing a Report of Payment Transactions ............................... 17-5
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor ............................. 17-6
Applying a Deposit to an Invoice ....................................... 17-7
Accounting for Sales ....................................................... 17-8
Printing Sales Transactions ............................................. 17-9
Accounting for Receipts................................................... 17-10
Printing a Report of Receipts Transactions .............................. 17-10
Special Procedures in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes Window ................ 17-10
Credit Memo ......................................................... 17-11
Sales Discounts ....................................................... 17-11
Writing Off Bad Debts ................................................ 17-11
Processing NSF Cheques .............................................. 17-12
Processing a Customer’s Prepayment or Overpayment................... 17-12
Applying a Payment to an Invoice ..................................... 17-13
Printing Accrual-Basis Reports in Cash-Basis Accounting ........................ 17-14
Period-End Procedures ....................................................... 17-16
The End of Your GST (or HST) or QST Reporting Period ..................... 17-16
Adjusting the GST (or HST) or QST Report ................................. 17-18
Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Payment ............................ 17-22
Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Refund .............................. 17-25
Where To Now? ............................................................. 17-27
User Guide 17–i


Chapter 17
Using Cash-Basis Accounting
Simply Accounting lets you choose one of two common ways to
keep accounting records: accrual-basis or cash-basis accounting.
Much — but not all — of the Simply Accounting User Guide

applies when you use cash-basis accounting. This chapter
outlines the procedures that differ between cash- and accrual-
basis accounting.
Revenues and The differences arise because you “recognize” revenues and
expenses treated expenses differently using each method. Only when you
differently recognize a revenue, or expense, does the program update the
accounts.
In accrual–basis accounting, revenues are recognized when they

are earned, and expenses when they are incurred — regardless
of whether you have received or made payment for them.
Whenever you enter a purchase or a sales invoice, the program
updates the accounts immediately.
However, in cash–basis accounting, revenues and expenses are

recognized only when cash changes hands. Therefore, the
program does not update the accounts until you record a
payment or a receipt.
To change To change to cash-basis accounting, or to change back to

accounting accrual-basis accounting, see Chapter 9, “Setting Up Cash-Basis
methods Accounting,” in the Getting Started manual.
User Guide 17–1

Transactions in Cash-Basis Accounting

Cash-basis accounting affects the following transaction
windows:
■ Purchases, Orders, and Quotes.
■ Payments.
■ Sales, Orders, and Quotes.
■ Receipts.
You enter most transactions the way you would in accrual-basis

accounting, as described in Chapters 4 through 12. However,
the program handles transactions differently in cash-basis
accounting.
Some modules are Transactions entered in the Miscellaneous Transactions,

always up to date Account Reconciliation, Paycheques, Payroll Cheque Run,
Adjustments, and Item Assembly windows affect the accounts
immediately, as they do in accrual-basis accounting.
Consequently, the Vendors and Purchases, Customers and

Sales, Payroll, and Inventory and Services modules are always
up to date.
The program must Because the program does not update the account records until
keep track of you process a payment or a receipt, it saves the details of
unpaid invoices unpaid invoices in a separate data file (the file with the .ASA
extension, known as the cash-basis-accounting data file).
The program updates the account records only when the

invoices are paid.
Read this section carefully to find how the program handles

transactions, how to print a list of unpaid invoices, and how to
handle special cases such as prepayments.

To record a purchase using cash-basis accounting, follow the

directions in Chapter 5, “ Making Purchases.” When you finish
recording an invoice, choose Record instead of Process.
Record In cash-basis accounting, the Process button is named Record in

the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes, and in the Sales, Orders,
and
Quotes windows, because the program does not update the
account records immediately. Instead, it saves the invoice,
order, or quote in the cash-basis accounting file until you
process a receipt, or a payment cheque.
Cash purchase Note: If you are entering a purchase paid by cash, cheque, or
credit card, or an accrual-basis transaction with a date earlier
than the Cash Accounting date, the program updates the
accounts immediately.
When you record a purchase in cash-basis accounting, the

program:
■ Updates the year-to-date purchases and balance owing for
the vendor in the vendor’s record.
■ Updates the quantity on hand and total value in the
inventory record, if you purchased an inventory item.
■ Saves a record of the amounts and accounts debited and
credited, in a separate data file that stores unpaid cash-basis
accounting entries (this is the file that has the extension
.ASA, described earlier in this chapter). It does not update
the account records until you record a payment against the
invoice in the Payments window.
You can display or print the transaction to make sure it is

correct. For more information, see the next section, “Printing
Purchase Transactions.”
Reversing a If you record a purchase, and later find you made a mistake,
purchase you must record a separate transaction to reverse the error. You
cannot delete a recorded transaction, nor can you use the Adjust
Invoice feature. Refer to “Reversing a Purchase” in Chapter 11.
User Guide 17–3

Removing reversed Both the original and the reversing transaction appear on the
unpaid invoices Unpaid Purchase Transactions report until you remove the
error and the correction from the Payments window. To remove
reversed amounts from the Payments window, follow the
instructions under “Reversing a Purchase” and “Removing
Reversed Amounts from the Payments window,” in Chapter 11.
Removing paid Until you remove paid invoices, you can see the error and the
invoices correction on the Vendor Aged Detail report, and, if you check
the Include Fully Paid Invoices box, in the Payments window.
(To remove paid invoices, use the Clear Paid Vendor Invoices
command on the Maintenance menu.)
Entering payments For information about recording a full or partial payment on the
invoice, see “Accounting for Payments,” later in this chapter.
Printing Purchase Transactions
You can display and print all Vendors and Purchases reports.
You can also display and print a report of unpaid purchases you
have made.
Paid invoices To display and print a report of paid purchase invoices:

1. From the Reports menu, select Transaction Details, and then
choose Purchases. Select the information you want to
include on the report, and then choose OK to display the
report.
2. From the File menu, choose Print.
Unpaid invoices To display and print a report of unpaid purchase invoices:

1. From the Reports menu, select Unpaid Entries, and then
choose Purchases. Select the information you want to
include on the report, and then choose OK to display the
Unpaid Purchase Transactions report.
The displayed report shows the transactions that will be
processed to your accounts once you pay the invoices.

To record a payment using cash-basis accounting, follow the

directions under “Accounting for Payments” in Chapter 5.
When you record a payment for the full amount of an invoice,

Simply Accounting updates the account records.
Partial payment When you record a partial payment for an invoice, Simply
Accounting calculates the proportion of the original invoice
amount that the payment represents, and updates the account
records using this percentage.
Deleting accounts You cannot delete an account used in invoices for which
and projects payment has not yet been recorded.
There are no restrictions on deleting projects used in invoices

for which payment has not yet been recorded. However, any
allocations made to projects you later delete are listed as
allocated to “Unknown Project” on reports.
Reversing a If you record a payment, and then find you made a mistake,
transaction you cannot delete the transaction. You must reverse it in a
separate transaction. Refer to “Reversing a Payment for an
Uncleared Invoice,” in Chapter 11.
Note that in cash-basis accounting, a record of the original and

the reversing transactions appears on the Payment Transactions
report, until you choose Clear Paid Vendor Invoices from the
Maintenance menu to delete them.
Printing a Report of Payment Transactions
You can display or print a report of purchases for which full or

partial payment has been recorded in the Payments window.
From the Reports menu, select Transaction Details, and then
choose Payments to display the report. These transactions also
User Guide 17–5

To print a report of purchase invoices for which no payment has

been recorded, refer to “Printing Purchase Transactions,” earlier
in this chapter.
Recording a Deposit or Prepayment to a Vendor
You may occasionally need to record a prepayment or a deposit

to a vendor.
To record a deposit on a purchase or a prepayment:

Quotes.
2. In the Transaction field, select Invoice, and then Cash,
Cheque, or Credit Card in the Paid By field.
3. Enter the vendor name.
4. If you selected Cheque in the Paid By field, enter your
cheque number in the Cheque field.
5. In the Invoice field, enter your cheque number, followed by
“D” or “P,” or some other indication that this is a deposit or
prepayment. For example, enter 123-D or 123-P.
6. Enter a date.
7. In the Description field, include a brief comment about the
purpose of the prepayment.
8. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the deposit or
prepayment.
9. In the Account field, enter the number of the Prepaid
Expenses And Deposits account. If this account does not
exist, add it “on the fly” as follows:
In the Account field, press the Enter key and choose <Add
New Account>. A wizard appears to help you set up the
account. You should create an asset account with a number
between 1000 and 1999, unless your accountant suggests a
different classification.
Transaction Detail. Check that the transaction debits the

Prepaid Expenses And Deposits account and credits the

bank account. Then, close the Purchase Transaction Detail
window.
11. Choose Record.
Applying a Deposit to an Invoice
The next time you record a purchase from a vendor to whom

you have paid a deposit, you can apply the deposit or
prepayment to that invoice:
1. Enter the vendor name, invoice number, date, and items, as
you would on a regular invoice. (If you are not sure how to
do this, follow the instructions under “Accounting for
Purchases,” in Chapter 5.)
2. If the prepayment is for the full amount of the invoice, select
cash, cheque, or a credit card in the Paid By field.
Otherwise, select Pay Later.
3. On a new line, in the Amount field, enter the amount of the
deposit or prepayment you wish to apply to the invoice,
4. In the Account field, enter the Prepaid Expenses And
Deposits account number.
5. In the GST or HST field, enter the amount of GST or HST
owing as shown on the vendor’s invoice.
6. In the QST fields, enter the amount of QST owing as shown
on the vendor’s invoice.
Transaction Detail. Check that the transaction reduces the
credit to the bank account and credits the Prepaid Expenses
And Deposits account by the amount you entered. Close the
Purchase Transaction Detail window.
8. Choose Record.
User Guide 17–7

To record a sale using cash-basis accounting, follow the

directions under “Accounting for Sales” in Chapter 6. When
you finish entering an invoice, choose Record instead of
Process.
Record In cash-basis accounting, the Process button is named Record in

the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes, and in the Sales, Orders,
and
Quotes windows, because the program does not update the
account records immediately. Instead, it records the invoice,
order, or quote in the cash-basis accounting file until you
process a receipt, or a payment.
Note: If you are processing a sale with payment, or an

accrual-basis transaction with a date earlier than the Cash
Accounting date, the program updates the accounts
immediately.
When you record a sale in cash-basis accounting, the program:

■ Updates the year-to-date sales and balance owing for the
customer in the customer’s record.
■ Updates quantity on hand and total value in the inventory
record, if you sold an inventory item.
■ Saves a record of the amounts and accounts debited and
credited, in a separate data file that stores unpaid cash-basis
accounting invoices (this is the file that has the extension
.ASA, described earlier in this chapter). It does not update
the account records until you record a payment against the
invoice in the Receipts window.
You can display or print the transaction to make sure it is

correct. For more information, see the next section, “Printing
Sales Transactions.”
Reversing a sale If you record a sale, and then find you made a mistake, you
must reverse it using a separate transaction. You cannot delete a
recorded transaction, nor can you use the Adjust Invoice
feature. Refer to “Reversing a Sale” in Chapter 11.

Removing reversed Note that in cash-basis accounting, a record of both the original
unpaid invoices and the reversing transaction appears on the Unpaid Sales
Transactions report, until you remove the error and the
correction from the list of unpaid invoices. (To remove the
reversed amounts, follow the instructions under “Reversing a
Sale” and “Removing Reversed Amounts from the Receipts
Window” in Chapter 11.)
Removing paid Until you clear (remove) paid invoices, you can see the error
invoices and the correction on the Customer Aged Detail report and, if
you
check the Include Fully Paid Invoices box, in the Receipts
window. (To remove paid invoices, use the Clear Paid
Customer Invoices command on the Maintenance menu.)
Entering receipts For information about what happens when you record a
customer’s full or partial payment on the invoice, see
“Accounting for Receipts,” later in this chapter.
Printing Sales Transactions
In cash-basis accounting, you can display and print all

Customers and Sales reports.
To display and print a report of paid sales invoices:

Print paid 1. From the Reports menu, select Transaction Details, and then
invoices choose Sales. Select the information you want to include on
the report, and then choose OK to display the report.
To display and print a report of unpaid sales invoices:

Print unpaid 1. From the Reports menu, select Unpaid Entries, and then
invoices choose Sales. Select the information you want to include on
the report, and then choose OK to display the Unpaid Sales
Transactions report.
User Guide 17–9

To record the receipt of a payment using cash-basis accounting,

follow the directions under “Accounting for Receipts” in
Chapter 6.
When you record a payment for the full amount of an invoice,

Simply Accounting immediately updates the account records.
When you record a partial payment for an invoice, Simply

Accounting calculates the proportion of the original invoice that
the payment represents, and updates the accounts using this
percentage.
Deleting accounts You cannot delete an account used in any unpaid invoices.
and projects
There are no restrictions on deleting projects used in unpaid
invoices in cash-basis accounting. However, any allocations you
made to a project you later delete are listed as allocated to
“Unknown Project” on reports.
Printing a Report of Receipts Transactions
To display or print a report of paid, or partially paid, sales

invoices:
1. From the Reports menu, select Transaction Details, and then
choose Receipts.
2. Select the information you want to include on the report,
then choose OK to display the report. These entries also
To display or print a report of unpaid sales invoices, refer to

“Printing Sales Transactions,” earlier in this chapter.
Special Procedures in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes Window
You may occasionally need to record a credit memo or

discounted sale, write off bad debts, or enter an NSF cheque or
a customer’s prepayment or overpayment. This section

describes how to handle these procedures using cash-basis

accounting.
Credit Memo
To enter a credit memo, follow the instructions in “Processing a

Credit Memo or Customer Refund,” in Chapter 6. Note that, in
the cash-basis transaction, the linked Bank account replaces the
Accounts Receivable account.
For inventory items, the transaction debits the inventory asset

and revenue accounts and credits the Bank and an inventory
expense account. For service items, it debits the revenue
account and credits the bank account.
Sales Discounts
Price reductions Price reductions are not the same as discounts for early
payment. To record a price reduction, follow the instructions in
“Price Reductions,” in Chapter 6.
Early-payment To record an early-payment discount, follow the instructions in

discounts “Early-Payment Discounts,” in Chapter 6.
For instructions on recording a discounted sale, see

“Accounting for Sales,” in Chapter 6. Note that, in cash-basis
transactions, the linked Bank account replaces the Accounts
Receivable account.
To write off a bad debt:

1. Open the Receipts window, and process a payment for the
amount of the debt.
2. Open the Miscellaneous Transactions window. Process a
credit to the Bank account and a debit to the Bad Debts
expense account.
User Guide 17–11

Processing NSF Cheques
To process an NSF cheque, follow the instructions under

“Reversing a Receipt or an NSF Cheque for an Uncleared
Invoice” in Chapter 11. The transaction to record an NSF cheque
reverses the debits and credits of the original entry. Note that,
in the cash-basis transaction, the linked Bank account replaces
the Accounts Receivable account.
Processing a Customer’s Prepayment or Overpayment
Prepayments and overpayments require a special procedure in

cash-basis accounting. If you are processing a customer’s
prepayment or overpayment, follow the instructions in this
section.
To process a customer’s prepayment or overpayment:

1. In the Home window, choose the Sales, Orders, and Quotes
window.
3. In the Paid By field, select Cash, Cheque, or a credit card
you have set up (in Setup, Credit Cards, Credit Cards
Accepted).
5. If the customer is paying by cheque, in the Cheque field,
enter the customer’s cheque number.
6. In the Invoice field, enter the customer’s cheque number,
followed by “P” or “O,” or some other indication that this is
a prepayment or an overpayment. For example, enter 123-P,
123-O, or PREPAY if the customer is not paying by cheque.
7. Accept or change the date.
8. In the Description field, include a brief comment about the
purpose of the prepayment.
9. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the prepayment or
overpayment.

10. In the Account field, enter the number of the Customer

Deposits account.
To add this account “on the fly,” if it does not exist, press
the Enter key in the Account field, and then select <Add
New Account>. A wizard will help you to create a new
account called Customer Deposits. You should create a
liability account in the 2000 to 2999 range, or another
classification recommended by your accountant.
11. From the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail. Ensure that the transaction debits the Bank or
Credit-Card asset account and credits the Customer
Deposits account, and then close the Sales Transaction
Detail window.
12. From the File menu, choose Print to print the invoice. Then
store the printed invoice in the customer’s file.
13. Choose Record.
Applying a Payment to an Invoice
To apply a prepayment or overpayment to an invoice:

1. Type the customer name, invoice number, date, and items,
as you would on a regular invoice. (If you are not sure how
to do this, follow the instructions under “Accounting for
Sales” in Chapter 6.)
In the Paid By field, if the prepayment is for the full amount
of the invoice, select cash, cheque, or a credit card.
Otherwise, select Pay Later.
2. On a new line, type “Deposit” in the Description field if you
plan to print the invoice.
3. In the Amount field, type the amount of the prepayment or
overpayment you wish to apply to the invoice, preceded by
a minus sign.
4. In the Account field, type the Customer Deposits account
number.
5. Complete the rest of the sales details.
User Guide 17–13

Printing Accrual-Basis Reports in Cash-Basis Accounting
6. From the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction

Detail. Ensure that the transaction debits the Customer
Deposits account and credits the Bank account by the
amount you entered, and then close the Sales Transaction
Detail window.
7. From the File menu, choose Print to print the invoice.
8. Choose Record.
Printing Accrual-Basis Reports in Cash-Basis

Accounting
From time to time, you may need to convert your cash-basis
records to accrual-basis accounting. Most banks require that
you show them accrual-basis financial statements when you
apply for a loan. Also, you may need accrual-basis reports to
calculate your taxes.
You can easily create accrual-basis reports using the procedure

described in this section. First, you create a temporary copy of
your data files. Then, switch to accrual-basis accounting in the
temporary copy and print the reports you need. Last, you delete
the temporary copy.
To print accrual-basis reports:

Save your work 1. In the Home window, from the File menu, choose Save to
save work from the current session in your cash-basis
company files.
Create temporary 2. In the Home window, from the File menu, choose Save As.
company files
3. In the File Name box, type Temp.asc, or another name that
indicates that this is a temporary set of files. (The name
must be different from the name of your regular company
files.)
The dialog box should look like this:

Printing Accrual-Basis Reports in Cash-Basis Accounting
If needed, select a
Be sure to choose a
different directory to save in.
file name that differs
from your working
Depending on your version file and your backup
of Windows, the appearance files.
of this dialog box may vary.
After you select a
directory to save in,
Enter a file name that tells and enter a file name,
you this is a temporary file. choose Save.
4. Note the name and location of the folder or directory in

which you are storing the data. You will need to know this
later when you erase the temporary data files.
5. Choose OK. This creates a copy of your regular company
files, with the name that you chose.
Create linked 6. If they do not already exist, create linked Accounts
accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable accounts in the copy of
your company files. (Use the Modify Accounts and Linked
Accounts wizards, from the Setup menu, to help you. For
more information about linked accounts, refer to “Linked
Accounts,” in Chapter 5 of the Getting Started manual.)
Convert temporary 7. On the Setup menu, choose Settings, and then select the
files to accrual-basis System tab. Clear (uncheck) the Cash-Basis Accounting box.
accounting Choose OK.
The program displays a message warning you that all
unpaid invoices will be processed, and asks if you are sure
you want to do this. Choose Yes.
The program updates the account records in your
temporary company files, processing all unpaid invoices as
of the session date. The temporary company now uses the
accrual-basis accounting method.
8. Print the reports you require, following the instructions in
Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs.”
Delete the 9. When you finish printing the reports, delete the temporary
temporary files files to ensure that you do not confuse them with your
regular data files. Do not use them again.
To delete the temporary files, exit Simply Accounting and
delete them with the Windows Explorer. (For more
information refer to your Windows manual or Windows
User Guide 17–15

Period-End Procedures
online Help.) Each time you use accrual-basis reports, you

must create a new, up-to-date set of temporary data files.
This section tells you what to do at the end of your GST (or
HST) and QST reporting periods if you use cash-basis
accounting.
For information about what to do at the end of a work session,

and at the end of a month, a calendar year, and a fiscal year,
refer to Chapter 15, “Period-End Processing.”
For reporting purposes, the government considers that GST (or

HST) and QST are paid or charged as of the invoice date,
payment date, or payment due date, whichever comes first. The
invoice date is normally the first of these dates. This means that
you must calculate GST (or HST) and QST owing to the
government on an accrual basis, even if you use cash-basis
accounting to record transactions. To calculate the GST (or HST)
you owe, you must temporarily convert your cash-basis records
to accrual-basis accounting.
Note that transactions appear on the GST, HST, and QST

reports as of the invoice date, in both cash-basis and
accrual-basis accounting.
The End of Your GST (or HST) or QST Reporting Period
The end of your reporting period may be the end of a month, a

quarter, or a fiscal year. To find out your reporting period,
contact Revenue Canada, the Ministère du Revenu du Québec,
or your accountant.
To do at the end of your reporting period:
Print reports Print the Transactions By Account report for all your GST (or
HST) or QST accounts, except the GST (or HST) or QST Owing

(Refund) account. The start and finish dates of the report should
be the first and last dates of your reporting period.
Print the GST (or HST) or QST report (in detail and summary
form) as at the last day of your reporting period. The report
should include information for this reporting period only.
Adjust reports Use the Transactions By Account and Payroll Transactions

reports to make any necessary adjustments to the amounts in
the GST (or HST) or QST report. See the next section,
“Adjusting the GST (or HST) or QST Report.”
Back up data From the File menu, choose Backup, then fill in the screen. For
more detailed instructions, see “Backing Up Data” in Chapter 1.
Fill out the tax Fill out your tax return. See “Filling Out the Goods and Services
return Tax Return“ or “Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return“ later
in this chapter.
Clear Clear the balances in the GST (or HST) or QST accounts, to
accounts prepare them for the next period. See “Accounting for a GST (or
HST) or QST Payment“ or “Accounting for a GST (or HST) or
QST Refund,” later in this chapter.
Clear tax Clear (remove) the details of the GST (or HST) or QST report up
details to the last day of your reporting period, to prepare for the next
period. (On the Maintenance menu, choose Clear GST Report or
Clear HST Report. In Quebec, choose the Clear Tax Report
command.)
It is important to remove the data at the end of each reporting

period, both to free up disk space and to prevent reporting the
same transactions twice. The program removes tax details
entered on invoices that were processed on or before the date
you specify.
File reports File the Transactions By Account report and GST (or HST) or
QST report with other reports and supporting documents for
this reporting period.
User Guide 17–17

Adjusting the GST (or HST) or QST Report
Before you fill in your tax return, you will probably have to
adjust your GST (or HST) or QST report. This report includes
only information for purchase and sales transactions. It does not
include information about miscellaneous transactions, or GST or
QST deductions from paycheques.
For example, if you enter a transaction in the Miscellaneous

Transactions window to record the purchase of an asset, the
GST (or HST) or QST report does not include this transaction,
even though the GST (or HST) or QST you paid may qualify as
an input tax credit or input tax refund.
Similarly, the GST (or HST) and QST reports do not include
payroll deductions for benefits subject to GST (or HST) or QST.
If you processed any miscellaneous transactions that affected

the GST (or HST) or QST accounts during this reporting period,
you must adjust the GST (or HST) or QST report to include
these amounts before filling in the GST (or HST) or QST Return.
If you deducted GST (or HST) or QST from taxable benefits, you
must calculate the total.
GST or QST report Note: In accrual-basis accounting, you can compare the GST or
amounts may not QST report amounts to the GST or QST account totals on the
match balance balance sheet, to see if any transactions are missing from the
sheet
GST or QST report.
In cash-basis accounting, the amounts in the GST or QST report

rarely match the GST or QST account balances. This is because
GST and QST appear on the reports as of the invoice date, but
they do not affect the account balances until payment is
recorded.
Thus, in cash-basis accounting you must check that all the

transactions listed on the Transactions By Account report are
included on the GST (or HST) or QST report.

To adjust the GST (or HST) or QST report:

Compare 1. Compare the GST Paid On Purchases or Refundable QST
transactions Paid account transactions on the Transactions By Account
report to the transactions under the Vendor heading on the
GST or QST Detail report. Note whether any transactions
are missing from the GST or QST report.
Make corrections 2. On the GST or QST report, include any missing amounts by
to purchases writing them in under the Purchases total or Total
Purchases, and GST Paid or Refundable QST total.
Compare 3. Compare the GST Charged On Sales, QST Charged At
transactions Rate 1, and QST Charged At Rate 2 transactions on the
Transactions By Account report to the transactions under
the Customer heading on the GST or QST Detail report.
Note whether any transactions are missing from the GST or
QST report.
Make corrections 4. Include any missing amounts by writing them in the
to sales Taxable Sales and GST Charged totals on the GST report, or
the Total Sales and QST Charged totals on the QST report.
Note GST deducted 5. If you withhold from employee paycheques the GST or QST
from paycheques on taxable benefits, display and print the Payroll
Transactions report:
■ From the Reports menu, select Transaction Details, and
then select Payroll. Select or enter the date range you
want, and then choose OK.
Make corrections 6. Calculate the total GST or QST you deducted from all
employee paycheques in this reporting period and write it
on the report.
Go to “Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return,” or to

“Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return,” to find out how to
fill out the return.
Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax Return
After you make adjustments to the GST report amounts, as

described in the previous section, use the corrected GST report
User Guide 17–19

and your Transactions By Account report to fill out the Goods

and Services Tax Return.
For additional assistance in filling out the return, contact your

local Revenue Canada Excise office, or your accountant.
To fill out the GST/HST Return:

GST report: GST/HST return:
Corrected Taxable Sales total Sales and Other Revenue
Total of corrected GST Charged from the GST report, GST/HST Collected and
plus the GST Payroll Deductions account balance, if Collectible
you have one, from the Transactions by Account report
Corrected GST Paid On Purchases total Input Tax Credits

Transactions By Account report: GST/HST return:
GST Adjustments account total GST Adjustments
ITC Adjustments account total ITC Adjustments

Payroll Transactions report: GST/HST return:
Your calculated total of the GST you deducted from GST/HST Collected and
all employees Collectible

refund or payment. Then refer to “Accounting for a GST (or
QST Refund“ later in this chapter, to find out how to handle a
payment or refund and remove the reported amounts from the
account balances in preparation for your next reporting period.
Filling Out the Quebec Sales Tax Return
After you make adjustments to the QST report amounts, as

described earlier in this chapter, use the corrected QST report
and your Transactions By Account report to fill out the Quebec

Sales Tax Return. For additional assistance in filling out the

return, contact the Ministère du Revenu du Québec, or your
accountant.
If you wish, you can use the GST/HST-QST Return, if you are
reporting GST and QST for the same period. For example, if you
report GST quarterly, you can use the combined form for both
GST and QST at the end of each quarter, and use the QST
Return for the months when you do not report GST. For more
information about calculating a GST payment or refund, read
the previous section, “Filling Out the Goods and Services Tax
Return.”
To complete the QST Return:

Enter this amount from the In this section of the
QST report: QST return:
Corrected Total Sales Total Supplies

Transactions By Account report: QST return:
Total of corrected QST Charged At Rate 1 and QST Collectible
QST Charged At Rate 2 from the QST report, plus
the QST Payroll Deductions account balance
QST Adjustments account balance QST Adjustments
Refundable QST Paid from the QST report Input Tax Refunds
ITR Adjustments account balance ITR Adjustments
Payroll Transactions report: QST return:
Your calculated total of QST deducted from QST Collectible
all employees

refund or payment. Then refer to “Accounting for a GST (or
QST Refund,” later in this chapter to find out how to handle a
payment or refund and clear (remove the reported amounts
User Guide 17–21

from) the accounts in preparation for your next reporting

period.
Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Payment
If you owe GST (or HST) or QST to the government, you must
enter an invoice in the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window,
issue a cheque for the GST (or HST) or QST owing, and clear
(remove the reported amounts from) your GST (or HST) or QST
accounts in preparation for the next reporting period.
To account for a payment:

Create a vendor 1. If you have not already done so, create a new vendor record
account for the tax for the Receiver General of Canada or the Ministère du
authority Revenu du Québec. (In the Vendors window, select Edit
and then choose Create.)
Do not include the tax authority in the GST (or HST) or QST
report; leave the Include In GST Report and Include In QST
Enter an invoice for 2. Open the Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window. In the
the tax you owe Purchased From field, select the Receiver General or the
Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
3. In the Transaction field, select Invoice. Then do one of the
following:
■ If you want to issue a cheque immediately, without
having to open the Payments window, select Cheque in
the Paid By field.
Then enter a cheque number, or accept the number
displayed.
■ If you plan to issue a cheque later, select Pay Later in
the Paid By field, follow the rest of these steps, and then
issue a cheque later in the usual way.
4. Enter an invoice number, such as GST MAR or QST MAR
for the March GST or QST Payment.
5. Enter the date.

6. Enter the amounts and account numbers for all GST (or
HST) or QST accounts, as listed on the balance sheet you
printed as at the end of your GST (or HST) or QST reporting
period, as follows.
■ In the Amount field, enter the corrected GST Paid On
Purchases total or the Refundable QST Paid total from
the GST or QST report, as a negative number. In the
Account field, enter the GST Paid On Purchases or the
Refundable QST Paid account number.
■ On the next line, enter the corrected GST Charged or
QST Charged At Rate 1 total from the GST or QST
report, as a positive number. In the Account field, enter
the GST Charged On Sales or the QST Charged at Rate 1
account number.
■ Similarly, enter the account balances and account
numbers listed on the Transactions By Account report
for the remaining GST (or HST) or QST accounts: GST
(or HST) or QST Adjustments, QST Charged At Rate 2,
ITC or ITR Adjustments, and GST (or HST) or QST
Payroll Deductions (if you have one).
The invoice total should be equal to the amount you owe
the government, as calculated on the GST (or HST) or QST
Return.
Transaction Detail to check the entry. The amount showing
as a credit to the Bank account is the amount you owe.
8. To print a cheque, choose Print from the File menu.
Record the invoice 9. Choose Record.
If you selected Cheque in the Paid By field, when the
program processes the invoice and payment, it removes the
reported amount from the GST (or HST) or QST account, so
you can start the next reporting period.
If you selected Pay Later, the amounts are not removed
from the accounts until you process the payment cheque.
Backup 10. In the Home window, choose Backup from the File menu or
the toolbar. Then fill in the screen. For more details, see
“Backing Up Data” in Chapter 1.
User Guide 17–23

Clear tax details 11. Clear the details of the GST (or HST) or QST report to
prepare for a new reporting period, using Clear GST Report
or Clear Tax Report on the Maintenance menu. Clear the
report up to the last day of your reporting period.
12. If you have not issued a payment cheque for the GST or
QST, do so when you are ready, as described in “Making
Remittances to Federal and Provincial Authorities,” in
Chapter 5.
Processing the payment cheque removes the reported GST
(or HST) or QST amounts from the accounts, in preparation
for a new GST (or HST) or QST reporting period.
Do not worry if the payment creates negative GST (or HST)
or QST account balances. You report GST (or HST) or QST
based on the invoice dates. However, the GST (or HST) or
QST accounts are not updated until you process invoice
payment cheques and receipts, so the unpaid amounts do
not yet appear in the accounts.
Checking your work 13. If you wish to check that you have properly cleared the GST
(or HST) or QST accounts, create a temporary copy of your
data files, and switch to accrual-basis accounting in the
temporary copy.
Follow the directions in the “Printing Accrual-Basis Reports
in Cash-Basis Accounting“ section, earlier in this chapter, to
create the data files.
When you switch to accrual-basis accounting, the program
updates the account records with any transactions that have
not yet been processed.
14. Print a balance sheet and check your GST (or HST) or QST
account balances. If you cleared the accounts properly, the
account balances should be zero in the accrual-basis copy of
your data files.
If the account balances are not zero, you may have adjusted
the GST (or HST) or QST report incorrectly, or made an
error in the invoice or cheque transactions. Check the steps
you took to adjust the GST (or HST) or QST report and
account for a payment to see where the error occurred.

Accounting for a GST (or HST) or QST Refund
If the government owes you a refund, you must enter an invoice

in the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window, and then clear the
GST (or HST) or QST accounts to prepare for the next reporting
period. Enter the amount of the refund in the Receipts window
when you receive the cheque.
To account for a GST (or HST) or QST refund:

Set up a customer 1. If you have not already done so, open the Customers
account for the tax window and create a new customer record for the Receiver
authority General of Canada or the Ministère du Revenu du Québec.
Do not include the tax authority in the GST or QST reports;
leave the Include In GST Report and Include In QST Report
boxes unchecked.
Enter an invoice for 2. Open the Sales, Orders, and Quotes window. In the Sold To
the GST (or HST) or field, select the Receiver General or the Ministère du
QST you are owed Revenu du Québec.
3. Enter an invoice number, such as GST MAR or QST MAR
for the March reporting period.
4. Enter the date.
5. Enter the amounts and account numbers for all GST or QST
accounts, as follows.
■ In the Amount field, enter the corrected GST Paid On
Purchases or Refundable QST Paid amount from the
GST or QST report as a positive number. In the Account
field, enter the GST Paid On Purchases or the
Refundable QST Paid account number.
■ On the next line, enter the corrected GST Charged or
the QST Charged At Rate 1 amount, as a negative
number, and the GST Charged On Sales or QST Charged
At Rate 1 account number.
■ Similarly, enter the account balances and account
numbers listed on the Transactions By Account report
for the remaining GST or QST accounts: the GST or QST
Adjustments account, QST Charged At Rate 2, the ITC
User Guide 17–25

or ITR Adjustments account, and the GST or QST

Payroll Deductions account (if you have one).
The invoice total should equal your refund amount, as
calculated on the GST (or HST) or QST Return.
Check your entry 6. From the Report menu, choose Display Sales Transaction
Detail to check the entry. The debit to the Bank account is
the amount the government owes you.
Record the invoice 7. Choose Record. Note that the amounts remain in the GST or
QST accounts until you record payment of the refund in
step 9.
Clear tax details 8. Clear the details of the GST or QST report to prepare for a
new reporting period, using the Clear GST Report or Clear
Tax Report command on the Maintenance menu. Clear the
report up to the last day of your reporting period.
9. When you receive the refund cheque, open the Receipts
window, and create a receipt for the Receiver General or the
Ministère du Revenu du Québec, as described in
“Accounting for Receipts” in Chapter 6.
This removes from the accounts the reported GST or QST
amounts for this period, to prepare for a new reporting
period.
Do not worry if the entry creates negative GST or QST
account balances. You report GST or QST based on the
invoice dates. However, the accounts records are not
updated until you record invoice payments, so the unpaid
amounts do not yet appear in the accounts.
Checking your work 10. If you wish to check that you have properly removed the
reported amounts from the GST or QST accounts, create a
temporary copy of your data files, and switch to
accrual-basis accounting in the temporary copy.
Follow the directions in the “Printing Accrual-Basis Reports
in Cash-Basis Accounting“ section, earlier in this chapter, to
create the data files.
When you switch to accrual-basis accounting, the program
updates the account records with any transactions that have
not yet been processed.

Where To Now?
11. Print a balance sheet and check your GST or QST account
balances. If you removed the reported amounts properly,
the GST or QST account balances should be zero in the
temporary accrual-basis copy of your data files.
If the account balances are not zero, you may have
incorrectly adjusted the GST or QST report, or made an
error in the invoice or receipt. Check the steps you took to
adjust the GST or QST report and account for a refund to
see where the error occurred.
Where To Now?
You are now familiar with the way the program handles
cash-basis accounting. Read the rest of this manual, and
Chapters 5 and 6 in the Getting Started manual, for other
important information about Simply Accounting.
User Guide 17–27

Chapter 18
Importing Data
Importing E-mailed Purchase and Sales Transactions ............................. 18–1
Preparing to Import Transactions ........................................... 18–2
Importing Transactions .................................................... 18–3
Importing Bank or Credit-Card Statements ...................................... 18–5
Downloading Bank or Credit-Card Statements from the Internet .............. 18–6
Importing Miscellaneous Transactions .......................................... 18–7
Restrictions ............................................................... 18–7
Formatting the Import File ................................................. 18–7
Importing a File ........................................................... 18–9
User Guide 18–i


Chapter 18
Importing Data
In this chapter you will learn how to import:
■ Purchase and sales transactions sent by vendors and
customers who use Simply Accounting.
■ Bank statements from your bank’s Web site.
■ Data from other programs.
Importing E-mailed Purchase and Sales

Transactions
MAPI-compatible If you and your vendors or customers use Simply Accounting
e-mail required and have MAPI-compatible e-mail programs (such as Lotus
Domino or Microsoft Mail), they can e-mail you their
sales invoices, sales quotes, and purchase orders. You can then
import these transactions directly into your Simply Accounting
program, updating your accounts and other records
automatically.
No need to re-enter When you import data into Simply Accounting in this way, you
transactions save considerable time and avoid errors because you do not
have
to re-enter transactions that your vendor or customer has
already prepared.
When a vendor e-mails a sales invoice or quote, Simply

Accounting imports it as your purchase invoice or quote; when
a customer e-mails a purchase order, Simply Accounting treats
it as your sales order. The following table illustrates these
relationships:
User Guide 18–1

Importing E-mailed Purchase and Sales Transactions
Transaction e-mailed Is imported into your Simply

from Simply Accounting Accounting system as a:
as a:
Sales invoice Purchase invoice
(from vendor)
Sales quote Purchase quote
(from vendor)
Purchase order Sales order
(from customer)
Preparing to Import Transactions
To import transactions correctly, Simply Accounting must be

able to associate item numbers used by your vendors and
customers with numbers in your own Simply Accounting
records.
Link each vendor’s This association is called “mapping.” Each item you import
and customer’s item must be mapped to an inventory or service item number (or an
numbers to your own account number, if you have not yet set up the Inventory and
Services module) in your company files.
You can either map item numbers in the vendor (or customer)
record on the Import/Export tab before you import a
transaction, or do it “on the fly” when you import.
Check Import/Export If your vendor (or customer) record indicates that the vendor
options in vendor or (or customer) uses your item numbers, you cannot map item
customer record numbers “on the fly.” All item numbers must exist in your
Inventory And Services records before you import the form, in
this case.
To learn more about the Import/Export settings, read “Adding

Vendors (Suppliers)” or “Adding Customers,” in Chapter 2,
“Maintaining Records.”

Importing Transactions
Vendor or customer To be able to import transactions that your vendors or
must identify you as customers e-mail you from Simply Accounting, the vendor or
a Simply Accounting customer must:
user
■ Identify you in their records as a Simply Accounting user.
■ Use Simply Accounting 7.0 or later.
■ Use a MAPI-compatible e-mail program to send you the
form.
Importing from your To import a transaction from your e-mail program:

e-mail program
1. Exit your Simply Accounting program before you attempt to
import a form. Otherwise, you will not be able to import the
transaction correctly.
2. Open your e-mail program.
3. Open the e-mail message containing the Simply Accounting
attachment from your vendor or customer.
You can print the purchase The file with the .IMP
invoice or quote, or sales extension is the one
order, using your word you import into Simply
processor. Accounting.
(This is your customer’s, or (If the other file is a

vendor’s form, not the one purchase form, the .IMP
you import into Simply file will be a sales form,
Accounting.) and vice versa.)
4. Double-click the icon with the .RTF file extension, to view

the invoice, order, or quote before importing it.
User Guide 18–3

5. Return to the e-mail message. At this point, you can either:

■ Save the .IMP file as an attachment to import into
Simply Accounting later. Write down the location of the
saved attachment, so that you can find it when you
want to import it. (In the Home window, from the File
menu, choose Import Transactions, and open the .IMP
file. Then follow steps 9 through 12.)
■ Import the form from your e-mail program now. To
import from within your e-mail program, double-click
the .IMP file, and then complete the following steps.
6. If you are asked whether you want to save the file or open
it, choose Open It.
7. In the dialog box that appears, enter the name (including
the path, or location) of your company file, or choose
Browse to select your company file.
8. Choose OK.
9. If the vendor or customer record does not exist in your
system, the program will prompt you to either select an
existing vendor (or customer) or choose Add (to add a new
record to your company files).
Tip: Normally, you would choose Add. However, if the
customer or vendor exists but there is a discrepancy
(such as a typing error) between the imported
transaction and the customer or vendor name in your
records, select your customer or vendor from the list,
then choose Select. Later, be sure to correct either the
vendor or customer record or the imported form, as
necessary, in Simply Accounting.
Check the imported 10. Open the transaction window for the transaction you
transactions imported. Display the invoice, order, or quote, and print it.
Using the printed copy of the invoice, order, or quote, check
the imported transactions in Simply Accounting.
It is very important to check imported transactions
thoroughly, because all the details of these transactions are
now part of your accounting records. If there has been any
misunderstanding between you and your customers or
vendors, it is important to settle it as soon as possible.

Importing Bank or Credit-Card Statements
For sales orders, pay particular attention to the quantity

ordered (in case you need to re-order inventory), price per
item, freight costs, and tax rates.
Similarly, check purchase quotes and invoices to ensure that
the details are consistent with terms you have agreed upon
with your vendor.
11. If you find you need to correct any of the details, follow the
procedures described in Chapter 11, “Correcting Entries” to
adjust the transactions.
If you do make any adjustments to the imported forms, be
sure to send confirmation to your vendor or customer.

Open Financial The online banking feature in Simply Accounting uses Open
Exchange (OFX) Financial Exchange (OFX), a file format that lets you download
banking data electronically.
Import bank or If your bank or credit-card company has a Web site that
credit-card supports OFX and you have an Internet connection, you can
statements download a copy of your bank or credit-card statement from
your financial instititution’s Web site to a file on your own
computer.
Automate account By importing these downloaded transactions into the Account

reconciliation Reconciliation window, you can automate much of the account
reconciliation process. Using the cheque (source) number and
the amount, Simply Accounting matches transactions that
appear in your downloaded bank or credit-card statement with
transactions in your Simply Accounting records, and changes
their status to Cleared. This may save you a lot of time,
especially if you have many transactions.
To learn more about account reconciliation, see Chapter 14,

“Reconciling Accounts.”
Before you can import online statements, you must first set up
your Simply Accounting Bank account for online banking. See
User Guide 18–5

“Setting Up an Account for Online Banking,” in Chapter 7 in the

Getting Started manual.
Downloading Bank or Credit-Card Statements from the Internet
Normally, you would import bank or credit-card statements to

help in reconciling your accounts. At other times, you can
import a statement to check transactions that have cleared your
account at the bank or credit-card company, without updating
your account reconciliation.
To download statements from the Internet:

1. There are two ways to download statements. Either method
will accomplish the same result. Which one you choose
depends on where you are in the program. If you are
working:
■ In the Home window, from the File menu, choose
Import Online Statements.
■ In the Account Reconciliation window, select the
account you wish to reconcile. Then, choose Import
Online Statements from the toolbar, or from the
Reconciliation menu.
2. The program will display the Import Online Statements
wizard. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
When downloading is finished, the wizard displays a
Matched Transactions report summarizing newly
downloaded transactions and indicating their reconciliation
status.
Print the report 3. From the File menu, choose Print to print the report.
Keep the printout for You should rename the downloaded file using Windows Explorer
your records after you finish downloading a statement. Unless you
rename it, the downloaded file will be overwritten with the next
downloaded statement. Therefore, this printout may be your only
record of the downloaded bank statements. Keep it in a safe place!

Importing Miscellaneous Transactions
Verify bank 4. Verify the bank reconciliation process, as follows:

reconciliation
a) In the Account Reconciliation window, clear any
transactions that should have been cleared but were not
matched — for example, because there was an error in a
source number.
b) Enter unrecorded transactions (such as bank interest or
charges) in the Miscellaneous Transactions window.
c) Enter bank or other errors in the Account Reconciliation
window, to include them in your reconciliation.

Simply Accounting can import miscellaneous transactions from
other programs, such as a spreadsheet program. The import file
must be in text format, and must follow the rules described in
this section.
Restrictions
Note that:
■ You can import only the types of transactions that you
would normally record in the Miscellaneous Transactions
window.
■ The program cannot import transactions that affect the
linked Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll
Advances, Vacation Payable, or Inventory accounts if you
have finished entering history.
■ The program does not update any other modules after it
imports transactions.
Formatting the Import File

Header line The first line of each transaction must include:
User Guide 18–7

■ The date, in month-day-year order, separated by hyphens.

For example, enter October 14, 1999, as 10-14-99. The date
must be followed by a comma.
■ The source of the transaction (usually a document number,
such as a cheque number or invoice number). The source
identification can be up to thirteen characters. It must be
enclosed in straight quotation marks (" ") and followed by a
comma.
■ A comment, such as a customer or employee name or a
description of the transaction. The comment can be up to
39 characters. It must be enclosed in straight quotation
marks.
Detail lines Details of the transaction must include on each line:

■ The account number (four characters), followed by a
comma.
■ The amount, followed by a carriage return. (Press Enter
after you type the amount.) Enter debits as positive
amounts, credits as negative amounts. The amount must
contain a period and two decimal places.
■ You can have as many detail lines as you need, but the
Unbalanced
transactions amounts must balance. If they do not, the program does not
allow the transactions to be imported. It asks you whether
you want to check for more errors, but it will not record any
transactions until the entire file is correct.
This table identifies the parts of a valid import file that contains
two transactions:
Line Type: Text entered in the import file:

Header Line 10-14-99,"338","Drafting Services for Ronald Black"
Detail Lines 1080,150.00
4020,-150.00

Header Line 10-14-99,"339","Consulting Services for Acme Ltd."

Detail Lines 1080,2250.00
4040,-1250.00
4060,-1000.00
Importing a File
To import a file:
1. Back up your company files. (On the File menu or toolbar,
Backup
choose Backup, then fill in the screen.)
2. In the Home window, on the File menu, choose Import
Miscellaneous Transactions. Select the file you want to
import, and then choose OK.
3. In the Home window, on the Reports menu, choose
Transaction Details, and then Miscellaneous. Display the
report and verify that the imported transactions are correct.
To print the report, choose Print from the File menu.
User Guide 18–9

Chapter 19
Exporting Data
Exporting Purchase and Sales Transactions ...................................... 19–1
Exporting Data in Microsoft Access Format ..................................... 19–3
Using Data Exported in Microsoft Access Format ............................ 19–4
Creating Microsoft Office Spreadsheets .................................. 19–4
Creating Microsoft Office Documents ................................... 19–5
Exporting Reports ............................................................. 19–5
Using DDE to Send Data to Other Windows Programs ........................... 19–7
What Is DDE? ............................................................. 19–7
Graphs ................................................................... 19–7
Custom Reports ........................................................... 19–8
Letters to Clients and Employees ........................................... 19–8
DDE vs. Exporting ........................................................ 19–9
Preparing to Use DDE .................................................... 19–10
Setting Up DDE Links to Other Programs ..................................19–11
Entering Links with the Clipboard ......................................... 19–12
Using the DDE Dialog Box ............................................ 19–12
DDE Options ......................................................... 19–14
Using the Copy Command ............................................ 19–15
Entering Links Directly ................................................... 19–16
Parts of a Link ........................................................ 19–16
Abbreviating Topic and Item .......................................... 19–18
DDE Sample: A Form Letter ............................................... 19–19
Creating the Letter .................................................... 19–19
Printing Letters for Your Customers.................................... 19–21
Exporting Data for E-filing Tax Returns ........................................ 19–23
The General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) ...........................19–23
Exporting GIFI Data ...................................................... 19–24
User Guide 19–i


Chapter 19
Exporting Data
Your accounting data is a valuable company resource that you
may wish to use in other programs. Simply Accounting lets you
export this data so that you, your vendors, or your customers,
do not need to re-enter information in the other program. You
can:
■ Export purchase and sales transactions that your vendors
and customers can import into their own Simply
Accounting programs.
■ Export data in Microsoft Access format, and then use it in
programs such as Microsoft Excel.
■ Export any report that Simply Accounting can display.
■ Use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) to send data to another
program.
■ Export GIFI data to a diskette that you can give to your
accountant, so that you can file your T2 statements
electronically.
Exporting Purchase and Sales Transactions

MAPI-compatible If you and your vendors or customers use Simply Accounting
e-mail required and have MAPI-compatible e-mail programs, such as Microsoft
Outlook Express, or Lotus Domino, you can e-mail your
purchase orders, sales invoices, or sales quotes, which they can
then import into their own Simply Accounting programs.
Exporting When you export transactions from Simply Accounting, you can
transactions can save considerable time and avoid errors because:
save time and effort
User Guide 19–1

Exporting Purchase and Sales Transactions
■ E-mail is faster than regular mail, so your vendors and

customers can respond to your orders, invoices, and quotes
that much sooner.
■ Your vendors and customers do not have to re-enter
transactions that you have already prepared. This helps to
avoid costly errors or misunderstandings.
When you e-mail sales invoices and quotes, your customers

import them into Simply Accounting as purchase invoices and
quotes.
When you e-mail purchase orders, your vendors import them

into Simply Accounting as sales orders. The following table
illustrates these relationships:
Transaction e-mailed Is imported into your

from Simply Accounting vendor or customer’s
as a: Simply Accounting system
as a:
Sales invoice Purchase invoice
(to customer)
Sales quote Purchase quote
(to customer)
Purchase order Sales order
(to vendor)
Check Import/Export Before you can e-mail a transaction that another Simply
options in vendor or Accounting user can import, the vendor or customer record
customer record must show that the recipient also uses Simply Accounting.
To learn more about the required Import/Export settings, read

“Adding Vendors (Suppliers)” or “Adding Customers,” in
Chapter 2, “Maintaining Records.”
To export a sales invoice, purchase order, or sales quote

from Simply Accounting:
1. Create the sales invoice or quote, or purchase order, just as
you normally would.

Exporting Data in Microsoft Access Format
2. Before choosing Process, click the E-mail button in the

transaction window. In the dialog box that appears, add
“on-the-fly” any required information that is missing from
the vendor or customer record, such as the e-mail address.
Simply Accounting will launch your e-mail program to send
your invoice, order, or quote to the recipient.
3. Choose Process to add the invoice, order, or quote to your
own records.

You can use Simply Accounting to export data in Microsoft
Access format. Then, using programs such as Microsoft Excel or
Microsoft Word, you can extract information you need to make
strategic business decisions.
For example, you could use the Export To Microsoft Access

wizard to export your employee data for the past year. Then,
using Microsoft Excel, you can create a report telling you what
you have paid in overtime and commissions for the year to
date. This kind of information can be helpful when you make
staffing decisions.
To export Simply Accounting data to a Microsoft Access

file:
1. Back up your company files.

Export To 2. In the Home window, select the File menu and choose
Microsoft Export to Microsoft Access, or choose the Export To
Access Microsoft Access button from the toolbar.
3. Follow the steps on the screen to export the data.
■ If you choose Typical Export, Simply Accounting saves
the export file as C:\SIMDATA\SIMPLY.MDB.
■ If you choose Custom Export, Simply Accounting saves
the export file with your company name and an .mdb
file extension, in the same location as your company
files. For example, data for the sample company,
User Guide 19–3

Universal Construction, is stored as

C:\PROGR~1\WINSIM\SAMDATA\UNIVERSL.MDB
.
4. If you do not want to overwrite the file next time you
export, rename the export file in Windows Explorer when
you finish using the exported data.
Using Data Exported in Microsoft Access Format
You can use the data you export in Microsoft Access format:
■ To update one of the Microsoft Office reports that comes
with Simply Accounting, using your own company data; or
■ To create a document or spreadsheet from scratch.
For information about using the Microsoft Office reports that

come with Simply Accounting, see Chapter 20, “Using Simply
Accounting Data with Microsoft Office.”
For instructions on how you can create spreadsheets or

documents using exported data, see “Creating Microsoft Office
Spreadsheets” or “Creating Microsoft Office Documents,” later
in this chapter.
If you need further help, refer to the documentation for the

program you want to use with the exported data.
Creating Microsoft Office Spreadsheets
Before you start To be able to use data exported in Microsoft Access format in a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, you need to install the Microsoft
Query add-in program for Office and Excel.
Creating your own To create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that uses

Excel spreadsheet exported data:
1. Open Microsoft Excel. Use Excel commands to create the
spreadsheet. If you are unsure about which commands to
use, consult the documentation or online Help for Excel. Be
sure to:

Exporting Reports
■ Select Simply.mdb — Simply Database from the

C:\Simdata folder as the data source.
■ Use the Query wizard to help you select the tables and
the fields you need.
■ Accept the suggested location when prompted to return
the data to the spreadsheet.
2. Revise and format the spreadsheet, as you need. Then save
it as an Excel spreadsheet.
Creating Microsoft Office Documents
Creating your own To create a Microsoft Word mail merge document that
Word document uses exported data:
1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Using Word commands, create your mail merge letter. As
the data source, select Simply.mdb — Simply Database Via
ODBC (*.mdb) from the C:\Simdata folder. If you are
unsure about how to do this, consult the documentation or
online Help for Word.
3. Edit your letter, using Word commands to insert mail
merge fields.
4. If you wish to keep the letter to use again, save the
document as a Word file.
5. In Word, merge the document with your Simply
Accounting data.
6. Save, and then Print, the merged document.
Exporting Reports
You might want to use a Simply Accounting report in a
document you prepare in another program. Since the report
exists already, you do not have to re-enter it in the other
program. For example, you could export cash-flow projections
User Guide 19–5

Exporting Reports
for several bank accounts, and then combine the reports in Excel
to analyze your overall cash needs for the next few months.
You can export any report that you can display in Simply
Accounting, in the following formats:
■ Comma Separated Values (CSV).
■ Lotus 1-2-3, Version 1.
■ Lotus 1-2-3, Version 2.
■ Lotus Symphony.
■ Microsoft Excel.
■ CA-SuperCalc.
■ Text File (ASCII).
For more information about export formats, refer to the manual

for the program in which you want to use the exported data.
To export a report:
1. Display the report you want to export.
2. From the File menu, choose Export.
3. Fill in the dialog box.
Enter a file
Choose the
drive and the
folder to which
you want to
export.
Select the
format for the
export file.
4. Choose OK.

Using DDE to Send Data to Other Windows Programs
Using DDE to Send Data to Other Windows

Programs
If you often export data to other programs, you may prefer to
use DDE (dynamic data exchange) to update other programs
automatically whenever you make changes in your Simply
Accounting data.
This section describes DDE and explains how to link Simply

Accounting data to other Windows programs, such as a
spreadsheet or word processing program, so you don’t have to
export the data every time it changes.
What Is DDE?
DDE is a very convenient way to send Simply Accounting data

to other Windows programs. Typically, you might use DDE to
send Simply Accounting data to a specialized program, like a
spreadsheet or word processing program. You can then
manipulate your Simply Accounting data using the unique
features of the other program. Your data is still available in
Simply Accounting, but it is also available in the other program.
Suppose you set up a report (or graph, or form letter) in another

program, link it to your Simply Accounting data, and then save
it. Then, you make some changes in your Simply Accounting
records. When you next review the report, you find the report
up-to-date with the most current Simply Accounting data. DDE
updates the report automatically, and you do not need to export
the data again.
Graphs
You can use DDE to graph your Simply Accounting data in a

spreadsheet program. For example, you might create a graph to
compare:
■ Markup or margin for related inventory items, to see which
items are most profitable.
User Guide 19–7

■ Revenues minus expenses for your projects, to show which

projects are most profitable. (Transfer revenue and expense
totals for your projects to a spreadsheet. Subtract expenses
from revenue for each project, then graph the result.)
Custom Reports
You can use DDE with a word processing program to create a

new version of any Simply Accounting report. For example, you
might want to print an inventory list that includes item number
and description, but omits the asset, revenue, and expense
accounts.
You can also use DDE to create new reports. For example, you
can create these spreadsheets to do financial analysis:
■ A report that shows your working capital (current assets
minus current liabilities) and working capital ratio (current
assets divided by current liabilities).
■ A report that shows the acid-test ratio (quick assets, such as
cash, notes receivable, accounts receivable, and marketable
securities, divided by current liabilities), or other ratios that
are important to your business.
Letters to Clients and Employees
You can use DDE with a word processing program to create

letters to clients, reminding them how much they owe you. Or,
you can send a letter to your employees, announcing their new
pay rates or their year-to-date benefits and deductions.
To use Simply Accounting data in a form letter, create a form

letter, save it, and use it whenever you want to send the same
letter to customers, vendors, or employees. The DDE link fills in
the latest information automatically.
For instructions on creating a form letter, see “DDE Sample: A

Form Letter,” later in this chapter.

DDE vs. Exporting
Both DDE and the Export command allow you to send data
from Simply Accounting. Initially, DDE takes time to set up.
However, it can save time in the long run if your data changes
often and you do not want to export every time it changes.
Export To Microsoft Access allows you to export a wider range

of data than Export from an existing report. Using Export To
Microsoft Access, you can choose to export all your accounting
records at one time, if you wish.
The table below describes the differences between DDE and

exporting, and tells when you might use one or the other. For
more information about how to export data, refer to “Exporting
Reports,” and “Exporting Data in Microsoft Access Format,”
Use the Export Use Export To Microsoft Use DDE to:

command to: Access to:
Send a Simply Send Simply Accounting data Link Simply Accounting to
Accounting report to a to a file. Data must be Windows programs and
file. Data must be exported each time it changes. send data to those programs.
exported each time it Data is updated continually.
changes.
Send any Simply Export any records (accounts, Send data from any type of
Accounting report, vendors, customers, record (accounts, vendors,
including transactions employees, inventory and customers, employees,
reports. service items, and projects), inventory and service items,
transaction details, and sales and projects).
tax information.
Use Simply Accounting Use Simply Accounting data Use Simply Accounting data
data from the supplied in a program that can read in a form that is not available
reports. Microsoft Access files. in a report.
User Guide 19–9

Preparing to Use DDE
Programs to which you send DDE data need to know where to

find the Simply Accounting program. That way, when you open
a file with a DDE link to Simply Accounting, the other program
can update the data in its file.
Other programs can find the Simply Accounting program if you

add its location to your computer’s AUTOEXEC.BAT file (a
DOS file with settings that take effect whenever you restart your
computer).
To add Simply Accounting to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
Determine the path 1. Determine the location of the Simply Accounting program
to Simply Accounting (also called the path).
The Simply Accounting program consists of the file
WINSIM.EXE, and other program files. These program files
are stored in the location you chose when you installed the
program. If you chose the recommended folder when you
installed Simply Accounting, they will be in:
C:\Program Files\Winsim or
C:\Progra~1\Winsim
Open the 2. Open your AUTOEXEC.BAT file in a text editor or
AUTOEXEC.BAT file word-processing program. The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is in
the root directory of your hard disk (usually C:).
3. Find the PATH command in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
4. To the end of the path, add a semicolon, then add the
Simply Accounting program’s location. For example:
C:\WINDOWS;C:\;C:\DOS;C:\PROGRA~1\WINSIM
The original PATH command Add a semicolon. Then add the location of the Simply
(yours may differ). Accounting program. Do not use
Windows 95’s long-document names.
5. Save the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and exit from the text editor
or word processing program.

Restart your 6. From your Windows Start menu, choose Shut Down, and
computer then Restart. Restarting the system puts the new PATH
command into effect.
MS-DOS icon 7. At the DOS prompt, type path, to check that the new entry
is now included. (In Windows, you may need to choose the
MS-DOS icon to display a DOS prompt.)
For more information about the PATH command, refer to your

DOS manual. For help about the DOS prompt in Windows,
refer to your Windows manual or Windows online help.
Setting Up DDE Links to Other Programs
To transfer information using DDE, you must first create a link

between Simply Accounting and another Windows program.
A link establishes an ongoing conversation between the two

programs, to allow the exchange of data. It indicates which data
is to be transferred, and where it will come from. You set up the
link in the program to which you want to send Simply
Accounting data.
There are two ways of putting a link into a program:

■ Paste the link using the Clipboard, or
■ Type the link directly in the program that receives the
Simply Accounting data.
You may find it easier to paste a link using the Clipboard, at

least until you are familiar with DDE. The Clipboard lets you
copy information or select information from lists, rather than
having to type strings of characters and symbols.
To use the Clipboard, refer to the next section, “Entering Links

with the Clipboard.” If you wish to enter links directly, refer to
“Entering Links Directly,” later in this chapter.
User Guide 19–11

Entering Links with the Clipboard
To enter a DDE link with the Clipboard, you can use either the
DDE dialog box, or the Copy command, as described in this
section.
DDE dialog box Copy command

You may find it more convenient to use You may find it easier to use the Copy
the DDE dialog box. With the DDE command if you are creating very
dialog box you can create a simple links. With the Copy command,
link from: you can create a link from:
■ Any record fields, check boxes, ■ Any record field in which you can
display-only fields, and additional enter information, but not check
calculated information. boxes or display-only fields.
■ More than one field at a time. ■ One field at a time.
■ The current record, one record, a ■ One record at a time.
range of records, or all records.
Using the DDE Dialog Box
To use the DDE dialog box to create a link:

1. From the Edit menu in the Home window, or in an icon
window such as Accounts, Customers, or Employees,
choose DDE.
2. If you chose DDE from the Home window, select the
module whose data you wish to transfer.
Password restrictions Note: If your password does not allow you to display and
print reports for a particular module, you cannot use DDE
with that module. (See your manager about changing the
security settings for your password.)
3. Select the fields and records you want to send.

Select the
current record,
another
Highlight one or more fields, or record, or a
choose Select All if you want range of
to transfer information from all records, or
fields in the list. use the Select
All button.
You may need to use this box
after you send data and After selecting
create DDE links. See “DDE fields,
Options,” later in this chapter. records, and
options, click
Before you send any data, here to send
read “DDE Options” at the the data you
end of these steps. selected to
the Clipboard.
If you select <Current Record> for a window that is closed,

Simply Accounting sends data from the first record in the
group of records. If the window is open, Simply Accounting
sends data from the record that appears in the window.
Tip: Links containing only one field and record are
easier to manipulate in the other program. The program
receiving the data always treats a link as one item, no
matter how many fields and records it contains. You
can only move it in a block. If you want to be able to
move individual pieces of information in the other
program, create several smaller links rather than one
large one.
Send the data
4. Choose Send Data to copy the data to the Clipboard.
A message tells you the number of rows and columns of
data, if the link contains more than one row and column.
Each record is one row; each field is one column.
5. Choose OK, then switch to the program to which you want
to send the data.
Paste the link, not 6. Paste the link.
just the text
Be sure to paste the link, not just the text. Often, the menu
choice to paste a link is Paste Link or Paste Special, rather
than just Paste. For more information about pasting links
into a particular program, refer to the manual for that
program.
User Guide 19–13

How many links? Each time you paste a link, one link is created, no matter
how many fields or records the link contains.
In the lower-right corner, the dialog box
shows the number of links that
currently exist between Simply
Accounting and other Windows
programs.
7. Repeat these steps for any other data you wish to send.
DDE Options
The Dynamic Data Exchange dialog box offers three options.

Turn these options on or off in the check boxes at the bottom of
the screen.
Suspend Links. Check this box to temporarily suspend

communication between Simply Accounting and programs to
which it is linked. When you turn the option off (by leaving the
box unchecked), communication resumes and all links are
updated.
Speeds up The more links you establish, the more slowly Simply
Simply Accounting Accounting runs. Check the Suspend Links box to temporarily
stop communication, and speed up Simply Accounting.
You might also select this option before processing transactions

that would change the value of the same accounts more than
once. When you finish processing transactions, and turn the
option off, the links are updated all at once. This is more
efficient than updating them each time you process a
transaction, particularly if you have many links established.
Include Column Headings. Check this box if you want field

names to appear as column headings above the data, when the
data appears in the other program.
Any links you create while the box is checked will include the
column headings. For example, if you select this option before
you transfer employee names and street addresses from the

Payroll module, the words “Employee” and “Street” appear

above the data.
The column headings are Employee Street

the same words that
appear in the Select Ashcroft, Howard L. 123 Main Street
Fields box. Belanger, Bruno 65 Pitt Street
Cheung, Elizabeth Ray 666 Grizzly Way
[Filename] Only. If you use Simply Accounting to keep

accounts for more than one company, but you want to send
data only from the company named beside the check box (the
open file), check this box before you create a link.
Any links you create while the box is checked will include the
name of the Simply Accounting company file you have open.
Those links will contain data only from that company’s file.
The links you create while the box is not checked will contain data
from whatever company file you open.
If you keep accounts for only one company, leave the box
unchecked.
Using the Copy Command
Use the Copy command to create a link from one field in a

record at a time.
To use the Copy command to create a link:

1. Choose the group of records from which you wish to send
data, for example, Vendors.
2. Select the record and the field whose data you wish to send.
You cannot use the Copy command to send information
from a check box or display-only field. Use the DDE dialog
box instead. For instructions, see the previous section,
“Using the DDE Dialog Box.”
3. Choose Copy from the Edit menu.
User Guide 19–15

4. Switch to the program to which you want to send the data.

Paste the link, 5. Paste the link.
not just the text
Be sure to paste the link, not just the text. Often, the menu
choice to paste a link is Paste Link or Paste Special, rather
than just Paste. For more information about pasting links
into a particular program, refer to the manual for that
program.
6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for any other information you wish to
send.
Entering Links Directly
If you wish, you can enter links directly in the other program,
instead of using the Clipboard. This may be faster, because you
do not have to switch to and from the Simply Accounting
program, but it is easier to make a mistake, particularly if you
are not familiar with DDE.
This section describes the components of a link, and explains

some ways you can abbreviate them when entering them
directly.
Directory may differ Note: Many of the examples in this section use the location for
data files recommended when you installed the program. If you
store your data in a different folder, look for the data in that
location, instead.
Parts of a Link
Microsoft Windows calls the parts of a link the application, topic,

and item.
Program name Application. The name of the program sending the data. For
Simply Accounting, the application is WINSIM.

Location of data Topic. The location of the data. For Simply Accounting, the
location is the path to the data file (drive, folder or directory,
and data file name, without an extension), the type of record
(for example, Customer, Vendor, Employee), and the field
names in parentheses.
For example, to send a customer name and balance owing from

the Customers and Sales module in the UNIVERSL data file, the
topic would be:
C:\PROGRA~1\WINSIM\SAMDATA\UNIVERSL
Customers(Customer,Balance owing)
If you omit field names, the topic includes all fields in each
record for the entire group of records. Notice that there is no
space between the record type and the parenthesis, or between
the comma and the next field name.
Which data to send Item. The part of the data file from which you want to send
information. For Simply Accounting, the item is either the
current record, or a single record name, or the names of the first
and last record in a range, separated by the “|” character.
Depending on the module, the record name is an account

number, or a customer, vendor, employee, or project name. For
the Inventory and Services module, the record name is either
the inventory number or description. (This depends on how you
choose to sort your inventory records, in Settings, on the Setup
menu.)
For example:
■ To send information from the current record, the item is
<Current Record>.
■ To send information for one customer, the item is the
customer’s name, such as Ashburton Reinforcing.
■ To send information from a range of General module
accounts, the item is the first and last account numbers in
the range, separated by the “|” character: 1090|1240.
For a range of inventory items, if you sort by inventory
number, the item is the first and last numbers in the range:
User Guide 19–17

H2010|H2510.
If you sort by description, it is the first and last descriptions
in the range. For example:
Drywall Mud|Glue: Plastic.
Link formats Each link always consists of application, topic, and item, but the
exact format varies, depending on the program to which you are
sending information. For details, refer to the manual for that
program.
Abbreviating Topic and Item
You can abbreviate the topic and item in a link. This can save
you some time and effort, and can be helpful if the program to
which you want to send data restricts the number of characters
in a link.
To abbreviate the topic and item:

■ Use “?” to indicate the data file currently in use, or last
used. For example, you would enter ? instead of
C:\Progra~1\Winsim\Samdata\Universl.
■ Shorten a module or field name to the number of characters
required to make it unique. For example, here are the
module names and the shortest unique abbreviation for
each:
Accounts G
Vendors Paya
Customers R
Employees Payr
Inventory and Services I
Project Pr
If you rename the Project module, using the Names
command on the Setup menu, your abbreviation must be
based on the new name.
■ Enter <C> to indicate the current record.
For example, to send the Description from the current
record of the Accounts window, from the Simply

Accounting data currently in use, you would enter the

following in Excel:
='winsim'|'? g(d)'!'<c>'
DDE Sample: A Form Letter
This section shows you how to use DDE to create a form letter
to send to all your customers, telling them how much money
they owe you. First you create the form letter, containing links
to your Simply Accounting data. Then you print the letters to
your customers.
Creating the Letter
To use DDE to create a form letter, you insert DDE links to the
customer’s name, address, and balance owing in a letter you
write in a word processing program.
To create a form letter using the DDE dialog box:

1. In the Home window, from the Edit menu, choose DDE.
2. Select Customers.
You will now create DDE links from the Simply Accounting
fields that make up the customer’s address, to the letter.
3. Fill in the screen.
Highlight the
Highlight only the Customer <Current
field. Record> field.
Be sure these options are

all unchecked.
User Guide 19–19

Send data to 4. Choose Send Data. A box appears, telling you that the data
Clipboard was placed in the Clipboard.
5. Choose OK to acknowledge the message.
Paste the link, not 6. Switch to the word processing program you wish to use,
just the text then paste the link.
Be sure to paste the link, not just the text. For more
information, refer to the manual for the word processing
program you are using.
Set up link for
address lines 7. Follow steps 3 to 6 to create individual DDE links for Street,
City, Province, and Postal Code, below the Customer link.
For each link, select <Current Record> in the For These
Customers box.
You must paste one link for each field. Otherwise, you
cannot format the address properly.
To create the city and province line, paste a link for the city,
then type a comma and a space, then paste a link for the
province.
8. Enter the salutation (“Dear…”) below the customer’s
address. If you wish, you can create a DDE link to the name
of the contact person in the salutation. Follow the procedure
in steps 3 to 6, highlighting Contact in the Select Fields box.
Remember to select <Current Record> in the For These
Customers box.
9. Write the body of the letter.
Balance owing You can create a DDE link to the Balance Owing in the body
of the letter. Follow the procedure in steps 3 to 6,
highlighting Balance Owing in the Select Fields box.
Remember to select <Current Record>.
In your word processor, the letter might now look like this:

When you paste the DDE links

into another program, Windows
inserts data from the current
record in Simply Accounting. (In
this illustration, the current
record is “Ashburton
Reinforcing.”)
10. Type the rest of the letter, then save the document.
You are now ready to print the letter.
Printing Letters for Your Customers
After you have created the form letter, you can print the letters
for all the customers you want.
To print a form letter:

1. Open the Customers list and the word processing
document.
2. Position the Simply Accounting window and the form letter
on the screen so that you can see them both.
3. In the Customers list, display the first customer record.
4. Switch to the word processing document, with the letter
displayed on the screen. The letter should show information
for the first customer.
5. Print the letter for the first customer.
6. Switch back to the Customers list. Display the record for the
next customer you want to send the letter to.
7. Switch to the word processing program. Print the letter for
the next customer.
User Guide 19–21

The Simply Accounting

Customers window, now with
“West Coast Development”
as the current record.
Windows automatically
updates the DDE links in
the other program to show
data from the current record
in Simply Accounting.
8. Continue until you have printed letters for all the customers
you want to write to, then close the Customers list and the
word processing document.
Use Print Merge for Most word processing programs have a Print Merge option. If
mass mailings you are printing many letters, you will likely find the Print
Merge option more efficient than the method described in this
section. Or, you might prefer to adapt one of the Microsoft
Office form letters that comes with Simply Accounting. (Refer to
Chapter 20, “Using Simply Accounting Data with Microsoft
Office,” for more information.)
The exact procedure varies in different word processing

programs. However, you typically create two files: a data file
and a form letter.
The data file contains information from your Simply Accounting

records that you want to insert into the form letter. For
example, it might contain customer name, address, and balance
owing, for some or all of your customers.
The form letter contains the text of the letter, and “merge” fields
that correspond to the fields in the data file. In this example,
you might insert merge fields to indicate where you want

Exporting Data for E-filing Tax Returns
customer name, address, and balance owing to appear in the

letter.
To use Print Merge:

1. Use DDE to create a data file that includes the Simply
Accounting information you want to insert into the form
letter. Refer to the manual for your word processing
program for instructions on formatting the data file.
2. Create a form letter containing merge fields that correspond
to the fields in the data file. Refer to the manual for your
word processing program for instructions on creating the
form letter.
Use your word processing program’s Print Merge option to

merge the form letter and the data file, to print individual
letters, each including different information taken from the data
file.

This section describes how to export data in a format that your
accountant can use with tax preparation software. Saving this
data to a diskette to give to your accountant may save time and
money, since your accountant will not have to enter the data
manually.
The General Index of Financial Information (GIFI)
If you file your corporate tax returns (T2) electronically,

Revenue Canada requires you to submit your chart of accounts
electronically, also. The General Index of Financial Information
(GIFI) is the list of required codes corresponding to your chart
of accounts (for example, “cash” is code 1001).
User Guide 19–23

Your accounts must You must use these codes if you file your corporate return
have GIFI codes to electronically. However, if you use GIFI codes, you do not need
file electronically to submit financial statements (such as a balance sheet, a
statement of retained earnings, or an income statement) with
your return.
If you created a If you created a company using one of the company templates
company from a in Simply Accounting version 7.0, the GIFI codes are already
template assigned to your accounts.
If you created a If you created a company from scratch, or from an earlier

company from version of Simply Accounting, you must assign the GIFI codes
scratch in the individual account records.
Tip: We suggest that you ask your accountant to review
your accounts and match them to GIFI codes, to ensure that
they are correct. Refer to the section “Adding Accounts” in
Chapter 2 for information about entering GIFI codes.
Exporting GIFI Data
The Export GIFI feature in Simply Accounting produces two

files: the GIFI export file and the GIFI chart of accounts. These
files use a Comma Separated Values (CSV) format, and can be
viewed using a text editor or spreadsheet, such as DOS Editor,
Notepad, WordPad, Word, or Excel.
The GIFI export file The GIFI export file contains the information required by your
corporation income tax return software. The GIFI export file is
called GIFInnnn.GFI, where nnnn is the fiscal year you are
reporting.
The GIFI chart of The GIFI chart of accounts file, called GIFICHRT.CSV, contains
accounts file a list of all your accounts, the GIFI codes assigned to those
accounts, and the account balances.
To export GIFI data to a diskette:

1. Insert a formatted diskette into your diskette drive.

2. In the Home window, from the File menu, choose Export

GIFI.
3. In the Export GIFI File dialog box, select the year for which
you want to export data.
4. In the Export Selection dialog box, in the Save In box, enter
the diskette drive.
5. In the File Name box, type the name you want to give the
export file, and choose Save or press Enter.
Backup your GIFI 6. On a separate diskette, repeat steps 1 through 5 to make a
data backup copy.
Check the exported 7. Using a text editor or spreadsheet program (for example,
files Microsoft Word or Excel), view or print the GIFI export file
and the GIFI chart of accounts file to ensure that your
accounts have been correctly assigned.
You can also view the GIFICHRT.CSV file by choosing
Microsoft Office from the Reports menu, and then opening
file GIFICHRT.XLS. For more details, see Chapter 20,
“Using Simply Accounting Data with Microsoft Office.”
User Guide 19–25

Chapter 20
Using Simply Accounting Data
with Microsoft Office
Exporting Simply Accounting Data ............................................. 20–2
Working with Office Documents ............................................... 20–2
Using the Built-In Word Documents ........................................ 20–2
Built-In Word Documents .................................................. 20–5
Price List.............................................................. 20–5
Customer Labels ...................................................... 20–5
Item Labels ........................................................... 20–5
Vendor Labels ......................................................... 20–6
Credit Limit Letter ..................................................... 20–6
Sales Discount Letter................................................... 20–7
New Product or Service Announcement ................................. 20–7
Generic Letter to Customers ............................................ 20–7
Generic Letter to Employees ............................................ 20–8
Generic Letter to Vendors .............................................. 20–8
Using the Built-In Excel Spreadsheets ....................................... 20–8
Built-in Excel Spreadsheets ................................................ 20–10
Budget Worksheet .................................................... 20–10
Balance Sheet......................................................... 20–10
Income Statement..................................................... 20–10
Employee Hours Worksheet (1) ........................................ 20–11
Employee Hours Worksheet (2) ........................................ 20–11
Payroll Summary by Cheque Date ..................................... 20–12
Physical Inventory Worksheet ......................................... 20–12
Price List............................................................. 20–12
GIFI Chart of Accounts................................................ 20–13
Modifying Office Documents .............................................. 20–13
Creating Your Own Office Documents ..................................... 20–13
Simply Accounting Data ...................................................... 20–14
User Guide 20–i

The SIMPLY.MDB File ................................................... 20–14

Database Tables ......................................................... 20–14
Database Queries ........................................................ 20–17

Chapter 20
Using Simply Accounting Data
with Microsoft Office
Simply Accounting comes with several Microsoft Office
documents, which use data that Simply Accounting exports to a
Microsoft Access database. For example, there are form letters
you can send to your customers, vendors, and employees, and
spreadsheets to help you manage your inventory, and track
employee payroll history.
What you need To use Office documents, you need Microsoft Office 97 or 95
installed on your computer. You also need to install the
Microsoft Query add-in program for Office and Excel.
Office documents are stored in the \WINSIM\OFFICE\ folder.
Make backups Before using any document files, make backup copies in case
the original file becomes damaged.
Tip: You can copy documents by saving them in a different
folder or directory using the Save As command in Word or
Excel.
Customizing Office If you want to make custom documents to reflect the special
documents needs of your company, see “Modifying Office Documents” and
“Creating Your Own Office Documents,” later in this chapter.
More Office documents will be available in the future on the

ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL Web site, at www.accpac.com.
User Guide 20–1

Exporting Simply Accounting Data
Exporting Simply Accounting Data

Export your Simply Accounting data before you open any
Office documents. This ensures that you are always using
up-to-date data.
Before exporting Back up your company files, and close all Office documents that
use the exported Simply Accounting data. For a list of Office
documents, see “Built-In Word Documents” and “Built-in Excel
Spreadsheets,” later in this chapter.
To export Simply Accounting data:

Export to 1. In the Home window, on the File menu, choose Export To
Microsoft Microsoft Access, or choose the Export To Microsoft Access
Access button from the toolbar.
2. Follow the steps on the screen to export the data. Be sure to
select Typical Export, to update all of the data.
Working with Office Documents

This section explains how to use the Office documents that
come with Simply Accounting. It also explains each of the Office
documents available in Simply Accounting, including a
description of the document, its purpose, and the name of the
Word or Excel file.
Update your data Always export your Simply Accounting data before using Office
documents, to make sure your data is up to date. For
instructions, see the previous section, “Exporting Simply
Accounting Data.”
Using the Built-In Word Documents
Simply Accounting comes with the following Microsoft Word

documents, which use data that you export in Microsoft Access
format:

■ Price List.
■ Customer Labels.
■ Item Labels.
■ Vendor Labels.
■ Credit Limit Letter.
■ Sale Discount Letter.
■ New Product or Service Announcement.
■ Generic Letter to Customers.
■ Generic Letter to Vendors.
■ Generic Letter to Employees.
You can use these built-in documents, or you can create your
own, using data that you export from Simply Accounting. You
can also download additional Word documents from the
ACCPAC Web site as they become available.
Mail merge Some of the documents use Word’s Mail Merge command. This
section describes how to use one of the mail merge documents
that come with Simply Accounting. To learn more about the
Mail Merge command and other Word features, use the online
Help in Word to look up “mail merge” and other topics you
wish to know about.
Using built-in Word To use one of the Microsoft Word documents that come
documents with Simply Accounting:
1. In the Home window, on the Reports menu, choose
Microsoft Office.
2. In the Open dialog box, choose the document you wish to
use, for example, CUSTOMER.DOC.
Note: For a description of each file, see “Built-In Word
Documents” and “Built-in Excel Spreadsheets,” later in this
chapter.
3. If the program asks you whether you want to export data:
■ Choose No if you have already exported your most
recent data, as described in “Exporting Simply
Accounting Data,” earlier in this chapter.
■ Choose Yes if you have entered transactions since the
last time you exported data. Follow the steps on the
User Guide 20–3

screen to export the data. Be sure to select Typical

Export, to update all of the data.
4. In the Word document that opens, if you are printing on
letterhead paper, delete the lines containing your company
name and address.
5. Click on the line, [Enter the body of the letter here.], and
type your letter.
6. Click on the line, [Enter your name here.], and enter your
name.
7. To save your document, select Save As from the File menu.
Once saved, you can reuse the new document as often as
you like.
8. From the Tools menu, select Mail Merge to mail merge your
document.
■ To narrow the range of recipients, choose Query
Options. (Choose No if you are asked whether you
want to use Microsoft Query.) Otherwise, the program
will generate one letter for each person in your vendor,
customer, or employee records.
9. Choose Merge, and then select a destination for the merged
document. You can select:
■ A new document that can be saved and printed later.
■ A printer, to print the documents now.
■ E-mail, to e-mail the documents to your vendors or
customers, now.
■ Fax, to send the documents to your vendors or
customers by fax, now.
10. Choose Merge to create an individual letter for each
recipient (vendor, customer, or employee) and send it to the
destination you selected.
Tip: You can e-mail Word documents to your customers or
vendors. For example, you can e-mail new product and
service announcements to customers. To learn about how to
e-mail documents, use the online Help in Word to look up
“email.”

Built-In Word Documents
This section describes each Word document, giving a

description, file name, and the purpose for each one.
Price List
Description The Price List contains the item number, description, unit of
measure, and selling price of every item and service your
company sells. Use Word’s Mail Merge command to produce
copies of the price list for the customers you select.
File PRICELST.DOC
Purpose Send price lists to your customers. (Print new price lists when
you update your inventory.)
Customer Labels
Description You can print mailing labels for customers. Labels show the
customer’s name, contact name, and address. Use Word’s Mail
Merge command to produce labels for the customers you select.
Customer labels print on 8½" x 11" paper, 1" high x 2.63" wide,
with 30 labels per page (three columns by ten rows). To check or
change print options for labels, refer to Word’s printed
documentation or online Help.
File CUSLABEL.DOC
Purpose Attach mailing labels to packages or correspondence you send

to your customers.
Item Labels
Description You can print labels for your inventory items. Labels show the
item’s number, description, unit, and selling price. Use Word’s
Mail Merge command to produce labels for the items you select.
User Guide 20–5

Item labels print on 8½" x 11" paper, 1" high x 2.63" wide, with
30 labels per page (three columns by ten rows). To check or
File ITMLABEL.DOC
Purpose Attach item labels to inventory items, or to the bins or shelves

where you store them.
Vendor Labels
Description You can print mailing labels for vendors. Labels show the
vendor’s name, contact name, and address. Use Word’s Mail
Merge command to produce labels for the vendors you select.
Vendor labels print on 8½" x 11" paper, 1" high x 2.63" wide,
with 30 labels per page (three columns by ten rows). To check or
File VENLABEL.DOC
Purpose Attach mailing labels to packages or correspondence you send

to your vendors.
Credit Limit Letter
Description The Credit Limit Letter is a sample form letter to tell customers
you are raising their credit limit by 10 percent. To qualify,
customers need to have purchased the specified amount from
you in the last year, and their credit limit must be below the
amount you specify. Modify this letter to change the required
amount purchased, credit limit, and the percentage by which
the credit limit is increased. Use Word’s Mail Merge command
to produce copies of the letter for the customers you select.
File CREDIT.DOC

Purpose Use this letter to tell selected customers about a credit limit
increase you are giving them.
Sales Discount Letter
Description The Sales Discount Letter is a sample form letter to tell

customers that their purchases in the last year qualify them for a
10 percent discount on all their purchases this year. Modify this
letter to change the amount of purchases required, and the
discount percentage being granted. Use Word’s Mail Merge
command to produce copies of the letter for the customers you
select.
File DISCOUNT.DOC
Purpose Use this letter to tell selected customers about a discount you
are giving them on all their future purchases.
New Product or Service Announcement
Description The New Product or Service Announcement is a sample form

letter to inform customers about a new product. Modify this
letter to announce new products or services your company now
sells, and then use Word’s Mail Merge command to produce
copies of the letter for the customers you select.
File NEWPROD.DOC
Purpose Advertise new products and services by sending

announcements to your customers.
Generic Letter to Customers
Description The Generic Letter to Customers is a form letter addressed to

your customers. Fill in the body of the letter, and then use
Word’s Mail Merge command to produce copies of the letter for
the customers you select.
File CUSTOMER.DOC
User Guide 20–7

Purpose Keep in close contact with your customers to help make your
business run smoothly. For example, send letters to thank your
customers for their business, or to notify them of upcoming
sales.
Generic Letter to Employees
Description The Generic Letter to Employees is a form letter addressed to

your employees. Fill in the body of the letter, and then use
Word’s Mail Merge command to produce copies of the letter for
the employees you select.
File EMPLOYEE.DOC
Purpose Keep your employees informed. For example, send letters to

explain changes in employee benefits, or to ask for referrals for
job openings at your company.
Generic Letter to Vendors
Description The Generic Letter to Vendors is a form letter addressed to your

vendors. Fill in the body of the letter, and then use Word’s Mail
Merge command to produce copies of the letter for the vendors
you select.
File VENDOR.DOC
Purpose Keep in touch with your vendors so they can better respond to
your company’s needs. For example, send letters to tell your
vendors about an upcoming change of address, or to notify
them of new hours for delivering goods to your warehouse.
Using the Built-In Excel Spreadsheets
Simply Accounting comes with the following Excel

spreadsheets, which use data that you export in Microsoft
Access format:
■ Budget Worksheet.

■ Balance Sheet.
■ Income Statement.
■ Employee Hours Worksheet (2 versions).
■ Payroll Summary by Cheque Date.
■ Physical Inventory Worksheet.
■ Price List.
■ GIFI Chart of Accounts.
You can use the existing Excel spreadsheets, or you can create
your own, using data that you export from Simply Accounting.
Using built-in Excel To use one of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that come
spreadsheets with Simply Accounting:
1. Make sure you have installed the Microsoft Query add-in
program before you begin.
2. In the Home window, from the Report menu, choose
Microsoft Office.
3. In the Open dialog box, choose the spreadsheet you wish to
use, for example, PAYSUMCH.XLS (a payroll summary).
Then choose OK.
4. If you have not exported your most recent data, choose Yes
when prompted to export your data now. Choose Typical
Export, and follow the rest of the steps in the Export To
Access wizard.
5. Choose Yes, when prompted to enable macros.
6. If you are using Office 95, choose Refresh Data from the
Data menu to update the Excel spreadsheet with your
company’s data.
If you are using Office 97, choose Yes to refresh the data for
your report automatically.
7. From the File menu, choose Save As to rename and save
your report.
8. You can customize the information that appears on the
report by clicking on the down arrow for each column
heading. For example, click the down arrow in the
Employee Name field and choose an employee or a range of
employees.
User Guide 20–9

Built-in Excel Spreadsheets
This section gives a description, file name, and purpose for each
spreadsheet that comes with Simply Accounting. You can also
download additional spreadsheets from the ACCPAC Web site
as they become available.
Budget Worksheet
Description The Budget Worksheet shows, for each revenue and expense
account, the account number and name, as well as the amount
budgeted for each budget period.
File BUDGET.XLS
Purpose Use the Budget Worksheet whenever you want to review your
company budget for any or all budget periods within the fiscal
year. You may find this worksheet especially convenient when
you prepare your company budget for the next fiscal year.
Balance Sheet
Description The Balance Sheet lists your company’s assets, liabilities, and
equity as of a particular date. Asset accounts are shown on the
left side of the balance sheet, and liabilities and equity on the
right.
File BALANCE.XLS
Purpose Use the Balance Sheet whenever you need to present formal
statements to others, such as your bank manager. The
convenient side-by-side format allows you to print your Balance
Sheet on one page. You can select different fonts (or typefaces)
to change the appearance of the statement.
Income Statement
Description The Income Statement shows revenue, expenses, and net

income for a specified period. Revenue accounts are shown on

the left side of the statement; expenses are shown on the right.
Income is displayed as a single figure, below the total expense
for the period.
File INCOME.XLS
Purpose Use the Income Statement whenever you need to present formal
statements to others, such as your bank manager. The
convenient side-by-side format allows you to print your Income
Statement on one page. You can select different fonts (or
typefaces) to change the appearance of the statement.
Employee Hours Worksheet (1)
Description The Employee Hours Worksheet (1) lists all of your company’s
employees who are paid by the hour, and provides space to
enter each employee’s hours worked for each day of a one-week
period.
File EMPSHEET.XLS
Purpose Use the Employee Hours Worksheet (1) to keep track of the
hours worked by your employees on a week-to-week basis.
Employee Hours Worksheet (2)
Description The Employee Hours Worksheet (2) lists all of your company’s
employees who are paid by the hour, and provides space to
enter each employee’s hours worked for each day of a two-week
period.
File EMPSHET2.XLS
Purpose Use the Employee Hours Worksheet (2) to keep track of the
hours worked by your employees on a bi-weekly basis.
User Guide 20–11

Payroll Summary by Cheque Date
Description The Payroll Summary by Cheque Date spreadsheet lists payroll

information for the current year and previous year. For each
cheque date, the report includes each employee’s gross pay,
total benefits and advances, amount withheld, and net pay.
Total amounts for all cheques appear on the last page of the
report.
File PAYSUMCH.XLS
Purpose Print the Payroll Summary by Cheque Date spreadsheet to

check how much money you need in the payroll bank account
for the next payroll, or at other times as required.
Physical Inventory Worksheet
Description For all of your company’s inventory items, the Physical

Inventory Worksheet shows the item number, description,
minimum level for reordering, unit of measure, and quantity on
hand. Space is provided on the worksheet to record counted
quantities and comments.
File INVSHEET.XLS
Purpose Whenever you count your inventory, print the Physical

Inventory Worksheet and use it to record item quantities and
comments.
Price List
Description The Price List shows the item number, description, type of unit,
and price for each item in your inventory.
File PRICELST.XLS
Purpose Use the Price List whenever you need a printed price list. For
example, you could send this Price List to your customers,
together with PRICELST.DOC, to notify them that your prices
are changing.

GIFI Chart of Accounts
Description The GIFI Chart of Accounts lists your company’s chart of

accounts with their assigned GIFI codes.
File GIFICHRT.XLS
Purpose Print the GIFI Chart of Accounts before filing tax returns
electronically to Revenue Canada, to check that the correct GIFI
code is assigned to each account.
Modifying Office Documents
To modify a Microsoft Office document:

1. Make a backup copy of the original file, so it is still available
later.
2. Open the copy of the file, as described earlier in “Using the
Built-In Word Documents,” or “Using the Built-In Excel
Spreadsheets.”
3. Make the changes you want.
Getting help If you have questions about using Word or Excel, refer to
their printed documentation or online Help.
4. Save the file.
Creating Your Own Office Documents
The following instructions describe the basic steps involved in

creating a document using data that you export in Microsoft
Access format.
For detailed instructions on using exported data in a Word

document or an Excel spreadsheet, see the section “Using Data
Exported in Microsoft Access Format,” in Chapter 19.
For information about your Simply Accounting data, including

a brief description of each table and query, see the next section,
“Simply Accounting Data.”
User Guide 20–13

Simply Accounting Data
To create a Microsoft Office document:

1. Start Word or Excel.
2. Use the New command, on the File menu, to create a new
document.
3. Use the commands in Word or Excel to select your Simply
Accounting data.
4. Type in the other information you want in the document.
5. When finished, save the file.
Getting help If you have questions about using Word or Excel, refer to their
printed documentation or online Help.

This section describes the Microsoft Access database file to
which you export your Simply Accounting data. Refer to this
section if you are customizing the Microsoft Office documents
that come with Simply Accounting, or if you are creating your
own documents that use Simply Accounting data.
The SIMPLY.MDB File
All Microsoft Office documents that come with Simply

Accounting retrieve information from the SIMPLY.MDB file,
which you export from Simply Accounting. The SIMPLY.MDB
file is a Microsoft Access file that is stored in the c:\SIMDATA
folder (where c is the drive).
Database Tables
Table 1 lists the name and description of each object table in the
Simply Accounting database (object tables define the
information that the database stores).

Table 1. Tables in the Simply Accounting Database
This table: Contains:

BankInfo Banking information for each account you set up
for online banking.
Budget Budget information, sorted by account number.
CashJour Transaction header information (cash-basis
accounting only), sorted by transaction number.
CashJourEntryAcct Transaction details (cash-basis accounting only),
sorted by transaction number.
CashJourEntryProj Project details (cash-basis accounting only),
CompInfo Information about your company.
CustomerInfo Customer information (name, address, and so
on), sorted by customer name.
CustomerInv Sales invoices, sorted by customer.
CustomerItems For each customer you set up for importing or
exporting transactions, for each item that you
sell to this customer, the customer’s item
numbers corresponding to your item numbers.
CustomerMemo Customer memos, sorted by customer.
CustomerStats Customer statistics, sorted by customer.
CustomerTrans Sales invoices and payments, sorted by
customer.
EmployeeMemo Employee memos, sorted by employee.
EmployeePayrollDetail Payroll cheque details, sorted by pay period.
EmployeePayrollInfo Employee payroll information (deductions,
salary, and so on), sorted by employee.
EmployeePayrollSummary Payroll cheque summaries, sorted by cheque
date.
EmployeePersonalInfo Employee information (name, address, and so
on), sorted by employee.
User Guide 20–15


EmployeeYTD Employee year-to-date payroll summaries,
sorted by employee.
GeneralAcct Account information, sorted by account
number.
GSTCustomerDetail GST amounts on sales invoices, sorted by
invoice number. (Note that you may have
changed GST to a different tax name by
choosing Setup, then Names.)
GSTVendorDetail GST amount on purchase invoices, sorted by
invoice number. (Note that you may have
changed GST to a different tax name by
choosing Setup, then Names.)
InvAndServDetailInfo Inventory and service item information.
InvAndServPriceList Inventory and service item prices.
JourEntry Transaction header information, sorted by
transaction number.
JourEntryAcct Transaction detail information, sorted by
transaction number.
JourEntryProj Amounts allocated to projects, sorted by
transaction number.
LastYearBudget Last year’s budget information, sorted by
account number.
LastYearEmployeePayrollSummary Summary of last year’s employee payroll
information, sorted by employee.
LastYearJourEntry Last year’s transaction header information,
LastYearJourEntryAcct Last year’s transaction detail information, sorted
by transaction number.
LastYearJourEntryProj Amounts allocated to projects last year, sorted
by transaction number.


LinkedAccounts A list of all linked accounts.
DefinedNames Names you can change in Simply Accounting,
for taxes, deductions, and so on.
Project Names of projects, with revenue and expense
balances forward for this year and last year.
(Note that you may have changed Project to a
different name by choosing Setup, then Names.)
QSTCustomerDetail QST amount on sales invoices, sorted by invoice
number.
QSTVendorDetail QST amount on purchase invoices, sorted by
invoice number.
VendorInfo Vendor information (name, address, and so on).
VendorInv Purchase invoices, sorted by vendor.
VendorItems For each vendor you set up for importing or
exporting transactions, for each item that you
buy from this vendor, the vendor’s item
numbers corresponding to your item numbers.
VendorMemo Vendor memos.
VendorStats Vendor statistics.
VendorTrans Vendor invoices and payments, sorted by
vendor.
Database Queries
Table 2 lists the name and description of each query in the

Simply Accounting database (queries select information from
one or more tables in the database). Microsoft Office documents
use these queries to retrieve information from the Simply
Accounting database.
User Guide 20–17

Table 2. Queries in the Simply Accounting Database
This query: Returns this:

BankInfoQuery The contents of the BankInfo table, with
account names added.
BudgetsQuery The contents of the Budget table, with
CashJourEntryWithAccountsQuery The combined contents of the CashJour
and CashJourEntryAcct tables (cash-basis
accounting only).
CashJourEntryWithProjectQuery The combined contents of the CashJour,
CashJourEntryAcct, and
CashJourEntryProj tables (cash-basis
accounting only).
CustomerListQuery The combined contents of the
CustomerInfo and CustomerStats tables.
CustomerItemQuery The contents of the CustomerItems table,
plus the customer names.
CustomerMemoQuery The contents of the CustomerMemo table,
with customer names added.
CustomerTransactionsQuery Customer transaction details, including
customer names.
EmployeeListQuery The contents of the
EmployeePersonalInfo table.
EmployeeMemoQuery The contents of the EmployeeMemo table,
with employee names added.
EmployeePayrollDetailQuery Employee payroll transaction details,
including employee names.
EmployeePayrollQuery The contents of the EmployeePayrollInfo
table, with employee names added.
EmployeePayrollSummaryQuery The contents of the
EmployeePayrollSummary table, with
employee names added.


EmployeeYTDQuery The contents of the EmployeeYTD table,
with employee names added.
GeneralAccountQuery The contents of the GeneralAcct table.
GSTCustomerDetailQuery The contents of the GSTCustomerDetail
table.
GSTVendorDetailQuery The contents of the GSTVendorDetail
table.
InvAndServDetailInfo(ByDescription)Query Inventory and service item information,
sorted by the item descriptions.
InvAndServDetailInfo(ByItem)Query Inventory and service item information,
sorted by the item numbers.
InvAndServPriceList(ByDescription)Query Inventory and service item prices, sorted
by the item descriptions.
InvAndServPriceList(ByItem)Query Inventory and service item prices, sorted
by the item numbers.
JourEntryWithAccountsQuery The combined contents of the JourEntry
and JourEntryAcct tables, with account
names added.
JourEntryWithProjectQuery The combined contents of the JourEntry,
JourEntryAcct, and JourEntryProj tables,
with account names added.
LastYearBudgetsQuery The contents of the LastYearBudget table,
with account names added.
LastYearEmployeePayrollSummaryQuery The contents of the
EmployeePayrollSummary table, with
employee names added.
LastYearJourEntryWithAccountsQuery The combined contents of the
LastYearJourEntry and
LastYearJourEntryAcct tables, with
User Guide 20–19


LastYearJourEntryWithProjectQuery The combined contents of the
LastYearJourEntry,
LastYearJourEntryAcct, and
LastYearJourEntryProj tables, with
LastYearProjectsQuery Details of revenues and expenses
allocated to projects in the previous fiscal
year.
ProjectListQuery The contents of the Project table.
ProjectsQuery Details of revenues and expenses
allocated to projects this fiscal year.
QSTCustomerDetailQuery The contents of the QSTCustomerDetail
table.
QSTVendorDetailQuery The contents of the QSTVendorDetail
table.
VendorItemQuery The contents of the VendorItems table,
plus the vendor names.
VendorListQuery The combined contents of the VendorInfo
and VendorStats tables.
VendorMemoQuery The contents of the VendorMemo table,
with vendor names added.
VendorTransactionsQuery Vendor transaction details, including
vendor names.

Chapter 21
Customizing Forms and Reports
Selecting Custom Forms for Printing and E-mailing .............................. 21-2
Selecting Management Reports for Printing...................................... 21-4
Before You Customize Forms or Management Reports ................................ 21-6
Edit Copies of the Reports or Forms that You Want to Change ................ 21-6
Print Forms or Reports at Least Once Before You Modify Them ............... 21-7
Modifying Custom Forms and Management Reports ............................. 21-8
Custom Form File Names and Fields ........................................... 21-11
Additional Fields Defined in Reports....................................... 21-13
The SETTINGS.CSV File .................................................. 21-13
Customized Invoice Form ................................................. 21-16
Customized Statement Form .............................................. 21-23
Customized Paycheque Form.............................................. 21-29
Customized Payment Cheque Form ........................................ 21-38
Customized Purchase Order Form ......................................... 21-41
Customized Sales Quote Form ............................................. 21-46
Customized Sales Order Confirmation Form ................................ 21-49
Customized Receipts Form ................................................ 21-52
Management Report File Names and Fields .................................... 21-56
Displaying and Printing Management Reports .............................. 21-57
Customizing Management Reports ........................................ 21-57
Contents of Management Reports .......................................... 21-58
Duplicated Account Names ............................................... 21-59
Accounts That Can Be Deleted ............................................ 21-60
Accounts with a Negative Balance ......................................... 21-62
Overdue Amounts Owed to Vendors ...................................... 21-62
Vendors with Decreased Monthly Purchases (Compared to Last Year) ........ 21-64
Vendors with Increased Monthly Purchases (Compared to Last Year) ......... 21-65
Customers Over Their Credit Limit ........................................ 21-65
Customers with Decreased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year) .......... 21-67
Customers with Increased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year) ........... 21-68
Customers with Overdue Amounts ........................................ 21-68
User Guide 21–i

Employees with Decreased Hours Since the Last Pay Period ................. 21-70
Employees with Overtime Hours This Month .............................. 21-72
Employees with Pay Changes Since the Last Pay Period ..................... 21-73
Inventory Items Selling Below Cost ........................................ 21-74
Inventory Items with a Low Markup ...................................... 21-75
Inventory Items with a Low Profit Margin ................................. 21-75
Projects That Have Lost Money ........................................... 21-76
Unused Projects ......................................................... 21-78

Chapter 21
Customizing Forms and Reports
This chapter explains what you need to know to use the Crystal
Reports and CA-RET (pronounced “carret”) report writing
programs to modify the custom forms and reports that come
with Simply Accounting.
Crystal Reports You must purchase and install the Crystal Reports report writer
separately from Simply Accounting, if you want to use it to
modify forms and reports. You do not need to purchase Crystal
Reports if you only want to print the custom Crystal Reports forms
that come with Simply Accounting.
CA-RET You can use the CA-RET report writer to modify and print
forms and reports, if you upgraded to Simply Accounting 7.0
from an earlier version that came with CA-RET (and you have
CA-RET installed). If you do not have the CA-RET program,
you can order it from our Client Care department.
The custom forms and reports that come with Simply

Accounting are:
■ Invoices.
■ Statements.
■ Paycheques.
■ Payment cheques.
■ Purchase orders.
■ Sales quotes.
■ Sales order confirmations.
■ Receipts.
■ Management reports (formerly called exception reports).
If you plan to design your own forms or reports, refer to the

printed documentation or online Help for your report writer
(Crystal Reports or CA-RET).
User Guide 21–1

Selecting Custom Forms for Printing and E-mailing
Choose between Note that Simply Accounting provides two types of forms:
standard and
customizable forms ■ A customizable set that you can modify with your report
writer. There are two types of customizable forms — one
for printing, and another for e-mailing.
Note: The custom e-mail forms are Crystal Reports files —
Simply Accounting does not use CA-RET forms for e-mail.
The paycheque and payment cheque are designed to be
printed on cheque paper that meets the requirements of
your bank. For example, many banks require that the
account number be printed with magnetic ink.
The customizable printer forms for invoices, purchase
orders, receipts, sales order confirmations, sales quotes, and
statements print on plain paper.
■ A standard set designed to be used with preprinted forms.
You cannot customize standard forms, but they print more
quickly than the customizable forms.
Management reports Simply Accounting also provides analysis reports called

“management reports” that list records that meet the criteria
you specify, to highlight areas of your business that may need
attention. You can use your report writer to change the design
of management reports, and to change their selection criteria.
For example, you can change the Customers With Overdue
Amounts report to show customers with amounts owing more
than 90 days, instead of the preset criterion, the number of days
in the Second Aging Period box.
Management reports are available on the Home window’s

Reports menu, and through the Advice command in other
windows.

If you want to print custom invoices, payment cheques, payroll
cheques, purchase orders, receipts, sales order confirmations,
sales quotes, and statements, you must select custom forms for
each one of these. You can choose Crystal Reports printer

forms, or CA-RET printer forms if you have CA-RET installed.

E-mail custom forms must be Crystal Reports files.
Filenames of custom Note: Crystal Reports files have the file extension .RPT, and
forms CA-RET forms have the file extension .RET. For example, the
file for the sales quote form for Crystal Reports is
QUOTES.RPT, and for CA-RET it is QUOTES.RET.
To select custom forms for printing and e-mailing:

And Forms.
2. Select the tab for either Invoices, Payment Cheques, Payroll
Cheques, Purchase Orders, Receipts, Sales Order
Confirmations, Sales Quotes, or Statements.
3. Select the printer you use to print the form. The program
Select the printer for
each form lets you specify a different printer for each type of form.
4. Choose the Setup button beside the Printer field if you need
to change any aspects of the printer definition.
5. Click the arrow at the right of the Form Type field, and
Select Custom in the
Form Type box select Custom from the list that appears.
Specify the forms 6. Specify the filenames of the Crystal Reports or CA-RET
forms you want to use, as follows:
■ Under Printer Form Settings, in the Form field, specify
the printer form.
■ Under E-mail Form, in the Form field, specify the e-mail
form.
User Guide 21–3

Selecting Management Reports for Printing
Note: Payroll and payment cheques do not have e-mail

forms.
You can specify a different file than the one displayed in the
Location of custom
forms Form field. Simply Accounting installs custom forms in the
\WINSIM\FORMS\ folder, unless you specify a different
location.
If you changed the location of your custom forms, or
modified a form and changed its name, type the new folder
or file name.
If you are not sure of the file’s name or location, choose
Browse. Locate and highlight the file, then choose OK.
For the names and descriptions of the custom forms that
come with Simply Accounting, see “Custom Form File
Names and Fields,” later in this chapter.
7. When you are finished selecting custom forms for printing
and e-mailing, choose OK to save your changes and close
the Report And Form Options dialog box.
Once you have selected custom forms, Simply Accounting uses

them whenever you are printing or e-mailing.

Simply Accounting comes with two sets of customizable
management report files — one set for Crystal Reports and the
other for CA-RET. The two sets of reports contain exactly the
same information.
Crystal or CA-RET? If you do not have the Crystal Reports or CA-RET report writer
programs installed, Simply Accounting uses the Crystal Reports
management report files. If you upgraded to Simply
Accounting 7.0 from an earlier version that came with CA-RET
(and you have CA-RET installed), you can use either the
CA-RET files or the Crystal Reports files.

File names of Note: Crystal Reports files have the file extension .RPT, and
management reports CA-RET forms have the file extension .RET. For example, the
file for the Customers Over Their Credit Limit report for Crystal
Reports is CUSTOVER.RPT, and for CA-RET it is
CUSTOVER.RET.
Selecting a printer for management reports:

And Forms.
2. Select the Reports And Graphs tab.
3. Select a printer.
Other reports use the

Note: All of the reports on the Home window’s Reports
selected printer too menu use the printer you select on the Reports And Graphs
tab.
4. Choose the Setup button beside the Printer field if you need
to change any aspects of the printer definition.
5. Choose the font and font size, and specify the top margin
and left margin measurements.
6. When you are finished selecting a printer for printing
management reports, choose OK to save your changes and
close the Report And Form Options dialog box.
Selecting management report files for printing:

1. In the Home window, on the Reports menu, select
Management Reports, then choose All Modules.
2. On the Select Advice Topic list, highlight the name of the
report for which you want to select a file.
Specify the file 3. In the Form field, specify the name of the Crystal Reports
or CA-RET file to use for printing the report.
You can specify a different file than the one displayed.
Location of report
files Simply Accounting installs management report files in the
location.
If you changed the location of your report files, or modified
a file and changed its name, type the new folder or file
name.
User Guide 21–5

Before You Customize Forms or Management Reports

For the names and descriptions of the report forms that
come with Simply Accounting, see “Management Report
File Names and Fields,” later in this chapter.
4. When you are finished selecting a custom management
report file for printing, choose OK to save your changes,
display the report, and close the Advice dialog box.
Whenever you print management reports, Simply Accounting

uses the management report files you selected.

There are four procedures you must perform before you
edit a custom form or management report:
■ Install Crystal Reports or CA-RET, as explained at the
beginning of this chapter.
■ Select the form or report, using the instructions in the
section “Selecting Custom Forms for Printing and
E-mailing” or “Selecting Management Reports for Printing,”
respectively, earlier in this chapter.
■ Copy the files that you want to change, then edit only the
copies, as described in the next section, “Edit Copies of the
Reports or Forms that You Want to Change.”
■ Print any of the forms or reports you want to change, as
described under “Print Forms or Reports at Least Once
Before You Modify Them,” later in this chapter.
Edit Copies of the Reports or Forms that You Want to Change
If you create your own versions of reports or forms, use

different names for the new files. By renaming your files, you
make sure that:

■ You will not destroy your work if you reinstall or update

the Simply Accounting program.
■ You keep original versions of all reports and forms.
For the names and descriptions of the custom forms and

reports, see “Custom Form File Names and Fields” and
“Management Report File Names and Fields,” respectively, later
in this chapter.
Note that some CA-RET forms are composed of more than one
file. You must create new copies of each of the files that you
want to change, and make sure that the main report calls each
of the subreports correctly.
For example, if you create a new payment cheque using the

CA-RET file PAYMTCHQ.RET, you must make copies of the
main report file PAYMTCHQ.RET, and each of the following
subreport files:
■ PAYHEAD.RET
■ PAYSTUB.RET
■ PAYCOL_1.RET
■ PAYCOL_2.RET
■ PAYCOL_3.RET
You must also change the subreport references to the new

subreports in the new PAYMTCHQ.RET, so your new report
uses the correct version of each subreport.
Print Forms or Reports at Least Once Before You Modify Them
Use Simply Accounting to print custom forms and management

reports before you modify the report definitions using Crystal
Reports or CA-RET. If you do not print a form or report, you
will see an error message when you attempt to use your report
writer’s Print Preview command.
All custom forms and management reports retrieve information

from two or more special Simply Accounting data files, with the
User Guide 21–7

Modifying Custom Forms and Management Reports
filename extension .CSV. Crystal Reports and CA-RET do not

have direct access to your Simply Accounting database; instead,
each report has access to one or more files in Comma Separated
Values (.CSV) format that Simply Accounting updates when
you print the form or report.
These .CSV files are created when you print a report that
requires them. For information about each of the .CSV files used
by Simply Accounting forms and reports, see “Custom Form
File Names and Fields” and “Management Report File Names
and Fields,” respectively, later in this chapter.
Modifying Custom Forms and Management

Reports
This section explains how to modify the custom forms and
management reports that come with Simply Accounting.
Rename forms We recommend that you do not edit the original forms or
management reports that come with Simply Accounting. You
should copy all files that you want to change, then edit the
copies. You can copy these forms by saving them under a new
name using the Save As command in Crystal Reports or
CA-RET.
To modify a custom print or e-mail form:

And Forms.
2. Select the tab for the type of form you want to modify
(Invoices, Payment Cheques, Payroll Cheques, Purchase
Orders, Receipts, Sales Order Confirmations, Sales Quotes,
or Statements).
3. If you wish to modify the printer form, click the arrow at
the right of the Form Type field, and select Custom from the
list that appears.


■ If you wish to modify the printer form, under Printer
Form Settings, in the Form field, specify the filename of
the Crystal Reports or CA-RET form you want to
modify.
Or
■ If you wish to modify the e-mail form, under E-mail
Form, in the Form field, specify the filename of the
Crystal Reports form you want to modify.
Note: Payroll and payment cheques do not have e-mail
forms.
You can specify a different file than the one displayed in the
Location of custom
forms Form field. Simply Accounting installs custom forms in the
location.
If you changed the location of your custom forms, or
modified a form and changed its name, type the new folder
or file name.
For the names and descriptions of the custom forms you can
modify that come with Simply Accounting, see “Custom
Form File Names and Fields,” later in this chapter.
■ If you selected a printer form in step 4, under Printer
Form Settings, choose Customize Form.
User Guide 21–9

Or
■ If you selected an e-mail form in step 4, under E-mail
Form, choose Customize Form.
Simply Accounting starts the Crystal Reports or CA-RET
report writer, depending on whether the file you selected
has the file extension .RPT or .RET, respectively, and opens
the selected file so you can edit it.
Getting help If you have questions about using Crystal Reports or
CA-RET, refer to their printed documentation or online
Help.
6. When you are finished modifying the form, save your
changes and close your report writer program.
To modify a management report:

1. In the Home window, on the Reports menu, select
Management Reports, then choose All Modules.
2. On the Select Advice Topic list, highlight the name of the
report for which you want to select a file.
or CA-RET file you want to modify.
Location of report
location.

Custom Form File Names and Fields

name.
For the names and descriptions of the management report
forms you can modify that come with Simply Accounting,
see “Management Report File Names and Fields,” later in
this chapter.
Modify the report 4. Choose Customize Form.
Simply Accounting starts the Crystal Reports or CA-RET
report writer, depending on whether the file’s extension is
.RPT or .RET, respectively, and opens the selected report
file so you can edit it.
Getting help If you have questions about using Crystal Reports or
CA-RET, refer to their printed documentation or online
Help.
5. When you are finished modifying the report, save your
changes and close your report writer program.

This section describes the Crystal Reports (.RPT),
CA-RET (.RET), and Comma Separated Values (.CSV) files used
by each of the custom forms supplied by Simply Accounting.
There are files for printing custom forms, and for sending forms
by e-mail to your customers and vendors. The files for printing
and e-mailing forms contain exactly the same information, but
the e-mail files are formatted in such a way that the e-mail
recipient can print them using a word processor.
Printer forms Custom forms you can print in Simply Accounting are:
Printer Form Crystal Reports File CA-RET File

Invoice (includes backorders) INV_BO.RPT INV_BO.RET
User Guide 21–11

Printer Form Crystal Reports File CA-RET File

Invoice (backorders not included) INVOICE.RPT INVOICE.RET or
INVCE_13.RET
Paycheque PAYRLCHQ.RPT PAYRLCHQ.RET
Payment cheque PAYMTCHQ.RPT PAYMTCHQ.RET
Purchase order PURORDER.RPT PURORDER.RET
Receipt RECEIPT.RPT RECEIPT.RET
Sales order confirmation ORD_BO.RPT ORD_BO.RET
(backorders included)
Sales order confirmation SALORDER.RPT SALORDER.RET
(backorders not included)
Sales quote QUOTES.RPT QUOTES.RET
Statement STATEMEN.RPT STATE_13.RET or
STATEMEN.RET
E-mail forms Custom forms you can e-mail to customers and vendors are:
E-mail Form Crystal Reports File CA-RET File

Invoice (includes backorders) INVBO_ML.RPT n/a
Invoice (backorders not included) INV_MAIL.RPT n/a
Purchase order PO_MAIL.RPT n/a
Receipt RCT_MAIL.RPT n/a
Sales order confirmation SO_BO_ML.RPT n/a
(backorders included)
Sales order confirmation SO_MAIL.RPT n/a
(backorders not included)
Sales quote SQ_MAIL.RPT n/a
Statement STM_MAIL.RPT n/a

When you customize your forms, refer to the file lists later in
this chapter if you are not sure what information is contained in
each field on the form.
Additional Fields Defined in Reports
Although most of the fields that appear in Crystal Reports and

CA-RET custom form files come from Simply Accounting .CSV
files, some form fields were defined by Crystal Reports or
CA-RET when the form was set up. For example, each Crystal
Reports file contains a PageNumber field; and each CA-RET file
contains a _date, _pagenumber, and _parameter1 field.
_parameter1 field The _parameter1 field contains the location of the .CSV files
used for the CA-RET report. Simply Accounting uses this field
to pass information about the file location to CA-RET each time
you print the report. If you decide to use the information in the
.CSV files created by Simply Accounting to create your own
CA-RET reports, you must include a _parameter1 field. Refer to
your CA-RET documentation for information about creating the
field.
Some of the custom forms contain other fields used to make

calculations or to format aspects of the forms. If a form’s file
contains other fields, the fields and their descriptions are listed
in a table following the form’s .CSV tables, in the subsection that
describes the form.
The SETTINGS.CSV File
All the custom forms that come with Simply Accounting

retrieve information from the fields in the SETTINGS.CSV file
(listed in Table 1), which contains basic information about your
company. Each form uses different fields from the
SETTINGS.CSV file, depending on the needs of the particular
form (for example, the customer statement form uses the
customers and sales aging information).
User Guide 21–13

Table 1. Contents of the SETTINGS.CSV File
This field: Contains:

COMPANY_NAME Your company’s name.
COMPANY_STREET Your company’s street address.
COMPANY_CITY Your company’s city.
COMPANY_PROVINCE Your company’s province.
COMPANY_POSTAL Your company’s postal code.
COMPANY_PHONE Your company’s phone number.
COMPANY_FAX Your company’s fax number.
EMPLOYER_NUMBER Your company’s employer number.
GST_REG_NUMBER Your company’s GST registration number.
SBRN_ID Your company’s business number, supplied by Revenue
Canada.
QST_REG_NUMBER Your company’s QST registration number.
REC_AGE_1 The number of days in the First Aging Period box (on the
Setup, Settings, Customers And Sales tab).
REC_AGE_2 The number of days in the Second Aging Period box.
REC_AGE_3 The number of days in the Third Aging Period box.
INTEREST_RATE The interest rate (percentage) you charge on overdue
accounts.
INTEREST_DAYS The number of days after which you charge interest on
unpaid invoices.
PAY_AGE_1 The number of days in the First Aging Period box (on the
Setup, Settings, Vendors And Purchases tab).
PAY_AGE_2 The number of days in the Second Aging Period box.
PAY_AGE_3 The number of days in the Third Aging Period box.
GST_RATE_1 The rate of GST, in the GST Rate 1 box (on the Setup,
Settings, Sales Taxes tab).


FREIGHT_TAX The rate of tax on freight, in the Freight Tax box (on the
Setup, Settings, Sales Taxes tab).
GST_RATE_2 The rate of GST, in the GST Rate 2 box.
QST_RATE_1 The rate of Quebec sales tax, in the QST Rate 1 box (on the
QST_RATE_2 The rate of Quebec sales tax, in the QST Rate 2 box.
PROVINCIAL_TAX The rate of provincial sales tax, in the PST box (on the
PST_ON_FREIGHT This field contains a Yes if the Apply PST To Freight box is
checked (on the Setup, Settings, Sales Taxes tab). Otherwise
it contains a No.
PST_ON_GST This field contains a Yes if the Apply PST To GST box is
checked (on the Setup, Settings, Sales Taxes tab). Otherwise
it contains a No.
QST_OR_PST An indicator of whether your company charges QST or PST.
If the Use Quebec Sales Tax box is checked (on the Setup,
Settings, Sales Taxes tab), the indicator is set to QST.
Otherwise, it is set to PST.
DEDUCTION_A_NAME The name for Deduction A, entered in the Names dialog box
(on the Setup menu, choose Names).
DEDUCTION_B_NAME The name for Deduction B.
DEDUCTION_C_NAME The name for Deduction C.
DEDUCTION_D_NAME The name for Deduction D.
DEDUCTION_E_NAME The name for Deduction E.
INCOME_A_NAME The name for Income A, entered in the Names dialog box
INCOME_B_NAME The name for Income B.
PROJECT_NAME The title for the Project module, entered in the Names
dialog box (on the Setup menu, choose Names).
User Guide 21–15


USING_DATE (CA-RET) The current session date for Simply Accounting.
SESSION_DATE The current session date for Simply Accounting.
COMPANY_NUMBER Simply Accounting uses this field for internal purposes. It
always contains the number “1.”
TAX_DEF The name in the Tax field, entered in the Names dialog box
DEDUCTION_F_NAME The name for Deduction F.
DEDUCTION_G_NAME The name for Deduction G.
DEDUCTION_H_NAME The name for Deduction H.
DEDUCTION_I_NAME The name for Deduction I.
DEDUCTION_J_NAME The name for Deduction J.
INCOME_C_NAME The name for Income C.
INCOME_D_NAME The name for Income D.
INCOME_E_NAME The name for Income E.
LATEST_TRANS_DATE The date of the last transaction processed in the current
year.
Customized Invoice Form
Simply Accounting uses the following files to produce

customized invoice forms:
■ The main invoice report for printing — one of:
– INV_BO.RPT or INV_BO.RET. Prints an invoice that uses
invoice numbers and item codes that are up to
13 characters long. The invoice includes any backorder
information.
Or

– INVOICE.RPT or INVCE_13.RET. Prints an invoice that

uses invoice numbers and item codes that are up to
13 characters long. The invoice does not include
backorder information.
Or
– INVOICE.RET. Prints an invoice that uses invoice
numbers and item codes that are seven characters or
less in length. The invoice does not include backorder
information.
■ The main invoice report for e-mailing— one of:
– INVBO_ML.RPT. Contains information about how to
format an invoice for e-mailing, including any
backorder information. The invoice numbers and item
codes can be up to 13 characters long.
Or
– INV_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to
format an invoice for e-mailing, that does not include
backorder information. The invoice numbers and item
codes can be up to 13 characters long.
■ SETTINGS.CSV. Contains information about your company
(listed in Table 1).
■ INVCUST.CSV. Contains information about the customer to
whom you are making the sale, and general information
about the invoice (listed in Table 2).
■ INVITEM.CSV. Contains details about each item sold on the
invoice (listed in Table 3).
■ INVTAXES.CSV. Contains details about the GST and QST
charged on the invoice (listed in Table 4).
For instructions on how to select custom forms for printing and

e-mailing invoices, see “Selecting Custom Forms for Printing
and E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports invoice files
INV_BO.RPT, INVOICE.RPT, INVBO_ML.RPT, and
INV_MAIL.RPT:
User Guide 21–17

■ The INV_BO.RPT and INVOICE.RPT files use a subreport,

called INVTAXES.RPT. When you edit either of these
invoice files, the name of the subreport file is displayed on
the invoice where you can select it for editing.
■ These files also contain other fields, used to format the
invoice. These are listed in Table 5.
CA-RET files Note the following about the CA-RET invoice files
INV_BO.RET, INVOICE.RET, and INVCE_13.RET:
■ These files use a subreport, called either INVTAXES.RET or
INVTAX_13.RET. When you edit any of the invoice files,
CA-RET also opens a window for the subreport file.
invoice. These are listed in Table 6.
For instructions on how to edit any of the Crystal Reports or

CA-RET files, see ”Modifying Custom Forms and Management
Reports,” earlier in this chapter.
Table 2. Contents of the INVCUST.CSV File

SOLD_TO_1 The customer’s name in the Sold To box in the Sales, Orders,
and Quotes window.
SOLD_TO_2 The first address line in the Sold To box.
SOLD_TO_3 The second address line in the Sold To box.
SOLD_TO_4 The third address line in the Sold To box.
SOLD_TO_5 The fourth address line in the Sold To box.
SHIP_TO_1 The information on the first line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_2 The information on the second line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_3 The information on the third line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_4 The information on the fourth line of the Ship To box.


SHIP_TO_5 The information on the fifth line of the Ship To box.
INVOICE_NUMBER The number in the Invoice box.
INVOICE_DATE The date in the Date box.
FREIGHT The freight charged on the invoice.
FREIGHT_GST The total amount of GST charged on freight on the invoice.
FREIGHT_QST The total amount of QST charged on freight on the invoice.
GST_1 The total amount of GST charged using rate 1 on the invoice
(including the amount charged on freight).
GST_2 The total amount of GST charged using rate 2 on the invoice
QST_1 The total amount of QST charged using rate 1 on the invoice
QST_2 The total amount of QST charged using rate 2 on the invoice
PST The total amount of PST charged on the invoice.
INVOICE_TOTAL The total amount charged on the invoice.
INVOICE_COMMENTS Any information entered in the Comments box.
CASH_SALE This field contains a Yes if the invoice is for a cash sale
(transaction type is Sale With Payment); otherwise, it contains
a No.
TERMS This field contains a Yes if there are payment terms on the
invoice; otherwise, it contains a No.
TERMS_TEXT The payment terms, if any, on the invoice.
INVOICE_DUEDATE Calculates the due date for the invoice by adding the Net
Days from the Terms field to the transaction date in the Date
field.
CASH_DISCOUNT The amount of any cash discount on the invoice, for cash
sales only.
User Guide 21–19


SAL_NUM The number in the Order/Quote No. box on sales orders.
SHIP_DATE The date in the Ship Date box on sales orders and quotes.
QUOTE_NUM The number in the Quote No. box on sales quotes.
SHIPPER The shipper’s name, entered in the Shipped By box.
TRACKING_NUM The shipment-tracking number, entered in the Tracking
Number box.
Table 3. Contents of the INVITEM.CSV File

INVOICE_NUMBER The number in the Invoice box. (This field provides a link
with the INVOICE_NUMBER field in the INVCUST.CSV file,
so that Crystal Reports or CA-RET knows which invoice’s
items to select.)
SAL_ORDER_NUM The number in the Order/Quote No. box on sales orders.
QUOTE_NUM The number in the Quote No. box on sales quotes.
ITEM The item number.
QUANTITY The quantity sold of this item.
ORDERED The quantity of the item ordered.
BACK_ORDER The quantity of the item on back order (the quantity ordered
minus the quantity shipped).
UNIT The unit the item is sold in.
DESCRIPTION The item’s description.
GST_CODE The GST code for the item.
PST_RATE The PST rate for the item.

Table 3. Contents of the INVITEM.CSV File

QST_CODE The QST code for the item.
PRICE The price per unit for the item.
AMOUNT The total price for the item.
LINENUM The number of the detail line on the invoice.
Table 4. Contents of the INVTAXES.CSV File

TAX_CODE_DESCRIP A description of the tax codes used on the invoice. For
example, the description of code 3 is “3 - GST @ 7.0%, not
included.”
TAX_AMOUNT_INCL The total amount of tax charged on the invoice for each tax
code for which the tax is included in the price.
TAX_AMOUNT_NI The total amount of tax charged on the invoice for each tax
code for which the tax is not included in the price.
Table 5. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Invoice Files INV_BO.RPT,

INVOICE.RPT, INVBO_ML.RPT, and INV_MAIL.RPT
This field: Performs this function:

BackOrder Prints the quantity of the item on back order.
bFreight Prints the word “Freight” on the e-mail invoice.
bBusinessNo Prints your company’s Revenue Canada business number.
bPrintGroup1 Determines when to print invoice totals at the bottom of the
page. When the page is full and this field contains “False,”
Crystal Reports prints the word “Continued” because there
are more detail lines to print. Crystal Reports prints the
invoice totals when all invoice details are printed and this
field contains “True.”
User Guide 21–21

Table 5. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Invoice Files INV_BO.RPT,

INVOICE.RPT, INVBO_ML.RPT, and INV_MAIL.RPT

bPSTOnly Prints the field name “PST.”
bTotalAmount Prints the words “Total Amount” on the invoice.
cAmount Prints the word “Amount” on the e-mail invoice.
cBO Prints the word “B/O” on the e-mail invoice.
bQSTNo Prints the QST (Quebec sales tax) registration number.
cOrderNum Prints the words “Re. Order No.:” on the invoice.
cPostal Prints your company’s postal code on the e-mail invoice.
cPrice Prints the words “Unit Price” on the e-mail invoice.
cQSTNum Prints the words “QST Reg No.:” on the e-mail invoice.
cQuantity Prints the word “Quantity” on the e-mail invoice.
InvoiceDue Prints the word “Due” and the due date for the invoice.
Price Prints the item’s unit price.
PSTValue Prints the total amount of PST charged on the invoice.
QPValue Prints the QST code or PST rate.
Quantity Prints the quantity sold of this item.
ShippedBy Prints the shipper’s name, and the shipment tracking number,
if they are included on the invoice.
SubtotalBeforeTax Prints the total price of all items purchased, before tax.
Taxes Prints the total amount of tax charged on the invoice.
Table 6. Other Fields in the CA-RET Invoice Files INV_BO.RET, INVOICE.RET, and
INVCE_13.RET

bBusNo Prints your company’s Revenue Canada business number.

Table 6. Other Fields in the CA-RET Invoice Files INV_BO.RET, INVOICE.RET, and
INVCE_13.RET

bGstNo or bGST Prints your company’s GST registration number.
bPrintDue Prints the due date for the invoice.
bPrintTerms Prints the payment terms for the invoice.
bQstNo or bQST Prints the QST (Quebec sales tax) registration number.
InvoiceDue Prints the word “Due” and the due date for the invoice.
PSTOnly Prints the field name “PST.”
PSTOnlyVal Prints the total amount of PST charged on the invoice.
Customized Statement Form

customized customer statement forms:
■ The main statement reports for printing — one of:
– STATEMEN.RPT or STATE_13.RET. Prints a statement that
uses invoice numbers and item codes that are up to
13 characters long.
Or
– STATEMEN.RET. Prints a statement that uses invoice
numbers and item codes that are up to 7 characters
long.
■ STM_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to format
statements for e-mailing.
■ STATCUST.CSV. Contains information about the customer
to whom you are sending the statement (listed in Table 7).
User Guide 21–23

■ STATTRAN.CSV. Contains information about the customer’s

unpaid transactions (listed in Table 8).

e-mailing statements, see “Selecting Custom Forms for Printing
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports statement files
STATEMEN.RPT and STM_MAIL.RPT:
■ The STATEMEN.RPT file uses two subreports, called
COMP_HDR.RPT and STATEMN2.RPT. When you edit the
STATEMEN.RPT file, the names of the subreport files are
displayed on the statement where you can select them for
editing.
statement. These are listed in Table 9.
CA-RET files The CA-RET statement files STATEMEN.RET and

STATE_13.RET also contain other fields used to format the
statement. These are listed in Table 10.

Table 7. Contents of the STATCUST.CSV File

CUSTOMER_NAME Customer’s name.
CUSTOMER_CONTACT The contact name or address information in the Contact
box.
CUSTOMER_STREET Customer’s street address.
CUSTOMER_CITY Customer’s city.
CUSTOMER_PROVINCE Customer’s province.

Table 7. Contents of the STATCUST.CSV File

CUSTOMER_POSTAL Customer’s postal code.
CREDIT_LIMIT Customer’s credit limit.
YTD_SALES Customer’s year-to-date sales.
LAST_YEAR_SALES Customer’s total sales for the previous year.
STATEMENT_DATE The Simply Accounting session date.
OWING_AGE_CURRENT Amount outstanding for current period (for example, 0-30
days).
OWING_AGE_1 Amount outstanding for the first aging period (for
example, 31-60 days).
OWING_AGE_2 Amount outstanding for the second aging period (for
OWING_AGE_3 Amount outstanding for the third aging period (for
example, over 90 days).
INTEREST_DUE The interest due on overdue amounts.
Table 8. Contents of the STATTRAN.CSV File

CUSTOMER_NAME Customer’s name. (This field provides a link with the
CUSTOMER_NAME field in the STATCUST.CSV file, so
Crystal Reports knows which customer’s transactions to
select.)
TRANSACTION_TYPE The type of transaction, either Invoice, Discount, or Payment.
TRANSACTION_DATE The date of the transaction.
TRANSACT_NUMBER The transaction number; an invoice number or cheque
number.
TRANSACT_AMOUNT The amount of the transaction.
INVOICE_NUMBER The invoice number. (Used to link cheques with the invoice
User Guide 21–25

Table 8. Contents of the STATTRAN.CSV File

they pay. This field is not printed on the report.)
TRANS_INCLUDEDUE Specifies whether to include the invoice’s due date on the
statement.
INVOICE_DUEDATE The due date for the invoice.
LINE_NUMBER The order in which the invoice appears on the statement.
Table 9. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Statement Files STATEMEN.RPT and
STM_MAIL.RPT

bAge Prints the word “Age” on the e-mail statement.
bAmount Prints the word “Amount” on the e-mail statement.
bBalanceDue Prints the words “Balance Due” on the e-mail statement.
bContinue Prints the word “Continued…” on the statement.
bCurrent Prints the word “Current” on the e-mail statement.
bDone Tells Crystal whether to print Footer A or Footer B for the
current customer.
bInterest Prints the word “Interest” on the e-mail statement.
bInterestRate Prints the amount in INTEREST_RATE, then “% interest on
balance over,” then the amount in INTEREST_DAYS on the
statement.
bNewDone Tells Crystal whether to print Footer A or Footer B for the
next customer.
bOverRecAge2 Prints the word “Over” and the amount in REC_AGE_2 on
the statement.
bRecAge1 Prints the amount in REC_AGE_1 on the statement.
bRecAge1and2 Prints the amount in REC_AGE_1, a dash, then the amount in
REC_AGE_2 on the statement.

Table 9. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Statement Files STATEMEN.RPT and
STM_MAIL.RPT

bTotal Prints the word “Total” on the e-mail statement.
bVPostal Printes the customer’s postal code on the e-mail statement.
cAmount Prints the word “Amount” on the e-mail statement.
cAmtDue Prints the word “Amount Due” on the e-mail statement.
cBalance Prints the word “Balance” on the e-mail statement.
cPostal Prints your postal code on the e-mail statement.
dSumAge2_3 Adds together the amounts in OWING_AGE_2 and
OWING_AGE_3.
dSumAmtForInv Adds together the TRANSACT_AMOUNT for each
transaction of a particular invoice, to calculate the unpaid
balance owing for the invoice.
dtotalsum Calculates the total balance the customer owes.
Interest Calculates the total interest the customer owes.
InvoiceDueDate Prints the word “Due:” followed by the invoice’s due date.
nRecAge1 Adds one to the amount in REC_AGE_1.
OwingAge1 Prints the amount owing in the first aging period.
OwingAgeCurrent Prints the current amount owing, including interest if any.
Table 10. Other Fields in the CA-RET Statement Files STATEMEN.RET and
STATE_13.RET

bIncludeDueDate Specifies whether to print the due date on the statement, for
unpaid invoices.
bPrintDueDate Specifies whether to print the due date on the statement, for
partially paid invoices.
bPrintInterest Specifies whether to print interest on the statement.
User Guide 21–27

Table 10. Other Fields in the CA-RET Statement Files STATEMEN.RET and
STATE_13.RET

dcountdetail Counts the number of detail lines needed for each invoice.
dFromAge1 Adds 1 to the number of days in REC_AGE_1. (Used to
produce the description above the amount in the first aging
period. For example, if REC_AGE_1 is 30 and REC_AGE _2 is
60, then the first aging period is 31-60 days; this field adds 1
to the 30 to create the 31 in “31-60.”)
dFromAge2 Adds 1 to the number of days in REC_AGE_2. (This field is
not used on the statement, but you may wish to add it if you
customize the form to show four aging periods. For example,
if REC_AGE_2 is 60, this field produces the number 61.)
dsumAge2_3 Adds together the amounts in OWING_AGE_2 and
OWING_AGE_3.
dSumAmtForInv Adds together the TRANSACT_AMOUNT for each
transaction of a particular invoice, to calculate the
outstanding balance owing for the invoice.
dtotalsum Calculates the total balance the customer owes.
fmtOwingAgeCurrent Prints the current amount owing, including interest if any.
InvoiceDueDate Prints the word “Due:” followed by the invoice’s due date.
notOneDetail Tells CA-RET whether to print a transaction amount in the
left or right column (based on the result of dcountdetail). If
there is more than one detail line for an invoice, so
notOneDetail is true, the amounts are printed in the left
column.
oneDetail Tells CA-RET whether to print a transaction amount in the
left or right column (based on the result of dcountdetail). If
there is only one detail line for an invoice, so oneDetail is
true, the amount is printed in the right column.
printSubTotal Tells CA-RET to print a subtotal in the right column, when an
invoice has more than one detail line.

Customized Paycheque Form

customized paycheque forms:
■ PAYRLCHQ.RPT or PAYRLCHQ.RET. Contains information
about how to format paycheques, excluding Quebec tips
information, for printing.
■ QPRLCHQ.RPT or QPRLCHQ.RET. Contains information
about how to format paycheques, including Quebec tips
information, for printing.
Crystal Reports The PAYRLCHQ.RPT and QPRLCHQ.RPT files use six
subreports, which are also Crystal Reports files. When you
open PAYRLCHQ.RPT or QPRLCHQ.RPT to edit it, the
names of the following subreport files are displayed on the
paycheque where you can select them for editing:
PAYCOL1.RPT
PAYCOL2.RPT
PAYCOL3.RPT
PAYCOL1.RPT - 01
PAYCOL2.RPT - 01
PAYCOL3.RPT - 01
The PAYRLCHQ.RPT file also contains other fields, used to
format the cheque. These are listed in Table 15.
CA-RET The PAYRLCHQ.RET file uses five subreports, which are

also CA-RET files. When you open PAYRLCHQ.RET to edit
it, CA-RET also opens a window for each of the following
subreport files:
PRLHEAD.RET
PRLSTUB.RET
PRLCOL1.RET
PRLCOL2.RET
PRLCOL3.RET
User Guide 21–29

QPRLCHQ.RET file uses five subreports, which are also

CA-RET files. When you open QPYRLCHQ.RET to edit it,
the names of the following subreport files are displayed on
the paycheque where you can select them for editing:
QPRLHEAD.RET
QPRLSTUB.RET
QPRLCOL1.RET
QPRLCOL2.RET
QPRLCOL3.RET
■ PAYCHQ1.CSV. Contains information about the employee
and the employee’s hourly wage rates, earnings, and history
■ PAYCHQ2.CSV. Contains information about the
employee’s other earnings, vacation pay, and and the
employer’s total expenses for the period (listed in Table 12).
employee’s salary and deductions, including CPP and QPP,
and the employer’s expense for QHSF (listed in Table 13).
employee’s advances, EI (employment insurance) and tax
deductions, Quebec tips and the employer’s related
expenses (listed in Table 14).
employee’s Deductions F,G,H,I and J, Overtime rate and
hours, total deductions, net pay, (listed in Table 15).
To select forms for printing paycheques, see “Selecting Custom

Forms for Printing and E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.


Table 11. Contents of the PAYCHQ1.CSV File

EMPLOYEE_ID Simply Accounting uses this field for internal purposes.
EMPLOYEE_NAME Employee’s name.
EMPLOYEE_STREET Employee’s street address.
EMPLOYEE_CITY Employee’s city.
EMPLOYEE_PROVINCE Employee’s province.
EMPLOYEE_POSTAL Employee’s postal code.
EMPLOYEE_SIN Employee’s social insurance number.
CHEQUE_NUMBER The number in the No. box.
CHEQUE_DATE The date in the Date box.
PERIOD_ENDING The end date of the pay period.
REG_HOURS_PERIOD The number of regular hours the employee worked in the
pay period.
REG_HOUR_RATE The employee’s regular hourly rate.
REG_PAY_PERIOD The total regular pay for the period.
REG_PAY_YTD The total regular pay for the year to date.
OVT_HOURS_PERIOD The number of overtime hours the employee worked in the
pay period.
OVT_HOUR_RATE The employee’s overtime hourly rate.
SALARY_HOURS The usual number of salary hours the employee works in a
pay period.

User Guide 21–31


OVT_PAY_PERIOD The total overtime pay for the period.
OVT_PAY_YTD The total overtime pay for the year to date.
GROSS_PAY The employee’s gross pay for the period.
GROSS_QUE_PAY The employee’s gross pay, including benefits, earned in
Quebec for the period.
TOTAL_EXPENSES The employer’s total expenses for the employee for the
period. The total consists of wages, EI, WCB, and EHT
expenses, CPP and QPP deductions, and QHSF payable.
VACATION_PERIOD The employee’s vacation pay earned during the period.
RELEASE_PERIOD Vacation pay retained from earlier periods and released in
the current period.
VACATION_PAID The total vacation pay paid out during the current period.
When you pay out vacation pay, this amount is the total of
VACATION_PERIOD and RELEASE_PERIOD. Usually
only one of these amounts will be greater than zero
(depending on whether you retain vacation pay or pay it
out in the period in which it is earned). However, if you
uncheck the Retain Vacation check box, in the employee
record, it is possible to pay out both a current accrual and
amounts retained from earlier periods.
VACATION_YTD The total vacation pay earned for the year to date.
BENEFITS_PERIOD The employee’s benefits for the period.
BENEFITS_YTD The total benefits for the year to date.
BENEFITS_QUE_PERIOD The employee’s benefits for the period.
BENEFITS_QUE_YTD The total benefits for the year to date.
COMMISSION_PERIOD The employee’s commission pay for the period.
COMMISSION_YTD The total commission for the year to date.


SALARY_PERIOD The employee’s salary for the period.
SALARY_YTD The total salary for the year to date.
DED_A_PERIOD Amount of Deduction A deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of
Deduction A in Setup, Names).
DED_A_YTD Total Deduction A deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_B_PERIOD Amount of Deduction B deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of Deduction B
in Setup, Names).
DED_B_YTD Total Deduction B deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_C_PERIOD Amount of Deduction C deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of Deduction C
in Setup, Names).
DED_C_YTD Total Deduction C deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_D_PERIOD Amount of Deduction D deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of
Deduction D in Setup, Names).
DED_D_YTD Total Deduction D deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_E_PERIOD Amount of Deduction E deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of Deduction E
in Setup, Names).
User Guide 21–33


DED_E_YTD Total Deduction E deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
QHIP_PERIOD Employer’s expense for Quebec Health Insurance Plan for
the employee for the period.
NET_PAY_PERIOD Net pay for the period (gross pay less deductions).
CPP_PERIOD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for Canada
Pension Plan for the period.
CPP_YTD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for CPP for
the year.
QPP_PERIOD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for Quebec
Pension Plan for the period.
QPP_YTD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for QPP for
the year.
INSURABLE_EARNINGS The employee’s EI insurable earnings for the period.

EI_PERIOD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for
employment insurance for the period.
EI_YTD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for EI for
the year.
TAX_PERIOD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for income
tax for the period.
TAX_YTD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for income
tax for the year.


TAX_QUE_PERIOD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for Quebec
tax for the period.
TAX_QUE_YTD The amount deducted from the employee’s pay for Quebec
tax for the year.
TOTAL_WITHHELD Total deductions withheld for the pay period.
ADVANCE The employee’s advances paid out for the period.
ADVANCE_RECEIVABLE The total advances paid for the year to date.
WCB_EXP The employer’s expense for Workers’ Compensation Board
payments for the employee for the period.
EI_EXP The employer’s expense for employment insurance
premiums for the employee for the period.
WAGE_EXP The employer’s expense for salary, regular pay, and
overtime pay for the employee for the period.
EHT_EXP The employer’s expense for employer health tax for the
employee for the period.
NET_DOLLARS The dollar amount of the cheque, written out.
NET_CENTS The cents amount of the cheque.
SALHRS_PERIOD The actual number of salary hours the employee worked
for the pay period.
QTSALES Tippable sales.
QTFRSAL Tips from sales.
ATOTHER Other tips.
QTALLOCATED Tips allocated.
QTFTTAXTIPS Taxable tips (federal).
QTTAXTIPS Taxable tips (Quebec).
User Guide 21–35


OVT2_HOUR_RATE Overtime 2 rate per hour.
OVT2_PAY_YTD Total overtime hours at rate 2 for the year to date.
INC_C_PERIOD Total income C received by the employee in the period.
INC_C_YTD Total income C received by the employee for the year to
date.
INC_D_PERIOD Total income D received by the employee in the period.
INC_D_YTD Total income D received by the employee for the year to
date.
INC_E_PERIOD Total income E received by the employee in the period.
INC_E_YTD Total income E received by the employee for the year to
date.
DED_F_PERIOD Amount of Deduction F deducted from employee’s pay for
the period (you may have changed the name of Deduction
F in Setup, Names).
DED_F_YTD Total Deduction F deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_G_PERIOD Amount of Deduction G deducted from employee’s pay for
F in Setup, Names).
DED_G-YTD Total Deduction G deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_H_PERIOD Amount of Deduction H deducted from employee’s pay
for the period (you may have changed the name of
Deduction F in Setup, Names).
DED_H_YTD Total Deduction H deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.


DED_I_PERIOD Amount of Deduction I deducted from employee’s pay for
F in Setup, Names).
DED_I_YTD Total Deduction I deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
DED_J_PERIOD Amount of Deduction J deducted from employee’s pay for
F in Setup, Names).
DED_J_YTD Total Deduction J deducted from employee’s pay for the
year.
Table 16. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports File PAYRLCHQ.RPT and
QPRLCHQ.RPT

_parameter 2 References the Employee ID number.
Cents Prints the cents portion of the cheque.
NetDollars Prints the dollar amount of the cheque, written out.
NetPay Prints the net pay for the period (gross pay less deductions).
Table 17. Other Fields in the CA-RET File PAYRLCHQ.RET

neg_Benefits Prints the amount of the employee’s benefits for the period,
neg_Withheld Prints the amount of the deductions withheld for the period,
User Guide 21–37

Table 18. Other Fields in the CA-RET File QPAYRLCHQ.RET

bTipsNotRemitted Determines when to print total tips.
bTips Remitted Prints total tips.
Customized Payment Cheque Form

customized payment cheque forms:
■ PAYMTCHQ.RPT or PAYMTCHQ.RET. Contains information
about how to format payment cheques for printing.
Crystal Reports The PAYMTCHQ.RPT file uses ten subreports, which are
also Crystal Reports files. When you open
PAYMTCHQ.RPT to edit it, the names of the following
subreport files are displayed on the payment cheque where
you can select them for editing:
PAYHEAD.RPT
COMP_HDR.RPT
COMPNAME.RPT
COMPNAME.RPT - 01
PAYSTUB.RPT
PAYSTUB.RPT - 01
PAYMTDET.RPT
PAYMTDET.RPT - 01
PAYMTDET.RPT - 02
PAYMTDET.RPT - 03
The PAYMTCHQ.RPT file also contain other fields, used to
CA-RET The PAYMTCHQ.RET file uses five subreports, which are
also CA-RET files. When you open PAYMTCHQ.RET to

edit it, CA-RET also opens a window for each of the

following subreport files:
PAYHEAD.RET
PAYSTUB.RET
PAYCOL1.RET
PAYCOL2.RET
PAYCOL3.RET
The PAYMTCHQ.RET file also contain other fields, used to
■ VENCHQ1.CSV. Contains information about the vendor,
and general information about the cheque (listed in
Table 19).
■ VENCHQ2.CSV. Contains details about the invoices the
cheque is paying (listed in Table 20).
For instructions on how to select custom forms for printing

payment cheques, see “Selecting Custom Forms for Printing and
E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.
Table 19. Contents of the VENCHQ1.CSV File

VENDOR_NAME Vendor’s name.
VENDOR_CONTACT The contact name or address information in the Contact box.
VENDOR_STREET Vendor’s street address.
VENDOR_CITY Vendor’s city.
VENDOR_PROVINCE Vendor’s province.
VENDOR_POSTAL Vendor’s postal code.
User Guide 21–39


CHEQUE_DATE The date in the Date box.
CHEQUE_NUMBER The number in the No. box.
CHEQUE_TOTAL The total amount of the cheque.
TOTAL_DOLLARS The dollar amount of the cheque, written out.
TOTAL_CENTS The cents amount of the cheque.

VENDOR_NAME Vendor’s name. (This field provides a link with the
VENDOR_NAME field in the VENCHQ1.CSV file, so that
Crystal Reports knows which vendor’s invoices to select.)
INVOICE_NUMBER The number of the invoice the cheque is paying.
ORIGINAL_AMOUNT The original amount of the invoice.
AMOUNT_OWING The amount owing on the invoice.
PAYMENT The amount the cheque is paying toward the invoice.
DISCOUNT The amount of any discount taken on the invoice.
LINE_COUNT The total number of detail lines on the cheque.
Table 21. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports File PAYMTCHQ.RPT

Cents Prints the cents portion of the cheque.
CheckTotal Prints the total amount of the cheque.
TotalDollars Prints the dollar amount of the cheque, written out.
ShowComma Prints a comma after the City name.

Table 21. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports File PAYMTCHQ.RPT

Discount Prints the discount amount taken off the original invoice
amount.
Invoice Prints the number of the invoice the cheque is paying.
Payment Prints the amount being paid against the invoice.
Table: 22. Other Fields in the CA-RET File PAYMTCHQ.RET

dcol_1 Places the first 12 invoices in the first column.
dcol_2 Places invoices 13-24 in the second column.
dcol_3 Places invoices 25-36 in the third column.
bPrintDiscount Specifies whether a discount is being taken on the invoice.
bPrintSec1 Specifies whether to print the invoice discount details (if any)
in the first column.
in the second column.
in the third column.
Customized Purchase Order Form

customized purchase order forms:
■ PURORDER.RPT or PURORDER.RET. Contains information
about how to format purchase orders for printing.
■ PO_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to format
purchase orders for e-mailing.
User Guide 21–41


■ POITEM.CSV. Contains details about each item listed on the
purchase order (listed in Table 23).
■ POTAXES.CSV. Contains details about the GST and QST
charged on the purchase order (listed in Table 24).
■ POVEND.CSV. Contains information about the vendor for
whom you are creating the purchase order, and general
information about the purchase order (listed in Table 25).

e-mailing purchase orders, see “Selecting Custom Forms for
Printing and E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports purchase order
files, PURORDER.RPT and PO_MAIL.RPT:
■ The PURORDER.RPT file uses two subreports, called
COMP_HDR.RPT and POTAXES.RPT. When you edit the
PURORDER.RPT file, the names of the subreport files are
displayed on the purchase order, where you can select them
for editing.
purchase order. These are listed in Table 26.
CA-RET files Note the following about the CA-RET purchase order file
PURORDER.RET:
■ This file uses a subreport, called POTAXES.RET. When you
edit the PURORDER.RET file, CA-RET also opens a
window for the subreport file.
■ This file also contains other fields, used to format the
purchase order. These are listed in Table 27.


Table 23. Contents of the POITEM.CSV File

PO_NUMBER The number in the Order/Quote No. box.
ITEM The item number.
QUANTITY The quantity received of this item.
ORDERED The number of items ordered.
BACK_ORDER The number of items ordered, but not yet received.
UNIT The unit the item is purchased in.
DESCRIPTION The item’s description.
GST_CODE The GST code for the item.
GST_AMT The GST amount for the item.
PST_RATE The PST rate for the item.
PST_AMT The PST amount for the item.
QST_CODE The QST code for the item.
QST_AMT The QST amount for the item.
PRICE The price per unit to purchase the item.
AMOUNT The total price for the quantity ordered of the item.
LINENUM The number of the detail line on the purchase order.
Table 24. Contents of the POTAXES.CSV File

TAX_CODE_DESCRIP A description of the tax codes used on the purchase order.
For example, the description of code 3 is “3 – GST @ 7.0%, not
included.”
TAX_AMOUNT_ The total amount of tax charged on the purchase order for
User Guide 21–43

Table 24. Contents of the POTAXES.CSV File

INCLUDE each tax code for which the tax is included in the price.
TAX_AMOUNT_NI The total amount of tax charged on the purchase order for
each tax code for which the tax is not included in the price.
Table 25. Contents of the POVEND.CSV File

VENDOR_1 The vendor’s name in the Purchased From box in the
Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window.
VENDOR_2 The first address line in the Purchased From box.
VENDOR_3 The second address line in the Purchased From box.
VENDOR_4 The third address line in the Purchased From box.
VENDOR_5 The fourth address line in the Purchased From box.
SHIP_TO_1 The information on the first line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_2 The information on the second line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_3 The information on the third line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_4 The information on the fourth line of the Ship To box.
SHIP_TO_5 The information on the fifth line of the Ship To box.
PO_NUMBER The number in the Order/Quote No. box.
SHIP_DATE The date in the Ship Date box.
PO_DATE The date in the Date box.
FREIGHT The freight charged on the purchase order.
FREIGHT_GST The total amount of GST charged on freight on the purchase
order.

Table 25. Contents of the POVEND.CSV File

FREIGHT_QST The total amount of QST charged on freight on the purchase
order.
GST_1 The total amount of GST charged using rate 1 on the
purchase order (including the amount charged on freight).
QST_1 The total amount of QST charged using rate 1 on the
QST_2 The total amount of QST charged using rate 2 on the
PST The total amount of PST charged on the purchase order.
PO_TOTAL The total amount charged on the purchase order.
TERMS This field contains a Yes if there are early-payment terms on
the purchase order; otherwise, it contains a No.
TERMS_TEXT The early-payment terms on the purchase order.
Table 26. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Purchase Order Files PURORDER.RPT
and PO_MAIL.RPT

BDone Tells Crystal whether to print Footer A or Footer B.
BFreight Prints the word “Freight” on the e-mail purchase order.
bTotalAmount Prints the words “Total Amount” on the purchase order.
cAmount Prints the word “Amount” on the e-mail purchase order.
cPostal Prints your company’s postal code on the e-mail purchase
order.
cPrice Prints the words “Unit Price” on the e-mail purchase order.
cQSTNum Prints the words “QST Reg No.:” on the e-mail purchase
order.
cShipDate Prints the words “Ship Date:” on the purchase order.
User Guide 21–45

Table 26. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Purchase Order Files PURORDER.RPT
and PO_MAIL.RPT

Ordered Prints the word “Ordered” on the purchase order.
PSTOnlyVal Prints the PST (provincial sales tax) amount.
if they are included on the purchase order.
Table 27. Other Fields in the CA-RET File PURORDER.RET

bBusNo Displays the Business Number.
bGst Displays the GST registration number.
bPrintTerms Displays the payment terms.
bQst Displays the QST (Quebec sales tax) registration number.
PSTOnly Displays the field name “PST.”
PSTOnlyVal Displays the PST (provincial sales tax) amount.
QPValue Displays the QST code or PST rate.
Customized Sales Quote Form

customized sales quote forms:
■ QUOTES.RPT or QUOTES.RET. Contains information about
how to format sales quotes for printing.

■ SQ_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to format

sales quotes for e-mailing.
■ INVCUST.CSV. Contains information about the customer
for whom you are creating the sales quote, and general
information about the quote (listed in Table 2).
■ INVITEM.CSV. Contains details about each item listed on
the sales quote (listed in Table 3).
charged on the sales quote (listed in Table 4).

e-mailing sales quotes, see “Selecting Custom Forms for
Printing and E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports sales quote files,
QUOTES.RPT and SQ_MAIL.RPT:
■ The QUOTES.RPT file uses two subreports, called
COMP_HDR.RPT and INVTAXES.RPT. When you edit the
QUOTES.RPT sales quote file, the names of the subreport
files are displayed on the sales quote, where you can select
them for editing.
■ These files also contain other fields, used to format the sales
quote. These are listed in Table 28.
CA-RET files Note the following about the CA-RET sales quote file
QUOTES.RET:
■ This file uses a subreport, called INVTAXES.RET. When
you edit the QUOTES.RET file, CA-RET also opens a
window for the subreport file.
■ This file also contains other fields used to format the sales
quote. These are listed in Table 29.
User Guide 21–47


Table 28. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Sales Quote Files, QUOTES.RPT and
SQ_MAIL.RPT

bFreight Prints the word “Freight” on the e-mail sales quote.
bPrintGroup1 Determines when to print sales quote totals at the bottom of
the page. When the page is full and this field contains “False,”
Crystal Reports prints the word “Continued” because there
are more detail lines to print. Crystal Reports prints the sales
quote totals when all sales quote details are printed and this
field contains “True.”
bTotalAmount Prints the words “Total Amount.”
cAmount Prints the word “Amount.”
cPostal Prints your company’s postal code.
cPrice Prints the words “Unit Price.”
cQSTNum Prints the words “QST Reg No.:”
cQuantity Prints the word “Quantity.”
cShipDate Prints the words “Ship Date:”
Ordered Prints the quantity of the item ordered.
PSTValue Prints the total amount of PST charged on the sales quote.
if they are included on the sales quote.

Table 29. Other Fields in the CA-RET Sales Quote File, QUOTES.RET

bGST Prints your company’s GST registration number.
bPrintDue Prints the due date for the sales quote.
bPrintTerms Prints the payment terms for the sales quote.
bQST Prints the QST (Quebec sales tax) registration number.
InvoiceDue Prints the word “Due” and the due date for the sales quote.
ShippedBy Prints the shipper’s name on the sales quote.
TrackingNumber Prints the shipment tracking number on the sales quote.
PSTOnlyVal Prints the total amount of PST charged on the sales quote.
Customized Sales Order Confirmation Form

customized sales order confirmation forms:
■ The main sales order confirmation report for printing — one
of:
– ORD_BO.RPT or ORD_BO.RET. Prints a sales order
confirmation that includes any backorder information.
Or
– SALORDER.RPT or SALORDER.RET. Prints a sales order
confirmation that does not include backorder
information.
■ The main sales order confirmation report for e-mailing —
one of:
User Guide 21–49

– SO_BO_ML.RPT. Contains information about how to

format a sales order confirmation for e-mailing,
including any backorder information.
Or
– SO_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to
format a sales order confirmation for e-mailing, that
does not include backorder information.
■ INVCUST.CSV. Contains information about the customer
for whom you are creating the sales order confirmation, and
general information about the order (listed in Table 2).
■ INVITEM.CSV. Contains details about each item listed on
the sales order confirmation (listed in Table 3).
charged on the sales order confirmation (listed in Table 4).

e-mailing sales order confirmations, see “Selecting Custom
Forms for Printing and E-mailing,” earlier in this chapter.
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports sales order
confirmation files ORD_BO.RPT, SALORDER.RPT,
SO_BO_ML.RPT, and SO_MAIL.RPT:
■ The ORD_BO.RPT and SALORDER.RPT files use two
subreports, called COMP_HDR.RPT and ORDERTX.RPT.
When you edit either of the sales order confirmation files,
the names of the subreport files are displayed on the sales
order confirmation, where you can select them for editing.
■ These files also contain other fields, used to format the sales
order confirmation. These are listed in Table 30.
CA-RET files Note the following about the CA-RET sales order confirmation
files ORD_BO.RET and SALORDER.RET:
■ SALORDER.RET uses a subreport, called INVTAXES.RET;
and ORD_BO.RET uses a subreport, called
INVBOTAX.RET. When you edit either of the sales order

confirmation files, CA-RET also opens a window for the

subreport file.
■ These files also contain other fields used to format the sales
order confirmation. These are listed in Table 31.
Table 30. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Sales Order Confirmation Files,
ORD_BO.RPT, SALORDER.RPT, SO_BO_ML.RPT, and SO_MAIL.RPT

BackOrder Prints the quantity of the item on back order.
bFreight Prints the word “Freight.”
bPrintGroup1 Determines when to print sales order confirmation totals at
the bottom of the page. When the page is full and this field
contains “False,” Crystal Reports prints the word
“Continued” because there are more detail lines to print.
Crystal Reports prints the sales order confirmation totals
when all details are printed and this field contains “True.”
bTotalAmount Prints the words “Total Amount.”
cAmount Prints the word “Amount.”
cBO Prints the word ”B/O.”
cPrice Prints the words “Unit Price.”
cQSTNum Prints the words “QST Reg No.:”
cShipDate Prints the words “Ship Date:”
Ordered Prints the quantity of the item ordered.
PSTValue Prints the total amount of PST charged on the sales order
confirmation.
User Guide 21–51

Table 30. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Sales Order Confirmation Files,
ORD_BO.RPT, SALORDER.RPT, SO_BO_ML.RPT, and SO_MAIL.RPT

if they are included on the sales order confirmation.
Table 31. Other Fields in the CA-RET Sales Order Confirmation Files, ORD_BO.RET
and SALORDER.RET

bGST Prints your company’s GST registration number.
bPrintDue Prints the due date for the sales order confirmation.
bPrintTerms Prints the payment terms for the sales order confirmation.
bQST Prints the QST (Quebec sales tax) registration number.
InvoiceDue Prints the word “Due” and the due date for the sales order
confirmation.
PSTOnlyVal Prints the total amount of PST charged on the sales order
confirmation.
Customized Receipts Form

customized receipt forms:
■ RECEIPT.RPT or RECEIPT.RET. Contains information about
how to format receipts for printing.
■ RCT_MAIL.RPT. Contains information about how to format
receipts for e-mailing.

■ RCPT1.CSV. Contains information about the customer for

whom you are creating the receipt, and general information
about the payment. (See Table 34.)
■ RCPT2.CSV. Contains information about the invoice to
which the payment is being applied. (See Table 35.)

e-mailing receipts, see “Selecting Custom Forms for Printing
Crystal Reports files Note the following about the Crystal Reports receipt files,
RECEIPT.RPT and RCT_MAIL.RPT:
■ The RECEIPT.RPT file uses 10 subreports, which are also
Crystal Reports files. When you edit this receipt file, the
names of the following subreport files are displayed on the
receipt where you can select them for editing:
– PAYHEAD.RPT
– COMP_HDR.RPT
– COMPNAME.RPT
– COMPNAME.RPT - 01
– PAYSTUB.RPT
– PAYSTUB.RPT - 01
– PAYMTDET.RPT
– PAYMTDET.RPT - 01
receipt. These are listed in Table 32.
CA-RET Note that the CA-RET receipt file, RECEIPT.RET, uses five
subreports, which are also CA-RET reports. When you edit the
RECEIPTS.RET file, CA-RET also opens a window for each of
the following subreport files:
■ RCTHEAD.RET
User Guide 21–53

■ RCTSTUB.RET
■ RCTCOL1.RET
■ RCTCOL2.RET
■ RCTCOL3.RET

Table 32. Other Fields in the Crystal Reports Files RECEIPT.RPT and RCT_MAIL.RPT

bAmountRec Prints the words “Amount Received.”
bDisc Prints the word “Discount.”
cVPostal Prints the customer’s postal code.
Discount Prints the discount amount taken off the original invoice
amount.
Invoice Prints the invoice number.
nextDisc Prints the discount amount taken off the next original invoice
amount.
nextInvNo Prints the next invoice number.
NextPayment Prints the amount being paid against the next invoice.
Payment Prints the amount being paid on the current invoice.
Table 33. Other Fields in the CA-RET RECEIPT.RET

bPrintDiscount Prints discount, if a discount is available.
bPrintSec1 Prints the discount in column 1.

Table 33. Other Fields in the CA-RET RECEIPT.RET

dcol1 Defines the location of column 1.
Table 34. Contents of the RCPT1.CSV File

always contains the number “1”
VENDOR_NAME Customer’s name.
VENDOR_CONTACT The contact name or address information in the Contact box.
VENDOR_STREET Customer’s street address.
VENDOR_CITY Customer’s city.
VENDOR_PROVINCE Customer’s province.
VENDOR_POSTAL Customer’s postal code.
CHEQUE_DATE Customer’s cheque date.
CHEQUE_NUMBER Customer’s cheque number.
CHEQUE_TOTAL The total amount of the customer’s payment cheque.
TOTAL_DOLLARS The total dollar amount of the customer’s payment, written
out.
TOTAL_CENTS The total cents amount of the customer’s payment.

User Guide 21–55

Management Report File Names and Fields

VENDOR_NAME Customer’s name.
INVOICE_NUMBER The number of the invoice that the payment is for.
ORIGINAL_AMOUNT The original amount of the invoice.
AMOUNT_OWING The amount still owing on the invoice.
PAYMENT_DISCOUNT The amount of any discount taken off the invoice.
LINE_COUNT The total number of detail lines on the receipt.

Simply Accounting comes with business advice in the form of
management reports that you can display, print, and customize.
If you want to customize reports, you need to install Crystal
Reports or CA-RET, as explained at the beginning of this
chapter.
Management reports provide information about how your
business is doing (for example, which customers’ sales have
increased), and about aspects of the business that may require
your attention (for example, which inventory items are selling
below cost). You can use Crystal Reports or CA-RET to change
a report’s selection criteria (for example, if you want the
“Customers with Overdue Amounts” report to show customers
with amounts owing for more than 90 days, instead of the
preset criterion of the number of days in the Second Aging
Period box, on the Setup, Settings, Customers And Sales tab),
and to change a report’s design.

Displaying and Printing Management Reports
To display or print management reports:

1. On the Reports menu, select Management Reports, then
choose All Modules or choose the name of a module.
2. Highlight the name of the management report that you wish
to see.
or CA-RET file to use for printing the report.
Location of report
location.
name.
4. Choose OK to display the report. Crystal Reports or
CA-RET opens, with your Simply Accounting information
displayed.
5. In Crystal Reports or CA-RET, choose the Print button to
print the report. The program uses the printer you set up
for reports (in the Home window, on the Setup menu,
choose Reports And Forms, then select the Reports And
Graphs tab).
6. When you are finished displaying or printing the report,
close Crystal Reports or CA-RET to return to Simply
Accounting.
Customizing Management Reports
In addition to displaying and printing management reports, you

can also modify the information that is included on reports. For
example, the report “Overdue Amounts Owed to Vendors” lists
invoices that are outstanding a minimum of the number of days
User Guide 21–57

in the Second Aging Period box, on the Setup, Settings, Vendors

And Purchases tab. If you wish, you can change the report’s
selection criteria so the report prints invoices that have been
outstanding for, say, 90 days or more.
For instructions on how to modify management reports, see the
section “Modifying Custom Forms and Management Reports,”
Contents of Management Reports
Simply Accounting comes with two sets of management reports

— one set for Crystal Reports and the other for CA-RET. The
two sets of reports contain exactly the same information. Each
report is defined in its own Crystal Reports file, with the
filename extension .RPT; and its own CA-RET file, with the
filename extension .RET.
Each .RPT and .RET file retrieves information from three special
Simply Accounting data files, with the filename extension .CSV.
The first file is the SETTINGS.CSV file, containing information
about your company (listed in Table 1, earlier in this chapter).
Each management report uses different fields from the
SETTINGS.CSV file, depending on the needs of the particular
form (for example, the Customers With Overdue Amounts
report uses the customers and sales aging information).
The second file, RPTOPT.CSV, contains a company number
reference, and generates a date for the period specified on the
following reports: Overdue Amounts Owed To Vendors,
Customers With Overdue Accounts, Employees With Overtime
Hours This Month all generate As At dates.
The third .CSV file is specific to each report or group of related
reports, and contains a number of fields with information that
the report needs, copied from your Simply Accounting data
files at the time you print the report.
This section contains a subsection for each management report.
The subsection describes the .RPT, .RET, and .CSV files used to
create the report, and includes tables that list the fields specific
to the report that are contained in the .CSV file.

When you customize your management reports, refer to the

report subsections in this section to see which .CSV file a report
uses, what information each .CSV file contains, and the selection
criteria used for the report. For reports that contain modifiable
selection criteria, the subsection mentions that you can change
the selection criteria (by modifying the query Crystal Reports or
CA-RET uses to retrieve information from the .CSV files). See
the Crystal Reports or CA-RET documentation or online Help
for information about editing queries to modify selection
criteria.
Additional fields The .RPT and .RET files that come with Simply Accounting
defined in reports contain fields in addition to the fields from the .CSV files. The
additional fields were created in Crystal Reports or CA-RET
when the report was set up. For example, each .RPT file
contains a PageNumber field; and each .RET file contains a
_date, _pagenumber, and _parameter1 field (described in the
next paragraph). Some of the .RPT and .RET files contain other
fields used to make calculations or to format the reports. If a
report’s .RPT or .RET file contains other fields, the fields and
their descriptions are listed in a table following the report’s
.CSV table, in the subsection that describes the report.
_parameter1 field The _parameter1 field contains the location of the .CSV files
used for the CA-RET report. Simply Accounting uses this field
to pass information about the file location to CA-RET each time
you print the report. If you decide to use the information in the
.CSV files created by Simply Accounting to create your own
CA-RET reports, you must include a _parameter1 field. Refer to
your CA-RET documentation for information about creating the
field.
Duplicated Account Names
Simply Accounting uses the following files to produce the

Duplicated Account Names report:
DUPACTS.RPT or DUPACTS.RET. Contains information about

how to format the report. Simply Accounting uses this Crystal
Reports (.RPT) file or CA-RET (.RET) file to display and print
the report.
User Guide 21–59

SETTINGS.CSV. Contains information about your company

RPTOPT.CSV. Contains a reference to the company number

used for internal purposes (listed in Table 36).
DUPACTS.CSV. Contains information about accounts that have

the same name as another account (listed in Table 37).
Print date Management reports retrieve a print date from the system you
are working on, but if a report requires a date for a specific time
period, the report date is generated from the RPTOPT.CSV file.
Table 36. Contents of the RPTOPT.CSV File

REPORT_DATE Date report is generated, or date for the period requested.
Selection criteria The report includes accounts that have the same name as one or
more other accounts.
Table 37. Contents of the DUPACTS.CSV File

ACCOUNT_NUMBER Number of the account.
ACCOUNT_NAME Name of the account.
Accounts That Can Be Deleted

Accounts That Can Be Deleted report:
IDLEACTS.RPT or IDLEACTS.RET. Contains information about

the report.



IDLEACTS.CSV. Contains information about accounts that can

be deleted (listed in Table 38).
Selection criteria The report includes accounts with a zero balance that have not
been used since the earliest transaction date in current or
last-year entries.
Table 38. Contents of the IDLEACTS.CSV File

ACCOUNT_NUMBER Number of the account that can be deleted.
ACCOUNT_NAME Name of the account that can be deleted.
UNIVERSAL CONSTRUCTION Printed on 17-May-1999
Accounts That Can Be Deleted Page 1
Account Number Account Name
1240 Advances Receivable

2350 WCB Payable>
2445 Misc A
2450 Misc B
2515 GST Payroll Deductions
2520 GST Adjustments
2525 ITC Adjustments
5330 WCB Expense
5440 Transfer Costs
5590 Account Rec. Adjustments
Figure 1. Sample management report: Accounts That Can Be Deleted.
User Guide 21–61

Accounts with a Negative Balance

Accounts With A Negative Balance report:
NEGACTS.RPT or NEGACTS.RET. Contains information about

the report.


NEGACTS.CSV. Contains information about accounts that have

a negative balance (listed in Table 39).
Selection criteria The report includes asset and expense accounts with a credit
balance, and liability, equity, and revenue accounts with a debit
balance.
Table 39. Contents of the NEGACTS.CSV File

ACCOUNT_NUMBER Number of the account.
ACCOUNT_NAME Name of the account.
ACCOUNT_BALANCE Current balance in the account.
Overdue Amounts Owed to Vendors

Overdue Amounts Owed To Vendors report:
VENDUE.RPT or VENDUE.RET. Contains information about how

to format the report. Simply Accounting uses this Crystal
the report.



used for internal purposes, and generates the report date (listed
in Table 36).
VENDUE.CSV. Contains information about vendors whose

invoices have not been paid (listed in Table 40).
Selection criteria The report includes invoices unpaid over the number of days
you specify. The default is the number of days in the Second
Aging Period box, on the Setup, Settings, Vendors And
Purchases tab. You can change the contents of the report by
changing the number of days in the Second Aging Period box in
Simply Accounting, or by editing the query in the Crystal
Reports or CA-RET file to select records unpaid for more than
the number of days you specify.
Table 40. Contents of the VENDUE.CSV File

VENDOR_NAME Name of the vendor.
VENDOR_CONTACT The information in the Contact box in the vendor’s record.
VENDOR_PHONE Vendor’s phone number.
INVOICE_DATE Date of the overdue invoice.
INVOICE_NUMBER Number of the invoice.
AMOUNT_OWING Amount owing on the invoice.
DAYS_OLD Number of days the invoice is unpaid.
COMPANY_NUMBER Internal ID number.
DUE_DATE Invoice due date.
User Guide 21–63

Vendors with Decreased Monthly Purchases (Compared to

Last Year)

Vendors With Decreased Monthly Purchases report:
PURLESS.RPT or PURLESS.RET. Contains information about how

the report. These files also contain other fields, used to make
calculations for the report. These are listed in Table 42.


PURCHASE.CSV. Contains information about purchases from

vendors for the current and previous year (listed in Table 41).
Selection criteria The report includes vendors from whom average monthly
purchases for the current year are less than the previous year’s
average monthly purchases by the factor you specify. The
default is “less than half of last year’s average monthly
purchases.”
Table 41. Contents of the PURCHASE.CSV File

VENDOR_NAME Name of the vendor.
VENDOR_CONTACT The information in the Contact box in the vendor’s record.
VENDOR_PHONE Vendor’s phone number.
YTD_TOT_PURCHASES Total purchases from vendor for the year to date.
NUM_DAYS_IN_YTD Number of days in the current fiscal year as of the session
date.
LAST_YR_TOT_PURCH Previous year’s total purchases from vendor.

Table 42. Other Fields in the PURLESS.RPT, PURLESS.RET, PURMORE.RPT, and

PURMORE.RET Files

avg_mth_pur_last_yr Calculates the average monthly purchases last year.
avg_mth_pur_this_yr Calculates the average monthly purchases this year.
Vendors with Increased Monthly Purchases (Compared to Last Year)

Vendors With Increased Monthly Purchases report:
PURMORE.RPT or PURMORE.RET. Contains information about



PURCHASE.CSV. Contains information about purchases from

vendors for the current and previous year (listed in Table 41).
Selection criteria The report includes vendors from whom average monthly
purchases for the current year are more than the previous year’s
average monthly purchases by the factor you specify. The
default is “more than two times last year’s average monthly
purchases.”
Customers Over Their Credit Limit

Customers Over Their Credit Limit report:
User Guide 21–65

CUSTOVER.RPT or CUSTOVER.RET. Contains information about



CUSTOVER.CSV. Contains information about customers who

have exceeded their credit limit (listed in Table 43).
Selection criteria The report includes customers who owe more than their credit
limit.
Table 43. Contents of the CUSTOVER.CSV File

CUSTOMER_NAME Name of the customer.
CUSTOMER_CONTACT The information in the Contact box in the customer’s
record.
CUSTOMER_PHONE Customer’s phone number.
TOTAL_OWING Total amount the customer owes.
CREDIT_LIMIT Customer’s credit limit.
Table 44. Other Field in the CUSTOVER.RPT and CUSTOVER.RET Files

dOver Calculates the amount the customer is over the credit limit.

Customers with Decreased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year)

Customers With Decreased Monthly Sales report:
SALELESS.RPT or SALELESS.RET. Contains information about



SALE.CSV. Contains information about sales to customers for

the current and previous year (listed in Table 45).
Selection criteria The report includes customers to whom average monthly sales
for the current year are less than the previous year’s average
monthly sales by the factor you specify. The default is “less than
half of last year’s average monthly sales.”
Table 45. Contents of the SALE.CSV File

record.
YTD_TOT_SALES Total sales to customer for the year to date.
NUM_DAYS_IN_YTD Number of days in the current fiscal year as of the session
date.
LAST_YR_TOT_SALES Previous year’s total sales to customer.
User Guide 21–67

Table 46. Other Fields in the SALELESS.RPT, SALELESS.RET, SALEMORE.RPT, and

SALEMORE.RET Files

avg_mth_sal_last_yr Calculates the average monthly sales last year.
avg_mth_sal_this_yr Calculates the average monthly sales this year.
Customers with Increased Monthly Sales (Compared to Last Year)

Customers With Increased Monthly Sales report:
SALEMORE.RPT or SALEMORE.RET. Contains information about



SALE.CSV. Contains information about sales to customers for

the current and previous year (listed in Table 45).
Selection criteria The report includes customers to whom average monthly sales
for the current year are more than the previous year’s average
monthly sales by the factor you specify. The default is “more
than two times last year’s average monthly sales.”
Customers with Overdue Amounts

Customers With Overdue Amounts report:

CUSTDUE.RPT or CUSTDUE.RET. Contains information about



used for internal purposes, and generates the report date (listed
in Table 36).
CUSTDUE.CSV. Contains information about customers with

overdue amounts, including the amount owed in each aging
period (listed in Table 47).
Selection criteria The report includes customers who have invoices outstanding
over the number of days you specify. The default is the number
of days in the Second Aging Period box, on the Setup, Settings,
Customers And Sales tab. You can change the contents of the
report by changing the number of days in the Second Aging
Period box, or by editing the query in the Crystal or CA-RET
file to select records outstanding more than the number of days
you specify.
Table 47. Contents of the CUSTDUE.CSV File

record.
OWING_AGE_CURRENT Amount the customer owes for the current period.
OWING_AGE_1 Amount outstanding for the first aging period (for
OWING_AGE_2 Amount outstanding for the second aging period (for
User Guide 21–69

Table 47. Contents of the CUSTDUE.CSV File

OWING_AGE_3 Amount outstanding for the third aging period (for
example, over 90 days).
INTEREST_DUE Accrued interest owing on the overdue balance (if you use
this option, on the Setup, Settings, Customers And Sales
tab).
OWING_AMOUNT_DUE Sum of the amount outstanding for the second and third
aging periods.
Table 48. Other Field in the CUSTDUE.RPT and CUSTDUE.RET Files

Overdue Calculates the total amount overdue.
Employees with Decreased Hours Since the Last Pay Period

Employees With Decreased Hours Since The Last Pay Period
report:
EMPHRS.RPT or EMPHRS.RET. Contains information about how




EMPHRS.CSV. Contains information about employees whose

regular or overtime hours are less in the current period than in
the previous period (listed in Table 49).
Selection criteria The report includes employees whose regular or overtime hours
for the most recent pay period are lower than those for the
previous pay period.
Table 49. Contents of the EMPHRS.CSV File

EMPLOYEE_NAME Name of the employee.
REG_HRS_RECENT Number of regular hours for the employee in the most recent
pay period.
OVT_HRS_RECENT Number of overtime hours for the employee in the most
recent pay period.
REG_HRS_PREVIOUS Number of regular hours for the employee in the previous
pay period.
OVT_HRS_PREVIOUS Number of overtime hours for the employee in the previous
pay period.
OVT2_HRS_RECENT Number of overtime hours at rate 2 for the employee in the
most recent pay period.
OVT2_HRS_PREVIOUS Number of overtime hours at rate 2 for the employee in the
previous pay period.
Table 50. Other Fields in the EMPHRS.RPT and EMPHRS.RET Files

Over_Diff or Ovt_Diff Calculates the difference between the number of overtime
hours in the most recent and previous pay periods.
Reg_Diff Calculates the difference between the number of regular
hours in the most recent and previous pay periods.
User Guide 21–71

Employees with Overtime Hours This Month

Employees With Overtime Hours This Month report:
EMPOVT.RPT or EMPOVT.RET. Contains information about how

the report.


used for internal purposes, and generates a report date (listed in
Table 36).
EMPOVT.CSV. Contains information about employees who

have worked overtime in the current month (listed in Table 51).
Selection criteria The report includes only hourly employees whose overtime
hours are more than the number you specify for the month. The
default is “more than zero hours of overtime.”
Table 51. Contents of the EMPOVT.CSV File

OVT_HOURS_MONTH Number of overtime hours for the employee in the current
month.
OVT_HOURS_YEAR Number of overtime hours for the employee in the current
year.
OVT2_HOURS_MONTH Number of overtime hours at rate 2 for the employee in the
current month.
OVT2_HOURS_YEAR Number of overtime hours at rate 2 for the employee in the
current year.

Employees with Pay Changes Since the Last Pay Period

Employees With Pay Changes Since The Last Pay Period report:
EMPPAY.RPT or EMPPAY.RET. Contains information about how



EMPPAY.CSV. Contains information about employees whose

gross pay has changed since the last pay period (listed in
Table 52).
Selection criteria The report includes employees whose most recent gross pay is
different from their previous gross pay.
Table 52. Contents of the EMPPAY.CSV File

GROSS_PAY_RECENT Employee’s gross pay for the most recent pay period.
GROSS_PAY_PREVIOUS Employee’s gross pay for the previous pay period.
Table 53. Other Field in the EMPPAY.RPT and EMPPAY.RET Files

G_Pay_Diff Calculates the difference between the most recent and the
previous gross pay.
User Guide 21–73

Inventory Items Selling Below Cost

Inventory Items Selling Below Cost report:
INVPRICE.RPT or INVPRICE.RET. Contains information about



INVENTRY.CSV. Contains information about inventory items’

cost and selling price (listed in Table 54).
Selection criteria The report includes inventory items whose selling price is less
than their cost.
Table 54. Contents of the INVENTRY.CSV File

ITEM_NUMBER Number of the inventory item.
ITEM_DESCRIPTION Description of the inventory item.
PRICE_PER_UNIT Inventory item’s selling price per unit.
COST_PER_UNIT Inventory item’s cost per unit.
Table 55. Other Field in the INVPRICE.RPT and INVPRICE.RET Files

Loss_Per_Unit Calculates the difference between the cost and price per unit.

Inventory Items with a Low Markup

Inventory Items With A Low Markup report:
LOMARKUP.RPT or LOMARKUP.RET. Contains information

about how to format the report. Simply Accounting uses this
Crystal Reports (.RPT) file or CA-RET (.RET) file to display and
print the report. These files also contain other fields, used to
make calculations for the report. These are listed in Table 56.



Selection criteria The report includes inventory items whose markup is less than
the rate (percentage) you specify. The default is 15 percent.
Table 56. Other Field in the LOMARKUP.RPT and LOMARKUP.RET Files

markup Calculates markup on inventory items.
Inventory Items with a Low Profit Margin

Inventory Items With A Low Profit Margin report:
LOMARGIN.RPT or LOMARGIN.RET. Contains information

about how to format the report. Simply Accounting uses this
Crystal Reports (.RPT) file or CA-RET (.RET) file to display and
print the report. These files also contain other fields, used to
make calculations for the report. These are listed in Table 57.
User Guide 21–75




Selection criteria The report includes inventory items whose margin is less than
the rate (percentage) you specify. The default is 15 percent.
Table 57. Other Field in the LOMARGIN.RPT and LOMARGIN.RET Files

margin Calculates the margin on inventory items.
Projects That Have Lost Money

Projects That Have Lost Money report:
PROJINC.RPT or PROJINC.RET. Contains information about

the report.
The PROJINC.RPT file also contains another field, used to make

calculations for the report. This field is listed in Table 59.
The PROJINC.RET file also contains other fields, used to make

calculations for the report. These fields are listed in Table 60.



PROJINC.CSV. Contains information about projects whose

current net income is less than the project’s net income at the
earliest transaction date (listed in Table 58).
Selection criteria The report includes projects whose revenue since the earliest
transaction date is less than the expense since the earliest
transaction date.
Table 58. Contents of the PROJINC.CSV File

PROJECT_NAME Name of project.
CURRENT_TOT_REV Current total revenue for the project.
CURRENT_TOT_EXP Current total expenses for the project.
PREVIOUS_TOT_REV Total revenue for the project as of the earliest transaction
date.
PREVIOUS_TOT_EXP Total expenses for the project as of the earliest transaction
date.
Table 59. Other Field in the PROJINC.RPT File

Net_Loss Calculates CURRENT_TOT_EXP minus
CURRENT_TOT_REV.
Table 60. Other Fields in the PROJINC.RET File

Current_Rev Current total revenue for the project.
Current_Exp Current total expense for the project.
Net_Loss Calculates CURRENT_TOT_EXP minus
CURRENT_TOT_REV.
User Guide 21–77

Unused Projects

Unused Projects report:
IDLEPROJ.RPT or IDLEPROJ.RET. Contains information about

the report.


IDLEPROJ.CSV. Contains information about projects to which

you have not allocated any revenue or expense since the earliest
transaction date (listed in Table 61).
Selection criteria The report includes projects to which you have not allocated
any revenue or expense since the earliest transaction date. Note
that if you clear transaction entries, using the Clear Transaction
Details choice on the Maintenance menu, all projects will appear
on this report (except projects to which you have allocated
revenue or expense after the clearing date).
Table 61. Contents of the IDLEPROJ.CSV File

PROJECT_NAME Name of project.
PROJECT_START_DATE Start date of the project.
CURRENT_NET_INC Current net income for the project.

Index
. Account reconciliation (continued)

balancing
.ASA data file See: Account reconciliation:
cash-basis accounting, 17-2, 17-3 unresolved amount
.CSV files bank deposits, clearing, 14-17
in custom forms, 21-7, 21-11 Cleared status, 14-5 to 14-11
in management reports, 21-7, 21-55, 21-56 clearing transactions automatically, 14-2
Settings.csv, 21-13, 21-58 credit hold (NSF cheques), 14-9
.IMP files, 18-3 date, 14-5
.RET files defined, 14-1
in custom forms, 21-11 Deposit Error status, 14-10
in management reports, 21-55 Expense 1, 2, and 3, 14-12
.RPT files group deposits, 14-17
in custom forms, 21-11 helpful hints, 14-16
in management reports, 21-55 Income 1, 2, and 3, 14-11
.RTF files, 18-3 interest income, 14-11
NSF status, 14-9, 14-16
Outstanding status (for reminders), 14-10
A Payment Error status, 14-10
period-end procedures, 15-2
processing, 14-15 to 14-16
Access privileges
reconciling, 14-5 to 14-11
DDE, 19-12
reminders, adding, 14-10
Access to Simply Accounting
reports, 14-16
restricting with passwords, 1-1 to 1-3
saving, 14-4
Account
service charges, 14-12
numbering, 2-2
setting up
type, changing, 2-18
See: Getting Started manual
type, defined
status, 14-9 to 14-10
transferring credit-card deposits, 14-3
Account balances
unresolved amount, 14-13 to 14-15
including future transactions in, 15-16
Void status, 14-9
Account numbers
Work Sheet area, 14-6, 14-13 to 14-16
budgeting revenue and expense accounts,
Account Reconciliation Status Detail report,
3-3
16-3
hiding on reports, 16-2
Account Reconciliation Status Summary
Account reconciliation, 14-1 to 14-18
report, 16-4
adjustments, 14-7 to 14-11, 14-14
User Guide Index–1

SWC7UGIN.DOC, printed on 03/08/99, at 11:49 AM. Last saved on 02/24/99 3:16 PM.
Account Reconciliation Transactions report, Adjustments (continued)

16-5 processing transactions, 8-1, 8-3
Account Reconciliation window tracking inventory details, 8-4
clearing, 2-27 to 2-29 Advances (payroll)
Accounts See: Payroll advances
adding, 2-2 to 2-6 Advice, 13-14
adding “on the fly,” 17-6 Aged Overdue Purchase Invoices report, 16-6
changing, 2-18 to 2-20 Aged Overdue Sales Invoices report, 16-7
using the Modify Accounts wizard, Aged reports
2-19 customers, 16-18
removing, 2-20 to 2-22 vendors, 16-73
using the Modify Accounts wizard, All Transactions report, 16-8
2-22 Allocating budgets, 3-4
setting up Allocating to projects, 9-1
See: Getting Started manual before project start date, 16-52
Accrual-basis accounting Allow Transactions In Previous Year option
printing accrual reports in cash-basis using for year-end adjustments, 15-5
accounting, 17-14 Application
Adding in DDE link, 19-16
accounts, 2-2 to 2-6 .ASA data file
accounts “on the fly,” 17-6 cash-basis accounting, 17-2, 17-3
customer records, 2-9 to 2-11, 6-2 ASCII file
employee records, 2-11 to 2-14 exporting to, using DDE, 19-6
inventory item records, 2-14 to 2-16 Assembly
project records, 2-16 to 2-18 of inventory from other items, 8-2
service records, 2-14 to 2-16 See also: Item assembly
vendor records, 2-6 to 2-8, 5-8 Audit trail (printing reports), 15-17
Adjusting (automatically) Auditing considerations, 15-16
paycheques, 11-11 account balances appearing in display,
Payroll Cheque Run paycheque, 11-11 15-16
purchase invoices, 11-2 account balances appearing in reports,
purchase orders or quotes, 11-5 15-17
restrictions, 11-1 flexible session dates, 15-16
sales invoices, 11-6 transaction dates, 15-16
sales orders or quotes, 11-10 transaction numbers, 15-16
transaction from previous fiscal year, AUTOEXEC.BAT file
11-13 adding path to Simply Accounting, 19-9
See also: Adjustments; Reversing Automatic adjustments
(manually) See: Adjusting (automatically)
Adjustment status
See: Account reconciliation
Adjustment Transactions report, 16-6
Adjustments
B
in Account Reconciliation window
See: Account reconciliation Back orders
previous fiscal year, 15-5 cancelling, 5-9, 6-9
Index–2 Simply Accounting
CA Confidential
Back orders (continued) Budget Worksheet, 20-10

changing quantities, 5-9, 6-9 Budgeting, 3-1 to 3-8
filling, 5-9, 6-8 adding budget data, 3-3
Backdating allocating budgets evenly across periods,
cheques (payments), 5-16 3-4
Backing up assessing business performance with, 3-6
at end of a work session, 15-1 to 3-7
CA-RET customized forms, 1-7 budget periods, 3-3, 3-6
Crystal Reports customized forms, 1-6 Budget Project option, 3-4
Backing up data, 1-5 to 1-9 Budget Revenue And Expense Accounts
after integrity check, 1-5 option, 3-2
CA-RET customized forms, 1-7 changing budget data, 3-6
Crystal Reports customized forms, 1-6 period-end procedures, 15-2, 15-4
differentiating between backup and purpose, 3-1 to 3-2
current data, 1-9 setting up a company budget, 3-2 to 3-3
labelling backup disks, 1-6 setting up project budgets, 3-5
restoring backed-up files, 1-8 Building inventory from other items, 8-2
when, 1-7 Business
See also: Data integrity setting up (checklist)
Bad debts, 6-21 See: Getting Started manual
Balance sheet, 16-10, 20-10 Business advice, 13-14
Bank accounts Business Assistant, 13-1
interest income, adding in Account See also: Checklists; To-Do Lists
Reconciliation window, 14-11 Buttons
preparing for account reconciliation graphs toolbar, 16-77
service charges, adding in Account
Reconciliation window, 14-12
Bank deposits
C
account reconciliation (clearing as a
group), 14-17 Calculate Discounts Before Tax option
Bank reconciliation for vendors’ invoices, 2-7
See: Account reconciliation Calculate Taxes Automatically button
Bank statements (payroll), 7-3, 7-8
importing, 18-5 Calendar year-end, 15-3
Benefits on paycheques, 7-4 starting a new year, 15-3
Bring-forward system Cancelling
bringing forward purchase orders and back orders, 5-9, 6-9
invoices, 13-5 paycheques, 11-11
bringing forward sales orders and purchase invoices, 11-2
invoices, 13-7 purchase orders, 11-6
using the To-Do Lists to display purchase quotes, 11-6
reminders, 13-2 sales invoices, 11-6
Budget Revenue And Expense Accounts sales orders, 6-9, 11-11
option sales quotes, 11-11
See: Budgeting
CA Confidential
Cancelling (continued) Cheque run (payroll)

transaction from previous fiscal year, See: Paycheques
11-13 Cheques
CA-RET backdating payments, 5-16
fields defined in, 21-57 NSF, reversing, 11-20
CA-RET forms number of payments on, 5-15
backing up, 1-7 paycheque, 16-43
CA-RET program, 21-1 payment cheque, 16-46
CA-RET report writer, 16-1 reprinting, 5-16
Cash purchase See also: Paycheques; Payment cheques
one-time vendors, 5-11 Clear
paying by cheque, 5-10 GST report, 16-29
paying with currency, 5-10 QST report, 16-57
Cash sales, 6-10 Cleared status
Cash-basis accounting See: Account reconciliation
data file, 17-2, 17-3 Clearing
period-end tax reporting, 17-16 account reconciliation information
printing accrual-basis reports, 17-14 (deleting), 2-27 to 2-29
reports, 16-13, 17-5, 17-10 account reconciliation transactions
setting up (setting status to Cleared), 14-5 to
See: Getting Started manual 14-11
transactions, 17-1 data automatically, 2-32
Cash-flow projection, 16-13 disk space, 2-23, 2-33 to 2-34
CA-SuperCalc disk space, by turning off budget option,
exporting to, using DDE, 19-6 3-8
Changing GST, HST, or QST report, 2-30
access privileges, 1-2 inventory tracking data, 2-30
accounts, using the Modify Accounts invoice lookup data, 2-30
wizard, 2-19 last year’s data, 2-31
invoices memory, 2-34
See: Adjusting payroll data, 2-26
passwords, 1-2 recurring transactions, 12-3
PATH command, 19-9 transaction entries, 2-25
records, 2-18 to 2-20 vendor or customer invoices, 2-25
recurring transaction, 12-3 Clearing (removing) paid invoices
transaction entries when to clear, 15-2
See: Adjusting; Reversing Clipboard
Chart of accounts, 16-14 entering DDE links with, 19-11
Checking data integrity Collecting from customers
See: Data integrity identifying overdue sales invoices, 13-9
Checklists, 13-10 Colours, changing
built-in, 13-11 on graphs, 16-78
recreating, 13-11 on screen display
displaying, 13-10 See: Getting Started manual
tasks, 13-10 to 13-14 Column headings
Cheque numbering, 15-17 option in DDE dialog box, 19-14
CA Confidential
Comma-Separated Values format, exporting, Credits and debits, on monthly bank

19-6 statement, 14-3
Components Crystal report writer, 16-1
assembling into inventory items, 8-2 Crystal Reports program, 21-1
See also: Item assembly files, 21-56
Copy of data forms, backing up, 1-6
using on a local area network, 1-10 .CSV files
Correcting a transaction in custom forms, 21-7, 21-11
See: Adjusting; Reversing in management reports, 21-7, 21-55, 21-56
Correcting data integrity errors, 1-4 Settings.csv, 21-13, 21-58
Cost of assembled item, 8-2 CSV format
Cost of goods sold See: Comma-separated values
in item assembly, 8-2 Current record
CPP in DDE, 19-13, 19-18
remitting to the government, 5-18 Current Revenue vs. Last Year, graph, 16-17
Credit Card accounts Custom forms
merchant fees, adding in Account .CSV files, 21-7, 21-11
Reconciliation window, 14-12 file names and fields, 21-11
preparing for account reconciliation modifying, 21-1
See: Getting Started manual printer selection, 21-2
Credit-card purchase, 5-10 .RET files, 21-11
payments to credit card company, 5-16 .RPT files, 21-11
Credit-card reconciliation information Custom reports
clearing, 2-27 creating with DDE, 19-8
Credit-card statements Customer Aged reports, 16-18
importing, 18-5 Customer invoices
Credit cards clearing, 2-25
amounts due from card company, 5-12, Customer labels, 20-5
6-11 Customer list, 16-21
paying a credit-card company, 5-16 Customer overpayment
payments from credit-card company, 6-15 in cash-basis accounting, 17-12
reconciling credit-card deposits, 14-3 Customer prepayment
recording purchases, 5-10 in cash-basis accounting, 17-12
recording sales, 6-11 Customer records
related accounts, 5-12, 6-11 adding, 2-9 to 2-11
transaction fees, 5-12, 6-11 adding ”on the fly,” 6-2
Credit hold, 2-10 changing, 2-18 to 2-20
Credit hold (NSF cheques) removing, 2-20 to 2-22
See: Account reconciliation Customer Sales report, 16-21
Credit limit, 2-10 Customer statements
Credit limit letter, 20-6 See: Statements
Credit memo, 6-17 Customers and Sales module
in cash-basis accounting, 17-11 See: Customer records; Sales; Receipts
writing off unusable inventory, 6-18, 6-20 setting up
See also: Refund See: Getting Started manual
CA Confidential
Customers window Dates

See: Customer records See: Getting Started manual
Customized forms DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)
invoice, 21-16 access privileges, 19-12
paycheque, 21-28 and view access (security), 19-12
payment cheque, 21-37 creating letters with, 19-8, 19-18
printing, 21-4 creating reports with, 19-8
purchase order, 21-40 defined, 19-7
receipts, 21-51 dialog box options, 19-13
sales order confirmation, 21-48 graphing data with, 19-7
sales quote, 21-45 how to use, 19-11
selecting, 21-2 sample application, 19-18
statement, 21-23 DDE links
Customizing copying and pasting, 19-15
forms and reports, 16-1 creating with Copy command, 19-15
management reports, 21-56 creating with dialog box, 19-11, 19-12
defined, 19-11
entering directly, 19-15
entering with Clipboard, 19-11
D how to enter, 19-11
parts of a link, 19-16
Damaged data DDE vs. exporting
See: Data integrity; Restoring backups which to use, 19-8
Data Debits and credits, on monthly bank
backing up, 1-5 to 1-9 statement, 14-3
backing up CA-RET customized forms, Deductions before or after tax (payroll), 2-13
1-7 Deleting
backing up Crystal Reports customized See: Cancelling; Clearing; Removing
forms, 1-6 Deposit Error status
clearing automatically at year end, 2-32 See: Account reconciliation
correcting integrity errors, 1-4 Deposit on purchase
restoring a backup, 1-8 in cash-basis accounting, 17-6
Data integrity Deposits
at end of calendar year, 15-3 account reconciliation (clearing as a
checking, 1-4 group), 14-17
errors, correcting, 1-4 from customers, 6-16
Integrity Summary screen, 1-4 group deposits, marking for account
Database queries (Microsoft Office reconciliation, 14-17
documents), 20-17 to vendors, 5-17
Database tables (Microsoft Office documents), Details of invoices
20-14 See: Invoice lookup
Date Discounting sales
in Account Reconciliation window, 14-5 in cash-basis accounting, 17-11
on cheques (payments), 5-16 Discounts, 2-7, 2-10
Date format Discount Taken field, 5-16, 11-16, 11-20
choosing, 16-2 early-payment terms, 2-7
CA Confidential
Discounts (continued) E-mail (continued)

meeting deadlines, 5-13, 13-6 purchase and sales transactions,
Discounts (purchases), 5-12, 5-16 importing, 18-1
Discount Taken field, 5-16 E-mail/Print Forms for This Customer option,
for early payment of invoices, 5-12 2-10
price reductions and other bargains, 5-13 E-mail/Print Purchase Orders for This Vendor
purchase discounts taken, 5-12 option, 2-7
Discounts (sales), 6-12 E-mailing
for early payment of invoices, 6-12 confirmation of purchase invoices, 5-10
linked Sales Discount account, 6-15 invoices, 16-39
price reductions, 6-12 Microsoft Office documents, 20-4
Disk space purchase orders, 5-2, 16-54
clearing, 2-23, 2-33 to 2-34 receipts, 16-58
effect of budget information, 3-8 sales invoices, 6-8
Displaying sales order confirmations,6-6, 16-62
management reports, 21-55 sales quotes, 6-3, 16-64
reminders, using the To-Do Lists, 13-2 statements, 16-22
Distributing to projects Employee Detail report, 16-24
See: Allocating Employee Hours Worksheet (1), 20-11
Drilldown, 16-2 Employee Hours Worksheet (2), 20-11
Dynamic data exchange Employee list, 16-25
See: DDE Employee records
adding, 2-11 to 2-14
changing, 2-18 to 2-20
removing, 2-20 to 2-22
E Employee Summary report, 16-25
effect of adjustment, 11-11
Early-payment discounts Employees window
meeting deadlines, 13-6 See: Employee records
on sales, 6-12 Employer Health Tax
purchase discounts taken, 5-12 See: EHT
using the To-Do lists to meet deadlines, Employment Insurance
5-13 See: EI
Edit End of period
checkbox for passwords, 1-3 See: Period-end
Editing records End-of-reporting-period procedures
See: Changing GST or HST, 15-6
Edit-only symbol, 1-3 QST, 15-6
E-filing tax returns Enter Taxes Manually button (payroll), 7-8
exporting GIFI data, 19-22 Errors
EHT correcting
remitting to the government, 5-18 See: Adjusting; Reversing
EI insurable earnings, 2-13 data integrity, 1-4
E-mail Excel
confirming sales orders, 6-6, 16-62 exporting reports to, using DDE, 19-6
e-mailing a purchase order, 5-6
CA Confidential
Excel spreadsheets G
using Simply Accounting data in, 20-9
Exception reports
See: Management reports General Index of Financial Information
Expense 1, 2, and 3 See: GIFI
See: Account reconciliation General Journal
Expenses See: Miscellaneous transactions
allocating to projects, 9-1 General module
budgeting, 3-3 to 3-4 See: Accounts; Miscellaneous
Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue, transactions; Account reconciliation
graph, 16-26 information
Expenses by Account, graph, 16-27 setting up
Expenses vs.Budget, graph, 16-28 See: Getting Started manual
Exploding pies, 16-79 Generic letter to customers, 20-7
Exporting Generic letter to employees, 20-8
GIFI data, for e-filing, 19-22 Generic letter to vendors, 20-8
in Microsoft Access format, 19-3 GIFI
purchase and sales transactions, 19-1 exporting data for e-filing, 19-22
purchase orders GIFI chart of accounts, 20-12
setting up vendor, 2-8 Graphs
reports, using DDE, 19-6 changing colours, 16-78
Simply Accounting data, 20-2 changing fonts, 16-78
versus DDE choosing options, 16-76
which to use, 19-8 creating, 16-76
See also: DDE Current Revenue vs. Last Year, 16-17
displaying details, 16-79
Expenses and Net Profit as % of Revenue,
16-26
F Expenses by Account, 16-27
Expenses vs. Budget, 16-28
File format exploding pies, 16-79
importing miscellaneous transactions, legends, 16-80
18-7 Revenues by Account, 16-61
File names and fields Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases, 16-61
custom forms, 21-11 Sales vs. Budget, 16-66
management reports, 21-55 Sales vs. Sales Due, 16-66
Filling purchase orders, 5-8, 5-9 toolbar buttons, 16-77
Filling sales orders, 6-6, 6-8 Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period, 16-71
Fiscal End date Unpaid Purchases by Vendor, 16-71
for a new year, 15-3 Unpaid Sales by Aging Period, 16-72
Fiscal Start date Unpaid Sales by Customer, 16-72
for a new year, 15-4 using DDE to create, 19-7
Form letter Group deposits
creating with DDE, 19-8, 19-18 account reconciliation (clearing), 14-17
Forms and reports GST
customizing, 16-1, 21-56 and HST, 15-6
on bad debts, 6-21
CA Confidential
on discounted purchases, 5-14 setting up customer, 2-11

GST (continued) Include Column Headings
on employee benefits, 2-13, 7-6 option in DDE dialog box, 19-14
on employee benefits in cash-basis Income 1, 2, and 3
accounting, 17-19 See: Account reconciliation
on sales price reductions, 6-13 Income statement, 16-30, 20-10
payment, 15-11 Income tax
payment in cash-basis accounting, 17-21 remitting to authorities, 5-18
period-end procedures, 15-6 Increasing available memory, 2-34
period-end procedures in cash-basis Increasing disk space, 2-33
accounting, 17-16 Insufficient disk space, 2-33
refund, 15-13 Insufficient memory, 2-34
refund in cash-basis accounting, 17-24 Integrity of data
remitting, 5-18 See: Data integrity
GST report, 16-29 Integrity Summary screen
clearing, 2-30 See: Data integrity
period-end adjustments, 15-7 Interest income, in account reconciliation,
period-end adjustments in cash-basis 14-11
accounting, 17-17 Internet
GST Return downloading bank or credit-card
filling out, 15-9 statements, 18-5
in cash-basis accounting, 17-19 tracking shipments on, 10-4
Inventory
adjustments (breakage, spoilage,
shrinkage), 8-3
H item assembly, 8-2
ordering, 5-2, 5-4, 5-5
Helpful hints transfers
account reconciliation, 14-16 See: Item assembly
HST writing off returned goods
See: GST with credit memo, 6-18
with refund, 6-20
Inventory and Services Activity report, 16-33
I Inventory and Services List, 16-34
sorting, 16-35
Inventory and services records
.IMP files, 18-3
adding, 2-14 to 2-16
Import online statements
to reconcile accounts, 14-5
item number, 2-15
Imported Online Transactions report, 16-30
removing, 2-20 to 2-22
Importing data
setting up
bank or credit-card statements, 18-5
e-mailed purchase and sales transactions,
Inventory and Services Sales report, 16-35
18-1
Inventory and Services Transaction report,
miscellaneous transactions, 18-7
16-36
Open Financial Exchange (OFX), 18-5
Importing sales orders
CA Confidential
Inventory and services window Item numbers

See: Inventory and services records; Item in imported purchase and sales
assembly; Adjustments transactions, 18-2
Inventory Quantity report, 16-37
Inventory Synopsis report, 16-37
Inventory tracking data
clearing, 2-30
J
Invoice lookup, 10-1
turning off, 10-2 Journal entries
using to trace shipments, 10-4 See: Transactions
Invoice lookup data
clearing, 2-30
Invoice numbering, 15-17 L
Invoice Received field, on purchase invoice,
5-8
Invoices, 16-39 Labels
changing See: Mailing labels
See: Adjusting Labour, including in cost of goods built, 8-2
clearing, 2-25 Last year, posting to, 15-5
customized, 21-16 Last year’s data
e-mailing, 16-39 clearing, 2-31
importing, 18-1 Legends, on graphs, 16-80
looking up details, 10-1 Letter, form
effect of clearing inventory tracking creating with DDE, 19-8, 19-18
data, 8-5 Linking
subtotals on, 16-39 item numbers with vendor or customer
tracking shipments, 10-4 item numbers, 18-2
when to clear (remove), 15-2 Linking Simply Accounting and other
Invoices, purchase Windows programs, 19-7
See: Purchase invoices Local area network
Invoices, sales using a working copy of your company
files, 1-10
See: Sales invoices
Looking up
Item
invoices, 10-1
abbreviating in DDE link, 19-17
orders, 10-3
in DDE link, defined, 19-16
quotes, 10-3
Item assembly, 8-2
Lotus 1-2-3
additional costs, 8-2
exporting to, using DDE, 19-6
labour costs, 8-2
Lotus Symphony
processing transactions, 8-1, 8-2
exporting to, using DDE, 19-6
recurring transactions, 8-3
tracking inventory details, 8-4
Item Assembly Transactions report, 16-40
Item labels, 20-5 M
Item number, 2-15
Mailing labels, 16-41
CA Confidential
Management reports, 16-1 Memory

Accounts That Can Be Deleted, 21-59 making available, 2-34
Accounts with a Negative Balance, 21-60 Memos
contents of, 21-56 on customer records, 2-10, 2-11
.CSV files, 21-56 on employee records, 2-13
Customers Over Their Credit Limit, 21-64 on vendor records, 2-7, 2-8
Customers with Decreased Monthly Sales See also: Notes
(Compared to Last Year), 21-65 Microsft Excel
Customers with Increased Monthly Sales exporting reports to, using DDE, 19-6
(Compared to Last Year), 21-66 Microsoft Office documents
Customers with Overdue Amounts, 21-67 creating, 20-13
customizing, 21-56 credit limit letter, 20-6
displaying and printing, 21-55 customer labels, 20-5
Duplicated Account Names, 21-58 e-mailing, 20-4
Employees with Decreased Hours Since employee hours worksheet (1), 20-11
the Last Pay Period, 21-68 employee hours worksheet (2), 20-11
Employees with Overtime Hours This generic letter to customers, 20-7
Month, 21-70 generic letter to employees, 20-8
Employees with Pay Changes Since the generic letter to vendors, 20-8
Last Pay Period, 21-71 GIFI chart of accounts, 20-12
file names and fields, 21-55 item labels, 20-5
Inventory Items Selling Below Cost, 21-72 modifying, 20-13
Inventory Items with a Low Markup, new product or service announcement,
21-73 20-7
Inventory Items with a Low Profit opening, 20-3
Margin, 21-74 payroll summary by cheque date, 20-11
modifying, 21-1 physical inventory worksheets, 20-12
Overdue Amounts Owed to Vendors, price list, 20-5
21-61 sales discount letter, 20-7
Projects That Have Lost Money Since the vendor labels, 20-6
Earliest Transaction Date, 21-74 where to find, 20-1
Projects Unused Since the Earliest Microsoft Query, 19-4, 20-1
Transaction Date, 21-76 Microsoft Word
sample report, 21-60 using Simply Accounting data in, 20-2
Vendors with Decreased Monthly Miscellaneous transactions, 4-1
Purchases, 21-62 importing, 18-7
Vendors with Increased Monthly recording transactions, 4-2
Purchases, 21-63 Miscellaneous Transactions report, 16-41
Manual paycheques, 7-7 Modify Accounts wizard, 2-19, 2-22
Manually correcting entries Modifying
See: Reversing (manually) custom forms, 21-1
Manufacturing inventory from other items, management reports, 21-1
8-2 Microsoft Office documents, 20-13
MAPI-compatible programs, 18-1 Month-end procedures, 15-2
Mapping inventory and service items
importing forms, 18-2
CA Confidential
N Options
graphs, 16-76
Ordering inventory
Negative invoices See: Purchase orders; Purchase quotes
bad debts, 6-21 Orders
credit memo, customers, 6-17 See: Purchase orders; Sales orders
customer refund, 6-17 Outstanding transactions
deposit or prepayment
See: Account reconciliation
from customer, 6-16
Overpayment
to vendor, 5-17
in cash-basis accounting, 17-12
Negative item quantities, 8-1
Overpayments from customers, 6-17
Network
See: Local area network
New Business Guide, 13-15
New product or service announcement, 20-7 P
New year, starting, 15-3, 15-4
No-entry symbol, 1-3 Paid invoices
Non-inventory sales and purchases, 8-6 clearing, 2-25
Notes, adding to Account Reconciliation when to clear, 15-2
window, 14-10 Passwords, 1-1 to 1-3
See also: Memos and DDE, 19-12
NSF cheques changing, 1-2
in cash-basis accounting, 17-11 changing access privileges, 1-2
reversing, 11-20 removing, 1-2
reconciling setting up, 1-2
See: Account reconciliation PATH command
Numbers adding Simply Accounting to, 19-9
cheque, 15-17 Paycheques, 16-43
invoice, 15-17 adjusting, 11-11
advances, 7-5
benefits on, 7-4
O cancelling, 11-11
customized, 21-28
deleting, 11-11
Office details, looking up, 16-24, 7-11
See: Microsoft Office payroll cheque run (multiple
OFX paycheques), 7-9 to 7-11
importing bank or credit-card statements, printing, 7-5, 16-46
18-5 processing manually, 7-7
One-time customer and cash sales, 6-10 processing one at a time, 7-1
One-time vendor and cash purchases, 5-10 recalculating taxes, 7-7
Online Account Statements report, 16-42 reprinting, 7-5
Online advice, 13-14 vacation pay on, 7-4
Online banking Payment
and reconciling accounts, 14-5 GST or HST, 15-11
Open Financial Exchange
See: OFX
CA Confidential
Payment (continued) Pending Sales Orders report, 16-50

GST or HST, in cash-basis accounting, Period-end procedures, 15-1 to 15-18
17-21 in cash-basis accounting, 17-15, 17-16
QST, 15-11 Periods
QST, in cash-basis accounting, 17-21 See: Budgeting
Payment cheques, 5-15, 16-46 Physical Inventory Worksheets, 20-12
backdating cheques, 5-16 Pie charts
cash-basis accounting, 17-4 exploding, 16-79
customized, 21-37 See also: Graphs
looking up details of invoices, 10-1 Prepayment from customer, 6-16
number of payments on cheques, 5-15 in cash-basis accounting, 17-12
paying a credit-card company, 5-16 Prepayment to vendor, 5-17
printing, 16-46 in cash-basis accounting, 17-6
removing reversed amounts, 11-15 Previous year, processing to, 15-5
reprinting cheques, 5-16 Previous year’s data
reversing, 11-16 See: Last year’s data
Payment Error status Price List, 20-5, 20-12
See: Account reconciliation Price reductions
Payment method, changing on purchases, 5-13
purchase, 11-2 on sales, 6-12
sale, 11-7 Print Merge
Payment terms using with DDE, 19-21
for customers, 2-10 Print Statements For This Customer option,
for vendors, 2-7 2-10
purchase invoices, 5-12 Printing
sales invoices, 6-12 accrual reports in cash-basis accounting,
Payment Transactions report, 16-47 17-14
Payments management reports, 21-55
See: Payment cheques reports, 16-2
Payroll advances without account numbers, 16-2
at end of calendar year, 15-3 setting up printers
no tax on, 7-5 See: Getting Started manual
paying back, 7-5 See also: Management reports; Reports
Payroll Cheque Run window, 7-9 to 7-11 Processing
Payroll data account reconciliation, 14-15 to 14-16
clearing, 2-26 Processing transactions
Payroll deductions before or after tax, 2-13 in cash-basis accounting, 17-2, 17-7
Payroll module Production of inventory from other items, 8-2
See: Employee records; Paycheques Project allocation
setting up from Paycheques window, 16-49
See: Getting Started manual from Purchases, Orders, and Quotes
Payroll run window, 16-56
See: Payroll cheque run from Sales, Orders, and Quotes window,
Payroll Summary by Cheque Date, 20-11 16-66
Payroll Transactions report, 16-48 in Miscellaneous Transactions report,
Pending Purchase Orders report, 16-49 16-42
CA Confidential
Project Allocation report, 16-50 Purchase invoices (continued)

Project balances See also: Purchases
carrying forward, 16-51, 16-53 Purchase orders, 16-53
Project Budget report, 16-51 adjusting, 11-5
Project Income report, 16-52 cancelling, 11-6
Project list, 16-53 converting to an invoice, 5-7
Project records creating from a quote, 5-4
adding, 2-16 to 2-18 customized, 21-40
changing, 2-18 to 2-20 e-mailing, 5-6, 16-54
effects of deleting records, 2-24, 2-34 entering, 5-5
Projects filling, 5-8, 5-9
allocating revenues, expenses, and other looking up, 10-3
amounts, 9-1 ship date, 5-2
Budget Projects option, 3-4 Purchase quotes
budgeting, 3-5 adjusting, 11-5
deleting in cash-basis accounting, 17-5 cancelling, 11-6
PST converting to a purchase order, 5-4
on bad debts, 6-21 converting to an invoice, 5-4
on discounted purchases, 5-14 deleting, 5-3
on sales price reductions, 6-13 e-mailing confirmation of receipt, 5-3
Purchase discounts entering, 5-2
See: Discounts (purchases) importing, 18-1
Purchase invoices Purchase Transactions report, 16-55
adjusting, 11-2 Purchase with payment
cancelling, 11-2 in cash-basis accounting, 17-3
changing payment methods, 11-2 Purchases
creating from a purchase order, 5-7 looking up details of invoices, 10-1
creating from a quote, 5-4 looking up quotes, 10-3
creating using the To-Do Lists, 13-5 non-inventory items and services, 8-6
deleting, 11-2 tracking inventory and service details, 8-4
discounts, entering, 5-16 tracking shipments, 5-9, 10-4
e-mailing confirmation of receipt, 5-10 See also: Inventory; Services
entering, 5-7 Purchases, Orders, and Quotes window
identifying invoices that are due, 13-7 cash-basis accounting transactions, 17-2
importing, 18-1
negative
deposits, 5-17
prepayments, 5-17
Q
paying by cheque, 5-10
paying with a credit card, 5-10 QPP
paying with currency, 5-10 remitting to the government, 5-18
price reductions, 5-13 QST
purchase order, filling, 5-8 on bad debts, 6-21
purchase with payment, 5-10 on employee benefits, 2-13, 7-7
reversing, 11-14 on employee benefits in cash-basis
tracking details, 8-4 accounting, 17-19
CA Confidential
QST (continued) Records (continued)

payment, 15-11 removing, 2-20 to 2-22
payment in cash-basis accounting, 17-21 Recurring transactions
period-end procedures, 15-6 changing, 12-3
period-end procedures in cash-basis defined, 12-1
accounting, 17-16 deleting, 12-3
refund, 15-13 recalling, 12-2
refund in cash-basis accounting, 17-24 storing, 12-1
remitting, 5-18 using, 12-2
QST report, 16-56 using To-Do Lists, 13-4
clearing, 2-30 Reference field, on purchase invoice, 5-8
period-end adjustments, 15-7 Refund
period-end adjustments in cash-basis GST or HST, 15-13
accounting, 17-17 GST or HST, in cash-basis accounting,
QST Return 17-24
filling out, 15-10 QST, 15-13
in cash-basis accounting, 17-20 QST, in cash-basis accounting, 17-24
Quotes to customers, 6-17
See: Purchase quotes; Sales quotes writing off unusable inventory, 6-18, 6-20
Release field (vacation pay)
on paycheques, 7-4
Relevé 1 slips, 16-59
R summary, 16-59
Reminders
Recalculate Taxes button (payroll), 7-7 adding to Account Reconciliation
Recall recurring transaction, 12-2 window, 14-10
Receipt Transactions report, 16-57 using the To-Do Lists to display, 13-2
Receipts, 6-14, 16-58 See also: Memos; Notes
customized, 21-51 Remittance
e-mailing, 16-58 See: Payment
looking up details of invoices, 10-1 Remittances to government authorities, 5-18
removing reversed amounts, 11-19 Removing
Receipts window accounts, using the Modify Accounts
cash-basis accounting transaction, 17-9 wizard, 2-22
printing transactions in cash-basis invoices
accounting, 17-10 See: Clearing
Receiver General of Canada passwords, 1-2
remitting to, 5-18 records, 2-20 to 2-22
Reconciling accounts Reports
See: Account reconciliation audit trail, 15-17
Reconciling bank accounts cash-basis accounting, 16-13, 17-5, 17-10,
See: Account reconciliation 17-14
Record button, 17-2, 17-7 clearing GST, 16-29
Records clearing QST, 16-57
adding, 2-2 creating with DDE, 19-8
changing, 2-18 to 2-20 customizing, 16-1, 21-56
CA Confidential
Reports (continued) S
drilldown, 16-2
exporting, using DDE, 19-6
management, 16-1 Sale with payment
printing, 16-2 in cash-basis accounting, 17-8
printing without account numbers, 16-2 Sales
what to print at period end (table), 15-18 looking up details of invoices, 10-1
looking up quotes, 10-3
See also: Names of individual reports;
non-inventory items and services, 8-6
Chapter 16, “Reports and Graphs”
tracking inventory and service details, 8-4
Restoring backups, 1-8
tracking shipments, 10-4
.RET files
in custom forms, 21-11 See also: Inventory; Services
in management reports, 21-55 Sales, Orders, and Quotes window
Revenues and expenses cash-basis accounting transactions, 17-7
allocating to projects, 9-1 Sales discount letter, 20-7
budgeting, 3-3 to 3-4 Sales discounts
Revenues by Account graph, 16-61 See: Discounts (sales)
Reversing Sales Due vs. Unpaid Purchases, graph, 16-61
payments, in cash-basis accounting, 17-5 Sales invoices, 6-8
purchases, in cash-basis accounting, 17-3 adjusting, 11-6
receipts, in cash-basis accounting, 17-10 cancelling, 11-6
sales, in cash-basis accounting, 17-8 cash sales, 6-10
See also: Adjusting; Credit memo changing payment methods, 11-7
Reversing (manually), 11-1 creating from a quote, 6-4
adjustments transactions, 11-23 creating from a sales order, 6-6
cleared payment cheques, 11-17 creating from the To-Do Lists, 13-8
cleared receipts, 11-20 credit cards, 6-11
effect of reversals, 11-12 deleting, 11-6
item assembly transactions, 11-23 discounts, 6-12
miscellaneous transactions, 11-13 e-mailing, 19-1
paycheques, 11-22 early-payment terms, 6-12
payments, 11-16 identifying overdue customer payments,
Payroll Cheque Run paycheque, 11-21 13-9
purchases, 11-14 negative
receipts, 11-20 bad debts, 6-21
removing reversed amounts, 11-15, 11-19 credit memo, 6-17
sales, 11-18 customer refund, 6-17
uncleared payments, 11-16 deposits, 6-16
Reversing entries prepayments, 6-16
account reconciliation, 14-10 price reductions on sales, 6-12
.RPT files processing, 6-7, 6-8
in custom forms, 21-11 reversing, 11-18
.RTF files, 18-3 sale with payment, 6-8, 6-10
in management reports, 21-55 sales order, filling, 6-8
tracking shipments, 6-8
Sales order confirmation, 16-62
customized, 21-48
CA Confidential
Sales order confirmation (continued) Setting up passwords, 1-1

e-mailing, 16-62 Settings.csv file, 21-13, 21-58
Sales orders, 6-5 Setup costs, including in cost of goods built,
adjusting, 11-10 8-2
cancelling, 6-9, 11-11 Ship date, on purchase orders and quotes, 5-2
confirmation by e-mail, 6-6 Shipments
converting to an invoice, 6-6 tracking, 10-4
creating from a quote, 6-4 Ship-to-address, 2-9
filling, 6-6, 6-8 Simply Accounting
importing, 18-1 installing
looking up, 10-3 See: Getting Started manual
printing order confirmation, 6-6 learning
Sales quotes, 6-2, 16-63 See: Getting Started manual
adjusting, 11-10 new features
cancelling, 11-11 See: Getting Started manual
converting to an invoice, 6-4 restricting access to, 1-1 to 1-3
converting to an order, 6-4 setting up
customized, 21-45 See: Getting Started manual
e-mailing, 6-2, 16-64 speeding up
entering, 6-2 See: Speeding up Simply Accounting
Sales report, 16-21 Simply Accounting data
Sales tax exporting, 20-2
on early-payment discounts (sales), 6-12 queries, 20-17
Sales Transactions report, 16-65 Simply.mdb file, 20-14
Sales vs. Budget, graph, 16-66 tables, 20-14
Sales vs. Sales Due, graph, 16-66 See also: Backing up data
Saving data Source
backing up data, 1-5 to 1-9 miscellaneous transactions, 4-2
CA-RET customized forms, 1-7 Speeding up Simply Accounting
Crystal Reports customized forms, 1-6 clearing data and disk space, 2-23, 2-24 to
Security, 1-1 to 1-3 2-34
and DDE, 19-12 clearing data automatically, 2-32
Sending data to other Windows programs, clearing memory, 2-23, 2-34 to 2-35
19-7 DDE links with other programs, 19-14
Service charges, in account reconciliation, Spreadsheets
14-12 sending data to, with DDE, 19-7
Services Starting a new year
adding to Inventory and Services calendar year, 15-3
window, 2-14 fiscal year, 15-4
tracking purchases and sales, 8-4 Statements, 16-22
Session date customized, 21-23
auditing considerations, 15-16 e-mailing, 16-22
for a new calendar year, 15-3 Status
for a new fiscal year, 15-3 See: Account reconciliation
Setting up a new business, 13-15 Store Invoice Lookup Details option, 10-1
See also: Getting Started manual Store recurring transaction, 12-1
CA Confidential
Subtotals on invoices, 16-39 To-Do Lists (continued)

SuperCalc using to meet payment deadlines, 13-6
See: CA-SuperCalc using to record a customer's payment,
Suspend links 13-8
option in DDE dialog box, 19-14 using to record a payment to a vendor,
Symbols 13-7
check mark (9) in account reconciliation, Toolbar, graphs, 16-77
14-2 Topic
edit only, 1-3 abbreviating in DDE link, 19-17
no entry, 1-3 in DDE link, defined, 19-16
view only, 1-3 Tracking sales of inventory and services, 8-4
Symphony Tracking shipments, 10-4
exporting to, using DDE, 19-6 purchases, 5-9
System password, 1-2 sales, 6-8
Transaction dates
and account balances, 15-16
auditing considerations, 15-16
T See also: Getting Started manual
Transaction numbers
T4 slips, 16-67 auditing considerations, 15-16
Task Transaction type
See: Checklists purchase, 5-7, 5-9
Tax reports purchase order, 5-5
See: GST report; QST report quote (purchase), 5-2
Taxable benefits on paycheques, 7-4 quote (sales), 6-2
Taxes sale, 6-8, 6-10
remitting to federal and provincial sales order, 6-5
authorities, 5-18 Transactions
Terms, 2-7, 2-10 adjusting
See also: Discounts (sales); Payment terms See: Adjusting; Reversing
Text file (ASCII) changing
exporting to, using DDE, 19-6 See: Adjusting
To-Do Lists, 13-1 clearing, 2-25
adding invoices to, 5-5 in cash-basis accounting, 17-1
adding purchase orders to, 5-4 inventory adjustments, 8-1
adding sales invoices to, 5-7, 6-5, 6-9, 13-8 item assembly, 8-1, 8-2
adding sales orders to, 6-7 paycheques, 7-1
creating a sales invoice from, 13-8 manual paycheques, 7-7
creating an invoice from a purchase payments, 5-15
order, 13-5 payroll cheque run, 7-9 to 7-11
displaying reminders, 13-2 purchases, orders, and quotes, 5-2, 5-5,
identifying overdue customer payments, 5-8
13-9 receipts, 6-14
using recurring transactions on, 13-4 restrictions on adjusting automatically,
using to meet early-payment deadlines, 11-1
5-13 reversing
CA Confidential
See: Adjusting; Reversing Vendor invoices

Transactions (continued) clearing, 2-25
sales, 6-7 Vendor labels, 20-6
Transactions By Account report, 16-69 Vendor list, 16-75
Transactions in previous year, 15-5 Vendor prepayment
Trial balance, 16-70 recording in cash-basis accounting, 17-6
Vendor Purchases report, 16-76
Vendor records
adding, 2-6 to 2-8
U adding “on the fly,” 5-8
UI removing, 2-20 to 2-22
See: EI (Employment Insurance) Vendors and Purchase module
Uncleared purchase invoices See: Payments; Purchases; Vendor
reversing from the Payments window, records
11-16 setting up
Uncleared sales invoices See: Getting Started manual
reversing from the Receipts window, Vendors window
11-20 See: Vendor records
Unemployment Insurance View
See: EI checkbox for passwords, 1-3
Unknown project, 17-5 View-only symbol, 1-3
Unpaid Purchases by Aging Period, graph, Void status
16-71 See: Account reconciliation
Unpaid Purchases by Vendor, graph, 16-71
Unpaid Sales by Aging Period, graph, 16-72
Unpaid Sales by Customer, graph, 16-72
Unpaid transactions W
printing a list of, in cash-basis accounting,
17-4, 17-9 Waste, including in cost of goods built, 8-2
Unresolved amount Web site
See: Account reconciliation downloading bank statements from, 18-5
Untracked inventory and services, 8-6 tracking shipments on, 10-4
Use recurring transaction, 12-2 Wizards
Use The Same Customer Next Time, 6-6 Export to Microsoft Access, 19-3
Use The Same Vendor Next Time, 5-6, 5-9 Import Online Statements, 18-6
Word documents
using Simply Accounting data in, 20-2
Word-processing programs
V sending data to, using DDE, 19-8
Work Sheet area
Vacation pay See: Account reconciliation
at end of calendar year, 15-3 Working copy
paying out, 7-4 using on a local area network, 1-10
releasing, 7-4 World Wide Web
retaining, 7-4 downloading bank statements from, 18-5
Vendor Aged reports, 16-73
CA Confidential
tracking shipments on, 10-4

Writing off
bad debts, 6-21
in cash-basis accounting, 17-11
inventory, 8-3
returned goods
with credit memo, 6-18
with refund, 6-20
Year-end
adjustments, 15-5
calendar, 15-3
clearing unwanted data, 2-32
fiscal, 15-3
CA Confidential

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No part of this documentation may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated,

ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AND EXCEPT AS

Chapter 1: Protecting Your Data

Chapter 2: Maintaining Records

User Guide iii

Confidential ACCPAC International

Chapter 4: Entering Miscellaneous Transactions

Chapter 5: Making Purchases

Confidential ACCPAC International

Chapter 6: Making Sales

Chapter 7: Paying Employees

Chapter 8: Keeping Track of Inventory and

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Chapter 9: Allocating Revenues and Expenses to

Chapter 10: Looking Up Invoices, Orders, and

Chapter 11: Correcting Entries

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Reversing a Sale .......................................................... 11–18

Chapter 12: Using Recurring Transactions to

Chapter 13: Using the Business Assistant to Stay

User Guide vii

Confidential ACCPAC International

Chapter 14: Reconciling Accounts

Chapter 15: Period-End Processing

viii Simply Accounting

Confidential ACCPAC International

Cheque and Invoice Numbering ........................................... 15-17

Chapter 16: Reports and Graphs

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Confidential ACCPAC International

Vendor List ..................................................................16–75

Chapter 17: Using Cash-Basis Accounting

Chapter 18: Importing Data

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Importing Bank or Credit-Card Statements ..................................... 18–5

Chapter 19: Exporting Data

Chapter 20: Using Simply Accounting Data with

xii Simply Accounting

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Using the Built-In Excel Spreadsheets ....................................... 20–8

Chapter 21: Customizing Forms and Reports

User Guide xiii

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xiv Simply Accounting

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User Guide 1–i

ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC. Confidential

ACCPAC INTERNATIONAL, INC. Confidential

If you have set up passwords, you cannot start the program

Before you begin Before assigning passwords, you should:

User Guide 1–1

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Changing and Removing Passwords

A user with the system password can remove any other

To change or remove a password:

1–2 Simply Accounting

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For this type of access: Check/ Symbol in the

View only. Cannot add, change, or delete

User Guide 1–3