Amortisation Scheduler

Overview

The purpose of this tool is to generate an amortisation schedule for anything you would like to spread out over a defined period such as borrowing expenses, prepaid income or a lump sum of the Insurance for example.

Where a cloud accounting package is connected to the applicable client within AccountKit, the applicable entries to re-assign the figures each period will automatically be brought to the account to reconcile the balance each month.

Jump straight to the applicable section:

The Amortisation Scheduler List Page

Area		Description
1	Add a new schedule	Select this to start the process of creating a brand-new amortisation schedule.
2	Group by, Filter by, View Select, Three-dot menu (More Actions)	These are part of the Shared Elements across AccountKit. Use the first three icons to: Group your amortisation schedule view Apply specific filters for customised list views Switch between previously saved views Click on the three-dot menu (More Actions) to extract data and access reports: Export Lists (PDF and Excel) Summary Report Summary Movement Report Periodic Amortisation Report
3	The list...	This is a snapshot of all current Amortisation Schedules running within your practice and their current status. Checkbox - Enables you to select multiple schedules to delete, archive, unarchive or post bulk journals. Client - This is the client entity that the schedule belongs to. Description - Full description of what is being amortised. Amount - This is the full amount scheduled to be amortised. Allocation Amount - Identifies the allocation amount and its frequency. Date of Last Entry - Shows the date of the final entry for each schedule. Current Balance - Displays the balance on each schedule. Status - This identifies whether a schedule is in or out of balance with Xero and it's only relevant were connected to Xero, otherwise this field will be blank.
4	Link documents Three-dot Menu (More Actions)	Link relevant documents from your chosen DMS (Document Management System) to each schedule. Click on the link icon a new action window will pop up, follow the prompts to add new document links. The small number on the corner of a link icon indicates how many documents (if any) are currently linked to that particular schedule. Click on it to view and action all existing documents. Three-dot Menu (More Actions) - appears on mouseover at the end of the row. Use it to Export (PDF and Excel), Archive or Delete a schedule.

General Variables & Input Fields

Click to open a Schedule and have visibility of all details.

Area

Description

Client &
Basic Details

This area identifies the client elements of the amortisation schedule:

Client Name - Which client the Schedule relates to.
Sync with Xero - Select this option if you want this schedule to post and reconcile with Xero.
- - only available if the selected client has been synced with Xero.
Existing Schedule - You’d select this when an amortisation schedule already exists and has been reconciled to a particular date.
Perhaps the schedule was established 2 years ago and was last reconciled at the end of the previous financial year, for instance.
- - only available if the selected client has been synced with Xero and "Sync with Xero" is selected.
Description - Add a short description identifying what is being amortised so that it can be easily identified.
Type - This field enables you to choose between the various types as defined within practice settings. It changes the headings between income/expense and asset/liability and reverses the direction of any journals.
Conversion Date - Appears where "Existing Agreement" is selected. It enables you to enter a date that the amortisation schedule was last reconciled thereby letting AccountKit know when you want to start posting journals from.

Financial Details

Here you define the details associated with the amount to be amortised and, where relevant, identify the relevant income, expense, asset and liability accounts that are to be posted to.

Amount - The full amount to be amortised.
Start Date - Enter the date of the original transaction here.
Frequency - This represents the timing of journals.
Number of Allocations - The total number of allocations over the duration of the schedule.
Apportion first and last allocations - This option will split the first and last allocations to apportion based on the period between the start date and the end of the first period. Relevant if you don't want a straight-line allocation.
- Note that selecting this option will automatically select the "Post at end of period" option.
Post at end of the period - Tick this option where you want any allocations to be at the end of each period relative to the financial year, rather than on the anniversary of the start date,

Results - These will calculate once the Build Schedule green button is pushed, after all of the variables have been locked in.

End Date - Represents the final entry for the schedule.
Term - Represents the duration of the schedule.

Accounts - Select the relevant accounts in your accounting software for posting journals to.

only available if the selected client has been synced with their accounting software.

NOTE: The list of accounts visible here and in the schedule will depend on your schedule settings, which can be edited under the action menu (cog wheel, top right corner) to show other accounts if you split between current / non-current accounts.

The Headings will also depend on whether the Type is an expense or income-based amortisation schedule, for instance.

Income / Expense account - Identify the applicable income or expense account to be allocated to each period.
Asset / Liability account (current) - This represents the balance sheet account that the amortisation amount is being journaled from within the next 12 months.
Asset / Liability account (non-current) - This represents the balance sheet account that the amortisation amount is being journaled for greater than the next 12 months.

Tracking options – If you have tracking options turned on in Xero, these will appear on the drop-down menu here, 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.

Repayment Allocation Schedule

This shows the details of each allocation and the applicable amount and balance at any point.

The 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.

Entry No - Sequence number for each allocation entry.
Date - Date of the entry for each allocation journal.
Allocation - Amount of each allocation journal.
Balance - Anticipated scheduled balance for the duration of the schedule.
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 (i.e. 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 have the option to click through to Xero to correct it.
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:
- Post journal icon - gives you options to post a single journal, bulk post entries to date or post through to the end of the schedule.
- Go to Xero icon - enables you to click through to the applicable journal within Xero.
- One off event icon - enables you to trigger an early write-off for the schedule (i.e. if the finance attributed to borrowing expenses has been paid out).
- Void journal icon - voids the current journal.
- option - only available on a conversion date providing the option to adjust the conversion balance to match the schedule.

Annual Summary

Shows an annual summary of the schedule balances for referring to.

Shared Tool Bar

The Shared Tool Bar is also part of the Shared Elements across AccountKit.

Workflow - Add the schedule to an existing or new Workflow in AccountKit, using Tasks and linking them.
Link documents - Using your DMS (Document Management System), link and access documents such as the invoice or contract for that particular schedule.
- - only available once a DMS has been connected. See here for more details
Tag - Add a Tag to the schedule so it can be easily included in Reports, Workflow and anything else with a Tag.
Export - Available formats: PDF or Excel.
History - Review changes made to this schedule, including time, user and elements updated.

Before you Start

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

Prepare the entities you plan to reconcile

Ensure the applicable income/expense/balance sheet accounts are set up within your accounting software. This may require a refresh to pull the new accounts into AccountKit.
Per below, set up your custom amortisation types and settings.
If the client has an online accounting package like Xero, first ensure you’ve connected them to AccountKit by going to the associated 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 details that you're looking to amortise, such as where the original transaction has been coded to, and the time frame you're looking to amortise over.
If it’s a pre-existing amortisation you had initiated in prior years, identify the date the account was last reconciled and AccountKit will start posting journals from this date.

Practice Settings

Amortisation Types

Here you have the option to create new amortisation types further to those created by default.

Adding new types gives you further options for sorting, filtering and reporting within the Amortisation Scheduler tool.

Most importantly, setting the Type simply changes the direction of the journals when posting to Xero.

Set your Defaults

Review your Practice Settings to ensure the default settings for the Amortisation Tool are how you like to process and build your schedules and post the associated entries.

Automatically post apportionment journals each period:
- As the description implies, in the event that you don't want AccountKit to automatically post the interest journals each period, simple turn this function off.
- This toggle defaults to on.
Account for current / non-current entries
- Enables you to automatically split your assets/liabilities between current and non-current.
  Each apportionment journal then re-assigns the next transaction within the 12-month period so that you always have the next 12 months within the current asset/liability accounts.
- Requires the following accounts
  - - Current asset/liability account - Next 12 months Net balance
    - Current allocation journals post from this account.
    - Next 12 months net balance is journaled to this account
    - Non-current asset/liability account - Net balance over and beyond 12 months
    - Next 12 months net balance is journaled from this account
    - This toggle defaults to off
Account for unexpired amortisation entries
- This simply enables you to separate the amortisation entries to a different account, meaning you end up with two accounts per schedule: one for the full balance, the other for the amount allocated to date.
- This toggle defaults to off.
Show apportionment journals on cash basis reports
- Enables you to define whether any allocation journals posted are to show on cash basis reports or not.
Utilise account default tax codes for allocation journals
- As the description suggests, this setting turns on the ability to use the tax codes attached to the relevant accounts from Xero.

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

How to create an Amortisation Schedule

If a client is not connected to a cloud accounting package, but you still want to create a schedule for manually preparing journals into your ledger software, you can build a schedule and export it to excel or PDF for reconciling against.

Open the Amortisation Scheduler tool and click on the sign to “Add a new Schedule”.
The New Amortisation Entry will open, prompting you to select a Client Name from the drop-down.
- If you choose a client connected to Xero, you'll be given the option to "Sync with Xero". Selecting this will enable the auto-posting of entries into Xero over the duration of the schedule.
- If you select the Sync with Xero option, you'll be presented with another option "Existing Schedule" - select this if you've already built a schedule previously and you would like AccountKit to take up posting from the last date you had manually reconciled your own schedule.
  - If you select this option, a date field will appear for you to choose the date you had last reconciled your previous schedule.
- Add a short description to enable easy identification - i.e. "2019 Borrowing Expense - HP - NAB - New Landcruiser"
- Select the applicable Type of schedule from the available Types (noting new types can be set up as required within Practice Settings -> Lists
Complete the variables in the Finance Details section, based on how you want the amount to be apportioned and paying specific attention to whether you would like to apportion the first and last allocations and whether you would like the journals to be posted at the end of each period (see above for further explanation as to what these all mean)
- 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 are correct.
- Complete the “Accounts” section by selecting the applicable income/expense and balance sheet accounts from the client's chart of accounts in Xero.
  Select "Refresh Account List" if you can't see the required accounts in the list.
- With the Finance Details completed, click on “Build Schedule” and scroll down to view it.

Once built, the repayment schedule will show a comparative balance for you to cross-check against your schedule balance.

- It will be green if it’s reconciled or red if it’s not.
- You have an option then, to void the journal at any point by selecting the icon.
- You can also jump between the “Allocation Schedule” and “Annual Schedule” for a quick comparison of the current balance and end-of-financial year balance if required.

How to fix an out-of-balance finance schedule

This can be for a number of reasons, all requiring you to enter the accounting software and review the applicable asset/liability account. Some of the most common causes include:
- - An entry has been entered accidentally into the accounts.
  - An allocation journal has been deleted or voided.
Alternatively, you can select the red cross to see a pop-up of the transactions between the allocation 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 the details of that transaction in Xero.
To fix it, it’s simply a matter of fixing the above transactional issues within the accounting software, then go back to AccountKit and click on the refresh icon within the "Repayment Schedule" tab and this will refresh the Xero data and balances.
Use the (i) icon to auto-adjust at the conversion date to force the accounts back into balance against the schedule.

The date of the conversion adjustment and the account can be amended within the adjustment journal pop-up window.

Posting of Journals (manual & automated)

Posting of Journals

There is a number of ways and places to Post journals in AccountKit. Where you need to post lots of journals, you can also choose one of the bulk post options below.

On the Allocation Schedule:

Mouseover and look for the Post journals icon within the schedule
- note that you’ll only see this from the point that you identified your apportionment schedule was last reconciled in the initial steps. For example, if you selected that your apportionment schedule has a conversion balance (ie. last reconciled) was 30/06/2024, you won’t be given the option to post an apportionment journal until after July 2024.

Click on it to select one of the three options.

This journal - just posts the journal for the selected line.
To select the payment date - post all journals from the start / conversion / last payment dates 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 if chosen by mistake).
The benefit of this is that you have all journals in place ready for tax and other future planning.

Points to Note:

If you’re using Xero Ledger, you can still connect AccountKit for posting your apportionment journals for the year.
The Build Schedule button won't activate until all of the required variables are filled in.
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.

Automating your journals

Within Practice Settings -> Tool Settings, look for the Amortisation Scheduler under Compliance, where there will be the option to turn on the auto-posting of entries throughout the year. This will post all available journals at the end of each day.

Click on your name (bottom-left corner) -> Practice Settings
Under Tool Settings, choose yes for the automation option.

Please note...

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

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 and click through to fix them. Alternatively, you can access all of the Summary Reports from the Amortisation Schedule list page within the Actions menu.

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 write-off of a balance (i.e. if a finance schedule has been paid out, enabling the balance of the borrowing expenses to be written off).