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Equipment Finance

The purpose of this tool is to generate an amortisation schedule for financed equipment (or any finance potentially - such as loan for insurance), and where a cloud accounting package is connected to the applicable client within AccountKit, automatically bring to account the interest to account to reconcile the balance each month.

Jump straight to the applicable section:

 

 

The Equipment Finance List Page

Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_List.png

 

Area

Description
1
 Create new Equipment Finance Schedule Select this to start the process of creating a brand new equipment finance schedule.
2
 Filter, Actions & Client Group
Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_List_ActionMenu.png		 This area has 3 components
  • Search & Filter: The magnifying glass enables you to search and filter by any of the below columns.
  • Actions:
    • Create New: As Per above this creates a new EF schedule.
    • Deleted Selected: Permanently deletes with no hope of recovery (Only available to practice admins)
    • Archive Selected: Gets the selected out of sight once completed, But always retrievable.
    • Unarchive Selected: Restores any archived schedules; Need first to check the "Show archived" at the bottom of the page though.
    • Post Journals for selected: If they haven't already auto posted, you can manually trigger a posting of journals for all selected EF's.
    • Journals Summary: Shows a list of the historical journals posted and associated details.
    • Bulk Import from Excel: Gives you the option to import multiple HP schedules in bulk. Only applies to schedules with regular repayments.
    • Export selected to: Gives you the ability to export multiple HP schedules into a single excel file with each schedule sent to its own tab. Most useful for exporting all schedules for a family group or entity for use as a workpaper for verifying balances.
    • Export displayed...: Here you're given the option to export to PDF or Excel and to your local desktop or DMS.
    • Summary movement report: This is a report that captures across the practice, per family group or per entity the opening balance, movements and closing balances for a defined period.
  • Client Group - here you can specifically select a client group that you would like to filter the below diagrams by; Useful if you're working on a particular group and just want to see what equipment finance they have in place currently.
3
 The list... This is a snapshot of all current Equipment Finances running within your practice and their current status.
  • Checkbox - Enables you to select multiple EF's to delete, archive, unarchive or post bulk journals.
  • Type - Identifies whether the finance has regular or irregular repayments.
  • Client - This is the client entity that the finance belongs to.
  • Description - This identifies the full description of what was financed, the registration (if present) and the contract number (optional)
  • Date of Agreement - Identifies the date of the original agreement
  • Amount Financed – This is the full amount financed and the financier underneath.
  • Payments – Identifies the amount and frequency of the payments. If the payments are irregular, it will simply say "Irregular".
  • Date of Last Payment - Identifies the date of the final repayment for each schedule.
  • Status – This identifies whether a schedule is in or out of balance with Xero; Only relevant where connected to Xero, otherwise this field will be blank.
  • Journals to Post - Identifies if there are any journals outstanding and ready to post; If automatically posted each night, this will remain blank generally; If not flagged for auto posting, you can elect to bulk post from the action column or menu, or head into the schedule and post a line at a time.
4
 Actions Column These are the actions available to you for each equipment finance line.
  • Help_-_General_-_IconEdit.pngEdit - Selecting this will open the finance schedule for editing.
  • Help_-_General_-_IconPrint.pngPrint - Selecting this option will bring up the print preview / PDF version of the schedule.
  • Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.pngPost Journal -  Selecting this will post all of the available journals for the selected schedule.
  • Help_-_General_-_IconLink.pngLink Document - Once connected to a DMS such as Dropbox, you'll be able to link (and upload) the source documents associated with any of your finance contracts.

 

General Variables & Input Fields

Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance.png

Variable Name

Description
1
 Asset Details This area identifies the core elements of the equipment finance:
  • Client – This is where you’d select which client the Equipment Finance relates to.
  • Sync with Xero - This gives you the option as to whether you want this schedule to post and reconcile with Xero. There will be instances (such as where connected to a Xero ledger) that you won't want to do monthly postings to Xero, but instead, do a manual one-off entry at year-end.
  • Irregular Repayments - Selecting this alters the layout and method for creating a finance schedule with Irregular Repayments as opposed to the standard regular repayments.
  • Existing Agreement – You’d select this if you were bringing to account a pre-existing loan agreement in AccountKit, for instance perhaps the loan was established 2 years ago and was last reconciled at the end of the previous financial year.
    • It's only made available where the selected client is connected to Xero and "Sync with Xero" is enabled.
    • Activating this disables the asset purchase section and enables the "Conversion Date" field. See below.
  • ​Description – This is just a short description of the equipment that’s being financed so that it can be easily identified. It’s used within the purchase memo description.
  • Registration No - This is an optional field in the event that the asset being financed has a registration number you would like to include. Appears with the description on the list page.
  • Contract No - This is also an optional field should you wish to record the unique contract number for the finance schedule. Appears with the description on the list page.
  • Conversion Date -  Appears where "Existing Agreement" is selected. It enables you to enter a date that your equipment finance was last reconciled thereby letting AccountKit know when you want to start posting interest journals from.
  • Link documents - This is where you can link a source document (such as the invoice or contract) from your DMS. Only available once a DMS has been connected. See here for more details
2
 Purchase and Deposit Details This area will only appear if “Existing Agreement” is not ticked. It enables the original purchase and finance entry to be created within the accounting software.
  • Amounts Include Tax – Pretty self-explanatory, you’d want to tick this if you’re creating a new Equipment Finance and the amounts include tax. This can be changed anytime during the setup process.
  • Description – Identify details about the asset being purchased and the different elements thereof. Eg. Base purchase, Registration; Deposit reversal;
  • Amount – This represents the cost of the asset – Note that totals and GST will depend on whether or not “Amounts Include Tax” has been ticked in the last step.
  • Account Name – Select the default asset purchase/deposits account, if you have a deposit to account for.
  • Tax Type – Select the applicable tax code for each line item
  • Tax Rate – This will auto-populate based on the selected tax type.
  • Actions – Use this to edit, save or delete a line.
3
 Finance Details Here you define the details associated with the finance and where relevant, identify the accounts the interest and liability are to be posted to.
  • Amount Financed – This is the full amount financed.
  • Financier – Identify the name of the institution who is financing the purchase.
  • Contract Date – Enter the date of the contract here.
  • Date of First Payment – Enter the date of the first payment here.
  • Payment Frequency – This represents the timing of payments.
  • Number of Payments – This is the total number of payments over the duration of the finance.
  • Payment Per Period – Enter the payment amount per period here
  • Residual Balance – If there’s a residual balance to be paid out or refinanced at the end of the contract, enter it here.
  • Date of Residual Payment - Where there's a residual, you need to specify the date of the residual payment.

Results – These will calculate automatically once the Variables have been completed
  • Date of the last repayment – Represents the final loan repayment at the end of the contact
  • Finance term – Represents the term of the finance in years
  • Interest rate – This is the calculated interest rate on the equipment finance
  • Total interest paid – A sum of the total interest paid over the duration of the contract.


Accounts – This is where you’d select the relevant accounts in your accounting software for posting journals to.

NOTE:Which accounts are visible here and in the schedule depends on your default settings, but can be edited under the action menu to show other accounts if you split between Current / Non-Current and Unexpired Interest Charges.

  • Interest account – Identify the interest expense account for posting interest to each period.
  • Liability account (current) – Represents the current liability account for the finance.
  • Unexpired interest account (current) - Represents the current account setup aside for unexpired interest.
  • Liability account (non-current) - Represents the non-current liability account for the finance.
  • Unexpired interest account (non-current) - Represents the non-current account setup aside for unexpired interest.

Tracking options – If you have tracking options turned on in Xero, this will appear for you to choose from.

i
 If you can't see the applicable account or tracking category from within Xero, just press the "Refresh Account List" option to the right of the Accounts title.
4
 Repayment Schedule

This shows the timing of each payment and the applicable interest component, accumulative interest and balance at any point.

The Help_-_General_-_IconReload.png refresh icon in the header enables you to force a refresh of the xero data in the event you've made some changes in Xero.

  • Xero Balance – This is the balance within your accounting software. It will show after the relevant journal has been posted.
  • Status – Shows the status of the repayment (ie. Whether the underlying accounts reconcile in AccountKit as compared to your Xero. If you click on a cross when it's out of balance, it'll show you the transactions for the period so you can see why it's out of balance and click through to xero to correct.
  • Account - Shows the name of the relevant account.
  • Actions – will show a number of different options, depending on whether the underlying journal has been posted. The potential icons you will see are.
    • The Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png post journal icon - this gives you options to post a single journal, or bulk post entries to date or through to the end of the schedule.
    • The Xero_logo_blue_32x32.png icon enables you to click through to the applicable journal within Xero
    • The Help_-_General_-_IconOneOffEvent.pngone off event icon enables you to trigger a series of one off events (payout, refinance)
    • The Help_-_General_-_IconReverse.png void journal icon simply voids the current journal.
    • The Help_-_General_-_IconExclamation.png option is only available on a conversion date providing the option to adjust the conversion balance to match the schedule.
5
 Annual Summary This shows an annual summary of the schedule balances for referring to.

 

Variables & Input Fields Specific to Irregular Finance

Most elements of the equipment finance screen is relatively similar whether you select irregular repayments or not, but there are some key differences to the available fields and your associated workflow, per below.

Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_IrregPay.png

Variable Description
1
 Ownership, Contact and Asset Details Select this check box to enable irregular repayments
i
 Note that in the example above, the associated client has NOT been connected to Xero and therefore the applicable options such as "sync to Xero" or "existing agreement" won't show since they're not relevant where you're not posting to Xero or checking against balances.
2
 Finance Details A number of the variables have been removed since things like the payment dates and amounts are all defined in the table below and the interest rate automatically calculated.

The "build schedule" button has been exchanged for a "Calculate Interest" button. Since we'll be building out the schedule manually, all we need do is calculate the applicable interest and how it's apportioned over the life of the loan.
3
 Repayment Schedule The Help_-_General_-_IconPlus.png icon opens a pop-up which will enable you to define a series of payments to be added to the schedule. See below.
4
 Repayment Schedule Actions Once payments have been added to the schedule, use the following action icons as follows:
  • Selecting the Help_-_General_-_IconEdit.png icon enables you to edit the date or amount of a specific payment.
  • Selecting the Help_-_General_-_IconDelete.png icon deletes the applicable line from the payment schedule.

 

Before you Start

So you can get through the process of setting up a schedule in one efficient sitting, there are some steps you should do first before commencing the process.

  • Setup the applicable interest and expense account within your accounting software.
  • If the client has an online accounting package like Xero, first ensure you’ve connected them to AccountKit by going to the applicable client page. Then click on the applicable Integration icon to trigger a process to connect and download the client data into AccountKit;
    • Until this process has finished, you won't be able to initiate any connected tools for that client - you will be notified once complete.
    • See here for more details about connecting and disconnecting from Xero
  • Ensure you have on hand the equipment finance details along with the invoice for the purchase of the equipment.
  • Where you know there’s been a deposit paid, identify which account this has been posted to within the accounting software.
  • If it’s a pre-existing finance arrangement from prior years, identify the date the account was last reconciled; AccountKit will start posting interest from this date.

 

Set your default finance tool settings

Review your practice settings to ensure the default settings for the equipment finance tool are how you like to process the various purchase and interest journals.


Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_Settings.png​

  1. Automatically post client equipment finance interest journals to Xero each period:
    • As the description would imply, in the event that you don't want AccountKit to automatically post the interest journals each period, simple turn this function off here.
  2. Accounting Treatment
    • Account for unexpired interest - for when you need to gross up the liability and separate the unexpired interest charges to a different account. Requires the following accounts
      • Non-current liability account - Gross balance
        • Allocate your payments to this account.
      • Non-current liability account - Unexpired Interest balance
        • Interest journals are journaled from this account.
    • Account for current / non-current entries - enables you to automatically split your liabilities between current and non-current liabilities upon purchase; Each interest journal then re-assigns the next transaction within the 12 month period so that you always have the next 12 months within the current liability accounts. Requires the following accounts
      • Current liability account - Next 12 months Net balance
        • Allocate your payments to this account.
        • Current interest journals post from this account.
        • Next 12 months net balance is journaled to this account
      • Non-current liability account - Net balance over and beyond 12 months
        • Next 12 months net balance is journaled from this account
    • Both above options are toggled on - this facilitates splitting the non-current and current liabilities between the gross liability amount and unexpired interest. Requires the following accounts.
      • Current liability account - Next 12 months Gross balance
        • Allocate your payments to this account.
        • Next 12 months Gross balance is journaled to this account (ie. the payment amount due in 12 months)
      • Current liability account - Next 12 months Unexpired Interest balance
        • Current interest journals post from this account.
        • Next 12 months interest figure is journaled to this account
      • Non-current liability account - Gross balance over and beyond 12 months
        • Next 12 months Gross balance is journaled from this account
      • Non-current liability account - Unexpired Interest balance for the period beyond 12 months.
        • Next 12 months interest figure is journaled from this account
  3. Show purchase journal on cash basis reports:
    • Enables you to define whether any purchase journals posted from within an equipment finance journal is to show on cash basis reports or not.
  4. Show interest journal on cash basis reports
    • Enables you to define whether any interest journals posted from within an equipment finance journal is to show on cash basis reports or not.

 

i
 Note that the finance tool settings can be overwritten on a per schedule basis under the Actions -> Settings menu option.

 

Bulk Import of Schedules

If you would like to bring in a number of schedules in one go, you have the option to import a spreadsheet with the basic details to speed up the process.

To commence the process, simply go to the Action Menu on the Equipment Finance List Page and select "Import from Excel".

i
 At this point we only support the import of regular equipment finance schedules. Irregular schedules will need to be created manually using the normal process identified in this help guide.

   
Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_Import.png

Steps Description
1
 Download the Template We've prepared a simple Excel (.xlsx) template that you can fill in ready for import.

Select the "Download The Template" link and save the template to somewhere you'll easily find afterwards, such as the Downloads folder.
2
 Enter the Details into the Template Fill in the details identified by the column names with each finance schedule on its own line.

Make sure to delete Row 2 which is just an example for you to work from and get an idea of what to enter in each field.
i
 Please note per above, don't change any of the heading names, or the template will not work.
3
 Upload the Completed Template Select the "Choose File" button and browse to where you have saved the import file.

Once selected, press "Import" to commence the import process.
4
 Review and resolve any errors. Once uploaded we will do a series of cross-checks to ensure the data is valid. If any errors are found with the data, the import will stop and either one of the following two things will happen.
  1. Serious errors will cause the import process to fail with a message from the top of the page; This type of error is where the type of data is mismatched - eg. If you have Characters in the date field or a date in a number field.
  2. The not so serious errors will form a full list at the bottom of the page with a clear description of what you need to do to fix the issue - Some examples include, missing mandatory information such as the payment start date or loan amount, or perhaps the number of payments isn't enough to cover the total loan.
Once you've fixed all of the errors, re-import the file once again where if successful, you'll receive a confirmation that all went well.
5
 Review the imported schedules and finalise. We now recommend that you open up each of the imported equipment finance schedules and carry out the following actions.
  1. Where relevant, ensure that Xero based clients are linked up to Xero from their applicable detail or family group page (See here)
  2. If you would like the particular schedule to sync with Xero, select the applicable checkbox and where the conversion date hasn't been set, fill in those details (if relevant)
  3. Check that the variables are all correct
  4. Select the applicable accounts AccountKit is to sync with.
  5. Once all of the details are confirmed, press the "Build Schedule" and press "Save".
  6. For those with a conversion date, make sure that AccountKits balance matches the Xero balance. This may necessitate:
    • Selecting a different account, if you have selected a wrong account
    • Selecting a different conversion date; OR
    • Preparing a minor adjustment in Xero either as at the conversion date or the day after to bring the schedule in line.
  7. Return to the list page and repeat until they're all done.
That's it - from here we'll take over the heavy lifting and start posting journals each night as the payment date passes.

i
 It's perhaps easier to import a family group at a time, then once completed, you can filter the equipment finance list by family group, then make your way through each of the schedules within the list, rather than having to wade through all the finance schedules in the practice.

 

How to create a finance schedule (with no connected accounting software)

There are plenty of times where clients aren’t connected to a cloud accounting package, but where you’ll still want to create a schedule for manually preparing journals into your ledger software. In this instance, it's simply a matter of building a schedule and exporting to PDF for reconciling against.

  1. Open the Equipment Finance tool and select “Create new Equipment Finance Schedule” from the top.
  2. The new equipment finance schedule will open, first of all, prompting you to choose a client.
  3. You can now select the applicable client, add in a description about the asset being purchased before selecting the “Continue” button.
  4. Complete the variables in the Finance Details section based on the original finance contract. Items which are mandatory are marked with an “*”.
  5. The results will then auto-populate based on the variables that you’ve entered which you can check back against the original details to ensure they’re correct.
  6. Now complete the “Accounts” section by selecting a loan account and an interest paid account from the client's chart of accounts in Xero.
  7. Once these details have been completed, click on “save” to save the Equipment Finance schedule details to the relevant client.
  8. This will then prompt a button labeled “Build Schedule.” Click on this to build the schedule and scroll down to view it.
  9. Skip between the “Repayment Schedule” and “Annual Schedule” for a quick comparison of the current balance and end of financial year balance if required.
  10. Now you can print the schedule to your client file for future reference.
i
 If you’re using Xero Ledger, you can still connect AccountKit for posting your interest journals for the year; It’s just a matter of coding your clients movements to the applicable ledger account (which will represent all payments made for the year), then AccountKit can post the interest journals and check that they match. This isn't ideal though as you'll end up without of balances every single month, so better at this point to flag for not reconciling with Xero.

Note also, that the build schedule button won't activate until all of the required variables are filled in.

 

How to create an Existing Equipment Finance schedule (Connected to a cloud accounting package)

Utilise this process when you've previously been reconciling the loan in your accounting software; So typically you would apply this when you've previously reconciled to the end of financial year OR where you've started a client within your cloud accounting software throughout the year.

  1. Open the Equipment Finance tool and select “Create new Equipment Finance Schedule” from the top.
  2. The new equipment finance schedule will open, first of all, prompting you to choose a client.
    • If the clients accounting software is connected to AccountKit, you will be able to select the “Refresh Account List” button to pull in the account details.
  3. Once you’ve selected a client, a tick box will appear labeled “Existing Agreement” – In this instance, ensure “Existing Agreement” is selected.
  4. Upon selecting this tick box, a new field labeled “Conversion Date” will appear. Complete this with the date of the last reconciled balance within your client's accounting software that you would like AccountKit to start posting interest journals from.
  5. Enter a description for the equipment finance and choose “Continue”.
    • Ensure there’s an adequate description to make it easy to identify for future reference.
    • Optionally fill in the Registration No and Contract No fields if you wish.
  6. Complete the variables in the Finance Details section based on the original finance contract. Items which are mandatory are marked with a “*”.
  7. The results will then auto-populate based on the variables that you’ve entered which you can check back against the original details to ensure they’re correct.
  8. Now complete the “Accounts” section by selecting a loan account and an interest paid to an account from the client's chart of accounts. (see the info section below for more details)
  9. Once these details have been completed, click on “save” to save the Equipment Finance schedule details to the relevant client.
  10. This will then prompt a button labeled “Build Schedule.” Click on this to build the schedule and scroll down to view it.
  11. If the previously reconciled balance in Xero does not match the schedule, the Help_-_General_-_IconExclamation.png will appear. Selecting this will give you the ability to post and adjustment to correct the balance.
    • Choose the date to post - it defaults to the conversion date. But if you need it to be after this date (eg. conversion at 30/06 but need to adjust on 01/07 if the financials for the year are already complete).
    • It will calculate the adjusting entries for you and allocate the difference to the interest account, which you can then change if you need to.
    • You'll now note a small (i) icon where you can cross check the date that the adjustment was posted and therefore the balance that AccountKit is showing and why it may differ from Xero.
  12. If you scroll down, you will see an an Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png icon in the Action Column with the option to “Post Journal”.
    • Note that you’ll only see this from the point that you identified your equipment finance schedule was last reconciled in the initial steps.
    • For example, if you selected that your equipment finance schedule has a conversion balance (ie. last reconciled) was 30/06/2016, you won’t be given the option to post an interest journal until July 2016.
  13. Click on the Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png Post Journal icon in the Action column to post the interesting journal into your accounting software.
    • At this point, the repayment schedule will show a comparative balance for you to cross check against your repayment schedule balance.
    • It will be green if it’s reconciled or red if it’s not.
  14. You have an option then, to void the journal at any point by selecting the Help_-_General_-_IconReverse.png icon.
  15. You can also jump between the “Repayment Schedule” and “Annual Schedule” for a quick comparison of the current balance and end of financial year balance if required.
i
 Note that the "Build Schedule" button will not activate until the mandatory variables are entered, including the Xero accounts (required to retrieve the applicable balances).

 

How to create a New Equipment Finance schedule (Connected to a cloud accounting package)

  1. Open the Equipment Finance tool and select “create new Equipment Finance Schedule” from the top.
  2. The new equipment finance schedule will open, first of all, prompting you to choose a client.
    • If the clients accounting software is connected to AccountKit, you will be able to select the “Refresh Account List” button to pull in the account details.
  3. Once you’ve selected a client, a tick box will appear labelled “Existing Agreement” – In this instance, ensure “Existing Agreement” is left unticked.
  4. Enter a description for the equipment finance and choose “Continue”.
    • Ensure there’s an adequate description to make it easy to identify for future reference.
    • Optionally fill in the Registration No and Contract No fields if you wish.
  5. Within the new “Purchase and Deposit” area, click on “Add new purchase or deposit line” to enter the relevant equipment finance purchase details. You can create as many line items as required until the total matches the amount that has been financed.
    • Check that the Amount Includes Tax is set to the correct setting.
    • Where there’s been a deposit paid, enter it as a negative and select the applicable account for where the deposit was originally allocated to.
    • Ensure that you click on the disk icon from the “Actions” column to save each purchase or deposit line.
  6. Once completed, scroll down and you’ll note that the “Amount Financed” field is now updated based on the data entered. Cross check that this matches the amount financed.
  7. Complete the remaining variables in the Finance Details section based on the original finance contract. Items which are mandatory are marked with a “*”.
    • The results will then auto-populate based on the variables that you’ve entered.
  8. Now complete the “Accounts” section by selecting the loan and interest paid account from the client's chart of accounts. (see the info section below for more details)
  9. Once these details have been completed, click on “save” to save the details of the Equipment Finance schedule to the relevant client.
  10. Once saved, you’ll be able to click on the buttons “Post Purchase Journal” which will post a journal into your client's accounting software with the purchase, crediting the relevant loan account with the financed amount.
  11. You can now select “Build Schedule” to create your equipment finance schedule.
    • You’ll now see an Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png icon in the status column giving you an option to post your interest journals.
    • Note that you’ll only be given this option after the date of the repayment has occurred.
  12. Click on the Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png icon to post the interest journal into your accounting software (or leave it and if auto posting is enabled in practice settings it will post overnight), at which point the repayment schedule will show the balance in Xero and cross check against your repayment schedule balance. It will you will be presented with a greenHelp_-_General_-_IconTickCircle.png if it’s reconciled or a red Help_-_General_-_IconDelete.png if it’s not.
  13. You have an option to then void the journal at any point by selecting the Help_-_General_-_IconReverse.png icon.
  14. You can also jump between the “Repayment Schedule” and “Annual Schedule” for a quick comparison of the current balance and end of financial year balance if required.
i
 Note that the "Build Schedule" button will not activate until the mandatory variables are entered, including the Xero accounts (required to retrieve the applicable balances).

 

How to create an Irregular Equipment Finance schedule

Creating an irregular repayment schedule is similar to creating an ordinary finance schedule for the initial steps. Here we outline the elements unique to irregular repayments

  1. Open the Equipment Finance tool and select “create new Equipment Finance Schedule” from the top.
  2. The new equipment finance schedule will open, first of all, prompting you to choose a client.
  3. Once you’ve selected a client, two tick boxes will appear – one which is labelled “Existing Agreement” and the other which is labelled “Amounts Include Tax” – In this instance, ensure “Existing Agreement” is left unticked and press “Continue”.
  4. Within the new “Purchase and Deposit” area, click on “Add new purchase or deposit line” to enter the relevant equipment finance purchase details. You can create as many line items as required until the total matches the amount that has been financed.
    • Where there’s been a deposit paid, enter it as a negative and select the applicable account for where the deposit was originally allocated to.
    • Ensure that you click on the disk icon from the “Actions” column to save each purchase or deposit line.
  5. Once completed, scroll down and you’ll note that the “Amount Financed” field is now updated based on the data entered. Cross check that this matches the amount financed.
  6. Enter the other basic details about the finance with respect to the Financier, Contract Date, Date of First Payment and the Residual Balance.
  7. Now complete the “Accounts” section by selecting the loan and interest paid account from the client's chart of accounts. (see the info section below for more details)
  8. Once these details have been completed, click on “save” to save the details of the Equipment Finance schedule to the selected client.
  9. Select the Help_-_General_-_IconPlus.png icon to bring up the "Add Payment" pop-up window and fill in the details according to how often you want a payment to repeat, keep in mind you can edit and delete them afterwards.

Help_-_Tools_-_Loan_Finance_-_Equipment_Finance_-_IrregPayPopup.png

  1. Repeat the process until a majority of the framework for the payments you want to add to the schedule are in place, then customise them to get exactly what you're after
    • You can edit Help_-_General_-_IconEdit.pngor delete Help_-_General_-_IconDelete.png any particular line by selecting the applicable icon;  This enables you to edit specific payments within a schedule. For example,
      1. Adding a large one-off payment on the second payment for GST
      2. Zero out or delete a particular month or two of payments representing the period after harvest.
    • Some examples of methods for creating complex schedules include
      • 2 Annual payments just in February and March each year - Method: Create two series of annual payments starting in February then, March
      • Large one-off GST payment on second payment - Method: Create a monthly schedule over the required number of periods, then edit the second payment to increase it to the full required figure.
    • Once you've finished editing the applicable line;
      • Select Help_-_General_-_IconSave.png to save the changes to the line.
      • Select Help_-_General_-_IconReverse.png to cancel the changes.
  2. Once the applicable details have been entered, the "Calculate Interest" button will enable. Upon activating:
    • It will work through and calculate the interest to apply to each payment
    • The post journal Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png and reverse journal Help_-_General_-_IconReverse.png will appear in the Actions column
    • The edit and delete options will be hidden.
    • Note that you’ll only be given the option to post a journal after the date of the repayment has occurred.
  3. Click on theHelp_-_General_-_IconPlane.png icon to post the interest journal into your accounting software (or leave it and if auto posting is enabled in practice settings it will post overnight), at which point the repayment schedule will show the balance in Xero and cross check against your repayment schedule balance. You will then be presented with a green Help_-_General_-_IconTickCircle.png if it’s reconciled or a red Help_-_General_-_IconDelete.png if it’s not.
  4. You have an option to then void the journal at any point.
  5. You can also jump between the “Repayment Schedule” and “Annual Schedule” for a quick comparison of the current balance and end of financial year balance if required.
i
 Note that if you change any of the variables or payments, the interest entries will be cleared and you'll need to re-calculate the interest; All entries will be locked the moment the first journal has been posted.

 

How to fix an out of balance finance schedule.

  • This can about from any number of reasons, all requiring you to enter the accounting software and reviewing the applicable liability account. Three of the most common causes include.
    • GST has been applied to loan repayment;
    • A loan repayment has been allocated to the wrong account.
    • Some other amount has been posted to the liability account.
  • Alternatively, you can select the cross to see a pop-up of the transactions between the payment dates
    • This may give you a clue as to what the issue may be.
    • If you're not sure about a transaction, select the xero icon to go to that transaction in Xero.

  • To fix the issue, it’s simply a matter of fixing the above transactional issues within the accounting software, then within AccountKit, just press the refresh button Help_-_General_-_IconReload.png within the "Repayment Schedule" tab. to refresh the xero data and balances.   

 

How to handle one off events.

One off events are about adjusting the look and behaviour of schedules based on a change that's occurred such as a payout or refinance. Here are the examples that we currently cover.

Start by heading to anywhere on the schedule where the 3 dot menu will appear on the right

  • Mouse-over and select the 3 dot context sensitive menu within the schedule.
  • Choose the one off event option

Cancel Schedule

Use this event when you simply want to stop posting entries and reporting against a schedule; At this point it's a good idea to simply archive the schedule.

  • Select Cancel Schedule to show the applicable fields.
  • Identify the date when you would like to cancel the schedule.
  • Select Continue
  • This will then simply:
    • Mark the schedule as Cancelled - no further journals will be posted.

Early Payout of Schedule

Use this event when you have a schedule that has been paid out with a lump sum amount. AccountKit will then process all of the applicable journals and update the schedule accordingly.

  • Select Early Payout to show the applicable fields.
  • Identify the date and amount of the payout along with the account the payout has been allocated to.
  • Select Preview

  • Review the content of the proposed journal.
  • If all looks to be in order, press the Post button
  • This will kick off the process to:
    • Journal out the balances to clear all liability accounts back against the payment account, with the net balance allocated to interest.
    • Update the schedule to show the revised schedule as at the date of payment.
    • Mark the schedule as Paid Out - no further journals will be posted.

Refinance of Schedule

Use this event when you have a schedule that has been refinanced to a new loan. AccountKit will then process all of the applicable journals, update the schedule accordingly and prepare a new schedule. This can even be used where you have financed your insurance and the amount increased throughout the year - see below.

  • Select Refinance Schedule to show the applicable fields.
  • Identify and update as follows
    • The date and amount of the refinance - the date forms the contract date for the new schedule while the amount of payout is the refinanced amount to clear the old liability.
    • Optionally include the borrowing expense here IF this has been included in the funding. There is an option in the new schedule also to add further lines if you would prefer to leave this blank.
  • Select Preview

  • Review the content of the proposed journal.
  • If all looks to be in order, press the Post button
  • This will kick off the process to:
    • Journal out the balances to clear all liability accounts back against the payment account, with the net balance allocated to interest.
    • Update the schedule to show the revised schedule as at the date of payment.
    • Mark the schedule as Refinanced - no further journals will be posted.
    • The refinanced balance + borrowing expense will then be copied into a new schedule.
  • From here it's a matter of treating this new schedule like any other schedule.
    • Update the purchase area to align the amount financed if not correct, it will otherwise be populated with the original refinanced field in an non-editable row (we'll be journaling out of this in a moment)
    • Then go through and enter the other finance details + accounts;
    • Build the schedule;
    • Post the purchase journal to re-allocate the refinanced amount between the various liability accounts.
  • The new schedule is now good to go!
i
 Where a schedule isn't set to sync with Xero, each of the above events are the same, they just miss the step of posting journals to Xero.

 

Refinance of Schedule (Insurance Increase)

Utilise this process for when you've financed your insurance and then needed to increase it throughout the year as a result of an asset purchase / disposal, resulting in an increase in the amount financed.

  1. Setup new account in Xero for the revised loan. (you may need to press the "Refresh Account List" a couple times to bring in the new liability account)
  2. Go to the line after the last payment at the old rate and run a "One off event - Refinanced" for the balance leftover on the schedule (you can always reverse the one off event if you choose the wrong period);
    • Allocate to any suspense account you like (This is a temporary location where we place the payout figure);
    • You don't have to put any borrowing expense here if you don't want - you can do that on the establishment of the new schedule;
    • You'll then get to preview the journal that AK is about to post. Just check that it's doing what you'd expect.
    • Upon accepting this it'll post the journal and market this schedule as refinanced (+ it'll void / post other entries as required).
  3. It'll then create a new schedule with the payout figure pre-populating the purchase area;
    • You can then at this point add in the extra additions to the insurance + borrowing expenses etc to bring the total borrowing figure up.
    • Build the schedule then post the establishing entry.
    • Review the figures are all good, then you're good to go.

 

Posting of Journals (manual & automated)

Bulk Posting of Journals

There is a number of ways and places to go about posting journals. Where you need to post lots of journals, it's way more effective to choose one of the bulk post options below since many journals can be posted to Xero in one API call.

  • Go to the equipment schedule and press the post journal icon Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png for its line on the schedule. Select from one of the options:

  • This journal - just posts the journal for the selected line.
  • To selected payment date - posts all journals since the start date / conversion date / last payment date up to the selected date.
  • End of schedule - posts all journals from the start / conversion / last payment dates right through to the end of the schedule. (don't worry, these can be bulk voided). The benefit of this is that you have all journals in place ready for tax planning and other future planning.
  • From the equipment finance list page, select the post journal icon Help_-_General_-_IconPlane.png button in the action column for each schedule; Select from of the options

    • Current Date - This will post all journals up to and including todays date.
    • Other Date - Here you can choose any other date that you'd like the schedule posted to.

Automating your journals

Within the practice settings for the equipment finance tool, you have the option to turn on auto-posting of entries throughout the year. This will post all available journals as at the end of each day.

  • Go to your practice settings and turn on the automation option.
  • Interest journals only become available to post once the payment date has passed.
  • If you're having problems posting interest journals into your accounting software, check to ensure that the period being posted into is unlocked.
  • This can then be over-written on a per schedule basis by editing the applicable settings within each schedules action menu.

 

i
 Where you select multiple journals to post at once, or AccountKit auto-posts some entries overnight you will receive a notification in the notification strip identifying when the process has been completed and the associated outcomes. From there you can click through to a summary report to identify any schedules that are out of balance so you can click through to fix them. Alternatively, you can access all of the summary reports from the equipment finance list page within the Actions menu.

   

Related Links

Menus & Shared Elements This support article covers all the menus and shared elements used throughout AccountKit
Document Management System (DMS) Learn how to connect and manage your DMS

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