The Bank Balance bookkeeping data check page identifies the number of bank accounts where the Bank Statement balance in Xero does not match the Xero Trial Balance value. Additionally, it allows users to input the bank balance at the period end date as shown on the physical bank statement (to ensure that the bank feed has been pulled in correctly to Xero).

Each bank account in Xero that has a difference in value (as detailed above) will show on this data check page. Bank accounts that do not currently have a difference in value will not show on the page (although you can quickly view all bank accounts using the “Show all bank accounts” toggle.

Clicking on the “Process” button takes you directly to the bank reconciliation page for the applicable bank account in Xero.

The quantity and age of the unreconciled or unexplained bank items directly affects the overall bookkeeping health check indicator.

As items are explained or reconciled in Xero, you will notice that the health indicator % in Xenon Connect improves.

Upload Supporting Documentation

Clicking the “Upload Supporting Documentation” link within each bank account box allows the user to upload files to be attached against the period end currently selected. Obvious examples for this feature is to document the bank statement balance and/or reconcilation working by uploading a bank statement or spreadsheet file.

Process Button

Clicking the “Process” button for a bank account will open the reconcile screen within Xero in a new browser tab.

Add Note Button

Notes can be added against the selected period end for each bank account using the “Add Note” button. Team members can be tagged in the notes.

Ignore Bank Account

Individual bank accounts can be ignored by the check if you do not want them to be considered (for example, if a personal bank account is connected to Xero).

To ignore an individual bank account from the check, you have 2 options:

1. Click the red cross icon in the top-right corner of the appropriate bank account
2. Within Xenon Connect, Go to Settings > Bookkeeping Quality Checks > Bank Balance Check > Exclude the following bank accounts (click the green + icon to select the appropriate bank account)

Reinstating a Bank Account

If you have previously ignored a bank account from this data check in Xenon Connect, you can reinstate it again as follows:

Within Xenon Connect, Go to Settings > Bookkeeping Quality Checks > Bank Balance Check > Exclude the following bank accounts (click the x icon next to the name of the appropriate bank account).

Mark as OK Button

Where there is a legitimate reason that the bank statement balance does not match the trial balance in Xero, then you can click the “Mark as OK” button under each bank account so that the difference in balance is disregarded for the currently selected period end (only). It is recommended that a supporting note is added to the bank account in order to document the reason for the use oif the “Mark as OK” button.

The post Bank Balance Check appeared first on Xenon Connect.

NOTE: This data check only applies for Xero organisations.

The Purchase Tax on Invoices bookkeeping data check feature identifies customer invoices that have been posted using a purchase tax code – for example “20% (VAT on Expenses)”, or “Exempt Expenses”.

Transactions checked include:

• Customer Invoice Line Items (line items on a customer invoice)
• OPTIONAL: Money In (direct deposits that get allocated directly). Note: By default bank deposits using a purchases tax code do not get flagged. This is because, often, bank deposits legitimately use purchase tax codes where a deposit is recorded for a purchase refund.

Of course, there will be a very small number of instances where customer invoice transactions have been legitimately coded to a purchase tax code. The purpose of this check is to verify that any such purchase tax codes are in fact correct.

Details provided for each transaction include:

• Type (e.g. customer invoice or money in)
• Contact name
• Date of transaction
• Invoice reference
• Account code used
• Line item details/description
• Net Amount of transaction
• Tax code used

Reviewing the transaction & changing the transaction’s tax code

If you decide that the tax code currently given to the transaction in the bookkeeping software is inappropriate, you can quickly and easily change it using the ‘View/Edit’ actions button, which will open the transaction in a new browser tab.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular transaction already has the correct tax code used, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific transaction from appearing in the list again.

Show Bank Deposits Too

Where bank deposits in are not considered in this data check, based upon the toggle position on the settings page for this data check, an additional “Show Bank Deposits Too” toggle will show on the face of the data check page. This enables the user to quickly check that a purchase tax code has not been used on direct bank deposits out (even though such issues are not included in the issue count).

Show Dismissed Items

You can quickly include all previously dismissed transactions, by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any tax codes that have previously been dismissed in error.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Multiple transactions can be dismissed in bulk

The post Purchase Tax on Invoices appeared first on Xenon Connect.

NOTE: This data check only applies for Xero organisations.

The Sales Tax on Bills bookkeeping data check feature identifies supplier bills that have been posted using a sales tax code – for example “20% (VAT on Income)”, or “Exempt Income”.

Transactions checked include:

• Supplier Bill Line Items (line items on a supplier bill)
• OPTIONAL: Money Out (direct payments that get allocated directly). Note: By default bank payments using a sales tax code do not get flagged. This is because bank payments often legitimately use sales tax codes where a payment is recorded for a sales refund.

Of course, there will be a very small number of instances where supplier bill transactions have been legitimately coded to a sales tax code. The purpose of this check is to verify that any such sales tax codes are in fact correct.

Details provided for each transaction include:

• Type (e.g. bill or payment out)
• Contact name
• Date of transaction
• Bill reference
• Account code used
• Line item details/description
• Net Amount of transaction
• Tax code used

Reviewing the transaction & changing the transaction’s tax code

If you decide that the tax code currently given to the transaction in the bookkeeping software is inappropriate, you can quickly and easily change it using the ‘View/Edit’ actions button, which will open the transaction in a new browser tab.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular transaction already has the correct tax code used, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific transaction from appearing in the list again.

Show Bank Payments Too

Where bank payments out are not considered in this data check, based upon the toggle position on the settings page for this data check, an additional “Show Bank Payments Too” toggle will show on the face of the data check page. This enables the user to quickly check that a sales tax code has not been used on direct bank payments out (even though such issues are not included in the issue count).

Show Dismissed Items

You can quickly include all previously dismissed transactions, by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any tax codes that have previously been dismissed in error.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Multiple transactions can be dismissed in bulk

The post Sales Tax on Bills appeared first on Xenon Connect.

NOTE: This data check is currently only available for Xero organisations only.

The Unprocessed Bank Items bookkeeping data check page identifies the number of bank transactions in Xero that are showing on the bank feed, but still require explaining.

Each bank account in Xero that has one or more items that require your attention will show on this data check page. Bank accounts that do not currently have any issues will not show on the page, unless the bank account has not been updated in more than two weeks.

Clicking on the “Process” button takes you directly to the bank reconciliation page for the applicable bank account in Xero.

The quantity and age of the unexplained bank items directly affects the overall bookkeeping health check indicator.

As items are explained in Xero, you will notice that the health indicator % in Xenon Connect improves.

Update values in seconds (Requires Xenon Connect Browser Extension)

In order to pull in the list of unprocessed bank transactions from Xero bank accounts, you will need to install the Xenon Connect Browser Extension, which is available for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge web browsers.

NOTE: These values will not be refreshed when you carry out a normal sync with Xero – only when you update using the update icons next to the bank account on the data check page (with browser extension installed).

View & Download Transactions

Full details of all unprocessed bank transactions can be viewed (click the “View Transactions” button) or downloaded (click the download icon) as a CSV or PDF document.

Notes

Notes can be added to each bank account by users. Team members can be tagged into notes (creating a notification for the user). Any notes created are attached to the bank account in general and not to the particular date period currently selected. This makes it a convenient way of recording permanent notes about the bank account for future users.

Ignoring a Bank Account

Individual bank accounts can be ignored by the check if you do not want them to be considered (for example, if a personal bank account is connected to Xero).

To ignore an individual bank account from the check, you have 2 options:

1. Click the red cross icon in the top-right corner of the appropriate bank account
2. Within Xenon Connect, Go to Settings > Bookkeeping Quality Checks > Unprocessed Bank Transactions > Exclude the following bank accounts (click the green + icon to select the appropriate bank account)

Reinstating a Bank Account

If you have previously ignored a bank account from this data check in Xenon Connect, you can reinstate it again as follows:

Within Xenon Connect, Go to Settings > Bookkeeping Quality Checks > Unprocessed Bank Transactions > Exclude the following bank accounts (click the x icon next to the name of the appropriate bank account).

The post Unprocessed Bank Items appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Purchase Tax Missing bookkeeping data check feature identifies transactions (where the organisation is marked as registered for sales tax) that have been posted to an Expense , Fixed Asset Additions, or Prepayments account code but have been given an ‘Outside the scope’ or ‘No VAT’ purchase tax code.

Transactions checked include:

• Supplier Bill Line Items
• Money Out (direct deposits posted to an account code)

It is generally expected that, where the organisation is registered for sales tax, then an appropriate purchase tax code should be used for most expenditure.

Of course, there are many instances where transactions have been legitimately coded to an ‘Outside the scope’ / ‘No VAT’ tax code, (e.g. such as wages related expenditure, tax payments etc in the United Kingdom (in some circumstances). Therefore, the following additional default settings are applied.

Ignored Account Codes

Where any of the following expense account codes are detected in the organisation’s chart of accounts, the account is automatically ignored in settings in order to avoid false positive issues being raised:

• Wages & Salaries
• Director’s Remuneration
• Employer’s National Insurance
• Pension Costs
• Depreciation
• Donations
• Rates
• Corporation Tax

You can add or remove account codes from the list of ignored expense codes via the settings page for the organisation.

Consider Additional Account Codes

Balance Sheet account codes are ignored, apart from the following account codes which are automatically added to be considered by default (where found in the organisation’s chart of account):

• Prepayments
• Office Equipment
• Computer Equipment
• Buildings
• Leasehold Improvements
• Motor Vehicles
• Plant and Machinery
• Intangibles

You can add or remove account codes from the list of considered balance sheet account codes via the settings page for the organisation.

Details provided for each transaction include:

• Type (e.g. bill or money out)
• Contact name
• Date of transaction
• Bill reference
• Account code used
• Line item details/description
• Net Amount of transaction
• Tax code used

Reviewing the transaction & changing the transaction’s tax code

If you decide that the tax code currently given to the transaction in the bookkeeping software is inappropriate, you can quickly and easily change it using the ‘View/Edit’ actions button, which will open the transaction in a new browser tab.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular transaction already has the correct tax code used, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific transaction from appearing in the list again.

Show Dismissed Items

You can quickly include all previously dismissed transactions, by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any tax codes that have previously been dismissed in error.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Multiple transactions can be dismissed in bulk

The post Purchase Tax Missing appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Sales Tax Missing bookkeeping data check feature identifies transactions (where the organisation is marked as registered for sales tax) that have been posted to a Sales, or Other Income account code but have been given an ‘Outside the scope’ or ‘No VAT’ sales tax code.

Transactions checked include:

• Customer Invoice Line Items (line items on a customer invoice allocated to a Sales or Other Income account code)
• Money In (direct deposits that get allocated directly to a Sales or Other Income account code)

It is generally expected that, where the organisation is registered for sales tax, then an appropriate sales tax should be used.

Of course, there will be a very small number of instance where transactions have been legitimately coded to an ‘Outside the scope’ / ‘No VAT’ tax code, (e.g. such as Grant Income in the United Kingdom (in some circumstances). The purpose of this check is to verify that any such sales tax codes are in fact correct.

Details provided for each transaction include:

• Type (e.g. invoice or money in)
• Contact name
• Date of transaction
• Invoice reference
• Account code used
• Line item details/description
• Net Amount of transaction
• Tax code used

Reviewing the transaction & changing the transaction’s tax code

If you decide that the tax code currently given to the transaction in the bookkeeping software is inappropriate, you can quickly and easily change it using the ‘View/Edit’ actions button, which will open the transaction in a new browser tab.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular transaction already has the correct tax code used, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific transaction from appearing in the list again.

Show Dismissed Items

You can quickly include all previously dismissed transactions, by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any tax codes that have previously been dismissed in error.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Multiple transactions can be dismissed in bulk

The post Sales Tax Missing appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Opening Balance Differences bookkeeping data check feature automatically identifies situations where the balance sheet in the bookkeeping package of a UK Limited Company differs to the statutory accounts filed at Companies House.

In particular, the Net Assets/Liabilities value is compared for consistency.

The purpose of the check is to ensure that the ongoing financial data within the bookkeeping package remains accurate.

Details provided for each issue

• Period Ended (as per Companies House accounts filed)
• Net Assets/Liabilities (as per Companies House accounts filed)
• Net Assets/Liabilities (as per bookkeeping software on the same date)
• Difference – Any difference found between the statutory accounts filed and bookkeeping software

Potential reasons why there is an opening balance difference

1. Final period adjustments entered on to accounts production software were not entered onto the underlying bookkeeping software first.
2. Opening balance journal (to account for year end adjustments) has not been posted to underlying bookkeeping software.
3. Opening balance journal was posted with a transaction date within the new financial year, instead of the financial period in which the adjustments relate.
4. Transactions have been posted to the financial period with the difference in error, whereas they should have been posted within the new financial year. Was the ‘lock date’ set preventing the client from posting late transations?
5. Transactions dated in the financial period with the difference have been deleted or voided in the underlying bookkeeping package (for example, an old sales invoice has been deleted, instead of having a credit note raised in the current financial year).
6. A negligible rounding difference exists resulting in a very low value difference (see the “Settings Options” section below regarding setting a minimum difference threshold).

Show Late Transactions

If an opening balance difference has been detected then the “Show Late Transactions” button will allow you to view the most recent transactions that were posted to the financial period (or earlier). This will allow you to quickly identify whether year end adjustments/opening balance journals have been posted correctly and will help you to identify whether any transactions have been posted to the financial period after the accounts have been finalized and/or submitted to Companies House.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular opening balance difference does not require amendment, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that issue from appearing in the list again.

Show All Results

You can quickly include all previously dismissed issues, by enabling the “Show All Results” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any opening balance differences that have previously been dismissed in error.

Settings Options

The options page will allow you to amend the minimum opening balance difference value that will trigger an issue to be identified by the opening balance differences bookkeeping check. By default, a difference of £1 or more will result in an issue being flagged for your review.

The post Opening Balance Differences appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Misallocated Items bookkeeping data check feature identifies transactions in Xero and QuickBooks Online that have been coded to a broad/vague account, whereas it may be better suited to being coded to a more specific account code. An example is when a purchase of stationery is coded to “General Expenses”, rather than “Office Stationery”.

Transactions checked include:

• Supplier Bill Line Items
• Customer Invoice Line Items
• Money Out
• Money In

The value threshold over which transactions show up as an issue on this bookkeeping check feature can be adjusted on the settings page of Xenon Connect (depending on the organisation’s policy regarding materiality).

The purpose of the check is to allow the user to verify that any high-value items have been appropriately coded to a specific and meaningful account code.

By default, the following account codes are monitored (if they exist), as items of a capital nature are often posted here in general (in error):

• 429 – General Expenses (Xero)
• Accounts containing the terms “Uncategorised” and “Unapplied” (such as “Uncategorised Asset”, “Uncategorised Expense” & “Uncategorised Income”) (QuickBooks Online)

Additional account codes can also be monitored from the settings page in Xenon Connect.

Details provided for each transaction include:

• Type (e.g. invoice, bill, money in or money out)
• Contact name
• Date of transaction
• Details/description
• Net Amount of transaction
• Account used (being one of the account codes added in settings)
• “Change to” value (drop down menu allowing the user to select a more appropriate account code)

Changing the transaction’s account

If you decide that the account currently given to the transaction in Xero is inappropriate, you can quickly and easily change it using one of the following methods:

1. The drop-down menu allows you to pick any account, for example – a profit and loss expense code – if appropriate. Then, click the “Save Changes” button.
2. If the transaction is reconciled (bank item) or has a payment or credit note allocated to it (invoice or bill) within Xero, then the account value cannot currently be updated directly from Xenon Connect (although we hope to allow this if Xero API constraints are updated in the future). Therefore, currently, such transactions must be updated using the “Edit in Xero” button.

View transaction in Xero/QuickBooks Online

For each misallocated item found, you are able to click the View button after which you will be taken directly to the applicable transaction within your Xero/QBO account. This will allow you, for example, to investigate the item further.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular transaction already has the correct account code used, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that transaction from appearing in the list again.

Show Dismissed Items

You can quickly include all previously dismissed transactions, by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This allows you to recheck and edit any accounts that have previously been dismissed in error.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Multiple transactions can be dismissed in bulk

The post Misallocated Items appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Old Purchase Credits bookkeeping data check page identifies purchase credit notes that were created by the supplier some time ago but have still not been attached to a bill or refunded.

By reviewing the list of old purchase credit notes that Xenon Connect flags up on this bookkeeping data check page, you are able to deal with the unattached purchase credit notes appropriately.

There are various reasons why a purchase credit note may be showing up as unattached in Xero or QuickBooks Online, including the following:

• The credit note was created in error
• The bank reconciliation process is not up to date and the supplier refund has not yet been allocated to the credit note
• The supplier refund has been incorrectly allocated to a different credit note/supplier
• The purchase refund has been incorrectly marked as a direct payment to a nominal account (rather than through the creditors ledger)
• The purchase credit note is being left on account but no bills have been raised by the supplier yet

View Purchase Credit Note in Xero or QuickBooks Online

For each old unattached purchase credit note identified, you are able to click the View button after which you will be taken directly to the applicable credit note within your bookkeeping account. This will allow you to investigate the item further.

Void or Delete Purchase Credit Note

If you determine, after review, that a particular purchase credit note has been created in error, it can be quickly removed from Xero or QuickBooks Online by clicking the “Void” or “Delete” button within Xenon Connect.

Please note that purchase credit notes that have been part-allocated to a bill or part-refunded cannot be voided. In this circumstance you will need to unallocate the payment or credit note from the bill first, before voiding the purchase credit note.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular purchase credit note shown is ok to be left as unallocated, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific credit note appearing again in the issue list.

Ignore Item for 30 Days

If a purchase credit note shows up as old and unattached, but you expect it to be allocated against a bill or refunded by the supplier soon, you can click the “Ignore (30 days)” button which will hide the item for 30 days.

After 30 days, if the purchase credit note is still unallocated, then the item will reappear in the list.

Show Dismissed Matches

You can recheck dismissed and ignored old purchase credit notes in Xenon Connect by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This will allow you to add any dismissed or ignored items back to the main old purchase credit note list, by clicking the “Add back to issue list” button.

Search Text Filter

Use the search box to filter the old purchase credit note results in real time, based upon the text entered.

The results will also include any dismissed and ignored purchase credit notes.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Void purchase credit notes in Xero or QuickBooks Online
• Dismiss purchase credit notes in Xenon Connect
• Ignore purchase credit notes for 30 days in Xenon Connect

Settings

Within the Old Supplier Credit Notes section of the Settings page in Xenon Connect, the following preferences can be adjusted:

• Date of credit note is at least x days old – Use this setting to choose the minimum number of days since the credit note was created (based upon credit note date) to show up as an old purchase credit note item (default value is 60 days)

The post Old Purchase Credits appeared first on Xenon Connect.

The Old Sales Credits bookkeeping data check page identifies sales credit notes that were created for the customer some time ago but have still not been attached to an invoice or repaid.

By reviewing the list of old sales credit notes that Xenon Connect flags up on this bookkeeping data check page, you are able to deal with the unattached sales credit notes appropriately.

There are various reasons why a sales credit note may be showing up as unattached in Xero or QuickBooks Online, including the following:

• The credit note was created in error
• The bank reconciliation process is not up to date and the customer refund has not yet been allocated to the credit note
• The customer refund has been incorrectly allocated to a different credit note/customer
• The customer refund has been incorrectly marked as a direct payment to a nominal account (rather than through the debtors ledger)
• The sales credit note is being left on account but no invoices have been raised for the customer yet

View Sales Credit Note in Xero or QuickBooks Online

For each old unattached sales credit note identified, you are able to click the View button after which you will be taken directly to the applicable credit note within your bookkeeping account. This will allow you to investigate the item further.

Void or Delete Sales Credit Note

If you determine, after review, that a particular sales credit note has been created in error, it can be quickly removed from Xero or QuickBooks Online by clicking the “Void” or “Delete” button within Xenon Connect.

Please note that sales credit notes that have been part-allocated to an invoice or part-refunded cannot be voided. In this circumstance you will need to unallocate the payment or credit note from the invoice first, before voiding the sales credit note.

Dismiss Item

If you decide that a particular sales credit note shown is ok to be left as unallocated, then you can click the “Dismiss” button to hide the item and prevent that specific credit note appearing again in the issue list.

Ignore Item for 30 Days

If a sales credit note shows up as old and unattached, but you expect it to be allocated against an invoice or refunded to the customer soon, you can click the “Ignore (30 days)” button which will hide the item for 30 days.

After 30 days, if the sales credit note is still unallocated, then the item will reappear in the list.

Show Dismissed Matches

You can recheck dismissed and ignored old sales credit notes in Xenon Connect by enabling the “Show dismissed items” toggle.

This will allow you to add any dismissed or ignored items back to the main old sales credit note list, by clicking the “Add back to issue list” button.

Search Text Filter

Use the search box to filter the old sales credit note results in real time, based upon the text entered.

The results will also include any dismissed and ignored sales credit notes.

Bulk Process Options

The following bulk actions can be taken by using the check boxes and Bulk Process Options drop down menu:

• Void sales credit notes in Xero or QuickBooks Online
• Dismiss sales credit notes in Xenon Connect
• Ignore sales credit notes for 30 days in Xenon Connect

Settings

Within the Old Customer Credit Notes section of the Settings page in Xenon Connect, the following preferences can be adjusted:

• Date of credit note is at least x days old – Use this setting to choose the minimum number of days since the credit note was created (based upon credit note date) to show up as an old sales credit note item (default value is 60 days)

The post Old Sales Credits appeared first on Xenon Connect.