How to use accrual view and future year item view in Farm Focus

Accrual view 

The Accrual view in a plan will display your cashflow based on invoice date, rather than payment date. The Accrual view shows a full financial year of information so ideal for understanding spend and profitability for a financial year.

The Payment Date view (or Cash View) records income and expenses on the date the money is received or spent at the bank. Businesses may use this view for tax purposes or to monitor cash flow levels.

The livestock grid is always in accrual view as it shows the livestock movement based on event date.

NOTE: When running a report in Accrual View mode, the report will still display the transaction date, even though data is included or excluded based on the invoice/event date.

How to view Accrual:

1. Select the View icon (eye) in the right-hand corner of the Working plan cashflow
2. Choose the Accrual option and any other options that are relevant to you.

You can apply the Accrual View in various reports and tools throughout Farm Focus, including:

• Working Plan: View on the cashflow grid and underlying worksheet information.
• Reports:
  • Analysis by Code
  • Economic Farm Surplus
  • Profit & Loss
  • Cashflow Detail Report
  • Variance & YTD Variance Report
  • Trends

While using Accrual View, GST and bank account balances will be hidden. This is because accrual view is not related to cash movement so the GST component and bank balance are not relevant (when in Cash view the GST is automatically calculated to display the monthly opening and closing bank balance). In accrual view you can still print reports, enter planned items, compare on line 2, and use filter options.

Ensuring Accrual View accuracy

• To maintain accurate Accrual View data, use the invoice scanner to record invoice or event dates correctly.
• All of your items will appear in line with their event or invoice date, and this view will persist when you change financial year.
• Unpaid invoices will remain in the Needs Action screen if the payment date has not occurred.
• Coded invoices in your Needs Action screen with an invoice date prior to the revision date will be included (paid and unpaid)
• For accurate cash and accrual reporting, use a worksheet when entering planned items, as the planning grid applies a default whole-month payment date and payment term. Worksheets allow you to select a specific payment date and payment term (for example, previous month), ensuring items are recognised in the correct period.

TIP:

Use Accrual view to understand your farm’s true profitability over time, regardless of when payments are made.

Financial year items in Cash view

This option gives visibility to items from a previous year that are paid in the current year, and existing commitments in the current year that will be paid in a future year. This option is only available in Cash view. 

How to view financial year items

1. Select the View icon (eye) in the right-hand corner of the Working plan cashflow.  You need to be in Cash view.
2. Tick the show financial year items.

The Plan now has:  

A. A future financial year item column. The numbers shown represent the total of all items that meet both conditions:

• Their invoice/event date or payment terms fall in the current year, and
• Their transaction date or payment date falls in a later year for that same code.

TIP: To see these values, you’ll need to create a working plan for the future year.

B. A flag appears on any item where the payment happens in the current financial year, but the invoice/event date or payment terms fall in the previous financial year.