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Autotransactions - Example

The following example shows a template that distributes an amount across four Accounts on a percentage basis after you have entered that amount in a Transaction. You might use such a templete to allocate shares of overhead costs to Accounts representing four departments.

The first row contains an exclamation mark in the Account field and a percentage in the Debit field. The exclamation mark indicates that when the Autotransaction is specified in a Transaction, the amount of the previous row of the Transaction is to be overwritten by a figure determined by the application of the Autotransaction (in this case, by a percentage of the original figure). That figure will be on the same side (debit or credit) as the original, as the percentage has been entered to the Debit field of the Autotransaction. In other words, the original figure entered will be reduced by 90%. The # sign in the Description field signifies that the original Description will be retained.

The second line of the Autotransaction will again refer to the original figure and calculate a percentage from it, on the same side (debit or credit) as the original, using a new line in the Transaction. This figure will be posted to Account 431. The third and fourth lines of the Autotransaction will have a similar effect, creating new lines in the Transaction with different percentages of the original figure, posting to Accounts 432 and 433 respectively.

The fifth line calculates VAT from the original figure at the standard rate of 17.5% and places it in a new row in the Transaction, posting to the VAT Inputs Receivable Account on the same side (debit or credit) as the original figure.

The final line of the Autotransaction contains an Account number and an equal sign (=) in the Credit field. This signifies that the sum of the previous lines of the Transaction is to be posted to that Account. The posting will be on the opposite side (debit or credit) to the original figure, since the equal sign is in the Credit field.

When you enter a Transaction, begin by entering the Account code for the relevant expense category, and the amount excluding VAT. On the second row, enter the code of the Autotransaction in the Account field.

Press Return. The Autotransaction is entered by FirstOffice, and the amounts are recalculated as follows:

The example Autotransaction is designed to be used from the Nominal Ledger and is therefore double-sided to produce a balancing Transaction.

It may be that you will enter many overhead costs in the Purchase Ledger from the Suppliers' Purchase Invoices. You can enter Autotransaction Codes to the Account field of a Purchase Invoice row in the same way as illustrated above for Transactions, so in our example Purchase Invoices can also be distributed across departments. However, the Autotransaction that you use in this situation should be single-sided: it should not have the final balancing line posting to the Bank Account. When you post the Purchase Invoice to the Nominal Ledger, a balancing posting to a Creditor Account will be made automatically as normal. Payment will reach the Bank Account when the Purchase Invoice is paid. In addition, any Autotransaction used in the Purchase Ledger will not need to calculate VAT because that will be handled by the VAT Code.

You can also enter single-sided Autotransactions in the Account field in a Sales Invoice row.