Accounting Manual

Accounting System Assets

Asset	Description	Link
Accounting Software	GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.	Download
Accounting Filing Cabinet	Accounting-related paperwork is stored in a locking file cabinet with restricted access.	(none)
Online Accounting Archive	Digital copies of accounting-related paperwork and other documents are stored in an online archive with restricted access.	Link
Templates
Chart of Accounts (GnuCash)	The chart of accounts template can be used by any OSE community as the basis for their bookkeeping.	Download
Chart of Accounts (Spreadsheet)	The chart of accounts template can be used by any OSE community as the basis for their bookkeeping.	Download
Budget	The budget template is based on the chart of accounts template and projects expenses for the year on a monthly basis.	Download
Purchase Request Form	The purchase request form template is used to request a purchase.	Download

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Purchasing - Requesting

Procedures

This procedure describes how to request a purchase.

1. Go to the Purchase Request Form Log and fill in the next available row.
2. Follow the link in 'Column E' to the corresponding 'Purchase Request Form' and fill out the section in gold.
3. Email the form link to the supervising agent (Operations Manager) with the following Subject heading: Purchase Request Form - #

   Example: Purchase Request Form - #542

4. The supervising agent will either clear the purchase, decline it, or ask for more information via email.

Comments

Who - These procedures should be followed by anyone who is not a budget owner who would like to request a purchase.

When - These procedures should be followed as soon as a purchase is needed with a large enough window for the purchase to be made before it is needed.

Time Requirements - Submitting a purchase request should take five to ten minutes.

• Purchase Request Forms allow the bookkeeper to know how to log transactions.

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Receipts - Submitting

Procedures

Physical Receipts

This procedure describes how to submit a physical receipt to the bookkeeper after a purchase has been made.

1. For receipts that are smaller than a standard sheet of paper (8.5”x11”), staple them to a blank sheet of paper with one staple in each corner of each receipt (only one receipt per sheet of paper). Receipts that are the size of a standard sheet of paper or larger can be submitted directly.
2. Write the corresponding [Purchase Request Form] number on each receipt.
3. Place the receipts in the [Accounting Inbox] in the Factor e Farm Office.

Digital Receipts

This procedure describes how to submit a digital receipt to the bookkeeper after a purchase has been made.

1. Email receipts to accounting@opensourceecology.org
2. Place a link to the [Purchase Request Form] in the body of the email with the following Subject heading: Receipts - Purchase Request Form - #

   Example: Receipts - Purchase Request Form - #542

Comments

Who - These procedures should be followed by anyone who has made a purchase.

When - These procedures should be followed as soon as possible after a purchase is made.

Time Requirements - Submitting a single receipt should take less than a minute.

• Receipts are stapled to a standard sheet of paper in order to keep the filing cabinet organized and orderly, and in order to preserve the legibility of receipts over time.
• Receipts are filed by vendor, so receipts from different vendors should never be stapled to the same sheet of paper.
• All purchases must be accompanied by a [Purchase Request Form], even if made by the someone with the authority to approve purchases (Operations Manager and Executive Director), so that the bookkeeper knows how to log all transactions and to follow internal control guidelines.
• Receipts are associated with their corresponding [Purchase Request Form] in order to keep them organized for the bookkeeper.

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Receipts - Filing

Procedures

Physical Receipts

This procedure describes how to file a physical receipt in the [Accounting Filing Cabinet] and is done by the bookkeeper.

1. Log all transactions according to the [Transaction Logging Procedures].
2. File physical receipts in the [Accounting Filing Cabinet] in the corresponding vendor folder and order them chronologically within each vendor folder.
3. File digital files according to the Digital Receipts Procedure in the next section.

Digital Receipts

This procedure describes how to file a digital receipt in the [Online Accounting Archive] and is done by the bookkeeper.

1. Name digital files according to the following naming convention:

   Date: (year/month/day) - vendor - purchase request form number

   Example: 2013 - 01 - 10 - Surplus Center - 101

   Note: if two purchases were made from the same vendor on the same date with the same purchase request form number, add a hyphen and a two-digit number.

   Example: 2013 - 01 - 10 - Surplus Center - 101 - 01

2. File digital copies of receipts in the [Online Accounting Archive] in the corresponding vendor folder (the software will file them chronologically).
3. File digital copies of [Purchase Request Forms] in the Purchase Request Form Folder in the [Online Accounting Archive].

Comments

Who - These procedures should be followed by the bookkeeper.

When - These procedures should be followed on a weekly basis at minimum, but they can be done on an ongoing basis.

Time Requirements - Each item should take five minutes to log and file.

• Physical receipts deteriorate and become unreadable over time. This is why we create digital backups of each receipt. It is not sufficient to only have a digital archive, because digital files are easy to forge, while physical records are more difficult to forge.

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Reconciling Accounts

Procedures

This procedure describes how to reconcile bank statements with account ledgers.

1. Set Up: all bank accounts should be set up so that bank statements are mailed directly to the [Account Reconciler].
2. All mail must be delivered unopened to the [Account Reconciler].
3. Open bank statements and open the corresponding account ledger within the accounting software.
4. Click on the 'Reconcile' button in the toolbar. This will bring up the 'Reconcile Window'.
5. Compare each transaction with the bank-issued statement and click on each transaction that matches.
6. If any irregularities appear, make a note of them and click 'Postpone' until they are investigated.
7. Once all transactions are investigated and verified, click the 'Finish' button.
8. Sign the bank statement and photograph (scan) it.
9. Name the file according to the following convention: Year/Month/Day - Bank Account - Bank Statement

   Example: 2013/January/31 - SESLOC - Bank Statement

10. Upload it to the [Online Accounting Archive] in the [Bank Statements] folder.
11. File the physical bank statement in the [Accounting Filing Cabinet] in the corresponding bank folder for reconciled statements.

Comments

Who - These procedures should be followed by the [Account Reconciler], which must not be the same person as the bookkeeper (internal controls).

When - These procedures should happen once a month. Bank accounts should be set up so that all statements are mailed at the same time of the month.

Time Requirements - Each statement should take 15m or less to reconcile, unless irregularities need to be investigated.

• Account reconciliation is simply a comparison of bank-issued statements to the in-house account ledgers to make sure no mistakes were made (and to prevent fraud).
• The [Account Reconciler] should either be the Operations Manager or the Executive Director for OSE at this time.
• For more information about the GnuCash reconciliation function, go to the online GnuCash Manual here.

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Questions

References

• Open Source Ecology Process Documentation Standards