Changeset - 6256f0b305aa
[Not reviewed]
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Bradley Kuhn (bkuhn) - 10 years ago 2013-11-15 00:22:21
bkuhn@ebb.org
I keep forgetting <a /> doesn't work.
3 files changed with 3 insertions and 3 deletions:
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UseCases/DraftTransactions.mdwn
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# Generating Draft Transactions
 

	
 
<a id="draft-general"/>
 
<a id="draft-general"></a>
 

	
 
As a manager at a nonprofit, I need the ability to have staff propose draft
 
transactions that are not added to the books official until approved.
 

	
 
As a bookkeeper, I'd like the ability to set up and review draft transactions
 
before officially adding them to the books, so I can see if they were entered
 
correctly.
 

	
 
It should be possible to view any [[reports|GeneratingReports]] or other
 
system information as if the draft transactions have been applied, via some
 
configurable option.
UseCases/MultiCurrency.mdwn
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# Supporting Multiple Currencies
 

	
 
Most modern accounting systems offer some sort of support for multiple
 
currencies, but the details of how it is done matter greatly, as lack of
 
flexibility in how multiple currencies are supported can render the feature
 
useless to some organizations.
 

	
 
There are roughly two operating modes that I've observed in use by non-profit
 
organizations.
 

	
 
## A "One Native Currency" Organization
 
<a id="functional-currency"/>
 
<a id="functional-currency"></a>
 
In the USA at least, and perhaps elsewhere, the native currency to the
 
location of the entity is treated as the "one true currency" (which the USA
 
IRS calls your "functional currency") of the organization.  Specifically in
 
the USA, the IRS makes
 
[the following recommendation regarding currency conversion](http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Foreign-Currency-and-Currency-Exchange-Rates):
 

	
 
> Make all &hellip; determinations in your functional currency.  If your
 
> functional currency is the U.S. dollar, you must immediately translate into
 
> dollars all items of income, expense, etc. (including taxes), that you
 
> receive, pay, or accrue in a foreign currency and that will affect
 
> computation of your income tax.
 

	
 
(While this advice is specifically in the "small businesses" section of the
 
IRS website, it can be reasonably assumed that the IRS would apply a similar
 
rule to non-profits.)
 

	
 
As such, the accounting system that supports multi-currency should allow for
 
the handling of this rule.  Most non-profits simply do the currency
 
calculation "off book" and enter the USD determination into the system.  What
 
[Conservancy](https://sfconservancy.org) does, which probably makes sense for
 
our system, is to store a fixated rate, based on the prevailing exchange rate
 
for the currency on the date of the transaction.  (Conservancy, which
 
currently uses Ledger-CLI, uses Ledger-CLI's
 
[fixated prices feature](http://www.ledger-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger3.html#Fixated-prices-and-costs)
UseCases/TrackingDocumentation.mdwn
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# Tracking Documentation on Accounting Transactions
 

	
 
While [[double entry accounting|UseCases/DoubleEntryAccounting]] transactions
 
are the heart of any accounting system, auditors and managers need the
 
ability to dig down and determine what contracts, invoices, receipts or other
 
backup documentation relate to a given accounting document.
 

	
 
<a id="document-link-up"></a>
 
An adequate accounting system should provide easy link-up between
 
double-entry accounting transactions and the documentation that relates to
 
the transactions.  For example,
 
[[expense reports and reimbursement requests|UseCases/ReimbursementRequest]]
 
often have a myriad of receipts and invoices associated with them.
 
[[Handling contractors|UseCases/ContractorsAndContracts]] has similar types
 
of backup documentation.
 

	
 
Ideally, the system should allow the exploration of and linkage to
 
documentation in both directions.  It should be trivial to answer questions
 
such as:<a id="document-link-explore"/>
 
such as:<a id="document-link-explore"></a>
 

	
 
   * I have this receipt/invoice from our document repository.  Which
 
     accounting transactions relate to this receipt?  Has the transaction
 
     been [[reimbursed|UseCases/ReimbursementRequest]]?
 

	
 
   * Looking at this invoice, can I see the transaction where it was accrued
 
     and paid?
 

	
 
   * Show me a list of invoices that haven't been paid, with links to those
 
     invoices.
 

	
 
   * Who approved this expense or payment?  Show me the email where they
 
     approved it.
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