Advanced Fund
Management Solutions

May 2007
Hi Everyone,

If you are holding customer deposits, and you have to pay interest on them, check out how easy it is to calculate and post that interest!

Information types are everywhere. In this issue we show you how to create, use, and report them.

As always, if you have any questions regarding an Accufund® issue, please contact me at (318) 253-8556, or email me at jgarv@afmss.com

Thanks,
Judy Garver

Information Types

Information Types provide a means of attaching information to transactions. They are organized by “Location”, with a location typically being associated with a module. This article will demonstrate how to create an information type that will be available for attaching additional information to General Ledger Journal entries.

The Journal Entry screen, shown at right, has a field for additional information. It’s called “Type” on this form, and is indicated by the arrow cursor. Now, there are no selections for the “Type” field. We can use this field to offer selections that describe the type of journal entry we are making. For example, a journal entry could be an adjustment entry directed by an auditor. This attached piece of information would then be reportable, along with transactions. In addition, it could also be used to filter transactions in a report to only those directed by an auditor. We’ll add this type of information to a report, and filter by it.

To add our information type, which we’ll call “Auditor”, we must go to Setup/Information Types. Click on the Insert button to add our new Information Type.

 

Fill in the Information Type form as shown below:

The Location of this Information Type (where it will be used) is in Journal Entries (JE). The selection we are adding is Auditor. The Description indicates what the choice means. You could add other “Types”, or choices, such as CFO directed, adjustment entry, etc. They would all be associated with the same Location. Click on the “OK” button to add our choice.

Next, we will add a journal entry that uses our new information type.

 

The journal entry below uses the “Type” choice of Auditor, the choice we created. That piece of information is now associated with this transaction.

A good report that will demonstrate our use of an Information Type is the G?L Account Detail Report, as shown below. A copy has been made (you should do it too!), and is indicated by the cursor arrow. We’ll make a change to this report so that our piece of information in the Information Type will appear along with our transaction.

Highlight the copy and click on the “Change” button. When the report opens, click on the “Design” button. From the “Fields Shortcut” list, select the “Type—Type categorization” and drag it into a blank space in the Detail section of the report, as shown below:

Close the Design form and then click on the “OK” button to save the report. Run the report with a date range of the same day (that matches the activity date of your transaction). Here is the result:

 

Notice that the Auditor selection we entered in our transaction appears on the report.

 

If we wish to see just the auditor adjustments we have entered in the system (using our Information Type), we can place a filter on the report to only show them. On the report, go to the design screen again and click on the box we just added. Then, right click on it. Select “Properties”. In the Update Control form note the Field Name. We’ll use this in our report filter. Enter the following expression in the report filter: GLtac_Type = 'Auditor'

The above expression will limit transactions on the report to those that have “Auditor” in them. And, you won’t have to exclude other transactions by choosing a certain date range!

 

Information Types provide a way of attaching information to transactions, which can be used to create more useful reports. Information Types may be used in most of the AccuFund modules for a variety of reasons. Explore them, the information they can contain may make your job easier!

Deposit Interest

Whenever you are dealing with customers there may be reason to secure a deposit from them, at least for a certain period of time. One of the best examples is if you are providing a utility service (such as gas, electricity, or some other service provided on a periodic basis). When you are holding funds that are on deposit, you may be required to pay interest on those deposits. If that is the case, then this article is meant for you! In it we will show how to calculate interest on the deposits at the prevailing rate. We will start out by looking at two deposits that exist in the Sample database. Then, we will generate interest on both of them to make them both current.

One way to find out what deposits are being held (from customers) is to run the Deposit Log report. It shows all deposits, especially those in which we are not interested! Here’s part of that report:

The above report isn’t the best way to find those deposits we are holding, and on which we are required to pay interest. The Deposit on Account is mixed in with other deposits.

Another way to find out is to just calculate the interest in preview mode. The system then looks at all of the deposits that are being held and calculates the interest due. There we can see the customers that are involved. Go to Edit/Cash Receipt/Interest. Click on the “New” button. The following form appears:

The form allows you to select an activity date (“interest calculated as of”), interest rate for the period being calculated, and whether compounding should be done on a monthly or daily basis. The liability and expense accounts may also be chosen. We’re running the interest calculation in preview mode so we can look at what happens, and who has deposits:

Now we know who has deposits with us! We can look at their “organization” to see this activity:

Above, you can see the deposit on account entry for the 1st National Bank of Jeffco. Notice that the initial deposit of $1000 has earned $24.58 in interest. The new calculation will add an additional $151.30, as we saw in the preview. Let’s do it. Calculate interest again, but make sure the “Preview” box is unchecked. Then, look at the organization again to see the results:

Now, the interest is the previous $24.58 plus the $151.30 just calculated, making a current amount of 175.88 in interest.

 

If you have a requirement to pay interest on deposits, why not let AccuFund calculate and post it for you? Could it be much easier?