Documentación Banana Contabilidad+

Extensa documentación, una gran cantidad de tutoriales en línea y explicaciones de cada una de las funciones del programa (en Inglés pero también en Alemán, Francés, Italiano) se pueden encontrar en la sección de Documentación.

Para recibir soporte técnico (también disponible en Español), accede a: Contacto y soporte

Cómo empezar

Documentaciones de las versiones anteriores:

 

La interfaz de Banana Contabilidad Plus

¿Es nuevo en Banana Contabilidad Plus? No hay problema. En esta página le mostramos brevemente lo que encontrará en la pantalla principal y cómo funcionan los distintos elementos.

A primera vista, Banana Contabilidad es similar a Excel, basado en tablas, y su modo de uso es muy práctico e intuitivo. Pero pronto descubrirá que Banana Contabilidad Plus ofrece mucho más.

1. La barra de menús

La barra de menús cambia según la aplicación que esté abierta. Cada menú contiene comandos específicos. Los menús en las aplicaciones contables son: Archivo, Modificar, Datos, Formato, Herramientas, Informes, Acciones, Extensiones, Ventanas, Ayuda.

Desde el menú Ayuda puede gestionar los datos de la suscripción a Banana Contabilidad Plus.

Advertencia: En los sistemas operativos Mac, la barra de menús se encuentra en la parte superior, a la derecha del logotipo de Apple con forma de manzana.

Interface Menu Mac

Novedad: En el menú Ventana dispone de varios comandos, que le permiten, entre otras cosas:

  • Cambiar la disposición de las ventanas de datos (en paralelo o en cascada)
  • Elegir diferentes configuraciones desde el comando Apariencia:
    • Elegir qué elementos de la interfaz mostrar, para adaptarlos a pantallas pequeñas.
    • Elegir el tema de visualización.
    • Hacer visible el menú Desarrollo.

2. La barra de herramientas

La barra de herramientas proporciona acceso rápido a los cuadros de diálogo y comandos más utilizados.

Basta con pasar el ratón por encima del icono deseado y esperar un momento para ver una descripción de su función.

Novedad: Si tiene varios archivos abiertos, ahora puede ver fácilmente con cuál está trabajando y cambiar entre ellos de manera muy sencilla desde la barra de herramientas.

Cambiar fácilmente de un archivo a otro desde la barra de herramientas

3. Área de introducción de texto

Normalmente, los textos se escriben directamente en la celda, pero también aparecen en el área situada debajo de la barra de herramientas, donde también pueden editarse. Varias funciones aceleran y automatizan su introducción.

4. Las tablas

Cada archivo consta de varias tablas que muestran diferentes contenidos contables o de aplicación. Pase de una tabla a otra simplemente tocando el nombre de la tabla con el ratón. Las tablas varían según la aplicación que esté abierta. Trabajar con tablas permite tener siempre los datos ordenados y agrupados según el contenido.

Existen tablas principales (fijas) y tablas auxiliares (que aparecen tras ciertos comandos). Las tablas auxiliares (es decir, generadas por el usuario) deben actualizarse si hay un cambio o adición de datos, simplemente haciendo clic en el icono en la parte superior derecha de la tabla Símbolo actualizar tabla

Icono actualizar tabla

Además de los diversos informes disponibles, Banana Contabilidad Plus permite imprimir todo lo que ve en pantalla en cualquier tabla (ver Configuración de página - último párrafo). Para más información, visite la página Impresiones/Previsualización.

5. Las vistas

Las vistas son diferentes formas de visualizar los datos de una misma tabla, mostrando solo ciertas columnas. Son muy útiles cuando se quiere mostrar los datos de forma diferente, sin alterar la configuración básica. Pase de una vista a otra simplemente tocando el nombre de la vista con el ratón.

Las vistas se encuentran en el área situada debajo de las tablas y pueden personalizarse con el comando Configuración de tablas. También existe la posibilidad de crear nuevas.

6. El filtro

La función Filtrar filas, disponible en el plan Avanzado de Banana Contabilidad Plus, permite buscar, encontrar y modificar al instante transacciones introducidas previamente. Junto con Ordenar filas temporalmente, representa una innovación importante para acelerar el control contable.
Para más información, visite la página Filtrar y ordenar filas temporalmente.

7. Ayuda contextual

En Banana Contabilidad Plus, la ayuda contextual le ofrece asistencia inmediata relacionada exactamente con lo que está haciendo. Esto se realiza de varias formas complementarias:

  • A - La ventana de mensajes de error, que el programa muestra cuando detecta un posible error:
    • Si pulsa OK se le muestra cada mensaje individual.
    • Si pulsa Ayuda se le lleva a la página que explica el mensaje de error con posibles soluciones.
    • Si pulsa No avisar, todos los mensajes de error se guardan en la ventana Mensajes de error.
       
  • B - Símbolo de signo de interrogación en la parte superior derecha de la tabla signo de interrogación tabla
    Un clic en el símbolo le lleva a nuestra página de Documentación, donde puede encontrar información detallada sobre el uso de la tabla y todas las demás funciones del programa.
     
  • C - Símbolo de signo de interrogación en la parte inferior de la ventana de Información o Mensajes
    Al hacer clic en este símbolo se accede a la página que explica el mensaje de error y las posibles soluciones.
  • D - Botón de Ayuda en los cuadros de diálogo
    Al hacer clic en este botón se muestra la página de explicación en línea del cuadro de diálogo abierto o del mensaje de error.

Ayuda contextual en varios niveles

8. Las columnas

Las columnas son los elementos verticales de la tabla. Cada columna tiene su propio encabezado. La disposición, tamaño, descripción, formato, ancho, estilo y alineación de las columnas pueden personalizarse mediante las funciones del menú Datos > Configuración de columnas.

En algunas columnas los datos son introducidos por el usuario, mientras que en otras el programa introduce los datos automáticamente, por lo que no pueden ser modificados por el usuario (por ejemplo, las columnas de la ficha de cuenta).

También puede añadir nuevas columnas a través de Datos > Configuración de columnas, pero si contienen valores no serán procesados por el programa.

9. Buscar y reemplazar

La función Buscar y reemplazar se activa desde el menú Datos y permanece visible hasta que se cierra manualmente. Es muy práctica para encontrar y cambiar textos rápida y fácilmente en la tabla. No debe confundirse con el comando Renombrar (solo en el plan Advanced), que cambia el nombre de una cuenta, código de IVA u otro, en todo el archivo.   

10. Las ventanas de información

Esta es el área situada en la parte inferior de la pantalla, donde se muestra información útil sobre la tabla y la casilla en la que se encuentra. Esta área se divide en tres ventanas muy útiles que proporcionan información inmediata:

  • La ventana Información informa sobre el contenido de la fila y la celda en la que se encuentra (por ejemplo, nombre y saldo de la cuenta, código de IVA y descripción del código utilizado).
  • La ventana Mensajes, informa sobre los mensajes de error.
  • La ventana Gráficos, muestra el gráfico del contenido de la celda o fila en la que se encuentra (por ejemplo, si está en una cuenta, aparece el gráfico con la evolución de la cuenta).

Pase de una ventana a otra simplemente tocando el nombre de la ventana con el ratón.

La ventana Información

La ventana Información muestra la información referente a la celda y la línea en la que se encuentra: los nombres y códigos de las cuentas involucradas en el apunte, los importes y los saldos restantes. Cuando hay un error, la diferencia se muestra en rojo.

  • Al hacer clic en el símbolo del signo de interrogación se accede a la página donde se explica el error.   

Ventana Info de Banana Accounting Plus

La ventana Mensajes

Cuando el programa detecta errores, aparece un cuadro de diálogo para informarlos:

Ventana de mensajes de error

  • Pulse OK para ver cada mensaje individualmente.
  • Si pulsa No avisar, todos los mensajes de error se guardan en la ventana Mensajes de error.
  • Pulsando Ayuda accede a la página que explica el error con posibles soluciones (Ayuda contextual).

La ventana Mensajes contiene una lista de errores que han sido detectados por el programa.

  • Desde la ventana Mensajes, haga doble clic sobre el mensaje de error para ir a la línea que generó el error.
  • Al hacer clic en el símbolo del signo de interrogación accede a la página que explica el mensaje.

Ventana de mensajes en Banana Contabilidad Plus

La ventana Gráficos

Al seleccionar una cuenta o un grupo, se obtiene el gráfico en la ventana Gráficos en la parte inferior. El gráfico proporciona inmediatamente la evolución de la situación, incluida una comparación entre la situación prevista y la real. Tiene una visión inmediata a lo largo del tiempo sin necesidad de consultar los importes.
Con el plan Advanced de Banana Contabilidad Plus, ahora también es posible copiar, exportar e imprimir gráficos, así como copiar al portapapeles los datos que generaron el gráfico. Más información en la página de Gráficos.

Gráficos en Banana Accounting

11. La barra de estado

Está situada en la parte inferior de la ventana del programa y contiene la siguiente información:

  • Número de línea de la celda seleccionada/número de filas en la tabla.
  • Si el Filtro está activo, también se indica el número de filas visibles.
  • Si se seleccionan varias celdas de tipo numérico o contador de tiempo, se obtiene:
    • Conteo: Número de celdas seleccionadas que contienen números.
    • Suma: Suma de los valores de las celdas seleccionadas.
      En la imagen superior, se seleccionaron 3 celdas numéricas (1'500 + 1'500 + 1'910) y de hecho el total es 4'910 en la barra de estado.
  • Zoom
    • Para agrandar o reducir el tamaño de las tablas.
    • Para cambiar el tamaño del texto de los menús, utilice la configuración del sistema operativo.
    • Ver también Opciones del programa.
       
barra de estado

 

Fast Entry

In Banana Accounting Plus several practical functions allow you to speed up and automate the following operations:

Here are the most frequently used functions for fast data entry:

Copy, Cut and Paste

Use these functions to copy, cut and paste data from one cell to another, one row to another, one table to another, Excel to Banana, etc. See the functions in the Edit menu.

 Texts, accounts and amounts auto-completion

Auto-completion makes data entry much easier and faster. As soon as you type the first few characters, the programme suggests how to complete based on already existing data (accounts, VAT codes, dates or texts you have already entered).
In the menu Tools → Program Options → Editor → Smart fill rows limit , you can limit the number of values that are suggested or even deactivate the functionality.
You can use one of the following keys to accept the value that is proposed:

  • Enter key, accept the choice and move to the next editable cell, either to the right or below, depending on the settings you have chosen.
  • Ctrl+ Down Arrow key, accepts the chosen value and moves to the cell below.
  • Tabulator key, accepts and moves to the cell to the right.
  • Shift+Tabulator key, accepts and switches to the cell to the left.
  • F6 key (or Cmd+6 for Mac) accepts the text and executes the associated command (see explanation below).
Text Auto-completion in Banana Accounting Plus
 
Important:

To deactivate auto-completion of the previous year, the Smart fill with transactions from previous year option must be deactivated, from the menu File → File and accounting properties → Options.  

Input and shortcut keys

You can speed up your data entry with various shortcut keys or by entering the dot '.', which takes on different functions depending on which column you are in.

Here are the most common ones:

  • On a Date column, the dot "." inserts today's date.
  • On a Time column, the dot '.' inserts the current time (e.g. in the Time Sheet).
  • F4 key (or Cmd+4 on Apple computers): copies data from the cell above.

You can find the complete list of keyboard shortcuts in the menu Help → Keyboard Shortcuts.

Recurring transactions

Do you have transactions that keep on repeating or almost the same every month? You can write them in the Recurring transactions table and automatically recall them in the Transactions table when you need them.

See how to enter Recurring transactions.

Import bank statements

Automatically import data from bank, postal, credit card, or PayPal statements.

See all available options

 Integrated calculator

You can quickly enter formulas in unprotected cells, then press the Enter key and the programme performs the calculation and enters the final result. This function allows you to make immediate calculations, for example when you need to quote a value from a paper document or need to calculate a percentage. The integrated calculator is useful in all tables and in all columns of the Amount type .

Integrated Calculator in Banana Accounting Plus

 Execute Command (F6 key)

Some columns are associated with actions that are activated with the menu Edit → Execute Command, or with the corresponding key (F6 or Cmd+6 on Apple computers) indicated in the information window. This function makes it possible to retrieve data or rows quickly without having to retype the contents. Examples of actions:

  • Doc column: resumption of recurring transactions or sequence number.
  • Description column: resumption of similar row data.

Wrap text

When the text of a line is very long, the Calculate Line Height command from the Format menu allows you to display it completely, adjusting the line height. For more information see the Format Menu page.
 

Here are the most frequently used functions for checking and detecting possible errors:

The Balance Column

In Banana Accounting Plus the possibility has been introduced to activate, in the Transactions table, the Balance column, which verifies in real time the difference between Debit and Credit accounts and immediately shows any differences.

Watch the Balance Column Video
The Balance column page

 Check accounting and recalculate accounting command

The Check Accounting command from the Actions menu, rechecks all transactions and immediately reports any errors or differences.

Totals Table

The Totals table gives you a concise overview of how your business is doing, as it shows the totals of the main groups and is used to check the balancing of accounts. See the explanations on the Totals table.

 Temporary Filter & Sort rows

This double feature allows to Temporary Filter and Sort rows. It helps to temporary sort and filter table rows quickly ,without changing its permanent content or order. These are very useful functions to immediately search for data, both text and amounts. 
Once the sorting criteria or filter is lifted the table rows go back to their original order. More info...

Filter rows

The Filter and Temporary Sort rows tools of Banana Accounting Plus allow rows in a table to be filtered and temporarily sorted, without changing their permanent order. These functions are very useful for immediately searching for data in both text and amounts.
Once the sorting or filtering criteria have been removed, the table rows return to their original order.

To change the sorting permanently, use the Data menu > Sort rows command.

The Filter and Temporary Sort Rows are new functions. Kindly give us your feedback on how to improve them. They are only available in the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

 

The Filter Rows function allows you to display only the rows in the table that contain the keyword entered as the search criterion. It offers significant time savings for the following reasons:

  • Instant search: quickly finds the desired entries within seconds.

  • Direct editing: you can immediately make changes to the filtered rows.

  • Available in all tables: Accounts, Transactions, Exchange Rates, and others.

  • Ease of use: just enter a keyword in the filter box.

  • Simple reset: by removing the filter, the table returns to its original order. 

Sorted rows in Banana

The text highlighted in green is for explanatory purposes only; it does not appear in the software.

Filter features and syntax

The filter allows you to find rows simply by entering text separated by space. While you enter the text the program filters all transactions and only shows the ones that contain all the specified space separated text.

  • mario invoice 
    Will show the rows that contain in any position the words, "mario" and  "invoice"
  • mar inv
    Depending on the number of rows you have, you could probably get the same result just by entering an abbreviated text.
  • "mario invoice" 
    Search for text that includes spaces: if you enter the text within quotes, the program will consider the quoted text as a single word.
  • "!~Mario"
    Normally the search is case insensitive.
    You can specify the search to be case sensitive with a special command.

Space is always considered as an AND command separator.

  • The space means that the conditions are additive.
  • Never include spaces in search unless they are between quote characters "mario invoice".
  • Examples
    • mario invoice
      The program consider the rows that contain the words, "mario" and  "invoice"
    • "mario invoice"
      The program will consider the quoted text as a single word, space included. Therefore it will search all rows that contain exactly the "mario invoice" (in this order).

Special characters

You can use almost any character in the search.
Only the exclamation mark "!" and the vertical bar "|" at the beginning of a text sequence have a special meaning.

  • "|" OR specifier
    At least one of the elements that are preceded by the "|" must be present on the row.
    In the following case the search will display rows that include "mario" and either "invoice" or "fee".
    mario |invoice |fee
    The vertical bar is the character Alt-124. If you can’t find it on your keyboard, search on Google for
  • "Keyboard layout windows/mac italy/switzerland/usa" and check the images section.
  • "!" command specifier 
    Any text preceded by the exclamation point is considered a command and has a special meaning. Text that contains a space should be entered between quotes.
    For example to exclude a text use the command sequence "!-"
    mario !-invoice

 Advanced syntax for Filter search

The Advanced search syntax is only experimental: it might be subject to changes and improvements.

The "!" character at the begin of a text means this is a special search command.

  • !
    when positioned before or after a space, it starts a command sequence
  • !!
    is considered as a simple "!" and not a command sequence
  • !-
    the minus sign "-" is used to exclude content, and it can be used with any other operator
    !-mario !-1000 !-=1000 !-^payment !-~10
  • !~
    The tilde "~" must come immediately after the "!" or the "!-" characters
    With the "~"  the search is case sensitive
    !~mario
    !-~mario

Command characters

They are the characters that immediately follow the command begins "!", "!-","!~" or "!-~":
They can also be used with the "-" exclude and "~" case sensitive character, but here are explained without.

  • !=
    Finds exact, the cell must contains exactly the specified text. Useful for accounts.
    !=1000
    It can be used with multiple values, with the | operator search for any of.
    !=1000|2000|30000
    Empty cell.
    From Banana version 10.1.16 it select cell with empty values.
    !=
  • !+
    Contains, the cell must contain exactly the specified text. Useful for accounts.
    It is equivalent to searching without the ! command, "mario" or "!+mario" are the same.
    But the "!+"allows to be used in combinations of other characters .
    !-+mario excludes rows that contains mario.
    !~+mario excludes rows that contains mario case sensitive.
  • !<>
    Different, the cell text must be different from the one provided.
    !<>1000
  • !.
    "." wildcards (*,?), same as exact but with wildcards. Supports multiple values.
    !.100*
    !.100*|2?0*
  • !^
    Starts with. The cell text must start with the specified text. Supports multiple values.
    ^mar
    ^mar|hom
  • !$
    Ends with. The cell text must end with the specified text. Supports multiple values.
    !$rio
  • !_
    Whole word search. Does not match with "1000". Supports multiple values.
    !_100
    !_100|200
  • !:
    Regular expression. The text following ":" must be a regular expression.
    !:\bmario\b

Greater than, Less than and range characters

They are characters that are used for comparing values.
For this is used the xml value of the content.

  • Date in the format yyyy-mm-dd
    2024-12-31
  • Amount with the "." as decimal separator and without thousands separator.
    1999.99

Commands characters

  • !>
    Greater than. Cell content that is greater than 100.
    !>100
  • !>=
    Greater or equal than.
    !>=100
  • !<
    Less than.
    !<100
  • !<=
    Less or equal than.
    !<=100
  • !<>
    Different than.
  • !><
    Within a range of values , excluding the specified elements.
    It is equivalent of using two filter > and <
    A range and it need two elements separated by "|".
    !><99.99|200
  • !>=<
    Within a range of values, including the specified elements.
    It is equivalent of using two filter >= and <=
    A range and it need two elements separated by "|".
    !>=<100|199.99

Columns specifier

It allows to specify the column to use as a search.

Column based filter Search only within the column specified between the two exclamation point.

  • !description!
    It includes all the columns header that match the entered text. You can use wildcard and separators
    • !description!mario
      Search "mario" on column header "description"
    • !description!=
      Search empty text on column header "description"
    • !des*!mario
      Search "mario" on all column header starting with "des"
    • !des*;doc!mario
      Search "mario" on the column header starting with "des" and column header starting with "doc"
    • !description:xml!mario
      Search "mario" on a column with column name XML "description" .
    • !debit*!=1000
      Search in column with header starting with "debit" for the exact content "1000"

Show rows with color

They are used for searching rows with color.

  • !_co! or !_color!
    Color search. 
    Show all lines that have a color.
  • !_co!2
    Will show all rows with the style color 2.
  • !_co!2|3
    Will show all rows with either the style color 2 or 3.

Style colors:

  • When assigning a text and background color to a row, the program assigns for a combination of color a progressive style number. The style number depends from when a color is assigned and is then reused when the same colors are applied.  
    The style number will therefore be different for each accounting file.  

No color and Automatic color:

  • The rows with Text No color or background Automatic color have the style number 0.
  • Rows that use the color black or white are considered as colored and have their own number even if they, depending on the display theme used, may look as no color. 
    If you don't want to view rows with black and white displayed, select the rows and apply the No Color and Automatic color.

Show rows with formatting

They are used for searching for formatting.
Currently only a row search is implemented.

  • !_fo! or !_format!
    Show all lines that have a specific row format.
  • !_fo!b
    Show all rows with format bold
  • !_fo!i
    Show all rows with format italic
  • !_fo!14
    Show all rows with format point size 14
  • !_fo!b|14
    Show all rows with format bold or point size 14
  • !_fo!b !_fo!14
    Show all rows with format bold and point size 14

Show rows with errors

Used for searching rows that the software has marked with an error or a warning. 
To check again for errors use the Recalculate all command. 

  • !_er! or !_error!
    Show all lines marked with an error or warning.
  • !_er!e
    Show all lines marked as errors.
  • !_er!w
    Show all marked as warning.

Combining different filters

Enter the filter text separated by the space. For example:

  • 2022 !des*!mario !debit*!=1000
    Will show rows that contain "2022" in any column, "mario" in any column starting with "des" and with all column starting with "debit" that contains exactly "1000".
  • |!PeriodTotal_?C:xml!<> |!PeriodEnd?C:xml!<>
    Displays the rows with an amount, in columns whose XML name starts with PeriodTotal and ends with _C or whose XML name starts with PeriodEnd_ and ends with _C.

Rationale for the filter syntax

The advanced search syntax looks strange, but we wanted a syntax that 

  • Does not interfere with the natural search, so that the user could accomplish most searches naturally, combining texts, exactly how people are used to search within a smartphone application.
  • It is not specific to a language, so it only uses symbols.
  • Does support all the possible searches, so that it can be used to express filters entered by the user in a way similar to Excel.
  • It opens the possibility to include commands that are specific to Banana like color, errors, etc.

We have evaluated different other search syntax but they all have special uses for normal characters like the minus "-" or "+" marks or other "\", "(", "*", "?, frequently used in accounting.
So we come up with creating a special syntax where the explanation mark "!" is used as a command starter. The "!" is normally used at the end of a phrase, so it is unlikely to interfere with the search.

All feedbacks and suggestions are welcome!

Banana Accounting Plus GPT command generator for Filter search

The GPT command creator for advanced search syntax (Filter) is only experimental: it might be subject to changes and improvements.

This Banana Accounting Plus GPT was created using ChatGPT and is designed to generate advanced search syntax for filtering rows in the Transactions table.

Requirements

To use this GPT, you must:

  • Download and install the last version of Banana Accounting Plus.
  • Have a ChatGPT account.
    • To use this GPT, you must have a ChatGPT Plus subscription. Without it, you can try the service for free for up to ten requests. After that, you’ll need to either upgrade to ChatGPT Plus or wait some hours before making additional requests.

How it works

  • Open the Banana GPT from this link:
  • In the Message field at the bottom, enter a sentence describing what you want to search for within the Transactions table. Generally, more specific requests will yield better results.
  • GPT will process your request and return the corresponding result.
    Based on the input provided to the GPT, a text string is generated containing the command needed to filter the rows in the Transactions table.
  • Copy the generated text string.
  • Paste the copied string into the Filter of the Transactions table in Banana Accounting Plus.
Banana Accounting Filter command creator GPT

 

Examples of messages to enter in GPT

The following are examples of messages to enter into the GPT chat, along with their respective generated results:

  • "Find all transactions from the third quarter of 2024"
    • Result: "!date:xml!>=2024-07-01 !date:xml!<=2024-09-30"
  • "Search the rows with an amount of 450.00"
    • Result: "!amount:xml!=450.00"
  • "Search for rows with an amount greater than 200"
    • Result: "!amount:xml!>200"
  • "Search for rows with the value 3001 in the Account Credit column"
    • Result: "!accountcredit:xml!=3001"
  • "Give me rows with the value 1020 in the Account Credit column and an amount between 1500 and 4000"
    • Result: "!accountcredit:xml!=1020 !amount:xml!>=<1500|4000"

The temporary Sort rows function

The Temporary Sort Rows function in Banana Accounting Plus allows you to temporarily sort the rows of a table without permanently changing their arrangement. It’s a very useful feature for quickly finding data, whether text or amounts.
Once the function is removed, the table rows return to their original order.

To permanently change the order of rows in a table, use the Data > Sort Rows menu.

The Temporary Sort Rows function is one of the new features. Please send us your feedback on how to improve it. It is available only in the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

This tool allows you to quickly sort the content based on the column from which the Sort function is applied:

  • Right-click on the column header where you want to apply the sorting.
  • Hover over the small arrow and select ascending or descending sort.

Advantages

  • You can sort the displayed rows in ascending or descending order based on the desired column.
  • Unlike Excel, when you remove the sort view, the rows return to their original order without needing to use the Undo command.

Sort function in Banana

Sorted rows in Banana
An arrow will appear in the header of the column selected for sorting.

Important Note

The Temporary Sort Rows function is different from the Sort Rows command (from the Data menu):

  • Temporary Sort Rows is a temporary on-screen sort, designed to speed up the review and editing of previously entered data. It is easy to remove sorting criteria and return to the original row order. This feature is only available with the Advanced plan.
  • The Sort Rows command (from the Data menu) permanently changes the order of rows in the table and can only be undone with the Undo command. This command is available in all plans.

Edit Menu

The Edit menu contains a series of practical data editing commands.
Also see Keyboard shortcut.

Undo / Redo operation

These simple commands allow you to cancel or restore the last operation made. To set the maximum number of undo operations, you need to set it in the Tools menu > Program Options > Editor > Max number of Undo Operations.

Copy, Cut and Paste

All rows of Banana Accounting tables and the data they contain (except data in protected tables and cells) can be copied, cut and pasted exactly as in Excel.

  • Select the line or the area of data to be copied
  • In the Edit menu, select the Copy or Cut command
  • Move to the row or the area where the information should be copied
  • From the Edit menu, select Paste

The user can also copy/paste by using the icons copy and paste icons or press Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+X to cut and Ctrl+V to paste.
There are also the following commands:

  • Copy rows, Delete rows and Paste rows: in this case they refer to a full row or rows and not to a cell selection. For this purpose the commands Copy, Cut and Paste should not be used.
  • Copy rows copies the cells to the clipboard with the column header, very useful for filtering in Excel.

Select all

This command selects all the rows and columns of the active table.
It's the equivalent to clicking at the top left hand side of the table.

Copy row from above (F4 or Cmd + 4)

This command is very practical and allows you to copy the contents of the cell above to the one you are in. Applicable to a single cell, several cells or an entire row.

Execute command (F6 or Cmd + 6)

This command performs various practical functions depending on the cell in which you are located. More information on the Interface page.

Insert blank rows... (Ctrl and + key)

This command inserts blank rows above the selected row:

  • Position the cursor below the line where the empty rows are to be inserted
  • From the Edit menu, select the Insert rows command
  • In the window that appears, type the number of rows to be inserted
  • Confirm with OK.

 Add rows...

To insert blank rows below the selected row, follow these steps:

  • Move the cursor above the row where additional rows need to be inserted
  • From the Edit menu, select the Add rows command
  • In the window that appears, key in the number of rows to insert
  • Confirm by clicking on OK

There is another procedure to add blank rows:

  • Move the cursor above the row where additional rows need to be inserted
  • Click on the following icon Add empty rows on the Tool bar, one time for each row that you want to add. This procedure is recommended when the amount of rows to be added is rather limited. The sequence for the shortcut key is: Ctrl+Enter.

Duplicate rows...

This command duplicates the selected row(s).

After duplication, the rows remain selected and can be moved with the Move Up and Move Down command.

Copy rows ... (Ctrl + Shift + C)

This command copies all row data, including non-visible columns, to a temporary space, so that they can be resumed with the command Insert copied rows

In addition, the command copies cell values to the clipboard/clipboard with the column header, which is very useful for filtering data in Excel or other programmes. If you have selected only a few cells, it copies the contents, but always with the corresponding column header.

The column header makes it easier to process data in Excel or with other programmes.

You can also make copies with the header with the Preview command.

Delete rows... (Ctrl and - key)

In order to delete one or more rows, select the row or rows that need to be deleted and from the Edit menu, click on the Delete rows command.

The deleted lines are copied and saved in memory and can be reinserted with the command Insert copied lines.

This feature of copying lines before they are deleted is very useful for functioning like the Cut command in an Excel spreadsheet.

Move up (Alt + arrow down) and Down (Alt + arrow down)

Moves the selected rows up and down one position.

 Protect/Unprotect rows

Using the Protect rows command, from the Edit menu, the user activates rows protection to avoid making any changes by mistake.
Protected rows have light grey row numbers. The protected rows cannot be edited until, by using the Unprotect rows command, the protection is being removed.

To protect Rows:

  • Select the desired row(s) to protect
  • From the Edit menu, select the Protect rows command
  • Confirm the number of rows to be protected by clicking on OK.

To Unprotect Rows:

All rows in system columns are protected and cannot be unprotected.
For example, it is not possible to unprotect rows in account tabs or rows where the program performs automatic calculations.

 

 

File Menu

When using Banana Accounting, each accounting management is saved as a different file.
Banana Accounting files are compatible with versions from all operating systems and with synchronization systems.

 Close / Close all

These commands allow you to close the active file or all open files of Banana Accounting.

 

Create a new file

To create a new file, go to the File menu and click on the New command.

This command opens the window for creating a new file. From the same window you can access all available templates. We recommend that you start from an existing template and customize it with your data. The window that appears offers the possibility to create a new file in three different ways:

Please note: those who have subscribed to the Professional plan of Banana Accounting Plus, while creating a new file, see the message: Active plan: Professional Plan. The functions of the Advanced Plan are available up to 70 transaction rows. This message can be ignored and automatically disappears once the 70 transaction rows are exceeded.

Start with one of our templates

This will generate a new File based on one of the existing templates. There are multiple templates suitable for every legal form and business.

According to the selected Region, the models available in the language of the nation are displayed. The image shows the templates in English language for Switzerland.

New file with Banana Accounting+

  • File menu > New
  • In the Region field, select your country/language
  • In the Category field, select your activity's category (business, private, non profit, ...)
  • In the Type field, choose the type of file you want to create (Cash Manager, income/expense accounting, double-entry accounting, ...)
  • You can also search for a template by entering a keyword in the Filter by box.
  • On the right side of the window, select the template that most closely matches your needs.
  • Click on the file and confirm with the Create button to open the selected template.

All the files with the VAT option have the VAT Codes table adjusted to the new rates.
The chart of accounts can be adapted to your requirements (change of account description, insert or delete groups, sub-groups, etc.)

Save the file with a name

Once you have opened the template with Banana you can save it with your own name by choosing the File menu > Save as command:

  • Select the destination folder
    It is useful to create an “Accounting” folder for each year, so that you can save the accounting file and also the documents for that year. We recommend that you also consult the page Organize your work.
  • Select a file name. We recommend a name containing the company name and the accounting year (for example smith_company_2025).
  • The software will add the .ac2 extension, typical for the Banana Accounting files.

Adapting a template

  1. Edit the File properties
  2. Adapt your Chart of accounts
    • Enter your bank accounts.
    • Enter or edit the accounts to fit it to your requirements.
      While going along with your work, you will still be able to add or edit accounts, if new needs arise.

Start with a Tutorial

Tutorials are existing templates, which contain within them example accounting data (opening balances, entries, budgets, ...). A tutorial is not available for all templates.

The tutorial files are useful for understanding how to structure accounting within a certain template. The example data entered are for demonstration purposes only and can be changed, deleted or replaced with your own data at any time.

When you select a template and it has a tutorial file, the button Create from Tutorial automatically appears next to the template detail description.

Nuovo file partendo da un Tutorial

Start from an existing File

Starting from an existing file or template, without modifying the existing file.

New file starting from a template in Banana Accounting+

There are several possibilities to copy data:

  • Open the file that is to be your template via the Browse button and indicate the path to locate your file.
  • Create a copy of the open file, using the File > Save As command.
  • Else, you may create a copy of the open file via the Tools > Create File Copy command. Choose which data to keep in the dialog window. If none of the three options are activated, a file is created with the chart of accounts only.

Copy options from file in Banana Accounting+

  • Save the file in the folder where you wish to keep the data (normally in the documents folder). Enter the company name and the accounting year as file name, for example smith_company_xxxx.ac2.
  • If you are taking over an existing accounting file, you will also need to enter the opening balances in the Opening column.
  • If you are working in a multi-currency file, you need to update the opening exchange rates.

Starting from a new empty file

You will be starting from scratch, so you will need to set up the basic accounting data and the entire Chart of Accounts (not recommended).

New empty file in Banana Accounting+

  • Menu File > New.
  • Select your country/language
  • Select your category
  • Select your Accounting template
  • On the bottom of the list click on New empty.
  • Setup the Outline to create new file

Outline to create a new file in Banana Accounting+

Related documents

Transferring to a new year

When transferring to a new year, there is a specific procedure to follow, in order to create a new year's file and automatically carry forward the opening balances.

New file settings

When the program creates a file with new characteristics, you need to setup the outline of the new file.

Outline to create new file

Outline to create a new file in Banana Accounting+

Language

The language used for the columns headers of the various tables.

Decimals and rounding 

Decimal points for amounts

In order to avoid accounting differences, the number of decimal points for the amounts is fixed for each file. Two decimal points are normally used, but there are currencies where decimal points are not required so 0 needs to be inserted.

For other currencies that use multiple decimals such as the Tunisian Dinar or crypto currencies such as Bitcoin (9 decimal places), Ethereum (18 decimal places) the appropriate number must be indicated.
Accounting can be managed with amounts of up to 27 decimal places.

Decimal points for amounts in foreign currency

When using a multi-currency accounting, the number of decimals for the amounts in foreign currency must be defined. For example, if the accounting is in EUR and you are managing crypto currencies such as Ethereum, you must enter 18.
Generally, the number of decimals must not be less than the number of decimals in the base currency.

Rounding type

The rounding is applied to amounts with decimals that go beyond the set number of decimals.
If 2 decimals are set, this is the type used to round the digits over two decimals.
Depending on the methods used, the following amounts: 1.005; 1,015; 1,025; 1,035 will be rounded in a different way.

  • Commercial/Arithmetic (Half up) rounding to the next whole number: 1.01; 1.02; 1.03; 1.04.. In accounting, this is most commonly used.
  • Banking (Half average) rounding up or down towards the nearest even number: 1.01; 1.02; 1.03; 1.04.

Functionalities to be included

For more information on the functions to be included see:

Address fields in accounts table

When this option is activated, the Address view is created in the Accounts table. In this view, the user can enter the addresses of clients, suppliers and members.

Budget Table

When this option is activated a Budget Table is created, where the user can enter his budget transactions.

Accounting files, in different languages can thus be created, and with different decimal points. In order to change the language or the decimal points once the accounting file has been created, the accounting type must be converted via Tools  → Convert to new file  from the menu.

 

Accounting with multiple languages

With Banana Accounting Plus, you can create accounting files in different languages, and present the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement in the language you need.
The available languages are: English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch.

multilanguage software

The different languages

  • Program language
    The one used for the interface, menu dialogues, etc.
    You can change it from the Tools menu → Program options.
    See red box 1 and 3 in the image above.
  • Documentation in different languages
    You have a complete documentation in different languages, easily accessible by clicking on the help button.
  • Accounting file language
    When you create an accounting file, the columns are set in the creation language.
    See red box 2 in the image above.
  • The language of the column and table header
    You can change it at your convenience. For example, instead of using the term VAT, you can use the abbreviation that best suits your country's requirement.
  • The content in any language
    In the cells you can enter texts in any language.
  • Additional columns for other languages.
    You can add columns to have the Balance Sheet and the Profit & Loss Statement in different languages. You can create columns for other languages in the Transactions table and also in all other tables.
  • Views in different languages
    You can easily switch between different languages and just print the output in the desired language.
  • Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Statement in different languages
    You can customize the printout, and just choose to show the required columns in the final reports.

How to change the file creation language

Each document on Banana Accounting Plus is a separate file. The language of the file is separate from that of the program and is defined when the file is created. (File menu → New).

Column names and headers are assigned at the time the file is created, the creation language is then used.

cambiare lingua file

To change the language of the file and columns, you need to re-create a new file:

  • From the Tools menu → Convert to new file command
  • In the open dialog box, select the file type equivalent to your existing file and click OK
  • In the next window choose the new language of the file and the type of rounding, then click OK

The program creates a new file identical to your previous one, with the new language settings. This new file must be saved with a new name.

Change the current language of the file

The current language is the one the program uses to display the wordings, such as "Opening balance" in the account card or the dates in the reports.
Normally, it will be the same as the creation language, but it may be changed in File properties → Other.

Change the column headings

You can change the column header with the Data menu → Columns setup.

Add columns for different languages

In the Accounts table and also in the other tables (Transactions, VAT codes), you can add additional columns where you can enter the descriptions in other languages.

  • From the Data menu →Tables setup → Add new column  command
  • Use the name of the language (e.g. German, Chinese, etc.) as the column name.
  • In the newly created columns, for each row, complete the description in the language that has been added.

Create Views for each language

Create a view for each language to have printout only with the desired language.

  • Data menu → Tables setup command
  • Create a View for each language.
    In each table you can have different views for different languages, or the views that include columns of different languages.
  • Customize your printout in the language you require. If you want to print in different languages you can create one Customization print for each language so you don't have to change the settings each time, but have them already set up.

Enhanced Balance Sheet for each language

Once you've added the language column to the Accounts table, you can have it appear in the Enhanced Balance Sheet report as well.

The predefined texts of the report (date etc.) are displayed in the current accounting language. It may be necessary to change the current language from time to time.

Extensions

If you have specific needs in different languages, they can be programmed as Extensions.

 

File properties

When a new file is created, the basic data need to be entered in the File menu > File and accounting properties.

The file properties (Base data) can vary depending on the chosen accounting type.

File and accounting properties in Banana Accounting+

For the explanations of the different tabs please refer to the menu on the left.

Accounting Tab

Access this section via the File > File and accounting properties > Accounting section.

File and accounting properties - Accounting tab

Left and right headers

These are the two empty cells at the top where any desired text can be inserted which will be used as a header for print-outs (left and right).

Opening date

The opening date is the date when the accounting begins. It can also be left blank. If a date prior to the opening date is inserted when entries are made, the program will give an error message.

Closing date

This is the closing date of the accounting. It can also be left blank. If a date greater than the closing date is inserted when entries are made, the program will give an error message.

Base currency

The code of the currency in which the accounting is being handled. You can enter any currency code, even the one that are not in the list.  When the code of the basic currency is being changed, the program changes the column headers for the amounts in basic currency using the new code.

In the multi-currency accounting files it is mandatory to select the basic currency, which will work as the functional currency, the one used for the calculation of the Balance sheet and Profit & Loss statement.

 

Changing the Basic currency symbol

If you change the basic currency symbol the program will not change the existing amounts. We advise you to change your basic currency symbol only if you don't have yet entered any opening balances and any transactions.

Accounting file WITHOUT foreign currencies

You can replace the basic currency symbol with the new symbol.

Accounting file WITH foreign currencies

To change the currency code in accounting with foreign currencies refer to the following page Change the basic currency.

Options Tab

 

This section is accessed via File > File and accounting properties > Options section.

File and accounting properties - Options tab

Transaction date required

If this option is activated and then a transaction is entered without a date, there will be an error message.

Recalculate totals manually (F9)

If this option is activated, the program will not automatically recalculate the principal groups of the accounting file, but the user needs to use the F9 key.

File from previous year

By using the Browse button, the user can select a file from the previous year.

Smart fill with transactions from previous year

If this cell is checked, the program keeps the transactions from the previous year in memory, and offers them as Smart Fill while the user inputs new entries.

Use the minus sign (-) as segments separator

When this option is activated, the segments have to be entered in the Transactions table with the minus (-) sign preceding the segment code. When this option is deactivated, the segments need to be entered with the colon sign (:), as in the chart of accounts. The colon needs to always precede the segment code.

Records (+/-) cost centers according to the category

This function is only active for Income & Expenses accounting and Cash Manager. By activating this box, the amount is entered in the cost center (positive or negative) according to the category.

If, instead, this option is not active, in order to enter a negative value, it is necessary to enter a minus sign before the cost center (-CC).

 

Related document: Text input, edit and Smart fill

Address Tab

This section is accessed via the File > File and accounting properties > Address tab.
In this section it is possible to enter data concerning the company or person whose accounting is managed.

File and accounting properties - Address tab

 

Foreign currency

This section is accessed via the File > File and accounting properties menu >Foreign currency section.

File and accounting properties - Foreign currency tab

For the explanations of the different tabs please refer to the corresponding page Starting a multi-currency accounting.

 

VAT/Sales tax

This section is accessed via the File > File and accounting properties menu > VAT tab.

File and accounting properties - VAT tab

For the explanations of the different tabs please visit the corresponding page File properties (VAT/Sales tax tab).

 

Other Tab

This section is accessed via the File → File and accounting properties menu → Other tab.

File and accounting properties - Other tab

Current language

There are some file texts that the program generates automatically, (e.g. the lines of the Totals table, the transactions on the account card, and the printout of the Enhanced balance sheet); in this tab, the user can indicate the language for these texts (usually the same as the creation language).

Creation language

This is the language chosen and selected when the user creates an accounting file; this language is used for the column headers. If the user wants to change the creation language, then it is necessary to convert the file to a new one using the Tools menu → Convert to new file command.

Extensions

It is possible to indicate extensions of Banana Accounting. When the file is opened, the program will automatically install the extensions.  They can be used for templates or files that are combined with extensions. Other users who open the file receive directions or commands to install the necessary extensions.

The list shows all extensions that can be installed.

Extensions' keywords

Enter a keyword contained in the Banana Accounting extension. Usually these keywords are specified in the installation instructions of the extensions; most extensions don't use keywords to restrict viewing to certain files.

If a script has the @docproperties attribute, the command will be visible in the Extensions menu only for those Banana files that have set the same keyword in the Extensions field. To set multiple keywords, you need to separate them with the ; (example: datev; donations).

 

Password Tab

This section is accessed via the File → File and accounting properties menu → Password tab.

File and accounting properties - Password tab

Files can be protected by using a password.

Enter a password for a file without a password

Confirm old password

Leave the cell empty.

New password

Enter the password.

Confirm new password

Enter the same password that you entered in the New Password box

Change an existing password

  • Enter the existing password.
  • Enter the new password twice. 
  • Confirm with OK.

Password compatibility with old versions

Activate this option if you want your password to be compatible with the previous Banana Accounting versions.
This option not recommended because the password is saved in a less secure mode.

How to cancel a password

  • Enter the existing password.
  • Leave the boxes for the new password empty.
  • Confirm with OK.

Forgotten password

For information about a forgotten password, please refer to the Questions and Answers page, Password unlock paragraph.

Note

Using a password does not give a high level of protection. In order to render the data truly inaccessible to third parties, it is necessary to have the appropriate cryptographic software.

Text Tab

This section is accessed via the File → File and accounting properties menu → Texts tab.

File and accounting properties - Texts tab

In this tab it is possible to enter different keys in order to save extra information, such as the accountant name, for example. These keys and the resulting texts can be taken over and used in scripts.

Key

In this field, input the reference text (e.g.: accountant name).

Value

In this field, it is necessary to input the value related to the key (e.g.: Ocean Avenue, ...).

Add

This button saves the newly entered data.

Remove

This button removes the selected Key.

 

Save file

Banana Accounting files are not saved within the program itself, but on the drive selected by the user, just like any other file, such as Word or Excel. Banana accounting files have the extension ".ac2", while the program has the extension ".exe" (Windows), ".dmg" (Mac), or ".deb, .rpm, .run, .tgz" (Linux).

Where and how to save files

Banana Accounting files are saved on your computer or on an external drive, such as: external disk, USB stick, Google Drive, Dropbox, or other Cloud services.

To save the file, choose from the menu File > Save As:

  • Open the destination folder
  • Give your file a name.

By default, .ac2 files are saved in the Documents folder, but you can change the destination folder. Once you've saved the file with a name, use the Save command to save your changes. Each time you save, the previous file is overwritten.

Banana Accounting can save files to any drive that is recognized by the operating system, such as a rewritable disk. From non-rewritable media (CD or DVD), Banana Accounting can only read files.

Saving when closing the program

Every time the accounting data is updated and the work has not yet been saved, a warning message appears when closing the program:

  • "The current document xxx.ac2 has been modified. Do you want to save it anyway?"

If you use the Do not Save button, all data will be lost. You must click the Save button to save your changes.

If you want automatic saving when closing files, you can activate the option from the menu:

Make sure the data is correct, otherwise it will be saved as is.

Saving a shared file

When multiple users need to use the same file, they cannot use it at the same time. The first user to open the file can save it. The other users open the file in read-only mode.

  • Only one user at a time can save the same file.
  • Saving is only possible if the file is not in use by others.

Managing files for different accounting entities

To manage multiple accounting files, before saving, we recommend:

  • Creating a folder for each company
  • Creating a subfolder for each fiscal year.

See also: Organizing work.

Saving and recovering data in case of crash

Banana Accounting automatically saves your work in a temporary file at regular intervals. The time interval between one auto-save and the next can be customized via the menu:

opzioni file - sviluppo

This temporary file is deleted each time the file is saved normally by the user.

In the event of a computer crash or power failure, when restarting the program, if Banana detects an undeleted temporary save file, a window appears as explained on the page File Auto-Recovery.

In this window, the user has the option to confirm recovery. If accepted, the file will be opened and can then be saved manually. 

Saving the file with a password

Each file saved on the device and in the selected folder can be protected by a password for added security.

Files are saved in the same way as those without a password.

File compatibility across different operating systems

Files created with Banana Accounting have the extension “*.ac2”, regardless of the operating system used. A file can be saved in Windows, opened and edited on Mac, and then reopened in Linux or Windows.

Therefore, .ac2 files are compatible with:

  • Windows
  • Mac
  • Linux

.ac2 files can also be sent via email and opened with Banana Accounting regardless of the operating system used.
 

Copying or moving files

*.ac2 files can be copied or moved:

  • From one folder to another
    • Use Windows Explorer or Mac Finder to locate the folder where the files were saved.
    • Copy and move them to the new destination folder (once pasted, if needed, they can be deleted from the previous folder).
  • From one computer to another
    • By sending an email (as attachments) and saving them on the new computer.
    • Files can be saved on a USB stick or an external drive and then moved to the new computer:
      • Open the file you want to save.
      • From the File menu > Save As, select the desired destination drive.
      • You can also copy by opening Explorer and dragging the file to the selected drive.

Saving to Cloud systems

Banana Accounting Plus does not have its own Cloud, but it allows you to work with your own. The program is installed on your computer and runs locally.

As for accounting files, they belong exclusively to you and you can save them wherever you want, including on services like Dropbox and Google Drive that keep files synchronized with cloud storage services. 

In the cloud, Banana Accounting overwrites the *.ac2 files and deletes the *.ac2.bak file. The deleted files list in the cloud contains previous versions of the *.ac2.bak file.

Viewing changes

Banana Accounting, Android version, works directly with the Dropbox server. If you make changes on your PC, you usually need to wait a few seconds to see the updates on the server and thus in the Banana Accounting file.

To ensure that the file is properly synchronized with the server from your computer, the file should be marked with a green checkmark.
If you do not see the synchronization symbols (green, red, blue), you need to update the Dropbox application installed on your PC.

Another way to check the synchronization status from your PC is to click the Dropbox icon in the lower taskbar:

file synchronization on dropbox or google drive

Additionally, on Android synchronization does not occur while working with the app. You need to close and reopen it.

Warning:

Banana Accounting cannot detect if files are opened and modified simultaneously on multiple computers. Therefore, it may happen that one person deletes some data while another adds new entries. Only the most recently saved copy of the file is retained. It is important to avoid working on the same file at the same time.

Deleting and renaming files

Banana Accounting does not have a delete or rename function for files; to do this, you must use the appropriate function of the operating system (Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac).
 

Related resources:

How to minimize the risks of data loss

Security copies (backups)

Banana Accounting allows users to freely choose the storage medium and directory where the accounting file is saved. Files can be organized on a local computer, network, or cloud storage. However, the program does not include an automatic backup management system.

To prevent data loss due to unforeseen events (computer crashes, hard drive failures, etc.), it is recommended to regularly create external backup copies.

Backup tips:

  • For Mac use the "Time machine" function.
  • For Windows use the "File History" function.
  • Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Google Drive offer the possibility to keep previous versions of your files.

.bak files

The standard format for Banana Accounting files is the .ac2 format. When you save your .ac2 file and the save operation is successful, Banana Accounting:

  1.  Replaces the content of the existing file with the updated accounting data.
  2. Automatically creates a .bak file with the previous data, but not from the most recent save.

Save operation behavior:

  • The data is saved in a temporary file.
  • If the save operation is successful:
    • The original .ac2 file is renamed by adding the ".bak" extension to the filename.
    • Any existing ".bak" file is deleted.
    • The new data is saved in the .ac2 file.

The .bak file represents the state of the accounting data at the moment the file is first opened during the current session, even if subsequent saves are made. The goal is to preserve the file as it was before it was opened.

The Create backup copy (.bak) option is enabled by default, but it can be disabled from the menu Tools > Program Options > File Handling

Recovering data from a *.bak file

Important: to update your accounting, only use the file with the ".ac2" extension and do not open the file with the ".bak" extension, otherwise it will be overwritten and all recent changes will be lost. Use it only to recover data.

Recommended recovery procedure:

  • Locate the ".bak" file using the File Manager
  • Rename the ".bak" file by removing the ".bak" extension, leaving only ".ac2"
  • Open the renamed file with Banana Accounting

If the file does not appear in the folder:

  • Open the folder where the accounting file is located.
  • Open the file with the extension .bak. If it does not appear in the folder, select File type> All files (*.*) in the window below.
  • Once the file is opened, save it as a file. Usually it is given the same name as the lost file. 

Automatic saving

While in use, Banana Accounting automatically saves changes to a temporary file.

  • When the program is closed or a manual save is performed, the temporary file is deleted.
  • In case of an unexpected computer shutdown, the program will offer to recover unsaved data upon restart.

This feature can be customized from the menu Tools > Program Options > File Management by specifying how often the recovery information should be saved (default: every minute).

 

Damaged .ac2 file

Events such as hardware failures, viruses, or errors in file transmission via email can damage documents.

  • It is always advisable to have backup copies.
  • If a file is damaged, our Support Service can evaluate, for a fee, the possibility of recovering the data.

 

Recover autosave file

This dialog appears when the program closes unexpectedly, and it was not possible to save changes made to the file.

When the program is reopened, it detects that the autosave file (temporary file) has not been canceled, and then asks if you want to retrieve the file.

autosave

You can choose from the following options:

  • Recover
    • The autosave file is copied replacing the original file
    • The original file is renamed as indicated in the dialog window
  • Don't recover
    • The program deletes the autosave file.
    • The program opens the original file.
  • Ignore
    • The program keeps the autosave file and doesn't open any file.
    • Next time you open this file, the program will warn you that an autosave file with unsaved changes was found

If the program stops working

If the program is closed normally, it asks whether to save the modified data, and the autosave file is deleted.

The program may however unexpectedly shut down for a number of reasons:

  • A power outage or another event that caused an immediate arrest of the operating system
  • A problem that led to the crash of the program
    • Due to another program or to a situation of the operating system or driver that caused the program to stop.
      Try to restart your computer and use the program without other programs.
      • A flaw in the operating system or a faulty program can cause an interruption of Banana Accounting.
      • A computer fault (memory error)
      • A virus or some other problem
    • A problem in the Banana Accounting software
      Usually when, repeating the same command always causes the program to crash.
      If the program stops in completely different situations, it is more likely that the problem is due to a computer or operating system (see above)
      • First of all, make sure that you have the latest version of the program.
        Install the updates if necessary. The problem could have been solved in the meantime

Contact technical support

Countercheck the situation in which the program stops.

  • It is important to understand in what situations the program stops, so that technicians can replicate the problem.
  • When you contact the technical service:
    • Describe the problem and how it can be reproduced - describe the error.
    • Enter your system details (you can copy them under Tools menu > Program Options > Info System.
    • If the problem occurs in relation to a file, send a copy of the file (removing confidential data).

 

Local copy of your work

One of the key points of any Desktop application is saving files. The user's work and the data entered must not be lost. Even in the case of a computer crash, the amount of work lost must be minimized.

A new strategy for saving files has been introduced with Banana Accounting+. From the user's point of view nothing has changed, but internally important improvements have been made to make the data saving process even more secure and solid, and to optimize it for use on cloud and mobile disks.

How it works

With the new implementation of the file saving and recovery process, Banana Accounting creates a local copy of the open file and then works on the local copy present in the device (pc, mobile, tablet) until the user saves the document. At this point Banana Accounting returns and saves the modifications in the source file. In the meantime, Banana Accounting regularly saves the modifications made to the document in the local copy.

Banana Accounting proceeds as follows:

  • The user selects the file to be opened (source file)
  • Banana Accounting create a local copy of the source file
  • Banana Accounting blocks the opening of the source file to prevent modifications from multiple users
  • Banana Accounting reads the local copy
  • Banana Accounting regularly saves (by default every 2 minutes) the modifications made to the document in the local copy
  • As soon as the user clicks on the Save button, Banana Accounting returns and saves the modifications in the source file.
  • When the file is closed, Banana Accounting unlocks the source file and deletes the local copy.
  • If the application cannot close or correctly save the modifications in the source file (electricity interruption or other causes), the local copy remains on the device and the its content can be recovered at the next Banana Accounting launch.
  • If the file is temporarily not accessible (example if it is on a disconnected network disk or a USB pen), the user can keep working and the document modifications are saved in the local copy until when the source file is accessible again.

In other words the local copy is both a working document and a recovery document.
 

Advantages

The autosave feature is always active, so the work that could be lost (with the default settings for file recovery) corresponds at most to the work of the last two minutes.

Access to the file doesn't have to be continuous. Even if a file is temporarily inaccessible (e.g.: the file resides on a network disk or a disconnected USB pen), the user can continue working, and changes to the document are saved in the local copy until the source file is accessible again.

The local copy is not synchronized in the cloud. For this reason, the performance of the application is improved and the amount of data sent to the cloud is minimized.

This process is implemented in the same way on all operating systems: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Linux, Android and WebAssembly, regardless of where the file is saved.

Data recovery

In case of an interruption of the application, the local copy remains on the user's device. The next time the Banana Accounting is started, the application informs the user that changes have been found that have not been saved in the source file.

At this point the user has 3 choices:

  • Open the recovered file
    The user can decide whether to save the recovered file or to abandon the changes
  • Ignore the message
    The user can later decide what to do
  • Cancel de recovered file
    The recovered file will be canceled

The local copy remains on the user's device as long as the document remains in use or the changes have not been correctly returned to the source file. Once the file has been closed, the local copy is deleted.

The local copies are saved in a folder hidden under the system's user data. The user does not need to access this folder, access to this folder is not recommended. In case our support requires you to open this folder, you can access it through the menu Tools > Program Options > Advanced > System Info > Working copies path > Open path.

Keep in mind

This implementation:

  • It does not replace a good backup policy.
  • It does not replace a version control system.

Although this implementation is very secure and robust, we cannot guarantee that it will work 100% smoothly in all cases. For this reason, we encourage our customers to adopt a good backup policy and version control system.

Several operating systems provide backup and versioning functions. We ask you to browse the documentation of your operating system....

 

Create PDF

The Create PDF command is activated from the menu File  > Create PDF and it prints in a PDF format everything that you see on screen.

crea pdf

There is also a different command from the menu File > Create PDF dossier, that gives you the possibility to choose which contents of your Banana Accounting Plus file you want to include in your Pdf dossier.

Saving options

Saving options are only available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Include attachments

Save the attachments within the PDF file. Attachments refer to local files that have been inserted in the Link columns of various tables. In the created PDF file, a symbol will be placed next to each attachment. By clicking on the symbol, the attachment will be opened and displayed. Please note that the ability to open the attached files is only available in PDF readers like Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit, and others. If the PDF file is opened in a web browser, it might not be possible to open the attachments.

This option is only visible if the document(s) contain Link elements.

Technical notes

  • In print and print preview (physical printer and virtual pdf printer of the operating system) all fonts supported by the operating system are possible.
  • In Windows pdf export only TrueType fonts that have Unicode cmap mapping and contain the following tables "OS/2", "cmap", "cvt ", "fpgm", "glyf", "head", "hhea", "hmtx", "loca", "maxp", "name", "post", "prep".
    Error creating Pdf file: %1
  • If the program fails to load the indicated font, it replaces it with a default one (Helvetica or Arial depending on the operating system) and a message is displayed to the user that it is unable to use the PDF font.
 
 

Open and find a file

To open a file, choose the Open command from the File menu, or use the corresponding icon in the toolbar.

  • Accounting files can be opened if they are located on the local computer or accessible through a network drive.
  • If they were sent via email, you must first move them to a folder on the computer.
  • Only one person at a time can open the file to make changes. If changes are made to a protected file, or one already in use, you must choose a different file name to save it.
  • The program notifies that the file has been opened in read-only mode ( the file cannot be changed or saved) in the following cases:
    • The file has already been opened by the same user or in another session.
    • The file is on non-rewritable media (CD-ROM).
    • The file is in a temporary folder that is not writable.
    • The file is write-protected or the user does not have permission to modify the file.
  • If the file is password-protected, the password dialog will appear.
    When the previous accounting year is protected by a password and you want to run the Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups command, the program will ask for the password of the previous year.
    Otherwise, it is necessary to follow one of the recommendations provided in the notes on the page Enter password.

Opening multiple files in the same instance of Banana Accounting

To open multiple files at the same time, go to File > Open and select the desired file. Repeat this operation for each file you want to open.

The files are displayed layered in the same window. To switch from one file to another, use the Next window command available in the toolbar.

Opening multiple files in separate instances of Banana Accounting

It is possible to open multiple files in different instances of Banana Accounting:

  • Windows
    • Open the first Banana file as usual.
    • To open additional files, right-click the program icon in the taskbar at the bottom, select Banana Accounting, and open a file. Repeat this operation for all the files you want to open.
  • Mac
    • Open the first Banana file as usual.
    • To open additional files, open the Terminal and type the following command: "open -n -a BananaPlus", then open a file. Repeat this operation for all the files you want to open.

Note: If a file is already opened in another session, the program will notify you that the file has been opened in read-only mode.

 Searching for Banana files on Windows computers

Banana Accounting files have the .ac2 extension. The search function varies depending on your version of Windows.

  • Windows 10: click on the Search icon on the Taskbar, type .ac2 or the beginning of the file name, then click the Documents arrow.
  • In Windows File Explorer, type the extension "*.ac2" or the name of the accounting file and let Windows search for it.
  • In Banana, when the Open File dialog opens (File menu > Open), type the extension "*.ac2" in the search field at the top right, then click the search entire computer icon below or select the folder where you want to find the file. 

Searching for Banana files on Mac computers

  • In Banana Accounting, in the Open dialog File > Open, type "ac2" or a word from the file name in the Search box (top right). Use the icons to select where to search (entire computer or selected folders).
  • Open the Finder and type "ac2", or the beginning or a word from the name of the file you want to find in the search box.
  • Right-click on the Finder icon, click Search, and then enter "ac2" or the file name.

Enter password

When the user opens a password-protected file, a dialog box appears to enter the password. 

Enter password dialog

NOTE

When the previous year is password-protected, and you want to execute the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups command , or resume transactions from the previous year, the programme will ask you to enter the password for the previous year.

To avoid being repeatedly asked to enter the password, one of the following steps must be taken:

  • Enter the same password also in the new year
  • Save the file after entering the password for the previous year (the password will remain stored)
    If, however, you move the new year or the previous year to a new folder, you will have to re-enter the password (this is the case if you open documents from shared folders that may have different paths from computer to computer). If the file refers to several years, e.g. 2022, 2021, 2020, ... it will be necessary to open each file (thus 2022, 2021, 2020, ...) and re-enter the password for the previous year (2021, 2020, ...) in each year, then save each file.
  • Delete the previous year file link in File and accounting properties > Options > File from previous year (this solution is only recommended if the previous year link is no longer required)

File compatibility with previous versions

The Banana Accounting files are compatible with the previous versions starting from version 5.12.
This means that the files can be read and written by any version of the program.

We try to preserve compatibility as much as possible, so that files can be exchanged with different versions of the program.

  • Newer versions implement new features that are not available in earlier versions. Using these features leads to incompatibility. When opening the file with an older version of the program, you are warned not to use the file, because there may be errors in calculations and/or data loss.
  • Newer versions offer new applications. These cannot be opened with older versions.

Below we present the list of changes that lead to incompatibilities. If you use these features you should update the program to the new version.

Version 10 (BananaPlus 2020)

  • Using the new Links column.
    The new version introduces the possibility of linking a document in every row of any table, through the menu Data → Links.
    In previous versions, this possibility existed only in the Transactions table. The ability to add links in any table is a feature that is highly requested by users; unfortunately, it was not possible to implement it, maintaining the compatibility of files created with previous versions. If links are used, the files are no longer compatible with previous versions.
    In the new version, when the file is opened, a Link column is added to each table. The data contained in the DocLink column of the Transactions table is copied to the new column, and the DocLink column is deleted.
  • Accounting Applications:
    • Use of the new Segments column.
    • Use of VAT code for the Reverse charge.
    • Use of the Payments column.
    • Use of the BeginFormula column in the Budget table.
  • Timesheet
    • Added Columns "TimeWork", "TimeAbsence".
    • Column Supplement.
  • Applications Invoices and Inventory
    They are not supported in previous versions.

Version 9

  • Accounting applications:
    • Items Table.
    • Quantity columns in the Transactions table.
    • Accounts and VAT codes with lowercase descriptions.
    • New features for the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups.
    • New features for the PDF Archive command.
    • New Print functionality.
  • Timesheet application
    It is not supported in previous versions.

Version 8

  • Accounting applications:
    • Budget table
    • Documents table
  • Library application
    It is not supported in previous versions.

Version 7

  • Accounting applications:
    • Modification of VAT Base amount in the Transactions table.

 

 

Export file

Chose File → Export file  command from the File menu in order to export several tables simultaneously.
In the Export file dialogue the following sections are also used:

  • Those specific to the file type (see export formats).
  • Include tab - to define the tables and the reports that must be included in the export
  • Period (Accounting) tab, to define the period
  • VAT tab (in the accounting files with VAT management)
  • Customization tab

Printouts/preview

Print everything you see on the screen

In addition to the various reports available, Banana Accounting allows you to print everything you see on the screen, in any table, by simply using the File > Print command.

Print preview

All the printouts of the various accounting documents can be saved in PDF, Html, MS Excel and copied to the Clipboard, allowing the user to also access them many years later.

anteprima di stampa

Print

The button pulls up the Printer Setup window from your Windows system: the selections are valid for the current working session only. Permanent alterations need to be input using the Windows control panel.

Horizontal or vertical printing and other printing parameters of the table need to be input under the Page Setup command and are different for each view.


Print selected cells only

When you have a selection of cells in the table, the Selection option is activated and the preview and printing will concern the selected cells only. To print the entire table, turn off the Selection option.

Page size

The page size is taken over from the printer preferences. To change or correct the page size, go to the printing preferences and select the desired size (for example, A4). If you have already selected this size (A4), you must select it again to correct the page size.

Exporting to other formats

Printouts can be exported in different formats:

  • PDF
    The format that preserves the print layout.
  • Html / Excel / Latex
    Formats to transfer data to other software.

Copy to clipboard

The entire report is copied to the clipboard. You can then paste it into Excel or other software using these formats below:

  • Text
  • Html (with formatting styles)

Print settings

Clicking the Toothed Wheel in the toolbar gives you access:

  • For tables, to the page setup dialog.
  • For reports, to the specific report setup dialog.

 By default, the program is set to automatically resize the columns or reduce the zoom so that al columns are printed correctly on the page.

Page numbering

You can modify the page numbering by setting the starting number and the prefix.

Refresh

Clicking on the Refresh button regenerates the document according to the specific print or report settings.

Printing issues

  • A slow preview display may be caused by the default printer being unavailable.
  • It is important to use the updated printer driver.

Accounting printouts

You can find information on specific printouts for the different accounting types at the following pages:

 

 

Page setup

The Print and Preview properties are accessed via the File menu > Page Setup command.
Each View of the table has its own print setting. The name of the view is indicated in the dialogue title.

impostazioni di pagina

Left header

This is where the title for the current view is shown. The title can be edited and appears at the top left of the printed page.

Right header

It is possible to enter a different text that will be printed at the top right-hand side of the page.

Logo

Allows you to add a logo:

  • Use the Change button to the right of the Logo box; you access the Logo Formats dialog.
  • Select Add and insert your own logo.
  • From File > Page Setup , enter Logo in place of none.
  • Confirm with the OK button.

More details for inserting a logo are available on the Logo setup page.

Margins

It is possible to input the page margins here: Left, Right, Top, Bottom. Measurements are in centimeters.

Shrink page to printable area

This function makes it possible to adapt the printable area when the print goes past the margins of the earlier defined page margins.

Include in print

When these functions are activated, they allow to display the following data:

File headers

This is the text that is being entered in the File properties found in the File menu.

Page headers

The page header will also be included in the printout.

Table name

The table header (f.i. Accounts, Transactions, etc.) is also included in the printout.

Column headers

Allows to display the various table columns.

Large font

The program prints the headers using a slightly larger font.

Page break

When activated, this option maintains the entered page breaks; if not, they will be ignored, even if they are present.

Page numbers

Activate this option to request that the pages be numbered.

Print time

Activate this option to include the time of when the page was printed.

Print date

Activate this option to include the date when the page was printed.

Row number

Activate this option if a progressive number is to be given to each row.

Grid

The grid can be printed just as it is viewed on screen.

Attachments

In the case of exporting to PDF, the attachments are included in the PDF file. 

In Banana Accounting Plus this feature is only available with the Advanced plan. Explore all the Advanced plan features. Switch now to the Advanced plan!

Layout

The program automatically adapts the page dimension.

Zoom %

This allows the increase or decrease, on a percentage basis, of the size of the font to be printed.

Reduce to page width

If some columns exceed the width of the page, the program reduces the columns or reduces the zoom so that all the columns will be printed correctly on the page.

As on screen

The print-out will be carried out exactly as presented on the screen.

In case the contents goes past the page dimension:

  • If the option "Reduce to page width" is activated, the font size will be reduced;
  • If the option "Reduce to page width" is not activated, the part that goes past the paper will not be printed.

Print in black and white

All colors will be converted in gray scales.

Print landscape

To print in landscape format which makes the page read horizontal.

 

Export PDF from print preview

File / Folder Name

Enter the name of the new file to create or choose an existing one using the Browse button. If the Separated Files option is active, enter the name of the folder in which the files are to be saved and check that there are no empty spaces at the end of the folder name. 

Saving Options (Advanced plan) 

Include attachments (PDF only) 

Saves attachments within the pdf file. Attachments are local files that have been inserted in the Link column. 

  • This option is only visible if the document(s) contain Links.
  • In the created PDF file, a symbol will be inserted at the attachments. By clicking on the symbol, the attachment will be opened and displayed.
  • Only attachments located in the same folder as the accounting file or in a subfolder are exported. For attachments in other folders, an "access denied" message is reported.
    This limitation is imposed to prevent the inadvertent export of a link to a system or confidential file located in any folder when generating the PDF.
    It is advisable, therefore, to save attached documents in a subfolder within the accounting folder.
  • Files with absolute paths are not exported.

PDF Readers

  • Only a few advanced readers like Adobe Acrobat Reader and Foxit allow viewing attached files.
  • Other PDF readers, such as those integrated into browsers, do not support viewing attachments.

More information at the Create file PDF with digital attachments page.

Separate file (PDF only)

Save the printout in separate PDF files. if several invoices or customer statements are printed. For more information please refer to the dedicated paragraph down below.

Display file immediately

As soon as the file has been created, the software to view it will be launched. In this way, the result of the export can be seen immediately.

Print invoices or customer statements in separate PDF documents

This feature allows several invoices or customer statements to be printed in a single operation, resulting in separate PDF files, which saves considerable time.

This option is only visible if multiple documents are included in the print.

To export invoices or customer statements in separate PDFs, you need to:

  • From the print preview, click on Export > Create PDF.
  • Enable the Separated Files option.

 

  • Click on Browse to select or create the folder where you want to save the files.

You can customize the file names by using predefined variables listed in the dialog box. The selected variables are used to define the file name by incorporating information from each individual document.

  • Click on the {xy} symbol to display the complete list of variables:
    • cur_date: the current date when the PDF documents are created.
    • cur_time: the current time when the PDF documents are created.
    • customer_city: the customer's city.
    • customer_email: the customer's email address.
    • customer_name: the customer's full name or the company name (organization).
    • customer_number: the customer number.
    • doc_amount: the amount of the document.
    • doc_date: the date of the document.
    • doc_number: the document number.
    • doc_title: the title of the invoice including the number and the customer's full name or company name.
    • name: the default file name (invoice title with the number and the customer's full name or company name).
  • Double-click on each variable you want to use to compose the file name.
    As you add the variables, you'll immediately see a preview of the file name below.
    Example: Use <doc_date> for the document date, <customer_name> for the customer's name, and <doc_number> for the document number.



     
  • If a file with the same name already exists in the selected folder, the program will ask for confirmation during saving.

Parameters for PDF file creation

Page Size

The page size of the PDF is taken from the printer preferences.

Before creating PDFs for printing or emailing, ensure that the page size in the print preferences is set to A4.

PDF/A Format

The file is converted to the PDF/A format, which is an archival standard and a more restricted subset of the PDF standard. If certain elements are included, the PDF file may not comply with the PDF/A standard.

  • The inclusion of attachments of any kind is compliant only in the PDF/A-3 standard.
  • Links to external documents are not allowed.

Fonts

The program generates the PDF using user-specified fonts. If there are readability issues or if searching within the PDF is not functioning, you can disable True Type fonts from the Tools > Program Options > Advanced > True Type Fonts menu.

Page numbering

You can access the page numbering feature by clicking on the icon on the Print Preview toolbar.

numerazione pagina

In this dialogue it is possible to assign the number with which to start the page numbering, and the prefix to be inserted in the numbering. Printing of the page number must be enabled or disabled through the settings of the displayed page or report.

Start with

The starting number for page numbering.

Add prefix

The prefix to insert to the page numbering.

Create PDF dossier

Export to PDF is one of the most commonly used exports. Banana Accounting Plus allows you to export the entire accounting file, including the Reports, to PDF.

New! It is now also possible to export to PDF including all digital attachments.

The PDF export with digital attachments is only available in Banana Accounting Plus with the Advanced plan.

PDF Content and Formatting

The configuration of content and page formatting must be done directly within Banana Accounting, before the PDF file is generated. Once created, the PDF can no longer be modified in its layout and content settings. The information and appearance of the PDF will exactly reflect the settings present in Banana Accounting at the time of its creation.

In order to create a PDF file choose File menu > Create PDF dossier command (or click on the corresponding icon on the Toolbar).

Create PDF dossier

File Name

Enter the name of the new file to be created or choose an existing one via the Browse button (the programme will rewrite the existing file with the new data).

Display file immediately

As soon as the PDF file has been created, the software to view it, will be opened. This way, the result of the export can be displayed immediately. Do remember that browsers like Mozilla and MS Explorer use a cache mechanism for files. When the export is made for a second time, it is possible that the user will see the previous version until the browser Reload button is pressed.

File creation options
Header 1, Header 2 , Header 3

You may enter up to three different headers which will appear in the PDF file.

Logo

If your logo has been set in the File menu > Logo Setup command, you can choose whether to display the logo in the PDF file or exclude it.

  • None: the logo is excluded
  • Logo: includes the logo.

See Logo Settings page.

Page options

By activating the page options it is possible to include:

  • Page numbers
  • Restart numbering for each section
  • Date

Page size

You can select the page format

Create PDF file with digital attachments

The save option Include attachments allows you to include in the PDF export also all the digital documents entered in the Transactions table, in the Link column. This possibility allows you to have in a single file all your accounting, your reports such as Balance Sheet, Income Statement, etc. and all the documents (invoices, receipts, ...).

The possibility to include attachments to the PDF export is only available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.
See all the benefits of the Advanced plan.

More details on the Include attachments option

Save the attachments within the PDF file. Attachments refer to local files that have been inserted in the Link columns of various tables. In the created PDF file, a symbol will be placed next to each attachment. By clicking on the symbol, the attachment will be opened and displayed. Please note that the ability to open the attached files is only available in PDF readers like Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit, and others. If the PDF file is opened in a web browser, it might not be possible to open the attachments.

This option is only visible if the document(s) contain Link elements.

Technical notes

For issues related to the PDF format or fonts, please refer to the Create PDF page.

Other Sections

For the explanations of the other sections, please visit the following pages:

Open file location

The Open File Location command from the File menu opens the Explorer folder (on Windows computers) or Finder folder (on Mac computers) where the file you are working on is located.

To rename, move, or delete the file, it must be closed.

Proceed as follows:

  • File menu > Open File Location
  • View the folder where the file is saved
  • Perform the desired action (copy, rename, move the file).

Sometimes the file may remain locked even if it appears to be closed. In such cases, you may need to exit the program to fully unlock the file.

Send .ac2 file via email

To send a Banana accounting file (.ac2) you can use the command from the File  menu → Send file via Email...

By choosing this command, Banana Accounting Plus opens the email program of your computer, creates a new message, inserting your Banana Accounting .ac2 file as attachment.

If your email program displays a message informing you that you need to create a Microsoft Outlook profile, you must follow the information found at the following link:

Logo setup

Logo setup

In Banana Accounting Plus to insert a logo go to the menu File → Logo setup.

Option tab

You can insert images, size and alignment of the logo and text in the header.

Logo formats - options tab

Logo

  • Image. Allows you to add, edit and delete a logo.
    • Add a logo:
      • Insert a logo image via the Add button.
      • Multiple images can be added.
    • Edit or replace a logo:
      • Select an image from the list.
      •  Edit or replace the selected image via the Edit button.
    • Delete a logo
      • Select an image from the list.
      • Delete the selected image via the Delete button.
  • Width.
    • Enter the width in centimetres of the logo.
  • Height.
    • Enter the height in centimetres of the logo.
  • Alignment.
    •  Select the position of the logo: left, centre or right.

Text

  • When you activate the Text field:
    • The header of the various accounting documents is inserted next to the logo image, provided the option to print the logo is activated in the report settings.     
  •   When you deactivate the Text field:
    •  The logo is simply inserted without the report header information, again provided that the option to print the logo is activated in the report settings.
  •     Position relative to logo:
    • You can choose where to position the text relative to the logo: below, on the left, above, on the right.
  •     Horizontal Alignment:
    • You can choose to align the text left, centre, right relative to the logo.
  •     Vertical Alignment:
    • You can choose to align the text top, centre, bottom in relation to the logo.
  •     Header font size:
    • For printing reports or accounting documents, you can choose to set the font size for each header line.
    • For invoicing, the font size can only be set by script.

Customization tab

Through this section you can customise and store various settings for your logo and texts.

If necessary, you can call them up by selecting the name of the desired customisation.

To print an invoice with the logo it is necessary to use a customization with the Logo name, to be entered in the Name box.

To print an enhanced balance sheet or an invoice with a different logo, a new customisation must be created (e.g. the name Logo_balancesheet, this name must be selected in the Embellished balance sheet setup or entered manually in the field Logo name in the Setup of the invoice layout.

Name

The name of your customisation (e.g. Logo1, Logo2,...).

Description

Enter a description for reference of the settings (e.g. 'Logo left, text right',..).

Set as default

With the set as default button you can set a customisation as default.

Options

For further information, see the Customisation page.

Imposta logo - personalizzazioni

Add logo to all printouts

The logo can be inserted in the various printouts. Click on the links below to access information on how to insert the logo.

From the Print Preview of the Embellished Balance Sheet and the Embellished balance sheet by groups, the settings for the logo can also be accessed by clicking on the Settings icon (cogwheel).

paola

Recent / Favorite files

These commands display the list of recently used files and favorite files.

Recent files

In this section, Banana Accounting lists the last files used and the path where they were saved. 
A path indicates where a file is saved within the computer. It is like an ‘address’ that guides you to exactly where to find the file, for example C:\Documents\Banana\2024\Estimates and invoices.ac2.
Banana files are not stored in the programme, but it is the user who chooses where to save them.

Removing a recent file from the list

In order to remove just one single file from the Recent Files list of the Favorites (Start page), position the cursor on the file name, proceed with a right mouse click and select Remove (Mac users should use the key combination Ctrl + right mouse button).

Deleting the list of recent files

The list of recent files can be deleted in two ways:

  • Place the cursor over any file name in the Recent or Favorites list, right-click and select Remove all.
  • Click on File menu > Recent files > Clear list recent files.

If you cannot open Recent files

If, by chance, when clicking on one of the Recent files, you get the error message “File not found”, it means that the programme can no longer find the file in the path that was indicated.
The file may have been moved, deleted or renamed. For more information, please visit: https://www.banana.ch/doc/en/systemmsg_en_err_filenontrovato.

Open the folder where the file was saved

By selecting the Recent file and right-clicking, choose Open file location.

This automatically opens the folder in Explorer (or Finder on Macs) where the file was last saved. This can be useful to see if the file has been renamed.
In the same folder you can also find the .bak file (backup file), the backup copies that the programme automatically creates and updates each time it saves.

Favorite files

In this section you can list the files you use most often by indicating their path.

Creating a Favorite file 

  • Open the desired file
  • Click on File > Favorite files
  • Click on Add to favorites
    The list can contain up to 16 files.

Editing the Favorite file's list

  • File menu > Favorite files
  • Edit list..
  • In the window that appears, edit the favorites, by using the buttons: Add, Remove, Open folder.

Where are the accounting files saved?

Banana accounting files are saved in the .ac2 format, which should not be confused with the program’s executable file, which has the .exe extension. The file management process is similar to how Word or Excel files are handled (with the respective .doc or .xls formats).
When you save your file, you choose where to store it: on your computer (e.g., under C:\Documents...), on your Cloud service, on a USB stick, or elsewhere.
Banana Accounting shows shortcuts to the most recent files you’ve worked on (Recent) or those you’ve marked as Favorites.
The files are not stored within the program itself, but in the folder you selected when saving them. Banana.ch SA does not have any access to your files.
For more information, see Open and save files.

Data Menu

The Data menu contains the following functionalities:

Find

The Find function is located in the Data > Find menu. The section for the options for searching for data are displayed at the bottom of the table you are in.

Find texts or number in Banana Accounting+

Find text

Enter the text or value to search for. The amounts must be entered without the thousands separator.

Entire words only

Search for entire words only: For example, if the search word is Tot, it will not find Totals.

Uppercase / Lowercase

When this option is activated, the program distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters.

Selected zone only

With this option, the information is searched only in the previously selected area.
To start the search you need to click on the Find Next button. The first information corresponding to the request is located; to continue the search and find subsequent matches, repeat the Find next command, or use the F3 key.

Find and Replace

The Replace function, linked to the Find function, is activated by clicking on the Data → Replace ... menu. You will find the options for searching and replacing data appears in the section at the bottom of the table you are in.

trova e sostituisciThe text to search for and the text to replace must be entered in the same format as they appear in the input field. The amounts must be entered without the thousands separator.

Find text

Enter the reference you are searching for.

Replace with

Enter the new reference.

Options

Complete words only

Search for complete words only: For example, if the search word is Tot, it will not find Totals.

Uppercase / Lowercase

When this option is activated, the program distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase letters

Search in the selected zone only

With this option, the information is searched only in the previously selected area.

Replace all

This key performs the replacement of all data at the same time. It is used when a change in the Accounts, Categories, Transactions or VAT Codes table (for example an account number, a VAT code) is necessary. For change of data to be repeated, you can also use the Rename function.

Replace

Replace one item at a time.

Find all

It searches for all the information, based on the entered keyword, and displays it in the information window below.

Find next

Next available information.

 

 

Add links to digital documents

The function of linking a digital document, saved on your computer or on the Internet, to an transaction line allows you to open a receipt, invoice or other document directly in the accounting file with a simple click. Your documents will always be just a click away and you can say goodbye to paper and switch to fully digital accounting.
Also refer to Organise accounting files locally, online or in the cloud.

  • The function of linking a digital document to a row is available in all tables, also for the Accounts, Items and Other tables.
  • From the print preview, with Export to PDF, the programme also allows you to include the linked digital document files in PDF. When auditing, the auditor can also open the attached document (invoice, receipt, other PDF document) in the accounting file.

Add links to digital documents

File names and paths 

When entering a path to a file this can be of two types:

  • Absolute path.
    • An absolute path file name, or more simply 'absolute file name', specifies the complete path to a file, including the disk drive, folders and the name of the file itself.
    • It describes exactly where the file is located in the file system.
    • Examples of absolute file names:
      • "C:/Documents/Images/Photo.jpg"
      • "/Documents/Images/Photo.jpg"
    • If the accounts folder is moved to another computer with a different path, the file will not be found.
  • Relative path to the accounting file folder (Recommended).
    • Relative path or more simply 'relative file name' refers to file names that are not absolute, i.e. do NOT begin with a '/'.
    • Links with relative paths are understood to be relative to the folder where the accounting file is located.
    • Links remain valid even if folders are moved or synchronised to other computers that have different locations, as long as the file remains in the same location relative to the accounts file.
    • Does not include details of the disk drive or main folders. The name begins without a slash.
    • If the file is in the same folder, only the file name 'invoice.pdf' will appear
    • If the file is in the 'attachments' subfolder, it will be 'attachments/invoice.pdf'.
    • If the file is in the top folder it will be "../invoice.pdf".
    • The symbol '../' means upper folder.
      • "../attachments/invoice.pdf' means that the file is in the 'attachments' subfolder of the top folder.
      • ".../.../attachments/invoice.pdf' means that the file is in the 'attachments' subfolder of the top two-level folder.

Error File Not Found

If the programme reports that it cannot find the file, the reason may be one of the following:

  • The file has been deleted or moved.
  • Files have been copied or synchronised to another computer and the path name to the file is absolute.
  • The accounting file has been moved and the file names contain relative files.
  • The file name contains invalid characters on other operating systems:
    • The programme uses the '/' character as path separator, but also accepts '\'.
    • Characters such as '*' may not be used in file names.
    • Care must also be taken not to use characters such as '*&%'. which are valid on MAC or Linux, but not for Windows.

 

The Links Column

The DocLink column (in the Transactions table) and the Links column (in all other tables) make it possible to enter a link to an external file (usually a scan of a receipt or an invoice).

  • The Links column is usually not visible.
    In order to display it, use the Columns setup command from the Data menu.
  • Once the Links column appears, you can add the link to the digital document; you can also edit the file name directly in the cell where the link has been inserted, without having to edit the file in the folder where it is located.
  • It is best to use file names related to the accounting folder (see previous section File names and paths).
  • In the Links cell you can enter different types of content:
    • The relative or absolute file name.
    • A link to an Internet page or file, preceded by 'https://' or 'http://'.
    • A customised Url schema.
    • A link to a resource contained in the program resources, e.g. ":/image.png".
    • A link to a resource contained in the Documents table, e.g. ":documents:doc.pdf".
    • A text beginning with an exclamation mark '!', to indicate in the auto-completion in which path to search for files (see the following section Auto-completion in the Links column).
    • A text in square brackets [ ], which is used as an auto-complete search when editing.
      Useful when creating rules and wanting to indicate the text to insert the link and facilitate searching.

  • To open the linked document, click on the menu Data > Links > Open Link, or click on the icon that appears in the top right-hand corner of the cell containing the link.


    Open link icon

Entering a link to a file

There are three ways to enter a link to a document:

Add Link command

  • Place yourself on the row of the table where you wish to create a link and the choose the Data menu > Links > Add link.
  • Select the document  file that you want to link and click on the Open button (the program inserts the link automatically).
  • The program enters the path to the digital file in the Links column, even if the column is not visible.
  • The file path is converted into a form relative to the accounting file.
Table with Link in a cell

Add Link Icon

  • In the table, make the Links column visible. Also see: Columns setup.
  • Click on the small icon at the top right of the cell.

    Add link icon
     
  • Indicate the path where the chosen file is located.

Directly enter the file name into the cell

The file name of the digital document can be entered directly in the DocLink column cell, without having to select the file in the folder where it is located.

This mode allows you to speed up the insertion work even more.

  • Double-click on cell to edit it .
  • Type in the file name or enter it using copy and paste.
  • The auto-complete function lists the files of documents that are not yet linked.
  • To get a list of available files, at least the name of a file must be entered with the file selection dialogue.

Note: It is not possible to insert a link via Drag & Drop.

Auto-completion in the Links column

When you are editing in the Links column, the programme proposes a list of files, according to the following logic:

  • Only files whose extension is included among the safe extensions are proposed.
  • The file name contains the text entered in the editor.
    • If the text contains text separated by a space, all text must appear in the file name.
    • If the text is included in square brackets [ ] only the text without the brackets is used.
  • If the file is already used in the column, it is not proposed again.
    You can start with '*' to ensure that all files are proposed, even those already used.
    This way you can search for files that have already been included in the list.
  • Files contained in search folders.
  • Files contained in folders already used.
    If you enter the file 'attachments/invoice.pdf', it will propose the documents that are in the 'attachments' subfolder.
  • Files containing the text you are inserting.
  • The folder was not excluded with the commands indicated below.
  • Files that do not exceed the Smartfill limit.

Special names for auto-completion

You can change the search logic by entering file names that begin with an exclamation mark '!'.

  • !-**1
    Disables auto-completion and does not propose any files.
    Use this command if, for technical reasons, access to directories is slow.
  • !attachments
    Search for files only in the indicated subfolder
  • !+attachments
    The '+' sign also searches in the indicated folder.
  • !-attachments
    A '-' sign excludes the indicated folder. It takes precedence over other indications.
    Serves to exclude a used file folder or the accounting file folder.
  • Special symbols:
    • !.
      The dot "." indicates the current folder where the accounting file is located.
      To exclude the folder use "!-.".
    • !folder1*
       "*" at the end of the folder name also means including all sub-folders.
         If there are many sub-folders with many files, the search may be slowed down.
    • !*
       Includes the folder where the accounting file is located and all sub-folders.
    • !folder1;folder2
      the semicolon ';' is used to include multiple folders.
      !../folder1
      The ".." refers to the parent folder.

Texts for inclusion or exclusion folders for self-completion:

  • They must be entered in the column where the document link is inserted.
  • They can be entered in any row.
  • They determine the search for all cells, even those that come before.

Edit a link

Proceed in the same way as when entering a new link.

Rename a link

This feature allows you to change/rename the link. The program will also automatically:

  • Rename the file name in its original directory
  • Rename all the links to that document recurring in the accounting file.

This way you can change file names without having to open the file manager.

Requirements

More info on the Rename feature.

Opening the link

There are two ways to open the link:

  • Position yourself on the row and follow the Data > Links > Open link command
  • Or position yourself on the cell of the Links column and click on the icon to open the link.

    Open link icon

For security reasons, the program only opens files with an extension that is considered secure, see Program Options > File handling section, from the Tools menu.

Remove a link

There are two ways to delete a link:

  • Position yourself on the row and follow via the Data menu > Links > Remove link.
  • Clear the contents of the Links cell with Delete.

Export to PDF (Include attachments)

When exporting to PDF, the programme offers the possibility of also including attached files.

Please refer to the Export to PDF documentation regarding this functionality and limitations.

Other useful resources:

Scan documents with Dropbox or other Apps

Smartphone apps like Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens, Dropbox, and other applications allow you to scan receipts and invoices and save them directly in PDF format. Afterwards, you can transfer them to the desired folder through the smartphone app of the cloud service being used. Compared to a simple photo, they crop the contents, use PDF format, and allow you to insert multiple pages into the same file.

Scan documents with Dropbox​

  • Start the Dropbox application (other systems have equivalent functions, which you can easily research on your mobile).
  • Use the "Scan Document" command.
  • Take a picture of the document. To facilitate automatic cropping, insert the receipt in a transparent map that contains a coloured or black sheet.
  • Several commands are at your disposal in the preview
    • If necessary, use the Rotate Image command to be vertical.
    • You can add another page by repeating the scan.
  • Choose the pdf format.
  • Type the file name using the date you find on the document.
    If you do not have your own filing system, use the year-month-day format, the name of the counterparty and a possible observation (ex.: 2022-01-15-Telecom-invoice.pdf ".
  • When the file is synchronized on your computer.

  • The Open link command opens the digital document
    We advise you to create the accounting documents folder in a child location compared to where your accounting file is located.

    Here below we include similar screenshots for Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens and iCloud Drive:

    Adobe Scan App Screenshot  Microsoft Lens App Screenshot  iCloud Drive App Screenshot
     

Other useful resources

Go to

The command opens a dialog box that allows you to move to the desired row.

vai a
When you are in a selection table (for example in an account card), with the Go to source line command, the program automatically returns to the corresponding row of the Transactions table.

The Rename command in Banana Accounting+

The Rename command is a very useful tool in Banana Accounting Plus. It is accessed from the Data menu and allows you to edit an account, a VAT code, an item code or a link in your accounting without having to search and replace manually each match.

In Banana Accounting Plus this feature is only available with the Advanced plan, or in the Professional and Free plans with Advanced plan in demonstration mode (70 transactions).  → Switch now to the Advanced plan.

The Rename command renames the account number, the category (Accounts and Categories table), the VAT code (VAT Codes table), and items code (Items table) or a link (Link or DocLink columns) with the new text indicated in all the tables in which it is found or used (all tables and basic data). When renaming links, this feature also updates the name of the liked file in the directory where it is saved.

rinomina

To rename:

  • Position the mouse on the cell to be modified (account number, category, VAT code, link)
  • Click on the menu Data → Rename
  • In the window displayed, enter the new reference you wish to assign.

Subsequently the program:

  • Verifies that there are no identical account or group numbers; if there is an identical number, the program triggers a warning message, asking if you wish to pursue anyway. If you confirm, there will be an error message.
  • Searches where the account number to be renamed is used in the tables and verifies that the rows are not protected or blocked; if the rows are blocked it warns that it cannot proceed with the renaming.
  • Renames the account number, in all places where it is used, Tables and File and accounting Properties, with the newly specified account number.
NOTE

It is not possible to have two identical account numbers in the Chart of Accounts. The program does not perform any recalculation, it simply renames the account numbers.

Import rows

In order to import the rows, click on Data → Import Rows command.

Activate the options of your choice in the following window:

importa righe

File name

Using the Browse button, select the file from which to extract the data.

Format

This area contains the list of formats with which it is possible to import the data to the table. These include: ASCII format, Text, CSV.
Select what you need.

Options

Import data from clipboard

By selecting this box, the user can import data from the Windows clipboard.

Autocomplete values

It is advisable to select this function when it is necessary to import rows from a less complex accounting file into a more complex one. In this case, in the imported rows, some columns will stay blank. By selecting this function, the program will automatically complete the missing values with those from the current accounting.

Column headers

 By selecting this box, not only data, but field headers will be included in the import.

Unicode (Utf-8)

By selecting this box, all the data will be imported in a format readable by Unicode programs.

Extract and sort rows (Extract)

This function is available vie the Data → Extract and sort rows menu ...

estrai righe

Contrary to the Sort rows command, the program creates a separate table where the extracted rows are displayed. Therefore, the rows of the main table are not changed.

Extract tab

In the extract table, you can click on the row number (underlined) to return to the row of the source table.

Column

You have to select the column from which you want to extract the rows.

Condition

You must select the conditions to be applied for the extraction of the lines (eg greater, less, equal, contains text, begins with, ends with ....).

Value

In this field it is necessary to enter the text to be used as a comparison, in relation to the condition (for example, if the condition is = equal, entering 25.01.2022 as the comparison value, the program extracts all the transactions with the date 25 January 2022).
The text is a date if the chosen field is Date, a numeric value if the field is an Amount, a word if the column is a Description.

Add

The button allows you to add other fields for the search.

Clear all

The button allows you to delete the settings chosen for data extraction in the various lists.

Selected rows only

This option is active only when rows have been previously selected and allows the sorting of the selected rows.

Total row

If the function is activated, the program displays the total for the extracted rows that have an amount or a time counter.

Sort tab

The sorting columns are indicated. The options are the same as the Sort rows commands.

Customization tab

Explications for this window are available on the following web page: Customization.

Account list example

It sometimes happens that you require a list containing only the accounts:

  • Go to the Accounts table.
  • Select Extract and sort command.
  • Select Account in the the columns box
  • Select Not empty in the the conditions box

If you want to extract the accounts sorted by description:

  • Select Order section
  • Select Order by button and select Description

If you want to display only certain columns, you can create a new view with the Tables setup command.

 

Sort rows Dialog

This command changes the sorting of rows permanently.
It is therefore advisable to be very careful before sorting, especially when in the Accounts Table, as it may upset the structure of the chart of accounts.

If you only wish to sort rows temporarily use:

Sort Rows Dialog

This function is activated via the Data > Sort rows menu.

ordina righe

The rows of the table can be sorted according to the contents of the columns. Up to three sorting can be set.

Sort by

Select the type of order you need from the list that appears.

Then by

Allows you to define an additional type of sorting than the main one.

Ascending

The rows are sorted in ascending order, taking into account the type of sorting chosen (date, doc ...).

Descending

The rows are sorted in descending order, taking into account the type of sorting chosen (date, doc ...)

Number

Enable this option if the column chosen as the search condition contains only numbers.

Clear all

The button allows you to delete the settings chosen for sorting the data in the various lists.

Selected rows only

This option is active only when rows have been previously selected and allows the sorting of the selected rows
 

Customization Section

Through this section, you can customize and save various sorting settings for the rows.

You can choose to sort by Amount, Description, or other criteria, and save the sort settings with different names.

When needed, you can recall the sort settings by selecting the name of the desired sort.

Finestra Ordina righe con scheda personalizzazione

Name

The name of your customization (e.g., Sort by Description, Sort by Amount, etc.).

Description

Enter a description to reference the settings (e.g., "sorting type 1, sorting type 2", etc.).

Set as Default

With the "Set as Default" button, you can set a sort as the default.

Options

For more information, refer to the Customization page.

Columns setup

The command can be activated via the Data > Columns setup menu. With this command, columns can be:

  • Displayed
  • Hidden
  • Renamed
  • Moved left or right in the various tables.

Columns setup

Display Tab

Header

This is the column header.

Header 2

This header is used by the program for only a few fields (e.g. Amount column).

Description

This is the column description field. This description will be shown as a tooltip.

Format

This is the format to show numbers, date and time (refer to Columns setup page for specific information).

Width

This section defines the horizontal size of the column.

Column Style

This is a drop-down menu that indicates the style to be used. This style has priority over the style of the row.

Alignment

The user can choose whether to align the text right, left or center.

Wrap text

This option allows the user to view the input text on more than one line.

Protected

This option allows the user to protect the entire column so that no data can be input or edited.

Exclude from printing

When this option is activated, the field will be excluded from printing.

Visible

This option allows the user to make column visible.

The tables can be modified. Columns can be added, headers can be changed, and column sizes and the order in which they are displayed can be altered.

Move up, Move down

The columns can be moved to the right or to the left.

  • Just click on the name of the column:
    • with the Move up button, the column is moved to the left.
    • with the Move down button, the column is moved to the right
  • Columns can also be moved simply by dragging them with the mouse.

Add 

Add columns in the active table. The columns added by the user have a purely informative function and the program does not perform calculations on any numeric data.
If you add a column of type Amount in some cases, the data entered by the user is used in the calculations. Amount columns are summed only in the following tables:

  • Accounts table,
  • Account cards table,
  • Extract rows table.

Delete

This function is used to delete a column from the list. A system column, however, cannot be deleted.

 

Settings Tab

Name

Enter the field name of the column to add. The program automatically inserts the new column in the list.

Xml name

This is the name of the active field in the Xml format and it is automatically inserted by the program.

Data type

It is possible to choose between the following preset types: Text, Number, Amount, Date, Time.

Max and Min length

Maximun and minimum field length.

Max and Min Value

It is possible to enter minimum and maximum values (numbers or characters).

Decimal points

It is possible to define the field decimal points

Column number

This is a number automatically attributed to a column, and has uniquely a technical purpose.

All caps

By clicking this option all column data will be converted to capital characters.

 Date and numbers format by default

Once the program is installed, it automatically uses as default your operating system settings.

If you wish to change your operating system settings, you should go to your Control Panel (Windows) or your System Preferences (Mac).

Here is the step by step process on Windows 8 and Windows 10:

  • from the Start  → Control Panel menu
  • click on International options and then on Change date, time or numbers format
  • a dialog window will appear where you can change your data format (in the Format tab)
  • in order to change your numbers or currency format, from the same window you can click on the Additional settings button and then on the Numbers or currency tab.

Here is the step by step process on Mac OS X 10.9.5:

  • from the Apple logo (on the top left of your screen) click on System Preferences
  • from the dialog window that appears choose the Date & time icon
  • a new window will appear where you can choose Open language & Region...
  • a new window will appear where you can click on the Advanced button
  • finally a new window will appear where you can change the numbers format (General tab), date or time format (Date and Time tabs).

 Date, time and numbers format

When no particular formats are specified for the date, time and numbers, they are displayed in the formats specific to the operating system.

  • Within Banana, only the display format can be changed.
  • To change the input format (when changing a value) you must change the settings of your operating system.

To change the format, click on Data → Columns setup and enter the desired format type in the Format box. The format types are listed below with some explanatory examples:

 

Date formatExamples for date
d mm yy1 01 15
dd m yy01 1 15
ddd mmm yyyyFri Jan 2015
dddd mmmm yyyyFriday January 2015
The letter “d” (day) indicates the day, the “m” (month) indicates the month, and the “y” (year) indicates the year.

 

Time formatTime examples
hh:mm:ss:zzz04:04:36:089
h:m:ss:zz4:4:36:89
Naturally the user can also invert the order of the elements making up the date or the time as desired (e.g.: mm dd yyyy).
As far as the separators are concerned, the user can choose between all of those available on the keyboard (for example: #, @, -, /, ., etc.).

 

Numbers FormatExample for numbers
0.259
0.00258.85
0.000258.848
The number of decimal spaces in a number field can be edited according to the user’s needs. Actual calculations are made using all the inserted decimal numbers. Rounding is only done for what is shown on screen.

 

Link FormatExample for link
:link:"receipts/office electricity october.pdf"
:file:"office electricity october.pdf"
:file:16:"office electrici"
:file:16:ellipsis"office electr..."
:file:-24:ellipsis:"...electricity october.pdf"
:link:symbol:">>"
Note.: The link format is only applied for printing on paper or pdf files, it does not affect the display on the screen.

New column

Via Data  → Columns setup you can add your own columns.

aggiungi nuova colonna

Field name
Enter the field name of the column to add.

Field name Xml
The name of the column to export in Xml and in scripts.

Data type
It is possible to choose between the following predefined types: Text, Number, Amount, Date, Time.

Tables setup

This command is activated via Data > Tables setup menu.

  • The Tables:
    These are the elements that contain the data in a format or rows and columns.
     
  • The Views:
    Indicated under every table.
    These are the elements that define the way in which the columns of the table are to be displayed.
    Thanks to the views, one can define which columns need to be visible, the sequence of the displayed columns and the way in which they are displayed. 

impostazioni viste e tabelle

In order to add tables, please go to the Add new functionalities command.

View's Settings

For each table, you can define:

  • Name
    The name of the table in the file language. This field cannot contain spaces or special characters.
    It can only be changed for added tables.
  • Xml name
    The name this is being used for the programming. This field cannot contain spaces or special characters.
    It can only be changed for additional tables.
  • Header
    The name that appears in the tables list
  • Visible
    Indicates whether the table is visible or not.

Manage Views

Name
It is possible to enter a new name for the selected View.

Xml name
This is the View name for the Xml export. For system Views this name cannot be changed.

Number
This is a number automatically assigned to the View by the program.

Visible
When this box is checked the View will be visible.

System
When this box is checked the View is a system View and cannot be deleted or edited.

Columns setup...
Displays the Columns setup page that allows to edit them, both in displaying them as well as in setting them up.

Page setup...
This button leads to the page format settings.

Add...
This button adds a new View to the active table.

Delete...
This button deletes a View.

Set as default

Defines the View that is being used.
 

New view

From the menu Data > Tables setup > button Add View, you can add your own views (not provided for account cards).

aggiungi nuova vista

View name

Enter the name of the view you want to add.

View name Xml

This is the view name for the Xml export.

After its creation, the new view is displayed in the same place as the existing views and will be added at the right side of the others.

Format Menu

In the Format menu the following commands are present:

Default style

This is the default style for the entire file.

Points

Use different points to define the font size.

Bold and Italic

Highlights in bold or italic texts from the selected cell or row.

Change default style

There is a default style throughout the file. The default style is used when adding a new row.

In order to change the default style:

  • attribute the desired style to a row;
  • click on the Format  →  Change default style command from the menu

All the rows with the original default style will then be shown in the new default style.

Calculate row height

When the text for a row is very long, the Calculate row height command from the Format menu allows the user to view it completely, adapting the height of the row.

To adapt the height of the row to the text, the user should:

  • choose the Data  → Columns setup command menu;
  • select the appropriate field name;
  • activate the Wrap text option in the Display tab;
  • recall the Calculate row height command from the Format menu each time it is necessary. 

Calculate all row heights

The Calculate all row heights command is similar to the previous one, with the difference that it operates on all rows of the table

Reset all row heights

Restores row heights to the default value.

Page break

At any point in a file, the user can insert a page break
To insert a page break:

  • Place the cursor on the first row, where the new page is to be created
  • Open the Format  → Page break command

To remove a page break:

  • Place the cursor on the row with the page break
  • Open the Format and deactivate Page break command

 

Highlight rows with colours

The possibility of colouring the lines will make it easier to find different types of transactions at a glance.

To color the lines or texts is necessary to select them and then use one of the following icons: colorare le righe
The first icon will set the background color, the second one the text colour.

  • To deactivate the fill color, simply select the row or rows and click on No colour
  • To deactivate the text color, position yourself on the line and select Automatic, in this way the color returns to the default color

No colour and Automatic colour

It is recommended to always use No colour and Automatic colour instead of black and white, because when you set the program theme in the Window Menu > Appearance > Display theme we have the following cases:

  • Light theme, where texts are displayed in black
  • Dark theme, where texts are displayed in white

If you use a light background colour, the texts will be displayed in black. While if the background is dark, the texts will be displayed in white.

If you chose black as the text color and white as the background, the assigned colors would remain the same. The texts may therefore no longer be visible if the theme is changed. To avoid this issue, you should select Automatic for the text and No color for the background.

When you use the row filter to display only coloured rows, the program displays all rows with colours, including rows that have been assigned the colour white or black. If you don't want to see these lines you need to select them and set No color as background or Automatic color as text.

 

Tools Menu

File info

The File info command, activated in the Tools menu, displays the characteristics of a file.

Columns

By activating the Complete view also the Xml columns are displayed, thanks to which, it is possible to retrieve the values automatically when the table is exported.

  • Section: the Group name of the values
  • ID: the specific and explicit identification of the value
  • Description: contains an explanation of the value
  • The rows in bold print are the section titles that group the different elements together
  • Value: the formatted value
  • Section XML: The name of the section in English
  • ID XML: the identification in English
  • Value Xml: the field contents in Xml format.

The Section XML and the ID Xml identify the value unambiguously.

Add/Remove functionalities

The Add/Remove functionalities command is in the Tools menu.

This option allows you to add tables completely managed by the user.
To add a new functionality you must select the functionality you need.

aggiungi funzionalità

The options available depend on the type of file.

See the Add and remove accounting functionalities  page for more details on the individual options.

 

 

 

Documents table

The Documents  table allows you to include text documents, images (including logo) or scripts in the accounting file.

It can be added by the user in two different ways:

tabella Documenti

The Documents table has the following columns:

  • Id
    The document's name. Id it is free text but should be unique within the table.
    • Documents starting with "_" are used for particular features of the programme.
      • "_budget.js"
        You insert your own functions created for the Budget table.
    • The dlgmanageaddons Id is used to save the image used as a logo.
    • The attachment_ Id it is used for attachments in the enhanced balance sheet.
  • Description
    A brief description of the file (optional)
  • Attachments
    Contains the file. By clicking on the cell it is possible to view or modify the contents of the file.
    There are these types of possible content

Adding a new document

external editor

To insert a new document in the Documents table

  • Add a new row.
  • In the Id column write the name of the file .
  • In the Description column you can write the desired text.
  • In the Attachments column double-click on the cell or select the edit symbol, select the type of document you want to add.

See also:

 

Markdown Editor

In Banana Accounting Plus, balance sheets attachments can now also be inserted via markdown language, in addition to html. This is very convenient for inserting tables into attachments.
In Banana Accounting Plus this feature is only available with the Advanced plan.

editor Markdown

Markdown is a language that allows you to create formatted text using a normal text editor and a syntax that is easy to write and read.

In Banana+ it is possible to use this language in the attachments of the Documents table and the GitHub Flavored Markdown specification is supported.

Documentation published by github.com:

Adding a Markdown document

  • Select the Documents table.
  • Add a new row.
  • In the Id column write a name that identifies the document.
  • In the Description column you can write the desired text.
  • In the Attachments column double-click on the cell or select the edit symbol, select the Markdown Text type.

Add a balance sheet attachment with markdown text

How to create a table

To create tables in markdown, the content of the columns must be from the vertical slash sign, preceded and followed by a space " | ".
For the column alignment you must create a row with

  • Left: simple hyphens (minimum three hyphens).
  • Center: hyphens preceded and followed by the colon ":---:".
  • Right: hyphens followed by the colon "---:".
# Notes to the Balance (Example)
The financial statements of Example have been prepared in accordance with the In­ter­na­tional Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
## Cash Positions
| Account | Description | Current Year | Previous Year |
| :---: | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 1000 | Cash  | 23'000.00 | 17'000.00 |
| 1020 | Bank account| 9'000.00 | 1'000.00 |
| | **Total** | **32'000.00** | **18'000.00** |
## Other Fixed Assets
| Account | Description | Current Year | Previous Year |
| :---: | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 1000 | Machinery | 13'000.00 | 17'000.00 |
| 1020 | Furniture | 5'000.00 | 4'000.00 |
| | **Total** | **18'000.00** | **21'000.00** |

 

editor Markdown

How to create an unordered list

 

# Create an unordered list  
* First item
* Second item
* Third item
* Fourth item

 

How to create a task list with checkboxes

 

# Task list with checkboxes in Markdown
- [ ] Item 1
- [X] Item 2
- [X] Item 3
- [ ] Item 4
- [ ] Item 5

tasklist with checkboxes

How to change the text color

# Change the text color using HTML syntax  
This is normal text in black color, <span style="color:blue">and this text is blue!</span>  
<span style="color:red">Another text in red color.</span>

 

text color

How to change color, font and size of a text

# Change the text color, font and size using HTML syntax  
<span style="color:green;font-size:20pt;font-family:Times New Roman;">Change color, font and size of a text</span>

text style

How to apply bold format

# Use double asterisks ( **text** ) before and after the text
**This is a text written in bold**

How to apply italic format

# Use single asterisks ( *text* ) before and after the text
*This is a text written in italic*

How to apply bold and italic format

# Use three asterisks ( ***text*** ) before and after the text
***This is a text written in bold and italic***

 

 Features currently not available

These features, although requested by some users, are not available at the moment:

  • Add a link in the markdown text

HTML Editor

html editor

Adding the ${...} field

The ${...} field allows the user to add dynamic text to the document, for instance an account's balance or a Banana table. The Banana API interface is available at the following web address https://www.banana.ch/doc/en/node/4714
The command can be added manually or through the command Edit - Add script

Printing a blank line (put a space between the quotes)


${' '}

Printing the current balance of account  1020


${Banana.Converter.toLocaleNumberFormat(Banana.document.currentBalance('1020','','').balance);}

Output of the Accounts table, columns:  Account, Group, Description, Balance.


${HTML Banana.document.table('Accounts').toHtml(['Account','Group','Description','Balance'],true);}

It is possible to write the javascript code in a separate document and include the script through the command Banana.include.
The scripts can be saved in the Documents table or in a local file.


${Banana.include('documents:myscript1');rtnValue}
${Banana.include('c://temp//myscript16.js');rtnValue}

java script editor

javascript Html editor

Adding a page break

The command can be added manually or through the command Edit - Add page break


Text in the first page
${PAGEBREAK}
Text in the second page

Troubleshooting

  • When taking text from external sources (Word, Internet pages, ...), use the Edit > Paste as plain text command. 
    This command avoids problems with HTML formatting, which in some cases prevents correct display.
  • For the examples on this page, use the Copy link on the top right of each example, do not use CTRL+C (or CMD+C).
  • If the ${…} field does not work, check that there is no HTML formatting (such as <span>…</span> elements or other) and possibly remove it from the HTML Source code.
  • To remove existing HTML formatting from an entire page:
    • copy text to clipboard (CTRL+C)
    • go to the HTML Source tab and delete all content
    • go to the Page 1 tab and paste the copied text with the Edit > Paste as plain text command.

 

Embedded Extension

Embedded Extensions are extensions written in JavaScript and saved directly in the Documents table of the accounting file. They work exclusively in that specific file without requiring installation. Once created, they are immediately ready to use.

Add an Embedded Extension

  1. Open an accounting file in Banana Accounting Plus.
  2. Ensure the Documents table is enabled:
  3. Add the extension in the Documents table:
    • In the ID column enter a name for the extension.
    • In the Description column enter a comment.
    • In the Attachments column, attach the JavaScript code with a double click on the cell or select the edit symbol in the top right corner, then select Javascript code and confirm with OK.

      banana embedded extension javascript
       
    • An editor where you can write your javascript code opens.

      banana javascript embedded extension
       
    • When you are finished, confirm with OK, and save the accounting file.

Run the Extension

You have two options to run the embedded extensions:

  • From the Documents table, click the run symbol in the Attachments cell containing your code.
  • From the Extensions menu, select the extension from those listed.

banana javascript embedded extension

More information

Documentation for developers:

Simple table (Add fonctionalities)

The programme adds a table consisting of these columns to the existing file.

  • Id
  • Description
  • Notes

This is used to add codes for projects, for example, or other information that you want to encode.

In other tables, a column can then be added that links to this table.

Tabella semplice

 

Joining Tables

Add Link Column

In Banana Accounting Plus, you can create links between columns of different tables using the RowId column.

The command Tools > Add/Remove Functionalities > Add Columns for linking tables creates a link column in the current table, with another existing table.

The Description column is automatically added, but if it is not needed, it can be deleted or hidden.

The command only works if the table to be linked contains the "RowId" column.

Choose Table Dialog

A list of tables containing the "RowId" column, which are not linked to any table, is displayed.

Choose the column after which (position) you want the link columns to be added.

Choose Column Dialog

All columns of the table are displayed.

Choose the column after which (position) you want the link columns to be added.

To create a link between a column of one table and a different one, proceed as follows:

  • Open the file where you want to add the table.
  • Add the new table "e.g., Projects".
    • In the Id column of the added table (Projects), enter the project code, and in the Description column, enter the project description.
  • In the Transactions table, link the columns of the added table (Projects):
    • From the Tools > Add/Remove Functionalities > Add Columns for linking tables menu.
      In the dialog that opens, you can choose the position of the column.
    • Confirm by clicking the OK button.
    • New link columns are added and displayed, starting with the name of the table.
      • ProjectsId where the corresponding code from the RowId column is entered.
      • ProjectsDescription (protected column) where the description corresponding to the entered code is displayed.
    • When the content of the Projects table is changed by entering the Id in the other table, the description text will automatically be retrieved.
  • If descriptions in the added table (Projects) are changed, to automatically retrieve the new texts, recalculate or close and reopen the file.

The program automatically links columns that start with the same nameXml of a table and are followed by "Id" or "Description".

  • Link columns can be created or added manually by assigning them specific names.
  • Do not use these names for columns that should not be linked.

 

 

Create file from external data

Banana Accounting allows for reading and displaying in tabular form multiple file formats.

View CSV File

When opening, or dragging and dropping a file of the CSV or JCSV type in the Banana window, Banana will automatically create a simple Table type file, resuming the columns and data contained in the CSV table.

 

View ISO 20022 file

The Banana software allows the user to view and print the contents of ISO20022 - camt. 052, camt. 053 (included version 4), camt. 054 - and MT940 bank statements.
The transactions of the electronic bank statement, with description, amount income or expenses, are being presented in separate columns and can be printed or pasted into Excel.

Open the ISO 20022 or MT940 file

In order to open and see the file :

  • Download your bank statement in ISO 20022 format
    If it is a compressed file, extract the XML file to be displayed with its own utility (p.es. 7zip)S
  • Install and open Banana Accounting
  • Drag the file inside Banana Accounting: Banana immediately shows all entries with text and date, amount and the progressive balance (the file is being opened as "read only")
  • The data of the bank statement can then be printed or copied into Excel or other programs.


Additional indications

  • The opening balance in the ISO 20022 file is entered into the Accounts table.
  • The column width can be adapted with the mouse. 
  • To align the text of the description on several lines, use the command Format → Calculate all row heights
  • To categorize the movements and get statements, enter the appropriate categories in the Categories table and display the Categories column in the Transactions table with the Columns setup command.
    Or, create a new file with an existing template and categories and accounts already set up, and import the data of the bank statement as explained in the page Import ISO 20022 file.
  • In the free Starter Edition mode, files with more than 70 transactions cannot be saved.

More information

For more information with regard to the ISO 20022 Standard, please consult the page Import ISO 20022 file.

 

Create file copy

You can activate the command from the Tools menu → Create file copy.

crea copia file

This feature allows you to create a new file, identical to the existing one.  You can choose to copy the file with the following options:

  • Keep Opening balances. If the option is activated, the opening balances of the copied file will be shown in the new file.
  • Keep Transactions. If this option is activated, transactions of the copied file will be shown in the new file.
  • Keep Recurring transactions. If this option is activated, the recurring transactions of the copied file will be shown in the new file.

This feature is very useful when you want to make test changes and have the confidence that you can go back without losing data.

If none of the options are activated, a new file will be created only showing the same accounting plan.

The new file must be saved with a name.

 

 

 

Convert to new file

The command is activated from via Tools > Convert to new file.

In the dialog box that appears, the file type you are working on is selected.
A list of possible choices is also listed:

converti in nuovo file

This command converts an existing file (which will not be modified) into another one with different characteristics:

  • Change language
  • Change the rounding
  • Change the file type. For example:
    • Pass from an accounting without VAT to one with VAT
    • Pass from a Double-entry accounting to a Multi-currency accounting

This is similar to creating a new blank file and then transfer the data manually .

The existing file characteristics can be consulted by executing the Tools > File Info command

Creation and data transfer

The Tools  → Convert to new file command:

  1. Creates a new file of the specified type with the predefined columns setup
  2. Transfers the data into the new file, proceeding with the necessary conversions
  3. Saves and indicates the name of the new file.

When converting a file with more options into one with fewer options, part of the data will be lost during conversion. If, for example, an accounting file with VAT/Sales tax is converted into an accounting file without VAT/Sales tax, all data in the VAT columns will be lost during conversion.
 

Conversion from a Double-entry accounting to a Multi-currency accounting file

  • The currency symbol that is to become the basic currency must be specified in File and accounting properties
  • Choose the Multi-currency accounting as destination
  • The program creates a Multi-currency accounting, recovering the existing data:
    • The Transactions table includes the columns for managing the Multi-currency accounting, as the base currency and a 1.0000 exchange rate
    • The existing accounts in the Accounts table are being completed with the base currency symbol
    • The Exchange rate table will be empty; it is therefore necessary to add the currencies and exchange rates used in the transactions
    • In the Accounts table, the accounts in foreign currency have to be added.

In order to change the currency of an accounting file, refer to the File Properties of the File and accounting properties.

Conversion from an accounting without VAT to one with VAT

  • Choose the desired type of accounting with VAT as the destination 
  • The program creates an accounting with the VAT columns, recovering the existing data:

Outline to create new file 

For further details refer to:

parametri creazione nuovo file

Related documents:

The Merge file command in Banana Accounting+

The possibility of merging accounting files together is very useful; it allows, for example, to merge the accounting files of different branches of the same company, or to absorb the accounts of dislocated activities in the accounting file of the parent company, both for associations and businesses.

In Banana Accounting Plus this feature is only available with the Advanced plan. Explore all the Advanced plan features. Switch now to the Advanced plan!

The command is activated vie Tools → Merge File.

It is possible to merge two files, but they have to belong to the same application (for example two double-entry accounting files). It is not possible to merge files belonging to different applications (for example one double-entry accounting file and one income & expense file).

In order to successfully merge two files, it is crucial that they contain the same accounts numbers. Proceed as follows:

  • Open the file which will contain the data of both files.
  • Select the Tools →  Merge File command.
  • Select the path and the name of the file to be merged.
  • Confirm the merge operation.
  • If the files are not identical, even though they belong to the same application, (for example, accounting with VAT/Sales tax and accounting without VAT/Sales tax), a message will appear warning against probable data loss.

 

Program options

The program options are activated via the Tools → Program menu options and contain technical choices for the accounting document.

opzioni programma

In the following pages you will find more detailed information.

 

General

The interface options are activated via Tools → Program Options → Interface.

opzioni programma - interfaccia

Program options

Language

It is the language used by the program. You can change this setting if you want to use a language other than the default or if the default is not available.

Font type

You can choose the font.

% Zoom

If you want the data in the tables to be displayed in a different size, just adjust the Zoom percentage.

  • The zoom percentage can also be changed with the zoom tool at the bottom right of the status line.
  • The purpose of the zoom is to adapt the table content to the window size.
    For the text size of menus, dialogues and icons, the operating system settings are used, but can also be adapted by the user.

Show negative numbers in red

Negative numbers and amounts are displayed in red in the tables.

Startup

Check for updates

Direct link the www.banana.ch website to the update download page.

Display start page

The news information home page is displayed.

Show recently used files

Recently opened files are displayed.

Start Web Server

Is used to access Banana Accounting data from external programs.

For more information see Integrated Webserver

Editor

The Editor options are activated from the menu Tools → Program Options → Editor.

opzioni programma - editor

Behavior

Edit table with single click

  • If the function is activated, a single click on the selected cell is sufficient to introduce change.
  • If the function is activated, a single click on the cell already selected is sufficient to change.

Autocomplete text (Smart fill)

By activating this option, the program automatically selects the first draft text in the drop down list and automatically fills it in the row where you are.

Add up during selection

By activating this option, the program will add up the selected amounts. Deactivate this function if this instantaneous addition slows certain operations down. One can select non-adjacent amounts by holding down the Ctrl key while selecting individual cells with the left mouse button.

On Enter go to the next row

By activating this option, the cursor will place itself on the next row when pressing the Enter key.

 Input

Maximum number of undo operations

Insert the maximum number of undo operations when using the command from the menu Edit → Undo Operation (you undo one operation at a time).

Smart fill rows limit

When inserting data, the program reads the data that has already been entered and tries to suggest how to complete an entry. In cases where there are many rows, this function could slow down the process.
The user can define a limit for the number of rows, above which the smart fill will not be used. If there is no value entered or zero, smart fill will always be used.

File handling

The File Management options are activated via Tools → Program Options → File Handling tab.

opzioni file - sviluppo

Saving documents

This section contains the following options for saving documents.

Saving automatically when closing the documents

If this option is enabled, the data will be saved each time the file is closed.

Save autorecover information

The option allows automatic saving of the file with frequency (in minutes) to be indicated. The program saves the data in a document called autobackup + filename. If the program or computer crashes, you can recover the data by opening this file and saving it as from the File menu.

Create backup copy

When saving to disk with the same name, the pre-existing version of the file is renamed with the BAK extension.
Refer to the Save page for further information.

 Files extension

Extension of files considered secure

This option defines the file types (eg: "pfd", "jpg", ...) and the url schemes (eg: "http:", "x-devonthink-item:", ...) that allow to open with a double click in the DocLink column of the Transactions table. Therefore, it prevents you from opening unsafe files or schemes. Extensions must be inserted without the period '.' initial, while the schemes must be inserted with a double dot ':' at the end.

Restore defaults

If certain settings have been changed, program will restore the default settings when clicking on this button.

 

Advanced

The Advanced options are activated Tools > Program Options > Advanced.

opzioni programma - avanzato

Pdf

Enable TrueType Fonts

If this option is enabled when printing PDF files, the font selected in the Interface tab is used, otherwise a native font type of PDF files is used (Helvetica or Times New Roman). This option must be disabled if the texts in the generated PDF files are unreadable.

System info

Open the System info dialogue.

Reports Menu

Report menu commands in various applications

The Reports menu contains commands for displaying and printing various accounting documents. The commands listed will vary depending on the application selected.

By clicking on the various links, the web pages, with detailed information on the various commands, are displayed.

Favorites menu

Favorites are displays of printouts or reports with customized settings.

The Favorites menu will display list all the Customizations created and can be recalled if and when necessary.

The Favorites menu is not displayed by default, but appears when the user creates customizations (the first time the accounting file must be closed and reopened), indicating that they must appear in the menu.

personalizzazione menu Preferiti

 

Customization

Customization is a display or printout with customized settings that can stored. If necessary, customized documents can be resumed without repeating the settings.

Customizations is obtained from the following menus and for the following documents:

  •  Report for:
    • Account cards
    • Enhanced Balance Sheet
    • Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups
    • Accounting reports
    • VAT reports
  • File for:
    • Create Pdf dossier
    • Export file
  • Data for:
    • Extract and sort rows
    • Sort rows
    • Export rows
  • Extensions - for Addresses customization.

How to proceed

Depending on the document to be created, start by clicking on the menu and on the appropriate command (Account cards, Financial statements, Export file ...).

From the dialogue that appears:

  • Click in the Customization section.
  • Click on the New button.
  • Enter the name of the new customization.
  • Activate the appropriate options in the various sections.
  • Click on the Apply button.

personalizzazione menu Preferiti

Each customization, once created, will appear in the menu of the corresponding command and can be edited, renamed, duplicated or deleted.

Name

Enter a name to identify the customization (for instance, Quarterly Report).

Description

Enter the description for the customization.

Show this window every time

If activated, when selecting a customization from the menu, the dialogue for editing the settings will be shown. If not activated, the preview of the requested report (Balance sheet, report, etc.) will be shown directly.

Show in menu... (depending on the menu/command in which one is being positioned)

If this option is activated, the customization will appear in the menu of the command.

Show in 'Favorites' menu

If this option is activated, the customization will appear in the Favorites menu.

Read only

If this option is activated, it will not be possible to edit the settings.

New

This button allows you to create a new customization.

Delete

This button allows you to delete an existing customization.

Duplicate

This button allows you to create an identical copy (a duplicate) of an existing customization.

Import

This button allows the import of an existing customization from another Banana accounting file (.ac2).

Apply

This button allows you to save the chosen settings for the new customization.

Display in the starting menu

According to the menu you are in, the Default customization and your personal saved customization will be shown.

Customization (Default)

This is the customization used by default from the program, if no other customization has been created.

In the following example the menu of the Accounting reports is shown.

elenco documenti preferiti


Direct access to the customizations 

In the tables where the customization are being shown and in the previews, the customization menu and the settings icon are being displayed. These make it possible to easily move from one customization to the next and provide rapid access to the settings in case you want to edit these. 

accesso diretto ai preferiti

 

Menú Extensiones

Las Extensiones  son funcionalidades del programa para elaborar informes, cálculos, exportaciones, importaciones, reportes de facturas, recordatorios y más.

Deben ser instaladas por el usuario, a través del menú Extensiones > Administrar Extensiones y dentro de la funcionalidad específica, por ejemplo Importar en contabilidad.

El menú Extensiones enumera todas las Extensiones ya instaladas, utilizables con el archivo actual abierto. Al elegir el comando, se ejecuta la Extensión indicada.

Gestión de Extensiones

El comando Administrar Extensiones permite buscar, instalar, cambiar configuraciones y desinstalar Extensiones.

Instalación de una nueva Extensión

Para la instalación de una nueva Extensión consulte la página Gestión de Extensiones.

Extensión Embedded

Las Extensiones Embedded son extensiones guardadas en la tabla Documentos del archivo de contabilidad que funcionan sin instalación.

Información técnica sobre las Extensiones

Algunas informaciones técnicas sobre las Extensiones.

  • Son programas escritos en lenguaje Javascript, que hacen uso de las API proporcionadas por Banana Contabilidad.
  • Son muy seguras, no pueden ejecutar funciones que tengan un impacto en el sistema operativo.
  • Extensiones individuales:
    archivo de texto, con extensión .js, que contiene un programa en Javascript, con las características indicadas para ser una Extensión de Banana Contabilidad.
  • Paquete de Extensiones:
    archivo comprimido, con la extensión .sbaa, que puede contener varios otros archivos necesarios para la aplicación, como comandos, imágenes, diálogos. Un paquete puede contener varios comandos. En el menú Extensiones se indica el título del paquete y los comandos que contiene.
    Si se desactiva un paquete, todas las Extensiones quedan desactivadas.

Requisitos para la ejecución de las Extensiones

Los comandos para la ejecución de las Extensiones están disponibles únicamente si el archivo actual (aquel en el que se está trabajando) cumple con las características requeridas por la Extensión. Si falta alguna de estas características, la Extensión no es visible o no se puede ejecutar desde el menú Extensiones.

  • Las Extensiones están disponibles en el contexto específico:
  • Asociación a un Tipo de Archivo.
    Extensiones que requieren que el archivo actual sea por ejemplo un archivo de contabilidad, de partida doble, o de direcciones.
  • Asociación mediante una propiedad.
    Algunas Extensiones están diseñadas para ejecutarse únicamente si en las Propiedades del archivo > sección Otro, se indica la palabra requerida.
    Por ejemplo, las impresiones de la Lista de ciudadanos, con campos específicos, requieren la propiedad Ciudadanía.

Suscripción al plan Advanced necesaria

Algunas extensiones están disponibles en los planes Free y Professional, mientras que varias otras requieren el plan Advanced. 
La información sobre el plan requerido está indicada en la propia extensión. 

Además:

  • El plan Advanced es necesario para ejecutar extensiones locales y descargadas desde la web.
  • Algunas extensiones que requieren el plan Advanced pueden usarse también con otros planes solo mientras la contabilidad tenga un número de asientos inferior a 70 líneas.

Desarrollar una Extensión propia

Cualquier persona puede crear Extensiones que amplíen las funcionalidades del programa:

  • Se requieren conocimientos de programación.
  • Es necesario tener el plan Advanced de Banana Contabilidad Plus.

Para desarrollar una Extensión de Banana, lo mejor es empezar desde un proyecto existente. Aquí algunos consejos:

Administrar Estensiones

Este diálogo permite instalar, modificar la configuración y desinstalar las Extensiones.
Para utilizar una Extensión, primero debe instalarse.

Instalación de una nueva Extensión

Para instalar una Extensión proceda de la siguiente manera:

  • Utilice el menú Extensiones > Administrar extensiones.
  • Seleccione el idioma y el país.
  • Seleccione en el menú de la izquierda Online.
  • Seleccione el tipo de Extensión (por ejemplo, productividad).
  • Busque la extensión deseada entre las listadas; o bien, en el campo Buscar escriba el nombre de la extensión que desea.
  • Haga clic en el botón Instalar.
  • Haga clic en el botón Cerrar.

También puede utilizar el campo de búsqueda de la parte superior derecha e introducir la palabra clave relacionada con una extensión que esté buscando.

A continuación se muestran las Extensiones disponibles:

gestión de extensiones

Las Extensiones instaladas son visibles en el menú Extensiones.

Nota

Si en la ventana Extensiones no aparece la lista completa de extensiones, es necesario actualizarlas o ampliar la búsqueda seleccionando cualquier país, cualquier idioma y todo.

  • Si se activa Incluir extensiones universales, en la lista aparecen las extensiones válidas para cualquier país.

Si en la lista completa no se encuentra el formato de su banco, es necesario solicitar el extracto bancario en el formato universal ISO 20022. Pronto, todos los bancos sustituirán los distintos formatos (csv, MT940...) por el formato estándar europeo ISO 20022.

Lista de Extensiones

Se muestra la lista de las Extensiones instaladas y de las disponibles para su instalación.

  • El visto indica que la Extensión está instalada.
  • Título de la Extensión.
    • Las extensiones que comienzan con "x" (por ej. "[xCH01]...", "[xUNI02]...") son extensiones consideradas "obsoletas", es decir, extensiones superadas que nacieron con versiones antiguas de Banana y que luego han sido reemplazadas por extensiones más recientes para Banana+.
  • Información sobre las Extensiones:
    • Descripción
    • Enlace a más información, abre la página web correspondiente.
    • Última actualización
      Fecha y hora de la Extensión.
      Para las Extensiones locales (añadidas desde archivo) la fecha y hora del archivo.
    • Categoría
      El tipo de la Extensión.
    • País
      El país en el que se puede utilizar. Internacional significa que puede usarse en varios países.
    • Botón Instalar
      Descarga la Extensión y la pone a disposición localmente.
  • Información para las Extensiones instaladas:
    • El símbolo ">" antes del visto indica que es un paquete de Extensiones que contiene varios comandos.
    • Habilitado
      Si no está marcada, la Extensión no aparece en el menú. En un paquete se puede desactivar también un solo comando.
    • Actualizar automáticamente
      Cuando hay una nueva versión disponible, se descarga automáticamente.
    • Última actualización
      La fecha de publicación de la extensión.
    • Categoría
      La categoría de la extensión.
    • País
      El país de la extensión. Universal significa que no está vinculada a ningún país específico.
    • Idioma
      El idioma de la interfaz de la extensión.
    • Canal preferido (*)
      La versión de la extensión. Se puede elegir entre:
      • Canal estable
        Versiones publicadas de forma definitiva.
      • Canal beta
        Versiones de prueba antes de ser definitivas, aún en ajuste.
      • Canal de desarrollo
        Versiones en fase de desarrollo.
    • Canales disponibles (*)
      Qué versiones están disponibles para esta extensión.
    • Canal usado (*)
      La versión en uso.
      Si la versión del canal preferido no está disponible, el programa elegirá la versión del canal según el orden: Estable, Beta, y luego Desarrollador.
  • URL
    • Si la extensión está instalada localmente, muestra la ubicación local.
    • Si la extensión es remota y no ha sido instalada, muestra la URL remota.
  • fuente de URL
    Si la extensión ha sido instalada desde internet, muestra la URL del repositorio remoto.
  • Propiedades requeridas
    Para que la extensión pueda ejecutarse, se requiere que en el menú Archivo > Propiedades del archivo (datos base) > Otro estén definidas las propiedades Extensiones.
  • Botón Aplicar propiedades
    Inserta la propiedad indicada en las propiedades del archivo actual.
  • Botón Ejecutar
    Ejecuta la extensión. 
    Este botón es visible solo si el comando puede ejecutarse en el contexto actual. 
    Por ejemplo, un comando que requiere una contabilidad multimoneda solo puede ejecutarse en un archivo multimoneda.
    Para ejecutar una extensión propia es necesario tener una suscripción al plan Advanced de Banana Contabilidad Plus.
  • Botón Configuración
    Algunas Extensiones permiten establecer parámetros de ejecución. La configuración es específica para el archivo actual. Si se usa la misma Extensión con otro archivo, se deben introducir nuevamente los parámetros.
    Por ejemplo, en los reportes de facturas se indican los elementos necesarios para la impresión.
  • Botón Desinstalar
    Desinstala la Extensión o el paquete.

Usar una versión de desarrollo 

Para una determinada extensión, puede que estén disponibles varias versiones. 

  • Si para la extensión hay varias versiones disponibles, se indica en los "Canales disponibles".
  • Las opciones posibles son:
    • Estable. La versión normal.
    • Beta. La versión con nuevas funcionalidades disponibles antes de convertirse en Estable.
    • Developer.  La versión con funcionalidades de prueba, que podrían no estar completamente implementadas.
  • En el "Canal predeterminado" se puede definir el canal que se desea utilizar entre Estable, Beta o Developer.
  • En el "Canal en uso" se muestra el canal de desarrollo efectivamente utilizado.
    Si el canal seleccionado no está disponible, se utilizará la versión del siguiente canal disponible. Si no está Developer, se usará Beta, y si tampoco está este, se usará Estable.
  • Si se cambia de versión, se recomienda utilizar el botón actualizar para asegurarse de que se descarga la última versión.

Buscar Extensiones

En la lista se muestran las Extensiones que corresponden a los criterios seleccionados:

  • Idioma
  • País
  • Texto
  • Instaladas
    Se muestran las Extensiones instaladas localmente.
  • Online
    La lista de Extensiones disponibles en línea.
  • De sistema
    La lista de Extensiones. Estas pueden habilitarse o deshabilitarse.

Detalles

Se muestra un cuadro de diálogo con la siguiente información:

  • El archivo de origen donde se encuentra la Extensión.
  • El tipo de Extensión.
  • La fecha de la Extensión.

Parámetros

Si la Extensión permite establecer parámetros a nivel de programación, el botón está activo.
Cada extensión tiene sus propios parámetros. Los parámetros introducidos se guardan dentro del archivo de contabilidad.

Modificar

Permite modificar la Extensión seleccionada. Abre la carpeta donde se encuentra el archivo de la Extensión.

Eliminar

Elimina definitivamente la Extensión seleccionada. No es posible eliminar los filtros instalados a nivel de sistema o para todos los usuarios.
Por el momento, tampoco es posible eliminar Extensiones que están contenidas en un archivo con extensión .sbaa. Para eliminar la Extensión, debe borrarse el archivo correspondiente.

Ayuda (a la derecha)

Lleva a la página web con información sobre la Extensión seleccionada.

Agregar desde el archivo

Permite instalar una Extensión desde un archivo local. Es útil especialmente para el desarrollo de nuevas Extensiones.
Para crear una Extensión propia, es necesario tener una suscripción al plan Advanced de Banana Contabilidad Plus.

  • El archivo debe permanecer siempre en la misma carpeta.
  • Si se modifica la Extensión, el programa usará siempre la versión más reciente.

Agregar desde el url

Agrega una nueva Extensión a partir de un enlace a un documento disponible en internet.
Para crear una Extensión propia es necesario tener una suscripción al plan Advanced de Banana Contabilidad Plus.

  • El archivo se descarga desde internet.
  • El archivo se guarda en la carpeta de datos del usuario.

Actualizar Extensiones

Descarga la última versión de los filtros desde el servidor de Banana Contabilidad.
Las Extensiones descargadas no deben modificarse, ya que serán sobrescritas al actualizarse.
Si hay nuevas Extensiones, estas se añaden a la lista. Los filtros importados no se modifican.

Las Extensiones se instalan en la carpeta del usuario. Solo el usuario que importó o realizó la actualización puede ver las nuevas Extensiones.
Para instalar Extensiones para todos los usuarios o a nivel de sistema, se requiere un procedimiento manual.

Banana Contabilidad, al iniciar la aplicación, realiza automáticamente la actualización de las Extensiones instaladas. El control automático se ejecuta solo una vez al día, al primer inicio. 

Extension Settings

Some extensions allow you to set parameters that are used by the extension.

  • The parameters can be set and changed with the dialog.
  • At startup, the parameters are set with default values.
  • The parameters are related to the accounting file..
  • An extension package can contain multiple extensions and therefore there may be multiple parameters per package.

Extensions Setup Dialogue

The content of the dialogue is different for each extension.The UNI10 invoice layout is shown below.

estensioni parametri d'impostazione

Value insertion area

The settings dialog is structured as elements that contain sub-elements, each with:

  • Property column.
    • This is the name of the property.
  • Value column.
    • It's the value of the property, Value column. By clicking you can enter a value, change a predefined one or delete an existing one.

Buttons

At the end of the dialogue there are the following buttons:

  • Help.
    • The help button takes you to the documentation page of the extension you are using.
  • Restore defaults..
    • By clicking on this button all the default values of the Value column are restored.
  • Cancel.
    • Cancel and close the dialog without any changes being made.
  • Ok.
    • Confirm and save the entered parameters.If you have saved it by mistake, you can go back to the previous situation with the cancel operation command.

 

Access the settings dialog

You can access the settings dial in the following ways:

Installing an Extension offline

In order to install an Extension in an offline mode proceed as follows:

  • Connect yourself to our Extensions webpage, using a different computer connected to the internet
  • Download the Extension that you need (a .js or .sba file ) and save it on a USB key or other device
  • Copy the Extension on the computer without internet connection
  • Open Banana Accounting from your computer without internet connection and open your accounting file
  • Click Extensions → Manage Extensions
  • Click on the Add from file button and select the path were you saved the Extension
  • The Extension will now be included in the installed Apps and in the Extensions menu

 

Print label

Via the Extensions → Labels → Print command you can print the addresses. In the different tabs you can choose different settings, from the label format to le selection of the addresses to be sorted and printed. Each setting can be saved with the Customizations.

stampa etichette

For the explanations of the different tabs, please consult the following pages.

Print example

 

Options

stampa etichette

First label starting position

Decide on the position of the first label. For example, if 1 is entered in the horizontal and vertical fields, it refers to the upper left-hand corner of the page.


Number of copies for each label

The value of 1, in this field, means only one copy of each label is wanted.

Warning if text exceeds label
If the text runs beyond the margins for the label, the program will warn the user by sending an error message if this cell is activated.


Label format

You can choose between the label formats available in the list.
If the list doesn't have the format you wish, through the Change button, you can access the Label format dialogue windows where you can choose your desired settings.


Data

Indicate the data source for the labels to be printed:

  • Table - the current table (Accounts, Transactions, Budget, Totals, VAT code) data will be printed. If a data extraction occurred, only the extracted data will be printed.
  • Selected rows only - only the earlier selected addresses will be printed.

 

Label

 

stampa etichette, sezione etichetta

Field list

This is a list of all possible label fields; to insert a field, it is possible to work in two ways:

  • Double-click on an element from the list
  • Click on an element from the list, confirming with the Add Field key.

The field selected will be inserted at the position of the cursor in the View labels area. One can directly insert fields by writing the field name between the < Less and > Greater symbols.
 

View labels

Shows the disposition of the fields. The entries "<NAME FIELD>" will be replaced with the corresponding value of the table.

The symbols Greater and Less are considered field delimiters. In order to make them appear in the text
write "\<" for "<";
write "\>" for ">"
and write "\\" for "\"

Preserve line feeds and spaces.
In case this option is deactivated, the program does not take eventual spaces and empty rows in consideration.

 

Extract

The explanation of this section is available on the page Extract Rows of the Data menu.

stampa etichette sezione estrai

 

Sort

The explanation of this section is available on the page Sort Rows of the Data menu.

stampa etichette sezione ordina

 

 

Customization

The explanations of this window are available on the following web page: Customization.

stampa etichette sezione personalizzazione

 

 

Labels format

Via Extensions →  Labels  →  Formats option, you can access the labels setup.

The program already offers many predefined label formats; it is however possible to setup or edit the default parameters, as well as your customized ones, through the Customization (Default)  command.

 

Page settings - Options

formati etichette sezione opzioni

Page

Left Margin, Right Margin, To Margin, Bottom Margin
Input the size in centimeters; if no size is entered, the margin sizes will be zero.

Number of horizontal labels
Input the number of horizontal labels there are on the page.

Number of vertical labels
Input the number of vertical labels there are on the page.

Print Landscape
The page will be printed horizontally if this cell is activated.

Arrange labels from right to left
The labels will be printed from right to left and from top to bottom.

Label

Left Margin, Right Margin, To Margin, Bottom Margin
It is possible to input a margin for each label; the values for the label margins must be input in centimeters.

Center text horizontally
Select this option to horizontally center the text for each label in the cell.

Center text vertically
Select this option to vertically center the text for each label in the cell.

Font size

Base size
This field shows the default font size.

Reduce to fit, but no less than
The program calculates the maximum font size possible for a given label, starting from 14 points all the way down to 8 points. The calculation is made taking into account both the height and width of the label. If a label has a line that is too long (or has too many rows) to be printed, then an error message will appear in the message window. Even if it is incomplete, the label will still be printed.

Note:

the printers will not print on the whole surface of a page because they need minimum margins. The program tries to adapt the single labels to the margin values required by the printer.

 

Page settings - Customization

formati etichette sezione personalizzazione

All the settings that have been activated in the Options tab can be saved by using Customization and can be displayed when needed.
For more information on this section, consult the Customization page.

 

Extensions Commit Changes Dialog

This dialog asks the user for approval for changes the extension wants to make to the data. 

The dialog displays:

  • The list of the affected tables
  • The list of data changes with the new content:
    • Rows added (green)
    • Rows deleted (red)
    • Rows modified (yellow)
    • Rows moved, sequence is changed (blue)
    • Rows replaced (magenta)

If you approve the change you can always rollback the changes with the undo.

commit changes

For Developers: See also the DocumentChange API

 

 

Window menu

New Window

The command opens a new window with the same contents as the already open window.

Arrange side by side

With this command you can see, within the Banana Accounting program, the various files open at the same time, arranged side by side. If you have two screens, it is also very practical to open the Banana Accounting program have an accounting file open and in each one; this way you will have more visual space. For more information see below.

View two files simultaneously

The two files are displayed within the same program. The Info window at the bottom changes according to the file in which you are working with the cursor.

There are two ways to view two or more files at the same time.

Open the two files side by side in Banana Accounting
  • Open the two files via the File > Open.
  • Click Window > Tile menu.

aprire due file Banana affiancati

Open the Banana Accounting program twice simultaneously
  • Open the Banana Accounting program twice, starting from Windows startup.
  • Open an accounting file in each of the programs,

This is a great solution if you have a large screen or two screens connected to the same computer.

Next window or Previous window

When multiple files are open, they are listed in the Next window command menu.

This command allows you to switch from one file to another. The Ctrl+Tab keyboard shortcut is also very useful.

By clicking the small downward arrow next to the icon, a list appears from which you can directly select the file to view. Alternatively, by clicking the icon itself, you switch to the next file in the listed order.

Passa facilmente da un file all'altro dalla barra degli strumenti

Warning messages, Acoustic signal, Clear messages

In the section reserved for messages, you can choose whether and how they should be reported. If you activate Empty messages, all messages in the information window below are deleted.

Appearance

The command allows you to customize the Interface and you have the following options:

  • Show Develop Menu
    See more information on the page Develop Menu
  • Show Cell Editor
    If the display is disabled, the editor for writing text does not appear at the top below the toolbar, but you can still write text within each cell.
  • Show row editor key
    If activated, the button to edit the row contents will be displayed. By clicking on the row editor button at the bottom right, a window will be displayed in which it will be possible to edit the single rows through a form view. This mode has been designed to facilitate the input of texts on tablet or mobile devices.
  • Show Info Window
    If disabled, the bottom information window, graphics and error messages are not displayed.
  • Show Status Bar
    If disabled, the status bar at the bottom of the window is not displayed, where the row number and zoom setting is shown.
  • Display theme
    This option allows setting the dark mode functionality in the following modes:
    • System default - the setting is taken over from your operating system.
    • Dark - the dark mode is set.
    • Light - the light mode is set.

Preview

The command allows you to preview the document.

Start Page

With the command you can choose whether or not to display the home page.

Recently opened file list

Recently opened files are listed at the bottom of the Window menu. The file in use is selected, the others remain in the background.

 

Develop Menu

In Banana Accounting Plus this feature is only available with the Advanced plan.

The developer Menu can be made visible with the command:

Development options

Contains useful options for developers of scripts, apps or http pages for Banana Accounting.

Enable Screenshots (Ctrl + 3)

When the function is activated, with the combination of the keys Ctrl + 3 you can take screenshots and save the images of the tables and dialog boxes of the program.
Also refer to Enable sreenshots.

Show Debug output window

When activated 'Debug output' is displayed in the lower part of the main program window. All debugging messages will be displayed in this panel. The debug messages allow to verify the correct functioning during the execution of scripts, apps or calls to the web server. They are aimed at developers of scripts, apps or http sheets.

For more information see the Debugging page.

System info

This section displays information about the operating system and working environment.Information can be requested from technical support.In this case, click on the Copy to clipboard button and paste the data in the e-mail message or in the contact form.

System info

This section displays information about the operating system and working environment. Information can be requested from technical support. In this case, click on the Copy to clipboard button and paste the data into the e-mail message or into the contact form.

info sistema

 

Taking screenshots

This feature is available by using the key Ctrl+3. Facilitates the capture and saving of a program image.
In order to use this feature you need to activate it via Window-> Develop -> Enable screenshot (Ctrl + 3)
It is useful for preparing documentation, as it only captures the part of the program windows that you are interested in.

Capturing the image

When capturing an image we advise you to use a 90% zoom, so more data will fit in the image but you still get readable texts.

  • Capture all
    It creates an image of the full Banana window.
  • Capture table and info window
    It only captures the table and the info window below the table (without menus, toolbar and status bar).
  • Capture table
    It only capture the table
  • Capture columns
    It only captures the table, and only up to the maximum columns width (it doesn't include the white spaces).

Resize window (pixel)

It resizes the program window to a pre-defined size, so if you take multiple shots you always have the same size.

Hide / Show window's components

It allows you to see more table rows, by hiding the toolbar, the info window and the status bar.

Windows  - How to remove the dialogue windows shadow

Windows 8 e 10 "enhance" their dialog windows by adding a shadow to them. When capturing the window image you therefore also see the background.

In order to avoid this you can proceed as follows:

  • From the Windows search box type Sysdm.cpl
  • Go to the Advanced section
  • Visual effects Settings
  • Uncheck the option Show shadow

Help Menu

The Help menu gives access to the followings commands:

  • User's guide - gives access to the documentation that explains the various functions of the program and the accounting issues.
  • Keyboard shortcuts  - contains the list of all keyboard shortcuts with detailed use description.
  • Check for updates - connects to our website to check if there are newer versions of the software
  • Support center  - access to the Banana Accounting support web page
  • Manage subscription  
    The dialogue box to manage your subscription, indicating the following information:
    • Email with which you registered and the possibility to remove it.
    • Version in use and expiration.
    • Link to unlock your version with a product key.
    • Link to purchase a subscription.
    • Link that checks the availability of an updated subscription.
  • About Banana Accounting 
    Opens a window that shows technical information about the program such as version number, serial number, Copyright.....

 

Keyboard shortcuts

You can also consult the list of keyboard shortcuts directly from the program, by choosing Keyboard shortcuts from the Help menu.

 Keyboard shortcuts for Windows computers

Accounting Keys

Description

F9

Perform simple recheck.

Shift+F9

Perform global recheck.

F6

This key executes different functions depending on the column the user is working on. The functions are explained in the information window.

Alt+ Left click

Display the Extract rows table or the Account card table when clicking on an account number.

. (Full stop/Period)

On a date column insert the current date.

Editing Keys

Description

Enter, Tab

Confirming keyed-in text and advance one cell.

Alt+Enter

Confirming keyed-in text and advance one row.

Shift+Tab

Confirming keyed-in text and return to previous cell.

F2

Edit content of cell.

Double click

Edit content of cell. Under the program options you can select to edit content of cell with a single click.

Backspace, Space

Delete content of current cell and edit the content.

Backspace

Delete preceding character.

Del

Delete subsequent characters.

Ctrl+C

Copy selected text or cells.

Ctrl+V

Paste copied text or cells.

Del

Delete content of selection.

not assigned

Delete text from the cursor point to the end of the cell.

F4

Copy previous cell from same column.

Shift+F4

Copy previous cell from same column and advance one cell.

Ctrl+Shift+C

Copy selected rows.

Ctrl+Shift+V

Insert copied rows.

Ctrl+-

Delete selected rows.

Ctrl+DDuplicate selected rows.

Ctrl++

Insert rows before position of cursor.

Ctrl+Enter, Ctrl+Return

Add one row below position of cursor.

Moving keys

Description

Left

Scroll towards left.

Right

Scroll towards right.

Up

Scroll up.

Down

Scroll down.

PgUp

Scroll up one screen page.

PgDown

Scroll down one screen page.

Home

Scroll to beginning of row.

End

Scroll to end of row.

Ctrl+Home

Scroll to top-left angle of table.

Ctrl+End

Scroll to bottom-right angle of table.

Ctrl+Left

Moves towards left to the edge of the current data region.

Ctrl+Right

Moves towards right to the edge of the current data region.

Alt+UpMove rows up.
Alt+DownMove rows down.

Ctrl+Up

Moves up to the edge of the current data region.

Ctrl+Down

Moves down to the edge of the current data region.

Alt+PgDown

Next view.

Alt+PgUp

Previous view.

Ctrl+PgDown

Next table.

Ctrl+PgUp

Previous table.

Ctrl+Tab

Next window.

Ctrl+Shift+Backtab

Previous window.

F5

Scroll to desired row by keying in row number in active window.

Shift+F5

Go to original row.

Selection Keys

Description

Shift+PgUp

Select column moving upwards, page by page.

Shift+PgDown

Select column moving downwards, page by page.

Shift+Left

Select row to left.

Shift+Right

Select row to right.

Shift+Up

Select upper column.

Shift+Down

Select lower column.

Shift+Home

Select back to start of row.

Shift+End

Select forward to end of row.

Ctrl+Shift+Home

Select back to top of table.

Ctrl+Shift+End

Select forward to end of table.

Ctrl+A

Select entire table.

Other Keys

Description

Ctrl+F4

Close active window.

not assigned

Exit program.

Ctrl+N

New file.

Ctrl+S

Save.

Ctrl+O

Open.

Ctrl+P

Print.

Esc

Cancel operation.

Ctrl+Z

Undo operation.

Ctrl+Y

Redo operation.

Ctrl+F

Find.

F3

Find next.

Ctrl+B

Bold text.

Ctrl+I

Italic text.

F1

View help.

Multimedia keyboard

Is performed by

Function key (eg. F6)

Press the fn key as well as the corresponding function key (e.g. Fn+F6).

 

 Keyboard shortcuts for Mac (Apple) computers

Keyboard shortcuts on Apple computers are slightly different from those on Windows. The main difference is that instead of the Crtrl key on the Mac keyboard there is the Command key. You can find the complete list under Help → Keyboard shortcuts.

Accounting Keys

Description

⌘9

Perform simple recheck.

⇧⌘9

Perform global recheck.

⌘6

This key executes different functions depending on the column the user is working on. The functions are explained in the information window.

⌥ Left click

Display the Extract rows table or the Account card table when clicking on an account number.

. (Full stop/Period)

On a date column insert the current date.

Editing Keys

Description

⌤, ⇥

Confirming keyed-in text and advance one cell.

⌥⌤

Confirming keyed-in text and advance one row.

⇧⇥

Confirming keyed-in text and return to previous cell.

⌘2

Edit content of cell.

Double click

Edit content of cell. Under the program options you can select to edit content of cell with a single click.

⌫, Space

Delete content of current cell and edit the content.

⌫

Delete preceding character.

⌦

Delete subsequent characters.

⌘C

Copy selected text or cells.

⌘V

Paste copied text or cells.

⌦

Delete content of selection.

not assigned

Delete text from the cursor point to the end of the cell.

⌘4

Copy previous cell from same column.

⇧⌘4

Copy previous cell from same column and advance one cell.

⇧⌘C

Copy selected rows.

⇧⌘V

Insert copied rows.

⌘-

Delete selected rows.

⌘D

Duplicate selected rows.

⌘+

Insert rows before position of cursor.

⌘⌤, ⌘↵

Add one row below position of cursor.

Moving keys

Description

←

Scroll towards left.

→

Scroll towards right.

↑

Scroll up.

↓

Scroll down.

⇞

Scroll up one screen page.

⇟

Scroll down one screen page.

↖

Scroll to beginning of row.

↘

Scroll to end of row.

⌘↖

Scroll to top-left angle of table.

⌘↘

Scroll to bottom-right angle of table.

⌥←

Move towards left to the edge of the current data region.

⌥→

Move towards right to the edge of the current data region.

⌥↑

Move rows up.

⌥↓

Move rows down.

⌥←

Move cursor to previous cursor position.

⌥→

Move cursor to next cursor position.

⌘↑

Move up to the edge of the current data region.

⌘↓

Move down to the edge of the current data region.

⌥⇟

Next view.

⌥⇞

Previous view.

⌘⇟

Next table.

⌘⇞

Previous table.

⌘}

Next window.

⌘{

Previous window.

⌘5

Scroll to desired row by keying in row number in active window.

⇧⌘5

Go to original row.

Selection Keys

Description

⇧⇞

Select column moving upwards, page by page.

⇧⇟

Select column moving downwards, page by page.

⇧←

Select row to left.

⇧→

Select row to right.

⇧↑

Select upper column.

⇧↓

Select lower column.

⇧↖

Select back to start of row.

⇧↘

Select forward to end of row.

⇧⌘↖

Select back to top of table.

⇧⌘↘

Select forward to end of table.

⌘A

Select entire table.

Other Keys

Description

⌘W

Close active window.

⌘Q

Exit program.

⌘N

New file.

⌘S

Save.

⌘O

Open.

⌘P

Print.

⎋

Cancel operation.

⌘Z

Undo operation.

⇧⌘Z

Redo operation.

⌘F

Find.

⌘G

Find next.

⇧⌘G

Find previous.

⌘B

Bold text.

⌘I

Italic text.

⌘?

View help.

⌘3

Save screenshot of current dialog or table.

MacBook keyboard

Is performed by

⌦

fn⌫

↖

fn←

↘

fn→

⇞

fn↑

⇟

fn↓

⌘↖

fn⌘↖

⌘↘

fn⌘↘

 

About Banana Accounting+

In the About dialog window (menu Help → About Banana Accounting+), you will find various information about the program.

Version

The version number you are using (eg 10.0.4) of Banana Accounting + is clearly visible. Banana Accounting Plus, numerically it is version 10, which will be continuously improved, so there will be additional version numbers, eg10.0.1, 10.0.2, etc. for each subsequent release.
Important: for any technical question, before contacting the support service, make sure you have the latest release (by downloading it from our download page)

Along with the version number you will also find the serial number, web address and Copyright information.

Patents and legal notices

In this tab you will find again the Copyright information, the Banana Accounting patents and the trademark declarations. You will also find the indication of all the programming platforms that the software uses with the relative licenses and copyrights.

Credits

In this section, acknowledgments and credits are given to all those who have participated and still actively participate in the development, maintenance and promotion of our program.

Error messages

When the programme encounters errors, a dialogue box appears to report them:

Finestra messaggio di errore

  • Select the OK button to display each individual message.
  • By activating the Do not report option, all error messages reported by the programme are saved in the Error messages window.
  • Information on the Help button can be found under Contextual Help.

Warnings and error messages

If the program displays error messages

  • Revert to the the help page for the reported error: in the 'Info' and 'Messages' (where the error messages appear), next to the error message, the  symbol will show. By clicking on this symbol, you will be connected directly to the online page corresponding to the error, containing the possible causes and solutions.
  • If the error persists:
    • Update your software to the latest available version, by downloading it at the following page Download.
    • Check Accounting (menu Actions).
    • In Multi-currency Accounting, ensure that Exchange Rate differences have been generated and applied (menu Actions).

Deactivate and Reactivate error messages

To deactivate/reactivate the display of the dialogue of messages:

  • from the Window menu, put or remove the check mark on the Warning messages command.
  • from the Actions menu launch the Check accounting command.

Accounting Applications

Banana Accounting Plus offers various easy to use and professional applications, inspired by Excel, that allow for instant results.
The accounting Apps use an accounting calculation, planning and reporting engine, based on the Double-entry accounting method and offer several common features.

Income & Expense accounting

  • Cash Manager  (previously Cash Book)
    For management of a single account, with the possibility of classifying income and expenses by category. 
  • Income & Expense accounting.
    To manage comprehensive accounting with various balance sheet accounts and categories, to which income and expenses are attributed.
    This is a simplified mode of use, that doesn't require knowledge about Debit and Credit. There are also Balance Sheet and Income statement reports.

Double-entry accounting

  • Double-entry accounting with or without VAT options
    Comprehensive accounting solution, according to the Double-entry method. Transactions are classified by indicating the Debit and Credit account. The financial statements are complete with Balance Sheet, Income statement, Journal and Account cards.
  • Multi-currency accounting with or without VAT options
    Double-entry accounting offering the possibility to manage accounts in different currencies:
    • Accounts for customers and suppliers, in various currencies.
    • Transaction with current, historical or freely set exchange rate.
    • Invoices in the currency of the customer's account.
    • Balance sheet and account movement in base currency or that of the account in foreign currency.
    • Calculation of unrealized exchange gains and losses (exchange rate differences).

Accounting applications

Invoicing integrated in accounting

  • Invoice entry as normal transaction rows.
  • Columns for different contents, related to invoices.
  • With or without VAT.
  • Ability to edit and correct.
  • Printing of a single invoice or bundling of several invoices via a simple command.
  • Choice of different print print formats available. and customizable.
  • Exports in digital format via Extensions.
  • Customizable recalls and account statements.

VAT management

Any national specifications supported:

  • VAT code table to indicate the different VAT rates and case studies. Any VAT transaction supported.
  • Automated VAT calculation, net or gross..
  • VAT control reports.
  • Electronic transmission of VAT data on the VAT platform of the Swiss Confederation.
  • National extensions for VAT reporting based on the requirements of tax authorities.

Financial Planning

  • For existing companies or startups.
  • Inclusion of budget by means of transactions in budget.
  • Automatic assumption of repetitive expenses or income (rent, wages, bank charges, etc.).
  • Possibility to indicate item code, quantity and price.
  • Javascript calculation formulas to automate the dependent values (calculation of interest on the actual use of a loan).
  • The program automatically sets up financial plans, complete with liquidity planning, balance forecasts, balance sheet and provisional income statement and movements on an account.
  • Automatic financial projections for several years.
  • Choice of display per period.
  • Comparison between Budget and Finalized Balance Sheet.

Features for accounting applications

The various accounting applications provide different functionalities.

These features can be activated or added as per your requirements.
The program is easily applied because, if a feature is not used, it is not activated.

Accounting setup

  • Works in any currency. The currency symbol is chosen from the list or freely set. 
  • Possibility to alter the number of decimals (generally 2), from 0 to 12 decimals to manage crypto-currencies.
  • Accounting period is set freely, either as a calendar year or with a start and end date different from the calendar year.
  • Choice of accounting language.

Files and data saving (similar to Excel)

Applicable to all Banana applications:

  • Create new file starting from preset templates or from own files.
  • The data for an accounting year are saved in one single file.
  • The file can be located on any media, computer, network, cloud or sent by email.
  • Possibility to manage unlimited number of accounting files, of any kind.
  • Data is accessible to multiple users simultaneously, but to one person only when in edit mode.

Chart of Accounts

  • Plan and structure of accounts are fully customizable.
  • Numeric or alpha-numeric account and group number.
  • Possibility to add notes or further columns.
  • Grouping and totals are adaptable and according to any nationally required grouping scheme.
  • Balance, account movement and totals are displayed and updated in real time.
  • Cost and profit centres, for detailed control of costs and revenues of specific activities or projects.
  • Segments for reporting by sector (branch), thanks to Segments.
  • Customer details with monitoring of pending invoices, reminders and account statements.
  • Supplier statements with monitoring of paid and pending invoices.
  • Management of customers and suppliers, also as non-Balance Sheet accounts (with cost centre) for accounting managed with the cash method.
  • Off-Balance sheet accounts.

Transactions

  • Single or collective transactions (on multiple rows).
  • Accrual or cash method.
  • Use of Excel type interface, select, copy and paste, add lines, search and replace.
  • Suggestions, auto-complete and memorization of repetitive operations for faster input.
  • Automatic or customized numbering of documents.
  • Ability to edit data entered, organize or add columns and any other information. 
  • Link to files of receipts in digital format (pdf, images) and opening of documents by a click.
  • Import of data from bank statements:
    • Several formats are supported.
    • Possibility to complete or remove imported operations. 
  • Row colouring.
  • Possibility to have different displays of columns.
  • Contextual information concerning account balance, differences or errors.

Blockchain for data protection

  • Protection of movements entered with digital data certification technology (similar to Bitcoin).
  • Compliance with legal requirements.
  • Transfer of data to auditor with the certainty of impossibility of tampering.

Standard and customized reports:

  • Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Journal, Account cards.
  • Customization and saving of print settings.
  • Export and link data to Excel.

Charts

  • Overview of account evolution.
  • Comparison of Budget and Final Accounts.
  • Real time display while entering.

Check Accounting

  • Check accounting command. In one click, the accounting is recalculated as if all transactions were inserted again.
  • Any erroneous settings, differences or errors will be reported.
  • Each report is linked to a help page that explains the causes and provides the solutions.
  • Possibility to correct anytime.

Year-end closing and Creation of New Year

  • Automatic process for creating new year files, with report of balances and profit or loss.
  • You may start working on the new year, even if you have not closed the previous one.
  • Command to report the final balances when the previous year has been closed.
  • Possibility to add and print year-end notes.
  • Command for archiving all data and printouts in pdf format.

Various

  • Creating new files starting from an existing file.
  • Converting from one accounting type to another, in order to grow and add functionalities.
  • Adding other tables:
    • Items Table
      • Serves to indicate items to be included in invoicing.
        May serve as a small inventory or securities management.
    • Documents Table:
      • To store images (company logo) or text documents (for example Javascript programs).
    • Other tables:
      You can add tables where you may enter notes or other information. Tables can be customized by adding columns to them.

 

XBRL Report

Ability to create instances of XBRL files suitable for different countries.

Double-entry accounting

Double-entry accounting is an application of Banana Accounting Plus, to manage your accounts with great professionalism. It is free up to 70 transactions, in the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus. In the Professional and Advanced plans it is instead unlimited.

Ideal for SMEs, experienced accountants and frequent bookkeepers. Work fast and get the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss statement, Financial Planning, Budget and many other reports in no time.
Many complex operations, such as VAT management, multi-currency, budgeting and profit and loss accounts have been made very simple because they are all automated.

Registrazioni della contabilità doppia

Many functions, more automation

Learn more

 

Comenzar contabilidad por partida doble

Crear un archivo de contabilidad a partir de una plantilla

Sigue los siguientes pasos:

  1. Menú Archivo, comando Nuevo.
  2. Selecciona la Región, la Categoría y el Tipo de contabilidad.
  3. De la lista de las plantillas que aparece, selecciona la que más se adecue a tus necesidades.
  4. Haz clic en Crear.

En Buscar, cuando se introduce una palabra clave, el programa muestra las plantillas que contienen la palabra clave introducida.

También es posible empezar desde un archivo en blanco, mediante la opción Crear archivo en blanco. En cualquier caso, para facilitar el inicio y evitar errores de agrupación, recomendamos que siempre se empiece desde un modelo ya existente.

Create new file, image version 9.0.4

Más información sobre cómo crear un archivo desde cero disponible en la página Create New File.

Configuración de las propiedades de los archivos (datos de base)

  • Desde el menú Archivo, comando Propiedades del archivo y contables, indica el nombre de la compañía que aparecerá en el encabezado de las impresiones y en el resto de los datos.
  • Selecciona  la moneda base, con la que se guardará la contabilidad.

Guardar en disco

En el menú Archivo -> Guardar como, guarda los datos y asigna un nombre al archivo. Aparece el usual diálogo de guardar de tu sistema operativo.

  • Es aconsejable utilizar el nombre de la empresa seguido del año: "Compañía-2020" para distinguirlo de otros archivos contables.
  • El programa añadirá la extensión "ac2".
  • Puedes mantener tantas cuentas como necesites, cada una tendrá su propio nombre.
  • Puedes elegir la carpeta que quieras, (Por ejemplo, Documentos -> Contabilidad) y el soporte que prefieras, como un disco duro, usb o la nube.

Uso general del programa

Banana Accounting se inspira en Excel. Las instrucciones de uso y los comandos se han mantenido lo más parecido posible a los de Microsoft Office. Para más información sobre el uso general del programa, nos remitimos a las explicaciones de nuestra página Program interface.
La contabilidad está recogida en tablas; todas ellas tienen el mismo modo de funcionamiento.

Personalizar el plan de cuentas

En la tabla Cuentas, personaliza el plan de cuentas y adáptalo a tus necesidades:

  • Añade nuevas cuentas y/ o elimina cuentas existentes  (ver Añadir nuevas líneas)
  • Modifica los números de cuenta, las descripciones (por ejemplo, inserta el nombre de tu propia cuenta bancaria), inserta otros grupos, etc.
  • Para crear subgrupos, por favor consulta nuestra página Grupos.

En el plan de cuentas también se pueden definir los Centros de coste o Segmentos, utilizados para asignar los importes de forma más detallada o específica.


Los Registros

Los Registros deben ser introducidos en la tabla Registros; juntos constituyen el Libro diario.

transactions

En las correspondientes columnas:

  • Introduce la Fecha.
  • Introduce el Número de documento, que se ha asignado manualmente al documento impreso. Esto te permitirá encontrar los documentos fácilmente, una vez que la transacción contable se ha registrado.
  • Introduce la Descripción.
  • En la columna Cuenta Deber, introduce la cuenta de destino.
  • En la columna Cuenta Haber, introduce la cuenta de origen.
  • Introduce el Importe. En la contabilidad con IVA, introduce el importe bruto, IVA incluido. El programa separará el IVA, dividiendo el costo neto o el ingreso neto.

Acelerar la grabación de los registros

Para acelerar la grabación de los registros, puedes utilizar:

  • la función Smart fill que permite el autocompletado automático de los datos que ya han sido introducidos en una fecha anterior.
  • la función Registros memorizados, utilizada para memorizar las transacciones recurrentes en una tabla separada.
  • importando el extracto de tu cuenta bancaria o postal de la banca electrónica.

Registros con IVA

Para registrar las transacciones con IVA, por favor, procede de la siguiente manera:

Transacciones en múltiples filas

Las transacciones en múltiples filas o Transacciones compuestas son las transacciones que implican más de dos cuentas y los créditos/débitos en varias cuentas (por ejemplo, cuando se pagan facturas diferentes de la cuenta bancaria). En este caso es necesario introducir la transacción en varias filas:

  • En la primera fila, introduce el importe total y la cuenta de débito o de crédito.
  • Cuando se introducen todas las líneas individuales de débito y crédito no debería haber ninguna diferencia.

Para más detalle, consulta la página Transacciones compuestas.

Verificar las facturas de los clientes y proveedores

Banana te permite controlar las facturas a pagar y las facturas emitidas. Por favor, consulta:

La Tarjeta de Cuenta

La tarjeta de Cuenta muestra automáticamente todas las transacciones que se han registrado en la misma cuenta (por ejemplo, efectivo, banco, clientes, etc.).

Para visualizar una tarjeta de cuenta, sólo tienes que posicionarte con el ratón sobre el número de cuenta y hacer clic en el pequeño símbolo azul que aparece.

Tarjeta de cuenta por periodo

Para abrir una tarjeta de cuenta con balances de cuenta en fechas predefinidas, haz clic en el menú Cuenta1, Tarjetas de cuenta, y pincha en Periodo especificado en la pestaña Periodo introduciendo la fecha de comienzo y fin del periodo.

Para más información consulta la página Period.

Imprime las tarjetas de cuentas

Para imprimir una tarjeta de cuenta, sólo despliega la tarjeta desde la tabla de Cuentas o la tabla de Registros y ejecuta la impresión desde el menú Archivo.

Para imprimir varias o todas las Tarjetas de Cuentas, haz clic en Cuenta1, comando Tarjeta de Cuenta, y selecciona la tarjeta de cuenta que quieres imprimir. Mediante el Filtro se pueden seleccionar automáticamente todas las tarjetas de cuenta, o sólo una parte de todas ellas (por ejemplo, sólo las cuentas, centros de coste, segmentos), que necesitan ser impresas.

Para más información véase la página Account Card.

La Hoja de Balance y la Cuenta de Pérdidas y Ganancias

La Hoja de Balance muestra los saldos de todas las cuentas, Activos & Pasivos. La diferencia entre el activo y el pasivo determina el capital.

 

La Cuenta de pérdidas y ganancias muestra todas las cuentas de Gastos & Ingresos. La diferencia entre los Gastos e Ingresos determina el Beneficio o Pérdida del año contable.

La visualización e impresión de la Hoja de Balance se ejecuta desde el menú Cuenta1, comandos Estado de resultados avanzado y Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos.

  • El Estado de resultados avanzado simplemente muestra todas las cuentas sin distinguir Grupos o Subgrupos.
  • El Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos enumera todas las cuentas al tiempo que subdivide los grupos y subgrupos; además, presenta numerosas características para personalizar la presentación, funciones no disponibles en el Estado de resultados avanzado.

Archivar datos en formato PDF

Al final del año, cuando la contabilidad esté hecha, corregida y revisada, puedes almacenar todos los datos contables con el comando Crear Archivo PDF del menú Archivo.

El Presupuesto

Antes de empezar el año contable, puedes crear un presupuesto con tus gastos e ingresos estimados, para tener control sobre la situación financiera y económica de tu empresa.
El presupuesto puede establecerse de dos maneras diferentes:
  1. Tabla Cuentas, columna Presupuesto. Para cada cuenta se indica el presupuesto anual.
    En este caso, cuando configuras el Presupuesto desde el menú Cuenta1, comando Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, la columna Presupuesto muestra las cantidades que se corresponden con el año completo.

  2. En la tabla Presupuesto, que se puede activar a través del menú Herramientas, Agregar nuevas funcionalidades.

    En esta tabla se pueden introducir todos los gastos e ingresos presupuestados por medio de la entrada de transacciones. Si activas esta tabla, la columna de la tabla de cuentas se desactivará automáticamente.
    En este caso se puede establecer un presupuesto detallado, teniendo en cuenta las posibles variaciones a lo largo del año y en diferentes períodos del mismo.

Para más detalle, consulta la página Budget.

 

Characteristics of the Double-entry accounting method

The double-entry bookkeeping application meets the professional criteria for companies and entities of any kind, where accounting is required by law.

  • It is a very powerful tool, but is very flexible and easy to use at the same time, as the different features can be activated or deactivated. This allows you to manage both the main accounting as well as structured Chart of Accounts on several levels: with VAT, customer and supplier management, invoicing, cost centers and segments.
  • It can be edited at any time, offering everyone perfect results. It is ideal for the experienced accountant who wants to work quickly as well as for beginners. For this reason it is used for teaching accounting in many schools.

▶ Video: How to start a Double-entry accounting

Similar to Excel

Excel-like features and commands

Spreadsheet-based

Accounting management is concentrated in three tables, which are used in a similar way to the Excel spreadsheets, but that are already completely set up and programmed with everything needed to keep your accounting quickly and safely.

  • Accounts table.
    Set up all liquidity accounts, customers, suppliers, etc. and enter the opening balances without having to enter them manually in the Transactions table. You can aggregate multiple accounts, such as the cash accounts, bank or post in the liquidity group, so as to have the updated balances and they can be checked immediately.
  • Transactions table.
    The centre of keeping accounts, where the transactions are entered or imported. The debit and credit transactions can be completed with additional information to manage customers and suppliers, issue invoices, manage cost / profit centers, segments, quantities and prices and anything else you need. Scrolling through the table you will have a comprehensive view of all the events. It can be modified in order to always keep accounting in perfect order.
  • Totals table.
    This displays the totals by Group and is used to check the accounting balances.

Further tables can be added to support additional functionalities.

  • Budget table.
    Prepare financial forecasts, with the double-entry method. Complete with liquidity planning, budget and forecast income statement, customer, supplier, investment, project, segments for one or several years.
  • VAT codes table.
    Set the required rates and parameters to be used in the Transactions table for the automatic calculation of VAT and the reports to be presented to the tax authorities.
  • Items table.
    To set up a list of items to be used for billing. The program keeps track of your income and expenses.
  • Free tables.
    To meet further needs.

Quick start

 

Templates

Accounting management focuses mainly on three tables, which are used in a similar way to Excel spreadsheets, but which are already fully set up and programmed with everything needed to keep accounting quickly and safely:

Accounting setup

Multi-lingual

File and data saving

Plan-Execute-Control

In the same file and always with the double-entry method, you can keep the accounting, or your budget or both. The powerful  Plan-Execute-Control approach is very intuitively used.

 Double-entry accounting method

Chart of Accounts

Transactions

Financial forecasting

Balance Sheet and Income statement

Other accounting prints

Charts

Further management

The program also allows you to add additional information to the transaction, allowing you to use the same data needed for VAT management, for tracking customers and suppliers, issuing invoices, generating reports for projects or business sectors and to face the various corporate and tax obligations.

VAT management

Customer management and control

Invoices to customers

Supplier management

Cost and profit centers

Segments

Items table

Control and closure

Error reports and accounting control

Transaction protection

Closing and new year

Exporting and storing data

Extensions and other features

Added functionalities

Documents Table

Other additional tables

Extensions

Comprehensive documentation

 

File and accounting properties

This is where the main data of the accounting file are entered, such as the printout heading, the opening and closing dates, the base currency, the company address, the VAT account, the password, etc

File and accounting properties

The File and accounting properties window has the following tabs:

 

Chart of accounts | Double-entry accounting

The Accounts table is the control room of your accounting. It's use is similar to that of an Excel spreadsheet.
In the Accounts table you set up everything you need to manage the accounting and have a quick updated overview of the financial and economic situation of your company.
accounts table

Ready-to-Use Chart of Accounts

Each accounting application by Banana offers a wide variety of chart of accounts templates, already prepared for immediate use. Simply select the file whose template meets your needs, and you'll have the chart of accounts already set up. File templates can be chosen based on the type of business activity and legal regulations.

They have the following characteristics:

  • Fully customizable chart and account structure.
  • Account and group numbers can be numerical or alphanumeric.
  • Ability to add notes or additional columns.
  • Grouping and totals adaptable to any national grouping scheme.
  • Balances, account movements, and totals displayed and always up to date.
  • Cost and profit centers for detailed control of costs and revenues for specific activities or projects.
  • Segments for sector reporting (branch).
  • Customer database, with control over outstanding invoices, reminders, and statements.
  • Supplier database, control over paid and outstanding invoices.
  • Management of off-budget customers and suppliers (with cost center) for cash-based accounting.
  • Off-balance sheet accounts.

new file

Entering and editing data is simple

  • Add and edit accounts quickly and easily by simply inserting or deleting the row.
  • There is no limit on the number of accounts to be added in the Chart of Accounts.
  • Each account can be set up using numbers or texts.
  • The description can also be very long.
  • The Groups and Subgroups can be freely arranged to compose the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement.
  • The opening balances are immediately entered in the opening column.
  • Columns can be added to enter additional information.
  • Accounts can be renamed and replaced automatically in the Transactions table as well.
  • The columns of the amounts are updated instantly, at glance you know the status of liquidity, capital, sales, profit.
  • Then, set the budget and have the comparison with the final balance.

Flexible grouping system

The grouping system is highly flexible and powerful:

  • It allows to set up the Chart of Accounts according to any national scheme and to adapt exactly to the needs of the company.
  • If you are not satisfied with the arrangement or numbering of accounts and groups, these can easily be changed.

The structure present in the Accounts table is also maintained in the presentation of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

Main elements

  • Sections 
    They are used to indicate the subdivisions of the chart of accounts for printing the balance sheet, income statement, etc.
  • Groups 
    They allow you to create items that total the accounts and subgroups at multiple levels.
  • Accounts 
    These are the elements of accounting where the movements are recorded. They can be indicated in Debit or Credit depending on the nature of the movement, destination or origin.
    Each account has a number or abbreviation (account number), a description, the B class and group to which it belongs, the opening balance, current balance, estimate, etc.

Customer and supplier data

You can have specific accounts for issuing invoices and checking payments. They are usually set at the end of the chart of accounts. They can be set up as register with the totals linked to the balance sheet, or as cost and profit centers, with all the details but without links to the balance sheet.

Cost and profit centers

Great to manage projects or have precise details of a specific event, or to manage customers and suppliers on the Cash principle (collected).

  • Costs and Profits centers
    They are special accounts whose number is preceded by a full stop ".", a comma "," or by a semi-colon ";". Their purpose is to be able to assign some amounts to special accounts other than the general accounting accounts.

Segments

Used to generate financial statements also for different sectors or activities in which the company operates. 

  • Segments
    They are a sort of sub-accounts who's number is preceded by a ":". Their purpose is to be able to assign some transactions to subcategories of the chart of accounts.

Advanced printouts

The following commands allow the user to display and print the accounts in a different way:

The columns of the double-entry Accounts Table

 

The Accounts table is made up of several columns. Depending on the Views, columns are displayed simultaneously. Each column has its own purpose.

The data to be entered in the following columns are explained below:

  • Section
    Codes are being entered that allow the user to print determined parts of the Chart of accounts only, when printing the Enhanced Balance sheet by groups.
     
  • Group
    Contains the code that defines that this is a group row. The group code is then used in the GR column to indicate the total of an account or group.
     
  • Account
    The account number, cost center or segment is being entered.
     
  • Description
    A text to indicate the name of the account, group, or section.
     
  • Disable (only visible in the Other view)
    By entering 1, the account does not appear in the auto-complete list, but can be used in the Transactions table;
    By entering 2, the account is disabled and can not be used.
     
  • BClass
    It indicates whether the account is 1 = Assets, 2 = Liabilities, 3 = Expenses, 4 = Revenue, see Accounts page
     
  • Sum in (Gr)
    The code of a group is indicated so that the programme totals the amount of the line in the group.
    The heading 'Sum in' has been adopted with the Banana Plus version.
    The column name has remained Gr, to maintain compatibility with earlier versions of the programme.
     
  • Gr1 and Gr2
    Enter additional grouping codes to use with external accounting report files.
     
  • Opening balance
    • The account balance is entered at the beginning of the year.
    • Credit amounts must be entered with a minus sign in front
    • The sum of all the amounts, those in debit (positive) and credit (negative) of the accounts belonging to classes 1,2,3 and 4 must result as zero. If the opening balances do not balance, a difference is indicated in the information window.
      If accounts have been added and the difference is not exact, Recalculate the accounting.
    • The opening balance, in the balance sheet accounts, is used to calculate the current balance.
    • If values have been entered in the Budget table, the opening balance is used by the program for opening financial planning.
    • For further information, see the Double Entry Opening Balances page.
       
  • Debit and Credit movements (Protected columns)
    The total of the debit and credit movements included in the Transactions table.
    • If there are no errors, the totals of the two columns are balanced, otherwise a difference is displayed in the Balance column which must be checked and corrected.
    • In line called Difference must be zero, regarding these two columns, it is correct that there are amounts. The important thing is that their values are equal. See also Mathematical Basis of Accounting.
       
     
  • Balance  (Protected column)
    The balance of the account includes the opening balance and the movements in debit and credit.
    The balance in debit is positive, while a credit balance is negative (minus sign).
     
  • Budget
    You enter the budget amount for the current period.
    • The budgeted amount for costs (debit) must be entered in positive, for revenue in negative (credit).
    • If the Budget table has been activated, the Budget column in the Accounts table is protected and the amounts are those calculated on the basis of the budget postings.
       
  • Difference Budget (Protected column)
    The difference between Balance and Budget amount.
     
  • Previous
    The balance of the account at the end of the preceding year.
    With the command Create new year or Update opening balances the values in the Balance column of the file of the preceding year are being carried forward.
    When a new accounting is being created and the user wants to obtain printouts with the amounts of the preceding year, the values of that year have to be entered manually.
     
  • Difference Prev. year (Protected column)
    The difference between the Balance and the amount of last year.
     
  • VATNumber
    The VAT number in case this account is linked to a client or a supplier.
     
  • VATCode
    The VAT code that needs to be applied automatically, when this account is being entered in the debit A/c or credit A/c column of the Transactions.
     
  • Address columns
    These columns are used to enter the addresses of the customer and supplier accounts. If the columns are not present, they can be added by activating them via the Tools → Add new features → Add address columns menu in the Accounts table.
     

Adding or moving columns

  • When an Amount column is being added in the Chart of accounts, the program will calculate the total of the amounts according to the selected grouping scheme
  • Columns added of the number type, on the contrary, are not being totaled.
  • With the Columns setup command, the columns can be displayed, the sequences can be altered and it is equally possible to add other columns.
  • With the Page setup command one can also define the layout of the print (portrait or landscape) and the zoom.
     

Accounts list sorted by description or other criteria

To obtain lists of accounts sorted in different ways, use the Extract and sort rows command from the Data menu. We recommend you to be very careful when sorting the rows with different criteria in order not to create confusion in the groupings and totals.

Views

The chart of accounts is created with default views.
  • Base The principal columns, the grouping columns and the balances are displayed.
  • Transaction The columns with the Debit and Credit transactions are displayed.
  • Budget The Budget column and the Difference Budget column are displayed. 
  • Previous The Previous column and the Difference Prior columns regarding the previous year are displayed. 
  • Other The Disable column, the VAT number and the Fiscal number column are being displayed.
  • Print Only the Account column, the Description and the Balance are being displayed.

The views can be customized and others can be added with the Views setup command.

 

Accounts | Double-entry book-keeping

Accounts constitute the main structure on which all accounting is created. If you open one of the templates included in Banana Accounting, the accounts are already present in the Accounts table and contain all the settings needed to instantly record the transactions in the Transactions table.

The accounts in the Accounts table are divided as follows:

  • Balance Sheet Accounts - Assets and Liabilities.
  • Profit and Loss Accounts - Expenses and Income.
  • Customer and Supplier master Data
  • Account Cost and Profit centers - for managing projects or keeping the Customers / Suppliers register
  • Segment Accounts - for managing business segments or branches.

 

The BClass

The BClass is essential for the correct total of amounts and balances. In the BClass column, each account must be assigned one of the following values, regardless of the account number or group to which it belongs:

  • 1 -  for Assets
  • 2  - for Liabilities
  • 3  - for Expenses
  • 4  - for Income

Groups and subgroups do not have BClass, so the cell of the relevant column remains empty.

BClass of off-balance sheet accounts

Off-balance sheet accounts are those whose amounts and balances do not fall within the totals of the balance sheet and income statement accounts. They are accounts that are entered in the chart of accounts to view guarantees and conditional commitments.
Off-balance sheet accounts must have the following BClass:

  • 5 for Off Balance Sheet Assets
  • 6 for Off Balance Sheet Liabilities
  • 7 - 10 - for other Off Balance Sheet accounts

Add a new account or category

In the Accounts table, Base view, you can add new accounts (or new categories in the Income / Expense accounting).

Before adding an account or a category it is important to know:

  • The account or category number can consist of numbers, letters and separator characters.
  • There cannot be multiple accounts or categories with the same number.
  • Each account must have a grouping (Gr) and a class (BClass).

To add an account or a category proceed as follows:

  • Go to the row preceding the one where the new account or category will be inserted.
  • Add a row with the Edit → Insert row command
  • Fill in the respective columns the account or category number, the description, the BClass (1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for costs and 4 for revenues - only for double-entry accounting), the number of Gr which must be the same as the one entered for the accounts belonging to the same Group.

Warning: if you enter a transaction with an account that does not exist in the chart of accounts and only after creating the new account, you will initially receive an error message; to eliminate it, it is necessary to recalculate the accounting with the command Shift + F9 or through the menu Actions → Recalculate totals.

Rename an account

This is a very useful function because it allows you to change an account and simultaneously have it replaced in the Transactions table. It avoids having to change the account for each transaction that contained the previous account. In addition, it also allows you to rename a group or a VAT code.

  • In the Accounts table go to the Account / Category or Group column, or to the VAT Code column of the VAT Codes table.
  • Use the Data → Rename command.
  • Indicate the new account number, group, category or VAT code.

The program automatically updates the Transactions table with the new VAT number or code.

Delete an account

If an accounting is already started, before deleting an account, make sure that it has not been used in the Transactions table or that it does not have an opening balance.

  • Locate the row of the account that is to be deleted.
  • Use the command Edit → Delete rows command.

After deleting an account or a category it is advisable to use the Actions → Recalculate totals command. If the deleted account or category is in use in transactions, the program reports an error message.

Opening balances of the accounts

The opening balance of an account is shown in the Opening column.

  • Debit (Asset) balances are shown normally.
  • Credit (Liabilities) balances are indicated with a minus sign (in negative) in front of the amount
  • Typically, only the opening balances of the Asset and Liabilities accounts are indicated.

To carry over the opening balances automatically to the following year, see the Create New Year lesson.

Further details on opening balances are available on the Opening balances page.

Differences in opening balances

To have correct accounting, the total of the opening debit balances must match the total of the opening credit balances, so that there are no differences.
If the total does not correspond there will be a notification of the difference between the initial balances in the Info window.
If any account numbers have been changed and there are differences, perform the Full Accounting Recalculation.
When using Banana Accounting for the first time, to create the opening balance, it is necessary to manually enter the opening balances (Opening column), making sure to enter the balances of the Liabilities with the minus sign (-) in front of the amount.

Further details on opening balances are available on the:

Customer and Supplier accounts

Customer and supplier accounts can be entered directly in the Balance Sheet sections, listing the accounts for each customer and supplier and creating two distinct totaling groups, one in the Assets for customers, the other in the Liabilities for suppliers. If the list of customers and suppliers is very extensive, it is possible to create a customers / suppliers ledger at the end of the chart of accounts.

There are several setting options:

Accounts with addresses

In the Accounts table, Address view, there are columns to enter the addresses of customers, suppliers or members. If the columns of the address view are missing, you can add them:

The address columns are essential to be able to manage billing, reminders and the control of payments and collections.

More details are available on the Address page.

address columns for ledger

The Cost and Profit Centers accounts

They are ideal for project management, have precise details on a specific event or for any other need.

  • Cost and profit centers
    They are accounts that have the number preceded by a period ".", by a comma "," or by a semicolon ";" and are used to attribute the transaction amounts to additional accounts as well, with respect to the basic accounting ones.
    All the amounts attributed to the cost and profit centers are separate from the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement and are entirely for information purposes.
     

The Segment Accounts

To have financial statements also of different sectors or activities in which the company operates.

  • Segments
    They are similar to sub-accounts that have the number preceded by a colon ":" and are used to attribute the accounting operations to sub-categories of accounts.

Customize accounts and categories

Adding a new account or category

With Banana Accounting it is possible to customize the chart of accounts by adding or deleting accounts and categories.

To add a new account or category, proceed as follows:

  • Position yourself in the row above the one where you want to add the new account or category.
  • Add a new empty row with the command Edit → Add rows.
  • Enter in the respective columns:
    • The Account number
    • The Description,
    • The BClass (1 for the Assets, 2 for the Liabilities, 3 for the Expenses and 4 for the Revenue)
    • Grouping number (Sum in column) which must be the same as that entered for accounts or categories belonging to the same Totalization Group.

If in the Transactions table you enter a transaction with a non-existing account, the program gives you an error message; to take it away you have to create the new account in the chart of accounts and recheck the accounting with the Shift + F9 key, or with the menu Actions → Recheck accounting command.

Adding a new group

If you want new totalization groups, proceed as follows:

  • Position yourself in the row above the one where you want to add the new group
  • Add a new empty row with the command command Edit → Add rows.
  • Enter in the respective columns:
    • The Group number
    • The Group Description,
    • Grouping number (Sum in column) in which you wish this group to be totalized.

Renaming an account, a group, a category or a VAT Code

This is a very practical function that allows you to rename an account, a category, a group or a VAT code and to have the replacement automatically in the Transactions and Budget table without having to enter them manually.

To rename one of the elements proceed as follows:

  • Position yourself in cell where the account or group (Accounts table) or the category (Categories table), that needs to be renamed, is present.
  • If it is necessary to rename a VAT code, it is necessary to position yourself in the VAT Codes table, on the cell of the code to be substituted.
  • Choose the Data menu → Rename command
  • Indicate the new account, group, category or VAT code number.

Removing an account, a group, a category or a VAT Code

  • Position yourself on the row number that contains the element that is to be deleted
  • Click on the Edit menu → Delete rows.
  • Enter the number of rows that you wish to delete

After deleting an account, a group, a category or a VAT code, it is necessary to use the Recheck accounting command. The program will give you a warning message if the deleted element was used in the transactions.

When deleting a group and not all accounts belonging to the deleted group are deleted, you must change the grouping number in the Sum in column for the remaining accounts, otherwise errors will be reported.

 

Groups

Banana has developed a very practical and immediate grouping system, which allows you to set in the Accounts table all the information necessary to define the structure of the Balance sheet, Profit & loss statement and of other sections of the accounting.

The grouping system is flexible; it allows you to implement any national chart of accounts and at the same time to adapt it to the specific needs of your business. Both very simple and very complex plans and presentations can be created, with multiple levels of totalling, for any type of accounting.

With grouping, the totals of balances, movements and the group budget are displayed immediately.

How it works 

To understand how the Banana grouping system works, please refer to our documentation page:

Grouping and totalling system 

The Banana grouping and totaling system is based on two columns of the Accounts and Categories table:

  • Group (Total row)
    • When, in a row, a group identifier is being entered, the row becomes a total row.
    • In this row the amounts of the Sum in column, that contain the same identifier, are being totaled.
    • In a row, when a group is present, there cannot be an account.
  • Sum in
    • Sums the row amounts in the indicated group.
    • For each account or group row, you indicate the group in which the line is to be totaled.
    • The number here must be one of the numbers defined in the Group column.

Groupings in the Accounts table

Main groups in double-entry accounting

Every accounting file template uses its own totaling system. Hereunder explanation of the main groups of double-entry accounting .

In double-entry accounting, the total of the Debit balances (positive) together with the Credit balances (negative) have to result in 0 (zero). In the case of differences, the group line 00 has a non-zero amount.

The calculation sequence to achieve 00 is therefore as follows:

  • The 1000 accounts > group 1 (Total Assets) > Group 00
  • The 2000 accounts > group 2 (Total Liabilities) > Group 00
  • The 4000 accounts > group 4 (Total Expenses) > Group 02 (result Profit & Loss Statement)  >  Group 206 (Profit/Loss of the current year in the Balance Sheet) > Group 2 (Total Liabilities) > Group 00.
  • The 3000 accounts > group 3 (Total Revenue) > Group 02 (result Profit & Loss Statement)  >  Group 206 (Profit/Loss of the current year in the Balance Sheet) > Group 2 (Total Liabilities) > Group 00.
  • The 00 group is the control row where all the amounts are being added together.
    • It is the "Grand total" of all the Debit & Credit balances as a result of the transactions entered in the Transactions table.
    • If the line in the 00 group shows a difference (non-zero amount), this means that there are mistakes:
      • If the difference is shown in the Accounts table, Opening column (all views) there are differences in the opening balances
      • If the difference is shown in the Accounts table, Balance column (all views) there are differences in the Transactions table. In the Debit and Credit columns of the movement view, the totals are not balanced.
        In cases where the difference is indicated issue the command Check and recalculate accounting. This command suggests any errors that need to be checked and corrected. 
  • In the Debit and Credit columns of the Movement view (Accounts table), the totals of the balances are always reported. If the totals in the two columns are equal, there are no errors.

The result of Profit & loss statement is added in equity capital

As you can see in the example, the Group 02 (Profit /Loss from Profit & Loss statement) is totalized in the 206 liabilities group (current year result).
With this group organization, we have several advantages:

  • The current year operating result is displayed in the balance sheet
  • The Total Liabilities will match the Total Assets (provided that there is no accounting error).

Set up of the Chart of Accounts structure

The chart of accounts in Banana Accounting can be set mainly in two different ways:

1. Structure without subgroups (or subtotals).

In this case, the structure is very simple. You list all accounts without subgroups, and total all accounts or categories in the main groups:

For Double-entry Accounting:

  • Assets
  • Liabilities
  • Expenses
  • Revenue

For Income/Expense Accounting or Cash Manager (Categories table):

  • Income
  • Expenses

2. Structure with subgroups

The structure is more complex. The accounts or categories of the main groups are divided into several subgroups, which in turn are totaled into the corresponding main groups.

Here we present a structure of the chart of accounts with an example of Subdivision with subgroups in Double-entry Accounting. Each subgroup can be in turn :

  • Assets

    • Current Assets
      • Cash and Cash equivalents
      • Customers
      • Inventory
    • Fixed Assets
      • Furniture
      • Machinery and equipment
      • Computers, software.

  • Liabilities

    • Third-party capital
      • Suppliers
      • Bank loans
      • Other short-term debts
      • Long-term debts
    • Equity
      • Equity
      • Reserve funds
      • Profit and loss carried forward
      • Profit for the year

From the Accounts table, at any time, through the menu File > Print or Print Preview you can print the chart of accounts or part of it.
Always starting from the Accounts table, by selecting the Movement view, you have the printing of the verification balance.

 Adding a new group

  • Position yourself in the row preceding the one where the new group will be entered
  • Add a row with the command Edit > Add Row
  • Type in the group column the group number, description, and the number of the column Sum in where you want this group to be totaled.

Adding a totaling level

With this system it is easy to add totaling levels.
When we want to create a subgroup for the Cash & Cash equivalents accounts:

  • Enter an empty row after the bank account
    • Enter the value 10 into the Group column
    • Enter the value 1 into the Sum in column
  • Indicate the grouping 10 in columns Sum in the accounts 1000 and 1020
  • The sequence for the calculation becomes:
    The 1000 account > Group 10 (Cash & Cash equivalents) > Group 1 (Total Assets) > Group 00. 

The programme totals the following:

  • It totals the accounts in a group row.
    For example, the Cash account is totalled in the Liquidity group.
  • Totallises a group or subgroup in another group, which in turn is totalled in another group, thus building the calculation structure of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.
    For example, the Liquidity group is totalled in Total Assets, which in turn will be totalled in group 00, in the control total row.

add a group in the Accounts table

In case you want to insert another subgroup, "Current Assets", proceed in the same way.

  • Add an empty row above the row of the Total Assets.
  • In the new row:
    • Indicate the number 11 in the Group column
    • Indicate the number 1 in the Sum in column
  • In the Clients and Goods for resale (inventory) rows, indicate the grouping 11 in column Sum in.

Title rows (with Sum in)

Also in the title rows it is useful to indicate the grouping Sum in (the group of the total row) to which it belongs.

In this way, in the printouts of the Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups, if the accounts are zero, the title will not be printed.

Title rows in the Accounts table

Deleting subgroups

In case the Chart of accounts shows subgroups that are no longer needed or not wanted, these can be deleted. Just delete the row of the subgroup and modify the grouping Sum in of every account that was part of that subgroup.

Checking of the structure

Once the Chart of accounts has been set up, execute the Actions menu > Check accounting command. In case there are errors, the program issues a warning.

Infinite loop error

This warning appears when a Group is being totaled in a Group of a lower level, reason for which an infinite error loop is being created.
There would be an infinite loop when, in the preceding example, the Assets Group (1) would be totaled in Group 10.
The program, after having calculated the Group 1, would total the amount in Group 10, which in turn would total the amount in Group 1, and then again in 10 without ending.

Profit & Loss Statement with Gross Profit

It is also possible to use a Profit & Loss Statement that starts with the total Business result and that subtracts the costs.
Hereunder the example of the Swiss PME Chart of Accounts is shown.

Chart of Accouts with scalar setup

Related Documents

 

Sections

In the Section column, there must be an encoding that is used to determine the various settings of the printouts. The various items that make up the financial statements are divided into several sections; each section is as if it were in its own right.

This subdivision into sections allows you to choose whether to print the entire balance sheet and income statement, or choose which sections to print (eg only the balance sheet, or just a group, excluding the other components from printing).

Below we present a table with the coding to be used in the Accounts table, Section column.

*Title 1the asterisk separates the sections and indicates the main headers
**Title 2to be entered for the secondary headers
1Assetsto be entered in the row of the Assets title
2Liabilitiesto be entered in the row of the Liabilities title
3Expensesto be entered in the row of the Expenses title
4Revenueto be entered in the row of the Revenue title
01Client's Registerto be entered in the row of the Client's Register title
02Supplier's Registerto be entered in the row of the Supplier's Register title
03Cost Centersto be entered in the row of the Cost Centers title
04Profit Centersto be entered in the row of the Profit Centers title
#Notesto be entered in the row of the Notes title
#XHidden datato be entered in the row from whereon the data have to be hidden

The type of encoding set in the Section column is used to determine the print settings for Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups.

Each section is printed as if it were a separate table.

Title section

  • * 
    The asterisk indicates a new section. 
    • * Title 1 generates a level 1 folder.
    • This section resets the level type to 1.
    • It can contain level 2 sections or folders.
    • It will be useful for grouping sections that need to be printed together such as the Balance Sheet, which contains both assets and liabilities.
  • ** 
    The double asterisk indicates a level 2 section. 
    • ** Title 2 generates a level 2 folder

When you create a new title section, the numeric section is set to 1.
After a title section, the desired number section must therefore always be reset as well.

Numerical sections

The section number determines:

  • How the amounts are printed; the amounts can be displayed as in the chart of accounts or reversed.
    The credit amounts (in negative,) if they are inverted, are displayed in positive, while those in positive are displayed in negative.
  • Which columns are used to display the amounts; either the Balance column or the Period Movement column is used.
    • The Balance column indicates the account balance at a certain point in time (balance as of June 30th).
    • The Total Period Movement column indicates the amount of the movement in the indicated period; it is used for the income statement and indicates expenses or income for a certain period.

The explanations of the different sections are as follows:

  • 1 Assets (amounts as in the chart of accounts, balance column).
  • 2 Liabilities (inverted amounts, balance column).
  • 3 Costs (amounts as in the chart of accounts, total movement column).
  • 4 Revenues (inverted amounts, total movement column).
    This section can also be used alone and include both costs and revenues (Income statement). In this case, revenues are shown in positive and costs in negative.

These sections must be unique. There can be only one section, 1 Assets or 2 Liabilities. Similar sections can be used for other sections, ledgers or cost centers.

Derived numerical sections

These are sections that behave like the main sections:

  • 01 As Assets (amounts as in the chart of accounts, balance column)
    Is used for the customer register.
  • 02 As Liabilities (inverted amounts, balance column)
    Is used for the suppliers register.
  • 03 As Expenses (amounts as in the chart of accounts, total movement column)
    Is used for cost centers.
  • 04 As Revenue (inverted amounts, total movement column)
    Is used for profit centers.

Other Sections

There are other sections types:

  • # Used to indicate the notes section (print description only)
    To be used for budget annexes.
  • #X Hidden section. This section is not taken up in the selection of the sections nor in the printout. It is used to indicate a part that you do not want to print.

Disposition and width of columns in print

The disposition and the width of the columns are determined automatically by the program:

  • Sections 1, 2, 01, 02 are printed with the balances on the specified date.
  • Sections 3, 4, 03, 04 are printed with the movements for the period.

Sections of the Balance sheet report

In order to divide the Financial Statements into the various sections, the code indicated in the Section column must be entered:

  • Insert a * on the same row as the Balance sheet title.
  • Enter 1 on the same line as the Assets title.
  • Enter 2 on the same line as the Liabilities title.

Balance sheet codification

Sections of the Profit & Loss statement

  • Enter a * on the same line as the Profit & Loss title.
  • Enter 4 on the same line as the Revenue title.
  • Enter 3 on the same line as the Expenses title.

Profit & Loss statement codes

Sections of the Profit & Loss statement in a graduated format

In the case of a graduated income statement, the groups of expenses and revenues alternate and consequently there is no clear distinction between the section of costs and revenues, therefore enter only:

  • A * on the same row as the Profit & Loss Statement title
  • 4 on the blank line below the income statement.

sections for graduated profit & loss

Sections in the customers / suppliers register

The display of the amounts is the same as for assets and liabilities. This coding also applies if customers and suppliers are set up as cost centers.

  • Insert a * on the same row as the Customer / Debtors Register title or on a blank row (as in the example).
  • Enter 01 on the same row as the Customers Register title
  • Enter 02 on the same row as the Suppliers Register title

Customers Suppliers section register

If there are cost and profit centers, you must enter:

  • a * in the same row as the Cost and Profit Centers title or on a blank line
  • 03 on the same row as the Cost Centers title or on a blank line (preceding the cost centers).
  • 04 on the same row as the Profit Centers title or on a blank line (preceding the Profit Centers).

The cost center amounts will be shown in positive as the costs; profit centers will be displayed in negative as revenue.

sections profit and cost centres

 

Related document:

Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups

 

 

Transfer to a new Chart of Accounts

Hereunder we explain how to proceed when:

  • passing to a chart of accounts with a different numbering,
  • retrieve and convert the data of an existing accounting, including the transactions into the new Chart of Accounts.

Converting to the new year

There are two possibilities if you wish to start a new year with a new chart of accounts,

  • Convert the previous year (2022) and then create the new year (2023).
    There will be two files for 2022 (the one containing the Accounts column with the old account numbers and the Accounts_1 column with the new account numbers) and the file for 2023 with only the new chart of accounts.
    This approach is ideal for having the two-year charts of accounts aligned.
    This way you can also continue to make changes in the year 2022 and then resume the initial balances in the year 2023.
  • Create the new year (2023) and then convert the year 2023 file with the balances carried forward.
    The 2022 year file will remain the same. For 2023 there will be an intermediate file, with the old chart of accounts, but the opening balances carried forward.
    The conversion of the year 2023 file can be performed immediately or even after transactions have been entered.
    Having the old account numbers in the year 2022 file, you will not be able to resume any further changes made in 2022 in 2023.

Step 1: Creating a new accounting file

  1. Create a new file:
  2. Adapt the chart of accounting to your own needs.

Step 2: Adding the matching accounts

  1. In the Accounts table:
  2. For each new account, enter the corresponding account in the Account_1 column of the old chart of accounts.
    Should the account remain the same, you may also choose not to indicate it.
  3. In case where several accounts need to be grouped in one, enter the separated accounts with a semi-colon "1000;1001".
  4. If one account needs to be subdivided into several accounts, you need to proceed manually, see below.

Accounts table, new chart of accounts

Step 3: Starting the import operation

import files for passage of new chart of accounts

  • Confirm by clicking the OK button and proceed to the next window
  • Define the import options
  • Enable the Convert account numbers option, indicating that the matches are in the target file.

data import into the new chart of accounts

Repeat the import

If errors are reported, and it is necessary to repeat the import, it is necessary to cancel the import operation, so that the starting file is empty, otherwise the balance amounts will be duplicated, both in the opening balances and in the transactions table.

Subdivision of one account into several accounts

When one transfers to a more detailed chart of accounts, it is probably necessary to subdivide one account into several accounts.
After the import operation, proceed manually in the following way:

  • In the Chart of accounts, subdivide the opening amounts, budget amounts and previous amounts of one account into several accounts.
  • Go over the transactions, one by one, of the account that needs to be subdivided and assign them to the more specific account, or create extra transactions if it is necessary to subdivide one amount into more detailed amounts.
  • Proceed in the same way for the transactions of the Budget table.

Results and possible errors

If the program reports mistakes (absence of accounts or others), the import operation probably needs to be canceled, complete the pairing and then repeat the import operation.

The program, confronted with different charts of accounts, cannot automatically do extensive verifications and guarantee that all the data have been imported and grouped correctly.

It is therefore strongly advised to manually check the result, making sure that the totals of the Balance Sheet and the Profit & Loss Statement are correct.

 

Opening balances | Double-entry accounting

Opening balances when starting an accounting

When using Banana Accounting for the first time, the opening balances need to be inserted manually in order to create the opening balance sheet.

  1. Position yourself in the Accounts table, Base view, Opening column.
  2. Enter the opening balances of the Assets and Liabilities accounts manually. Liabilities are to be entered preceded by the minus sign.
  3. Check if the total Assets equal the total Liabilities so that your accounting squares. If there are differences in the opening balances you need to check and correct them.

opening balances

Difference in opening balances

At the opening of the accounting year, the Assets accounts (positive) must balance with the Liabilities accounts (negative). If this is not the case, the accounts do not balance and error messages are displayed in the information window at the bottom; in this case, the reasons must be checked and corrected, until the message Difference in opening balances disappears. For more information and solutions see:

difference opening balances

Opening balances of Cost Centers

In the Accounts table, the Opening column can also be used to enter the opening balances of the Cost Centers.

Opening balances for Segments

To enter the opening balances of the segments, opening transactions must be entered instead.
More details are available on the Segments page.

Opening balances for an already started accounting

If you start a new accounting, taking over work already done with other programs, there are two possibilities:

  1. Start accounting from the beginning of the year, by entering the opening balances for the beginning of the year (Accounts table, Opening column) and the transactions (Transactions table) that have already been previously recorded with other programs (also see Transferring data from other software). Thus you will have all the accounting details in one file.
  2. Starting from the date when the accounting is resumed:
    • Enter the opening balances (Accounts table, Opening column), taking over the values of the other accounting.
      In addition to entering the opening balances of the Assets and Liabilities accounts, it is also necessary to enter those of the Expenses (positive amounts) and Revenues (negative amounts).
    • The operating result up to that point must be disclosed in the Profit / Loss carried forward account.
      If it is a profit, the opening balance must be entered in negative, if it is a loss as a positive.
    • Check that the sums of the opening balances are zero, so that the program does not signal any differences.
    • Enter the new entries in the Transactions table.

Opening balances as opening transactions

Opening balances can also be entered as opening transactions in the Transactions table.

For each opening transaction, proceed as follows:

  • Indicate the accounting start date as the transaction date.
  • In the Doc Type column, enter the code "01".
  • Indicate the debit or credit account and the amount.
  • The total of the opening debit balances must match those in credit.

Opening balances entered as transactions are used when preparing reports. The opening balance of the transactions is added to the amount entered in the Opening column of the Accounts table.

 Balances of the previous year

If you start a new accounting by taking over an existing accounting and you want the previous year's values to appear on the printouts, it is necessary to enter the previous year's balances in the Previous view, Previous Year (Prior) column of the Accounts table:

  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year of the Assets accounts.
  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year of the Liabilities accounts (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).
  • Enter the last year's closing balances of the Expenses.
  • Enter the final balances of the previous year of Revenues (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).

 

previous balances

Create new year

When you start the new year, the program automatically carries over the opening balances to the following year.
Consult the Create New Year lesson.

If for some particular need, opening balances need to be changed, these can be modified manually in the Opening column of the Accounts table. After each modification, make sure that there are no accounting differences. Anyway, we recommend carrying over the opening balances with the Create new year command or, if the accounting for the new year has already been created, use the Update opening balances command.

The account card is in automatic and it is not possible to directly enter the opening balance or make changes.

To change an opening balance of an account card, you need to go to the Accounts table, Opening column, whereas to correct movements, you need to change the entry in the Transactions table.

Print opening balances

To print the opening balances:

Differences in the opening balances

At the opening of the Accounting year, the amounts of the Total Assets should correspond to the Total Liabilities. Otherwise, the accounting balance will not square and it is necessary to verify the reasons and correct the error, so that there is no Difference in the opening balances message displayed in the information window .

There may be several causes that lead to a difference in the opening balances:

  1. When using the program for the first time, the liabilities were not entered with a minus sign in front of the amount.
  2. The result of the previous year was not automatically allocated when creating a new year.
  3. The balances for expenses and income have been carried over, when creating a new year, whilst they should not have been.
  4. When opening balances have been entered manually, the previous year's operating result has not been taken into account. In this case the difference corresponds to the carried forward profit or loss.
  5. When allocating the profit to multiple accounts is performed manually, thousands separators and decimals other than those provided in Banana Accounting were used for the amounts.

The solutions for each single error are explained in the error explanation page, at the https://www.banana.ch/doc/en/contamsg_en_tot_teid11des?portal=banana link.

In the example, the program reports a difference in opening balances of 800.-

difference opening balances

After having checked and corrected the opening balances the Total Assets must correspond to the Total Liabilities.

It is also possible to check and square the balances in the Totals Table.

 

Transactions Table | Double-entry accounting

The Transactions table is the central hub for keeping the accounts, where all the operations with financial and economic impact are entered. The use is similar to Excel. In the Transaction table the movements are always visible and in perfect order and by scrolling them, you instantly have a clear view of all the events.
All the data entered can be modified and corrected, making it easy to have a perfect accounting.

The Transaction Table is also characterized by the Balance Column, which allows identifying any differences between the Debit and Credit columns and especially the row where the difference originated. Additionally, errors and accounting differences are flagged in the information window at the bottom.

transactions table

Key features:

  • Single or compound entries: Single entries record simple transactions with one Debit and one Credit account, while compound entries are entered on multiple lines with different Debit and Credit accounts. The program suggests previously entered text for quick auto-completion.
  • Recording Method: Transactions can be recorded using either the accrual or cash method, ensuring accuracy and compliance with accounting standards.
  • Management of Repetitive Operations: Stores repetitive operations for quick future recording, reducing data entry time.
  • Customizable Columns: Default columns can be made visible at the user's choice, including quantity, price, and other relevant information.
  • Automatic Numbering: Automatically assigns document numbers with different numbering simultaneously, maintaining systematic order and facilitating search and archiving.
  • Digital Attachments: Links digital justifications such as PDFs or images to files, accessible with a simple click for complete and organized documentation.
  • Exception Management: Highlights rows to quickly identify entries to verify or correct, facilitating the review and control process.
  • Data Integration: Imports transactions from various digital bank statements and other programs, speeding up entry of records and ensuring data accuracy.
  • Cost/Profit Centers and Segmentation: Allows recording operations on cost/profit centers and segments for detailed analysis and better financial management.
  • Balance Verification Entries: Before period or year-end closings, quickly identifies and corrects errors between actual balances, ensuring accurate and updated balances.

Fast insertion

The table is similar to Excel, you can scroll up and down and position yourself in any cell.

There are many features that make entering and editing data very fast.

The following operations are possible:

  • Cancel and redo.
  • Select one or more cells and copy / paste.
  • Add, copy, paste and delete lines, individually or in bulk.
  • Search and replace texts.
  • Sort the rows by date.
  • The auto-complete function suggests the values to enter (for example the list of accounts).
  • With the F6 key the values of the row are completed, taking over those of the same row.
  • The F4 key resumes the values from the previous row.
  • The date is completed with the values from the previous row.
  • In the Doc column progressive numbers (with different counters) are suggested.
  • In the Debit or Credit Account column you can search for the account by typing it's description.
  • In the columns of the amounts you can enter formulas, such as "30 + 25" and the program inserts the result.

Further information is available on the pages:

 

Movements import

By importing transactions from bank, postal or credit card statements, data entry in the Transactions table is speeded up and errors are avoided. Data is recorded exactly as it appears on the bank statement.

  • In addition to the account statements, you can also import data from other programs.
  • The program automatically completes the missing values.
  • Several formats are available for importing.
  • You can copy and paste data from other programs.
  • Imported data can be completed, modified or deleted.
  • Ability to program extensions to import any type of file.

Further information is available on the Import to Accounting page.

Management of multiple information

A lot of information can be indicated for each entry row:

  • The value date and that of the document.
  • A progressive number of document and protocol, or external reference.
  • Any additional information you need by adding columns.
  • Link to a digital document file.
    • Add and remove links.
    • Open the link and view the content.
  • VAT management (if the type of accounting with VAT was chosen in the creation of the file):
    • By entering the VAT code in the transaction, the program calculates the VAT automatically.
    • Break down and post the VAT on the designated account.
    • You can define whether the amount is net or gross of VAT.
    • You can indicate that it is a reversal by inserting the minus sign "-" before the VAT code.
    • You can indicate a VAT percentage that is not recoverable.
    • You can encode special cases with additional codes.
  • Cost and Profit centres:
    • Up to 3 cost and profit centers for each posting line.
    • You can post negative by indicating the "-" sign in front of the cost or profit center account.
  • Segments:
    • For each debit or credit account you can indicate up to 10 segments.
  • Supplier management:
    • Management both on the basis of competence (setting as ledger) and cash (setting as cost and profit centers).
    • Management of due date and payment, to have the report of open and paid invoices.
  • Client management:
    • Management both on the basis of competence (setting as ledger) and cash (setting as cost and profit centers).
    • Management of due date and payment, to have the report of open and collected invoices.
  • Invoices to customers:
    • Data entry for the creation of invoices.
    • Customer account suggestion.
    • Quantity and price (make columns visible).
      • For billing or cost control.
      • Automatic calculation of the amount.
    • Item number (if option activated)
      • To connect to the items table.
      • Automatic calculation of the quantities of products entered and exited.
    • Print invoices.
    • Indication of further information needed to print the invoice.

Account card

From the Transactions table you can access any account card, just go to the account cell (in the Debit or Credit column) and click on the small icon that appears in the upper right corner of the cell.

When you are in the account card, clicking on the row number of a transaction takes you back to the Transactions table, on the original transaction precisely.

More information on account cards can be found on the Account / Category Card page.

Verify data

Entering values ​​is very secure. Banana Accounting has functions that allow automatic detection and reporting of errors.

  • The program verifies that the entered values ​​are correct.
  • If there is an imbalance between the Debit and Credit columns, this will be indicated in red in the Info window.
  • Transactions you are unsure about can be left pending and completed later.
  • For each error message there is a corresponding help page (requires internet connection).
  • In the Info window below you have the following information:
    • Description, movement and balance of the accounts used.
    • Error reports error messages with a link to the help page.
    • Reporting of the debit and credit difference.
  • By entering the actual bank balances via the #checkbalance function, you can immediately check the correspondence of the balances in the accounting and avoid errors.
  • With the Check accounting command, the program rechecks all the data entered and alerts you to oversights and errors.
  • You can colour the rows, change fonts and make them bold.
  • You can protect the rows.
  • Lock transactions with blockchain technology.

Arrangement of columns

To have a more congenial data entry, you can arrange all the columns in your own order.

You can choose to:

  • Move the columns to the right or left.
  • Display additional columns or hide unnecessary ones.
  • Add own columns
  • Save the arrangement of the columns (views).

Further information is available on the Columns setup page.

The columns of the Transactions table - Double entry

The Transactions table has a series of columns and views already set.

The columns of the Transactions table

The columns listed hereunder and preceded by an * are usually not visible.
In order to make them visible, use the Columns setup command from the Data menu.

Date
The date the program uses to attribute the transaction to a certain time frame. The date should be within the limits of the accounting period defined in the Basic data of the accounting. In the Options tab, one can indicate whether the transaction date is required, otherwise this value can also be left empty.
If there are locked transactions, the program triggers an error message when a date equal or earlier to the one of the lock is being entered. 

*Date Document
The date of the document can be entered, for example the date of issue for an invoice.

*Date Value
The value date of the bank operation can be indicated. This value is being imported from an electronic bank statement.

Document
The number of the voucher that serves as a base for the accounting transaction. When entering transactions, it is advisable to indicate a progressive number on the document, so that the accounting document of the transaction can be easily traced.
The auto-complete feature proposes progressive values as well as transaction codes that have been defined earlier in the Recurring transactions table.

The program proposes the next document number, that can be resumed with the F6 key.

  • In case of a numeric numbering, the program simply increases the highest value found in the Doc column.

  • Alphanumeric numbering: the program increases the final numeric part; this is useful when one would like to keep a separate numbering for cash and bank movements:
    • If earlier Doc number C-01 has been entered, and one starts to type C, the program proposes C-02.
    • If earlier Doc number B104 has been entered, and one starts to type B, the program proposes B-105.
    • If earlier Doc number D10-04 has been entered, and one starts to type D, the program proposes D10-05.

In the recurring transactions you can setup transactions groups that can be reloaded with a single code.

In order to add a large number of document numbers, you can also use Excel. You can create the desired quantity of document numbers in Excel and then copy and paste it into Banana, in the column of the Transactions Table.

*Document Protocol
An extra column in case an alternative numbering for the transactions or for the document is required.
The auto-complete feature proposes progressive values that function in the same way as the ones in the Document column. It is used, for example:

  • When it is necessary to assign a progressive number to the transactions, different from the document number.
  • If the transactions are entered by other people, using another file and then these are imported into the accounting. This way it is possible to use both a progressive numbering referred to the accounting and the original number.

*Document Type
Contains a code that the program uses to identify a type of transaction. If you prefer to use your own codes, it is advisable to add a new column.

  • 01 In the reports, this transaction is considered an opening transaction, so it doesn't show in the period but in the opening balances.
  • from 10 to 19: codes for customers' invoices
  • from 20 to 29: codes for suppliers' invoices
  • from 30 to 1000: codes reserved for future purposes.

*Document Invoice
A number of an issued or paid invoice that will be used together with the invoice control feature for Customers and Suppliers

*Document Original
The reference number present on a document, to enter, for example, the number of a credit note.

*DocLink to external file
Serves to enter a link to an external file, usually the accounting voucher.
Clicking on the small icon in the upper part of the cell, the program opens the document. See insert, edit and open links.

  • When a link has been inserted in the cell, a small icon appears and clicking on it opens the document, but only if it is an extension considered to be safe.
  • The other small icon allows you to insert and edit the link.

*External reference
The reference number that was allocated by a program that has generated this transaction. This value can be used to check whether a given operation is imported twice.

Description
The text of the transaction.
The auto-complete feature proposes the text of an already entered transaction, or of one that has been entered in the preceding year when the appropriate option has been activated. When pressing the F6 key, the program retrieves the data of the preceding row with the same description and completes the columns of the active row.

In case the description begins with #CheckBalance, the transaction is being considered as one that serves to check the balance.
Please consult our page Check accounting for more information on the subject.

*Notes
Useful to add notes to the transaction.

Debit Account
The account that will be charged.

  • It is possible to also enter a segment in the Debit account column. These are usually separated by a ":" or a "-" o un "-".
    By inserting the segment separator sign, immediately move to the next segment.
  • If instead the Enter key is being pressed, the input will end and one moves to the next column.
  • The auto-complete feature proposes the accounts and segments of the Plan of Accounts.
  • Instead of the account, you can enter a search text. The program proposes the list of accounts which contains the text in one of the columns.

*Debit Account Description
The description of the entered account retrieved from the Chart of accounts.

Credit Account
The account that will be credited. We refer to the explanation under Debit account for the rest of the information.

*Credit Account Description
The description of the entered account retrieved from the Chart of accounts.

Amount
The amount that will be entered unto the debit and credit account.

*Balance
The  Balance column shows the sum of debit and credit. An amount is therefore only displayed for entries in several accounts. At the end of the entry the balance should be zero. If there is a recurring amount it is because there is an error.

VAT columns
Information on the VAT columns can be found att the VAT columns in the Transactions table page 

CC1
The Cost center account preceded by "." to be entered without the ".".
If the initials are preceded by the minus sign "-P1", the amount is recorded in credit.

*CC1 Description
The description of the Cost centre, retrieved from the Chart of accounts.

CC2
The Cost center account preceded by "," to be entered without the ",".
If the acronym is preceded by the minus sign "-P2", the amount is recorded in credit.

*CC2 Description
The description of the Cost centre, retrieved from the Chart of accounts.

CC3
The Cost center account preceded by ";" to be entered without the ";".
If the abbreviation is preceded by the minus sign "-P3", the amount is recorded in credit.

*CC3 Description
The description of the Cost centre, retrieved from the Chart of accounts.

*Expiry date
The date before which the invoice has to be paid. For further information see the Customers and Suppliers pages.

*Payment date
Used in combination with the Show Expiry dates command.
When the invoices customers/suppliers control feature in order to check on the payments is used instead, a transaction has to be entered for an issued invoice and another one for the payment thereof.

*Lock Number, Lock Amount, Lock Progressive, Lock Line
More information at the Lock Transactions page.

 Additional columns

From the menu Tools → Add New Features → Add Columns Articles in the Transactions table the following columns are added:

IdItem
The item identifier of the Items table. If you insert an article present in the Items table, the description, unit, unit price, VAT code and account are included.

Quantity
The quantity multiplied by the unit price will produce the total amount (can also be a negative number).

Unit
A description referring to the quantity, for example: mq, ton, pz.

Unit/Price
The unit price multiplied by the quantity, will produce the total amount (can also be a negative number).

If a value is entered in the Quantity or Unit Price columns, the amount is calculated on the basis of the contents in these two columns and converted to a positive value.

Adding new columns

With the Columns setup command, it is possible to display, hide or move the order of columns, add new ones, or indicate that a column should not be included in the printout.

  • The added columns in the Transactions table will be added also in the Recurring transactions table, in the Account card and in the VAT report, without being made visible.
    In order to display these columns in the other tables, use the Columns setup command.
  • If a column of the "amount" type is being added, the entered amounts will be added up in the Account card. 


Views

When a new accounting is being created, the following views are being automatically created as well: 

  • Base: the main columns are being displayed
  • Cost centres:  the CC1, CC2 and CC3 columns are being displayed
  • Expiry dates:  the columns Expiry date and Payment date are being displayed
  • Lock: the columns relative to the Lock function are being displayed.

With the Views setup command, the views can be customized and personal views can be created.
With the Page setup command, you can modify the print mode of the view.

 

Transaction types

Simple transactions (on one row)

Simple transactions are the ones regarding two accounts (one Debit account and one Credit account) and entered in one single row.
The document number is different for each registration.

simple transactions in double-entry accounting

 Composed transactions (on several rows)

Composed transactions with more than two accounts involved, have to be entered on several rows. The user should enter one account per row. The counterpart account for the entire transaction has to be entered on the first row.
The document number, entered on the different rows, is the same because we are dealing with one and the same transaction.

Note:

In composed transactions, the dates of the transaction rows should be the same, otherwise, when doing calculations by period, there may be differences in the accounting.

Composed transactions in double-entry accounting

Opening transactions

The opening balances are normally indicated in the Accounts table.

Opening transactions are required in special cases such as:

The opening transactions are created by inserting the transactions with the opening date equal to the accounting start date and the code 01 in the DocType column.

  • Opening transactions do not change the opening balance in the Accounts table.
  • The opening balance entered with transactions is used in balance sheet printouts, account cards.
  • If for the same account there is the opening balance and the recording of the opening balance, the two amounts will be added together.
    This way, you can enter opening transactions that correct the opening of an account.
  • When entering opening balances in the transactions, it is necessary to make sure that the sum of the debit (positive) and credit (negative) are at zero.
    For each debit entry there must be a corresponding credit entry.
    It may be useful to have an opening account that serves as a counterpart for entering opening amounts.
    After all the opening transactions, the balance of this account must obviously have zero balance.

When entering opening balances, only the debit or credit account is generally indicated. However, it is also possible to indicate a counterpart which is generally a specific account for openings.

Verification Balance Transactions (#CheckBalance)

Banana Accounting Plus includes the #CheckBalance function in the Check and recalculate accounting command for verifying and matching account balances.

This check is essential for the accuracy of the accounting. It is recommended to perform the balance verification periodically at the end of each month, in addition to the end of the accounting period, to avoid incorrect balances being carried over from month to month.

To perform this check, follow these steps:

  • Record the date to which the balance refers.
  • In the Description column, enter #CheckBalance followed by the amount corresponding to the balance to be verified (e.g., the actual cash balance, bank account balance from the bank statement, etc.).
  • In the Debit column, indicate the account being checked (bank account, cash, VAT account, or another account to be verified).
  • The Amount column must be left empty.

With this command, the program will flag any accounts with mismatched balances in the Messages window if discrepancies are found.

 

Recording Bank checks

To enter issued bank checks, the user needs to insert an Issued checks account in the Liabilities. 

isssued checks in the Accounts table

The check is issued at the moment of paying a supplier and later on is being debited from the Bank current account.

check issuing and debiting records

The Issued checks account card after the transactions.  

check account card issued after postings

 

Credit card registration with advance payment

Advance payment on Credit cards

Before taking you through the procedure, check that an account for Credit card exists in the liabilities part of the Chart of Accounts. Create it if that is not the case.

The credit card account is added to the group or sub-group of short-term debts, as long as this is pre-requisite of the Chart of Accounts selected. If there are no sub-groups, it must be listed in the liabilities section.

Entering a credit card account

Example:

An amount of  CHF 1'000.- is transferred from the bank account to the credit card.

  • In Debit the credit card account is recorded
  • In Credit the bank account with which the payment is made is recorded.

Transfer from bank to credit card account

Register your credit card bill

When the credit card bill arrives, you must record all charges listed on the credit card and reverse the credit from the credit card account.

Example:

The credit card statement shows a total of CHF 749.- (detail: CHF 479.- for computer purchase, CHF 150.- for hotel expenses, CHF 120.- purchase of office supplies) (Doc.10)

Enter on several rows:

  • All costs related to the expenses listed on the credit card are recorded as a Debit; you post a cost per line.
  • Enter your credit card account as a Credit.

Record credit card invoice

Check the credit card account balance

Each time you pay an advance towards the credit card and once all the costs listed on the credit card have been recorded, you must verify that the credit card balance matches the balance stated on the credit card.

Account card for the credit card account

 

Register your credit card transactions according to the Cash and the Turnover principle

Credit Card with an accounting using the Cash principle

If no down payments are made on the credit card and the invoice is paid in full by the bank, you should record the credit card invoice at the time of payment when the costs should also be recorded.

You need to record on several rows:

  • Enter the same date and the same Document No. for each transaction on all the rows that make up for the transaction.
  • In the Debit column, enter one account per row, referring to the cost or investment of the credit card transaction.
  • Enter the amount of each single transaction recorded in Debit.
  • In the Credit column, enter the bank or post office account with which the invoice is paid.
  • In the Amount column, enter the total amount paid on the credit card invoice.
  • In the case of VAT liability, enter the VAT code for each row in the VAT Code column.

pagamento carta di credito con principio di cassa

After recording all movements, check your credit card balance by opening the credit card account card.
 

Credit card and turnover accounting

If the accounting postings are based on turnover, all costs related to credit card purchases are recorded upon receipt of the credit card invoice:

  • Enter the same date and the same Document No. for each transaction for all the rows that make up for the transaction.
  • All cost accounts are posted as a Debit. Each cost must be recorded on one row.
  • In the Amount column, enter the amount of the single transaction recorded in Debit.
  • Register your credit card account, as a Credit, as any supplier.
  • In the Amount column, enter the total amount to be payed by the credit card.
  • In the case of VAT liability, enter the VAT code for each row in the VAT Code column.

fattura carta di credito registrata secondo il principio di competenza

When the credit card bill is paid, enter the payment:

  • As Debit in credit card account (the debt is extinguished).
  • As Credit in the bank or post office account with which the invoice is paid.
  • The total amount of the credit card paid is entered as the amount.

Credit card and turnover accounting

 

Importing transactions from your credit card

Banana Accounting allows the importation of movements from the credit card into the main accounting file.

You must ensure that the chart of accounts includes the credit card account and the transfer account to be used for down payments.

Install the format of your bank

In order to be able to carry out the import it is necessary that the data format, provided by the credit card issuing bank, is compatible with the formats provided by Banana accounting.

To install the extension related to the data format released by the issuing bank, proceed as follows:

Importing the credit card movements

After having installed the extension for the Banana compatible data format, proceed as follows to import the data:

  • Actions Menu → Import into accounting → Transactions:
    • Select the format type of the bank that issued the credit card.
  • With the Browse button, select the file transmitted by the bank and confirm with OK.
  • Enter the period and indicate the credit card account and confirm with OK.
    All transactions are imported into the Transactions table.
  • Enter the counterpart account that refers to the movement for each row.

Import credit card transactions with deposits made

When deposits have been made on the credit card, they are recorded in the accounting system. In this case, after importing the credit card data, there is the problem of the recording of the deposits. In this case a double transaction appears on the credit card account:

  • Presence of the credit card account as a counterpart to the bank charges for payments to the credit card.
  • Presence of the credit card account in the transactions imported from the credit card.

To avoid this overlap, the transfer account is being used at the time of import.

How to proceed with the import:

  • Actions Menu → Import into accounting → Transactions:
    • Select the format type of the bank that issued the credit card.
  • With the Browse button, select the file transmitted by the bank and confirm with the OK button
  • Enter the period and indicate the transfer account. Confirm with the OK button.
    All transactions are imported into the Transactions table.
  • Enter the counterpart account that refers to the movement for each row.

 

Registrazioni su conto privato

Il conto privato è un conto finanziario, utilizzato nella contabilità per registrare quelle transazioni che non riguardano direttamente l'azienda, ma il patrimonio personale del titolare.  Questo conto tiene traccia dei prelievi e degli apporti del titolare a scopi privati; pertanto serve per tenere separate le finanze aziendali da quelle personali, evitando confusione contabile.

Prelievi dall'azienda del privato/socio

I prelievi personali vengono registrati come diminuzione del patrimonio netto. Se il titolare/socio utilizza fondi aziendali per spese personali, l'importo viene addebitato al conto privato.

Esempio di scrittura contabile per un prelievo in contanti:

  • Dare: Conto privato (per il prelievo del titolare/socio)
  • Avere: Cassa/Banca (per l'importo prelevato).

Apporti nell'azienda dal privato/socio

Gli apporti personali del titolare (es. aumento di capitale o versamenti per coprire spese) vengono registrati come incremento del patrimonio netto.

Esempio di scrittura contabile per un apporto in contanti:

  • Dare: Cassa/Banca (per l'importo versato dal titolare/socio)
  • Avere: Conto privato (per l'apporto del titolare/socio).

Utili prelevati

Se il titolare/socio preleva utili maturati:

  • Dare: Conto utili a nuovo (o Risultato di esercizio)
  • Avere: Conto privato

Saldo del Conto Privato/socio

  • Saldo positivo: indica che il titolare ha un credito verso l'azienda.
  • Saldo negativo: indica che il titolare ha debito verso l'azienda.

Totals Table

The Totals table presents the totals by Group and is used to check the accounting balance.
It is processed automatically by the program and cannot be modified by the user.

Example of Totals table

In the Totals table it is possible, to get an idea of the situation of one's own activity at a glance. You see the totals of assets, liabilities, costs and revenues and above all you see if you have a profit or a loss.
The 00 group is very important because it allows you to immediately see if everything is in place or if there are differences in the balances.

 

 

Printouts

All the printouts of the Financial Statements, the profit and loss Statement, and the various accounting Reports are available from the Reports menu. Each command has various options for customizing the various printouts.

To print the content of the tables, please refer to the Page setup section (last paragraph).

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups - colored columns

This example has been realized with the following features:

Print Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Enhanced Balance sheet with budget

This example has been realized with the following features:

  • Enhanced Balance sheet
  • Options Include in print : to indicate which columns to display (in the example the Current, Estimate column is displayed).
  • Style: Berlin, colored columns.

Annual Balance sheet and Budget

 Enhanced Balance sheet

This example has been realized with the following features:

  • Enhanced Balance sheet
  • Options Include in print : to indicate which columns to display (in the example the Current, Previous,% Difference columns have been activated).
  • Style: Berlin, colored columns.

Print enhanced Balance sheet

Subdivision by semester

This example has been realized with the following features:

Balance sheet and Budget with colored columns

 

Subdivision by segment

This example has been realized with the following features:

Balance sheet by segment

Pdf dossier with all the accounting data

The file is being created with a summary that provides access to the different printouts in an easy way.

The following data can be saved in Pdf

  • Balance sheet and Profit & Loss statement
  • Accounts table, Transactions, VAT Codes, Totals
  • VAT reports
  • Account cards
     

If you save this file on a non re-writable CD (to keep together with your accounting documents), this will comply with the legal requirements for archiving the accounting data.

This example has been realized with the following features:

File menu, Create Pdf dossier command

create pdf dossier

Printing an extra column

In order to print an extra column in the Balance sheet, the following features are used:

 

Account cards - Ledger

The account card corresponds to the Ledger and allows you to have a comprehensive list of accounting movements concerning the same account, a cost center, segments and groups.

An Account card contains the following information:

  • The name of the account represented by the card.
  • The date of the financial transaction.
  • The type of financial transaction (e.g., sale, purchase, payment, receipt).
  • The amount.
  • The description (e.g., the name of the supplier or customer, the nature of the goods or services bought or sold).

Banana Accounting automatically records all transactions entered in the Table Transactions table, allocating them to the corresponding specific accounts. Therefore, the ledger cards are updated every time a transaction is recorded in the Transactions table.

Opening the Account card

There are two methods to open an account card:

First method

This method is recommended when you want to display and print all or several account / category cards.

  • Select the Reports → Account Cards in the menu

Account/category card period

A dialog box will appear, with the following sections:

For detailed information on the sections, click on the corresponding links.

Second method

  • Click on the small icon that appears when you select the cell that contains the account, category or group number.

Updating the Account card

The account or category card is temporary and is calculated at the time of the request. If transactions are changed or added in the Transactions table, the account card is not simultaneously updated.

To update the account card, following changes, the Account / category card command must be issued again, or if the account card is still open, click on the symbol shown in the image below.

Update account card in double entry accounting

Deleting or modifying data

In the accountcards or group cards, it's not possible to directly modify or delete data. If changes are required, they must be made in the Transactions table or in the Budget table (if they concern estimate transactions). After recalculating, the changes are automatically applied to the corresponding account card.

If you are in the account card and you notice an error or a modification to be made, you need to:

  • Within the account card, position yourself on the row number related to the modification.
  • Double-click on the row number, and the program automatically redirects to the Transactions table, right on the row related to the modification.
  • Make the modification and recalculate the accounting (press Shift + F9).

The changes are automatically reflected in the corresponding account card.

The Account Selected column

Starting from any Account card, the Account Selected column, can be displayed, via the Data → Columns setup menu, the account on which the transaction took place will be shown.
When you get an account card of one or more accounts, groups and segments, you will see the exact account that has been used.

The contra account in the account cards

In the Account cards, the "Contrp" Account column (C-Acct.) is present, which indicates the account that completes the transaction.

Column contra part in Double Entry

When there are transactions on multiple accounts (transactions on multiple rows) as in the example below, and there is one account entered in debit and several accounts in credit, or the other way round, the software deducts the possible contra account using the following logic:

  • In the first transaction row, the 5000 account is considered the common contra account of the transactions that follow.

Transactions on several rows

  • On the Account card 5000, the multiple transaction (Gross salaries for the month of December) displays the [*] symbol as the contra account. It is impossible to have the indication of the contra accounts directly in the account card, because the account has several contra accounts (1020, 5700, 5730). For this reason the program indicates the [*] , which signals that we are dealing with a transaction on multiple accounts.

Account card with asterisk contra account

  • On the Account cards of the next transaction rows (1020, 5700, 5730), the common contra account is indicated between square brackets [5700], and indicates a deducted contra account.

Account card with square brackets

Cards of groups and classes

In the Account card of a group or a class, all the transactions of the accounts that belong to the selected group or class are being grouped together.
The accounts of the group or the class can be displayed by making the Account Selected column visible.

Account card for a group

Budget Account card

If the budget transactions have been entered in the Budget table, it is possible to have the account or group cards of the budget:

Budget Account card

Print the Ledger (all account cards)

To print the Account cards:

  • Reports menu→ Account cards command
  • Using the Filter, all the account cards that need to be printed entirely or partially (for example, only accounts, cost centers, segments) can be selected automatically.
  • In the various sections Period, Options, Customization, activate the desired options (for ex. period, 1 account per page, ...) 
  • Press OK to confirm, after having selected the desired options.

Print Ledger

For the explanations of the different tabs, please visit the next few pages: Accounts/Categories tab, Period and Options.
The program will show the selected account cards.

In order to print, choose the Print command from the File menu.

When you have activated the Budget table in your file, you may choose which transactions you wish to see (actual transactions or budget transactions).

Include a logo in the account cards

From Banana Accounting 9 it is possible to include a logo in the account cards printout as well. After obtaining your account cards details (with the Reports→ Account cards command), use the File -> Print preview command. From the print preview click on the the Setup icon, and in the dialog window that will open, select your logo with the Logo option (instead of the none option).
You can also check the how to setup a logo page.

Save the settings

In case you regularly print the account cards of specific accounts for example, all those that concern the Sales accounts, it is useful to create a specific customization.

  • Go to the Customization tab
  • Create a new customization, using the New button
  • Indicate the name of the customization, for example "Sales accounts", in the Description field.
  • Select the accounts that you want to be printed.
  • Set the view options for the tab. It is possible to select and change the view, from those available, but not to create a new one. If you change the layout of a column, for example by changing its header, this will be applied to the associated view of all customisations.

Each time you want to print accounts, select the customisation you have created.

 

Page setup

 

In Page setup, you can specify the margins & other settings of the page.

Accounts

You can access this windows by choosing the Reports menu > Account cards command (see the Account cards page).

Account/Category card period

Accounts

The list of all available accounts appears.

Select all

By activating this option, all the accounts that are part of the Chart of accounts are automatically selected.

If you wish to print one or more account cards activate only the desired accounts.

Selecting accounts with the mouse

  • Clicking on the account name selects the account, and if a previous selection was made, it is deselected.
  • Clicking on the account tick box (within the checkbox) selects/deselects the account and the previous selection remains unchanged.
  • To select multiple adjacent accounts at the same time, simply click on the first one, hold down the left mouse button, move the mouse over the list to select the desired accounts, and press the spacebar.
  • To select multiple non-adjacent accounts, hold down the Ctrl key (or Cmd on Mac), and use the left mouse button to move over the list, selecting the desired accounts, and then press the spacebar.

Selecting accounts with the keyboard

  • You can navigate the account list using the up/down arrow keys, and select/deselect an account by pressing the spacebar.

Search

The option allows the immediate search of one or more accounts. The account number or description of the account is entered in the box; the program filters the accounts using the search values entered.

You can also enter multiple accounts to be displayed simultaneously, or combine accounts and segments (see developer explanations):
 

  • 1000|1001  will display the transactions for account 1000 and 1001.  
  • 1000:01 will display all transactions of the 1000 account with the 01 segment.

Sort by account number

If this option is activated, the accounts are sorted according to the selection applied in the Filter (at the bottom of the dialog box). If, for example, there are accounts, cost centers or segments with abbreviations, they are listed in alphabetical order.

Filter 

This function allows you to filter all account cards or just a selection, specifically:

  • Accounts, cost centre and segments - if no selection is made they are filtered by default
  • Accounts/categories (existing cost centres and segments are excluded)
  • Accounts, Cost centres (only segments are excluded)
  • Cost centres (accounts and/or categories and segments are excluded)
  • Segments (accounts and/or categories and cost centres are excluded)
  • Groups - existing groups will be shown - you need to select the ones to be printed
  • Classes - all classes will be shown - you need to select the ones to be printed.

Actual or budget transactions

When you have activated the Budget table in your file, you may select:

  • Actual transactions
    The entries in the Transaction tab will be processed.

Account card with actual transactions

  • Budget transactions
    The entries in the Budget tab will be processed.
    If the Budget table is not present, but amounts have been entered in the Budget column of the Accounts table (Budget View), these amounts are converted into monthly amounts. The division performed by the program is based on the start and end date of the accounting period (if the duration is 1 year, the division will be into 12 monthly installments).

Account card with budget

Account card 00 - Differences in accounting transactions

When there are discrepancies in the transactions (see Debit - Credit Difference error page), to identify where the error is located, the account statement for Group 00 is displayed (or the statement for the group in your chart of accounts that includes all accounts from Class 1, 2, 3, and 4).  
You will have a list of all transactions with the successive balances, which after each entering should equal zero. The row where the balance is not at zero contains the error.

Viewing the Details of transactions

Using the Group 00 account statement, it is also possible to view the details of the transactions.

Once you have selected the Group 00 account statement, the list of transactions will appear. Select any column, double-click on the column, and a screen will appear to select the visible columns. Select the "TransactionAmount" column. After making this change, the screen opened from the Group 00 account statement will display the "Transaction" column in CHF with detailed specific amounts.

Double-click on a column:
 

Account card with actual transactions

Select the "MovementAmount" column

Account card with actual transactions

Next, a new column "Movement CHF" will be added, which will display the details of the amounts of individual transactions. This modification can be useful, for example, when a transaction includes VAT, and you want to see the details of that transaction while keeping the VAT separate.

Invoice recording with VAT:

Account card with actual transactions

Details of the invoice recording with VAT, with Account Card 00 and the "MovementAmount" column activated:

Account card with actual transactions

 

Options tab

Via the Reports → Account cards → Options menu you can access the various options that can be included or excluded from displaying  and printing.

Option section of Account card

Lines before end of page
This function was created in order to avoid printing an account partially on one page and partially on the following. If the account card to be printed doesn't have at least a number of rows corresponding to the number input in this field, printing the whole card will be moved to the next page.

One account per page
By activating this function, each card will be printed on a separate page (even those with few transactions).

Repeat column's headers
By activating this function, the column headers will be repeated for each account, within the page.

Include accounts with no transactions
By activating this function, cards without transactions will be printed as well.

View
You can select the columns view to be included in the account cards display and printout:

  • Base
  • VAT
  • Cost centers
  • Expiration dates

If no criteria are specified the program will keep the order present in the Transactions table.

Sort column
In the account card, transactions can be sorted according to different data criteria:

  • Document date
  • Value date
  • Expiration date
  • Payment date

Journal

In Accounting, the "journal" is a book of original entry where all financial transactions of a company are recorded in chronological order. It is a fundamental tool for recording accounting transactions and plays a crucial role in the bookkeeping process.

In Banana Accounting, the Journal is represented by the Transactions table, where transactions are entered in chronological order. From this table, the program provides a detailed and complete record of all financial activities of the company and serves as the basis for preparing other accounting documents such as the general ledger, balance sheet, and income statement.

Each transaction is recorded with detailed annotations, divided into specific columns:

  1. Date: The date on which the transaction occurred.
  2. Description: A brief description of the transaction, indicating the nature of the accounting operation.
  3. Debit Account: The account debited for the amount of the transaction.
  4. Credit Account: The account credited for the amount of the transaction.
  5. Amount: The amount of the transaction.

Journal prints can be generated either by selection or by using a command that also allows defining a period.

For further information, please refer to the following pages.

 

With Banana Accounting the Journal corresponds to the Transactions table. It is possible to print the entire journal or just a part of it, selecting the rows that you wish to print.

There are different methods to print the Journal:

Period

journal by period

You can choose whether to print all or a defined period. To print a specific period, enter the start date and the end date.

Sorting

sorting the journal

In the Sort column tab it is possible to choose the criteria by which the journal should be sorted and printed.

Customize the printing of the Journal

To customize the printing of the journal, you can change the arrangement and header of the columns. Information can be found on the Columns setup page; while the options to include in the printout are found in the Page Setup lesson.

Enhanced Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet represents all the Assets, Liabilities, Expenses and Income at a specific moment. The difference between Assets and Liabilities determines the equity capital. In Banana Accounting, the embellished Balance Sheet has the following characteristics:

  • The grouping of the accounts is done according to the contents of the BClass column.
  • The Enhanced Balance Sheet (Reports menu), shown in the preview, can be saved in different formats (PDF, HTML, MS Excel) and can be copied to the clipboard.
  • It is possible to calculate, display and print the budget at the end of the year, or for a specific period.
  • Transactions without date are considered as opening transactions and will not appear in the printouts of the Profit & Loss Statement.

To calculate, view and print out the Enhanced balance Sheet, click on the menu Report > Enhanced balance Sheet. A window appears with several sections allowing you to set the printing parameters.

See also Printout Examples.

Enhanced Balance sheet

Print pages and Include in printout

In these sections, by activating the different options listed, you can choose the content to be displayed and printed in the Enhanced balance sheet.

The option "Previous year balances" is only available if the field All is selected in the Period section. If a specific period is defined instead, the option is not active. In this case, the Enhanced balance sheet with groups should be used instead.

Page headers

Rows 1 - 4
Rows available to define the heading of the balance sheet.

Logo
It is possible to insert the logo in the header of all pages of the report.
If one or more logos have been added in the menu File > Logo setup, you can select one from the list.
If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

Print page number
If this option is activated, the number is printed in footer progression.

Print date
If this option is activated, the date is entered in the footer.

Cover page

Print cover page 
Activating the function prints the cover page.

Logo
It is possible to insert the logo in the cover page of the report.
If one or more logos have been added in the menu File > Logo setup, you can select one from the list. If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

Column headers

The boxes at the bottom of the enhanced Balance Sheet dialogue box are used to insert the current and previous year headings in the printout.
The first two vertical boxes refer to the dates of the balance sheet, the second to those of the income statement.

At the moment, when opening the dialogue window of the Enhanced Balance Sheet, the boxes for entering the current and previous year are not clearly visible.

To view the boxes mentioned, one must scroll all the way down the vertical scroll bar, located on the right-hand side of the dialogue box.

Current year 
Insert the final date of the current accounting.

Previous year
Enter the final date of the previous year's accounting in this field.

When switching to the new year from the menu Actions > Create New Year, the header of the previous year is not adapted automatically, so it must be changed manually. This issue will be resolved in the future.

Dialogue not fully visible

To display the Enhanced Balance dialogue box completely, choose one of two procedures:

  • Enlarge the dialogue box.
  • Slide the scroll bar, located on the right-hand side of the window, downwards.

Other tabs

The explanations for the other tabs are available at the following pages:

Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups

Banana Accounting automatically calculates, displays, and prints the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Lost account. These are two fundamental financial documents used by businesses to monitor and report their financial and operational activities.

The Balance Sheet and the Profit and Lost account can be customized both based on the period and the columns to be displayed. Balance Sheets can be generated for monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual periods. Additionally, when selecting a period (e.g., semi-annual), the data can be further broken down by periods (month, quarter).

The Balance sheet with groups differs from the Balance sheet for the following characteristics:

  • Displays the subgroups in detail.
  • Offers the possibility to exclude groups or accounts (for instance, to display only the total of the group and not the accounts of which the total is composed).
  • In the Chart of accounts →Sections it is possible to select which accounts to include or leave out from the printouts
  • It is possible to sort by a given period (for example in the first semester, you can choose whether to obtain the data by month or by quarter)
  • It is possible to have a subdivision by segment.

In order to calculate, display and print the Enhanced Balance sheet by groups, click on Reports → Enhanced balance sheet with groups command from the menu: a window appears, with different sections that allow the user to define the print setup.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups

 

Features:

See also Print Examples.

FAQ

  • If I exclude the groups with a zero balance, the title rows that refer to the excluded groups are still being displayed; how can I erase them?
    Go to Sections and activate Hide current row on the title rows that you wish to exclude.
  • I would like to exclude the display of the period in the titles of the printouts ("1st Semester 2013"); how can I do that?
    Go to the Headers section and deactivate the Print period option.
  • On the cover page, when there are long titles, I would like to be able to choose how to subdivide the texts into two rows and wish to apply bold print. Is this possible?
    It is not possible to change the fonts on the cover page.
  • Some amounts are not included in the indicated period. Why?
    Transactions without a date are counted as openings and do not appear in the printouts of the Profit & Loss statement. Be sure to enter the date into all the transactions.
  • The total groups that contain all the accounts of the classes 3 and 4 are being renamed with the text Profit or Loss, depending on the result of the accounting period. How can I change that text?
    Go to the Sections and overwrite the original text in the Alternate text zone of the active row.
  • How can I display the data of the previous year if it is longer than the standard year?
    In the "Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups" dialogue box, under the heading "Columns", for the "Income Statement" section, click on the "Advanced" button, in the "Columns" window click on "Add". At this point, activate the "Prior" option in the "Print Columns" window. Then close all windows by pressing the "ok" button. You can customize the header of the columns in the "Columns" window, by clicking on the "properties" button, if necessary.

 

Headers

In the Page → Headers section are the options for heading the pages and the logo when printing the Financial Statements and Income Statement.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Header 1, Header 2, Header 3, Header 4
Enter as headers the text you wish appearing in the printouts. The headings inserted are shown on the first page (cover page) and on each sheet as main headings.

Logo
It is possible to insert the logo in the header of all pages of the report.
If one or more logos have been added in the menu File→Logo Setup, you can select one from the list.
If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

Print period and/or subdivision
This option is active only when a specific period has been defined. When you deactivate this option, the period will not be indicated in the titles of the printouts.

Footer

Print page numbers
By activating this function, page numbers will be printed.

Print date
By activating this function the date will be printed.

Cover page

Print cover page
By activating this function the cover page will be printed.

Logo:
It is possible to insert the logo in the header of all pages of the report.
If one or more logos have been added in the menu File→Logo Setup, you can select one from the list.
If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

 

 

Layout

In the Page → Layout section you set the font size and the page orientation for printing the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups, layout

Font size
The display of the printout varies according to the entered value.

Page orientation
You can select the page orientation: automatic, landscape and portrait.

 

Logo

Via the File → Logo setup  command  it is possible to include a logo and to define its settings (width, height, position). It is also possible to create and save Customizations with different logo settings.
This feature is a simpler alternative to the logo setting with the Documents Table.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups, logo

To activate the logo option when printing the Financial Statements and Income Statement, it is necessary to select Logo, instead of none.
For the Logo option to be visible, you need to have set up your logo in the File → Logo Setup menu.

 

Margins

In the Page → Margins section you set the margins for printing the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups, margins

Top, Bottom, Left, Right
It's the distance between the page border and the content.

Header
Is the distance between the page header and the content.

Footer
Is the distance between the page footer and the content.

Increase margins to printable area
If the content exceeds the page margins it will be automatically adjusted to fit the printable area.
 

Sections

The Section section shows how the chart of accounts is structured and subdivided.
The structure is set up using the Section column in the Chart of accounts.

It allows you to set: 

  • Items to be printed together. 
  • Page changes. 
  • Items to be excluded from the print.

Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups, sections

As on Accounts table

The display and the printout settings of the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups, are the same as in the Accounts table.

By clicking on the arrow on the left you can display the components of the section. Normally only groups with a balance are displayed. To also display the groups with zero balance, go to the Rows section and click on view groups with zero balances.


Depending on the selection, there are different sections with different options:

  • Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 01, 02, 03, 04... refer to the main items of the Balance Sheet
  • Account sections refer to the selected account
  • Group sections refer to the selected group

Section*
If you select a section with an asterisk, you will have the following options:

Hide section
Click on the section that you wish to hide.

Hide current row
Click on the row that you wish to hide.

Start on new page
Click on the header that you want to have on a new page and activate the option.

Alternative text
Enter an alternative text if you want to have a different one for the selected section or row.

If you select a number or a group section (1, 2, 3, 4.....), there are extra options:

alternative text in Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Group for % calculation (%)
Is visible when you select a section (assets, liabilities, costs, income ....).
It is the group that serves as the basis for calculating the percentage of the section accounts and groups.

  • Determined by the software. 
    The group is established by the program. As a rule, it is the last group in the section (total assets, liabilities, costs and income).
  • Group indicated by the user.
    For the income statement, a group must be indicated (for example, total sales).


Hide child rows
If you select a group and you activate this function, child rows of this group won't be printed in the Enhanced Balance Sheet.

Show as account
If you select a group and you activate this function, the group will be displayed as an account in the Balance sheet. Enhanced balance sheet with groups - Section - Group for percent calculation

External accounting report

Print the Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups, based on the structure of the Accounting report file.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, external report

Report File
You can select the file of the External Accounting report with the Browse button.

Grouping column
Column in which the accounts refer to the groups defined in the External Accounting report. Available columns: Gr1, Gr2, Gr, BClasse and GrVat.

Signal missing grouping
Checks whether all accounts belong to a group in the External Accounting report.

 

Rows

In the Chart of Accounts → Rows section you can choose to print the following elements: Accounts, Accounts with zero balance, Accounts with transactions, Groups with zero balance, Empty rows.Enhanced balance sheet with groups, rows

 

 

Double entry columns setup

The Chart of accounts > Columns section contains the most important options for customizing the columns to be displayed and printed in the Financial Statements and in the Income Statement and Notes.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups, columns

Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement and Notes

If the various options are activated, the following data will be included in the display and printing of the reports:

Account number
In addition to the account description, the account numbers are also included.

Current
The balance or movement in the basic currency, referring to the selected period or to the subdivision of the period.

% of row
Includes the column with the percentage referred to the total (e.g.% total assets).
The total group to base the percentage calculation on can be set in the Sections tab.
The group is set by the program, but especially for the Income Statement, it is not always determined ideally, so it must be set manually.

Foreign currency
This option is only visible in a multi-currency file.
By activating the option in the printout, the balance will also be displayed in foreign currency for the selected period or the subdivision of the period.

Opening
The opening balance for the period.

Budget
The amount of the budget, referring to the selected period or the subdivision of the period:

  • If the Budget table has not been set up, the amount in the Budget column of the Chart of accounts is indicated.
    The total amount of each account is divided over 12 months.
  • If the Budget table has been set up, the budget amount of the accounts is calculated based on the transactions entered in the Budget table.

Previous period
The amount for the period prior to the selected period or period split.

Previous year
The amount for the same period of the previous year.

Difference
Is the difference between the amount of the current period and that of the other column (Budget, Previous period, previous year).

% Difference
Is the difference between the amount of the current period and that of the other column (Budget, Previous period, previous year).

Year-to-date
The balance or movement from the beginning of the accounting to the date of the last posting.

Advanced

With the Advanced button you can further customize the arrangement, texts and colors of the columns.

Hide/Show.
You can hide or display a column that is indicated in the list.

Change sequence
Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons or drag the column with the mouse.

Add new column
You can include other columns from the Accounts table or one of the columns calculated by the report in the report.

Remove the column from the list
With the Delete button the column is deleted. You can always add it again:

Special cases

Previous accounting year beyond the current accounting period

If the previous accounting year is longer than the normal duration of the current year (for example, it starts in November or December), the Previous column of the Accounts table is used to correctly display the totals of the income statement of the previous year, as otherwise, Banana accounting calculates the totals of the income statement taking the same duration as the current year and the totals will differ from what is displayed in the financial statements of the previous year.

In this case proceed as follows.

  • For the Income statement, deactivate the Previous year and Previous period columns
  • Click on Advanced ...
  • With the Add ... command, add the Columns table Accounts > Prior column
  • With the Properties ... command, enter the text to be displayed as the header for the Prior column
    • Row 1 > Text > "2021", "2022", ...
  • Confirm and display Enhanced Balance Sheet.

Columns (Advanced)

This dialog allows you to see the list of different columns as they appear in the report and to customize their column display, headers, and column content colors or background colors.

You can change the list of columns with the Add or Remove buttons:

  • Accounts table columns
    Complete list of columns in the Accounts table
  • Acounting amounts [A]
    List of columns calculated for the current accounting period. (A=Actual)
  • Budget amounts [B]
    List of columns calculated on the basis of data from the Budget table. (B=Budget)

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, columns, advanced

The following options are available:

  • Hide/Show columns
    With the check you can hide or make a column that is indicated in the list visible.
  • Change sequence.
    Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons or drag the column with the mouse.
  • Add new column
    You can include other columns from the Accounts table or one of the columns calculated by the report in the report.
  • Remove the column from the list
    With the Delete button the column is deleted. You can always add it again.
  • Change text or background colour.

  • Change the header or other properties of the column.

 

Columns - add

In the Balance sheet, Profit and Loss Statement and in the Notes, it is possible to add further columns.

Starting from the Reports menu → Enhanced Balance sheet with groups → Columns → Advanced button → Add button.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, add columns

Available columns list

The dialog lists all the columns that can be included in the report:

  • Columns present in the Accounts table.
  • Columns with Accounting amounts .
  • Columns with Budget amounts.

Activating the column from the list adds it to the report. In the Advanced dialog you can change the sequence and headings.

By removing the check, the column is removed from the report.

Columns present in the Accounts table

You can include any column of the Accounts table, for example:

  • Note.
  • Aditional description.
  • Description in another language.
  • Import or other columns added by you.

Accounting amounts

These are the columns with the amounts calculated by the program, the opening balances and the entered transactions, for the indicated period or for the subdivision period

Amount in the Account currency
Only visible for multi-currency files. Account balances in foreign currency are also displayed.

Current
The balances of the current year will be displayed.

Opening
The Opening balances will be displayed.

Previous (period)
The balances of the previous period are being displayed (month, quarter, semester, etc).

Previous Year
The balances of the previous year are being displayed.

YTD (Year To Date)
This column is only available in the Profit & Loss Statement. The balances from the beginning of the year until the last transaction date are being displayed.

Budget amounts

These are the columns with the amounts calculated by the program based on the budget amounts entered in the Accounts Table or in the Budget Table. If you created the Budget table and if some rows have been entered, the program will use the data of this table for its calculation, even if there are values in the Budget column of the Accounts table.  Also see informations on Budget.

Budget (Current period)
The amounts related to the foreseen budget of the current period are being displayed.

Budget Previous
The amounts related to the foreseen budget of the previous period are being displayed.

Budget Previous year
The budget amounts are displayed for the same period as the current one, but from the previous year.

Calculation period annotations

The program cannot calculate values for periods that overlap between different accounting years or for years with start and end dates that do not match.
To obtain balances from the previous year that exceed one calendar year, activate the Prior column. This column replaces the "Previous year" column, which only shows the previous year's balances from 01.01.xx to 31.12.xx.
You get to this column from the menu Reports → Enhanced balance sheet by groups → Columns → Advanced button → Add. Clicking on the Account table columns header will display the list of all the columns defined in the Accounts table. Activate the Prior column.

 

Headers and options (Columns properties)

In this section there are options to change the column headers in reports.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, column properties

Headers

Row 1/ Row 2 / Row 3
It is possible to change the columns headers by selecting the Text option (from the drop down menu) and by entering the new header. If you select the Column option, the column name of the selected column will be shown.


Options

Visible
If this cell is activated, the column header will be shown.

Display as a total column
If activated, this option only shows the amounts in the Totals column.

 

Colors (Columns properties)

The dialog box is accessed via the Reports → Enhanced statement by groups → Columns → Advanced button → Properties → Colors menu. There are options to change the colors of the texts and columns.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, change color

Change
With this button you can change the text or the background color

Default color
With this button you can restore the default color for the text or the background.

 

Subdivision

Via the Chart of Accounts section → Subdivision you can access the options to choose the subdivision of the period (year, semester, quarter, month).

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, subdivision period

None
Only the data for the overall period are present in print.

Subdivision by period

With the breakdown by period, the program creates columns for the indicated periods. For each period you will see the same columns for the overall period.

The function allows you to view the data of the period for:

  • day
  • month
  • bi-monthly
  • quarter
  • four monthly
  • semester
  • year
  • 5 years
  • 10 years.

The selected period appears in the column header.

In order not to have an excessive number of columns in print:

  • Limit the number of items you want to print.
  • Indicate a shorter period.
  • Indicate the maximum number of periods.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, subdivision period

 

Create periods for the entire year
When the accounting period does not coincide with the calendar year, but you want to view all the months anyway, simply activate this function. 

Totals column
This function creates a Totals column of the selected periods in the income statement and in the Totals view.

Maximum number of divisions
The maximum number of periods is by default 36. In particular cases, if you want particular statistics that are very detailed and over long periods, you can manually change this value. A very high maximum number of periods can slow down the program.

 Subdivision by Segment

The segments allow you to have reports for a certain section of the company. Segments are defined in the Chart of accounts. With the breakdown by period, the program creates columns for the different segments. For each segment you will see the same columns for the overall period.

Each subdivision takes the name of the header given in the Chart of accounts. The split data (based on your selection) is displayed.

The Subdivision by Segment option is active only if segments have been set up in the Accounts table.

You can select:

  • All segments - This way, when new segments are added, they will be automatically added to the printout.
  • Blank - The amount not assigned to any segment is displayed.
  • Choice of segments - Indicate only the segments you want to see in print.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, segments

Totals column
When this option is being checked, the totals for the selected segment will be obtained.

Segment header
You can choose the text to be displayed as column header for the segments.

 

Period

In the Chart of accounts → Period section, you can limit the processing of data, display and print only to an indicated period or, in the case of a budget, it allows you to obtain forecasts over several years.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, period

All

All accounting entries are included.

Period selected

It means the specified period, indicating the start and end date.

In order to get forecasts over several years, it is necessary to enter the end date of the future year of the budget required, in the File Properties, basic data (File menu). Enter the start and end date of the period in the Period section of the Enhanced balance sheet with groups as well.
To have budgets beyond the accounting period, in the Budget table, the movements must have a repetition code.
The forecast will be displayed in the Budget column.

Movements without date

If transactions without dates have been entered in the accounting, they are considered only if All is selected.
If, on the other hand, you enter, for example, from January 1st to December 31st, the transactions without date are not displayed in the report.

 

Style Tab

This dialog section includes the option to choose the templates and the number format for printing the Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Each template can be customized by changing the style properties and colors. Columns can also be customized in the Columns section.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, style

Use style
There are different models of the Enhanced balance sheet provided. By selecting one, the user can obtain the Enhanced balance sheet of his choice. 

Style property
For each style, the color of the fonts and the backgrounds can be defined. 

Value / Change... / Default
These functions allow the user to change style or to restore the default style. 

Ignore line formatting
If this function is activated, the formatting will not be maintained.

 

Number formats

In the Style section you can change the number formats and the display type for negative numbers.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, numbers format

Divide by 1'000
If there are big amounts, by activating this option, three zeros will be taken off.

Show cents
By activating this option the cents will be shown.

Show zero amounts
By activating this option it is possible to choose between having the zero amounts shown with the 0,00 number or with the -,- symbol.

Negative numbers
Negative amounts can be shown with a minus sign before the amount, after the amount or the amount can be shown between parenthesis. You can also activate the option to have the negative numbers shown in red.

 

Texts

Via the Style → Texts section you can change the texts of the fixed headers that the program uses in the printouts.

To change the value, just double click on the Value cell corresponding to the key to be changed and enter the new text.

Enhanced balance sheet with groups, texts

 

Attachments

Via the Attachments section you can add texts to be printed together with the report.

  • Texts are printed after the Balance sheet and Profit & Loss statement.
  • Each document begins on a new page

balance sheet attachments

Documents

All documents listed in the Documents table (Html or text format) are listed here.

  • You can change the report sequence, just by dragging the item with your mouse
  • All documents with a check mark will be printed.

Edit

A text editor will open allowing you to enter new text or edit the existing one.

Add

Adds a new element without text.
To add plain text or Markdown documents, use the appropriate commands in the Documents table

Remove

This button will remove the selected element and its content. It's the same as removing a row from the Document table.

Add an attachment with Markdown text

  • Add a new document with Markdown text as explained on page Markdown Editor
  • Check the attachments list for the document with Markdown text.

editor Markdown

Notes

  • Printing of Markdown text is only available with the Advanced plan subscription.
  • This feature is not available in previous versions.
    If the file is open with a previous version of the Banana Accounting software, you will get a message that the file is not totally compatible.
  • If you edit this section and you press OK, in order to undo the operation you need to enter the Undo command more that once.

 

End of Year PDF printouts

From the print preview of a document, you can save in PDF format and print.

You can save in a PDF format the following documents:

  • Balance sheet and Profit and Loss Statement
  • Accounts, Transactions, VAT, Totals tables
  • VAT Reports
  • Account cards

This PDF file will have an index that allows for easy access for the different printouts.
If you save this file on a non rewritable CD (to be kept along with the accounting documents), you will comply with the requirements for accounting data archiving.

Balance sheet year end

 

 

Reports over several years

A statement over several years allows for a simple and immediate comparison of the evolution of your business. Banana Accounting can display balance sheets up to two previous years in the same report, so for example the balances of the years 2022, 2021 and 2020 on a single page.

In order to view the balances over several years it is necessary that the "file previous year" option is indicated correctly in the File and accounting Properties, → Options tab, otherwise Banana Accounting is not able to retrieve the balances of the previous accounting periods, which would therefore remain empty.

In the following example we indicate how to get a report for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020. Here is how to proceed:

  • Reports menu → Enhanced balance sheet with groups ...
  • Check Current and Previous year in the Columns section.
  • Advanced Button (click on the button for both the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss Statement).

Balance sheet Profit and Loss over several years

  • From the dialog window that opens, click on the Add button to add a column.

add columns previous years

  • Scroll down the list until you see -2 Years (we have to go 2 years back, from the current year).

add balance columns for 2 previous years

  • Confirm with OK to get the report.

 

Accounting report

  • The Accounting Report command from the Reports menu displays and prints the amounts of accounts with a specific grouping, for a specific period or with a specific subdivision.
  • Transactions without date are being considered as opening transactions and will not appear in the printouts of the Profit & Loss Statement.

Include a logo in the accounting report printout

To obtain accounting reports with logo, after creating the accounting report, you need to:

  • File Menu → Print Preview → select Page Setup
    in the dialog box that opens, under Logo, indicate the logo (instead of none).

You can also check the how to setup a logo page.

accounting report

Base tab

Report
You can select the desired grouping scheme:

  • As on Accounts table - the Report will show a list of all accounts just as in the Accounts table with the Opening balance and Balance columns
  • Accounts by class - the Report will show the list of the accounts but without subgroups
  • External accounting report - the Report will show the data according to a grouping system preset in a separate file (created via File → New → Double-entry accounting → Accounting Report).

Options
You can select the accounts to be included or excluded:

  • Show group totals only - only the group totals will be shown
  • Include accounts with transactions - only accounts with transactions will be printed
  • Include accounts with 0 balance -  accounts with zero balance will be printed as well
  • Exclude groups without accounts - groups that contain only accounts with zero balance will not be printed.

Other sections

The explanations for the other sections are available at the following pages:

Report result

A new table is created where the results are shown.

accounts table report

VAT summary (only for files with VAT options)

Information on the VAT Summary can be found on the VAT Summary (Report) page.

 

Riassunto IVA

 

Year end closing operations | Double-entry accounting

End of the Year operations include all checking, assessment and time related operation that needs to be at the end of the year before preparing the year's financial statements.

Technical aspects and new year

With Banana Accounting each accounting year has its own separate file; technically there is no concept of accounting closure:

  • When a New Year starts a new file is created with the Create New Year command.
  • You can keep working on both the New Year's file and the previous year file at the same time. Once the closing operations are complete, you can update the opening balances of the New Year's file.

Fiscal aspects

Before closing the accounting, is is necessary to proceed with a series of operations that have fiscal implications. The inventory account needs to be adapted, transactions for depreciation need to be entered, the transitional income and liabilities, the VAT declaration needs to be completed, establish how and unto which accounts the profit or loss has to be attributed and there are many other operations of verification and checking.

From the program's point of view, there is no difference whether the profit is high or low. There are a lot of implications from a fiscal point of view however. These aspects need to be verified with your own tax advisor or accountant. It can be very useful, especially when you manage an accounting for the first the time and before you proceed with the closing of the books, to consult a specialist in order to understand what is required. Accountants are usually very busy at the beginning of the year and during the period preceding the deadline for the tax declaration. It may therefore prove useful to meet with your accountant or send him the accounting file - a few months before the closing of the books, so that you can inform yourself on how to proceed.

Check accounting command

Banana Accounting allows you to quickly record and also to leave pending operations without interrupting the continuation of the work.

The Actions > Check Accounting command performs a whole series of checks, as if you were re-entering the data from the beginning, and when errors or differences are detected, these are signaled.

It is advisable to use the Check Accounting command with a certain regularity and every time there are differences or error signals, important changes (opening exchange rates, VAT codes) and especially before closing the accounting. 

Use the Filter for quick checks and corrections

To quickly perform checks, especially at year-end, we recommend using the Filter function, which allows you to filter all transactions based on a word, a phrase, an account, or a set of elements. The benefit of this function is that you can correct or modify transactions directly on the rows displayed by the filter, without having to scroll through the entire Transactions table to find transactions with the same matches.

For more details, please refer to the page:

Checks and Verifications

Before updating the opening balances, to ensure there are no discrepancies between the closing balances and the opening balances for the following year, it is important to complete all checks, verifications, and closing accounting entries. Below is a list of the main steps to follow:

Verification of Opening Balances

  • In the Accounts table, in the Opening and Balance columns, the row labeled "Difference must be zero" must not display any amount. If it does, you need to identify and correct the error to ensure the opening balance sheet is balanced.
    Note: In the Transactions view, amounts in the Debit and Credit columns are normal and expected.
  • Ensure that the accrued income and expenses from the previous year are settled.
  • Verify that the opening balances match the finalized closing balances from the previous year, which should already have been reviewed and reported to the Tax Office.
  • For multi-currency accounting, refer to the dedicated page: Opening Balances in Multi-Currency Accounting.

Verification of accounting balances

The first thing to do is undoubtedly to make sure that the account balances match. The cash account balance must match the actual cash balance. The balance of bank accounts, credit cards, loans, or credit balances must match the balance on the bank statement. The same applies to all other accounts with which you have deferrals, VAT, suppliers, etc.

If there is a difference, you must find out why and correct accordingly either the opening balance or the transactions.

Differences in the Transactions table

In the Transactions table (Info window at the bottom), check that no differences are reported. In addition to the features present in the Check accounting command,  in the Transactions table of Banana Accounting Plus there is also the Balance column, which allows you to detect all the rows where differences are created. Just a quick scrolling of the column is enough to immediately identify the accounting differences and correct them, without carrying on the errors in the New Year.

Differences between bank balances of bank statements and accounting balances (CheckBalance feature)

This operation is fundamental for the veracity of the accounting. We advise you to carry on the verification of the balances, #CheckBalance, not only at the end of the accounting period, but periodically at the end of each month, to avoid that any mismatched balances are carried on from month to month.
More information on the verification of balance at the Checkbalance page.

Multi-currency accounting

If you are using multi-currency accounting you must also set up closing exchange rates and record unrealized exchange gains and losses. For this please refer to this page:

Closing accounting transactions

At the end of the year, before moving into the New Year, there are closing accounting operations to be made. These are adjustment entries, value adjustments and adjustments relating to personnel contributions. Here are the main ones:

Import the movements of the cash account in the main accounting file
This operation is only made in case the cash account is kept separately on a separate file from the accounting.
After the import has taken place, verify that the balance of the cash account in the main accounting file corresponds to the balance of the cash file. This verification can also be done with the Check Balance function, described in the previous paragraph.

Import the payroll transactions in the accounting file
This operation is only made if the payroll is managed with a specific accounting software that allows you to import the transactions into the Banana Accounting Plus file.
The import is carried out from the menu Actions > Import into accounting > Import transactions with column header.
Remember to insert the entry of the 13th month of December quota, if this is not created by the payroll software.

Delcredere account adjustment
Companies that record on accrual method, if they foresee potential losses, must settle the Delcredere account.

Depreciation
At 31.12 it is necessary to record the depreciation of movable and immovable assets and to evaluate the possible accelerated depreciation for those assets subject to rapid obsolescence.
You can use our application Fixed Assets Register that automatically creates the depreciation transaction and you can resume them in the accounting file.

Inventory adjustment
Our Inventory application allows you to have accurate counts both by pieces and by value, helping you to determine your inventory settlement faster.

Assess customers and suppliers open invoices at 31.12
To make the process easier, with the feature of open invoices by customer and open invoices by supplier you can quickly detect the values as of 31.12.

Private use
If the company uses a company car, you need to enter the transaction for its private use with the appropriate VAT code.

Closure and VAT declaration
Before submitting the VAT declaration, we recommend the following verification operations:

  • Use the Check accounting command. In case of errors and differences, find the messages in the Information window (bottom of the screen), in the Messages section.
  • Verify that there are no differences in the Balance column of the Transactions table.
  • Check if your bank balances correspond to those shown in the bank statements.
  • Verify that, after having reversed the balance in the VAT due account (VAT to be paid to the FTA), the automatic VAT account is zero. The VAT due account must show the amount to be paid or the credit amount to be received.
  • Before submitting the last VAT return, take a look at the VAT statements for the previous quarters, to check that the amounts paid to the FTA still match the amounts displayed.
  • Use the VAT Report command to view the various reports and create a PDF printout for archiving the data. In the event of tax audits they will be useful.

Settle the account for the "Tax at the source" 
After calculating and recording December salaries, proceed to enter the transaction for the "Tax at the source" settlement, based on the statement sent to the "Tax at the source office".

Refunds for upper management
If provided, include the amount allowed by the tax authorities as a lump sum refund in the December salary.

Private account settlement
Verify the balance of the private account. If there is a debit/credit relationship between the business and the owner(s) (or close persons), record the income or expense interests as provided in the loan agreement or according to applicable tax guidelines.

Taxes and fees account settlement
Verify that down payments made during the year relate to the current year. Tax payments that relate to previous years should first be recorded to close the corresponding amounts put aside, and then (if there are any exceeding amounts), they should recorded using the "Direct Taxes" account (assets). If the balance of the provisions is insufficient or excessive, the difference must be recorded as an extraordinary expense/revenue or relating to previous periods.

Recording of AVS/AD/IPG/AD final balances

  • During the year, in the AVS contributions account, the down payments made to the Cantonal AVS Compensation Fund (Debit) and the amounts withheld from employees' salaries (Credit) are usually recorded.
  • If during the year the family allowances paid to the employees have been recorded in a dedicated account, for example in the "Family allowances contributions" account, in order to reconcile the accounting with the AVS closing statement and to record the relevant settlement, the balance of this account can be transferred to the AVS/AD contributions account.

Recording of Lainf, Lainf complementary, LPP pension final balances
With the recording of the December salaries and the payment of the thirteenth month's salaries, you must print the salary list with the indication of all gross salaries. You must report the total AVS gross amount to the employee's insurance companies, who will determine any adjustments to be paid.

Sending the file to your accountant

If the closures and/or audits are carried out by your fiduciary, just send him/her the accounting file created with Banana Accounting Plus by email or save the data on a USB key.

  • If your trustee has Banana Accounting, it is sufficient to send him/her the .ac2 file by email or via USB key. You can also save your file and the digital documents in a shared folder with your trustee on Dropbox. You will no longer have to bring heavy paperwork folders to him/her.  Also, the trustee will work faster without having to go through the paper documentation.
  • If you your trustee doesn't have Banana Accounting, you can create a PDF file of the accounting data, through the menu File menu > Create PDF dossier and send him/her the file by email. The trustee will indicate to you all the modifications and additions to be recorded in order to correctly close the accounting period.
    Alternatively, your trustee can open your accounting file using the Free version of Banana Accounting Plus, by downloading it from our Download page. If your file has over 70 transactions, he/she won't be able to add entries or make modifications, but he/she will still be able to see all the data, get accounts detailed cards just by double-clicking on any account number, etc. and advise you on possible corrections and/or improvements.

Blocking transactions

Once the closing and verification entries have been made, we recommend proceeding locking your accounting transactions.

Year end printouts

For the accounting year-end printouts you can find the information by clicking on the following links:

PDF Dossier

The Create PDF Dossier command allows you to have all the documents of the entire accounting period (account cards, journal, VAT statements, monthly, quarterly and annual reports...) in a single PDF file.

You can archive the accounting data, saving the accounting file and the PDF printouts. Eventually, make backup copies on an external disk drive.

Documentation for the audit process

On the Preparing the documentation for the Audit page, we have posted a series of notes and suggestions on documentation to send to the auditor. A complete documentation is a good basis for making the auditor's job more efficient and faster.

Profit/Loss allocation

In Banana Accounting Plus, the distribution of the profit or loss takes place automatically at the start of the  New Year. For further information consult the page Create New Year.

Changes after closing

Normally, once the closing has been done, there shouldn't be any modifications recorded. However, sometimes there may be a need to adjust the accounting, as in the following cases:

  • Unrecorded exchange rate differences at closing
  • Unrecorded missing transactions
  • Errors in the transactions.
    • Make the necessary adjustments in the following year, clearly describing the issue in a document that you will need to attach to the rectification transactions. Of course, depending on the situation, there may be tax consequences, so it is best to seek advice from your accountant.
    • In multi-currency accounting, for the issue of unrecorded exchange rate differences, follow the information on the page Differences in the opening balances.
  • If the legal framework allows you to make changes to a closed year:
    • Proceed with caution, limiting yourself only to truly necessary modifications.
    • Double-check the accounting and perform all necessary checks to ensure that the changes do not create problems.
    • After the modifications, open the file for the following year and update the initial balances using the Update opening balances command.

Preparing the documentation for Audit

Before preparing documentation to be sent to the auditor, we recommend that you review the information suggested on the Year end closure page. In addition to the information on how to use the program features, there are a number of checks and verifications that should be performed prior to closing.

Firms that are required to be audited must send a number of documents and files to the auditor.
From year to year it is easy to forget what needs to be sent to the auditor. It is therefore advisable to prepare a checklist, which includes all of the documents requested by the auditor in previous years, as well as the closing and adjusting operations to be carried out.

In order to facilitate this task, already during the year, some simple operations can be planned to ease the work for both the person managing the accounting and the one conducting the audit. We recommend the following:

The digital documents, such as invoices and receipts, can become an integral part of the accounting file. Banana Accounting allows you to insert the scanned document on the row of the contextual record. The auditor, by clicking on the link of the digital document, opens the document and can see its contents without wasting time looking for the information on paper.

PDF printouts to send to the auditor

Below is a reminder of a number of key documents that need to be sent to the auditor:

Declarations for employees

  • Declaration of OASI salaries as sent on 31.12 and year-end adjustment
  • Declaration for advanced family allowances (already included in the OASI Salary Declaration).
  • Employee salary journal
  • Employee salary account cards
  • Salary certificate
  • Non-occupational accident Insurance (NOAI) as sent on 31.12 and year-end adjustment 
  • Occupational accident insurance (OAI) as sent on 31.12 and year-end adjustment 
  • Daily allowance insurance declaration (sickness) as sent on 31.12 and year-end adjustments 
  • Pension fund (OP) extract as on 31.12
  • Quarterly IF Swiss Withholding Tax declarations and year-end statement.

Bank/postal account statements

  • Final bank and postal account statements as at 31.12
  • Bank statements as of 31.12 for possible withholding tax.
  • Loan statements as at 31.12
  • Investment statements as of 31.12
  • Copy of Form 103 sent to the FTA for the payment of withholding tax

VAT/Sales Tax declarations

  • VAT/Sales Tax statements of each quarter
  • VAT/Sales Tax declarations of each quarter
  • Reconciliation of turnover with VAT returns (required at the end of the year)
  • Possible VAT/Sales tax difference reporting forms (if differences arise between the booked and reported VAT/Sales Tax during reconciliation)

Accounting closing documents

  • List of open customer invoices as of 31.12
  • List of open supplier invoices as of 31.12
  • Inventory valuation and adjustment as of 31.12
  • Details of active and passive accruals
  • Details of fixed assets and depreciation (tables, sheets, etc.). Possible accelerated depreciation
  • Tax calculation

Official documents

  • Minutes of Ordinary Meeting of Assembly previous year
  • Extraordinary General Meeting Minutes
  • Notification of taxation previous year
  • Copy of withholding tax payment order and Form 103 submitted to the FTA for any dividends paid
  • Copy of building insurance policy
  • Documents in case of patent activation
  • Copies of leasing and rental agreements
  • Copies of new loan agreements
  • Calculation of the expense for other long-term and short-term provisions
  • Annual report of the year under review
  • Appendix (with explanations) to the balance sheet and income statement

Data export

Accounting regulations require that the accounting data be made available to auditors and inspectors in digital format.
Banana Accounting complies with these regulations because:

  • The auditor can use the free plan of Banana Accounting to open the accounting file.
  • All accounting data is easily visible in the table.
  • The data can be copied and pasted directly into other programs.
  • It is possible to export the data in different formats directly from the table.
  • The Create pdf file command exports all the accounting data in an ideal format for reading.

Extensions for data presentation and export

There are several extensions for presenting data export in specific formats.

Other useful information

Below are links where you can find other useful information for optimal accounting and document management:

 

MWST-Jahresabstimmung

Die Abstimmung des Umsatzes mit den MWST-Abrechnungen abzugleichen ist ein buchhalterischer Prozess, der sicherstellt, dass die in den MWST-Abrechnungen angegebenen Daten mit den Buchhaltungsaufzeichnungen des Unternehmens übereinstimmen. 
Weitere Informationen finden Sie auf der offiziellen Seite der Eidgenössischen Steuerverwaltung ESTV.

Überprüfungen vor der Abstimmung von Umsatz und Mehrwertsteuer

Am Jahresende verlangt der Revisor die jährliche Abstimmung zwischen dem in den MWST-Abrechnungen angegebenen Umsatz und dem in der Buchhaltung erfassten Umsatz.

Bevor die Abstimmung des Umsatzes mit den MWST-Abrechnungen vorgenommen wird, sind folgende Überprüfung durchzuführen:

Überprüfung der MWST auf Verkäufe und Einkäufe:
Mit Banana Buchhaltung können Sie auch nachträglich eine Kopie des Mehrwertsteuerberichts eines Quartals erstellen und ihn mit dem eingereichten Bericht vergleichen.

Sie können daher:

  • Die fällige Mehrwertsteuer auf die getätigten Verkäufe berechnen und mit dem in der Mehrwertsteuererklärung angegebenen Betrag vergleichen.
  • Die abzugsfähige Mehrwertsteuer auf Einkäufe berechnen und mit dem in der Mehrwertsteuererklärung angegebenen Betrag vergleichen.

Alternativ ist es möglich, eine Kopie des jährlichen Mehrwertsteuerformulars zu erstellen, um es mit den Summen der in den MWST-Formularen der vier Quartale angegebenen Beträge zu vergleichen. Bei Differenzen ist festzustellen, in welchem Quartal diese entstanden sind, und entsprechende Korrekturen vorzunehmen.

Abstimmung des Umsatzes mit der MWST-Abrechnung

Im MWST-Abrechnungsformulars (Faksimile), das an die ESTV übermittelt wird, ist für jedes Quartal der Umsatz, die fällige Mehrwertsteuer, die abzugsfähige Mehrwertsteuer und die zu zahlende Mehrwertsteuer angegeben.

Daher empfehlen wir, um mögliche Abweichungen zwischen dem jährlich gemeldeten Umsatzbetrag und dem in der Buchhaltung (Tabelle 'Konten') angezeigten Betrag festzustellen, eine Excel-Tabelle zu verwenden. In separaten Spalten sollten folgende Daten eingetragen werden:

  • Umsatz für jedes Quartal aus der Buchhaltung. Um die Quartalsumsätze leichter zu bestimmen, erstellen Sie einen Buchhalterischen Bericht mit vierteljährlicher Aufteilung und überprüfen Sie die Gruppe, die die Konten für Bruttoeinnahmen zusammenfasst.
  • Neu berechnete fällige Mehrwertsteuer für jedes Quartal mit Hilfe der Funktion MWST/USt-Zusammenfassung oder der MWST-Abrechnungen.
  • Fügen Sie eine Spalte "Umsatz-Abweichung" ein, um die Unterschiede zwischen dem gemeldeten und dem buchhalterischen Umsatz zu berechnen.
  • Fügen Sie eine Spalte "MWST-Abweichung" ein, um den Unterschied zwischen dem gemeldeten und dem neu berechneten MWST-Betrag zu berechnen.

Analysieren von Abweichungen
Wenn Abweichungen festgestellt werden, sind folgende Schritte erforderlich:

  • Identifizieren und analysieren Sie die Ursachen für eventuelle Unterschiede im Umsatz und/oder in der MWST-Abrechnung.
  • Korrigieren Sie etwaige Fehler und senden Sie das Korrekturformular an die Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung (ESTV).
  • In der MWST-Berichtigungsabrechnung müssen Sie für jede Differenz den Betrag begründen. Es ist hilfreich, auch die Buchungen einzuschliessen, bei denen Fehler gemacht wurden oder die zu Unterschieden geführt haben (z.B. Buchungen ohne MWST-Code).

Hier ist ein einfaches Beispiel für ein Schema zur Ermittlung von Unterschieden. Jeder kann das Excel-Blatt nach eigenen Vorstellungen verwalten.

riconciliazione IVA

 

Hauptursachen für Unterschiede im Umsatz

Als Grundregel in Banana Buchhaltung tragen alle Buchungen, die mit einem MWST-Code versehen sind, zur Mehrwertsteuerberechnung und zur Bestimmung der Beträge in den entsprechenden Feldern der MWST-Abrechnung bei. In den Buchungen können verschiedene Ursachen vorliegen, die zu Diskrepanzen bei der Abstimmung des Umsatzes führen:

  • Wenn in einer Buchung mit MWST der MWST-Code fehlt, wird der entsprechende MWST-Betrag und der steuerpflichtige Betrag nicht im Faksimile des MWST-Abrechnungsformulars berücksichtigt. In der Buchhaltung hingegen führt eine Verkaufsbuchung auf dem Verkaufskonto dazu, dass der Betrag den Umsatz bestimmt.
  • Es wurden Buchungen mit MWST nach der Übermittlung der Mehrwertsteuerdaten an die ESTV hinzugefügt.
  • Buchungen mit Mehrwertsteuer wurden, auch versehentlich, nach der Übermittlung der MWST-Daten gelöscht.
  • Es wurden Buchungen mit falschem Datum eingegeben und sind in das bereits abgeschlossene Quartal berechnet worden.
  • Wenn es Stornierungen gibt und der entsprechende MWST-Code mit einem Minuszeichen nicht verwendet wurde.
  • Es wurden MWST-Codes bei Anpassungen und Abschlussbuchungen eingetragen, die normalerweise keinen Mehrwertsteuercode haben sollten.
  • Bei Stornierungen von Auslandsverkäufen wurde fälschlicherweise der Code VE-0 eingetragen. In diesem Fall kommt es zu einer Diskrepanz, da bei einer Stornierung der Verkauf als Belastung verbucht wird und somit zu einer Verringerung des Umsatzes führt. Im Gegensatz dazu wird bei Code VE-0 der Betrag des Verkaufs vom Programm als Teil des Umsatzes betrachtet und daher hinzugefügt.

Vorbereitung eines Abstimmungsberichts

  • Dokumentieren Sie den Abstimmungsprozess, indem Sie die festgestellten Unterschiede und vorgenommenen Korrekturen vermerken.
  • Verfassen Sie einen detaillierten Bericht, der alle Phasen des Abstimmungsprozesses und die erzielten Ergebnisse hervorhebt.

Nützliche Werkzeuge

  • Buchhaltungssoftware: Banana Buchhaltung ermöglicht es, auch zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt, Nachbildungen von Mehrwertsteuerformularen, Mehrwertsteuerzusammenfassungen, Jahresabschlussberichte und quartalsweise unterteilte Berichte zu erstellen. Dies erleichtert den Vergleich von Daten über einen längeren Zeitraum hinweg, um Unterschiede oder Fehler bei der Berechnung der Mehrwertsteuer und des Umsatzes zu identifizieren.
  • Tabellenkalkulation: Erstellen Sie eine Tabellenkalkulation (z.B. Excel), in die Sie Daten aus Banana kopieren und einfügen können, um Verkaufs-, Einkaufs- und Mehrwertsteuererklärungsdaten zu verfolgen und zu vergleichen.

Empfehlungen

  • Regelmässige Überprüfungen: Führen Sie regelmäßige Überprüfungen durch, um Fehler und Diskrepanzen rechtzeitig zu erkennen und zu korrigieren.
  • Genauigkeit und Sorgfalt für Details: Seien Sie besonders aufmerksam und sorgfältig bei der Durchführung der Abstimmung, um sicherzustellen, dass alle Daten korrekt sind.
  • Unterstützung durch einen Fachmann: Ziehen Sie die Unterstützung eines Steuerberaters oder Fachexperten in Betracht, um sicherzustellen, dass der Abstimmungsprozess richtig durchgeführt wird und mögliche Fehler vermieden werden.

Create New Year | Double-entry accounting

The Actions > Create New Year command prepares a file for the new year based on the accounting file that is being closed. The command does not modify the current file, so it can be executed without any effect.

Logics of the transition to the New Year

With Banana Accounting you have a separate file for each year. When the new year starts, the operational logic is as follows:

  • With the Actions > Create New Year command, the Program creates a new file for the year, using the same chart of accounts, settings and balances of the current year that is about to close.
    • Once the new year file is created, save it with a new name.
    • The operation of creating the new file can be repeated if you decide not to save the file.
  • You can work on both files at the same time:
    • In the new one, the transactions of the new year will be entered. It will also be possible to make changes to the chart of accounts, VAT or other, without affecting the previous one.
    • In the previous year's file, the operations will continue to be entered in order to complete the year and carry out the typical closing operations, verification of balances, printing of reports etc.
  • In the New Year's file, with the command Actions > Update Opening Balances, the changes that were made in the previous year's file are resumed. This operation should be done at the latest when there are no more changes in the previous year.

Once the New Year's file has been created, those who have subscribed to the Professional Plan of Banana Accounting Plus, will see the message Advanced Plan in demonstration mode. This message will appear in the Info window at the bottom of the screen and it will only disappear when reaching 70 transaction rows in the Transactions table.

Checking and closing previous year's accounts

Before updating the opening balances, to ensure there are no discrepancies between the closing balances and the opening balances for the following year, it is important to complete all checks, verifications, and closing accounting transactions.

In Banana Accounting Plus, under the Advanced plan, the Filter function is available. This feature is particularly useful during the closing process to quickly search for rows with the same texts or values based on the key entered for the filter (e.g., word, account, amount, etc.). With this function, it is possible to make corrections directly on the filtered rows, without scrolling through the entire Transactions table—especially at year-end, when the number of transactions is high.

For more details, please refer to the following pages:

Operations performed by the Create new year command

The Create new year command performs automatically the following operations, taking into account the parameters set by the user:

  • Creates a new file (with no name) with the chart of accounts and all the settings identical to your current file, but without transactions.
  • Copies the data from the Balance column of your current file to the Opening column of the new file (only for the selected classes)
  • Adds the profit or loss of the previous year to the opening balance of the indicated Balance Sheet account or accounts for the breakdown (usually the Profit / Loss carried forward account is indicated).
  • Copies the data for all the Balance Sheet accounts from the Balance column of your current file to the Previous Year column of the new file.
  • Updates the File and accounting Properties:
    • Sets the start and end dates, adding 1 year to the existing ones.
    • In the Options section, sets the previous year's file name and enables the option to use the previous year's transactions for autocompletion.
  • In Multi-currency accounting, enters the closing exchange rates of the previous year as opening exchange rates.
  • If there are data in the Budget table, it carries over the operation rows in the new year taking into account the settings.
  • If the Segments option is activated, it creates opening transactions for the segments.

 Create New Year dialog

The Create New Year dialog allows you to specify the parameters for creating the new year file:

create new year

Carry forward account opening balances

The opening balances of the selected options are carried forward:

Balance Sheet
Carries forward the balances of active, passive and equity accounts. This option should generally be activated.

Profit and Loss statement (not recommended)
The balances of the expense and income accounts must NOT be carried forward to the new year.
This option is only used in special situations. Activate this option only if you are sure of what you are doing.

Off balance sheet
Reports accounts with BClass (5 and 6)

Cost centers
They must be activated if the cost centers are used to manage positions that must be continuous over time, such as customers, suppliers and partners.

Cost center CC1
Those starting with a dot ".".

Cost center CC2
Those starting with a comma ",".

Cost center CC3
Those starting with a semicolon ";".
For further information see the Cost / Profit Centers page.

Segments
The opening balances of the Segments are created with opening transactions in the Transactions table.

  • For further information see the Segments page.
  • The program creates a transaction for each account and segment matching, exactly resuming the final situation of the previous year.
  • It is recommended not to enter opening balances of the segments using the Opening column. If this was done in the previous year, the program will report the balance again in the New Year's Opening column.

Note: settlement operations such as the recognition and closure of transitional accounts, these must be entered manually.

Allocation profit/loss

When the opening balances are carried over into the new year, the profit carryover accounts are added to the figures shown.

Total to allocate
The program will automatically indicate the profit/loss amount that needs to be allocated. 

Accounts
Select the account or accounts (up to three) into which the operating result is to be divided. If there are several accounts for the allocation of the financial year result, the amount must be entered manually in the appropriate boxes.

If only one account is indicated, the amount will be automatically entered into the account selected from the list. The program automatically updates the opening balances. The total assets corresponds exactly to the total liabilities.

Allocation of the result of the accounting period on more than three accounts.
In this case, allocate the result of the accounting period automatically on the Profit or loss brought forward account as usual, and continue to proceed with the creation of the new year.
In the Transactions table of the new year (new file), perform a multiple posting to attribute the operating result from the Profit and loss account carried forward to the desired accounts.

Postponing the allocation of the profit or loss for the year
If you do not want to allocate the year's profit or loss yet, you can proceed to the creation of the new year anyway, by clicking on the OK button. Afterwards you can proceed to allocate the operating result from the menu Actions > Update opening balances. The program displays the same window that appears with the Create New Year command.

Save the new file

The program creates a new accounting file for the new year:

  • Confirm the File and accounting properties for the new year. The program resumes the headings of the previous year and automatically enters the start and end date of the new year.
  • Via the File > Save as.. command, indicate the folder where the new accounting file needs to be saved.
    We recommend that you enter the company name and year as the name.
    See also Organise accounting files locally.

If there are differences or other error messages, you may also not save the created file and repeat the new year file creation operation later.

Message: Plan Professional with Advanced functions up to 70 rows

The message that appears in the Professional Plan in use, Active Plan: Professional Plan. Advanced Plan functions are available up to 70 rows, only confirms that the Advanced Plan functions are also active and you can benefit from them free of charge, up to 70 lines of transactions, without interfering in any way with the use of the Professional Plan, where you can continue recording without any limit. This message disappears automatically when you exceed 70 lines.

Update Opening Balances

After having entered the last modifications in the previous year, use the Actions > Update Opening balances command, to retrieve the opening balances and attribute the profit of the last year anew.

This operation can be repeated several times and can be carried out safely, as the integrity of the data during the changeover is guaranteed and there is no loss of information.

If you wish to switch to another type of accounting for the new year (with multi-currency or with VAT) proceed with the creation of the new file and then use the command Tools > Convert to new file.

If you want to create a copy of the file, without reporting the balances, use the command Tools > Create file copy

Modifying balances carried forward

Once the balances have been carried over into the new year (new file), if there is a need to change the opening balances, they can be changed manually by changing the amounts in the following columns:

  • Opening column of the Accounts table.
  • Previous column, for balances relating to the previous year.
  • In the Transactions table for the Segments.

If you have made changes in the previous year's file, click on the menu Actions > Update Opening balances, to resume and update the opening balances again.

Update opening balances

The Update Opening Balances (Actions menu) command takes data from the previous year's file and updates the opening balances for the current year.

When do you need to use the Update Opening balances command?

The Update Opening Balances command is required in the following cases:

  • You have created the New Year with the Create New Year command, but you still made changes to the previous year's file (additional transactions, new accounts, ..).
  • You decided to change the allocation of the the profit or loss for the year.

Check the previous year accounting

In order to avoid differences between the previous year closing balances and the New Year and opening balances, it is important, before using the Update opening balance command, to make sure that you have carried out all the checks, verification operation and all the closing accounting entries as indicated in the Year end closure page.

The Update Opening balances dialog window

In order to access this dialog, use the Actions menu → Update opening balances command.
You need to enter the path to where the previous year's file is located:

  • The program will suggest the name of the saved file
  • If the file's name or the location path is changed you the Browse button

adjust opening balances

Operations carried forward by this command

The command resumes the data from the previous year, without changing its contents. This command can therefore be repeated without any impact on the previous year's file.

The command performs the same operations as in Create New Year , except those referring to the creation of the file.

If the opening balances of the Profit and Loss Account accounts were reported in error, follow the information on the Difference in opening balances  page (item 5 Solutions) to correct this.

Change of the Chart of Accounts of the previous year

If after creating the New Year you add accounts to the previous year and carry over the balances, the program may indicate an error.

  • Update the Chart of Accounts for the current year.
  • Repeat the Update Opening balances operation

You can import changes with the Import Accounts command.

Edit current year chart of accounts

If, after creating the new year, you change the numbering of the accounts, when you issue the command Update opening balances, the programme will indicate that it cannot find the accounts. 
In this case, you must update the account balances manually:

  • Opening column ( Accounts table > Base view)
  • Previous column ( Accounts table > Previous view)

How to reclassify the balance sheet and income statement

In Banana Accounting Plus, the reclassification of the balance sheet and income statement is done through the External Accounting Report, a file separate from the accounting, designed to set up a customized presentation of the data. This allows accounts to be grouped differently from the standard chart of accounts structure.

The grouping scheme defined in the External Accounting Report is linked to the accounting file to extract, total, and present the accounts according to the new desired classification. This feature is available exclusively with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Create an Accounting Report File

To create an Accounting Report file:

  • Menu File > New > Accounting Report
  • You can choose from an existing template or start from a new one
  • Once created, save the file with a name.

Below is an example of a predefined Accounting Report used to create a reclassification of the Balance Sheet according to Art. 959 of the Swiss Code of Obligations.

Everyone can choose to have their own, starting from an empty file.

  • When creating your own Accounting Report, groups and totals can be freely defined.
  • It is also possible to customize the Accounting Report used in this example by downloading it from our program, as indicated in the previous sections, and customize the accounts or groups for your own reclassification.

new external Report file
 

The Columns of the Accounting Report

The Accounting Report table includes the same columns found in the Accounts table, where the Accounts or Groups for Totals are set up based on a custom scheme. 

In the example, groups and totals were created for the reclassification of the Balance Sheet according to Art. 959 of the Swiss Code of Obligations.

Balance Sheet Report according to Swiss Code of Obligations

Section
This column is used to indicate the value to be used in the presentation.
For the different options, see the Documentation on sections.

Group
Indicates the group in which to totalize the accounts retrieved from the accounting and the total group.

Account (visible only in the Complete view)
The account from the accounting file to be included in the accounting report.

  • If accounts are entered, only those specified accounts will be included when the Report is executed.
  • If no accounts are entered, the accounts from the accounting will be included, linked via the group.

Description
Description of the grouping or account.

Sum In
In the Sum In column, the Group (total row) in which the row should be totalized is indicated.

Tot
If set to "Yes", only the total row is displayed, not the individual account rows that make it up.
See Show only group totals in the Accounting Report.

Keep
Normally, the report includes total rows that contain accounts with balances.
If set to Yes, this column ensures the row is always shown. It can be applied to both groups (totals) and accounts.

With Mov.
Applies to groups with a zero balance.
The row is displayed if there have been movements during the period.

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Methods for Reclassifying the Balance Sheet and Income Statement

To reclassify the balance sheet and income statement, you must first prepare the Accounting Report file.

There are two methods to set up the Accounting Report file for the reclassification of the balance sheet and income statement:

1. Reclassify Based on the Group Column

This method allows the reclassification of the balance sheet and income statement using the Group column of the Accounting Report file.

In the Accounting Report, you create your own system of groups and subgroups

accounting report group column


In the Section column, a number is inserted to define the title of the various sections in the printout.

  • In the Group column, enter the groups that will total a series of accounts from the accounting file.
    In the example, Group 101A of the accounting report totals the liquidity accounts (cash, bank, post, etc.).
  • In the Gr column, insert the group that will totalize the individual groups listed in the previous rows.
    In the example, in the Gr column, 1.1, which corresponds to Group 1.1, will totalize the Current Assets.

In the accounting file, to link with the Accounting Report, you must set the GR1 column

accounting report GR1 column

  • In the Accounts table, column Gr1 or Gr2, insert the group set in the Accounting Report, in which the account should be totalized.
    In the example, in the GR1 column all liquidity accounts have the group 1.1.A, which in the accounting report totalizes the Liquidity accounts.
    If the Gr1 column is not visible, use the command Data > Columns setup.
  • Accounts without any linkage will not be included in the Report.

 

2. Reclassify Based on Accounts

This method is useful when you want to include only certain accounts from the accounting in the Accounting Report file

report account grouping accounts
 

  • In the Section column, a number is inserted to define the title of the various sections in the printout
  • In the Group column, the groups that total each account imported from the accounting are defined
    In the example, Group E1.1 of the accounting report totals accounts 3000, 4000, 4500 from the Accounting Report
  • In the Account column, enter the same account numbers from the accounting that you want to include in the Accounting Report
    Only the specified accounts will be included in the report.
  • In the Description column, enter the description of the accounts
    In the Sum In column, enter the totalization group (e.g. E.1, E1.2...).

Print the Accounting Report 

The Accounting Report that reclassifies the balance sheet and income statement is displayed and printed from the accounting file :

 

You obtain a printout like the Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups, but with your own reclassification.

You obtain a printout like the Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups, but with your own reclassification.

Or:

accounting report dialog

A table view is displayed, similar to the Accounts table, but with your own reclassification 

Multi-currency accounting

Multi-currency double-entry accounting is an application of Banana Accounting Plus, to manage accounts in any foreign currency. It is free up to 70 transactions in the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus. In the Professional and Advanced plans it is instead unlimited.

Ideal for those who work abroad or with foreign countries and want to professionally manage accounts in different currencies.

multi-currency transactions

Powerful and immediate calculations

  • Based on double-entry accounting
  • Management of accounts in any foreign currency
  • Automated calculations and exchange rate differences
  • Account statements with values in base and foreign currencies, Journal, Report
  • Balance sheets also in a second currency
  • Multi-currency financial forecasts

Multi-currency accounting documentation

Multi-currency accounting is a double-entry bookkeeping with the addition of multi-currency management, with many topics common to double-entry bookkeeping. For topics that are missing in the multi-currency documentation or for more in-depth information, please consult the Double-entry accounting pages.

 

Basics of multi-currency accounting

 

Chart of accounts, file properties and exchange rates table
We recommend to select one of the already configured examples and to personalize it according to your requirements. Please note that the Chart of Accounts must include accounts in foreign currencies as well as an account for profit and loss from foreign exchange.

Transactions
Accounting transactions must be entered in the same way as the double-entry accounting transactions

Printouts

Convert double-entry accounting into multi-currency accounting

If, during the year, you need to convert your double-entry accounting file into a multi-currency accounting you can do that easily. In order to add multi-currency features to a double-entry accounting file, please visit the Convert to new file page.

Insights

 

Comenzar contabilidad multidivisa

Creación de un archivo de contabilidad, a partir de una plantilla

Sigue los siguientes pasos:

  1. Menú Archivo, comando Nuevo.
  2. Selecciona la Región, la Categoría y el Tipo de contabilidad.
  3. De la lista de las plantillas que aparece, selecciona la que más se adecue a tus necesidades.
  4. Haz clic en Crear.

En Buscar, cuando se introduce una palabra clave, el programa muestra las plantillas que contienen la palabra clave introducida.

También es posible empezar desde un archivo en blanco, mediante la opción Crear archivo en blanco. En cualquier caso, para facilitar el inicio y evitar errores de agrupación, recomendamos que siempre se empiece desde un modelo ya existente.

 

Más información sobre cómo crear un archivo desde cero disponible en la página Create New File.

Configuración de las propiedades de los archivos (datos de base)

  • Desde el menú Archivo, comando Propiedades del archivo y contables indica el nombre de la compañía que aparecerá en el encabezado de las impresiones y en el resto de los datos.
  • Selecciona  la moneda base, con la que se guardará la contabilidad.

Guardar en disco

En el menú Archivo -> Guardar como, guarda los datos y asigna un nombre al archivo. Aparece el usual diálogo de guardar de tu sistema operativo.

  • Es aconsejable utilizar el nombre de la empresa seguido del año: "Compañía-2020" para distinguirlo de otros archivos contables.
    El programa añadirá la extensión "ac2".
  • Puedes mantener tantas cuentas como necesites, cada una tendrá su propio nombre.
  • Puedes elegir la carpeta que quieras, (Por ejemplo, Documentos -> Contabilidad) y el soporte que prefieras, como un disco duro, usb o la nube.
    Si también deseas tener documentos vinculados a las cuentas del año en curso, se recomienda crear un directorio separado para cada año contable y agrupar todos los archivos.
 

Uso general del programa

Banana Accounting se inspira en Excel. Las instrucciones de uso y los comandos se han mantenido lo más parecido posible a los de Microsoft Office. Para más información sobre el uso general del programa, nos remitimos a las explicaciones de nuestra página Program interface.
La contabilidad está recogida en tablas; todas ellas tienen el mismo modo de funcionamiento.

Tabla tipos de cambio

Antes de introducir las transacciones multidivisas es necesario definir los parámetros de las monedas utilizadas en la Tabla de Tipos de cambio.


Personalizar el plan de cuentas

En la tabla de Cuentas, personaliza el plan de cuentas y adáptalo a tus necesidades:

  • Añade nuevas cuentas y/ o elimina cuentas existentes (ver Añadir nuevas líneas)
  • Modifica los números de cuenta, las descripciones (por ejemplo, inserta el nombre de tu propia cuenta bancaria), inserta otros grupos, etc.
  • Para crear subgrupos, por favor consulta nuestra página Grupos.

En el plan de cuentas también se pueden definir los Centros de coste o Segmentos, utilizados para asignar los importes de forma más detallada o específica.


La tabla de Registros

Las transacciones multidivisa deben introducirse en la tabla Registros; juntos constituyen el Libro diario.

 

Acelerar la grabación de los registros

Para acelerar la grabación de los registros, puedes utilizar:

  • la función Smart fill que permite el autocompletado automático de los datos que ya han sido introducidos en una fecha anterior.
  • la función Registros memorizados function, utilizada para memorizar las transacciones recurrentes en una tabla separada.
  • importando el extracto de tu cuenta bancaria o postal de la banca electrónica.


Verificar las facturas de los clientes y proveedores

Banana te permite controlar las facturas a pagar y las facturas emitidas. Por favor, consulta:


La Tarjeta de Cuenta

La Tarjeta de Cuenta muestra automáticamente todas las transacciones que se han registrado en la misma cuenta (por ejemplo, efectivo, banco, clientes, etc).

Para visualizar una tarjeta de cuenta, sólo tienes que posicionarte con el ratón sobre el número de cuenta y hacer clic en el pequeño símbolo azul que aparece.

Tarjeta de cuenta por periodo

Para abrir una tarjeta de cuenta con balances de cuenta en fechas predefinidas, haz clic en el menú Cuenta1, Tarjetas de cuenta, y pincha en Periodo especificado en la pestaña Periodo introduciendo la fecha de comienzo y fin del periodo.
Para más información consulta la página Period.

Imprime la tarjeta de cuenta

Para imprimir una tarjeta de cuenta, sólo despliega la tarjeta desde la tabla de Cuentas o la tabla de Registros y ejecuta la impresión desde el menú Archivo.

Para imprimir varias o todas las Tarjetas de Cuentas, haz clic en Cuenta1, comando Tarjeta de Cuenta, y selecciona la tarjeta de cuenta que quieres imprimir. Mediante el Filtro se pueden seleccionar automáticamente todas las tarjetas de cuenta, o sólo una parte de todas ellas (por ejemplo, sólo las cuentas, centros de coste, segmentos), que necesitan ser impresas.

Para más información véase la página Account Card.

La Hoja de Balance y la Cuenta de Pérdidas y Ganancias

La Hoja de Balance muestra los saldos de todas las cuentas, Activos & Pasivos. La diferencia entre el activo y el pasivo determina el capital.

 

La visualización e impresión de la Hoja de Balance se ejecuta desde el menú Cuenta1, comandos Estado de resultados avanzado y Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos.

  • El comando Estado de resultados avanzado simplemente muestra todas las cuentas sin distinguir Grupos o Subgrupos.
  • El comando Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos enumera todas las cuentas al tiempo que subdivide los grupos y subgrupos; además, presenta numerosas características para personalizar la presentación, funciones no disponibles en el Estado de resultados avanzado.


Archivar datos en formato PDF

Al final del año, cuando la contabilidad esté hecha, corregida y revisada, puedes almacenar todos los datos contables con el comando Crear Archivo Pdf del menú Archivo.


El Presupuesto

Antes de empezar el año contable, puedes crear un presupuesto con tus gastos e ingresos estimados, para tener control sobre la situación financiera y económica de tu empresa.
 
El presupuesto puede establecerse de dos maneras diferentes:
  1. Tabla Cuentas, columna Presupuesto. Para cada cuenta se indica el presupuesto anual.
    En este caso, cuando configuras el Presupuesto desde el menú Cuenta1, comando Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, la columna Presupuesto muestra las cantidades que se corresponden con el año completo.
  2. En la tabla Presupuesto, que se puede activar a través del menú Herramientas, Agregar nuevas funcionalidades.
    En esta tabla se pueden introducir todos los gastos e ingresos presupuestados por medio de la entrada de transacciones. Si activas esta tabla, la columna de la tabla de cuentas se desactivará automáticamente.
    En este caso se puede establecer un presupuesto detallado, teniendo en cuenta las posibles variaciones a lo largo del año y en diferentes períodos del mismo.

Para más detalle, consulta la página Budget.

 

Characteristics of the Multi-currency accounting

Thanks to Banana Multi-currency accounting, you can easily work on an international level, in the language you want and with the foreign currency accounts you need. Again, the structure is that of spreadsheets, similar to Excel and with all the resources of the other Banana applications. The functions are based on the Double-entry accounting methodology. Should you need to manage VAT you can activate the VAT features at any time.

It will prove particularly interesting for those who have foreign operations, for associations that generally operate all over the world or run projects and simply for those who require accounts in foreign currency in their bookkeeping.

The multiple functions of Multi-currency

  • Manage as many accounts as you wish in foreign currency
    You don't need to have separate managements to handle accounts in other currencies. In the same Chart of Accounts used for your accounting, enter the accounts in foreign currency, set the exchange rates in the exchange rate table for exchange differences and you are ready to transact.
  • You can set any currency, standard or freely defined curdrency codes (to use any digital currency).
  • Decimals for currencies can be set from 0 to 28. Generally 2 decimals are used, but the accounting can be set to use 0 decimals, or 3 decimals (Tunisia) or more if it is used for crypto currencies. 9 decimal (Bitcoin) or 18 (Ethereum)
  • Same methodology as double-entry accounting
    You will work with the same double-entry accounting method, therefore register the debit and credit and you will have all the reports and details of a professional accounting.
  • Automatic exchange rate calculation
    The moment you create a foreign currency account, you will not need to calculate the equivalent in foreign currency manually, the program automatically calculates the exchange rate. You can enter the exchange rate either by updating the exchange rate in the Exchange rate table or directly in the Transactions table in the Exchange rate column.
  • Transactions in different currencies
    You are able to enter all necessary cases of transactions in foreign currency, including transfers and those that do not include the basic currency. This allows for complex operations to be carried out in your accounting.
  • Complete reports with balance sheet, income statement
    Accounts of both the balances in foreign currency and of the equivalent value in the basic currency (national currency) will be displayed in the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.
    If you have foreign business relationships and you need to present the Balance Sheet and Income statement in a second currency, this is possible without creating separate reports in Excel, just go to the Accounts table, select the Currency2 tab and you will have the display of all the accounts in the second currency and as well as in the basic currency.
  • Account cards with amounts in foreign currency and basic currency
    The account cards can be viewed with the columns of the amounts in basic and foreign currency. This allows you to evaluate the balances in both currencies.
  • Free exchange rates in the Exchange table
    You can set the exchange rates for various needs: variable exchange rates, fixed exchange rates, different exchange rates for the same currency, for example to manage investments and without affecting accounts with the same currency.
  • Automatic exchange rate differences
    When you need to calculate the exchange rate differences, just update the exchange rate in the Exchange rate table and use the relative command; the differences will be entered in the Transactions table automatically.
  • Budgets are also possible with the Multi-currency
    In the Multi-currency accounting file you can also budget the liquidity of the accounts in a foreign currency, as well as all the budgets related to the Balance Sheet and Income aspects. You can print Budgets and forecast reports, or combine them, with the columns of the Budget, Balance Sheet and relative variations.
  • Automatic check for unrecorded exchange differences
    When using the Check Accounting command, you will no longer have unrecorded exchange differences, because if they exist, they will be reported. This function is particularly important to avoid having exchange rate differences in the opening balances when you create the new year.
  • Financial statements, economic accounts and reports, also in a second currency.

Multi-currency accounting, based on the double entry has many other characteristics identical to the double-entry accounting, which you can refer to on the following page:

Theory of multi-currency accounting

In this section, the basic theoretical notions about currency exchange are being explained.

Exchange rates and accounting issues

Every nation has its own currency and to obtain another currency it is necessary to buy it using the appropriate exchange rate. The price of a currency, as compared to another one is called the exchange rate. To exchange money means to convert the amounts of one currency into another. The exchange (exchange rate) varies constantly and indicates the rate of conversion.

For example, on January 1st

  • 1 Euro (EUR) was equal to 1,22637 US Dollar (USD)
  • 1 US Dollar was equal to 0,81529 Euro
  • 1 EUR was equal to 1,08222 Swiss Franc (CHF)
  • 1 EUR was equal to 126,52 Japanese Yen (JPY)

Basic Currency

Amounts referring to different currencies cannot be totaled directly. It is necessary to have a basic currency to refer to and to be used for the totals.
The central point of accounting is that the totals of the “Debit” balances must correspond to the totals of the “Credit” balances. To verify that the accounting is balanced, there must be a single currency with which to do the totals.
If there are different currencies, the basic currency must be indicated before anything else. Once the basic currency has been selected and some transactions have been executed, the basic currency can no longer be altered. To change the basic currency, the accounting must be closed and another one created with a different basic currency.
The basic currency is also used to establish the Balance Sheet and to calculate the profit or loss of the period.

Each amount has its equivalent in basic currency

To be able to add the totals and verify that the operations balance, it is necessary to have the equivalent in basic currency for every transaction. This way you can check that the total of the Debit entries is the same as the total of the Credit ones.
If the basic currency is EUR and there are transactions in USD, there needs to be an exchange value in Euros for every transaction in US Dollars. All the EUR amounts will be totaled to verify the accounting balances.

Account currency

Each account has its own currency symbol which indicates in which currency the account will be managed.
You must therefore indicate what the currency of the account will be. Each account will then have its own balance expressed in its own currency.
Only transactions in that currency will be permitted on this account. If the account is in EUR, then there can only be EUR entries on this account; if the account is in USD, then there can only be entries in USD currency on this account.
When you have to manage entries in YEN, then you have to have an account whose symbol is the YEN.

Account Balance in basic currency

For each account, alongside the balance in the account’s own currency, the balance in basic currency will also be kept, in order to calculate the balance sheet in basic currency.
The account card for the USD bank account has to correspond exactly to the bank statement as far as the USD amounts are concerned.
The value in basic currency will always be specified for each accounting entry. If the account is in USD, in the entries there will also be its value in EUR, beyond the amounts in USD. The EUR balance will be determined by the sum of all the entries expressed in EUR. The actual balance in basic currency will depend on the exchange rate factors used to calculate the exchange value of each single entry to EUR.
If on a given day you take the actual balance in USD and convert it to EUR at the prevailing daily exchange rate, you will get an exchange value that differs from the balance of the account in basic currency. This difference is due to the fact that the exchange rate used for entries on a daily basis is different from the actual daily exchange rate.
Thus there is a difference between the actual value at the daily exchange rate and the accounting balance in basic currency. This accounting difference is called the exchange rate difference.
The difference between the balance in basic currency and the calculated value has to be registered, when the accounting is closed, as an exchange rate profit or loss.  

 

Balances in another currency (currency2)

All the accounting reports will be calculated in basic currency. If you take the basic currency values and change them into another currency, you will get the balance in another currency. The program has a Currency2 column where all the values are automatically entered and presented in the currency specified as Currency2. The logic for the conversion of the amounts is the following:

  • If Currency2 is the same as the account or operation currency, then the original value will be used.
  • If the account is in USD and Currency2 is USD, the USD amount will be used.
  • In all other cases the basic currency amount will be used and changed into Currency2.
  • The daily exchange rate is used. Even for past entries, the exchange value in Currency2 will be expressed on the basis of the most recent exchange rate, and not on the historical one used on the day of the entry.

You need to pay attention to the fact that a balance converted to another currency will show small differences in the totals. Often the converted value of a total is not equal to the sum of split exchange values, as can be seen from the following example:

 

Basic currency EUR

Currency 2 USD
     

Cash

1.08

1.42

Bank

1.08

1.42

Total Assets

2.16

2.84
     

Personal capital

2.16

2.85

Total Liabilities

2.16

2.85

In the basic currency, total assets are equal to total liabilities. It is permitted to present a Balance Sheet that contains differences only if they are understandable and if it is indicated that they were due to calculations from another currency.

Accounts table, Currency 2 view

Account table, Currency2 view

 

Converting currencies

Banana Accounting Plus is the accounting software that allows you to easily manage multi-currency accounting, with automatic currency conversion based on preset exchange rates. You can try it for free right now with Banana WebApp:

Open a multi-currency model of Banana Accounting Plus

Learn more about the multi-currency feature of Banana Accounting Plus

Below, we explain the theory of how exchange rates work.

Variability of exchange rates

The purchase/sale of currencies occurs in a free market. The price (exchange rate) is based on the law of supply and demand. The differences in the exchange value can be more or less important according to the fluctuations of the exchange rate.

The exchange rates in the following examples, are not the actual daily ones, but are fictitious to explain the problematic.

DateExchange rate EUR/USDEquivalent in EUR
of USD 1000.00		Equivalent value difference compared to 01-01
01-011.320301'320.03 
31-031.333501'333.5013.47
30-061.347501'347.5027.47
30-091.427201'427.20107.17

 


The exchange rate
The exchange rate refers to the basic currency. There are always two different exchange values between two currencies, according to the currency that is used as the basic currency.

For the USD and Euro currency, there are therefore two different exchange rates:

  • If the basic currency of the exchange is EUR then the exchange rate is 1.32030
    1 Euro (EUR) corresponds to 1.32030 US Dollars (USD)
  • If the basic currency of the exchange is USD then the exchange rate is 0.75800
    1 US Dollar corresponds to 0.75800 Euros

In the current document, the Euro will be regularly used as the basic currency, to which other currencies will be compared.


Inverse exchange rate
Having the exchange of EUR/USD at 1.32030, it is possible to find the exchange rate of USD/EUR by dividing 1 by the exchange rate.

Exchange rate

Inverse exchange rate

1/exchange rate

Inverse exchange rate rounded to 6 digits
EUR/USD 1.320300.758000.758000

 

The exchange values calculated with an inverse exchange can turn out to be different from the original one due to rounding.

Exchange rateInverse exchange rateExchange value 10000 x original exchange rateExchange value 10000 x inverse exchange rateDifference
EUR/USD 1.320300.7580013'203.0013'192.6110.39

Don't use inverse exchanges rates in order to avoid differences.
For the transition to the Euro, for example, the use of inverse exchange rates was prohibited.

Multiplier
There are currencies that have very large exchange rate values.

Always on January 1st

  • 1 US Dollar = 670,800 Turkish Lira
  • 1 Turkish Lira (TRL) = 0.00000149 US Dollar (USD)

Instead of using that many zeros, it can be said that

  • 1000 Turkish Lira (TRL) = 0.00149 US Dollar (USD)

In this case, the multiplier is 1000 instead of 1.


Preciseness 
As a rule, an exchange rate is specified with a preciseness of at least 6 figures after the decimal.
There are, however, cases where it is necessary be more precise.

  • 1 Turkish Lira (TRL) = 0.00000149 US Dollar (USD)

When the preciseness is changed and the exchange is rounded in a different way, the amounts also change. The preciseness with which the exchange is specified is very important.


Minimum denomination
  Especially for paper money, minimum denominations are used. As a rule the lowest denomination for Swiss francs is five centimes (0.05). When an exchange occurs, for example EUR/CHF:

1 EUR = 1.60970 CHF

EURExchange rateActual exchange value in CHFRounded to lowest CHF denominationDifferenceEffective exchange rate
10.001.6097016.0916.100.011.61

   

Calculation of exchange rates and values
When the Euro is the basic currency

The exchange factor for EUR/USD is 1.32030
1 Euro (EUR) is equal to 1.32030 US Dollars (USD).

Calculation of the exchange value:
Multiply the basic currency amount by the exchange factor:

EUR 100 x 1.32030 = USD 132.03

Calculate the basic currency amount:

Divide the destination currency by the exchange rate:

USD 132.03 / 1.32030 = EUR 100

Calculate the exchange factor:

Divide the basic currency amount by the destination currency amount:

EUR 100 / USD 132.03 = 0.7574   

Exchange rates for purchases and sales
Banks carry out the purchase and sale of currencies and include a transaction margin. They apply different exchange rates depending on whether a determined currency is being bought or sold.

Sale: the bank receives domestic money and provides (sells) foreign money.

Purchase: the bank receives (purchases) foreign money and provides domestic money.   

Currency exchange and banknotes exchange (premium)
Currency exchange: exchange for scriptural transactions (from one account to the other).
Banknote exchange: exchange for banknotes.
Premium: commission for converting a scriptural amount to cash.

To exchange currency, the banks maintain a lesser margin (the difference between purchase/sale) compared to exchanging banknotes. When a scriptural value is to be transformed (credit on the account) into cash currency, the bank applies a commission, called a premium.   

Differences when changing back to basic currency 
When an amount is exchanged into another currency, it is expected that the reverse exchange will result as identical to the original amount .

Basic amountExchange rateExchange valueReturn
100.001.32030132.03100.00

However, you do not always come up with the same amount when converting currency back. Because of rounding errors, there may be cases where the same return value cannot be obtained.

Basic amount EURExchange rateExchange value in USDReturn in EURDifference in EUR
328.671.32030433.94328.66 
328.681.32030433.95328.670.01
328.691.32030433.96328.680.01

 


Differences of totals through splitting 
The total exchange value of the components of an amount does not always result in the same exchange value as the overall amount.
In this example, the amount of 2.16 EUR produces an exchange value in USD of 2.85. By splitting the amount and adding the two exchange values, 2.84 will result.

Amount in EURExchange rateExchange value in USD
2.161.32030

2.85

 

   
1.081.320301.42
1.081.320301.42
Total 2.16 2.84
Difference 0.01

These mathematic differences cannot be eliminated if they are not recorded properly.

 

Revaluations and exchange rate differences

Exchange rates vary all the time and therefore the exchange value to basic currency also varies. Between one period and another, there will inevitably be exchange rate differences.

Exchange rate differences are not accounting errors but simple adjustments of the values made necessary in order to keep the accounting figures in line with fluctuations.

As you open the accounting, the figures in the balance column are equal to those present in the opening column. When there are entries, these will update the figures in the balance column.

The calculated balance column contains the exchange value of the basic currency for the account balance, at the daily exchange rate (of the exchange rate table). The difference between the balance in basic currency and the calculated balance is the exchange rate difference.

 

 

Currency at opening

Exchange value at

opening in EUR

Basic currency balance in EUR

Calculate balance at 30.03.200xx in EUR

Exchange rate difference

Exchange rate

 

 

1.32030

1.32030

1.30150

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

EUR

93.80

93.80

93.80

93.80

 

Bank

USD

100.00

75.74

75.74

76.83

1.09

Real estate

EUR

1'000.00

1'000.00

1'000.00

1'000.00

 

Total Assets

 

 

1'169.54

1'169.54

1'170.63

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loan

USD

-500.00

-378.70

-378.70

-384.17

-5.47

Personal capital

EUR

-790.84

790.84

-790.84

-790.84

 

Total Liabilities

 

 

-1'169.54

-1'169.54

-1'175.01

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss

 

 

 

 

-4.38

 


On March 30th the EUR/USD exchange rate is different from the one at the beginning of the year. In the above example, there were no accounting entries during the three-month period. The situation, from an accounting point of view, has not changed since the beginning of the year. Despite this the total of the updated balance, using the rate at the end of March, is different when compared to the beginning of the year. The credit bank balance and the loan in USD have a different value in EUR. There are therefore consequences for the accounting even though there have been no entries.

In the above example, you will notice that the Euro is now worth less against the dollar compared to the beginning of the year. The dollar is therefore worth more against the Euro.

The exchange value of the balance on the account in USD is greater than it was at the beginning of the year. You have a greater value of the asset and therefore a profit on the exchange rate.

On the liability side there is a USD 500.00 loan. Now the exchange value in EUR is greater compared to the value input at the beginning of the year. The value of the loan has increased and brings about a loss due to the exchange rate difference.

In the following example we shall use the hypothesis that there has been the opposite development. We imagine that the Euro has increased in value and is therefore worth more against the USD. The exchange value in EUR of an amount in dollars is less than the one at the beginning of the year.

 

 

 

Currency at opening
Exchange value at opening EUR

Calculate balance at 30.03.20XX Eur (Hypothetical)

Exchange rate difference

Exchange rate

 

 

1.32030

1.36150

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

EUR

93.80

93.80

93.80

 

Bank

USD

100.00

75.74

73.44

-2.30

Real estate

EUR

1'000.00

1'000.00

1'000.00

 

Total Assets

 

 

1’169.54

1'167.24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loan

USD

-500.00

-378.70

-367.24

11.46

Personal capital

EUR

-790.84

-790.84

-790.84

 

Total Liabilities

 

 

-1’169.54

-1'158.08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Profit

 

 

 

9.16

9.16

As a consequence of an increase in the Euro/dollar exchange rate, you have a USD bank deposit with an exchange value in EUR which is less than at the beginning of the year. The total worth has diminished and there is therefore a loss.

The USD loan has a lower exchange value in EUR. A lesser liability is an advantage for the company and there is thus an exchange rate profit.

  

Exchange rate profit

 You have an exchange rate profit when:

  • The exchange value of your assets increases (increase of the investments)
  • The exchange value of the liabilities decreases (decrease of the loans).

  

Exchange rate losses

You have an exchange rate loss when:

  • The exchange value of your assets decreases (decrease of the investments)
  • The exchange value of the liabilities increases (increase of the loans).

Accounting features for exchange rate differences

 Exchange rates can evolve in different ways. Often they rise, only to fall again. The principle rule for accounting is that the figures provided on the Balance Sheet must be true ones. When you present your Balance Sheet, the exchange values of foreign currency accounts must be made at the exchange rate on the day of presentation.

The exchange rate difference is calculated as if you had to definitively convert the amount to basic currency. In reality there is no definitive conversion so you are only dealing with a correction to the accounting.

  

Closing exchange rate

 At the end of each year it is necessary to prepare the complete Balance Sheet. The exchange rates thus have to be updated with the closing exchange rates. It is also necessary to enter the exchange rate differences once and for all; if these are not entered, then there will be differences in the opening balances.

  

Entering exchange rate differences
 

 

 

Currency balance

Account balance EUR

Calculate balance at 30.03.xx EUR (hypothetical)

Exchange rate difference

Exchange

 

 

1.32030

1.36150

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Bank

USD

100.00

75.74

73.44

-2.30

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exchange rate difference

EUR

 

-2.30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bank

USD

100.00

73.44

73.44

0.00

As can be seen from the above example, the bank balance is USD 100.00. For the accounting it has been valued at 75.74 EUR. Today’s actual value, though, is only EUR 73.44. There is a difference of EUR 2.30 EUR in basic currency. The entry must therefore decrease the EUR amount. You proceed with a transaction that debits the bank account and credits the exchange rate loss account by EUR 2.30.

As you can see, the actual bank account balance of USD 100.00 has not been altered. The entry only alters the basic currency balance.

When entering the exchange rate difference, you need to ascertain that the exchange value in basic currency corresponds to the actual exchange value, calculated at either the daily exchange rate or the closing one.


The figures in the account currency must not be altered. You must therefore proceed to make an entry that only alters the basic currency balance on the specific account.

You will have the exchange rate profit or loss account on the contra account.

 

Transactions at purchase exchange rates

   

Transactions valued at the purchase exchange rate

When the positions, valued with exchange rates at the time of purchase (historical) are increased or decreased, you will have to calculate the exchange rate of the exchange rate table, taking into account the development of the amounts of increase.

 

 

USD amount

Exchange

EUR exchange value

Total USD

Total EUR

Historical Exchange

Acquisition of shares

100'000.00

0.9416

106'202.00

100'000.00

106'202.00

0.9416

Increase of shares

50'000.00

0.8792

56'870.00

150'000.00

163'072.00

0.919839

Investments and special exchange rates

 Investments valued at the exchange rate of the time purchase

Certain investments (shares, real estate abroad) are valued using the exchange rate of the time of purchase (historical exchange) and not the current one. The exchange rate profit and loss is not accounted for until it is actually realized. You must therefore make certain these accounts do not get valued using the current exchange rate.
In order to input a fixed historical exchange rate, you need to create an additional currency on the Accounts table (e.g. USD1) with a fixed exchange rate. 
It is essential that in the Fixed column of the Exchange table, when viewed in Complete, for each currency with a fixed exchange rate, Yes must be inserted; otherwise, the currency and its related account are still revalued.

This currency will then only be used for this specific account ( ex: USD1) with a fixed rate. 

If you have to make a transfer from the USD account to the USD1 account, you proceed exactly as if you were working with two different currencies. For this reason you will have to use a two-row entry.


Opening with special exchange rates

By inputting the opening balances in the Opening column, foreign currency amounts will be converted to basic currency at the opening exchange rate.
If this system does not prove flexible enough (i.e. you need various special rates or there are rounding differences) the opening can be done manually by making normal entries, indicating the amounts and the exchange rates you want for each account. In this case, the "Opening” column of the Accounts table will be left blank.

 

File properties multi-currency accounting

See also the File Properties (Basic Data) page for information about the other sections of the dialog.

Property file Multi currency

Account for exchange rate profit
From the accounts list, select the account for the exchange rate profit present in the Chart of Accounts. 
You can only choose from class 3 and 4 accounts that are in basic currency.

In the Accounts table, it is also possible to specify the exchange rate difference account for each individual account.

Account for exchange rate loss
From the accounts list, select the one for the exchange rate loss present in the Chart of Accounts.

Currency2
It is possible to select a second currency in order to view the balances in a currency different from the basic one.
It is possible to add new currencies that might be missing from the list, proceeding as follows:

  • in the Exchange rates table enter a new row; in the Ref.Currency column enter the basic currency for your accounting file, in the Currency column enter your desired currency
  • From the File menu > File and accounting properties command, in the Currency tab, the added currency will also be visible and it can be chosen as Currency2.

Decimal points Currency2
This is the number of decimal points to be used when rounding the amounts in currency2.

Conversion of amounts into Currency 2

Currency 2 is displayed in the Currency2 view of the Accounts table and used when you wish to have an estimate of all account balances, including those in base currency, in the foreign currency, defined as currency 2.
It serves for information purposes only, to know the values of the balance sheet and profit and loss account in a currency other than the base currency at a given time. The conversion is based on the exchange rate set in the exchange rate table, Exchange rate column. If the exchange rate in currency 2 is changed in the exchange rate table, the amounts in currency 2 will be recalculated.
The conversion may lead to differences between balances in currency and those in currency 2. More information can be found on the Exchange Rates page.

The conversion of the amounts into Currency 2 takes into account the currency of the account, with the following logic:

  • If currency 2 is equal to the account currency, the amount in the account currency is used.
  • Otherwise, if currency 2 is equal to the basic currency, the basic currency amount is used.
  • Otherwise (if the amount is in any other currency) the amount in basic currency is converted into Currency 2 at the current exchange rate set in the Exchange rates table, therefore historical exchange rates are not used for the conversion.

 

Exchange rates table

In the Exchange Rates table, the basic currency (accounting currency) and foreign currencies with all their related parameters are entered.

Before setting up the Exchange Rates table, it is necessary to set up in the Accounts table, foreign currency accounts with their respective codes; you also need to define the basic currency in the File menu > File and accounting properties.

exchange rate table

Exchange rates with and without date

There are two types of exchange rates:

  1. Exchange rates without date
    For each currency used there must be an exchange rate line without date.
    The exchange rate rows without a date are used as reference rates to convert foreign currencies into the basic currency according to the current exchange rate. They are used:
    1. When there is no historical exchange rate (exchange rates with dates).
    2. At year end, to define official closing rates and calculate exchange rate differences (end of the accounting period).
      During the closing process, it is mandatory to use exchange rate rows without a date in order to calculate exchange rate differences.
       
      • Current exchange rate and closing exchange rate
        • It is the exchange rate entered in the Exchange rate column; it is the current exchange rate or the closing exchange rate.
        • This exchange rate is automatically used in the transactions, when there is no historical exchange (exchange rows with date).
          If you modify the exchange rate in the Exchange rates table, the exchange rates and amounts previously used in the journal rows are not changed.
        • It is used for the calculation of the balance column calculated in the accounts table and for the conversion to Currency 2.
        • Every time transactions in foreign currency are recorded, the resulting exchange rate differences are displayed in the Calculated Balance column of the Accounts table (Balances view). These differences are the foundation for calculating exchange rate differences and for the conversion into Currency 2.
        • Closing exchange rate
      • Opening exchange rate
        It's the exchange rate entered in the Rate Opening column and it is used in the following cases:
        • When first creating a multi-currency file in Banana Accounting Plus
        • When creating the new fiscal year, the opening exchange rate is automatically taken from the previous year's closing rate (in the Exchange Rate column). 
          The opening exchange rate is automatically used in the Accounts table to convert the opening amounts in foreign currency into the opening amounts in the basic currency of your accounting file.
          If you need to edit the opening exchange rate, you must use the Recalculate accounting command.
  2. Exchange rates with date (historical exchange rates)
    When dates are entered in the Exchange Rates table, and foreign currency transactions are recorded in the Transactions table based on a date specified in the Exchange Rates table, the program selects the exchange rate with the date equal to or closest to but not exceeding the date of the transaction entry.
    The program uses the historical exchange rate in these cases:
    • When entering transactions at a specific date and in the Exchange rates table there is an historical exchange rate.
    • When creating exchange rate differences and specifying to use historical exchange rate.
      In exchange rates with a date (historical exchange rates), no opening exchange rate should be indicated (Opening Rate column).

Columns of the Exchange rates table

All the columns available for the Exchange rates table are visible in the Complete view.

Date

Rows without a date are used as reference exchange rates by the program. Rows with a date are used as historical exchange rates.

Ref. Currency

It is the starting currency (basic currency) for the exchange (EUR in the example).

Currency

This is the destination currency (foreign currency). It's value is converted into the Reference currency.

Text

A text to indicate the foreign currency description

Fixed

True or false. If there is a fixed exchange rate, enter Yes in this column. In this case, for the foreign currency with a fixed exchange rate, the same rate is used consistently until it is modified. Typically, a fixed exchange rate is applied when there are accounts whose value should not undergo continuous fluctuations, such as real estate investments.

Mult. (Multiplier)

The multiplier is usually 1, 100 or 1000 and is used to obtain the effective exchange rate. The multiplier is used for currencies which have a very low unit value in order to avoid having to insert exchange rates with many zeros. In our templates, the negative multiplication (-1) is used in the Multiplier column of the Exchange rates table.

In this case:

  • In the Ref. (Reference) Currency column, the base currency of the accounting system is entered
  • In the Currency column, the foreign currency is entered.

When in the Ref. Currency and Currency columns the abbreviations of the currencies are reversed, the Multiplier 1 (positive exchange rate) must be entered in the column.

If transactions have already been made with the same currency, do not change the multiplier, otherwise the programme will report errors in the entries due to incorrect exchange rates.

Exchange rate

It is the current or closing exchange rate of the currency against the reference currency.
This is also used to calculate exchange rate differences. Before calculating exchange rate differences, it is necessary to update the rate in this column according to the official closing rate.

The exchange rate and the multiplier are being applied according to the following formulas

  • With multiplier > 0
    Currency amount = Ref. currency amount* (exchange rate / |mult.|)
     
  • With multiplier < 0
    Ref. currency amount = Currency amount * (exchange rate / |mult.|)

Opening Exchange rate

This is the exchange rate at the moment the accounting is opened. To be indicated only on a row without date. 

  • It is used to convert the opening amount of the foreign currencies into the opening amount of the accounting’s basic currency.
  • Should be corresponding to the closing exchange rate of the preceding year.
    When transitioning to the new fiscal year, the opening exchange rate is automatically updated based on the closing exchange rate from the previous year entered in the Exchange Rate column (Exchange rates table).
    If the closing exchange rates are not equal to the opening exchange rates, the Assets and Liabilities might result into different totals; see Differences in the Opening Balances.
  • The opening exchange rate should never be changed in the course of the year, otherwise exchange rate differences are being created in the total of the opening balances.
  • The opening exchange rate should not have a date.

Minimum

The minimum exchange rate accepted. If an inferior exchange rate is used for the transactions, there will be a warning.

Maximum

This column shows the maximum exchange rate accepted. If a superior exchange rate is used for the transactions, there will be a warning.

Decimal Points

The number of decimal points to be used when rounding the amounts of the foreign currency.

Modifications in the Exchange rate table

The current exchange rates for foreign currencies can be modified in the Exchange rates table, specifically in the Exchange rate column for rows without a date. In this scenario, when a transaction with an account in a foreign currency is entered in the Transactions table, the program automatically uses the exchange rate set in the Exchange rates table. If a change is made to an exchange rate in the Exchange rates table, there are no repercussions on previously entered transactions; the new exchange rate is applied to future transactions.

It is also possible to manually modify the exchange rate directly in the Transactions table by entering the desired rate in the Exchange rate column. This modification does not affect the exchange rate present in the Exchange rates table.

However, in the following cases, modifications do have repercussions:
  • Modification of the Opening exchange rate
    If the opening exchange rate is modified, the next time you recalculate the accounting, the balances in basic currency of the accounts will be recalculated with the new exchange rate. Therefore, if you have opening balances, pay attention when modifying the Opening exchange rates.
    If you modify the opening exchange rates and there are opening balances, it is important to recalculate the accounting.
  • Modification of the multiplier
    • When changing the multiplier of a currency already used in the Transactions table, the program will report a warning as soon as the accounting is being recalculated. The transaction amount and the correct amount in the basic currency will have to be reentered.
    • When the accounting is being recalculated, the opening balances in basic currency will be recalculated as a result.

Direct exchange rates

Direct exchange rates are those where the basic currency and the foreign currency are indicated on the same row.
In the example below, the direct exchange rate is EUR → USD.

 
direct exchange rate
 

Indirect exchange rates

Indirect exchange rates are those where a direct exchange between two currencies is not being indicated (not recommended).
The exchange rate is deducted by the program based on other combinations of entered exchange rates

In the example, the EUR → USD exchange rate has not been defined, and the program deduces it by combining the EUR → USD and USD → EUR exchange rates.
 
The program supports indirect exchange rates. It is advisable to use only direct exchange rates and avoid using accounts where the direct exchange rate between the base currency and the account currency is not specified. With indirect exchange rates it is might be possible that it will not not always be clear which exchange rate is being applied.
 
indirect exchange rates
 

Historical exchange rates

As explained above, if an exchange has a date, the program considers it to be a historical exchange rate.
In the cases indicated here, the program chooses the exchange rate with a date equal to or less than the date of the transaction row.

  • When entering transactions, if there is a historical exchange rate, it is proposed and used as the default exchange rate.
  • When the exchange rate differences transactions are created and the option to use the historical exchange rate is activated.
  • In rows with a date, the opening exchange is not used.
     
historical exchange rates
 
You can import exchange rates from another .ac2 file or copy / paste historical exchange rates from Excel.
If you import several historical exchange rates at the end of your accounting period, that is, when you have already entered accounting transactions, simply manually delete the transactions exchange rates (Exchange rate column, Transactions table) to make sure that the program uses the imported exchange rates instead of those entered in the transactions.
 

Monthly average exchange rate

When entering a monthly average exchange rate, this must be inserted manually in the Exchange rate table, in a row without date. In the Transactions table, for foreign currency accounts, the average exchange rate will always be included until it is updated again in the Exchange rate table.

For the monthly average exchange rate, we recommend consulting the page of the exchange rates proposed by the Swiss Confederation, available in Italian, French or German.

Incompatible exchange rates from previous versions

When the basic currency is entered as the reference currency, the exchange rates with a multiplier greater than 1 can present calculation differences between Banana Plus and the previous versions. In these rare cases, while opening an accounting file of a previous version, a warning message appears and the file is being opened as "read only".

To get the same amounts, correct the multiplier and the exchange rate as follows:
  • Open the file in Banana Plus and confirm the warning message;
  • Recheck the accounting (Shift + F9);
  • The warning messages "Transaction multiplier is not the same as the one in the Exchange rate table" can be ignored;
  • Verify whether the balances and the result of the accounting period present differences compared to those displayed in earlier versions. If there are no differences, just save the accounting under a new name; otherwise, it is necessary to proceed as follows:
  • In the Exchange rate table, correct the exchange rate by multiplying it with the value of the multiplier and define the multiplier as 1 for the exchange rates with a multiplier greater than 1. For example, if we have a multiplier of 100 and an exchange rate of 0.9944608, correct the exchange rate to 99.44608 and the multiplier to 1.
  • Recheck the accounting (Shift + F9).
  • The warning messages "Transaction multiplier is not the same as the one in the Exchange rate table" can be ignored, or it is possible to delete them by clicking, in the corresponding transaction row, on the amount in basic currency and by pressing the F6 key
  • Verify whether the balances and the result of the accounting period correspond with the ones indicated in earlier versions
  • Save the file under a new name
  • At this time, you can define the exchange rates and the multiplier in the preferred format, reverse or direct, with or without multiplier, verifying the balances and the result of the accounting period after each modification.

 

Chart of accounts | multi-currency accounting

In contrast to Double-entry bookkeeping, Multi-currency Accounting has the Exchange rate table and columns for calculating foreign currency amounts and balances.

Grouping of the Accounts table

For the Accounts and Groups grouping system, please refer to the Grouping System page.

Setting the basic currency

The base currency is set from the menu File > Accounting properties

Account Currency

Each account has a currency abbreviation, which may be that of the base currency or a foreign currency abbreviation, indicated in the exchange rate table.

Assets and liabilities accounts can be set up in different foreign currencies in addition to the base currency (in the example EUR).

  • Foreign Currency Accounts
    Accounts in foreign currencies are set up in the Accounts table. In the Currency column , for each foreign currency account the currency code must be entered.
    In the Exchange rate table, for each foreign currency, the abbreviations of the foreign currencies, set in the Accounts table, and the opening exchange rate must be entered.
    In the example below, the base currency is EUR. The abbreviation of the base currency EUR appears in the column headings with the amounts in base currency.
     
  • Accounts in base currency (accounting currency)
    Accounts in base currency are set up in the Accounts table. In the Currency column, the abbreviation of the base currency must be entered.
     
  • account table, multi currency accounting

Income and Expense accounts, other than in basic currency (EUR in the example), can also be set in different currencies.

accounts in foreign currency income expense account

Explanation of multi-currency accounting columns 

Currency
Enter the symbol of the account currency. For foreign currency accounts, the symbol must also be present in the exchange rate table.

Opening currency
The initial balance is entered for each account, whether it is a basic or foreign currency account

Opening balance (basic currency)

  • A protected column calculated by the program.
  • The initial balance in basic currency is calculated by the program.
  • For basic currency accounts, the opening balance in the Opening currency column is reported.
  • For foreign currency accounts, the balance is converted according to the exchange rate in the exchange rate table.

Balance currency

  • Protected column used by the program.
  • The balance is calculated by the programme and corresponds to the sum of the opening balance (for accounts in foreign currency, this is the balance converted into the base currency) and the amounts of the transactions in base currency and in foreign currency (amounts converted according to an exchange rate, which can be found in the exchange rate table).

Balance

  • Protected column used by the program.
  • The balance is calculated by the program and corresponds to the sum of the opening balance (for accounts in foreign currency it is the balance converted into basic currency) and the amounts of the transactions in basic currency and in foreign currency (amounts converted according to an exchange rate present in the exchange rate table).

Calculated balance

  • Protected column used by the program.
  • This is the currency balance of the account converted at the current exchange rate (exchange rate from the exchange table of the undated row).
  • In this column, the currency account balances converted to basic currency may differ from those in the Balance column, as exchange rate differences are present.

Exchange rate difference account

  • Visible in the Other view.
  • In this column, you can enter an exchange rate profit or loss account for a given account.
    The account you enter will be used by the Create Exchange Rate Difference procedure instead of the exchange rate profit and loss accounts defined in the multi-currency file properties.
  • In the Exchange Rate Difference Account column you can specify:
    •  "0;0" This means that no exchange rate difference is to be calculated for this account.
       It is used for historical exchange rates, which must not change.
    • Two accounts separated by semicolons, "Currency Exchange loss account; Currency Exchange rate profit", e.g. "6949;6999".
      If there is a loss the first account will be used, if there is a profit the second.
    • "One account only" for example "6949".
      This account will always be used whether there is an exchange rate profit or loss.

Opening balances

Information on how to enter opening balances in multi-currency accounting is available on the Opening balances page in multi-currency accounting.

Exchange Profit and Loss Accounts

In the chart of accounts, it is necessary to insert the predefined accounts for the exchange gain and loss to be reported in the File menu File properties → Foreign currency.

Accounts for exchange rate differences must have BClass 3 (Costs - Exchange Loss) or 4 (Revenue - Exchange Profit).

Other view multi currency

 

Revaluation accounts and historical exchange rates

Exchange rates are fluctuating. The actual value of the balance in the account currency varies therefore depending on the foreign exchange fluctuation.

The basic currency amount of an account is being calculated using the opening exchange rate and the exchange rates that are indicated in the transactions. Because this value corresponds to equivalent of today's exchange rate, it is necessary to revaluate the account.
The revaluation takes place by calculating the exchange rate differences. With the automatic calculation of exchange differences, the software enters an amount in basic currency (exchange difference) so that the balance in basic currency is equal to the counter value (calculated balance column). 

This alignment operation is done at the end of the year, before closing the accounts, or when you want to print a balance sheet with exchange values that correspond to the current reality. See the command Create transaction for exchange rate variation.
 

There are accounts (related to investments, for example) for which a so-called historic exchange rate is being used. By an historical exchange rate, we mean an exchange rate that doesn't vary over time.

There are two ways to have currencies that do not vary:

  • Create an additional currency code in the exchange rate table (e.g. USD2) to which the same exchange rate will always be attributed.
    • In the currency description, indicate that this is a historical exchange rate.
    • This currency must then be used for the account with the historical exchange rate and of course also in the entries for the account.
    • For each new account with a different historical exchange rate, create a new currency symbol.
      You can create as many currency symbols as you need for different accounts with historical exchange rates.
    • Change the exchange rate of the historical account if there are additional purchases or sales that require an adjustment of the value, while creating a transaction for the exchange rate profit or loss.
  • Entering opening balances as Opening transactions.
    • Instead of using the opening balances column, the opening balances are entered as transactions. You can assign the opening exchange rate you want.
    • In the Account exchange difference column enter the value "0;0" indicating that the account should not be revalued.
 

Group totals in foreign currency

Normally, the columns with amounts in foreign currency don't have totals, as it makes little sense to calculate totals for values in a different currency.

If you have a group that includes only accounts in a specific currency, the currency symbol can be indicated at a group level and, in the Accounts table, the program totals these amounts. If there were to be accounts with various currency symbols, there would be no amount indicated (the program would not report an error either).

Transactions multi-currency accounting

With the multi-currency accounting application it is also possible to record transactions with accounts in foreign currencies. In the Transactions Table you can enter the accounting transactions. All elements of the transaction must be indicated, as well as the currency amount of the account, the exchange rate that applies to this transaction and the amount in basic currency.
 

Explanations of the columns

In the Transactions Table of the multi-currency accounting, other than the columns of the double-entry accounting, there are the following extra columns:

  • Currency amount
    This is the amount of the currency specified in the column with the currency symbol.
    This amount is used by the program to update the balance of the related account in currency. 
  • Currency
    This is the currency symbol of the currency to which the amount refers.
    The currency symbol has to be the one of the basic currency, specified in the File and accounting properties (File menu), or the currency symbol of an amount indicated in the Debit A/C or Credit A/C columns.
    You can also use a different currency as long as the indicated Debit A/C and the Credit A/C are basic currency accounts.
    In this case the amount in currency is used as a reference, but will not be used for accounting purposes
  • Exchange rate
    Used to convert the foreign currency amount in its basic currency equivalent.
  • Amount in Basic currency
    The transaction amount, expressed in basic currency.
    This amount is used by the program to update the balance of the related account in basic currency.
  • Exchange rate multiplier
    Normally not visible in the view, this value is multiplied by the exchange rate.

Useful advice

  • While being positioned on the Currency Amount column and pressing the F6 key, the program rewrites all values with the earlier explained logic, as if there were no values present. This feature is useful when the Debit A/C or the Credit A/C is modified.
  • If there is a registration with a single account in basis currency (in 'Multiple transactions' - see Transaction types) and its value of the Currency column has been changed manually in a currency symbol of a foreign currency, it is necessary to be positioned on the cell of the Currency column and press the F6 key in order to update the exchange rate and calculate the amount in basic currency.
  • Smart fill for the Exchange rate column
    The program suggests several exchange rates, picking them up from the Exchange rates table or from exchange rates previously used in the transactions.

Types of transactions in multi-currency accounting

All amounts, whether in basic currency or foreign currency must always be entered in the Currency Amount column.

As regards the exchange rates, multiplier and historical exchange rates, please refer to the Exchange rates table page.vari casi di registrazione nella contabilità multimoneta

Attention: in the transaction examples, the basic currency is the Euro.

For each transaction, there are two accounts (debit account and credit account). In the program, only one foreign currency per transaction row can be used. So there can be the following direct combinations:

  • Entries between two accounts in basic currency with the amount in basic currency (in the image, transactions n.1 in the Doc column). The account currency is the basic currency.
  • Entries between two accounts in basic currency with the amount in foreign currency (Doc 2)
    The indicated accounts are in basic currency, but the currency symbol and the amount in currency, indicated in the transaction row, are not in basic currency, but in a different currency.
    To insert the different currency, the user has to manually change the currency symbol.
    This is being used when one goes abroad and money is being exchanged in order to pay in local currency. In this case we do not have a specific account.
    For the calculation of the balance (both accounts being in basic currency) only the amount of basic currency column is being used.
  • Entries between an account in foreign currency and one in basic currency  (Doc 3)
    The currency needs to be the one of the account in foreign currency.
    For the calculation of the balance of the account in foreign currency, the program uses the amount in foreign currency and for the balance in basic currency, the program uses the amount in basic currency.
  • Entries between two accounts with the same foreign currency (Doc 4)
    The currency needs to be the same as the account currency of both accounts (USD1 and USD2). In order to update the exchange rate and calculate the amount in basic currency, it is necessary to be positioned on the cell of the Currency column and press the F6 key.
  • Entries with two accounts in different foreign currencies (Doc 5)
    For example, the bank makes an exchange operation between two foreign currencies:
    In this case, the transaction needs to be recorded on two rows.
    The amount in basic currency needs to be the same. It is useful to use an amount close to the current exchange rate to avoid excessive exchange rate differences.
    In order for the amounts in basic currency to be equal, the amount in basic currency needs to be indicated manually, and the program will calculate the exchange rate. 
  • Exchange rate differences (Doc 6)
    The goal of this transaction is to realign the balance of the basic currency account with the equivalent of the Foreign currency account at today's exchange rate.
    On the Foreign currency account, only the amount in basic currency related to the exchange rate differences is being recorded.
    They are automatically generated with the Create transaction for exchange rate variation command.
    • For the exchange rate profits, the program automatically indicates the account to be revaluated in debit and the exchange rate profit account in credit. The exchange rate profit account is indicated in the File and Accounting properties (Basic Data), or in the specified account -> Exchange rate differences account column of the Other view (intended for one or several specific accounts).
    • For the exchange rate losses, the program automatically indicates the account to be revaluated in credit and the exchange rate loss account in debit. The exchange rate loss account is indicated in the File and Accounting properties (Basic Data), or in the specified account -> Exchange rate differences account column of the Other view (intended for one or several specific accounts).
    • The Currency amount is being left empty
    • The Currency symbol is the basic currency
    • In the Basic currency amount column, the amount of the revaluation of the account (profit or loss) is being indicated.

 Establishing the exchange rate

The accountant is the one who decides which exchange rate to use for each single operation. Generally, the following rules are being applied:

  • For normal operations, the exchange rate of the day is being used
  • For buying or selling currency, the values indicated by a money exchange office or a bank are being used.
    First the amount in foreign currency is being indicated in the program and then the amount in basic currency. The program calculates the exchange rate. The exchange rate indicated by the bank can be slightly different, because banks specify exchange rates with few figures after the decimal point and often round the amounts.
  • When several operations with the same exchange rate are being recorded, it is useful to update the exchange rate in the Exchange rates table, so that the program can automatically apply it.
  • For operations from abroad that are subject to VAT, the national authority might impose a standard exchange rate. In this case, that exchange rate should be inserted in the Exchange rate column of the transaction
  • To purchase real estate or equity investments, an historical exchange rate is being used. In that case, a currency symbol needs to be created in the Exchange rates table (for example USD1) with an historical exchange rate, that is not being subject to the fluctuations of the exchange rate.
    One can create as many currency symbols as desired for all historical exchange rates.

 Transactions with VAT

The VAT account and the account from which the VAT is being deducted have to be in basic currency. It is impossible to use a VAT code to deduct the VAT from a foreign currency account. In order to record operations with VAT that have accounts in foreign currency as their counterpart, two transaction rows have to be used:

  • First, the amount of the purchase is being recorded on an Internal transfers account in basic currency and the related VAT code is being applied. The amount in basic currency has to be calculated using an exchange rate in accordance with the requirements of the Tax administration.
  • In a second row, the balance of the Internal transfers account is being put to zero; as its counterpart, the account in foreign currency should be entered.
    The amount used for this transaction, both in basic currency and in foreign currency, has to be excluding VAT. Obviously, the exchange rate that has to be used is the same one as the one being used in the preceding transaction.

In the example, the basic currency is the EUR. We are dealing with a national purchase, but paid from a foreign currency account (USD).

purchase wit VAT in basic currency

 VAT and foreign currency transactions

In transactions with foreign currency accounts, it is possible to record VAT with a gross amount (Amount type 0, with VAT).
If you enter net values (Amount type 1, without VAT), the program indicates an error, because the calculation of the gross value would in many cases be incorrect due to the rounding up of VAT and of the exchange rate.
In these cases it is advisable to enter the gross value. See also the Explanations of the error.

Automatism while entering multi-currency transactions

When a new transaction is being entered, the data in the above mentioned columns have to be completed.

When some values of the transaction row are modified, the program completes the transaction with the predefined values. If these values do not satisfy the user's requirements, these have to be modified in the transaction row.

The modification of the values in the Exchange rates table have no effect on already entered transaction rows. Thus, when the exchange rate in the Exchange rates table is modified, this has no influence whatsoever on already inserted transactions.

  • When the amount in currency is entered and there is either a Debit A/C or a Credit A/C, and no other values are entered, the program operates as follows:
    • the currency symbol is retrieved from the account in use, giving priority to the account that is not in basic currency;
    • the exchange rate, defined in the Exchange rates table, is applied with the following logic:
      • the historical exchange rate is applied, with a date earlier or equal to the transaction date
      • tf there is no historical exchange rate to be found, the exchange rate from the row without date is applied.
    • the multiplier, defined in the Exchange rates table, is applied or the number 1 if it is the basic currency;
    • the amount in basic currency is calculated.
  • When the amount in currency is modified (and there are already other values present), the program operates as follows:
    • the amount in basic currency is calculated with the existing exchange rate
  • If the currency symbol is modified the program operates as follows:
    • the exchange rate with the multiplier is applied and the amount in basic currency is calculated (like above)
  • If the exchange rate is modified the program operates as follows:
    • the amount in basic currency is calculated using the entered exchange rate
  • When the amount in basic currency is modified the program operates as follows:
    • the exchange rate is recalculated.

Info window

In the info window, the program indicates:

  • Differences, if any, between the Debit and Credit total movements in basic currency
  • Explanation on the different uses of the F6 key

For the accounts related to the transaction row on which one is positioned, the program always indicates in the Info windows:

  • the account number
  • the account description
  • the transaction's amount in basic currency
  • the current account balance in basic currency
  • the account currency symbol
  • the transaction's amount in the account currency (if different from the basic currency)
  • the current account balance in currency (if different from the basic currency)

Transactions for opening balances

For multi-currency accounting, when entering the opening balances in the Accounts table, the program converts the amounts into basic currency, using the opening exchange rate defined in the Exchange rates table, Opening exchange rate column.
To use historical exchange rates as opening balances, you can create another currency symbol or create transactions in the Transactions table with the opening balances. This way you can use different exchange rates for different accounts.

  • Enter a single transaction for each account with an opening balance (Assets and Liabilities), indicating the initial accounting date and the Debit or Credit account.
  • In the DocType column enter the "01" value to indicate that it is an opening value.
    • In the Banana Accounting reports or printouts this amount will be shown as opening balance.
    • However the transaction doesn't update the Opening balance column in the Accounts table

When using opening transactions, please consider that:

  • In order to avoid the revaluation of the accounts with the current exchange rate, in the Accounts table, enter the "0;0" value in Exchange rate difference account column
  • The software allows you to add both some opening balances in the Accounts table and some opening transactions in the Transactions table (Assets and Liabilities).
    In both cases the amounts are considered in the calculations and, if it is the same account, they are added together.
    We do not recommend using the two methods simultaneously to avoid hard-to-find errors and differences.
  • Opening transactions must be entered manually.
    Any debit and credit differences are shown as a transaction difference.


Data transfer from earlier versions

In version 4 or earlier, the absence of a currency symbol in the Transactions table was being interpreted as a transaction in basic currency.
In version 7 and in version 8, each transaction needs to have its own currency symbol. Therefore, when you update from version 4 to version 7 or 8, in the accounting file, the transactions without a currency symbol need to be completed. To do this, a new Currency column must be added to the Transactions table by executing the Columns setup command from the Data menu.

 

Erfassen von Buchungen in einer Buchhaltung mit Fremdwährungen

Buchungsbeispiele bei Verwendung von Fremdwährungen

Mit der Buchhaltungs-App Doppelte Buchhaltung mit Fremdwährungen ist es möglich, auch Bewegungen mit Konten in Fremdwährung zu erfassen.

In der Tabelle Buchungen werden zusätzlich zu den Bewegungen in der Basiswährung auch Beträge in Fremdwährung eingegeben: Dabei müssen alle Elemente der Buchung, der Betrag sowie das Konto in Fremdwährung angegeben werden, ebenso der auf die Buchung anzuwendende Wechselkurs.
Der Betrag in der Basiswährung wird automatisch berechnet, basierend auf dem eingegebenen Wechselkurs.

Alle Beträge – sowohl in Basiswährung als auch in Fremdwährung – müssen immer in der Spalte Betr. Währung eingetragen werden.

Für weitere Informationen zu Wechselkursen, Multiplikator und historischen Kursen verweisen wir auf die Webseite Tabelle Wechselkurse.

vari casi di registrazione nella contabilità multimoneta

Wichtig: In den folgenden Buchungsbeispielen ist Euro (EUR) die Basiswährung.

Bei jeder Buchung sind zwei Konten beteiligt (Soll-Konto und Haben-Konto). Das Programm erlaubt pro Buchungszeile nur eine einzige Fremdwährung. Die folgenden Kombinationen sind möglich:

  • Buchung mit zwei Konten in Basiswährung – Betrag ebenfalls in Basiswährung (in der Abbildung ersichtlich bei Buchung 1, Spalte 'Beleg 1')
    Beide Konten (Soll und Haben) sind in Basiswährung geführt. Der Betrag wird in Basiswährung gebucht.
  • Buchung mit zwei Konten in Basiswährung – Betrag in Fremdwährung (siehe Beleg 2)
    Die Soll- und Haben-Konten sind in Basiswährung geführt. In der Buchungszeile wird  jedoch ein anderes Währungskürzel (Spalte 'Währung') sowie der Betrag in Fremdwährung (Spalte 'Betr. Währung') eingegeben – also nicht in Basiswährung, sondern in einer Fremdwährung.
    Um eine Fremdwährung einzugeben, muss das automatisch vorgeschlagene Währungskürzel manuell geändert werden.
    Diese Vorgehensweise wird verwendet, wenn im Ausland in lokaler Währung bezahlt wird, aber kein spezifisches Fremdwährungskonto geführt wird.
    Zur Berechnung des Saldos (da beide Konten in Basiswährung geführt werden) wird ausschliesslich der Betrag aus der Spalte 'Basiswährung' verwendet.
  • Buchung mit einem Konto in Fremdwährung und einem Konto in Basiswährung (Beleg 3)
    Die Währung der Buchung entspricht der Währung des Fremdwährungskontos.
    Für die Saldenberechnung gilt: Der Saldo des Fremdwährungskontos wird auf Basis des Betrags in Fremdwährung berechnet.
    Für den Saldo des Basiswährungskontos wird der Betrag in Basiswährung herangezogen.
  • Buchung mit zwei Konten in gleicher Fremdwährung (Beleg 4)
    Beide Konten (z.B. USD1 und USD2) sind in derselben Fremdwährung geführt.
    Um den Kurs bzw. die Umrechnung in die Basiswährung zu aktualisieren, markieren Sie die Zelle in der Spalte Währung und drücken Sie die Taste F6.
  • Buchung mit zwei Konten in unterschiedlichen Fremdwährungen (Beleg 5)
    Beispiel: Die Bank führt eine Devisentransaktion zwischen zwei verschiedenen Fremdwährungen durch.
    In diesem Fall müssen zwei Buchungszeilen erfasst werden, jeweils mit dem gleichen Datum.
    Der Betrag in Basiswährung muss in beiden Buchungszeilen identisch sein.
    Verwenden Sie einen realistischen Wechselkurs, um übermässige Kursdifferenzen zu vermeiden.
    Der Betrag in Basiswährung sollte manuell eingegeben werden; das Programm berechnet daraufhin automatisch den entsprechenden Wechselkurs.
  • Wechselkursdifferenzen buchen (Beleg 6)
    Zweck: Anpassung des Saldos eines Fremdwährungskontos an den aktuellen Tageskurs in Basiswährung.
    Nur der Betrag in Basiswährung wird für die Wechselkursdifferenz gebucht.
    Diese Buchungen können automatisch erstellt werden über den Befehl Buchungen Wechselkurs-Diff. erstellen... :
    • Für Wechselkursgewinne trägt das Programm automatisch das neu zu bewertende Konto im Soll und das Konto für Wechselkursgewinne im Haben ein, wie in den Datei > Eigenschaften (Stammdaten) > Registerkarte Fremdwährungen definiert oder alternativ im Konto, das in der Spalte Wechselkursdifferenzen der Ansicht Verschiedene (Tabelle Konten) angegeben ist (vorgesehen für ein oder mehrere spezifische Konten).
    • Für Wechselkursverluste trägt das Programm automatisch das neu zu bewertende Konto im Haben und das Konto für Wechselkursverluste im Soll ein, ebenfalls wie in den Datei > Eigenschaften (Stammdaten) > Registerkarte 'Fremdwährungen' definiert oder alternativ im Konto, das in der Spalte Wechselkursdifferenzen der Ansicht Verschiedene (Tabelle Konten) angegeben ist (vorgesehen für ein oder mehrere spezifische Konten).
    • Die Spalte 'Betr. Währung' bleibt leer.
    • Das Währungskennzeichen entspricht der Basiswährung.
    • In der Spalte 'Betrag Basiswährung' wird der Betrag der Neubewertung (Gewinn oder Verlust) eingetragen.

Den Wechselkurs definieren

Es ist der Buchhalter, der den Wechselkurs für jede einzelne Transaktion in Fremdwährung bestimmt. Dabei gelten üblicherweise folgende Regeln:

  • Normale Buchungen: Es wird der Tageskurs verwendet.
  • Devisenhandeltransaktionen: Es wird der von der Wechselstube oder der Bank angegebene Wechselkurs verwendet.
    Zuerst wird der Betrag in Fremdwährung eingegeben und anschliessend der Betrag in Basiswährung. Auf dieser Grundlage berechnet das Programm den Wechselkurs automatisch.
    Der von der Bank verwendete Wechselkurs kann leicht abweichen, da Banken oft auf wenige Dezimalstellen runden.
  • Mehrere Transaktionen mit gleichem Wechselkurs: In diesem Fall empfiehlt es sich, den Wechselkurs in der Tabelle Wechselkurse zu aktualisieren, sodass das Programm ihn automatisch übernehmen kann.
  • Ausländische Buchungen mit Umsatzsteuer: Es kann sein, dass die Steuerbehörde einen offiziellen Standard-Wechselkurs vorgibt. Dieser ist dann direkt in der Spalte Wechselkurs der jeweiligen Buchung zu erfassen.
  • Immobilienkäufe oder Investitionen: Hier wird ein historischer Wechselkurs verwendet. In diesem Fall sollte in der Tabelle Wechselkurse ein spezifisches Währungskennzeichen (z.B. "USD2") mit dem historischen Kurs erstellt werden, das keinen Kursschwankungen unterliegt.
    Es können beliebig viele spezifische Währungskennzeichen für gewünschte historische Wechselkurse eingerichtet werden.

Buchungen mit MWST/USt

In einer Buchhaltung mit Fremdwährungen und MWST/USt ist es für eine korrekte Verbuchung ohne Fehlermeldungen entscheidend, dass sowohl das MWST/USt-Konto als auch das Konto, von dem die MWST/USt abgezogen wird, in Basiswährung geführt werden.
Es ist nicht möglich, einen MWST/USt-Code auf ein Konto in Fremdwährung anzuwenden.

Um Buchungen mit MWST/USt zu erfassen, bei denen als Gegenposten Konten in Fremdwährung verwendet werden, müssen zwei Buchungszeilen erstellt werden:

  • Erste Buchungszeile – Den Betrag des Kaufes zunächst auf ein Girokonto in Basiswährung buchen und den spezifischen MWST/USt-Code angeben.
    Der Betrag in Basiswährung muss berechnet werden, indem der von der Steuerverwaltung vorgeschriebene Wechselkurs verwendet wird.
  • Zweite Buchungszeile – Das Girokonto wird auf Null gestellt. Als Gegenposten wird das Konto in Fremdwährung verwendet.
    Der Betrag in Basiswährung und in Fremdwährung muss den Nettobetrag (exkl. MWST/USt) widerspiegeln.
    Es ist derselbe Wechselkurs zu verwenden wie in der vorhergehenden Buchung.

Im Beispiel ist die Basiswährung EUR. Der Kauf ist ein nationaler Kauf, wird jedoch von einem Konto in Fremdwährung (USD) bezahlt.

acquisto con IVA non in moneta base

Buchungen mit MWST/USt und Fremdwährung

Bei Buchungen auf Fremdwährungskonten ist es möglich, die MWST/USt auf Basis des Bruttobetrags (Typ Betrag 0 bedeutet‚ inkl. MWST/USt) zu erfassen.
Werden hingegen Nettobeträge (Typ Betrag 1 bedeutet‚ ohne MWST/USt) eingegeben, meldet das Programm einen Fehler, da die Berechnung des Bruttobetrags aufgrund von Rundungsdifferenzen bei MWST/USt und Wechselkurs in vielen Fällen ungenau wäre.
In diesen Fällen wird empfohlen, den Bruttobetrag einzugeben. Weitere Details finden Sie in den spezifischen Erläuterungen zur entsprechenden Fehlermeldung.

Automatismus beim Erfassen von Buchungen in Fremdwährung

Beim Erfassen einer neuen Buchung sind die Angaben in den zuvor genannten Spalten zu vervollständigen.

Wenn bestimmte Werte in der Buchungszeile geändert werden, ergänzt das Programm die übrigen Felder automatisch mit vordefinierten Werten. Entsprechen diese automatisch vorgeschlagenen Werte nicht den individuellen Anforderungen, können sie direkt in der Buchungszeile angepasst werden.

Änderungen an Werten in der Tabelle Wechselkurse haben keinen Einfluss auf bereits erfasste Buchungszeilen. Eine nachträgliche Anpassung eines Wechselkurses wirkt sich somit nicht auf bestehende Buchungen aus.

  • Sobald ein Betrag in Fremdwährung eingegeben wird und mindestens das Soll- oder Haben-Konto vorhanden ist (auch ohne weitere Angaben), geht das Buchhaltungsprogramm wie folgt vor:
    • Das  wird aus dem angegebenen Konto übernommen. Vorrang hat dabei jenes Konto, das nicht in der Basiswährung geführt wird.
    • Der Wechselkurs wird nach folgender Logik aus der Tabelle Wechselkurse übernommen:
      • Das Programm übernimmt den historischen Wechselkurs (Wechselkurszeile) mit einem Datum, das kleiner oder gleich dem Buchungsdatum ist.
      • Ist kein solcher Archiv-Wechselkurs vorhanden, verwendet das Programm den Wechselkurs aus der Wechselkurszeile ohne Datum.
    • Der definierte Multiplikator aus der Wechselkurse-Tabelle wird übernommen. Für die Basiswährung wird automatisch der Multiplikator 1 verwendet.
    • Der Betrag in Basiswährung wird anhand des eingegebenen Fremdwährungsbetrags und des zugehörigen Wechselkurses berechnet.
  • Wird der Fremdwährungsbetrag geändert (bei bereits vorhandenen Werten), geht die Software wie folgt vor:
    • Der Betrag in Basiswährung wird mit dem vorhandenen Wechselkurs neu berechnet.
  • Wird das Währungskürzel geändert, geht das Programm wie folgt vor:
    • Der Wechselkurs wird (inklusive Multiplikator) übernommen, und der Betrag in Basiswährung wird entsprechend berechnet (wie oben beschrieben).
  • Wenn der Wechselkurs geändert wird, geht das Programm wie folgt vor:
    • Der Betrag in Basiswährung wird anhand des eingegebenen Wechselkurses berechnet.
  • Wenn der Betrag in Basiswährung geändert wird, geht das Programm wie folgt vor:
    • Der Wechselkurs wird neu berechnet.

Informationsfenster

Im Informationsfenster meldet das Programm:

  • Allfällige Differenzen zwischen den Totalsummen der Soll- und Habenbuchungen (in Basiswährung).
  • Hinweise zur Verwendung der Taste F6.

Für die Konten der aktuell bearbeiteten Buchungszeile zeigt das Programm im Informationsfenster (Info-Fenster) folgende Angaben an:

  • Kontonummer
  • Bezeichnung des Kontos
  • Buchungsbetrag in Basiswährung
  • Aktueller Saldo des Kontos in Basiswährung
  • Währungskürzel des Kontos
  • Buchungsbetrag in Kontowährung (sofern das Konto nicht in Basiswährung geführt wird)
  • Aktueller Saldo des Kontos in Kontowährung (sofern das Konto nicht in Basiswährung geführt wird)

Eröffnungsbuchungen mit Fremdwährungen

Bei der Eingabe der Eröffnungssaldi in der Tabelle Konten konvertiert die Software die Beträge automatisch in Basiswährung. Dabei werden die Eröffnungswechselkurse aus der Spalte 'W.Eröffnung' der Tabelle Wechselkurse verwendet.

Historische Eröffnungswechselkurse können durch zusätzliche Währungseinträge (Währungskürzel) in der Tabelle Wechselkurse oder über manuelle Eröffnungsbuchungen in der Tabelle Buchungen erfasst werden. 
Weitere Informationen finden Sie auf unserer Webseite im Abschnitt Investitionen und spezielle Wechselkurse. Mit dieser Methode können unterschiedliche Wechselkurse für Konten mit derselben Währung verwendet werden.

  • Für jedes Konto (Aktiven und Passiven) ist eine Buchung mit dem jeweiligen Eröffnungssaldo zu erfassen. Dabei sind das Anfangsdatum der Buchhaltung sowie das entsprechende Konto im Soll oder Haben anzugeben.
  • Um die Buchung eindeutig als Eröffnungsbuchung zu kennzeichnen, muss in der Spalte Typ (BelegTyp) der Wert "01" eingetragen werden.
    • In den Berechnungen und Auswertungen der Banana Buchhaltung wird dieser Betrag dann automatisch als Eröffnungssaldo berücksichtigt.
    • Diese Buchung aktualisiert nicht den Betrag in der Spalte 'Eröffnung' der Tabelle Konten!

Folgendes ist bei der Verwendung von Buchungen für die Eröffnungssaldi zu berücksichtigen:

  • Um eine Neubewertung von Konten zum aktuellen Wechselkurs zu vermeiden, muss in der Tabelle Konten für jene Konten, die nicht neu bewertet werden sollen, in der Spalte Konto Wechselkurs Differenz der Wert "0;0" eingetragen werden.
  • Das Programm erlaubt zwei Methoden zur Erfassung der Eröffnungssaldi:
    • Direkte Eingabe in der Tabelle Konten.
    • Erfassungen über Eröffnungsbuchungen (Aktiven und Passiven) in der Tabelle Buchungen.

Beide Varianten werden bei Berechnungen berücksichtigt. Wenn jedoch beide Methoden für dasselbe Konto verwendet werden, werden die Beträge addiert.
Um schwer auffindbare Differenzen und Fehler zu vermeiden, empfehlen wir dringend, nicht beide Methoden gleichzeitig zu verwenden.

  • Die Eröffnungsbuchungen sind manuell zu erfassen.
    Eventuelle Differenzen zwischen Soll und Haben werden als Buchungsdifferenzen angezeigt.

Nützliche Ratschläge

  • Funktion der Taste F6 in der Spalte "Betrag in Währung":
    Wird die Taste F6 gedrückt, während sich der Cursor in der Spalte Betrag in Währung befindet, schreibt das Programm alle relevanten Werte neu – gemäss der zuvor beschriebenen Logik, als ob noch kein Betrag eingegeben worden wäre. Diese Funktion ist besonders hilfreich, wenn nachträglich das Soll-Konto oder Haben-Konto geändert wird.
  • Manuelle Änderung des Währungskennzeichens bei Sammelbuchungen:
    Besteht eine Buchung aus nur einem Konto in Basiswährung (z.B. bei Sammelbuchungen - siehe Abschnitt Buchungsarten) und wird in der Spalte Währung manuell ein Fremdwährungskennzeichen eingegeben, muss zusätzlich die Taste F6 gedrückt werden, während sich der Cursor in der Spalte Währung befindet. Dadurch wird der Wechselkurs übernommen bzw. die Umrechnung in die Basiswährung aktualisiert.
  • Smart Fill für die Spalte "Wechselkurs":
    In der Spalte Wechselkurs schlägt das Programm automatisch passende Wechselkurse vor. Diese werden entweder aus der Tabelle Wechselkurse oder aus bereits vorhandenen Buchungen mit Fremdwährungen übernommen.

Übernahme von Daten aus älteren Programmversionen

In Version 4 und früheren Versionen wurde ein fehlendes Währungskennzeichen in der Tabelle Buchungen automatisch als Basiswährung interpretiert.
Ab Version 7 hingegen muss jede Buchung ein explizites Währungskennzeichen enthalten. 
Daher ist es bei einem Upgrade von Version 4 auf Version 7 oder neuer erforderlich, alle Buchungen zu ergänzen, bei denen das Währungskennzeichen fehlt.

So vorgehen:

  • Fügen Sie in der Tabelle Buchungen eine neue Spalte mit dem Namen "Währung" hinzu.
    Dies erfolgt über den Befehl Spalten einrichten im Menü Daten.
  • Erfassen Sie in dieser Spalte das jeweilige Währungskennzeichen für alle bereits bestehenden Buchungen.

Exchange rate differences

Create transactions for exchange rate differences

For theoretical aspects please visit the Revaluations and exchange rate differences page.

  • The exchange differences transactions are adjustment transactions that balance out the foreign currency account balance with the basic currency calculated balance. In essence, it is a matter of re-adjusting the values ​​in the basic currency, taking into account exchange rate loss or gain, due to the fluctuations of the exchange rates.
  • If these exchange rate differences are not recorded, there may be differences in the opening balances of the following year.
  • The exchange rate differences can be calculated at the end of the closing year or during the accounting period (for example at the end of a quarter). In this case the historical changes can be useful, as they allow you to have different exchange rates at specific dates.
  • The program calculates the exchange rate difference based on the balances at the specified date. It is therefore possible to calculate the exchange rate difference at a specific date, even if you have entered transactions after that date.
  • For further explanations, see also the Exchange rate differences not booked page
  • Exchange rate differences are not calculated on the accounts belonging to the profit and loss account. Exchange rate profit/losses, which are generated by exchange rate differences, are financial and non-operating items and are therefore not included in the determination of operating income or the profit and loss account.

The Calculate exchange rate differences dialog

The Create transaction for exchange rate variation... command, from the Actions menu, calculates the revaluations for the foreign currencies accounts.

create the exchange rate difference postings

Date of the transactions for the exchange rate differences

The program is able to calculate the exchange rate difference on a date even if there are postings beyond the date.

  • Enter the date for your exchange rate differences transactions.
    • The program will suggest the final date of the current month, related to the last entered transaction.
    • If there are transactions for exchange rate differences with the same date, the program asks whether they should be replaced. The program considers the transactions for the exchange rates differences as existing if they have the same date, doc, description, accounts and currency and when there is no amount in the account currency.

Document number

Enter the document number your exchange rate differences transactions should have.

Use historical exchange rates (exchange rate rows with date)

  • Use when option is not activated
    • If in your Exchange rate table there are no historical exchange rates (exchange rates with a date) this option is not activated.
    • The program will use the exchange rate in your Exchange rate table of the rows without date
    • if you are using historical exchange rates for the year closure, be careful that the exchange rate used should be the same as the current one.
  • Use when option is activated
    • The program will indicate the date of the exchange rate, found in the Exchange rates table, that will be used to calculate the exchange rate difference.
      This is going to be the exchange rate with a date equal or prior to the indicated date.
    • When calculating exchange rate differences at year end we suggest this option not to be activated
    • When booking exchange rate difference transactions at year end, the historical exchange rate must be the same as the current exchange rate, otherwise you get an error message saying that the exchange rate differences have not been calculated (even though they have been).

Values used to create the transactions

For more information, we refer to our page Multi-currency transactions.

Amount of the transaction

  • Transactions for exchange rate differences are being created only for the accounts in foreign currency which, at the specified date, have a different balance in basic currency compared to the calculated one.
  • For the amount in basic currency, the difference between the account balance in basic currency and the account balance in foreign currency converted in basic currency is being used.

Account balance

For the calculation of the exchange rate differences, the balances in the account currency and in basic currency are being used, at the specified date.

 

Exchange rate profit and exchange rate loss accounts

As exchange rate profit and loss accounts are being used, in order of priority:

  1. The indicated accounts entered in the specific column of the chart of accounts.
  2. The exchange rate profit & loss accounts indicated in the File and Accounting properties.

Position of inserted rows

When using the command, while in the Transactions table, the rows are being inserted at the position of the cursor.
Otherwise, they will be inserted at the end or at the previous position in case they are replacing existing transactions.

Before using the command

  1. In the File and Accounting properties  of the File menu, Foreign Currency section, make sure that the Exchange rate profit and loss accounts are being indicated. It is equally possible to indicate the same account for both the exchange rate profits or losses.
  2. Make sure that the accounts in foreign currency are being updated and that the balances in foreign currency of these accounts (for example bank accounts) correspond to the balance indicated by the bank.
  3. Update the current exchange rates of the Exchange rate table.
    You should indicate the closing exchange rates or those of a period's end in the rows without a date, in the Exchange Rate column (do not modify the opening exchange rate in the Rate Opening column). In order to calculate the Exchange rate differences, the program uses the exchange rates of the rows without a date. If these last ones are absent, the program produces an error message.

accounts table

 Opening exchange rates for the New Year

To make the Opening balances of the New Year in Basic currency correspond exactly with the closing balances of the preceding year,  the Opening Exchange rates of the New Year, indicated in the Exchange Rate table, have to be the same as those being used for the closing of the accounting, so:

  • The closing exchange rates have to be indicated in the Exchange rate column of the rows without a date;
  • The opening exchange rates have to be indicated in the Rate Opening columns of the rows without a date.

The procedure of creating a new year or of the updating of the opening balances, copies the closing balances (Exchange rate column, rows without date) of the previous year into the opening exchange rates (Exchange rate table, Rate Opening column,  rows without date) of the new year's file.

Exchange rate differences with cost centers

The Create transaction for exchange rate variation... command does not include any exchange rate differences present in cost centers in currencies other than the accounting currency. These differences must be recorded manually at the end of the year. The transaction should present only the accounting currency amount; indicate this amount first, then the cost center involved and the cost center currency. When the currency is entered, the amount in the currency of the accounting will be deleted and must be re-entered.

Budget

In the Budget Table the financial planning is entered. The entry of the transactions is identical to that of the Transactions table.
Depending on the type of accounting there can be different columns for the Budget.
There are also columns for entering Quantities and Prices and calculation formulas.

For more information about the Budget, see the Budget Table page.

 

Change the basic currency in the multi-currency accounting

In multi-currency accounting all amounts are shown both in the account currency and in the basic currency. If you change the basic currency all exchange rates and amounts in basic currency must be re-entered manually.

It is recommended to change the base currency at the beginning of the year, when there are no operations yet. Anyway, you can still do it during the year, for example, if you want to change the basic currency of an existing accounting file (for example if your accounting file is in EUR and you want it in USD), proceed as follows:

  • Save the file under a different name
  • In the File properties
    • Indicate the new basic currency
    • Delete the reference to the previous year file ('Options' section)
  • In the Exchange rates table enter the exchange rates referred to the basic currency:
    • If there are many transactions to be converted, you can enter median exchange rates for each month in the exchange rate table, indicating the beginning of the month's date).The program will use the historic exchange rate in the transactions.
  • In the Chart of accounts:
    • Replace the old currency with the new one
      You can use the Find and Replace function
    • If there are opening balances, you need to re-enter them in the new currency
    • Also, the Previous year balance, budget and other columns must be converted
  • In the Transactions table:
    If there are transactions, you need to correct them row by row:
    • For those transactions that are already in the correct currency, with the F6 key the program recalculates the amount in the new basic currency.
    • For other transactions you need to enter the right amount in the basic currency and then press F6.
  • In the Budget table:
    Proceed just as in the Transactions table
  • Use the Check accounting command of the Actions menu, fix possible errors, and keep using the Check accounting command until there are no more error messages.

 

 

 

 

Opening Balances in Multi-Currency Accounting

Opening balances when starting with Banana Accounting

When using Banana Accounting for the first time, the opening balances must be entered manually to generate the Balance Sheet.

Before proceeding to enter the opening balances, it is important to make some fundamental settings:

Exchange rates table

  • In the Exchange rates table, set the foreign currencies and the corresponding opening exchange rate, referred to the basic currency.
    The opening exchange rate is only inserted if Banana Accounting is used for the first time, and is automatically updated in the subsequent years, when creating the new year via the Actions → Create new year menu, based on the final exchange rate of the the previous year's file.
  • The opening exchange rate must always be indicated in an undated row and must never be modified, except for errors or in case of special situations.
  • The opening exchange rates must be identical to those of the previous year. See Differences in opening balances.

Accounts table

  • Make sure that there is an account to record the exchange differences in the Chart of Accounts (Income Statement) and that this has been indicated in the File → File Properties (Basic Data) → Foreign currency menu.
  • The opening balances must be entered in the Base view of the Accounts table, Opening currency column, for both the basic currency and the foreign currency.
  • The Opening column (basic currency) is protected. The program automatically calculates the exchange value for the basic currency according to the opening rate indicated in the exchange rate table.
  • Liabilities balances must be entered with a minus sign in front of the amount.
  • After entering the opening balances of the financial statements, check that the total Assets are equal to the Liabilities, so that the accounting is balanced. If there are any differences in the opening balances, they must be checked and corrected.
  1. Go to the Accounts table, Base view, Opening column.
  2. Manually report the opening balances of the Assets and Liabilities accounts. Liabilities balances must be entered with a minus sign in front of the amount.
  3. Check that the total Assets is equal to the total Liabilities to have a balanced accounting. If there are any differences in the opening balances, they need to be checked and corrected.

accounts table, opening column

Opening balances of Cost Centers and Segments

In the Accounts table, the Opening column can also be used to enter the opening balances of the Cost Centers.

To enter the opening balances of the segments, opening transactions must instead be made. More details are available on the Segments page.

Start with Banana Accounting during the year

If you start a new accounting, taking over work already done with other programs, there are two possibilities:

  1. Start accounting from the beginning of the year, by entering the opening balances at the beginning of the year (Accounts table, Opening column) and the transactions (Transactions table) that have already been previously recorded with other programs (also see Transferring data from other software). Thus you will have all the accounting details in one file.
  2. Starting from the date when the accounting is taken over:
    • Enter the opening balances (Accounts table, Opening column), taking over the values of the other accounting.
      In addition to entering the opening balances of the Assets and Liabilities accounts, it is also necessary to enter those of the Expenses (positive amounts) and Revenues (negative amounts).
    • The operating result up to that point must be disclosed in the Profit / Loss carried forward account.
      If it is a profit, the opening balance must be entered in negative, if it is a loss, in positive .
    • Check that the sums of the opening balances are zero, so that the program does not signal any differences.
    • Enter the new entries in the Transactions table.

 Opening balances as opening transactions

Opening balances can also be entered as opening transactions in the Transactions table, both for all balance sheet accounts and for some categories of accounts, such as those of the segments, which must be manually posted in the Transactions table.

For each opening transaction, proceed as follows:

  • Indicate the accounting start date as the transaction date.
  • In the Doc Type column, enter the code "01".
  • Indicate the debit or credit account and the amount.
  • The total of the opening debit balances must match those in credit.

Opening balances entered as transactions are used when preparing reports. When there are opening balances in the Opening column of the Accounts table and the opening balances of some accounts are also manually entered in the Transactions table (e.g. opening segments balances), these are automatically added to those present in the Opening column of the Accounts table.

Entry via transactions can be useful if different opening rates than those of the exchange rate table are required. If you use this procedure, you need to be clear about the accounting and legal implications.

Balances of the previous year

If you start a new accounting by taking over an existing accounting and you want the previous year's values to appear on the printouts, it is necessary to enter the previous year's balances in the Previous view, Previous Year column of the Accounts table:
The previous amounts are displayed in the printouts of the Enhanced balance sheet in the Previous Year column.

  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year of the Assets accounts.
  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year of the Liabilities accounts (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).
  • Enter the last year's closing balances of the Expenses.
  • Enter the final balances of the previous year of Revenues (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).
  • accounts table, previous year multi currency

Create new year

When you start the new year, the program automatically carries over the opening balances to the following year.
Consult the Create New Year lesson.

To print the opening balances:

Printouts

All the printouts of the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement, and the various Accounting Reports are available from the Reports menu. Each command has various options for customizing the various printouts.

To print the content of the tables, please refer to the Page setup section (last paragraph).

The printouts have the same features as those of the Double-entry accounting, but with the display of columns and values of foreign currencies, exchange rates and counter values in basic currency.

The principal printouts available:

 

Account card multi-currency accounting

Columns and views of the account card

In the Account card, there are three groups with of columns.  In the headers of the Debit, Credit and Balance columns, the initials of the respective coins are indicated.

  • Basic currency
    Indicated are the opening balance, the transactions, and the balance in basic currency.
  • Account currency
    The transactions in the Account currency are being indicated.
    When the accounts are in Basic currency, these values are identical to those of the Basic currency.
  • Currency2
    For every transaction, the amount in Currency2 is being indicated. The logic of for converting amounts depends on the account currency, see Converting to Currency 2 on the Multi-Currency File Properties page.
    For the account card the amounts of the transactions are converted with the following logic:
    •  For the opening or carry forward rows, the account balance is converted.
    • For the transactions
      • The Debit and Credit amounts in Currency 2 are converted.
      • The balance of the account in Currency 2 is calculated by adding the amounts in Currency 2 resulting from the conversions.
        It is possible that the final balance of the Currency 2 account is not equal to the balance of the currency account converted to Currency 2. See the Exchange rates issues page for possible rounding differences

    • Transaction currency
      It is not visible if it is not equal to the account currency or not in Basic currency. If an account is registered in a currency different from the account currency, but equal to Currency2, the amounts in Currency2 will not be the original ones, but those converted from the basic currency.

Views of the Account cards

In the multi-currency account card there are several views, each of which displays certain columns at the same time. As you move from one view to another, the columns change.

You can change the arrangement of the columns and create additional views. More details about the views can be found at the following link: Tables setup.

Data editing

It is not possible to modify the data in the Account card. Double-click on the (underlined) row number to go back to the original corresponding row of the Transactions or Budget table. More details are available on the Account card page (paragraph Updating the Account card).

Info Window

In the lower part of the screen, the Info window, the values of the accounts related to the active transaction are being indicated.

  • Account number
  • Account description
  • Transaction amount of the account in Basic currency
  • Actual Account Balance in Basic currency
  • Account's currency symbol
  • Transaction amount of the account in the Account currency
  • Actual Account Balance in Account currency

 

Enhanced balance sheet multi-currency accounting

The Enhanced Balance Sheet in the multi-currency accounting is done the same way as the one in double-entry accounting. Information is available at the following link: Enhanced Balance Sheet.

The difference consists in the fact that the foreign currency accounts report the amounts in foreign currency as well as in basic currency (amount converted).

Multi-currency Enhanced Balance Sheet

 

 

 

Enhanced balance sheet by groups multi-currency accounting

The Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups in multi-currency accounting is done the same way as the one in double-entry bookkeeping. Information is available at the following link: Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups.

Watch the video tutorial that shows how to create and print the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups.

The difference consists in the fact that the foreign currency accounts report the amounts in foreign currency as well as in the basis currency (amount converted).

multicurrency Balance Sheet

 

 

Accounting reports multi-currency accounting

Accounting Reports in multi-currency accounting are done the same way as the ones in double-entry bookkeeping. Information is available at the following links: Accounting report; External accounting report.

 

Year end closing operations | Multi-currency accounting

At the end of the accounting year, before moving into the New Year, in addition to checking for errors and differences in the accounts, it is necessary to perform a series of closing operations. These are very important because they give a correct and complete overview of your business, and they also have fiscal implications.

Technical aspects and new year

With Banana Accounting each accounting year has its own separate file; technically there is no concept of accounting closure:

  • When a New Year starts a new file is created with the Create New Year command.
  • You can keep working on both the New Year's file and the previous year file at the same time. Once the closing operations are complete, you can update the opening balances of the New Year's file.

Tax matters

Before closing the accounting, a series of operations with tax implications must be carried out. This includes balancing the inventory account, recording depreciations, accruals (both active and passive), filing VAT declarations, determining how and on which accounts profit should be allocated, and performing various other verification and control operations.

From a program perspective, the amount of profit at the end of the year may be irrelevant, but it significantly changes from a tax standpoint. These aspects need to be reviewed with your tax advisor and accountant. If you're managing accounting for the first time, it can be helpful to consult an expert before proceeding with closures to understand the requirements. Accountants are usually very busy towards the end of the year and in the months leading up to the tax filing deadline; therefore, it may be useful to meet with your accountant or send them the accounting records a few months before closing to determine the appropriate course of action.

The Check Accounting command

Banana Accounting allows you to quickly record transactions and even leave some operations pending without interrupting the workflow

The Actions > Check Accounting command performs a series of checks, as if entering the data again from the beginning, and whenever errors or discrepancies are detected, they are reported.

It is recommended to use the Check Accounting command regularly and every time there are differences or error reports, significant changes (initial changes, VAT codes), and especially before closing the accounts.

Control and verification operations

Before printing the final financial statements it is important to proceed with the verification operations:

Checking the opening balances

  • Differences in opening balances
    Current year opening balances must correspond to previous year's final balances, and there must be a balance between the Assets and Liabilities payable, otherwise the accounting is not correct.
  • In the Accounts table, in the Opening and Balance columns, the row 'Difference must be zero' should not have any amount. Otherwise, it is necessary to find the error and correct it to have the opening balance squared. Note: In the Movement view, in the Debit and Credit columns, it is normal to have amounts
  • Differences in opening exchange rates
    As a rule, opening exchange rates are set at the beginning of the year. It may happen however that some verification procedures have been left pending; therefore before closing the accounting it is important to make sure that:
    • The exchange rates at the beginning of the year are the same as the final ones on 31.12 of the previous year,
    • The exchange rates used are the ones provided by the Federal Administration, as indicated below.
  • Differences between bank balances on bank statements and account balances (CheckBalance function)
    It is important to check the correspondence of bank, postal, credit card, and other account balances that have to be included in your tax returns.
  • Differences in the Transactions table
    In the Information window at the bottom of the screen, no difference must be shown. Banana Accounting Plus, in the Transactions table, also offers the possibility to view the Balance column, which allows you to detect all the rows where differences are created.
  • Ensure that the active and passive carryovers from the previous year are closed. 
  • Verify that the opening balances match the final balances of the previous year, already audited and declared to the Tax Office.
  • For multi-currency accounting, refer to the specific page Opening balances for multi-currency accounting
  • Detailed explanations can be found on the Double-entry accounting closing operatitions page.
  • The Actions > Check Accounting command performs a series of checks and reports any differences and errors.

Closing accounting transactions

In a multi-currency accounting, as in double-entry accounting, before moving on to the New Year, some closing accounting operations are necessary. These are adjustment transactions, value adjustments, and adjustments related to personnel contributions. Here are the main ones: 

Import cash account movements into the accounting file
This operation is only envisaged in cases where the cash account is maintained separately in a file distinct from the accounting transactions. 
After the import is completed, ensure that the cash account balance in the main accounting file corresponds to the balance in the cash file. This verification can also be carried out using the Check Balance function described in the previous paragraph.

Import payroll transactions into the accounting file
This operation is only applicable if the payroll is managed using specific software that allows for the import of transactions into the Banana Accounting Plus file. 
The import is performed from the Actions menu > Import into accounting > Import transactions with column headers. 
Remember to include the recording of the December thirteenth salary installment if it is not generated by the payroll software.

Adjustment of the Delcredere account
Companies that include potential losses in their turnover must adjust the Delcredere account.

Amortisations
As of December 31, it is necessary to record the depreciation of movable and immovable assets and evaluate any accelerated depreciation for assets subject to rapid obsolescence. 
You can use our Fixed Asset Register application, which automatically generates depreciation entries and allows you to import them into the accounting file.

Inventory Adjustment
The Inventory application allows you to have precise counts both in terms of quantity and value, helping you determine your inventory adjustment more quickly.

Detecting open invoices from customers and suppliers as of December 31st.
To streamline the process, you can quickly identify the values as of December 31st using the function for open invoices by customer and open invoices by supplier.

Own consumption
If the company uses a company car, record the own consumption with the appropriate VAT code.

Closures and VAT declaration
Before submitting the VAT declaration, we recommend the following checks:

  • Use the Check Accounting command. In case of errors and discrepancies, you will find messages in the information window at the bottom, in the Messages section.
  • Verify that there are no differences in the Balance column of the Transactions table.
  • Check bank balances to ensure they match those sent by the bank.
  • Verify that the automatic VAT account after reversing the balance in the due VAT account (VAT to be paid to the tax authority) is zero. The due VAT account should show the amount to be paid or the credit amount to be received.
  • Before submitting the final VAT declaration, review the VAT statements from previous quarters again to ensure that the amounts paid to the tax authority are still consistent with those displayed.
  • Use the VAT Summary command to view various reports and create a PDF printout for data archiving. These will be useful in case of tax audits.

Adjust the Source tax account
After calculating and recording the December salaries, based on the calculation sent to the Source Tax Office, register the adjustment.

Reimbursements for upper-level employees
If applicable, include in the December salary the amount specified by the tax authorities as a flat-rate reimbursement.

Adjustment of Private Account
Verify the balance of the private account. In the case of debit/credit relationships between the company and the owner(s) or related individuals, record active or passive interests according to the terms of the loan agreement or prevailing tax regulations.

Adjustment of the Taxes and Duties Account
Verify that the installments paid during the year correspond to the current year. Payments of taxes related to previous years should be recorded when closing the related provisions that appear in the "Direct Taxes" account (balance sheet). If the balance of the provisions is not sufficient or is excessive, the difference should be recorded as extraordinary expense/income or related to previous periods.

Registration of AVS/AD/IPG/AD Adjustments

  • Throughout the year, in the AVS contributions account, advances paid to the AVS Compensation Fund (credited) and contributions withheld from employees' salaries (debited) are usually recorded.
  • If family allowances paid to employees during the year have been recorded in a dedicated account, for example, in the "Family Allowance Contributions" account, to reconcile the accounts with the AVS closing balance and record the corresponding adjustment, the balance of this account can be transferred to the AVS/AD Contributions account.

Registering Lainf, Complementary Lainf, and LPP Pension Adjustments
When recording the last salaries of December and the payment of the thirteenth salaries, it's necessary to print the list of salaries showing all gross salaries. The overall AVS gross amount must be communicated to the personnel insurance companies, which will determine any adjustments to be paid.

In multi-currency accounting, similar to double-entry accounting, certain closing accounting operations are required before moving to the new year. These include adjustment entries, value adjustments, and reconciliations related to personnel contributions.

On the Year end closing operations page in double-entry accounting, both accounting and tax-related closing operations are listed.

Below, we will address the topics related to closing entries for exchange rate differences.
 

Year-end exchange rates and unrealized gains/losses

In order to obtain financial statements, foreign currency accounts must be converted to the base currency at the current or historical exchange rate. Exchange rates variations result in unrealized exchange rates gains or losses. These must be recorded with the following command from the Actions menu:

  • Create transactions for exchange rate differences
    • Please refer to this page for the entire subject of setting exchange rates and calculating unrealized gains and losses.
    • Please note that the closing exchange rates must be entered in the Exchange rate table in rows without a date. These exchange rates are taken over by the program for the calculation of the opening balances of the New Year. If exchange rates with dates are entered, there will be differences in the opening balances of the New Year.
    • If there are rows with dates in the Exchange Rates table (historical exchange rates), when closing the accounts, for calculating exchange rate differences, it is recommended not to activate the Use historical exchange rates (rows with dates) option. This ensures that the program uses the updated exchange rate found at the beginning of the exchange rates table, in the rows without dates (in the Rate column)

After the recording of the exchange rate differences, the balances in basic currency are updated according to the closing exchange rates entered in the Exchange rates table (rows without date). In the Chart of Accounts, the balances in the Balance column are equal to those in the Calculated Balance column.

Sending the file to the accountant for closures

If closures and/or checks are carried out by your trustee, you can simply send the file of your accounting created with Banana Accounting Plus via email or save the data on a USB stick.

  • If your trustee uses Banana Accounting, you can simply transmit the AC2 file via email or through a USB flash drive. You can also save your file and digital documents in a shared folder with your trustee on Dropbox. You will no longer need to bring heavy binders of paper documentation to the trustee. Furthermore, the trustee will work quickly without having to search through paper documentation.
  • If your trustee doesn't have Banana Accounting, you can create a PDF of the accounting data through the File > Create PDF folder menu and transmit the documentation via email. The trustee will indicate all the changes and additions to be recorded to properly close the accounting period.
    Alternatively, your trustee can open your accounting file using the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus, downloading it from our Download page. If your file has more than 70 transactions, your trustee won't be able to add new transactions or make changes, but they can still view all the data, obtain details of each account with a simple click on the account number, etc., and advise you on possible corrections or improvements.

Locking transactions

Once the closing and verification entries are executed, it is recommended to lock the transactions

End of year printouts

For end-of-year financial statement printouts, you can find the information by clicking on the following links:

The Create PDF folder command allows you to have all the documents of the entire accounting exercise (account sheets, journal, VAT statements, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports...) in a single PDF file.

You can archive the accounting data by saving the accounting file and prints in PDF format. Optionally, make backup copies on an external disk drive.

Documentation for the audit

On the Preparing documentation for the Audit page, we have published a series of notes and suggestions regarding the documentation to be sent to the auditor. The completeness of the documentation is a good basis for making the auditor's work more efficient and faster.

Profit/Loss Allocation

In Banana Accounting, the allocation of profit or loss occurs automatically at the beginning of the new year. For more information, please refer to the Create New Year page.

Changes after closure

Normally, once the closure has been completed, there should be no recorded modifications. However, sometimes there is a need to make changes to the accounts, as in the following cases:

  • Unrecorded exchange rate differences at closure
  • Unrecorded missing transactions
  • Errors in the transactions.

In these cases, it is recommended to proceed as follows:

  • If you have already submitted the data to the authority, or if the accounts have already been audited and the balance sheet presented to shareholders or stakeholders definitively, do not make any changes to the accounts, as any modifications could be considered falsifications, with potential legal consequences.
    • Make necessary adjustments in the following year, clearly describing the issue in a document that you will need to attach to the adjustment transactions.
    • If you forgot to record exchange rate differences, follow the information on our website under Differences in opening balances.
    • Obviously, depending on the situation, there may be tax consequences, so it is better to seek advice from your accountant.
  • If the legal framework allows you to make changes to a closed year:
    • Proceed with caution, limiting yourself to only the truly necessary modifications. If you forgot to record exchange rate differences, follow the information on our website under Create exchange rate differences.
    • Review the accounts and perform all necessary checks to ensure that the changes do not cause any issues.  
    • After the modifications, open the file for the following year and update the opening balances using the Update opening balances command.

New Year | Multi-currency Accounting

Before moving on to the new year make sure you have carried out all the checks, verifications and closing entries as indicated on the following pages

All accounting information relating to the opening of the new financial year can be found on the page

In the following, we will limit ourselves to information on exchange rate issues in Multi-currency accounting.

Creation of a new accounting period

When switching to a new accounting year, the program automatically carries over the opening balances to the following year. More details are available on the page Create new year.

Also in the Multi-currency accounting, it is possible to decide to switch to the new year, even if the previous year has not been definitively closed (because entries have not yet been made, exchange differences have not yet been calculated, or the operating result has not been distributed).
It is important, however, that before closing the year, the exchange rate differences are calculated in the year that is about to close, from the menu Actions → Calculate exchange rate differences.

Then, in the new accounting period previously created, you can update the opening balances from the menu Actions → Update opening balances.

Differences in opening balances

In the event that there are differences in the opening balances in the new accounting period, we advise you to carry out all the checks and controls suggested on the Checks and verifications page.

If the differences are due to exchange rate differences not calculated in the previous accounting period, follow the instructions on the page Differences in the opening balances.

Print opening balances

To print the opening balances:

 

Differences in the opening balances | Multicurrency

In accountings that include foreign currency accounts, it is necessary to register exchange rate differences before closing the fiscal year.

To correctly record exchange rate differences, follow these steps:

  • Update the Exchange Rates table, in the Exchange Rate column, with the official exchange rate as of 31st December, provided by the Public Administration.
  • The closing exchange rate must appear in rows without a date.
  • It is not possible to use a historical exchange rate (an exchange rate with a date); otherwise, exchange rate differences may arise.

If, when opening the new year (from the Actions menu > Create New Year), or when updating the opening balances (from the Actions menu > Update Opening Balances), the exchange rate differences are not recorded, the program will report a discrepancy in the opening balances in the new fiscal year.

opening balances accounts table

In order to resolve this problem, there are two possibilities:

  1. If the preceding accounting year has not yet been audited, calculate the exchange rate differences for the previous year:
  1. If the previous year was closed and audited (and, if applicable, also reviewed), the new year's opening balances must be adjusted:
  • Open the file of the new year
  • Insert a new account Non-calculated exchange differences, in the assets or liabilities (Accounts table), as appropriate, or register the amount in account 1090 Transfer account (as in the example below)
  • Enter the amount corresponding to the exchange rate difference in the Opening currency column

exchange rate differences opening column

  • In the accounting records of the new fiscal year, a balance related to exchange rate differences is generated in the Opening Currency column of the Accounts table, which must be adjusted.
    To adjust the difference, proceed as follows:
    • In the Transactions table, on January 1st (or on the statutory opening date), record the amount of the exchange rate differences in the account Uncalculated Exchange Rate Differences, or as in the example, in account 1090 - Transfer Account, using as the counterpart the Exchange Rate Differences account (Gains and/or Losses on Exchange Rates) in the income statement.

exchamge rate difference of prvious year

After the transaction to arrange the exchange rate differences has been entered, the account that has been used should display a balance of zero, or equal to the amount corresponding to the balance prior to the transaction.

In the case of an exchange rate gain, the amount of the difference must be entered in a liabilities account, or in the assets, but with a minus sign in front of the amount. 

closing dexchange rate differences previous year

This amount, which initially impacts the Income Statement of the new fiscal year, is then nullified during the first exchange rate update, which can be performed as needed during the year. If this is not the case and exchange rates are only updated at the end of the fiscal year, the position of the Gains and/or Losses on Exchange Rates account will still be correctly adjusted.

Note:
If exchange rates are updated only at the fiscal year-end, the interim Balance Sheet and Income Statement will be "affected" by the amount of the exchange rate difference related to the adjustment of the opening balance.

 

Accounting with cryptocurrencies

Banana Accounting allows you to manage any currency, including the Bitcoin, Ethereum and any other cryptocurrency, even the ICO (Initial Coin Offering), using any abbreviation and allowing for up to 27 decimals and freely settable exchange rates. Precise values and account statements are generated. In Banana Accounting, you will always have the exact values for each individual currency.
Any currency can be selected as the base currency, EUR, US$, Bitcoin and any currency can be managed.

Single or multiple currencies

When you are keeping accounts, you must first decide whether you are doing so in one single currency or if multiple currencies are required. 
The Cash book and Income & Expense accounting work with one single currency, whereas Double-entry accounting allows for you to keep accounts in several different currencies. 

The base currency is defined in the File prpoerties of the accounting (of the File menu). The program displays a list of predefined currencies, but you may indicate any other currency code.

For Double-entry accounting, amounts are indicated in the account currency as well as the base currency. Amount in the base currency can be added up and are therefore used for the preparation of the Balance Sheet, the Profit & Loss statement, as well as the different reports.

When selecting Multi-currency accounting, the currencies that you require can be be set up in the Exchange rates table, indicating the exchange rates between the different currencies. National or cryptocurrencies can be managed without restrictions and any code can be used.

Changing decimal points for the accounting

Decimal points are implemented when the accounting file is created, in order to avoid rounding up differences. Amounts are rounded up according the same method, thus avoiding differences that sometimes occur in Excel.

When starting a new accounting, it is advised to use an existing template, which is usually set up with 2 decimal points.
If you need to manage your accounting or accounts with a higher number of decimal points, you need to "re-create the file" with the following command

The program will generate a copy of your file with the new Outline created for your new file, including the appropriate decimal points required. For Multi-currency accounting you will have to indicate:

  • The decimal points in the base currency.
  • The decimal points for accounts in foreign currencies.

Cryptocurrencies, parameters for creating a new file

Setting up decimal points for foreign currencies

When using multi-currency accounting in Double-entry accounting, rounding up needs to be indicated for amounts in foreign currencies.
Decimal points for foreign currency should generally not be inferior to those in use for the base currency.
When managing cryptocurrencies such as ETH, you must indicate 18 as a value in the conversion file. 

The different currency codes must be indicated in the Exchange rates table, with the related opening and current exchange rates.

The currency code must be indicated for each account in the Accounts table of the Chart of Accounts.

In the Currency column, the amounts are therefore displayed therefore with the maximum number of decimals, also for the currencies that do not use as many decimals. If you want to have a smaller number of decimals, you can set it up in the format of the desired column. For example with "0.00000" will display only 6 decimals.

Currencies and decimal points

Currency codes are available and can be consulted in the relative Wikipedia page, with indication of decimal points commonly used.

  • Currencies generally use 2 decimal points.
  • Currencies with 0 decimal points are
    • BIF Burundian Franc
    • CLP Chilean peso
    • DJF Djiboutian franc
    • GNF Guinean franc
    • ISK  Icelandic króna
    • JPY Japanese yen
    • KRW South Korean won
    • PYG  Paraguayan guaraní
    • RWF Rwandan franc
    • UGX  Ugandan shilling
    • UYI  Uruguay Peso en Unidades Indexadas
    • VUV  Vanuatu vatu
    • XOF CFA franc BCEAO
    • XPF CFP franc (franc Pacifique)
  • Currencies with 3 decimal points are
    • BHD Bahraini dinar
    • IQD Iraqi dinar
    • JOD Jordanian dinar
    • KWD Kuwaiti dinar
    • LYD Libyan dinar
    • TND Tunisian dinar
  • Currencies with 4 decimal points are
    • UYW Unidad previsional

Cryptocurrencies

There is a multitude of cryptocurrencies, each carrying their own name and code.

There is no indication for their decimal points. For the best known they are 

  • BTC Bitcoin with 9 decimal points.
  • ETH  Ethereum with 18 decimal points.
    Multiple other virtual currencies are based on the Ethereum blockchain and require 18 decimal points.

Indicate the appropriate decimal points for the required currency in the Outline create new file dialog (see image above).

Income & Expense accounting

The Income and Expense Accounting of Banana Accounting Plus manages the income and expenses of accounts and categories in a simple and intuitive way. Despite its simplicity, it guarantees professional results, because it uses functions and calculation engines such as double-entry bookkeeping. It is ideal for:

  •  Small businesses, to simplify the management of finances and have professional statements.
  •  Freelancers and the self-employed, to monitor their income and expenditure in a more intuitive and immediate way.
  •  Associations, Curatorships and other non-profit organisations, to keep accounts while working quickly, thanks to many functions that automate many work processes, resulting in clear and accurate statements.
  • Auxiliary accounts for projects or real estate, to keep track of construction sites, projects, rents or other.
  • Households, to keep track of expenses and income and manage the family budget

Getting Started with Income/Expense Accounting

For an easy and immediate start check our resources:   

You can open the template that is closest to your needs and immediately create the file for your accounting. Enter the initial balances and you are already up and running. For more information visit the general page of How to start with Banana Accounting Plus.

The Transactions table

The Transactions table is the core of Income/Expense bookkeeping.

In the Transactions table you enter incoming and outgoing transactions. Entry is extremely easy and intuitive, even for those with no accounting knowledge. 

accounting transactions

Based on Income and Expenses: the table structure has columns where the data appears ordered and homogeneous. The columns and functions are customisable; rows can be highlighted and thanks to the innovative Filter function you can immediately find, edit and correct data. 

There are pre-defined main columns in which to enter:

  • The date of the transaction
  • The document number, if any
  • The incoming or outgoing amount
  • The account to which the transaction refers (cash, bank, post office, customer or supplier).
  • The category for the income or expense

Insertion of digital attachments: In the Transactions table, you can also make the DocLink column visible, allowing you to add the receipt or invoice to each transaction in PDF format. This ensures immediate availability of documents for future audits or for forwarding to your accountant.

Quick entry of Transactions: To speed up the entry of transactions, you can use various features: from data entry with autocomplete, to Recurring transactions, Importing bank transactions, or even setting up Rules for automatic completion of imported transactions. In no time, you will have complete accounting and can focus more on the productive activities of your business.

Categorization of income and expenses: Transactions are assigned to specific categories or classes of spending and earning. This helps to organize and analyze financial information more easily.

Accounting without discrepancies: The Balance column is an extremely useful feature; it allows you to instantly see any discrepancies. To use the Balance column, you need to make it visible through the Data > Columns setup menu.

Types of Transactions

As with any type of file, the following types of trasnactions are possible in Income/Expenses:

  • Simple transactions, executed on a single line
  • Compound transactions, executed on several lines
  • Transactions with VAT, possible in Income / Expenses with VAT 

Creating invoices  

Even in Income / Expense Accounting, despite its simplicity, you can generate invoices to send to your customers. You can print invoices with a QR code (for Switzerland) or without (other countries).

It only takes a few steps to create your invoices:

  • In the Accounts table, set up the list of your customers, and for each customer enter all data (address, country, language..).
  • In the Transactions table, enter the invoice data. By also completing the data in the Account column (account no.) and the Category column (category no.), you can not only create and print the invoice, but at the same time you have already accounted for it.

Further Functions

The programme also allows you to add further data to your Transactions, so that the same data can also be used for:

Reports and Printouts

After each transaction, the programme automatically updates all Account and Category balances.

You can obtain accurate and easy-to-understand reports, account and category sheets, journal and forecasts.

From the menu Reports > Enhanced Statement or Enhanced Statement with groups, get your reports in no time. Reports by period are also possible.

Rendiconto abbellito con gruppi

Printouts
The following printouts are possible from the Report menu:

Archiving data in PDF

At the end of the year, when all bookkeeping has been completed, corrected and audited, you can archive all accounting data with the command from the menu File > Create PDF Dossier .

archivio in pdf Entrate / Uscite

Differences to double-entry bookkeeping

In double-entry bookkeeping, all accounts, both balance sheet and profit and loss account, are only found in the Accounts table. In Income/Expense accounting, to make it easier and more intuitive to use, the accounts are structured in two tables:

  • Accounts table - list of asset accounts:
    • Assets are shown in positive
    • Debts are shown in negative
    • Net worth is calculated as the difference between assets and debts.
  • Categories table  - list of expense and income accounts:
    • Expenditure items are in negative
    • Income items are in the positive
    • Profit or loss is calculated as the difference between positive and negative values. 

Transactions

All daily movements are entered in the Transactions table, both for double-entry bookkeeping and for Income/Expense bookkeeping. Between the two accounts, however, there is a substantial difference in the columns, namely:

  • In the Income/Expense accounts there are two specific columns:
    • Account - where asset accounts that have movements based on expenses incurred or income received are recorded.
    • Category - where expense and income categories are recorded. It is also possible to have an account when bank and postal giro accounts are involved.
  • In double-entry bookkeeping there are the following specific columns:
    • Debit - where increases in assets and decreases in liabilities and expenses are recorded.
    • Credit - where decreases in assets and increases in liabilities and revenues are recorded.
       

Information common to double-entry bookkeeping

On the pages of the Income and Expenses documentation you will find detailed and specific information. For all general functions, please refer to the double-entry accounting documentation. In particular:

 

Comenzar contabilidad de Gastos/Ingresos

Creación de un archivo de contabilidad, a partir de una plantilla

Sigue los siguientes pasos:

  1. Menú Archivo, comando Nuevo.
  2. Selecciona la Región, la Categoría y el Tipo de contabilidad.
  3. De la lista de las plantillas que aparece, selecciona la que más se adecue a tus necesidades.
  4. Haz clic en Crear.

En Buscar, cuando se introduce una palabra clave, el programa muestra las plantillas que contienen la palabra clave introducida.

También es posible empezar desde un archivo en blanco, mediante la opción Crear archivo en blanco. En cualquier caso, para facilitar el inicio y evitar errores de agrupación, recomendamos que siempre se empiece desde un modelo ya existente.

Más información sobre cómo crear un archivo desde cero disponible en la página Create New File.

Configuración de las propiedades de los archivos

Configura tus propios datos desde el comando Propiedades del archivo y contables y guarda con tu propio nombre de archivo.

Guardar en disco

En el menú Archivo-> Guardar como, guarda los datos y asigna un nombre al archivo. Aparece el usual diálogo de guardar de tu sistema operativo.

  • Es aconsejable utilizar el nombre de la empresa seguido del año: "Compañía-2020" para distinguirlo de otros archivos contables.
  • El programa añadirá la extensión "ac2".
  • Puedes mantener tantas cuentas como necesites, cada una tendrá su propio nombre.
  • Puedes elegir la carpeta que quieras, (Por ejemplo, Documentos -> Contabilidad) y el soporte que prefieras, como un disco duro, usb o la nube.
    Si también deseas tener documentos vinculados a las cuentas del año en curso, se recomienda crear un directorio separado para cada año contable y agrupar todos los archivos.


Personalizar la tabla de categorías

En la tabla Cuentas, puedes personalizar las cuentas de estado según tus necesidades:

  • puedes cambiar los números de cuenta.
  • puedes modificar la Descripción.
  • en la columna Apertura debes introducir los saldos iniciales.

Por favor recuerda, que para las cuentas del pasivo (ej. deudas), el balance de apertura debe estar precedido por el símbolo menos (-).

Esta operación debe ser ejecutada sólo la primera vez que se utilice Banana Accounting, ya que a partir de ahí, cada fin de año, al crear un nuevo año (menú Cuenta2, comando Crear nuevo año), el saldo inicial será transferido automáticamente.


Personaliza la tabla de Categorías

En la tabla de Categorías, personaliza las categorías de entradas (ganancias/ingresos) y salidas (gastos/costes).

Los números de la categoría pueden ser modificados, así como la descripción.
Las categorías no contienen ni deben contener un saldo inicial, para determinar el resultado del ejercicio contable.


Tabla de registros

En la tabla Registros, se introducen las transacciones diarias de gastos e ingresos, indicando la cuenta para la que se ha realizado la transacción y la categoría a la que se atribuye el ingreso o el gasto.



En las columnas correspondientes:

  • Introduce la Fecha.
  • Introdce el Número de documento que se ha asignado. manualmente al documento impreso. Esto te permitirá encontrar los documentos fácilmente, una vez que la transacción contable se ha registrado.
  • Introduce la Descripción.
  • En la columna Ingresos, introduce la cantidad ingresada.
  • En la columna Egresos, introduce la cantidad del gasto.
  • En la columna Cuenta introduce el número de cuenta (tiene que ser una cuenta existente en la tabla de Cuentas, ej. Banco).
  • En la columna Categoría introduce la categoría de ingreso o gasto (tiene que ser una categoría ya existente en la tabla Categorías).

Acelerar la grabación de los registros

Para acelerar la grabación de los registros, puedes utilizar:

Registros con IVA

Para registrar las transacciones con IVA, por favor, procede de la siguiente manera:

  • desde el menú Archivo, selecciona el comando Nuevo y Cash Manager con IVA
  • Selecciona una de las Plantillas predeterminadas para tu país, of the Income/expenses accounting with VAT type
    In order to enter transactions with VAT, please refer to the Transactions page.

Transacciones en múltiples filas

Las transacciones en múltiples filas o Transacciones compuestas son las transacciones que implican más de dos cuentas y los créditos/débitos en varias cuentas (por ejemplo, cuando se pagan facturas diferentes de la cuenta bancaria). En este caso es necesario introducir la transacción en varias filas:

  • En la primera fila, indica el importe total de los ingresos o gastos y la cuenta en la que se carga o abona dicho importe
  • En cada fila subsiguiente, introduce el importe de ingresos o gastos en la columna de categorías e introduce el número de categoría correspondiente.
    Cada cantidad individual se registra en una fila diferente. Cuando se registran todas las filas de ingresos y gastos individuales no debería haber diferencias.

La Tarjeta de Cuenta

La Tarjeta de Cuenta te permite tener una lista completa de los asientos contables relacionados con la misma cuenta o grupo.

  • Para abrir una Tarjeta de Cuenta debes hacer clic sobre la celda de número de cuenta y después hacer clic sobre la pequeña flecha azul que aparece en la esquina superior derecha de la celda.
  • Para abrir múltiples tarjetas, debes seleccionar el comando Tarjetas de Cuentas del menú Cuenta1.
  • Para actualizar las tarjetas de cuenta, tras hacer cambios en la pestaña de Registros, debes hacer clic sobre el símbolo con dos flechas circulares, situadas en la esquina derecha superior de la tarjeta de cuenta.


La Tarjeta de Categoría

La Tarjeta de categoría  te permite tener una lista completa de los asientos contables relacionados con la misma categoría.

  • Para abrir una tarjeta de categoría debes hacer clic sobre la celda de número de cuenta y después hacer clic sobre la pequeña flecha azul que aparece en la esquina superior derecha de la celda.
  • Para abrir múltiples tarjetas de categoría debes seleccionar el comando Tarjetas de Cuentas/Categorías del menú Cuenta1.
  • Para actualizar las tarjetas de categoría, tras hacer cambios en la pestaña de Registros, debes hacer clic sobre el símbolo con dos flechas circulares, situadas en la esquina derecha superior de la tarjeta de cuenta

Tarjetas de cuenta por periodo

Para abrir una tarjeta de cuenta con balances de cuenta en fechas predefinidas, haz clic en el menú Cuenta1, Tarjetas de cuenta, y pincha en Periodo especificado en la pestaña Periodo para insetar tu periodo seleccionado.

Para más información consulta la página Period.

Imprime las tarjetas de cuentas

Para imprimir una tarjeta de cuenta, ábrela desde cualquier pestaña (Cuentas o Registros) e imprime desde el menú Archivo.

Para imprimir varias o todas las tarjetas de cuentas, haz clic en Cuenta1, selecciona Tarjetas de Cuenta/Categoría y selecciona las cuentas que quieres imprimir. El filtro que aparece en la ventana te permite elegir la selección automática de todas las categorías, centros de coste, segmentos, grupos, etc.

Para más información véase la página Account Cards.

Estado de resultados avanzado

Para visualizar el Estado de resultados avanzado y el Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, selecciona en la barra del menú Cuenta1 y el comando Estado de resultados avanzado o Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos. También puedes obtener el estado de resultados por periodo.

Archivar datos en formato PDF

Al final del año, cuando la contabilidad esté hecha, corregida y revisada, puedes almacenar todos los datos contables con el comando Crear Archivo Pdf del menú Archivo.

El Presupuesto

Antes de empezar el año contable, puedes crear un presupuesto con tus gastos e ingresos estimados, para tener control sobre la situación financiera y económica de tu empresa.

El presupuesto puede establecerse de dos maneras diferentes:

  • Desde la columna Presupuesto en la pestaña de Categorías. Para cada cuenta se indica el presupuesto anual.
    En este caso, cuando configuras el Presupuesto desde el menú Cuenta1, comando Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, la columna Presupuesto muestra las cantidades que se corresponden con el año completo.
  • Desde Agregar tabla Presupuesto, que tienes que activar manualmente utilizando el comando Agregar nuevas funcionalidades desde el menú Herramientas.
    En esta tabla todas las estimaciones se introducen como transacciones presupuestarias, ya sea de ingresos o de gastos. Si se activa esta tabla, la columna Presupuesto de la tabla Cuentas se desactiva automáticamente. En la tabla Presupuesto se puede configurar un presupuesto detallado que tenga en cuenta las posibles variaciones durante el año y en diferentes períodos del año.

Documentos relacionados: Transactions, Enhanced statement.

 

Opening Balances in Income & Expense Accounting

Opening balances when you start with Banana Accounting

When creating a new file for the first time with Banana Accounting, the opening balances must be entered manually in the Accounts table, Opening column.

  • The positive amounts of the Balance Sheet (cash, bank, customers, furniture, etc.) must be entered normally in the Opening column.
  • The negative amounts of the Balance Sheet (payables, loans, etc.) must be entered with a minus sign in front of the amount in the Opening column.

When you move to the new year, using the Create new year command, Banana accounting automatically reports all the opening balances in the Accounts table.

saldi iniziali Contabilità Entrate e Uscite

Starting with Banana Accounting during the year

If you start a new accounting, taking over the work already done with other programs, you have two possibilities: 

  • Start accounting from the start of the year, by entering the opening balances at the beginning of the year (Accounts table, Opening column) and the transactions (Transactions table) that have already been previously recorded with other programs (also see Transferring data from other software). Thus you will have all the accounting details a single file.
  • Starting from the date when the accounting is resumed:
    • Enter the opening balances (Accounts table, Opening column), taking over the values of the other accounting.
      In addition to entering the opening balances of the balance sheets in the Accounts table, it is also necessary to enter the income (positive) and expenses (negative) balances in the Categories table.
    • Input the new entries in the Transactions table.

Balances of previous year

If you start a new accounting by taking over an existing accounting and you want the previous year's values to appear on the printouts, it is necessary to enter the previous year's balances in the Previous view, Previous Year column of the Accounts table:

  • Enter the closing positive account balances of the previous year's Balance Sheet.
  • Enter the closing negative account balances of the previous year's Balance Sheet (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).
  • Enter the last year's closing balances of the Income.
  • Enter the final balances of the previous year of Expenses (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).

saldi anno precedente, colonna Precedente

Create new year

When you start the new year, the program automatically carries over the opening balances for the following year.
Consult the Create New Year lesson.

To print the opening balances:

 

The Accounts table - Income & Expense accounting

The Accounts table presents the balance sheet, where you enter:

  • The balance sheet accounts, including any accounts of customers, suppliers.
  • The totalisation groups
    In the following example, in the Accounts table, all accounts are grouped in Group 1 (Total Assets). The asset accounts are added to the liability accounts and the difference determines the Net Assets.
     For more information on the grouping system, please refer to the Double-entry Accounting Groups page. 
  • Opening balances.

The Accounts table displays account balances, columns of incoming and outgoing movements, and the budget. This provides an immediate and constantly updated view of the balance sheet situation. Assets are shown in positive, liabilities (debits) in negative.

tabella conti Entrate / Uscite

The columns of the Accounts table

The main columns of the Accounts table are listed below. The display of columns changes according to the selected View.

Additional columns can be added, either system columns or own columns, via the menu Data > Columns setup.

Section
Enter an asterisk to signal a section change. For example, to distinguish Total Assets from Cost Centers.
Values must be entered in the Sections column for presenting the Enhanced Statement with groups.
Refer to the Sections page for further details and information.

Group 
Values are entered that total the categories that have the same grouping in the Sum in column. They are fundamental for totals.

Account
Enter the number or initials of the account to be managed (cash, bank, post).

Description
Enter a description for the relative account. This description is automatically taken from the Account Description column of the Transactions table (if displayed).

Sum in (Gr) 
Enter a value that identifies the category belonging to the same group.
The column heading 'Sum in', used in Banana Plus version, replaces the column heading 'GR', used in previous versions.

Opening
This is the column that shows the opening balances. The opening balance is only entered manually in this column the first time Banana accounting is used, or a new file is opened. At the start of the new year with automatic opening, the opening balances are automatically entered again.

Income
This locked column displays the balance of incoming transactions. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Expenses
This locked column displays the balance of expenses. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Balance
This locked column displays the balance resulting after income and expenses. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Sections

The Sections in the accounts and / or categories table allow you to define a set of accounts and categories that you wish to print via the Report > Enhanced statement with groups command.

  • The sections are indicated in the sections column of the accounts table and the categories table
  • An * (asterisk) indicates the start of the section
  • A ** (double asterisk) indicates the start of a subsection.
  • A # indicates the start of the notes section
  • One section ends when another begins
  • Unlike double-entry accounting, numeric sections cannot be used
  • If no section has been indicated, the first time you use the command, the program will insert it automatically
    • In the "Balance Sheet" Accounts table
    • In the "Operating result" Categories table
  • It is useful to create separate sections if you have cost centers, segments or customer or supplier ledgers.
    This way you can print out reports of what interests you only. 

Customising the Accounts table

In the Accounts table you can customise the asset accounts according to your needs:

  • You can change the account numbers
  • You can change the description
  • In the Opening column, enter the opening balance.

The opening balances of accounts payable must be entered with a minus sign in front of the amount.
This operation is only carried out the first time Banana Accounting Plus is used, since every time the programme creates a new year (menu Actions > Create new year) the opening balance is automatically updated.

tabellla conti Entate / Uscite

Account Cards by Period

To view account cards with balances referring to a specific period, click on the menu Report > Account Cards and in the Period section activate Specified Period and enter the start and end date of the period. See the Period page for more information.

Printing Account Cards

To print an account card, simply view the card from any table (Accounts or Transactions) and launch the print from the File menu.

To print several or all account cards, click on the menu Report > Account/Category Cards and select the account cards to be printed. Using the filter in the window, all accounts, cost centres, segments, groups, etc. can be selected automatically. More information is available on the Account Card page.

Previous years' profit and loss account

In Income / Expense accounting, the totalisation line that groups income and expenses directly shows the net worth or equity, so there is no need to have a specific account.

If you wish to display the amount of the previous years‘ operating results, you must add a Previous Year Balance account. The allocation of the amount must be done manually in the Opening column (Accounts table) at the beginning of each year.

Income & Expense Categories

The Categories table presents the Income and Expenses status.
You can freely set: 

In the example below, there are three main groupings:

  • Group 4 - Totals all the Categories that have grouping 4 in their Sum in column (total Income)
  • Group 3 - Totals all the Categories that have grouping 3 in their Sum in column (total Expenses)
  • Group 00  - Totals groups 4 and 3 (Total Income and Expenses), which determine the Result for the accounting period.

regroupement category table

The columns of the Categories table

The main columns of the Categories table are listed below. The display of the columns changes according to the selected View.

You can add additional system columns as well as your own columns via Data > Columns setup.

Section
Enter an asterisk in the row that contains the title, to signal a section change, that will be displayed in the enhanced Statement with groups.
(the asterisk is inserted in the "Operating Result" title row in our example).

If different sections than Income and Expense are planned, such as Cost and Profit centers, another asterisk may be entered on the respective title row. Refer to the Sections page for further details and information.

Group 
Enter an identifier (numerical or sign) identical to the one entered for each category in the Sum in column. The totals for each category belonging to the same grouping of the Sum in column will then be added up (in our example, Group 4 totals the Income Category and group 3 the Expenses category).

Category
The category number identifying the exit or entry is entered.

Description
Enter a description for the relative Income or Expense Category. This description is automatically taken from the Category Description column of the Transactions table (if displayed).

Sum in (Gr) 
The code of a group is indicated so that the programme totals the amount of the line in the group.
The heading 'Sum in' has been adopted with the Banana Plus version.
The column name has remained Gr, to maintain compatibility with previous versions of the programme.
Each category has an identifier that is used to define in which group it is to be totalled (in the example, all income categories, in the Sum in column, have the grouping 4, because they are totalled in Group 4, Total Income).

Income
This locked column displays the balance of incoming transactions. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Expenses
This locked column displays the balance of expenses. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Balance
This locked column displays the balance resulting after income and expenses. The balance will be updated automatically after each registration.

Customizing the Categories Table

In the Categories table, you can customize the categories for income (earnings/revenues) and expenses (costs).
The category numbers can be changed, as well as the descriptions.
The categories should not have any opening balance at the beginning of the year, to determine the corresponding annual operating result.

tabella categorie Entrate / Uscite

The Category Card

The category card allows you to have a complete list of accounting transactions involving the same category.

  • To open a category card click on the cell where the category number appears and again a click on the small blue symbol that appears at the top right of the cell.
  • To open multiple category card you must select the Account card command from the Reports menu.
  • To update category cards, as a result of changes in the Transactions table, click on the blue symbol, of the two circular arrows, located in the upper right corner of the category card.

account category

Printing Category cards

To print a category cards, simply view the card from any table (Categories or Transactions) and launch print from the File menu.

To print several or all category cards, click on the Reports > Account cards menu and select the category cards you want to print. Using the filter in the window, you can perform an automatic selection of all accounts, cost centers, segments, groups, etc. More information is available on the Account card page.

 

Neue Gruppen erstellen

Alle von Banana Buchhaltung vorgeschlagenen Vorlagen sind auch in der Erstellung einer neuen Totalisierungsgruppe anpassbar.

Um eine neue Totalisierungsgruppe zu erstellen, geht man wie in unserem Beispiel vor:

Die Gruppe Liquidität wurde in die Tabelle Konten hinzugefügt.

new group

  • Begeben Sie sich in die Tabelle Konten oder Kategorien und fügen Sie eine neue Zeile hinzu.
    In unserem Beispiel wurde Zeile 6 (unterhalb der Zeile des Bankkontos) hinzugefügt.
  • In der Spalte Gruppe geben Sie die neue Totalisierungsgruppe ein.
    In unserem Beispiel wurde die Gruppe 10 hinzugefügt, um die Konten der Liquidität zu summieren.
  • In der Spalte Summ. in geben Sie die Gruppe ein, die in der Spalte Gruppe definiert wurde.
    In unserem Beispiel wurde in der Spalte Summ. in der Zeilen "Kasse", "Post" und "Bank" die Zahl 10 eingetragen, um die Gesamtbeträge jedes Kontos in der Zeile der Gruppe 10 ("Liquidität") zu erhalten.
  • In der Spalte Summ. in der Gruppe 10 Liquidität wird die Zahl 1 eingetragen, um den Gesamtbetrag in der Gruppe 1, die dem Nettovermögen entspricht, zu übertragen.

Transactions Income & Expense accounting

Income and Expense transactions are entered into the Transactions table, which is the central hub for accounting purposes. In this table, transactions are always visible and in perfect order, providing a clear overview and keeping everything under control. Additionally, all entered data can be modified and corrected at any time.

The columns of the Transactions table

The main columns of the Transactions table are listed below. The display of the columns changes according to the selected View.

You can add additional system columns as well as your own columns via Data > Columns setup.

Income / Expense transactions

Date
Enter the date of the incoming or outgoing transaction

Doc
A Doc number is entered. Usually, the document number identical to the paper document is assigned; this allows you to easily retrieve the documents after some time.

Description
Enter a description to identify the incoming or outgoing transaction.

Income
Enter the incoming amount.

Expenses
Enter the outgoing amount.

Account
Enter the estate accounts (cash, bank, post office, customers, suppliers ..)

  • If it is an income the amount should be recorded as a positive on the account.
  • If it is an expense the amount should be recorded as a negative on the account.

Category
Enter the reason for the income or expense; it can be an income or expense category, defined in the Categories table, or an account present in the Accounts table.

  • Entering a category:
    This is used to attribute income or expense to an item. The sign of the Category follows the sign of the account.
    • If it is an income, the amount should be recorded as a positive.
    • If it is an expense, the amount should be recorded as a negative.
  • Entering an account:
    It is used to transfer amounts from one asset account to another (e.g., withdrawals, deposits, ...). On the account entered in the Category column the amount is then entered the opposite way. The transaction functions as in double-entry accounting:
    • If it is an income, the amount should be recorded as a negative.
    • If it is an expense, the amount should be recorded as a positive.

Category Description
In this column, the description of the category, inserted in the Categories table, is automatically taken.
If in the Categories table the description of a category is modified, in order to visualize the new text in the Category Description column of the Transactions table, it is necessary to recalculate the accounting.

Entering Transactions

In the Transactions table, the incoming and outgoing movements between accounts and categories are recorded. There are different columns for entering transaction data:

  • Date: the date of the entry.
  • Doc.: the document number.
  • Description: the description of the transaction.
  • Income/Expenses: enter the amount coming in or going out.
  • Account: enter one of the Estate accounts (cash, bank, post, clients, suppliers...).
  • Category: the reason for the income or expense is entered, which could be a revenue or expense category or a contra account for asset movements.

After each entry, the amount is shown automatically in the account and category tab. In the category column, an account from a category or also an account from the Accounts table can be entered:

  •  If a category is entered in the Category column, the amount is recorded in the category as income and expense. 
  •  If an account is entered in the Category column, the amount is recorded in reverse (with the sign reversed). If it is outgoing instead as positive. In this way, transactions can be made between two asset accounts (as in the case of a transfer).
  • On the other hand, it is not possible to make transactions in and out of two categories with one entry.
    It is necessary to use two lines of entry, without using the Account column, with the first line in and the second line out.

It is also possible to record compound transactions, exit from an account with several categories. In this case, several lines are used: on the first line the account without category is recorded and on the following lines the categories and without account are recorded.

The Income and Expense Accounting allows to manage operations in a similar way to the Double-entry accounting, except for movements between two Categories that require two entry rows.

Speeding up the recording of Transactions

In order to accelerate the recording of the Transactions, you can use the following functionalities:

Recording expenses or income

When recording a movement, the Account column should indicate:

  • in the Account column, the account from which the amount enters or exits;
  • in the Category column, the expense or income category.

In the Account/Category card, the amount will be recorded in positive if it is an income and in negative if it is an expense.

Transactions between asset accounts

In the Category column, it is also possible to enter an asset account, present in the Accounts table.

For example, to record a transaction into the cash account from a bank withdrawal, the entry is made as follows:

  • Enter the incoming amount in the Income column.
  • Enter the Cash account in the Account column.
  • Enter the Bank account in the Category column.

In this case, the program will record the amount positively in the Cash account (which increases) and negatively in the Bank account (which decreases).

Thanks to this recording method, any direct movement between two asset accounts can be recorded on a single registration line, as in double-entry bookkeeping (see example in the image above, first transaction).

Transactions with multiple movements

When you need to record a transaction that is to be split across multiple accounts or categories, you must enter multiple rows of transactions.

Below we show an example (see registration Doc. 11).
Multiple bills are paid through the bank.

multiple income / expense transactions

  • Enter the same date and document number in all the rows that affect the same transaction. This allows you to easily locate a transaction with multiple entries.
  • In the first row, enter the total amount in the Expenses column if it is a payment, or in the Income column if it is deposit.
  • In the Account column, enter the liquidity account (account through which you pay or collect). The Category column in the first row remains empty.
  • In the following rows, enter the amount of the invoice paid or collected on each row (the Expenses column or the Income column),
    Each invoice will be entered on a separate row.
    The Account column remains empty.
  • In the Category column, enter the category for each row to identify the entry or entry of the movement.

 Examples of transactions with VAT

In order to manage transactions with VAT, it is necessary to have set up an Income / Expense template with VAT options.

Income / Expense transactions with VAT

Additional columns for VAT

Depending on the type of Income / Expense accounts setup (with or without VAT) there are additional columns where VAT data is entered.

VAT Code
Enter the VAT code referring to a sale or a cost. There must be a code in the VAT Codes table.

Refer to the Transactions with VAT page for explanations of VAT codes and further information.

Account and category card

In the account or category card, the presentation of the transactions is very similar to the ones of the Transactions table.
If you enter further transactions or make changes (always operated in the Transactions table), you can update the account/category card by clicking the Refresh icon on the right side of the screen.

Income/Expense a count card

Inserire le Registrazioni

Nella tabella Registrazioni si registrano i movimenti in entrata e uscita fra conti e categorie. Ci sono colonne diverse per inserire i dati delle operazioni da registrare:

  • Data: la data della registrazione.
  • Doc: numero di documento.
  • Descrizione: la descrizione dell'operazione.
  • Entrate/Uscite: l'importo in entrata o in uscita.
  • Conto: viene inserito uno dei conti patrimoniali (cassa, banca, posta, clienti, fornitori....).
  • Categoria: viene inserito il motivo dell'entrata o dell'uscita, ovvero una categoria di ricavo o spesa. Nella colonna Categoria è possibile inserire anche un conto presente nella tabella conti, come nel caso di una registrazione che riguarda dei movimenti patrimoniali (es. giroconto).

Dopo ogni registrazioni, l'importo viene riportato in automatico nelle schede conto e categoria. 

Aspetti tecnici della colonna Categorie

La Contabilità entrate e uscite permette di gestire operazioni in modo simile a quella della contabilità in partita doppia, eccetto per movimenti fra due Categorie che richiedono due righe di registrazione. 

Si possono anche registrare operazioni composte, uscita da un conto con più categorie. In questo caso si usano più righe: sulla prima riga si registra il conto senza categoria e nelle righe successive si registrano le categorie e senza conto.

Come registrare un'entrata e/o un'uscita

Quando registri un movimento deve indicare:

  • Nella colonna Data indica la data del documento che registri.
  • Nella colonna Doc. registra il numero del documento (non è obbligatorio)
  • Nella colonna DocLink inserisci il percorso per collegarti e aprire il documento digitale.
  • Nella colonna Descrizione, inserisci una descrizione.
  • Nella colonna Conto, inserisci il conto presente nella tabella Conti (da dove l'importo entra o esce).
  • Nella colonna Categoria inserisci la categoria di spesa o entrata.

Nelle schede conto e categoria l'importo sarà registrato in positivo se è un'entrata e in negativo se è un'uscita.

Tipologie di registrazioni

Come per qualsiasi tipo di file, anche nelle Entrate / Uscite sono possibili le seguenti tipologie di registrazione:

  • Registrazioni semplici, eseguite su di una sola riga - Si inserisce un conto nella colonna Conto e una categoria nella rispettiva colonna.
  • Registrazioni composte, eseguite su più righe -  Si tratta di registrazioni in cui bisogna dettagliare gli importi (es. con la banca vengono pagate più fatture insieme).
  • Registrazioni con IVA, possibili nella Contabilità Entrate / Uscite con IVA - Nella tabella Registrazioni ci sono colonne supplementari per di dati IVA. 

Maggiori dettagli sono disponibili nelle pagine delle Registrazioni della contabilità Entrate / Uscite.

Movimenti fra conti patrimoniali

Quando un movimento interessa solo due conti patrimoniali, pertanto non vi è una categoria, nella colonna Categoria è possibile inserire anche un conto patrimoniale, presente nella tabella Conti. Nella tabella Conti invece non è possibile inserire una categoria.

Per esempio, per registrare un'entrata nella cassa da un prelevamento in banca, la registrazione si esegue nel modo seguente:

  • Nella colonna Entrate si inserisce l'importo in entrata.
  • Nella colonna Conto viene inserito il conto Cassa.
  • Nella colonna Categoria viene inserito il conto Banca.

In questo caso, il programma andrà a registrare l'importo in positivo nel conto Cassa (che aumenta) e in negativo nel conto Banca (che diminuisce).

Grazie a questa modalità di registrazione si può registrare su una sola riga qualsiasi movimento diretto fra due conti patrimoniali.

Registrazione su più righe

Quando si deve registrare un'operazione che riguarda più conti e/o categorie, questa deve essere contabilizzata su più righe di registrazione.

Qui di seguito proponiamo un esempio (vedi registrazione Doc. 11).
Tramite cassa vengono pagate più fatture.

multi transactions
  • Inserire la stessa data e lo stesso numero di documento in tutte le righe che interessano la stessa registrazione. Questo permette di individuare una registrazione che ha più movimenti.
  • Nella prima riga inserire l'importo complessivo, nella colonna Uscite se si tratta di un pagamento, nella colonna Entrate se si tratta di un incasso.
  • Nella colonna Conto, inserire il conto della liquidità (conto tramite il quale si paga o si incassa).
    La colonna Categoria nella prima riga rimane vuota.
  • Nelle righe successive inserire su ogni riga l'importo della fattura pagata o incassata (rispettivamente colonna Uscite e colonna Entrate).
    Ogni fattura verrà registrata su una riga.
    La colonna Conto rimane vuota.
  • Nella colonna Categoria inserire per ogni riga la categoria per identificare la voce di uscita o di entrata del movimento.

Velocizza l'inserimento delle Registrazioni

Per velocizzare l'inserimento delle registrazioni si utilizzano le seguenti funzioni:

Scheda conto/categoria

Nella scheda conto o categoria, la presentazione dei movimenti è del tutto simile a quella della tabella Registrazioni.
Se si aggiungono nuove registrazioni o se si effettuano dei cambiamenti (sempre eseguiti nella tabella Registrazioni), è possibile aggiornare la scheda conto cliccando sul simbolo Aggiorna (freccia blu arrotondata, posizionata nella parte destra della finestra).

scheda conto Entrate / Uscite

Transactions between two accounts

In Income / Expense accounting, a transaction is generally recorded with one account entered in the Account column and one category entered in the Category column.

  • The accounts are those listed in the Accounts table.
  • The categories are those listed in the Categories column.

It is also possible to record a transaction involving multiple accounts or categories, by entering one account or category per row, until the entry is complete.

When you need to record a transaction that involves two accounts, without using a category, you can use the Category column to enter the second account from the Accounts table. 

An example could be the recording of a cash withdrawal from the postal account. The transaction should be entered as shown in the example below.

registration between two accounts

  • Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
  • In the Income or Expense column, enter the amount
  • In the Account column, enter the first account
  • In the Category column, enter the second account
     

Transactions between two categories

In Income / Expense accounting, a transaction is generally recorded with one account, entered in the Account column, and one category, entered in the Category column.

It is also possible to record a transaction involving multiple accounts or multiple categories, by entering one row for each account or category, until the transaction is complete.

  • The accounts to be used in the trasnsactions are those listed in the Accounts table.
  • The categories to be used in the transactions are those listed in the Categories table.

When it is necessary to record a transaction between two categories, it is not possible to do so on a single row. A category cannot be entered in the Account column.

Therefore, the transaction between two categories must be recorded over two rows:

transaction between two categories
  • On the first row:
    • Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
    • Enter the amount in the Income or Expense column
    • Leave the Account column empty
    • Enter the first category in the Category column
  • On the second row:
    • Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
      You can also copy the data from the previous row
    • Enter the amount in the Income or Expense column.
      If necessary, you can reverse the income or expense amount compared to the previous entry.
    • Leave the Account column empty
    • Enter the second category in the Category column

Registrazioni con IVA

Per poter gestire i movimenti con IVA, è necessario aver scelto un modello di Entrate / Uscite con le opzioni IVA.

Si tratta di modelli che hanno già definite le impostazioni e le funzioni per gestire l'IVA già definite:

  • Nella tabella Conti sono presenti i conti IVA Rendiconto e IVA dovuta.
  • Nelle Proprietà file, dati base, sezione IVA (menu File) è già impostato il conto IVA Rendiconto.
  • Nella tabella Codici IVA sono presenti i codici IVA secondo le normative in vigore.

Come registrare i movimenti con IVA

Nella tabella Registrazioni sono presenti delle colonne specifiche dell'IVA. Nella vista Completo puoi avere una visione completa di tutte le colonne IVA.

registrazioni con IVA Entrate / Uscite

Come dall'immagine presentata, per registrare dei movimenti con IVA devi inserire i dati nelle corrispondenti colonne:

  • La Data del documento che registri.
  • Il numero di Doc relativo al documento che registri.
  • La Descrizione per identificare la registrazione in entrata o in uscita.
  • L'importo in Entrata
  • L'importo in Uscita.
  • Il Conto patrimoniale (cassa, banca, posta, clienti, fornitori..).
    • Se è un'entrata, sul conto l'importo verrà registrato in positivo.
    • Se è un'uscita, sul conto l'importo verrà registrato in negativo.
  • La Categoria di spesa o di entrata, oppure un conto presente nella tabella Conti. La categoria rappresenta il motivo per cui hai avuto un'entrata (es. Vendita) o un'uscita (es. spese affitto).
    • Se è un'entrata, l'importo viene registrato in positivo.
    • Se è un'uscita, l'importo viene registrato in negativo.
    • Inserimento di un conto nella colonna Categorie:
      Serve per registrare importi da un conto patrimoniale ad un altro (es. prelevamenti, versamenti, ...). 
      • Se è un'entrata, l'importo viene registrato in negativo.
      • Se è un'uscita, l'importo viene registrato in positivo.
  • Nella colonna Codice IVA inserisci il codice relativo al movimento:
    • Per una registrazione di vendita, inserisci il codice V81
    • Per una registrazione di acquisto, legato all'attività principale della tua azienda, inserisci il codice M81
    • Per una registrazione di acquisto, legato a investimenti o costi generali, inserisci il codice I81.

Automatizza l'inserimento del codice IVA

Nella tabella Registrazioni, quando registri un movimento con IVA, puoi automatizzare l'inserimento del codice IVA

Per registrare automaticamente il codice IVA devi proseguire con la seguente impostazione:

  • Nella tabella Conti e Categorie visualizza la colonna Cod.IVA, dal menu > Dati > Disponi colonne > attiva Cod.IVA.
  • Nella colonna Cod. IVA di tutti i conti e le categorie legati a delle operazioni con IVA, inserisci il codice 
    • Sui conti legati ad acquisti di beni patrimoniali inserisci I81.
    • Sulle categorie di Vendita, inserisci V81
    • Sulle categorie di acquisto inserisci M81 o I81.

Nella tabella Registrazioni, ogni volta che inserisci un conto o una categoria che hanno un codice IVA associato, il programma inserisce in automatico il codice IVA e tutti i dati relativi all'IVA.

Record credit card transactions

Credit card purchases are becoming increasingly common, not only in businesses but also in households. In order to have a better control of the expenses for credit card purchases, it is necessary to record the movements in your accounting. In this regard, it is necessary to verify that the Accounts table contains the credit card account, otherwise it should be added.

Record credit card transactions with advance payments

The credit card account is a debit account and is entered in the Account column.

registrazioni carta di credito Entrate / Uscite

In Income/Expense accounting, whenever advance payments are made on the credit card, you must record as follows:

  • Enter the date, the description
  • In the Expenses column, enter the expense amount
  • In the Account column, enter the liquidity account (bank, post office).
  • In the Category column, enter the credit card account.

When the credit card invoice arrives and the expenses are covered by the advance payments, it is necessary to record the credit card transactions to identify the costs incurred and write off the credit.

In this case you record on multiple rows:

  • Enter the same date and the same Document No. for each transaction for all the rows that make up for the transaction.
  • Enter the description indicating the type of expense.
  • In the Expenses column enter the total amount paid by the credit card.
  • In the Account column enter the credit card account.
  • In the next rows to record each expense paid by credit card, record in the Expenses column the amount of the expense, and in the Category column, the category of the expense.

After all transactions have been recorded, check your credit card balance (open your credit card account card).

 

Registrazione sul conto privato

Il conto privato è un conto finanziario, utilizzato nella contabilità per registrare quelle transazioni che non riguardano direttamente l'azienda, ma movimenti relativi alla sfera privata del titolare. Questo conto tiene traccia dei prelievi e degli apporti del titolare a scopi privati; pertanto serve per tenere separate le finanze aziendali da quelle personali, evitando confusione nella contabilità aziendale.

Prelievi dall'azienda del privato

Se il titolare utilizza fondi aziendali per spese personali, l'importo viene addebitato sul conto privato. Gli importi prelevati dal privato figurano nella tabella Conti, nella colonna delle Entrate del conto Privato perché si riferiscono ad un credito dell'azienda nei confronti del titolare. Nella colonna Saldo del conto privato, l'importo è positivo.

Versamenti nell'azienda del privato 

Se il titolare effettua dei versamenti di fondi privati su conti aziendali, l'importo viene accreditato sul conto privato. Gli importi versati dal privato figurano nella tabella Conti, nella colonna delle Uscite del conto Privato, perché si riferiscono ad un debito dell'azienda nei confronti del titolare. Nella colonna Saldo del conto privato, l'importo è negativo.

Saldo del Conto Privato/socio

  • Saldo positivo: indica che il titolare ha un debito verso l'azienda.
  • Saldo negativo: indica che il titolare ha un credito verso l'azienda.

Credit card December invoice paid the following year

The December credit card invoice is usually received in January of the following year, and consequently, the payment is also made in January.

All expenses listed in the December credit card invoice belong to the previous year; therefore, they must be recorded in the accounting of the previous year.

Recording the December Credit Card Invoice

To record it correctly, it is necessary to have the liability account Costs to be Paid in the Accounts table, which is a transitional account. If it is not present, it must be added. 

In the Transactions table, enter:

  • Date and any document number in the respective Date and Doc. columns.
  • Description
  • Total credit card amount in the Expenses column
  • Costs to be Paid account in the Account column
  • Expense category in the Category column. If the invoice includes multiple expenses, record each expense on a separate row.
credit card invoice december

Recording the payment of the December credit card invoice in the following year

In the following year, when the new year is created, the balance of the Costs to be Paid account is displayed as an opening balance in the Accounts table. 
When the credit card invoice is paid, the Costs to be Paid account is cleared.

To record the payment of the credit card invoice, enter:

  • Date, any document number
  • Description
  • Total amount of the credit card invoice in the Expenses column
  • Liquidity account from which the invoice is paid in the Account column
  • The Costs to be Paid category in the Category column.
payment credit card invoice december

 

Velocizzare le Registrazioni

Velocizza le Registrazioni

Per velocizzare l'inserimento delle registrazioni puoi utilizzare diverse funzioni: 

  • Immissione dati con autocompletamento - appena digiti la descrizione, nella finestra in basso appaiono le registrazioni già immesse con la stessa descrizione; premendo il tasto F6, hai la ripresa della registrazione, basta cambiare l'importo, se questo è diverso dalla registrazione precedente.
  • Registrazioni ricorrenti -  puoi memorizzare le registrazioni che si ripetono durante l'anno (es. affitti, abbonamenti, ecc) nella tabella Registrazioni ricorrenti e riprenderli all'occorrenza nella tabella Registrazioni, digitando semplicemente un ID identificativo nella colonna Doc, con cui sono stati memorizzati.
  • Importazione dei movimenti bancari - scarica il file fornito dalla tua banca e importa i movimenti direttamente nella tabella Registrazioni. Hai tutti i movimenti con data, descrizione, conto e importo, devi solo inserire la categoria di spesa o di entrata.
  • Impostazione di Regole per l'importazione automatica - imposta le Regole ad ogni movimento che importi e in un batter d'occhio hai la contabilità completa, senza inserimenti manuali di contropartita, codice IVA e centri di costo; avrai più tempo da dedicare all'attività produttiva della tua azienda.

Budget transactions

The budget in the Income / Expenses accounting can be set in two different ways:

Budget Column

In the Budget column, in the Budget view, the amounts are entered on an annual basis. If the Budget column is used, the Budget table should not be used.

Budget Table

Financial planning is performed in the Budget table.

Forecasts are entered as if they were normal transactions, as in the Transactions table.
Quantity and Prices can also be entered as well as Calculation Formulas.

For further information on the budget refer to Budget table.

budget

Printouts

Instant information

Account balances, income and expense are on ready display in the Accounts and Category tables.
After each entry of a transaction, balances are adjusted automatically and there is no need to run a report to to have the situation under control, as you can simply display the Accounts or Categories tables.

To print the content of the tables, please refer to the Page setup section (last paragraph).

Advanced printouts

All printing is run from the Reports menu, where the different functions for printing are located:

  • Journal by period command. You can display and print the whole table or just a specified period.
  • Account/Category or group cards command. You may select all cards or define your selection.
    Define the required period in the Period tab and click the required print settings in the Options tab. Print settings can be saved in the Customization tab so they can be resumed without them to be having defined again.
  • Enhanced statement command. You may also print a defined period and various options and customizations may be included.
  • Enhanced statement with groups command. You may also print a defined period and various options and customizations may be included.
  • Accounting Report command. The report with the required options are displayed in the Accounts table. Reports by period are possible, also with the comparison of previous periods or years; each period may contain subdivisions and the customization can be saved.

 

 

 

 

Account/Categories card - Income / Expenses

The account or category card corresponds to the ledger and allows you to have a complete list of the accounting entries concerning the same account, the same category, a cost center, a segment or a group.

account card

Open the account card

There are two ways to open and print an account or category card.

First method

This method is recommended when you want to view and print all or several account / category cards.

  • Click Report > Account/Category Cards from the menu

open an account card or Income / Expense category

A dialog box appears with the following sections:

For detailed information on the sections, click on the corresponding links.

Second method

This method can be used when you need to open only one card at a time within the tables.

  • Click on the small icon that appears when you select the cell that contains the account, category or group number.

open an account or category card

Update the account card

The account or category card is temporary and is calculated at the time of the request. If transactions are changed or added in the Transactions table, the account card is not updated simultaneously.

To update the account card, following changes, it is necessary to use the Account/Category card command again, or if the account card is still open, click on the symbol shown in the image below.

update account card

Note

In the account, category or group card it is not possible to change the data. Within the account card, by double clicking on the row number, the program switches to the corresponding row of the Transactions table or of the Budget.

The Selected Account column

In the Selected Account column, which can be made visible, starting from any account card, via Data > Columns setup, the account on which the transaction took place is displayed.
When you get an account card of one or more accounts, categories, groups and segments, you see exactly which account is used.

account selected

The Counterpart Column

The C-Acct. column is displayed on the account or category card, indicating the offset account that completes the posting.

aggiornare la scheda conto o categoria

Cards of groups or classes

In the account tab of a group or class, all the transactions of those accounts belonging to the selected group or class are regrouped.
The accounts or categories of the group or class can be viewed by making the Selected Account column visible with Columns setup via the Data menu. 

group card

Print the ledger (account cards)

To print an account card:

  • display the card from any table (Accounts or Transactions) and launch the printout from the File menu.

To print multiple account cards:

  • Report menu > Account cards
  • Using the Filter it is possible to automatically select all the account cards to be printed or partially (eg only accounts, cost centers or segments).
  • In the various sections Period, Options, Customization desired functions are activated (eg period, one account per page ....).
  • Confirm with OK, after setting the desired options.
  • The selected account cards will appear on the screen. To print, click on the File > Print menu.

Print Account Cards by Period

To view account cards with balances for a specific period:

  • Report menu > Account cards
  • in the Period section activate Specified, and enter the start and end date of the period. 

See the Period section page for more information.

 

Print the Budget account card

If the budget transactions have been entered in the Budget table, it is possible to have the account or group cards of the budget:

  • Reports menu > Account / Category cards > activate Budget transactions.

budget account card

Accounts and Categories settings in the Enhanced statement with groups

In the dialogue box, you can set how to print accounts and categories

Insert a logo in the account cards

As from Banana 9, it is possible to insert a logo also in the printing of the account cards.

After creating the account card detail, proceed as follows:

  • Reports menu > Account cards
  • File menu > Print preview.
  • In the dialog box that opens, under Logo, indicate your logo (instead of none).

More detailed information is available on the Logo setup.

Save the setups

If you happen to regularly print the cards of certain accounts, for example all those of sales, it is useful to create a special customization:

  • Report menu > Account cards > Customization section
  • Click on the New button
  • Indicate the name in the description, for example "Sales Accounts"
  • Select the accounts you want to print
  • From the File > Page setup menu you can determine the margins and other page settings.

Whenever you need to print the accounts, select the customization you created.

 

Journal - Income / Expense accounting

The entries in the Income / Expense application, as in all Banana Accounting applications, are inserted in the Transactions table. If you want to print the Journal (list of all transactions), you can proceed in two different ways:

  • From the Transactions table:
    • select from the  File menu → Page Setup (in order to set up all the print options)
    • return to the File menu → Print.
  • From the menu Reports → Journal by period.

Journal per period

Banana Accounting, via the menu Reports → Journal by period, offers the possibility to print the Journal with the movements of the entire period or of the period selected by entering the start and end date of the period.

Income / Expense period journal

The information on the Period section is identical to that of the Period section of the common functions.

journal period sorting Income / Expense column

In the Column for sorting section, you can choose the base on which type of date to sort and print the journal.

Enhanced Statement (Balance sheet and profit & loss statement)

In the Income/Expense accounting, the Balance Sheet and Income Statement are represented by the Enhanced Statement and Enhanced Statement with Groups. This terminology is used because they have a much simpler and different structure compared to the classic balance sheet and income statement in double-entry accounting.

The Enhanced Statement provides a summary of the financial and economic situation for the fiscal year.

  • The Enhanced Statement is calculated and displayed from the Report menu > Enhanced Statement command.
  • The embellished report displayed in preview, can be saved in PDF, HTML, MS Excel and Copy to clipboard format.
  • It is possible to calculate, view and print the report at the end of the year, or for a specific period.

See also Print Example.

Rendiconto abbellito Entrate / Uscite

Page header

Rows 1-4

These rows allow the definition of the Statement's headers.

Logo

It is possible to insert the logo in the header of all pages of the report.
If one or more logos have been added in the menu File→ Logo setup, you can select one from the list.
If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

Column header

Initial date

Insert the initial date of the current accounting.

Final date

Insert the final date of the accounting.

Previous year

Insert the final date of the previous year's accounting.

Cover page

Cover page

Activating this function prints the cover page.

Logo

You can insert the logo on the cover page of the report.
If you have added one or more logos in the menu File→ Logo setup, you can select one from the list. If no logo has been added, the Edit button can be used to add the logo.

Print pages

Checking the boxes defines the options to be printed in the report:

Accounts

The accounts will be printed.

Initial page

The initial page of the document with the file headers will be printed.

Categories

The categories will be printed.

End of page after accounts

The accounts and the categories will be printed on two different pages..

Include in printout

By selecting the boxes, you choose the options that must appear in the printout.
Some of these options are not available (e.g. Budget balances) if a specific period is selected in the Period section.

Other Tabs

The explanations for the other tabs are available at the following pages:

Rendiconto abbellito Entrate / Uscite

 

 

Enhanced statement with groups ( Balance sheet and profit and loss statements)

This feature allows the user to obtain the Enhanced statement with groups, with all the options that are available in the Double-entry accounting.

The Enhanced statement with groups (Reports menu) makes it possible to:

  • Include all the groups that are present in the Accounts and Categories tables in the printout,
  • Exclude groups or accounts individually
  • Select a subdivision by period
    (for example, in the first semester, one can select to have a subdivision by month or per quarter)
  • Select a subdivision by segment.
Below are listed the explanations pertaining to the Income & Expense only; for complete documentation, please refer to the explanations of the Enhanced Balance sheet with groups page.
 

Enhanced statement with Income / Expense groups

 
 

Accounting report

The Accounting Report displays the Accounts or Categories table based on the options selected in the dialog. The columns present the amounts of accounts and categories divided and grouped by:

  • Period - With a start and end date or covering the entire period.
  • Breakdown - The specified period is divided into months, quarters, semesters, or years.
  • This command displays the amounts of accounts according to a certain grouping, for a specified period or per subdivision.

Transactions without date are being considered as opening transactions and will not appear in the printouts of the Profit & Loss Statement.

Income / Expense accounting report

Display

You select the desired grouping scheme:

  • Accounts - the Report will show a list of all accounts with the following columns: opening balance, income, expenses and account balance
  • Categories - the Report will show a list of all categories with the following columns: opening balance, income, expenses and account balance.

Options

You select the accounts to be included or excluded:

  • Exclude accounts - only the categories will be printed
  • Include accounts with no transactions - accounts with no transactions will be printed as well
  • Include accounts with 0 balance -  accounts with zero balance will be printed as well
  • Exclude groups without accounts - groups of accounts with zero balance will not be printed.

Other Sections

The explanations for the other tabs are available at the following pages:

Note: To print the balance sheet and income statement, refer to the pages:

 

VAT Report (for files with VAT option only)

Cash manager income and expense

Information on the VAT Report is available on the VAT report page.

Archiviare i dati della contabilità in Pdf

Archivio dati in PDF

A fine anno, quando tutta la contabilità è stata completata, corretta e revisionata, puoi archiviare tutti i dati contabili con il comando dal menu File > Crea dossier in PDF.

archivio in pdf Entrate / Uscite

 

Create a new year | Income and expense Accounting

The Create New Year command prepares a file for the new year based on the accounting file that is being closed. The command does not modify the current file, so it can be executed without any effect.

Logics of the transition to the New Year

With Banana Accounting you have a separate file for each year. When the new year starts, the operational logic is as follows:

  • With the Actions > Create New Year command, the Program creates a new file for the year, using the same chart of accounts, settings and balances of the current year that is about to close.
    • Once the new year file is created, save it with a new name.
    • The operation of creating the new file can be repeated if you decide not to save the file.
  • You can work on both files at the same time:
    • In the new one, the transactions of the new year will be entered. It will also be possible to make changes to the chart of accounts, VAT or other, without affecting the previous one.
    • In the previous year's file, the operations will continue to be entered in order to complete the year and carry out the typical closing operations, verification of balances, printing of reports etc.
  • In the New Year's file, with the command Actions > Update Opening Balances, the changes that were made in the previous year's file are resumed. This operation should be done at the latest when there are no more changes in the previous year.

Once the New Year's file has been created, those who have subscribed to the Professional Plan of Banana Accounting Plus, will see the message Advanced Plan in demonstration mode. This message will appear in the Info window at the bottom of the screen and it will only disappear when reaching 70 transaction rows in the Transactions table.

Checking and closing previous year's accounts

Before updating opening balances, to avoid any differences between closing and opening balances for the following year, it is important to ensure that you have performed all checks, verification operations, and all closing accounting transactions. 

In Banana Accounting Plus, under the Advanced plan, the Filter function is available. This feature is particularly useful during the closing phase to quickly search for rows with the same texts or values, based on the key entered for the filter (e.g., word, account, amount, etc.). With this function, it is possible to make corrections directly on the filtered rows, without having to scroll through the entire Transactions table—especially at year-end when the number of transactions is high.

Unlike Double-entry accounting, when the Income and Expense accounting period is closed, there is no profit or loss to be allocated. The difference between the Income and Expense categories in the new accounting period is shown as an increase or decrease in the estate.

Operations performed by the Create new year command

The Create new year command performs the following operations, taking into account the parameters set by the user:

  • Creates a new file (with no name) with the chart of accounts and all the settings identical to your current file, but without transactions.
  • Copies the data from the Balance column of your current file to the Opening column of the new file (only for the selected classes)
  • Copies, for all the accounts of the Report, the data from the Balance column of your current file to the Previous Year column of the new file.
  • Updates the File and accounting Properties of the file:
    • Sets the start and end dates, adding 1 year to the existing ones.
    • In the Options section, sets the previous year's file name and enables the option to use the previous year's transactions for autocompletion.
  • If there are data in the Budget table, it carries over the operation rows in the new year taking into account the settings.

Distributing the Profit or Loss for the Year

In the Income/Expenses accounting method, there is no need to allocate the profit or loss for the year, as the total equity in the Accounts table already represents the net equity or owner's equity.

However, if this allocation is required, a specific account must be set up in the Accounts table. For more details, please refer to the section Profit or Loss Accounts from Previous Years.

Year end closures

Closures in accounting refer to all the control operations, adjustments, and temporal delimitations carried out at the end of the year before preparing the financial statements.

Technical aspects and new year

With Banana Accounting, each fiscal year has its own separate file. Technically, there is no concept of an accounting closure:

  • When a new year begins, a new file is created using the Create New Year command
  • You can continue working simultaneously on both the new year's file and the previous year's file. Once the closure operations are completed, the updated balances are carried over to the new year's file using the Update Opening Balances command.

Use the Filter for quick verifications and corrections

To perform checks quickly, especially at the end of the year, we recommend using the Filter function. This feature allows you to filter all transactions based on a word, phrase, account, or a set of elements. The advantage of this function is that you can correct or modify transactions directly on the rows displayed by the filter, without having to scroll through the entire Transactions table to find matching entries.

For more details, please refer to the page:

Accounting check command

Banana Accounting allows you to record transactions quickly and even leave operations pending without interrupting your workflow.

The Actions > Check Accounting command performs a series of verifications, similar to re-entering the data from scratch. When errors or discrepancies are detected, they are flagged for your attention.

It is recommended to use the Check Accounting command regularly and whenever there are discrepancies or error notifications, significant changes (such as initial exchange rates, VAT codes), and especially before closing the accounts.

Verification of accounting balance correspondence

The first verification is undoubtedly to ensure that the accounting balance of the accounts matches reality. The cash account balance must correspond with the actual cash status. The balances of bank accounts, credit cards, loans, or assets must match those of the bank statements. The same applies to all other accounts that have provisions, VAT, suppliers, etc.

If there is a discrepancy, you need to identify the reason and complete either the initial balance or the transactions. 

Differences in the transactions table

In the Transactions table (Info window at the bottom), ensure that no discrepancies are reported. In addition to the functions available in the Check Accounting command, Banana Accounting Plus includes the Balance column in the Transactions table, which allows you to identify all rows where discrepancies occur. A quick scroll through the column is sufficient to immediately spot accounting differences and correct them, preventing errors from being carried over to the new year.

Differences between bank statement balances and accounting balances (CheckBalance function)

This check is essential for the accuracy of your accounting records. We recommend performing the balance verification, #CheckBalance, not only at the end of the fiscal year but also periodically at the end of each month. This helps prevent any mismatched balances from being incorrectly carried over from month to month.
Information on balance verification transactions is available on the Balance Verification transactions page.

Locking transactions

Once the verification entries have been performed, it is recommended to lock the transactions.

The Create PDF Dossier command allows you to compile all the documents of the entire fiscal year (account statements, journal, VAT reports, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports, etc.) into a single PDF file.

You can archive your accounting data by saving the accounting file and prints in PDF format. Additionally, consider making backup copies on an external hard drive.

 

Registrazioni di chiusura

Aspetti contabili

A fine esercizio, prima di passare al nuovo anno, ci sono delle operazioni contabili di chiusura da eseguire. Si tratta di registrazioni di assestamento, rettifiche di valore e conguagli relativi ai contributi del personale. Qui di seguito ricordiamo le principali:

Importare i movimenti degli stipendi nel file della contabilità
Questa operazione è prevista solo nel caso in cui gli stipendi vengano gestiti con un gestionale specifico che permette di importare i movimenti nel file di Banana Contabilità Plus.
L'importazione si esegue dal menu Azioni > Importa in contabilità > Importa movimenti con intestazione colonne.
Ricordarsi di inserire la registrazione della quota tredicesima di dicembre, se questa non viene creata dal gestionale stipendi.

Assestamento conto Delcredere
Le aziende che registrano sul fatturato, se prevedono delle perdite presunte, devono assestare il conto Delcredere.

Ammortamenti
Al 31.12 bisogna rilevare il deprezzamento dei beni mobili e immobili e valutare eventuale l'ammortamento accelerato per quei beni soggetti a una rapida obsolescenza.
Puoi utilizzare il nostro applicativo Registro beni ammortizzabili che crea in automatico le registrazioni di ammortamento e puoi riprenderli nel file della contabilità.

Assestamento magazzino
L'applicativo Magazzino permette di avere dei conteggi precisi sia per pezzi sia per valore, aiutandoti a determinare più velocemente l'assestamento del tuo magazzino.

Rilevare le fatture dei clienti e dei fornitori aperti al 31.12
Per facilitare la procedura, con la funzione delle fatture aperte per cliente e fatture aperte per fornitore puoi rapidamente rilevare i valori al 31.12.

Consumo proprio
Se nell'azienda vi è l'uso di un'auto aziendale, registrare il consumo proprio con il codice IVA appropriato.

Chiusure e dichiarazione IVA
Prima di inoltrare la dichiarazione IVA, consigliamo di utilizzare il comando Controlla Contabilità.

  • Verificare che il conto IVA in automatico dopo aver stornato il saldo nel conto IVA dovuta (IVA da pagare all'AFC) sia a zero. Nel conto IVA dovuta deve risultare l'importo da versare o l'importo a credito da ricevere.
  • Prima di inoltrare l'ultima dichiarazione IVA, visualizzare nuovamente i rendiconti IVA degli altri trimestri per controllare che gli importi versati all'AFC siano ancora corrispondenti a quelli visualizzati.
  • Utilizzare il comando del Riassunto IVA per visualizzare i vari report e creare una stampa in PDF per l'archiviazione dei dati. In caso di controlli fiscali saranno utili.

Assestare il conto Imposte alla fonte
Nel caso nell'azienda ci siano dei dipendenti soggetti alle imposte alla fonte, dopo aver conteggiato e registrato gli stipendi di dicembre, in base al conteggio inviato all'Ufficio imposte alla Fonte, registrare l'assestamento.

Rimborsi per quadri superiori
Se previsti, nello stipendio di dicembre includere l'importo previsto dalle autorità fiscali come rimborso forfettario.

Assestamento conto Privato
Verificare il saldo del conto privato. In caso di rapporti di debito/credito fra l’azienda e il/i proprietario/i (o persone vicine) registrare gli interessi attivi o passivi secondo quanto previsto dal contratto di prestito o secondo le direttive fiscali vigenti.

Assestamento conto Imposte e tasse
Verificare che gli acconti pagati durante l'anno si riferiscano all'anno in corso. I pagamenti di imposte che concernono anni precedenti, bisogna registrarli a chiusura dei relativi accantonamenti che risultano nel conto “Imposte dirette” (patrimoniale). Se il saldo degli accantonamenti non è sufficiente o è eccessivo, la differenza deve essere registrata come costo/ricavo straordinario o relativo a periodi precedenti.

Registrazione conguagli AVS/AD/IPG/AD

  • Durante l'anno, nel conto dei contributi AVS, solitamente vengono registrati gli acconti pagati alla Cassa Cantonale di Compensazione AVS (in Dare) e le quote trattenute sugli stipendi ai dipendenti (Avere).
  • Se durante l’anno gli assegni familiari pagati ai dipendenti sono stati registrati in un conto dedicato, per esempio nel conto “Contributi assegni familiari”, per riconciliare la contabilità con il conteggio di chiusura AVS e registrare il relativo assestamento si può girare il saldo di questo conto sul conto Contributi AVS/AD.

Registrare i conguagli previdenziali Lainf, Lainf complementare, LPP
Con la registrazione degli ultimi stipendi di dicembre e il pagamento delle tredicesime, occorre stampare la lista degli stipendi con l'indicazione di tutti gli stipendi lordi. Il lordo complessivo AVS devi comunicarlo alle assicurazioni del personale, che determineranno eventuali conguagli da pagare.

Inviare il file al commercialista per le chiusure

Se le chiusure e/o le verifiche vengono eseguite dal tuo fiduciario, basta inviare il file della tua contabilità creato con Banana Contabilità Plus per email oppure salvare i dati su una chiavetta USB.

  • Se il tuo fiduciario ha Banana Contabilità, basta trasmettere il file ac2 per email o tramite chiavetta usb. Puoi anche salvare il tuo file e i documenti digitali in una cartella condivisa con il tuo fiduciario su Dropbox. Non dovrai più portare dal fiduciario pesanti classeurs per la documentazione cartacea. Inoltre, il fiduciario lavorerà velocemente senza dover andare a cercare nella documentazione cartacea.
  • Se non possiede Banana Contabilità puoi creare un PDF dei dati contabili, tramite il menu File > Crea dossier PDF e trasmettere per email la documentazione. Il fiduciario ti indicherà tutte le modifiche e aggiunte da registrare per chiudere correttamente l'esercizio contabile.
    In alternativa, il tuo fiduciario può aprire il file della tua contabilità usando il piano  Free di Banana Contabilità Plus, scaricandolo dalla nostra pagina di Download. Se il tuo file ha più di 70 registrazioni non potrà aggiungere registrazioni o fare modifiche, ma potrà comunque vedere tutti i dati, ottenere il dettaglio di ogni conto con un semplice click sopra il numero di conto, ecc. e consigliarti su possibili correzioni o miglioramenti.

Update opening balances | Income & Expense accounting

The Update Opening Balances command takes data from the previous year's file and updates the opening balances for the current year.

When do you need to use the Update Opening balances command?

The Update Opening Balances command is required in the following cases:

  • You have created the New Year with the Create New Year command, but you still made changes to the previous year's file (additional transactions, new accounts, ..).
  • Changes were made in the previous year (added or changed transactions, added accounts...).

Check the previous year accounting

In order to avoid differences between the previous year closing balances and the New Year and opening balances, it is important, before using the Update opening balance command, to make sure that you have carried out all the checks, verification operations and all the closing accounting entries as indicated in the Year end closure of the Double-entry accounting page.

The Update Opening balances dialog window

In order to access this dialog, use the Actions menu > Update opening balances command.
You need to enter the path to where the previous year's file is located:

  • The program will suggest the name of the saved file
  • If the file's name or the location path is changed you the Browse button

adjust opening balances

Operations carried out by this command

The command resumes the data from the previous year, without changing its contents. This command can therefore be repeated without any impact on the previous year's file.

The command performs the same operations as in Create New Year , except those referring to the creation of the file.

Change of the Chart of Accounts of the previous year

If after creating the New Year you add accounts to the previous year and carry over the balances, the program may indicate an error. In this case, you should:

  • Enter the new accounts in the new year's file as well.
  • Repeat the Update Opening balances operation

You can import changes with the Import Accounts command.

 

 

Cash Manager

The Cash Manager (or Cash Book) is an application of Banana Accounting Plus, to manage the cash or any other account. It is free and unlimited because it is included in the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus. It is ideal for:

  • Families - to keep track of expenses and income and plan a family budget.
  • Children and Students - to learn how to manage their first expenses and be aware of their savings.
  • Companies and Associations - to budget and manage cash income and expenditure, keep the first note and manage cash in a separate file from accounting.

Check out our resources for an easy and immediate start:

Getting Started with the Cash Manager

For a quick and easy start, choose one of our Cash Manager templates and save it as a name. For more information visit the generic page of How to get started with Banana Accounting Plus.

In the Transactions table you are immediately operational and can enter incoming and outgoing transactions. Entry is extremely easy and intuitive, even for those with no accounting knowledge.

Immagine delle registrazioni del Cash Manager

The Transactions Table

The Transactions table is at the heart of the Cash Manager's bookkeeping. 
It allows you:

  • Clarity and order of the columns: thanks to the table layout you always have an immediate and complete overview of the data entered.
    There are main columns, already predefined, in which you can enter:
    • The date of the transaction
    • Any document number
    • The incoming or outgoing amount
    • The category for the entry or exit
  • To insert digital attachments: in the Transactions table, you can also make the DocLink column visible, which allows you to add the receipt or invoice to each movement in PDF format, ensuring the immediate availability of the documents in case of future audits or to transmit them to the accountant.
  • To always make corrections: if there are errors, you can easily correct them, ensuring correct and accurate results every time.

Speeding up the transaction registration

Banana Accounting Plus offers several functions to speed up the data entry process, such as: 

  • Auto-completion. In the Description column, by typing the first few characters, the programme automatically suggests similar movements that have already been entered previously and, by pressing F6, completes the current movement with the selected data.  
  • Recurring Transactions. It is possible to store recurring transactions in a special table, taken from the menu Actions > Recurring Transactions, and to resume them with a single click, saving time and simplifying work.

Reports and Printouts

After each transaction, the programme automatically updates all account balances in the Category table and in the account. You can easily print statements and reports for easy monitoring of income and expenditure and the status of available cash in the cash account. 

Professional and accurate reports at the touch of a button:

From the menu Reports > Enhanced statement or Enhanced statement with groups, get your reports in no time. Reports by period are also possible.

archivio pdf cash manager

PDF data archiving

All accounting data, over a period of years, must be available at all times, both for tax purposes and for any internal requirements. 

Simple and comprehensive archiving. From the menu File > Create Pdf dossier, you can easily archive all accounting data in a single PDF document. This allows you to store the entire accounting for the year in an orderly and complete manner, making it easier to access and consult the data in the future.

cash manager pdf

Topics common to other applications

Printouts

Comenzar con Cash Manager

Crear un archivo de contabilidad a partir de una plantilla

Sigue los siguientes pasos:

  1. Menú Archivo, comando Nuevo.
  2. Selecciona la Región, la Categoría y el Tipo de contabilidad.
  3. De la lista de las plantillas que aparece, selecciona la que más se adecue a tus necesidades.
  4. Haz clic en Crear.

En Buscar, cuando se introduce una palabra clave, el programa muestra las plantillas que contienen la palabra clave introducida.

También es posible empezar desde un archivo en blanco, mediante la opción Crear archivo en blanco. En cualquier caso, para facilitar el inicio y evitar errores de agrupación, recomendamos que siempre se empiece desde un modelo ya existente.

Más información sobre cómo crear un archivo desde cero disponible en la página Create New File.

Configuración de las propiedades de los archivos

Configura tus propios datos desde el comando Propiedades del archivo y contables y guarda con tu propio nombre de archivo.

Guardar en disco

En el menú Archivo -> Guardar como, guarda los datos y asigna un nombre al archivo. Aparece el usual diálogo de guardar de tu sistema operativo.

  • Es aconsejable utilizar el nombre de la empresa seguido del año: "Compañía-2020" para distinguirlo de otros archivos contables.
  • El programa añadirá la extensión "ac2".
  • Puedes mantener tantas cuentas como necesites, cada una tendrá su propio nombre.
  • Puedes elegir la carpeta que quieras, (Por ejemplo, Documentos -> Contabilidad) y el soporte que prefieras, como un disco duro, usb o la nube.

Insertar el saldo inicial de la cuenta

Introduce la cuenta que deseas gestionar en la tabla de Cuentas del Cash Manager y el importe inicial en la columna Apertura. Al comienzo de un nuevo año, al activar el comando Crear un nuevo año en el menú de la Cuenta2, se generarán automáticamente los saldos iniciales a ser transferidos.
Sólo se puede introducir una cuenta.

Personalizar la tabla de categorías

En la tabla de Categorías, personaliza las categorías de ingresos y gastos, según tus necesidades. También es possible:

  • Modificar los números de las categorías
  • Cambiar la descripción
  • Eliminar categorías
  • Añadir categorías
  • Insertar subgrupos
  • Eliminar subgrupos

Todos los saldos de las categorías determinarán el resultado del ejercicio contable (ganancias o pérdidas) y, por lo tanto, no deben constar saldos al comienzo del año.

Añade nuevas categorías

Si se necesita añadir nuevas categorías a un grupo ya existente, procede de la siguiente manera:

  • Inserta una fila vacía (menu Edición, comando Insertar filas…) donde quieras añadir un nuevo subgrupo.
  • Inserta un número o código en la última fila vacía de la columna Grupo (en nuestro ejemplo 3 – Otros ingresos).
  • Inserta la descripción que identifica al nuevo subgrupo.
  • Inserta el número total del Grupo de las otras categorías en la columna total de Grupo en Gr.

Añade subgrupos

Para añadir nuevos subgrupos, sigue los siguientes pasos:

  • Inserta una fila vacía (menu Edición, comando Insertar filas…) donde quieras añadir un nuevo subgrupo.
  • Inserta un número o código en la última fila vacía de la columna Grupo (en nuestro ejemplo 3 – Otros ingresos).
  • Inserta la descripción que identifica al nuevo subgrupo.
  • Inserta el número total del Grupo en la columna Gr (en nuestro ejemplo 3 – Ventas totales).

Elimina categorias o subgrupos

Selecciona las categorías o subgrupos que deseas eliminar en el menú Editar, comando Eliminar filas.

Registros

En la tabla Registros, se introducen las transacciones de ingresos y gastos, indicando la categoría a la que se atribuyen éstos.

Acelerar la grabación de los registros

Para acelerar la grabación de tus registros, puedes utilizar:

Registros con IVA

Para registrar las transacciones con IVA, por favor, procede de la siguiente manera:

  • desde el menú Archivo, selecciona el comando Nuevo y Cash Manager con IVA.
  • Selecciona una de las Plantillas predeterminadas para tu país. Para poder registrar las transacciones con IVA, dirígete a la tabla Registros.

La tarjeta de Categoría o Grupo

La tarjeta Categoría o Grupo te permite tener una lista completa de los asientos contables relacionados con la misma categoría o grupo.

  • Para abrir una tarjeta de categoría o grupo  debes hacer clic sobre la celda de número de cuenta y después hacer clic sobre la pequeña flecha azul que aparece en la esquina superior derecha de la celda.
  • Para abrir múltiples tarjetas de categoría o grupo debes seleccionar el comando Tarjetas de Cuentas/Categorías del menú Cuenta1.
  • Para actualizar las tarjetas de categoría o grupo, tras hacer cambios en la pestaña de Registros, debes hacer clic sobre el símbolo con dos flechas circulares, situadas en la esquina derecha superior de la tarjeta de cuenta.

Tarjetas de cuenta por periodo

Para abrir una tarjeta de categoría con balances de cuenta referidos a un período predefinido, haz clic en el menú Cuenta1, comando Tarjetas de Cuenta/Categoría, selecciona Periodo especificado en la pestaña Periodo para introducir tu periodo seleccionado.

Para más información consulta la página Period.

Imprime la tarjeta de Categoría

Para imprimir la tarjeta de Categoría, ábrela desde cualquier pestaña (Cuentas o Registros) e imprime desde el menú Archivo.

Para imprimir varias o todas las Tarjetas de Cuentas/Categorías, haz clic en Cuenta1, selecciona Tarjetas de Cuenta/Categoría y selecciona las cuentas/categorías que quieres imprimir. El filtro que aparece en la ventana te permite elegir la selección automática de todas las categorías, centros de coste, segmentos, grupos, etc.

Para más información véase la página Account Cards.

Estado de resultados avanzado

Para visualiyar el Estado de resultados avanzado y el Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, selecciona en la barra del menú Cuenta1 y el comando Estado de resultados avanzado o Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos. También puedes obtener el estado de resultados por periodo.

Archivar datos en formato PDF

Al final del año, cuando la contabilidad esté hecha, corregida y revisada, puedes almacenar todos los datos contables con el comando Crear Archivo Pdf del menú Archivo.

El Presupuesto

Antes de empezar el año contable, puedes crear un presupuesto con tus gastos e ingresos estimados, para tener control sobre la situación financiera y económica de tu empresa.

El presupuesto puede establecerse de dos maneras diferentes:

  • Desde la columna Presupuesto en la pestaña de Categorías. Para cada cuenta se indica el presupuesto anual.
    En este caso, cuando configuras el Presupuesto desde el menú Cuenta1, comando Estado de resultados avanzado por grupos, la columna Presupuesto muestra las cantidades que se corresponden con el año completo.
  • Desde Agregar tabla Presupuesto, que tienes que activar manualmente utilizando el comando Agregar nuevas funcionalidades desde el menú Herramientas. En esta tabla todas las estimaciones se introducen como transacciones presupuestarias, ya sea de ingresos o de gastos. Si se activa esta tabla, la columna Presupuesto de la tabla Cuentas se desactiva automáticamente. En la tabla Presupuesto se puede configurar un presupuesto detallado que tenga en cuenta las posibles variaciones durante el año y en diferentes períodos del año.

 

Cash Manager Accounts Table

The Cash Manager Accounts table contains only one account and no other accounts can be added.

Cash Manager Accounts table

The columns of the Accounts table:

The main columns of the Categories table are listed below. The display of columns changes according to the selected View.

Additional columns can be added either system or own columns via the menu Data > Columns setup.

Group
This column remains empty.

Account
Enter the number or initials of the account to be managed (cash, bank, post office).

Description
Enter a description relating to the account entered.

Opening
You need to enter the opening balance only the first time you use a new file or when using Banana accounting for the first time. At the beginning of the new year with automatic opening, the account balance is automatically updated.

Income
The column is protected and shows the balance of income transactions. The balance is updated automatically after each transaction.

Expenses
The column is protected and shows the balance of outgoing expenses. After each transaction the balance is updated automatically.

Balance
The column is protected and shows the total balance between income and expenses. After each transaction the balance is updated automatically.

Cash Manager Categories table

The Categories table presents the Income and Expenses situation.

The Categories table

In the Categories column, for each income and expense, the respective categories are set. 
In addition to the Categories column, there are columns to set:

In the example there are three main groupings:

  • Group 4 - Totals all the Categories that have grouping 4 in their Sum in column (total Income)
  • Group 3 - Totals all the Categories that have grouping 3 in their Sum in column (total Expenses)
  • Group 00  - Totals groups 3 and 4 (Total Income and Expenses), which determine the Result for the accounting period.

regrouping scheme for the Categories table

The columns of the Categories table

The main columns of the Categories table are listed below. The display of the columns changes according to the selected View.

You can add additional system columns as well as your own columns via Data > Columns setup.

Section
An asterisk is inserted in the row where a title is entered, which will then be taken over in the Enhanced Statement with groups
(in our example the asterisk is inserted on the line of the title Operating result).

If other sections are provided in addition to income and expenses, such as cost and profit centers, another asterisk can be inserted in the Sections column, again on the title row. More details are available on the Sections page.

Group
Enter an identifier (numerical or sign) identical to the one entered for each category in the Sum in column. The totals for each category belonging to the same grouping of the Sum in column will then be added up (in our example, Group 4 totals the Income Category and group 3 the Expenses category).

Category
Enter the Category number that will identify the type of expense or income.

Description
A description is entered to identify the income or expenses category. This description is automatically taken from the Category Description column of the Records table (if displayed).

Sum in (Gr)
The code of a group is indicated so that the programme totals the amount of the line in the group.
The heading ‘Sum in’ has been adopted with the Banana Plus version.
The column name has remained Gr, to maintain compatibility with previous versions of the programme.
Each category has an identifier that is used to define in which group it is to be totalled (in the example, all revenue categories, in the Sum in column, have the grouping 4, because they are totalled in Group 4, Total Revenue).

Income
The column is protected and shows the balance of income transactions. The balance is updated automatically after each transaction.

Expenses
The column is protected and shows the balance of outgoing expenses. After each transaction the balance is updated automatically.

Balance
The column is protected and shows the total balance between income and expenses. After each transaction the balance is updated automatically.

Customising the Categories table

You may customise the entry and exit categories in the Categories table according to your needs. You can:

  • Change category numbers
  • Change description
  • Delete or add categories
  • Insert or delete subgroups

All category balances determine the operating result (profit or loss) and must therefore have no balance at the beginning of the year.

Adding new Categories

If you need to add new categories to an existing group, proceed as follows:

  • Insert empty rows (menu Edit > Insert Rows) before the Totalisation Group row
  • Enter the category number or abbreviation in the Category column
  • Enter a description to identify the category
  • Enter in the Sum in column , the same grouping number as the other categories, belonging to the same Totalisation Group.

Adding Subgroups

To add new subgroups, proceed as follows:

  • Insert empty rows (menu Edit > Insert rows) in the area where you wish to insert the new subgroup
  • In the last empty row enter a number or abbreviation for the totalisation in the Group column (in the example "34 - Total Optional Costs")
  • Enter a description to identify the new subgroup
  • Enter in the Sum in column  the Totalisation Group (in the example "3 - Total Costs").

Deleting categories and subgroups

To delete categories or subgroups, select the rows with the categories and subgroup to be deleted and issue the command Delete rows from the Edit menu.

Opening Balances | Cash Manager

You only need to enter the Initial Balance the first time you use Banana Accounting Plus.

Opening balances when you start with Banana Accounting

When creating a new file for the first time with Banana Accounting, the opening balances must be entered manually in the Accounts table, Opening column.

When you move to the new year, using the Actions > Create new year command, Banana accounting reports all the opening balances automatically.
It is not possible to enter more than one account; for this you must use the Income/Expense Accounting.

saldo apertura Cassa

Start with Banana Accounting during the year

If you start a new accounting, taking over the work already done with other programs, you have two possibilities: 

  • Start accounting from the start of the year, by entering the opening balances at the beginning of the year (Accounts table, Opening column) and the transactions (Transactions table) that have already been previously recorded with other programs (also see Transferring data from other software). Thus you will have all the accounting details a single file.
  • Starting from the date when the accounting is resumed:
    • Enter the opening balances (Accounts table, Opening column), taking over the values of the other accounting.
      In addition to entering the opening balances of the Cash in the Accounts table, it is also necessary to enter the income (positive) and expenses (negative) balances in the Categories table.
    • Input the new entries in the Transactions table.

Balances of the previous year

If you start a new accounting by taking over an existing accounting and you want the previous year's values to appear on the printouts, it is necessary to enter the previous year's balances in  Accounts and Categories > Previous view > Previous Year column:

  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year's Cash (Accounts table).
  • Enter the closing balances of the previous year's Expenses  (Categories table).
  • Enter the final balances of the previous year of Revenues (insert the minus sign in front of the amount).

saldi anno precedente, colonna Precedente

Create new year

When you start the new year, the program automatically carries over the opening balances for the following year.
Consult the Create New Year lesson.

To print the opening balances:

 

Budget table of the Cash Manager

Financial planning is carried out in the Budget table.

Before starting a financial year, you can budget expenses and estimate income to keep the economic and financial situation under control.

The budget can be set in two different ways:

  1. In the Categories table, under the Budget column. For each category, the annual budget amount is indicated.
    In this case, when you generate the Budget from the Report menu using the command Enhanced Statement with groups, the Budget column shows the amounts that refer to the entire year.
  2. In the Budget table, which can be activated from the Tools menu > Add/Remove functionalities > Add Budget Table.
    In this table, all budgeted expenses and incomes are recorded with transactions. If this table is activated, the Budget column in the Accounts table is automatically disabled. In this case, you can set a detailed budget that takes into account possible variations during the year and in different periods of the year.

Budget table Cash Manager

Create new year

It is possible to transition to the new year automatically in the following ways:

The program resumes automatically :

  • The account, carrying over the initial balance.
  • The categories are carried over without bringing an initial balance, as they start from zero, to determine the operating result of the new year.

Transactions table of the Cash Manager

The transactions of the Cash Manager are entered in the Transactions table.

There are specific columns to enter:

  • the date
  • the document number
  • the description
  • the income or expense amount
  • the category relevant to the income or expense in the Category table
  • should the transaction be subject to VAT tax, enter the VAT code in the VAT code column.
    The VAT codes are listed in the VAT codes table.

Speeding up the recording of the Transactions

In order to accelerate the recording of the transactions, you can use:

  • the Smart fill function that allows the automatic auto complete of data that have already been entered at an earlier date.
  • the Recurring transactions function (Actions menu), used to memorize recurring transactions into an appropriate table.

Examples of transactions without VAT

Examples of transactions with VAT

Category card

To display the transactions of a category, click once on the small blue arrow appearing in the upper right corner of the cell.

The display of entries in the Categories table is similar to the one in the Transactions table.
When new transactions are added or changes are made (i.e. in the Transactions table), it is possible to update the tab of a category by clicking on the Update symbol (blue symbol, of two circular arrows, located in the right part of the window).

scheda conto categoria

 

Printouts

Instant information

In the Accounts and Categories tables, the balances of the accounts and the categories of income and expenses are displayed immediately. After each individual entry, the balances are updated automatically, and there is no need to generate reports to keep the situation under control; you simply need to position yourself in the Accounts and Categories table.

To print the content of the tables, please refer to the Page setup section (last paragraph).

Advanced printouts

All printing is run from the Reports menu, where the different functions for printing are located:

  • Journal - command to define the period. You can display and print the whole table or just a specified period.
     
  • Account/Category cards - Account cards / Categories. You may select all cards or define your selection.
    Define the required period in the Period tab and click the required settings in the Options tab. Print settings can be saved in the Customization tab so they can be resumed without them to be having defined again.
     
  • Enhanced statement - Enhanced statement command. You may also print a defined period and various options and customizations may be included.
     
  • Enhanced statement with groups - Enhanced statement with groups command. You may also print a defined period and various options and customization may be included.
     
  • Accounting report - Account report command. The required options are displayed in the Accounts table. Reports are possible for current, previous periods or previous years; each period may contain subdivisions and the customizations can be saved.

Example of printout of Enhanced statement with groups

Rendiconto de Cash Manager

Cash Manager account / category card

The account or category card corresponds to the ledger and allows you to have a complete list of the accounting entries concerning the same account, the same category, a cost center, a segment or a group.

Open the account card

There are two ways to open and print an account or category card.

First method

This method is recommended when you want to view and print all or several account/category cards.

  • Via the Reports > Account / Category Cards menu

open a Cash Manager account or category card

A dialog box with the following sections appears:

For detailed information on the sections, click on the corresponding links.

Second method

This method can be used when you need to open only one card at a time within the tables.

  • Click on the small icon that appears when you select the cell that contains the account, category or group number.

open a Cash Manager account or category card

Update the account card

The account or category card is temporary and is calculated at the time of the request. If transactions are changed or added in the Transactions table, the account card is not updated simultaneously.

To update the account card, following changes, it is necessary to use the Account / category card command again, or if the account card is still open, click on the symbol shown in the image below update simbol.

Update the account card

Note

It is not possible to change the data in the account, category or group card. Within the account card, by double clicking on the row number, the program switches to the corresponding row of the Transactions table or of the Estimate.

The Account Selection column

In the Account selected column, which can be made visible, starting from any account card, via the Data > Columns setup menu, the account on which the transaction took place will be displayed.
When you get an account card of one or more accounts, categories, groups and segments, you see exactly which account is used.

Cards of groups or classes

In the account card of a group or class, all the transactions of those accounts belonging to the selected group or class are regrouped.
The accounts or categories of the group or class can be viewed by making the Account Selected column visible.  

Budget Account card

Once the budget transactions have been entered in the Budget table, it is possible to have the account or group cards of the budget:

  • Reports menu > Account / category cards > activate Budget transaction.

budget account card

Print the ledger (account cards)

To print the cards:

  • Reports menu > Account cards
  • Through the Filter it is possible to automatically select all the account cards to be printed or partially (eg only accounts, cost centers or segments).
  • In the various sections Period, Options, Customization the desired functions are activated (eg period, one account per page ....).
  • Confirm with OK after setting the desired options.

The selected account cards will be displayed on screen. To print, click on the File → Print menu.

Insert a logo in the account cards

As per Banana 9 version, it is possible to insert a logo also in the printout of the account cards.

After creation of the account card detail, proceed as follows:

  • Reports menu > Account cards
  • File menu > Print preview.
  • In the dialog box that opens, under Logo, indicate your logo (instead of none).

More detailed information is available on the Logo setup page.

Save the settings

If you happen to regularly print the cards of certain accounts, for example all those of sales, it is useful to create a relevant customization:

  • Report menu > Account cards > Customization section
    click on the New button
  • Indicate the name in the description, for example "Sales Accounts"
  • Select the accounts you want to print
  • From the File > Page setup menu you can determine the margins and other page settings.

Whenever you need to print the accounts, select the customization you created.

 

Journal Cash Manager

Journal

As in all Banana Accounting applications, transactions are entered in the Transactions table. If you want to print the Journal (list of all transactions), you can proceed in several different ways:

Journal by period

Banana Accounting, through the menu Report > Journal by period, offers the possibility to print the Journal with the movements of the entire period or of the selected period, by entering the start and end date of the period.

journal by period

The information on the Period section is available on the Period page of the common functions.
journal by sorting period

In the Sort column tab, you can select the base on which type of date to order and print the journal.

VAT/sales tax report (only with VAT option)

VAT sales tax report

Information on the VAT Report is available on the web page VAT/Sales tax report.

Differenze tra le varie tipologie

Nella contabilità in partita doppia tutti i conti sia patrimoniali che del conto economico si trovano unicamente nella tabella Conti. 

Nella contabilità Entrate / Uscite e Cash Manager, per rendere più semplice e intuitivo l'uso, i conti sono stati strutturati su due tabelle:

  • Tabella Conti Entrate / Uscite - elenco dei conti patrimoniali:
    • I propri averi sono indicati in positivo
    • I debiti sono indicati in negativo
    • Il patrimonio netto è calcolato come differenza fra gli averi e i debiti.
  • Tabella Conti Cash Manger - conto unico della liquidità (es. Cassa).
    • È possibile inserire un solo conto come la Cassa, o la Liquidità.
    • Il saldo rappresenta quanto si ha in cassa o di liquidità.
  • Tabella Categorie Cash manager ed Entrate / Uscite - elenco dei conti per le spese e le entrate:
    • Le voci di spesa sono in negativo
    • Le voci di entrata sono in positivo
    • L'utile o la perdita sono calcolati come differenza fra i valori positivi e negativi. 

Le Registrazioni

Tutti i movimenti giornalieri sono inseriti nella tabella Registrazioni, sia per la contabilità in partita doppia, Entrate / Uscite e Cash Manager.

Tra le contabilità esiste però una sostanziale differenza nelle colonne, ovvero:

  • Nella contabilità Entrate / Uscite e Cash Manager ci sono due colonne specifiche:
    • Conto - dove vengono registrati i conti patrimoniali che hanno dei movimenti in base alle spese sostenute o alle entrate ricevute.
    • Categoria - dove vengono registrati le categorie di spesa e di entrata. È possibile avere anche un conto quando si tratta di giroconti bancari e postali.
  • Nella contabilità in Partita doppia ci sono le seguenti colonne specifiche:
    • Dare - dove si registrano gli aumenti di attivi e diminuzioni di passivi e i costi.
    • Avere - dove si registrano le diminuzioni di attivi e gli aumenti dei passivi e i ricavi.
       

XBRL report

XBRL Script Param

Funciones contables adicionales

La documentación en español está en constante progreso. Algunos enlaces pueden dirigir a páginas que aún están en inglés. ¡Gracias por tu paciencia y vuelve a visitar esta página en el futuro!

Todas las funciones que necesitas

El programa incluye una serie de funciones para gestionar tu actividad de manera sencilla y profesional. Nuestros usuarios están muy satisfechos al ahorrar tiempo en tareas contables que de otro modo serían complejas. También ahorrarás dinero porque reducirás el trabajo y los costos de tu asesor financiero.

Balances e informes inmediatos

Imprime rápida y fácilmente todos los informes que necesites en cualquier momento:

  • Tarjetas de cuenta
  • Balance & Estado de Resultados
  • Diario de movimientos
  • Presupuesto y mucho más!

Gestión de clientes y proveedores

Gracias a los modelos predefinidos con el subdiario de clientes y proveedores, puedes gestionar todo de manera óptima: simplemente introduce en el registro la cuenta de tu cliente o proveedor.

Obtén el registro completo de clientes y proveedores y mantén un control de los pagos y cobros.

Gestión del IVA

Máxima simplicidad: introduce en los movimientos el código de la tasa de IVA y el programa hará el resto.

Centros de costo y Segmentos

Destaca sectores específicos de tu actividad de manera sencilla y eficiente obteniendo un nivel de detalle superior.

Los Centros de Costo y Segmentos de Banana Contabilidad Plus permiten ver detalles de proyectos, eventos, obras, socios y otras actividades específicas, o resaltar costos e ingresos por unidad, departamento o sucursal.

Presupuesto y Plan de Liquidez

Crea fácilmente tu presupuesto para un control eficaz de los costos y una visión a futuro.

En la tabla de Presupuesto, introduce registros con fechas futuras e indica su periodicidad. El programa proyectará tus previsiones por mes, trimestre, semestre, año y en varios años.

Una excelente herramienta para anticiparse a los acontecimientos y tomar medidas oportunas para alcanzar mejor tus objetivos.

budget

Importación y automatización

Gracias a las innovadoras funciones de importación de datos desde extractos bancarios y la automatización de registros con las Reglas, hacer la contabilidad se vuelve fácil, inmediato y sin errores.

Al importar, para cada movimiento que se repita en el futuro, se crea una regla, asignando la cuenta de contrapartida, el código de IVA, el centro de costo o de beneficio. En las importaciones siguientes, todos los movimientos que coincidan con las reglas se completarán automáticamente, reduciendo significativamente el tiempo de ingreso de datos.

Rules automation

Impresiones avanzadas gracias a las Extensiones

Las Extensiones son programas adicionales que amplían las funcionalidades de Banana Contabilidad Plus. Gracias a ellas, también puedes obtener:

  • Certificado de donación para asociaciones
  • Lista de libros para bibliotecas
  • Análisis de balances y flujos de efectivo
  • Gestión de cartera de valores
  • Gestión de construcciones y renovaciones

Muchas de estas extensiones requieren el plan Advanced.

Customising the Transactions Table

The Transactions table is the hub of accounting and can be customised to support a multitude of functions, such as entering quantities and prices, VAT, cost and profit centres and much more.

The table can be customised by displaying or adding columns, so that certain functions are only activated when needed.

double accounting transactions

Default settings

The Transactions table is set up with standard columns, such as Date, Description, etc., which are already visible when the file is opened. The user can decide which columns to make visible and customise with the command from the menu Data > Columns setup.
There are specific columns for the type of file opened. For example, in double-entry accounting, there are Debit and Credit columns, whereas in Income and Expense accounting, there are Account and Category columns.

The columns common to all accounts are fully explained on the page Columns of the transactions table - Double-entry, as listed:

Here listed the columns only present in certain types of accounts:

Customising the display

You can adapt the table display to your specific needs, as follows:

Adding additional columns

You can add additional columns according to your needs. The options are:

Additional columns quantities and prices

You can enter quantities and prices directly in the accounting file.

Specific columns are displayed from the menu Tools > Add / Remove Functionality. The following columns are added in bulk:

  • Article identifier
    Which is linked to the Items table
  • Quantity. A numerical value
  • Unit price
  • Descriptive quantity.

If you enter a value in the quantity or price column, the programme automatically calculates the amount by multiplying the two values.

These columns can be used for various purposes:

  • Manage quantities and prices for cost accounting.
  • Specify the elements of an invoice.
  • Enter the movements of items indicated in the Items table or to manage the purchase and sale of securities (see Portfolio extension).

Link to the Items table

The Items table is a kind of mini-warehouse integrated into the accounting , where: 

  • You can enter the list of products, quantities and prices.
  • When you enter an item in a line in the transactions table, the programme automatically takes over the description and sales price.
  • If you enter transactions in the Transactions table by entering quantities, the programme updates the current quantity in the Items table.

Additional Payment Management Columns

They are added from the menu Tools > Add / Remove Functionality
Please refer to the explanation in the Payment Management page.

Additional columns end date, repeat

You can also add specific columns to insert automatic movements in the Recurring Transactions table.

They are added from the menu Tools > Add / Remove Functionalities
Please refer to the explanation Automatic Transactions.

Recurring Transactions table

The Recurring Transactions table has the same columns and arrangements as the Transactions table. If you change the display of columns in the Recurring Transactions table, this will also be changed in the Recurring Transactions table.

El sistema de agrupación en Banana Contabilidad+

El sistema de agrupación de Banana Contabilidad Plus permite totalizar los importes de cuentas y grupos de forma fácil y rápida. El programa te ofrece la máxima flexibilidad para crear todos los niveles de totalización que necesites.

La agrupación es una herramienta muy potente para calcular los totales de manera automática.

Dónde se utiliza

▶ Vídeo: Sistema de agrupación y totalización (inglés) 

Cómo funciona

La agrupación siempre se basa en dos columnas:

  • La columna Grupo, donde se indican los identificadores de los grupos, que pueden ser de texto o numéricos.
  • La columna Sumar En, donde para cada fila de cuenta o grupo se indica el Grupo de totalización.

Cada fila del grupo es una fila de totalización, donde:

  • Los saldos de los grupos son la suma de las filas que, en la columna Sumar En, contienen el nombre del grupo.
  • El programa calcula los totales de todas las columnas que contienen importes (tipo Importe), tanto las predefinidas (Apertura, Saldo, etc.) como las añadidas manualmente.

La agrupación permite crear múltiples niveles de totalización.
Las siguientes imágenes están en inglés, pero el programa también está disponible en español.

agrupación columnas grupo y sumar en

La lógica del programa

Para comprender la lógica, presentamos un ejemplo de una pequeña parte del plan de cuentas. Para las cuentas Caja, Correo y Banco creamos el grupo Liquidez:

  • En la fila debajo de las cuentas de liquidez, en la columna Grupo, se introduce el nombre del grupo Liquidez.
  • En la columna Descripción, se introduce la descripción del grupo.
  • Para que el programa pueda actualizar los saldos del grupo Liquidez, es necesario indicar qué cuentas deben ser totalizadas.
    En la columna Sumar En de las cuentas Caja, Correo y Banco, se introduce el nombre del grupo Liquidez. Los saldos del grupo se actualizan inmediatamente.

agrupación de cuentas

Con la misma lógica, también podemos agrupar grupos. De hecho, los grupos también pueden ser totalizados en otros grupos de nivel superior.
Supongamos que agregamos un grupo para totalizar el grupo Liquidez.

  • En la fila debajo del grupo Liquidez, en la columna Grupo, se introduce el nombre del grupo Activos.
  • En la columna Descripción, se introduce la descripción del grupo.
  • Para que el programa pueda actualizar los saldos del grupo Activos, es necesario indicar qué grupos deben ser totalizados.
    En la columna Sumar En del grupo Liquidez, se introduce el nombre del grupo Activos. Los saldos del grupo se actualizan inmediatamente.

agrupación de grupos

Siguiendo esta lógica, es posible crear una estructura con grupos y subgrupos para todo el plan contable, adaptándolo a cualquier país o necesidad específica.

La misma lógica también se puede aplicar para agrupar códigos de IVA en la tabla Códigos de IVA, así como para agrupar artículos en la tabla Artículos del Almacén y del Registro de bienes amortizables.

agrupación de cuentas y grupos

Uso extendido del sistema de totalización

El sistema de totalización es muy flexible:

  • En un grupo se pueden sumar cuentas y grupos.
  • Se puede asignar un grupo de pertenencia a los títulos.
  • Se puede usar cualquier tipo de numeración (numérica y/o alfabética).
  • Se pueden crear hasta 100 niveles de totalización.
  • La totalización del grupo es independiente del orden de las filas:
    • La fila de total puede definirse antes o después de las filas de cuentas o grupos.
    • La fila de total también puede definirse en una posición completamente separada de las filas de cuentas y grupos, como en el caso del subdiario de Clientes/Proveedores.
  • La misma cuenta no puede ser totalizada en dos grupos simultáneamente.
  • El sistema también se usa para totalizar los Centros de Costo y los Segmentos.

Control y detección de errores

Cuando se crean agrupaciones, el programa controla y señala errores, permitiendo corregirlos de inmediato.

Si en la columna Sumar En se indica un grupo inexistente, el programa muestra el error "Grupo no encontrado". En este caso, es suficiente:

Renombrar los grupos

Con el comando Renombrar se pueden cambiar automáticamente los nombres de los grupos ya existentes, sin necesidad de modificar manualmente las correspondencias en las columnas Grupo y Sumar En.

Impresiones

Al imprimir el Balance, el Estado de Resultados u otros informes que contienen agrupaciones, la impresión muestra el orden de los grupos tal como han sido configurados en las diferentes tablas.

Customer Management

Customer management in Banana Accounting Plus allows you to record, organise, and manage customer information and allows you to keep track of customer transactions and payments, payment due dates, and contact information. You can track customer payments, update the payment status of issued invoices as well as enter and print invoices.

Customer management is a feature available in all accounting applications of Banana Accounting Plus, but it is especially used in double-entry accounting.

Please also visit Supplier management

Recording customer transactions

The Transactions table is the heart of Banana Accounting and is used to record all transactions, including customer transactions, simply by entering the customer's account. You work quickly because you can select, copy and paste customer transactions that have already been entered previously. If you make mistakes you can correct them so it is easy to record:

customer transactions

There are columns for entering various information, as:

  • The date of the transaction, due date, expectation date and payment date.
  • The Invoice Number.
  • The Debit and Credit Account where to indicate the customer account and the counterpart.
  • The amount.
  • The VAT codes for the automatic calculation of VAT.
  • Links to digital documents (e.g. the invoice issued to the customer, or notes in pdf).

Customer accounts

Customer accounts are used to record all transactions relating to the customers of a company.

The main functions of customer accounts are as follows:

  • Create an account for each customer and keep track of all transactions made.
  • Record the invoices issued for each customer.
  • Record customer payments and associate them with the invoices issued.

In Banana Accounting:

  • Customer accounts and addresses (first name, surname, company name, address, customer language, VAT number, etc.) are set up in the Accounts table.
  • Account movements on the accounts are entered in the Transactions table.
  • After each entry, all customer account balances (Accounts table) are automatically updated and you immediately have an overview of the outstanding balances.

customer accounts

Recording issued invoices

The invoice is used for accounting and tax purposes, as it allows you to accurately record the company's revenues and expenses, and to calculate sales or purchase tax.

If you issue invoices in Word, Excel or other programs, you can record the issuance in accounting so that you know what the customer owes and, if necessary, send reminders.

In Banana Accounting, the invoices are recorded in the Transactions table:

  • By entering the date and description
  • By entering an invoice number
  • By recording in the Debit account the customer's account and in the Credit account the revenue
  • By entering the VAT code for sales or services. The calculations and VAT amounts are entered automatically.

When the invoice is posted, the programme automatically creates the invoice and prints it out.

Creating and printing invoices

Directly in the Transactions table, you can also enter transactions to create invoices as simple entries in the Transactions table.

By entering the Debit and Credit account, in addition to printing the invoice, you have the accounting of the invoice in the accounting file at the same time.

customer transactions

From the menu, Reports > Customers > Print Invoices, you can:

  • Preview and print the invoice.
  • Choose the Print Layout and set other information to customise the printout, such as the QR Code.

More customisation is possible with the Advanced plan.

customers invoice

Recording collections

In Banana Accounting, collections are recorded in the Transactions Table in one of the following ways:

  • Manually:
    • The date and description are recorded
    • In the Invoice column, by entering the customer's account, a drop-down menu displays the invoices still open, simply select the invoice collected and press the Enter key, the program automatically enters the customer's account in Credit, and the amount of the invoice. Then simply enter the cash account in Debit to complete the transaction.
  • Importing Data from Account Statements with Rules
    • The programme imports data from ISO 20022 account statements and with the use of Rules the programme enters the complete entry, entering all data, without manual intervention.

Open invoices

Open invoices per customer are issued invoices that remain open or outstanding because the customer has yet to make full payment.

Open invoices per customer can be managed via an accounting ledger that keeps track of invoices issued, payment due dates and payments received. In this way, the seller can monitor the financial situation of each customer and send payment reminders if invoices remain open for too long.

It is important to note that open invoices per customer can affect the liquidity of the seller's company, as the money tied up in these invoices has not yet been collected.

Banana Accounting automatically generates an open invoice report where you can immediately see which invoices are still outstanding and from which customer, as well as the total amount of outstanding invoices.

There are two types of reports:

  1. Open invoices by customer, where all open invoices for each customer are listed.
  2. Open invoices by due date, where open invoices are listed in order of due date.

customers open invoices

The due date of an invoice can be set in different ways. More information can be found on the following page Due dates and payment terms

customer invoices due date

Account card

Account cards are documents used in accounting that record the financial transactions of a company. Each card represents a specific account in the company's general ledger and contains detailed information on the transactions involving that account, such as the date of the financial transaction, the type of transaction, the amount and the description of the transaction.

In Banana accounting, on the basis of the data entered in the Transactions table, the programme automatically prepares the Account card for each customer, where the opening balance, all transactions and relative closing balance are shown. You can also have the account card by period.

customer account cards

Reminders

Payment reminders are used to request customers to pay overdue or outstanding invoices.

Through the function of payment reminders you speed up the payment process from customers, reducing delays, and at the same time effectively manage cash flow.

Banana Accounting provides functions to:

  • Identify overdue or outstanding invoices.
  • Generate payment reminders.
  • Customise payment reminders.

In Banana Accounting Plus you can print recalls in two different ways:

reminders-summary

Credit notes

A credit note is an accounting document used to correct or cancel an invoice already issued. It may be issued for a number of reasons:

  • Reimbursement of an overpayment
  • Reduction in the price of a product or service
  • Product return
  • Correction of an invoicing error

In Banana Accounting you account for credit notes in the Transactions table, entering the revenue account in the Debit account and the customer account in the Credit account; the VAT code must be entered with a minus sign in front, so that the VAT amount is reversed at the same time.

The programme uses the accounting entry of the credit note to automatically create a printout of the credit note.

credit note

Setting up and using the customers and invoices features

  1. Setting up accounting on actual bills issued (accrual principal) or
  2. Setting up accounting on a collected cash basis.
  3. Setting up Customers settings.
  4. Setting up the Transactions table and entering the invoices.
  5. Reports for open, overdue and issued invoices.
  6. Generating invoices.

Notes

  • Multi-currency accounts: reports are based on the customer's account currency balances; possible exchange rate differences will not be taken into account.
    In the Issued invoices table, the recordings of exchange rate differences are also listed, whereas only the customer's currency amount is used in other printouts.

Example file

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customers' register and checking of open invoices

Directly in the accounting you can:

  • Prepare customers' accounts, with the related addresses and other customers' data.
  • Add to the transactions:
    • the data related to the issued invoices (invoice number, customer, amount, due date).
    • the data related to the payment for the invoices and the issuing of credit notes, if any.
  • Retrieve the list of your Payments schedule

Other features available:

Addresses | Customers / Suppliers register | Members

In the Addresses view of the Accounts table, there are columns to manage the addresses of customers, suppliers or members.
Address data are essential in order to manage billing, reminders and to control receipts and payments.

If columns for managing address data are missing in the Accounts table, you can add them:

If IBAN column is missing, your accounting file has an old configuration and you need to convert it with the command Tools > Convert to new file...

add features

In the Accounts table the command will add:

  • The Address view which displays columns for entering address data.

To change the display or arrangement of the columns use the Setup columns command.

 The columns of the Address view

address view columns

Prefix

Insert courtesy code (Mr., Mrs., Doctor or other).

First name

The name of the customer, supplier or member.

Family name

The name of the customer, supplier or member.

Organization

Enter the name of the company, of the association.

Street

The street where the customer, supplier or member resides.

Address extra

Column to enter other address data, such as the post office box, or to enter a very large address.

Postal Code /ZIP

The postal/ZIP code.

Locality

The name of the city of the customer, supplier or member.

Country

The nation inherent in the city.

Country Code

The country code.

Language

You can define the language for each customer, supplier or member account. This allows you to view and print the documents (eg invoice) in their language.
Indicate:

  • de - for German
  • fr - for French
  • it - for Italian
  • en - for English
  • es - for Spanish
  • nl - for Dutch
  • zh - for Chinese
  • pt - for Portuguese
  • ru - for Russian
     
Main phone

Landline phone number

Mobile

Mobile phone number

Fax

Fax number

Email work

email address.

www

website address of the customer, supplier, association.

Birth

The date of birth of the customer, supplier, association.

Days

Enter a number of days within which the collection and payment must take place

Limit

If a credit is made, the credit limit is indicated, or the debit limit if it is a supplier.

Bank name

The name of the customer's, supplier's or member's bank.

IBAN

IBAN number of the customer's, supplier's or member's bank.

Bank clearing

The identification code of the customer bank, supplier or member.

The accrual method management

Introduction

Banana Accounting allows you to manage the customers both on an accrual or cash method. A detailed explanation is available at the page Accounting with accrual or cash method.

The following explains how to set up separate accounts for each customer and a group for customers, so that you can have a list of separate invoices per customer available.

In case you only have few invoices and don't want to keep a detail per customer, you may also keep one single account only to record all customer invoices. The list of invoices will thus apply for all customers and not for any single customer.

Setting up the Customers' register

The customer ledger with its accounts and/or groups is inserted at the end of the chart of accounts with a separate section.

The following settings must be added to create the ledger:

  • A * section (header)  (see Sections)
  • A 01 section for the Customers (see Sections)
  • The Customers accounts that are required (see Adding a new account). Each customer will be allocated one row in the Chart of Accounts and a his/her single account number.  Account numbers is at your discretion (see Accounts) it is however advisable to use numbers only, especially for the management of payments.
  • A group where all customer accounts are totaled.
  • This group, in turn, is totaled into a group present in the Assets.

Alternatively, customer accounts and/or groups can be entered directly in the assets section.

kustomers suppliers accounts

  • The total for Customers will be totaled in the summary group 110A of the Sum in column.
  • The same code or number used in the Sum in column (110A), must be used in the Assets Group column, in the row corresponding to the Total Customers of the Balance Sheet.
  • The groups' numbering can be freely chosen (see Groups).

customers group

Recording an issued invoice

The issued invoice is registered by entering the following data in the respective columns:

  • Date of the invoice and any document number
  • Invoice number - It is very important to enter the invoice number in the Invoice column, because it is used to automate the various customer reports and to automatically close the customer's open invoice when recording the payment.
  • Customer account in Debit and Revenue account in Credit
  • The VAT code corresponding to the sale.

invoices transactions

Recording a payment

There are two ways to record the collection of a customer invoice:

  1. Manual recording of customer invoice collection.
  2.  Automatic recording with data import from account statement in ISO 20022 format.

The collection of a customer invoice is recorded by entering the following data in the respective columns:

  • In the Date column enter the transaction date
  • In the Type column enter 11 (customer payment)
    Note: If an advance payment is to be recorded by the customer and is to appear on the invoice, the cell in the Type column must remain empty. 
  • In the Invoice column enter the paid invoice number.
    • With a double-click on the cell, the program will show a list of all open invoices.
      Alternatively, you may also press the F2 button. If the F2 button doesn't work, you need to activate your customers/suppliers settings, by entering your customers register group, via the Reports menu → Customers → Settings.
    • Select the number of the paid invoice. The program will automatically enter:
  • In the Debit column, you must manually enter the conra account (the bank account where the amount has been credited).

customers payment

Recording a credit note

In order for the amount to be deducted from the initial invoice, the same invoice number must be used.

  • If the adjustment document (for example a credit note) has a different numbering that you still need to keep available, write this reference in another column, for example Doc Original.
  • Enter data for the columns Date, Doc., Original Doc, Description
  • The VAT Code must be preceded by the minus sign "-" so that the VAT operation is reversed, or use a specific VAT Code for debit notes (set in the VAT Codes table).

Note: to print the credit note to be sent to the customer, it is necessary to indicate in the DocType: 12 column, see Entering a credit note.credit note

The cash method management

It is possible to manage the customers/suppliers register, even when using the cash method, as with the Cost and Profit Centers.

  • We advise you to use the CC3 cost center (where the accounts are preceded by a semi-colon ";") to set up the customer and supplier register
  • Set up the customers group via Reports → Customers → Settings.

For all Swiss users who manage the VAT on cash received, this setup is the best to manage the VAT. This setting allows to manage VAT optimally and to know the details for customers and suppliers.

By using this setup, the cost center balances for customers and suppliers will not appear in the Balance Sheet, but you will have all data and reports for internal purposes.

customers-suppliers-accounts

 How to record when issuing an invoice

When you issue an invoice, record it as follows:

  • In the Date column, enter the date of the invoice.
  • In the Doc column, enter the document number if available.
  • In the Invoice column, enter the invoice number.
  • In the Description column, enter a description.
  • In the Debit, Credit and VAT Code columns, do not enter any data.
  • In the Amount column, insert the gross amount without any VAT code.
    The VAT code in the case of cash management is recorded when the invoice is collected.
  • In the CC3 column, insert the CC3 account of the client without the ";" (ex. 10004).

invoices transactions cc3

 How to record when an invoice is paid

When you collect an invoice, record it as follows:

  • In the Date column, enter the date the invoice was collected.
  • In the Doc column, enter the document number if available.
  • In the Invoice column, enter the invoice number collected.
  • In the Description column, enter a description.
  • In the Debit column, enter the bank account (or other cash account).
  • In the Credit column, enter the revenue account corresponding to the invoice.
  • In the Amount column, enter the gross amount.
  • In the VAT Code column, enter the VAT code of the invoiced sales or service.
  • In the CC3 column, enter the customer's CC3 account without the ";", with the minus sign "-" in front of the account (e.g. -10004).

In Integrated invoicing with Income/Expense accounting, with a customer ledger configured with profit centres, the option Record (+/-) cost centres as category should not be activated, as the account and category are not indicated when the invoice is issued.

customer payment receid

More information can be found on page Clients and suppliers with VAT, using the Cash method.

 How to record a credit note with cash method

For the amount to be deducted from the initial invoice, the same invoice number must be used.

  •  If the adjusting document (e.g. a credit note) has a different number, which you must still keep, write this reference in another column, e.g. Doc. Original
  • Enter the data for the Date, Original Document, Description columns
  • Leave the Debit and Credit columns blank
  • Enter the amount and in column CC3, enter the customer's cost centre with a - sign.

N.B: In order to print the credit note to be sent to the customer, you must indicate in the column TypeDoc: 12, see Credit notes.

credit note cc3

Customers' settings

To activate the options in the Customers menu, you need to set the customer group via the menu Reports → Customers → Settings menu.

The functions related to customers are explained below, but also apply to those of suppliers (Reports → Suppliers → Settings). the dialogues that follow are identical for both customer and supplier functionalities.

Without the indication of the group in the settings of the Customers menu, all functions are disabled.

set up the customer group in the customer menu

General

Group or account

Select the generic group or account that contains the Customers or Suppliers list. The group or the account needs to be already present in the Accounts table.

For further details on customers or suppliers settings see:

Due date invoices (in days)

The program uses the following order of priority to calculate the invoice deadline:

  • The due date if you entered it in the transaction row.
    If there are several dates for the same invoice number, the program takes into consideration the most recent one.
  • If the number of days is indicated in the PaymentTermInDays column of the Accounts table, the transaction date is incremented by the number of days set.
  • The date of the transaction is incremented by the days indicated in the settings dialog box.

Include transactions from previous (years)

  •  If 0, the program will not display invoices from the previous year, but only the opening balances of the customer account.
  •  If 1, the program will also include the invoices of the previous year in the customer card.
  •  If 2 or more, the program will also include invoices from years before in the customer card.

Advanced

client setup - advanced section

Link to the invoice document

You can save invoices (pdf, doc or other) and insert the link in the Link to invoice document cell. In the Transactions table, Invoice column, the program will open the document if the invoice number is indicated, allowing access to the content.

The link may contain:

  • The XML name <DocInvoice> or the name of another column contained between <>. 
    If you use the  "<DocInvoice>.pdf" command and you are on the row with invoice number 100, the program will try to open the "100.pdf" file. You can also prefix the filename with the name of a directory.
  • Any file name extension can be used. This extension must, however, be included in the list of file extensions considered safe (Tools- Program options-Advanced).
  • It is also possible to indicate a path preceding the field name, that contains the name of the document to be opened.
  • With the "c:\temp\<DocInvoice>.pdf" link and the invoice number 100, the program proceeds to open the file c:\temp\100.pdf.
  • The name of the directory is relative to the directory where the file is located.

Alternative text for payment auto-completion (Payment %1)

The entry of a payment for an invoice can be facilitated by the auto-completion of the payment, which can be activated via the F2 key in the Invoice field of the Entries table.

The auto-completion completes the entry columns such as invoice number, description, amount, accounts. In the Description column, it is possible to edit the text 'Payment' followed by the description of the first line of the invoice (%1), indicating the desired text.

Invoice rounding (base currency)

Indicate the minimum amount for rounding the invoice total. For example:
0.01 rounds the invoice total to the nearest cent, 0.10 rounds to the nearest 10 cents.

If the field is empty, the invoice total in CHF is rounded to the nearest 5 cents, for other currencies rounding is to the nearest cent.

Disable auto-completion of invoice data

This option is usually deactivated when there are many entries in the accounts and the data entry is slowed down by the display of the list of open invoices in the Invoice field of the Entries table.

Disable automatic compensation of open invoices with opening balances

Automatic compensation (or settlement) refers to the process where the opening balance of the account is used to offset open invoices. When the opening balance can fully cover the amounts in the transaction table, the invoices are considered paid, and their status will be marked as "paidOpening." If the opening balance is insufficient to cover the invoices, they will remain open.

Disabling this function means that the system will no longer use the opening balance to offset open invoices. As a result, the opening balance will be displayed separately from the invoices in the invoice list.

If you wish to offset an invoice with the opening balance, regardless of the 'Disable automatic compensation' option, simply enter 'openBalance' in the invoice number field.

 

Opening an invoice document

  • Position yourself in the Invoice column of the transaction row related to the invoice you wish to open
  • Open the context menu with the right mouse button
  • Select the Open Invoice Link command.

 

Miscellaneous operations

Below we will explain some very important features and settings to best manage your customers, to speed up the work and get the reports correctly.

 Displaying the Invoice column in the Transactions table

If the Invoice column is not displayed in the Transactions table, it can be activated via the Data Menu → Columns setup → Invoice Doc column.

It is very important to enter the invoice number for various program automatism that concern the processing of the various reports and the closing of the amount in the customer card when the invoice is collected.

invoice column

Access the invoice saved in pdf format by clicking on the cell in the Invoice column.

open invoice in transaction row

 Auto-complete of invoice data

When a payment is being recorded or an issued invoice is being corrected, the program offers suggestions to complete the transaction automatically. Proceed as follows:

  • Create a new transaction row and add the date and the eventual document number.
  • Press the F2 key in the Invoice column :
    • The list of still open invoices will appear. If you type an invoice number or a customer number, the list will be filtered according to the entered text.
    • Select the invoice you want from the list and press Enter. The program will automatically complete the registration with the description, the debit or credit account and the amount. The data can of course also be changed manually.
  • In addition to the date, it is also possible to indicate the customer account before pressing F2 to display the list of open invoices, in this case the list will be filtered with the customer account present in the transaction row.

Note

The list displayed in the Invoice column includes both the Customers' and Suppliers' invoices. A supplier's invoice may have the same number as the invoice of another supplier, because the criterion for display takes into consideration the invoice number besides the Supplier's account number. 
 

 Extract invoice rows and Open invoice link commands

extract invoice rows

The Extract invoice rows command displays the transactions for the selected invoice.
The command is available by clicking on the small blue icon at the upper right corner of the cell or with the right mouse button.

The Open Invoice link command provides the text, as defined in the Customers' settings (Reports - Customers - Settings - Advanced - Link to the Invoice document).

On the command line, you can also indicate other columns in the table using their XML name.

If the message 'File with extension considered unsafe' appears, add the extension (for example .doc) using the Tools - Program options, Advanced, File extension command.

 Activating the Address columns (optional)

It is possible to add some specific columns in the Chart of Accounts, to insert the address and other customers data:

  • Choose the Tools → Add new functionalities command from the menu
  • Choose the Add addresses columns in the Accounts table command
    (If you don't see this option in the list, it means that this function has already been activated).

In the Accounts table, the program will add :

  • An Address view, where the added columns are made visible.
  • The columns that allow the insertion of the address data and other information.
    • To display one or more of these columns, use the Columns setup command from the Data menu.
    • To create other views with only selected columns, use the Tables setup command (Data menu).

Select  Accounts table, Address view and add the required information to the customers' accounts.

customer address

 

 Setting up the expiry date for invoices

To set / modify invoice expiration dates, you may act on three levels, where higher priority is given to the first one. Expiration data will be displayed in the payments schedule and printed out on the invoice document.

1. level - setting the expiry date on an individual invoice

In the row of the Transactions table, where your invoice is entered, you will find an Date Exp. column when using the Due Date view. If a date is set up, it will have priority over dates set up on the 2nd or 3rd level.

2. level - setting the expiry date on an individual customer/supplier account

In order to set up an expiration date on a customer level, for example +20 days after issuance of the invoice, select the account in the Accounts table, using the Address view, go to the Days Column  (PaymentTermInDays) to set up the number of days to be used.

3. level - general setup

Expiration dates applying to all Customers/Suppliers can be set up via menu Reports → Customers → Settings.

 

 Setting up the Customers' parameters

 

List of customer invoices

Displaying invoices issued to customers

Reports menu → Customers → Invoices issued to customers...

invoice issued report

This dialog box is identical for both Customers and Suppliers functionalities.
The following explains the functions related to customers, but they also apply to suppliers.

All customers

Displays the account statement of all customers belonging to the group, as defined in the Customers and Suppliers settings.

Select a single customer

Displays the account statement for the customer selected belonging to the group defined in the Customers and Suppliers settings.

Displaying open invoices

Command: Reports → Customers → Open invoices by customer

 Invoices showing an open balance are being listed in this table.

For multi-currency accounting, if there are unposted exchange rate differences for a particular customer, an 'Adjustment exchange rate differences' line will be displayed that balances the balance in the open invoice list with the balance on the account card.

open invoices by customer

Displaying overdue invoices

Command: Reports → Customers → Open invoices by due date

In this table, invoices showing an open balance are being listed, filtered by due date.

customer invoices by due date

The due date of an invoice can be set in different ways. More information can be found on the following page: Due dates and payment terms.

Print statements

To view this window, it is necessary to configure customer settings.

Access the printing of the statements via the menu Reports > Customers > Print statements.

It is essential to install the Customer Statement layout for printing the statement. There are two ways:

  • From the Extensions menu > Manage extensions   select the Customer Statement layout from the list of the extensions and click onto button Install. 
  • From the menu Reports > Customers > Print statements > More layouts select the Customer statement layout.

print customer statement

Statement date

This is the date printed on the statement. It is not possible to set up a date prior to the date of the last existing transaction.

Layout

The styles allow you to change the print layout.

Export PDF

The programme displays a preview of the extracts, with the Export PDF command you can then create the file containing all extracts or PDFs for each extract.

 

Print payment reminders

Feature available with Banana Accounting Plus - any plan (excluding Free plan limitations)

The printing of Payment reminders is accessed from the Reports menu > Customers > Print reminders.

Integrated invoices, print payment reminders

The program automatically creates payment reminders from past due invoices.

  • In addition to the printouts, the program directly creates the transactions in the Transactions table, which are used to recreate the issued reminders history.
  • These transactions show the document date and the document Type: 16-1 first reminder, 16-2 second reminder and 16-3 third reminder.

Use last payment reminders

If in the Transactions table there are reminder transactions with the indicated date, the program will suggest to print these reminders.

Create new payment reminders

For all invoices that have expired, automatic reminder transactions are created in the Transactions table, which allow the printing of reminders.

Integrated invoicing, create new payment reminders

Payment reminders

The program will show the expired invoices, which you can deactivate if you do not wish to send the reminder.

Integrated invoices, layout for printing payment reminders

Template

Two reminder templates are available, one with a logo and one without (see Logo setup)  . It is not possible to include the payment slip, insert notes and free texts.If you need the payment slip, use the Print Reminders Invoices dialogue.

Manage extensions

To update the templates with the latest ones or to add your own custom templates go to the Extensions menu.
It allows you to set the parameters of the selected style.

Show expiry dates

Customers & Suppliers Management

In order to automatically manage the invoices issued or received, we advise you to use the Customers Menu and the Suppliers Menu.

Associate an expiry date to a transaction

As an alternative to the customers and suppliers management, or for simpler checking purposes, you can also enter the payment date manually in the transaction row, in the Date Payment column.

This is an operating mode that consents simplified checkup.

With the Data menu → Columns Setup command, you should display the Date Exp. and Date Pay columns.

You should then enter the invoice expiration date in the Date Exp. column, and the invoice payment date in the Date Pay. column, when the payment is being recorded.

The due date of an invoice can be set in different ways. More information can be found on the following page: Due dates and payment terms.

Show expiry dates

With the Show expiry dates command of the Actions menu, the program displays in the Expiry dates table the transaction rows  that have a due date and no payment date.

Displaying Expiry dates for invoices

To obtain an automatic expiration schedule (Customer and Supplier open positions), see the List of customer invoices page.

 

Invoicing with Banana Accounting

In Banana Accounting Plus, you can create your invoices directly within the accounting file or manage them completely separately using the Estimates and Invoices application.

  • Integrated invoicing in accounting
    Additional functionality included in all accounting applications (double-entry, income/expense, multi-currency, cash manager).
  • Estimates and Invoices application
    A separate application from all other accounting applications, used only to create offers and invoices without any connection to the accounting file. There is no link to the accounting file.

Below is a summary table for the two methods, detailing what they allow you to do and the customisations available.

Legend: ✅ with Professional or Advanced plan, 🔒 only with Advanced plan, ❌ not available

Features

Integrated Invoicing

Offers and Invoices Application

Common Features
Invoice Creation✅Yes, directly in the Transactions table.✅Yes, in the dedicated dialog.
Proforma Invoice Creation🔒 Yes, create the invoice in the Transactions table and print it as a Proforma Invoice (Advanced plan only).🔒 Yes, create the invoice in the dialog and print it as a Proforma Invoice (Advanced plan only).
Estimates Management🔒 No, but an invoice can be created with the "Estimate" label and print it as Estimate (Advanced plan only).
 		✅Yes, in the dedicated dialog.
Payment Reminders Management✅Yes, automated management with the Print Reminders command.🔒 No, create the invoice with the "Reminder" label.
and print it as a Reminder. (Advanced plan only).
Delivery Notes Creation🔒 No, only invoice with "Delivery Note" label.
From the Invoice Printing dialog > Print as > Delivery Note. (Advanced plan only).		🔒 No, only invoice with "Delivery Note" label.
From the Invoice Printing dialog > Print as > Delivery Note. (Advanced plan only).
Order Confirmation Creation🔒 No, only invoice with "Order Confirmation" label.
From the Invoice Printing dialog > Print as > Order Confirmation.  (Advanced plan only).		🔒 No, only invoice with "Order Confirmation" label and print as Order Confirmation. (Advanced plan only).
Header Logo✅Yes, with the Logo setup command ✅Yes, with the Logo setup command 
Sender Address in Header✅Yes, with File and Accounting Properties command.✅Yes, with File and Accounting Properties command.
Invoice Information✅Data of the invoice (invoice number and date, customer number, due date, etc.).✅Data of the invoice (invoice number and date, customer number, due date, etc.). Customizable with additional fields.
Invoice Address (Customer)✅Customer ledger management in the Accounts table, Address view.✅Customer address management in the Contacts table.
Title / Subject✅Yes, customizable via the DocType column in the Transactions table, or in Invoice Settings. ✅Yes, customizable in the Dialog, or in Invoice Settings.
Free Initial Text✅Yes, through the DocType column in the Transactions table, or in Invoice Settings.✅Yes, in the Dialog, or in Invoice Settings.
Default Columns and Column Layout✅Columns in the Transactions table and Items ( Items, Description, Quantity, Unit, Unit Price, Amount, VAT Code).
Display columns in the printout from Invoice Settings.		✅Columns in the Dialog (Date, Item, Description, Quantity, Unit, Unit Price, Discount, Amount, VAT Code).
Display columns in the printout from Invoice Settings.
Custom Columns (Transactions / Items Table)🔒 Uses custom columns in the Transactions and Items tables (Advanced plan only).🔒 Uses custom columns in the Items table (Advanced plan only).
Discounts and Reductions✅Yes, add a line to the invoice via accounting transaction✅Yes, item discount column and overall discount via Invoice Dialog. 
Advance Payments✅Yes, add a line to the invoice via accounting transaction.✅Yes, via Dialog.
Notes and Final Text✅Yes, from the Dialog Options or Invoice Settings or  DocType column✅Yes, via Invoice Dialog > Final Text or from Dialog options or from Invoice Settings
QR Bill with IBAN Account✅Yes, invoices with Swiss QR bill with IBAN account.✅Yes, invoices with Swiss QR bill with IBAN account.
QR Bill with Special QR-IBAN Account✅Yes, invoices with Swiss QR bill with special QR-IBAN account.✅Yes, invoices with Swiss QR bill with special QR-IBAN account.
Style and Color Customization✅Yes, from dialog Invoice Settings > Font type and Colors.✅Yes, from dialog Invoice Settings > Font and Colors.
CSS Customization🔒 Yes, customize invoice styles and appearance via CSS customization (Advanced plan only).🔒 Yes, customize invoice styles and appearance via CSS customization (Advanced plan only).
JavaScript Customization🔒 Yes, set invoice printing via JavaScript customization (Advanced plan only).🔒 Yes, set invoice printing via JavaScript customization (Advanced plan only).
Product Images🔒 Yes, add product or service images to invoices. See Invoice with Product Images (Advanced plan only)🔒 Yes, add product or service images to both offers and invoices  See Invoice with Product Images. (Advanced plan only).
VAT management✅ Yes, print invoices with VAT and manage in accounting. ✅ Yes, only print invoices with VAT 
Multi currency invoices✅ Yes✅ Yes 
Exclusive Features of Integrated Invoicing
Integrated Data in the Accounting File✅Yes, in the Transactions table. ❌No
Revenue Management✅Yes, create invoices on revenue with customer subledger in the Balance sheet.❌No
Cash Basis Accounting Management✅Yes, create invoices upon cash method with Customer subledger via profit centers (CC3).❌No
Reporting✅Yes, account card per customer, history, and open invoice reports per customer and due date.❌No
Payment Reminders Management✅Yes, overdue invoice management and reminder printing with the Print Reminders command.🔒No, manual management of overdue invoices and reminder printing. (Advanced plan only).
Invoice Payment Management✅Yes, registration of invoice collection.✅No, it is possible to manually track paid invoices using the Payment column in the Invoices table.
Exclusive Features of the Estimates and Invoices Application
Offers Management🔒No, create the invoice with the label "Estimate" and print it as an Estimate (Advanced plan only)✅Yes, manage Estimates separately from invoices.
Offer Conversion🔒No, create the invoice with the label "Estimate" and print it as an Estimate (Advanced plan only).✅Yes, convert estimates into invoices with a simple command.

 

Invoicing integrated in the accounting file

The integrated invoicing feature of Banana Accounting Plus uses the customer invoice recording system directly in the Transactions table. It allows you to create prints, including customizable ones, based on customer transaction records.

You can print both invoices for Switzerland with a QR payment slip and international invoices for other countries, even in foreign currency without a QR payment slip.

Creating invoices

The Transactions table is the heart of Banana Accounting and is also used to issue invoices. Nothing could be simpler: To create an invoice, enter a normal transaction that charges the customer.

Banana Accounting also allows you to create invoices in foreign currency.

customer transactions

The main columns for invoicing:

  • Date - Invoice date
  • Invoice - The invoice number.
  • Description - Description of the item to be invoiced.
    If there is more than one item to be invoiced, use another row that has the same customer number.
  • Debit - Customer account.
  • Credit - Profit account.
  • Amount - Invoice amount 
    You can also indicate the quantity, the unit price and the programme calculates the amount.
  • VAT code- VAT code of the profit

Advantages

With Banana Accounting's integrated invoicing you simplify your administrative work, reducing the time needed to manage invoices, customers and accounting transactions:

  • Invoice transactions are always the same for both invoicing and accounting, reducing the possibility of errors and omissions.
  • Banana Accounting automatically generates the related accounting documents, such as VAT registers, customer accounts, receipts registers.
  • You have a more accurate and real-time view of your customers with constantly updated balances.   
  • Lots of automation to make your work easy and with immediate professional results:
    • Automatic retrieval of addresses from contacts so that the data do not have to be re-entered on the invoice.
    • No manual calculations. All calculations are automatic, always accurate and up-to-date.
    • Setting of the language, currency, number of decimals and rounding for each individual invoice.
    • Deadline display.
    • Invoice archiving for a tidy history that is always available for tax audits.
       

Differences with the Estimates and Invoices application

Integrated invoicing is an additional feature included in all accounting applications: double-entry, Income / Expense, Multicurrency, Cash Manager.

Estimates and Invoices is a separate application from all other accounting applications and is used only for creating offers and invoices. There is no connection with the accounting file.

Integrated invoicing is ideal for billing services or sales without the need for many structured details on the invoice.

  • The elements and details for invoices (such as quantities, prices, units, etc.) are recorded solely in the Transactions table. In the Estimates and Invoices application, there is a Invoices table with an Invoice Dialog where various columns and options are available to detail the various items and data to be inserted. In this aspect, the Estimates and Invoices application is much more flexible and comprehensive because it allows for greater customization.
  • In the Transactions table, in addition to the data for invoicing, by entering the Debit and Credit account, the registration remains accounted for in the accounting file without the need to register the invoice subsequently. This is ideal for managing revenue accounting.
    In Estimates and Invoices, the data is not accounted for, so it is necessary to register the invoice in the accounting file. 
  • In integrated invoicing, it's not possible to create offers. However, it is possible to create and print an invoice with the title "Estimate" (instead of "Invoice.")
    The Estimates and Invoices application is specific for creating also Estimates. 

Items Table

The Items Table allows you to manage the article catalogue, keep track of available quantities, sales and purchase prices.

Data for managing articles or services to be invoiced are entered in this table. Each article is assigned an ID, and groupings of articles and services in the same category can be created.
Various columns are available for complete and detailed information:

  • Article (IdArticle): the code of the article.
  • Description: the description of the article.
  • Group membership
  • Account (for accounting)
  • VAT code of the sale
  • Unit: an abbreviation to define the type to which the quantity refers (pieces, hours...)
  • Sale: the unit sales price.
  • Purchase cost.

The Items table is linked to the Items columns of the Transactions table.

The use of the Articles table speeds up the entry of invoice data into the Transactions table. By entering the ID (article code), the programme automatically takes over the description, unit and unit price. By entering the Quantity, the total price to be invoiced is calculated and entered.

aggiungere tabella articoli

Print invoice with Swiss QR Bulletin

After entering the invoice data in the Transactions table, you can create and print invoices with the Print Layouts.

From the Menu,  Reports > Customers > Print Invoices:

If you use this layout, the bulletin with Swiss QR will be printed on the invoice and the reference data will appear on the statements. You can import customer payment data from the bank with the Bank statement extension Camt ISO 20022 Switzerland (Banana+). You have invoice receipts under control.

It is possible to print the invoice with a QR bulletin even without an amount and without an address, leaving an empty box to manually insert the data. More information is available on the QR-Code Customization page, section Include/Exclude from printing.

With the same registration, from the Print Invoices dialogue box, under Preferences Layout > Print as you can also choose to print Delivery Notes, Offers and Reminders.

Print International Invoices

After entering the invoice data in the Transactions table, you can create and print invoices with the Print Layouts.

From the Menu,  Reports > Customers > Print Invoices:

With the same registration, from the Print Invoices dialogue box, under Preferences Layout > Print as you can also choose to print Delivery Notes, Offers and Reminders.

Invoice Structure

In this image you can see how the invoice is structured:

preview print invoice 

stampa fattura passo 1

 

Logo

Insert a personalized logo from menu file → Logo setup

stampa fatture passo 2

 

Heading

The heading of the invoice will be identical to the one entered 
menu File → File and accounting properties → Address tab

stampa fattue passo 3

 

Customer Address

The customer's address will be retrieved from Accounts table, see Setting up customer accounts.

stampa fatture passo 4

 

Invoice data

The contents of the invoice must be entered in the Transactions table, learn how to enter invoices.

stampa fatture passo 5

 

Free texts

Insert begin text, notes and greetings using the Column Type, and ending texts from menu Reports→ Clients → Print Invoices → Option layout.

stampa fatture passo 6

 

Settings Swiss QR-Code

Settings can only be defined for Switzerland and with the [CH10] Swiss QR Code layout .

Customer Management

Customer Management allows you to record, organise and manage customer information, keeping track of customer transactions and payments, payment due dates and contact information. You can track customer payments, update the payment status of issued invoices as well as enter and print invoices.

In Banana Accounting the customer data is set up in the Accounts table.

In order to create invoices, it is necessary to:

With a range of functions you can manage the:

Creating an invoice from a profit centre

When the customer ledger is set up with profit centres (cash method management), the profit centre column CC3 is used in the invoice transactions.

In the appropriate columns of the Transactions table indicate:

  • The date.
  • The invoice number.
  • The description of the invoice item, which you want to appear on the invoice.
    If there is more than one item to be invoiced, use another row with the same customer number.
  • In the Debit account do not record any account
  • In the Credit account do not record any account
  • The amount. You can also enter the quantity and the unit price and the programme will calculate the amount.
  • In column CC3 enter the customer's profit centre account (Accounts table).

Invoice with coster center

 Features currently not available

These features, although requested by some users, are not available at the moment:

  • Automated invoice sending by email.
  • Creation of estimates.
    The programme allows you to print an invoice with the indication 'Estimate'.
  • Creation of delivery notes.
    The programme allows an invoice to be printed with the indication 'Delivery Note'.
  • Link with Inventory application.
  • Link with Timesheet.
  • Creation of invoices in foreign currency with VAT in base currency (e.g. invoices in EUR with VAT in CHF).
     

If you want to issue invoices separately from accounting (useful for cash accounting) and also prepare estimates, you may use: 

This also allows you to add additional information more easily.

Full list of features currently not available in Banana+

Insights

Related topics:

Setting up the file

There are two ways to set up your accounting file for your invoicing

  1. Create a new accounting file, using an existing template.
  2. Adapt your existing accounting file.

New Accounting File

Several templates are available, containing a preset ledger of clients. Creating Invoicing is possible in the following accounting types:

  • Double-entry accounting with or without vat.
  • Multi-currency accounting with or without vat.
  • Income & Expense accounting with or without vat.

A new accounting file is created as follows:

  • File Menu > New.
  • Select the Region and the language.
  • Type Invoice in the Filter by field.
  • Select a template in the right hand section.
  • Save your file with a name.

Please follow the instructions contained in the Invoicing documentation.

In the accounting types with VAT, in order to correctly set up the file, we advise you to consult the explanations on the page Invoice printing and VAT.

Adapt your existing Accounting File

If you wish to adapt your existing accounting file for creating your invoices, you will have to add certain functions and settings in order to be able to print them:

Insert the data for your company
  • In the File menu > File and accounting properties... > Address, you can setup your company's address and data, which will be used as the header of the invoice.
  • To use your personal logo, check instructions here.
     
Set the list of customers in the Accounts table

Add the columns you wish to use in the Transactions table

  • Display the columns for Invoicing in the Transactions table: 
    • Data menu > Columns setup and check the DocType and DocInvoice boxes.
    • Add the columns for Quantity and Unit Price (optional).
      Tools Menu > Add new functionalities > Add Items Columns in Transactions table.
    • Add Items table (optional).
      This will assist you keep track of your Items and micro-manage your inventory.
      Tools Menu > Add new functionalities > Add Items table.

​​In the accounting types with VAT, in order to correctly set up the file, we advise you to consult the explanations on the page Invoice printing and VAT.

Invoicing managed in a file dedicated to Invoicing only,

If you wish to manage your invoicing separately from your main accounting, you will have to create a new file. You will insert the accounts for the clients you need for the Invoicing only, in your Plan of Accounts. Invoices are entered via the Transactions table.
This approach is suitable for when:

  • Accounting on a cash-in basis. Only the the payed amount is entered in the accounting file.
  • Wishing to keep the management of your invoices completely separate from your main accounting ledger, for example for an Association that needs to send membership fees to their members.

How to create a separate accounting file for invoices:

  1. Download the template, open it and adjust it to your requirements.
    Alternatively, you may start out with any template and adapt it - as previously indicated - for use with invoicing.
  2. Make sure al setups and and columns are present, as explained above.
     

Entering invoices in the transaction rows.

Before proceeding with the creation of invoices, it is necessary to establish the accounting method. The methods are as follows:

Issuing invoices with VAT with the Cash method

The Banana Accounting procedure for VAT management requires entering the VAT code on the same line where the revenue is recorded. 

Revenue is recognized only when the invoice is actually paid, recording transactions at the time of collection. 

It is necessary to set up the customer sub-ledger in the accounts table via the CC3 Profit Center.

customers-suppliers-accounts

Therefore, in cash-based VAT management, the VAT code is entered only when the invoice is collected.

Invoice data is entered in the Transactions table. For each new invoice, enter a new transaction line.

  • Indicate the date of the transaction.
  • The invoice number
    • For invoicing with Swiss QR with IBAN account, use only numbers or letters, without spaces, separators, or other characters. The maximum allowed length is 7 characters.
    • For invoicing with Swiss QR with QR-IBAN, use only numbers without spaces, separators, or other characters. The maximum allowed length is 7 digits.
    • If Swiss QR is not used, the invoice number can be freely chosen.
    • Each invoice must have a unique invoice number, even across multiple accounting years. This is important because using the same invoice number over multiple years is still considered a single document. If you wish to repeat the same invoice number, you must add the year to the invoice number or another identifier to distinguish it from previous years' invoices (e.g., 1234524, 1234525).
    • The description text (products, services, consulting...) that will appear on the customer's invoice.
    • The Debit account must remain empty.
    • The Credit account must remain empty.
    • Enter the amount.
    • In cases subject to VAT, enter the VAT sales code in square brackets (e.g., "[V81]").
      The VAT code entered in square brackets allows the VAT amount to be displayed on the invoice, without being recorded until the payment is registered.

Invoice with multiple lines

When there are multiple items to be invoiced (different products or services, or both), they must be recorded on multiple lines (one item per line):

  • Enter a new transaction line for each item you want to print on the invoice.
  • On each additional line, repeat the date and invoice number, identical to the previous lines.

Basic columns

Date
The invoice will show the date indicated in this column. All lines belonging to the document must have the same date.

Invoice
For invoice management, an invoice number must be entered in the Invoice column.

Description
A description of the products or services being invoiced. These texts appear on the invoice.

Debit
Use the column only to record the invoice payment, entering the liquidity account (bank, post,...).

Credit
Use the column only to record the invoice payment, entering the revenue account.

Amount
An amount. If VAT is managed, enter the gross amount (including VAT).

VAT Code
The VAT code corresponding to the revenue account (sales or services):

  • For invoice issuance, the VAT code must be entered in square brackets (e.g., "[V81]").
  • For recording the invoice payment, the VAT revenue code must be entered without square brackets.

CC3
A customer account present in the Accounts table, in the CC3 Profit Center group.

Optional columns

Type
In the Type column, detail rows can be defined, such as totalization rows or a specific payment term for an invoice.
This column is not visible by default, but it must be displayed via the menu Data > command Columns setup and checking the DocType column.

Quantity
The quantity of goods or services to be invoiced.
To add the quantity column, use the menu Tools > Add/remove functionalities > Add Item column in the Transactions table.

Unit
A type of unit (e.g., 'pz', 'h', 'm', 'kg').

Unit Price
The unit price related to the goods or services.
The program automatically calculates the total amount based on the quantities entered in the Quantity column.

 

Invoicing and VAT on turnover

The standard procedure of Banana Accounting in VAT management requires entering the VAT code always on the line where the revenue is recorded.

Issued invoices are immediately recorded and accounted for. Revenues are recognized at the time of invoice issuance.

It is necessary to set up the customer ledger in the Accounts table. At the end of the year, customer accounts must appear in the balance sheet.

customers suppliers accounts

Therefore, in VAT management on turnover, the VAT code is entered when creating the invoice.

Invoice data is entered in the Transactions table. For each new invoice, enter a new transaction row.

  • Enter the date of the transaction
  • The invoice number
    • For invoicing with Swiss QR with IBAN account, use only numbers or letters, without spaces, separators, or other characters. The maximum allowed length is 7 characters.
    • For invoicing with Swiss QR with QR-IBAN, use only numbers without spaces, separators, or other characters. The maximum allowed length is 7 digits.
    • If Swiss QR is not used, the invoice number can be freely chosen.
    • Each invoice must have a unique invoice number, even across multiple accounting years. It is important because using the same invoice number across years is considered as a single document. If you wish to repeat the same invoice number, add the year to the invoice number or another identifier to distinguish it from previous years' invoices (e.g., 1234524, 1234525).
  • The description text (products, services, consulting...) that will appear on the customer’s invoice
  • In the Debit account, enter the customer account number
  • In the Credit account, enter the contraccount (Sales account, Consulting, or others)
  • Enter the amount
  • If subject to VAT, enter the VAT Code with the applicable VAT percentage. See Invoice printing and VAT management.

Integrated invoicing, Transactions table

Multi-row Invoice

When there are multiple items to be invoiced (various products or services or both), they must be recorded on multiple lines (one item per line):

  • Enter a new transaction row for each item to be printed on the invoice.
  • On each additional line, repeat the date and invoice number, the same as the previous lines.

Basic Columns

Date
The invoice will display the date indicated in this column. All rows belonging to the document must have the same date.

Invoice
For invoice management, an invoice number must be entered in the Invoice column.

Description
A description of the products or services to be invoiced. These texts appear on the invoice.

Debit
A customer account that belongs to the ledger in the Accounts table.

Credit
A revenue account in the Accounts table.

Amount
An amount. If VAT is managed, enter the gross amount (including VAT).

VAT Code
The VAT code corresponding to the revenue account (sales or services).

Optional Columns

Type
In the Type column, you can define detail rows, such as subtotal rows or a specific payment term for an invoice.
This column is not visible by default but must be enabled through the menu Data > command Arrange columns and checking the column DocType.

Quantity
The quantity of goods or services to be invoiced.
To add the quantity column, use the menu Tools > Add new features > Add Items columns in the Transactions table.

Unit
A type of unit (e.g., 'pcs', 'h', 'm', 'kg').

Unit Price
The unit price for the goods or service.
The program automatically calculates the total amount based on the quantities entered in the Quantity column.

 

Invoicing and VAT net tax rate method

If you are subject to VAT under the balance rate or flat-rate regime with the cash-based system, you must record the invoice issuance to the customer and its accounting registration separately, for the following reasons:

  1. Invoice to be sent to the customer:
    It must show a normal commercial VAT rate (e.g., 8.1%), as required by tax regulations.
  2. Accounting of the invoice:
    It must instead be recorded in accounting with the effective balance rate (e.g., 6.2%), using the corresponding VAT code (e.g., F1).

This approach is essential to ensure that the VAT paid corresponds to the applicable reduced regime, while still maintaining a formally correct invoice for the customer.

fattura con aliquota saldo

Issuing the invoice to the customer

To issue the invoice to the customer, proceed as follows:

In the Accounts Table:

In the Transactions table:

  • Enter the date and description in the corresponding columns
  • In the Amount column, enter the amount
  • The Debit and Credit columns must remain empty.
  • In the VAT Code column, type the code V81 in square brackets  [V81]. 
    VAT codes in square brackets do not generate any VAT entry.
  • In the CC3 column, indicate the profit center number without semicolon (e.g., 10001). 

Since there are no accounts in the Debit and Credit columns, the invoice creation entry will not be recorded in accounting.

Recording the invoice with VAT balance rate

When recording an invoice subject to VAT with a balance rate in accounting, it is sufficient to proceed as with a normal entry, indicating the accounts in the Debit and Credit columns and entering the VAT code corresponding to the balance rate (e.g., F1).

Two recording systems can be used to register the invoice with the balance rate:

  • Recording with split
    In the VAT codes table, VAT percentages have been assigned to balance rate VAT codes. In the transactions table, by entering the balance rate VAT code (e.g., F1), the program automatically enters the corresponding VAT percentage (e.g., 6.2) and the VAT amount.
  • Recording without split, by entering the balance rate VAT code (e.g., F1), percentage and amount are not entered. At the end of the period, the specific extension for calculating balance VAT is used. 
    Based on the rate defined in the extension dialog, the program:
    • Identifies all entries with balance rate VAT code.
    • Automatically calculates the VAT due for the reporting period.
    • Totals the amounts on a periodic basis (e.g., monthly, quarterly, yearly).

 

Discounts and reductions

To enter a discount or reduction in an invoice, add a new row and enter:

  • Invoice date
  • Invoice number
  • Description of the discount or reduction
  • Accounts in the Debit and Credit columns. It is important to invert the accounts compared to the sales transaction.
    When the customers / suppliers register is set up with cost centers and there are registrations with discounts and reductions, in order for the amount to be reversed, the sign of the cost centers must be inverted.
  • In case of VAT, indicate the VAT code with the minus sign, so that the VAT is deducted, or, if present use the VAT code for discount and reductions.

discounts in Billing

 

Invoicing and VAT with balance rate using the invoicing method

The Banana Accounting procedure for VAT management requires entering the VAT code always on the line where the income is recorded. When accounting is managed based on turnover, the income is recorded when the invoice is issued. 

When subject to VAT using the balance rates or flat-rate method, customer invoices must be issued using the normal rates (e.g., 8.1%). However, the accounting of invoices under the balance rates or flat-rate method involves reduced rates (e.g., 6.2%).

  • If the amounts are gross, you can record them based on turnover or on cash received, by entering the VAT code in square brackets.
  • If the amounts are net, it is not possible to create and post the invoices at the same time. In this case, it is necessary to manage:
    • The creation of invoices in an accounting file, using the integrated invoicing or with the Offers and Invoices Application
    • The posting of invoices in the accounting file.
      In this case, the creation of the invoices must be handled in an accounting file or with the Offers and Invoices Application, and the posting in a separate accounting file.

Issuing an Invoice with Balance Rate and Gross Amounts

To issue an invoice to customers with the normal rate (e.g., 8.1%), it is necessary to create in the Accounts table:

  • A customer sub-account using the CC3 profit centers (example: ;10001), completing all customer information in the columns of the Address view.
  • Enter the date and description in the corresponding columns.
  • The Debit and Credit columns must remain empty.
  • In the Amount column, enter the amount.
  • In the VAT Code column, type the code V81 in square brackets [V81].
    VAT codes in square brackets do not result in any VAT posting.
  • In the CC3 column, indicate the profit center account without a semicolon (e.g., 10001).
    As there are no accounts in the Debit and Credit columns, the invoice creation entry will not be posted.

Posting an Invoice with Balance Rate and Gross Amounts

When recording the invoice in the accounting, to post it using the VAT balance rate, you must enter the transaction as usual, also entering the accounts in the Debit and Credit columns and the VAT code of the balance rate:

  • If the VAT breakdown method is used, enter the VAT code for the balance rate (e.g., F1). In this case, the VAT Codes table includes the VAT rates for the balance. In example F1 corresponds to 6.2%.
  • If the non-VAT breakdown  method is used, enter the VAT code without rate (e.g., F1). In the VAT code table, the balance rate codes do not have rates.

To post the invoice using the balance rate, it is necessary to create in the Accounts table:

  • A customer sub-account using balance sheet accounts.
  • Enter the date and description in the corresponding columns.
  • In the Debit column, enter the customer account (e.g., 10001).
  • In the Credit column, enter the income account.
  • In the Amount column, enter the amount.
  • In the VAT Code column, type the VAT code for the balance rate (e.g., F1)

invoice with balance rate on actuals

 

 

 

 

Rundung der Mehrwertsteuer auf der Rechnung

Beim Drucken von Rechnungen, die in die Buchhaltung integriert sind, entspricht der Gesamtbetrag der Mehrwertsteuer (MWST) der Summe der einzelnen MWST-Buchungen, die die gleiche Rechnung ausmachen. Da die einzelnen MWST-Buchungen auf die nächsten Hundertstel gerundet werden, kann es bei der Berechnung der MWST auf den Gesamtrechnungsbetrag zu einer Differenz kommen.

Betrachten Sie zum besseren Verständnis das folgende Beispiel:

  • Zeile 1: 7,7% von CHF 187.50 = CHF 14.4375 -> Aufgerundet: CHF 14.44
  • Zeile 2: 7,7% von CHF 875.00 = CHF 67.375 -> Aufgerundet: CHF 67.38
  • Total: 7,7% von CHF 1062.50 = CHF 81.8125 -> Abgerundet: CHF 81.81

Auf der Rechnung wird ein Mehrwertsteuerbetrag von CHF 81.82 anstelle von CHF 81.81 ausgewiesen. Tatsächlich entspricht der Betrag von CHF 81.82 der Summe der für jeden Artikel einzeln berechneten Mehrwertsteuer (CHF 14.44 + CHF 67.38).

Diese Vorgehensweise wird angewendet, um Differenzen zwischen den in der Buchhaltung verbuchten und den auf der Rechnung ausgewiesenen Mehrwertsteuerbeträgen zu vermeiden. Auf diese Weise stimmt der Gesamtbetrag der Mehrwertsteuer in der Buchhaltung mit dem in der Rechnung ausgewiesenen Betrag überein.

Weitere Informationen sind auf der Webseite Rechnungen ausdrucken und MWST verwalten verfügbar.
 

Set customer language

The default layouts include the following languages: Italian, German, English, French, Dutch.

Invoice texts are printed in the customer's language, provided that this is set in the Language column (Accounts table, Address view).
The language is an ISO code, generally of 2 lowercase letters (it=italian, de=german, en=english, fr=french, nl=dutch).

When no language has been indicated for the customer account, the language of the accounting is used, defined in the File menu→ File and accounting properties (basic data) → Other.

set customer language in invoices

Due dates and payment terms

The due date of an invoice can be set up in different ways: 

  • Generalized due date - identical due date for all invoices
    Select menu Reports→ Customers → Settings → General → Invoices are due, indicate the period (in days) after which the invoice is considered due. As an example, if the date of your document is the 10th of May and you enter a value of 10 days, the due date will be the 20th of May. 
  • Due dates per customer - specific for each customer
    In the Accounts table, a DateExpiration column is available (if not on display set up via Data → Columns setup ...). The period (in days) after which the invoice is considered to be due can be set up in this column.
  • Specific dates per invoice
    In the Transactions table, Due dates view, the Date Exp. column is visble; you can indicate the expiration date directly in this column.

  • Alternative text for the expiration date
    It is possible to define a text of your choice as a payment term for each invoice. This will replace the text of the expiration date. Revert to Advanced input -Type column for detailed information.

Print invoices in other currencies

With Banana Accounting Plus, you can also print invoices in foreign currency.

Invoices in foreign currency to be sent to foreign clients.

Required settings:

  • Open one of our multi-currency accounting templates.
  • Set up in the Accounts table, in the customer ledger, the customer with the foreign currency. Invoices are printed in the currency of the customer's account.
  • If you want to send invoices in different currencies to the same customer, you must create accounts in different currencies for the same customer (Accounts table).
  • Use the UNI11 layout for printing invoices to be sent abroad.

Invoices in foreign currency with VAT in base currency

It is not normally possible to enter a foreign currency invoice with VAT in base currency. This can be overcome with the following procedures:

Invoices in foreign currencies with VAT using Cash principle

  • Open one of our multi-currency accounting templates with VAT with cost centres CC3.
  • Set up in the Accounts table, customers in foreign currencies as CC3 cost centres (;).
    If you wish to send invoices in different currencies to the same customer, you must create accounts in different currencies for the same customer (Accounts table).
  • In the Transactions table, you must enter the invoice data on several rows:
    •     In the first row:
      • In the Amount column enter the amount net of VAT (without entering any debit or credit account).
      • In the column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency.
    • In the second line:
      • In the Amount column enter the VAT amount in foreign currency (without entering any debit or credit account), manually calculating the VAT amount in foreign currency.
      •  In column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency.
  • For printing invoices with Swiss QR code use layout CH10.

To register the receipt:

  • In the Debit column enter the liquidity account.
  • In the Debit column enter the revenue account.
  • In the VAT Code column enter the VAT code of the sale.
  • In the column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency with a negative sign.

Example: Invoice entry in foreign currency (EUR) with VAT on receipts in base currency (CHF):

vati cash principale

Invoices in foreign currencies with VAT on turnover

  • Open one of our multi-currency accounting templates with VAT and a customer ledger.
  • In the Accounts table, set the customers in foreign currencies both as a ledger (Accounts) and as CC3 cost centres (;).
  • In the Transactions table, you must enter the invoice data on several rows:
    •  In the first line enter the invoice issue normally:
      • The date, the description, in the Debit account the customer account in foreign currency and in the Debit account the revenue, the amount before VAT and the VAT code of the sale.
      • The invoice number does not have to be entered.
    • In the second line:
      • In the Amount column enter the invoice amount net of VAT (without entering any debit or credit account).
      • In column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency.
      • Where the columns Quantity, Unit and Unit Price are used, the unit price must be net of VAT.
    • In the third line:
      • In the Amount column enter the VAT amount in foreign currency (without entering any debit or credit account), manually calculating the VAT amount in foreign currency.
      • In column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency.

Rows with cost centres are simply used to search invoices in foreign currency with VAT.

To register the receipt:

  • In the Debit column enter the liquidity account.
  • In the Debit column enter the customer's foreign currency account.
  • In the column CC3 enter the customer's cost centre account in foreign currency with a negative sign.

Example: Invoice entry in foreign currency (EUR) with VAT on turnover in base currency (CHF):

vat tournover

 

Advanced input Type column

The Type column in the Transactions table can be used to define the commands that are relevant to the display for printing data specific to your Invoice.
Check the DocType column via menu Data → Columns setup ..., to display the column and use it.

Entering data

Once the column is displayed, you may proceed by entering your data. You will need to:

  • Add an empty row after the Date of the Invoice.
  • Enter the date of the Invoice in the Date column.
  • Enter the required command in the Type column (refer to table below)
  • Enter the Invoice number in the Invoice column.
  • Enter the data relevant to appear on the Invoice in the Description column.

 

Invoice to the customer

Typing 10: the Type column will list all possible options available to customize the data of your invoice.

Invoice data Column Type Description column

Client address

If you want the address to look differently from the one defined in the Accounts table (Address view), you can change it using using the appropriate options.

On each row a different element of the address is indicated (name, surname, address...).

10:adr:fna
10:adr:lna
10:adr:bna

10:adr:str1
10:adr:str2
10:adr:str3
10:adr:cod
10:adr:cit
10:adr:sta
10:adr:cou

Enter name
Enter surname
Enter name of company/organization
Enter line 1 of address
Enter line 2 of address
Enter line 3 of address
Enter postal code
Enter the location
Enter the state /province
Enter the country
Shipping address 10:sadr:pna
10:sadr:fna
10:sadr:lna
10:sadr:str1
10:sadr:cod
10:sadr:cit		 Enter prefix
Enter name
Enter surname
Enter line 1 of address
Enter postal code
Enter the country

Greetings

After the invoice details, you may add a line of text for your final greetings (also see Examples invoices).

 10:gre Enter your greetings

Final notes

One or several rows of notes can be inserted after the details of the invoice and before the greetings (also see Examples invoices).

 10:not Enter your notes

Order date

 10:ordd Enter the order date

Order number

 10:ordn Enter the order number

Parameters (advanced)

When wanting to print personalized data on the invoice, you can use the appropriate command.

This option is aimed at users with JavaScript programming knowledge, and allows you to change the invoice layout, so as to use the parameters indicated via this command.

For further information please revert to Printing custom data.

 10:par Enter your customized parameters

Payment term

Should you want to indicate an alternative text as a payment term, enter the desired text. This will be displayed on the invoice.

 10:ter Enter the alternative text for the payment term

Text begin

 10:beg Enter the text printed before the invoice title

Title

If you do not wish to use the default invoice title, you can choose a different title.  

 10:tit Enter your text to appear as the invoice title

Items subtotals

It is possible to enter intermediate totals for your invoice in the table with the details of the invoice (also see Examples invoices).

10:tot
10:tot:0
10:tot:1
10:tot:2

Enter level 0 subtotal
(tot and tot: 0 is always level 0)
Enter level 1 subtotal
Enter level 2 subtotal

Header line text

In the invoice details table you can add headers to group items (also see Examples invoices).

 10:hdr Enter the text you want to add to the invoice details.
Leave empty to add an empty line.

 Intermediate Totals

In order to insert intermediate totals, you will need to add additional rows in the Transactions table:

  • Enter 10 in the Type column: select :tot from the drop down menu, 10:tot will display. Enter again : and enter :1
  • Enter the appropriate description in the Description column (ex. Total goods)
  • Enter the Invoice number (in the absence of number, the total will not be printed).

Invoice with subtotals

Example of Invoice with intermediate totals.

Print invoice with intermediate totals

 Alternative text for payment terms

It is possible to define your own wording as a payment term for each invoice and this will replace the existing text for the expiry date. 

  • Enter an additional line with the same invoice number in the Transactions table.
  • You will need to enter 10: in the Type column and select :ter from the drop-down menu, therefore the wording 10:ter will appear
  • In the Description column, enter your text (ex 30 days net, 60 days etc ..).

When the invoice is printed, the value assigned as a payment term will be displayed.

Additional customisations

Other customisation options, such as the definition of bank details or final greetings, are available in the Print invoices dialog.

Customise invoice printing

Invoice printing can be customised and adapted to specific needs.

Set your company address (sender)

In the File menu → File and accounting properties (Basic data) → Address , set the address of your company.

Set up the list of customers in the Accounts table

Retrieving customer addresses from Excel

When customer data is on an Excel file, it can easily be taken back to the Accounts table, Address view.

It is assumed that in the Accounts table, at the end of the Chart of Accounts, there is the customer or shareholder register set up. Make sure you have enough empty rows to insert the data copied from Excel.

Proceed as follows:

  • Select from Excel the column with the data to be copied and use the Copy (Ctrl+C) command.
  • Go to Banana, Accounts table (Address view), position yourself in the corresponding column and issue the Paste (Ctrl+V or Paste) command from the Edit menu.
  • Repeat this operation for all address columns (Account, First Name, Last Name, Organisation, Street, Zip, Country Code, Language).
    The data corresponding to the mentioned columns are required for printing the invoice.
  • If you do not have all the columns mentioned in the Excel file, you must add the missing information manually.

Set customer language

You can print invoices in the customers' language. To do this you must first set the customer's language.

Logo setup position and sender address

To set the logo, you must:

  • Upload the logo image in the menu File → Logo setup.
  • To use the logo in the invoice, in the Invoice Settings you must activate the Logo box and enter the name of the customisation you used, respecting upper and lower case, in the Logo Name field.

For example, you can place the logo on the left and the address on the right and change the size of the logo.

The sender's address, if the default settings are not changed, is entered on the right, regardless of the presence of the logo.

If you want to set the sender address on the left without any logo, please see the following page:

Customise address in invoice header

The style of the sender's address in the invoice header (colour, size, font..) is set by default by the program.

The Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus allows you to customize the style of the address. For more information see the Examples page.

Set invoice information

Invoice information is information about the date, customer number, due date, etc., which is usually located just below the header and next to the customer address.
The CH10 and UNI11 layouts allow you to define which invoice information to include and which to exclude from printing. You can find instructions on the Invoice Settings page.

For the other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the information cannot be modified.

Set the payment term

The payment term for invoices by default is 30 days from the invoice date.

To change the payment term proceed as follows:

  • In the Transactions table, ad a row to the invoice
  • In the Date column enter the invoice date
  • In the DocType column enter 10:ter (:ter Term of payment)
  • In the Invoice column enter the invoice number
  • In the Description column enter the desired payment term (for example "10 days")

Your text will be shown in the invoice Information.

Set customer address position

The CH10 and UNI11 layouts allow you to define the position of the customer address and the elements of the address. Please visit the  Invoice Settings page for more information.

For other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the location and composition of the customer address cannot be changed.

Set shipping address

To enter a shipping address in addition to the customer address, proceed as follows:

  • Use the Type column of the Transactions table , command 10:sadr.
    •  Add a line to the invoice in the Transactions table .
    • In the Date column, enter the date of the invoice
    • In the Type column, enter::
      • 10:sadr:fna for the name.
      • 10:sadr:lna for the surname.
      • 10:sadr:str1 for the address (street and number).
      • 10:sadr:cod for the postcode.
      • 10:sadr:cit for the location.
    • In the Invoice column, enter the invoice number.
    • In the Description column, enter the text to be displayed.
  • With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, go to Invoice settings → Customer address section and tick the Shipping address entry.
    The data entered via the Type column of the Invoice table are taken over and inserted on the printout of the invoice.

Set title/object

To enter the title/object of the invoice, you have two options:

  • Use the DocType column from the Transactions table, entering the text 10:it
    • For each invoice you can define a title.
    • If you leave the field empty, the default text is used.
    • A text entered in the DocType column always has priority over entering the title in the layout settings (see next point).
  • With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you can enter the text in the invoice Settings→ Texts section → Invoice title.
    • The title applies to all invoices printed with this layout.
    • The title applies only if no title has been defined as per the first point.

If no text is entered, the program will use the default text.

Set initial text

To enter the title/object of the invoice, you have two options:

  • Use the DocType column from the Transactions table, entering the text 10:beg
    • For each invoice you can define a title.
    • If you leave the field empty, the default text is used.
    • A text entered in the DocType column always has priority over entering the title in the layout settings (see next point).
  • With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you can enter the text in the invoice Settings → Texts section → Begin text.
    • The title applies to all invoices printed with this layout.
    • The title applies only if no title has been defined as per the first point.

Setting up the invoice details

Use the Transactions table to enter invoice data.

See also Discounts and rebates.

With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you decide which columns to display in the printout. See how to do this on the page Invoice Settings → Invoice Details.

For the other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the columns are not editable.

 Set final texts

To enter the final text of the invoice proceed as follows:

  • From the Invoice Print Dialog → Options section
  • Select the desired language
  • Enter the text in the Final text field
  • This text is applied to any print layout.

The CH10 and UNI11 layouts also allow you to define a final text from the Invoice Settings

  • Go to Invoice Settings → Texts section→ End text field and enter your text for each language.
  • This text is applied to all invoices in the same .ac2 file created with that layout.
  • This text has priority to whatever text has been entered in the has priority over the text entered from the Invoice Print Dialog.

To set different final texts for each invoice, you must use the DocType column of the Transactions table:

  • In the DocType column, enter 10:not (Notes).
  • In the Description column, enter the desired end text. The text you enter will appear on a single line.
  • To add additional rows of notes, you must repeat the entry in the DocType and Description columns on multiple rows.

Set bank account number

If you don't use the QR-Code, you need to enter the bank account number as a reference for the invoice payment.

See the chapter above Set final texts to enter the bank account number.

Set IBAN for Swiss QR-Code printing

If you want to create QR invoices with IBAN account, you need to:

On the QR-Invoice with IBAN account page you will find more information for setting up QR-invoices with IBAN account.

Set up QR-IBAN for Swiss QR-Code printing

If you want to create QR-invoices with QR-IBAN account, you have to:

On the QR-Invoice with QR-IBAN page you can find more information about the settings of QR-invoices with QR-IBAN account.

Print the invoice with QR bulletin without amount and address

If you wish to print an invoice without specifying the amount and address on the QR bulletin, you can find more information is available on the QR-Code Customization page, section Include/Exclude from printing.

If you want to print only the QR-bill without amount and customer address, you have to:

See also how to print an Invoice without amount.

Set styles and colors

Invoice print layouts also have a setting where you can define:

  • The font
    • Enter the name of the font (e.g. Arial, Helvetica, etc).
  • The colors
    • You can use the English designation (black, yellow, white, blue, red, etc.).
    • Or the hexadecimal value (HEX) preceded by the # sign (e.g. #000000, #009FE3, #FF00EA).
    • Color codes are easily found on the internet. For example, you can consult the table at https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_colors.asp.

The CH10 and UNI11 layouts also have an Invoice Settings to define font size.

Set Bold texts

In the Invoice settings page you will find information on how to apply bold style to invoice texts.

 Adding images to invoices

The Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus allows you to add images to the offers and invoices to be sent to customers.
This functionality makes the invoice even more customizable and the client who receives it has a more complete and direct vision of the invoicing of the items.

See our information pages on how to add images:

Close cashed invoices

There are two ways to close open invoices:

Other resources

Print invoices

Invoice printing is highly customisable and adaptable to all requirements: 

For more information on customisation, see:

With the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus it is also possible to print several invoices at the same time and obtain single PDFs for each of them! For more information visit the page Print invoices or customer statements as separate PDFs.

Invoice printing is done from the menu Reports > Customers > Print invoices.

Print invoices

From here you can:

  • Select the invoice or invoices you wish to print.
  • Set the layout to be used for printing the invoice.
  • Access the layout settings to customise the printout.

Once the print options have been chosen, the OK button displays the invoice in the print preview window.

From the invoice preview you can:

  • Print the invoice.
  • Save it in PDF so that you can easily send it by e-mail
  • Save the invoice in other formats.
  • Access the Print Invoices dialogue.

Invoice numbers

You can print single or multiple invoices:

  • For single prints, indicate the number of the invoice.
  • For multiple prints, indicate the numbers of the invoices  between commas "1,3,6".
  • To print a range ( from..to..) indicate the numbers separated by hyphen "1-3" .
    If the invoice itself contains a '-', for example if you have an invoice number '2016-1', this must be enclosed in brackets {}, to distinguish the numbering of a range of documents {2016-1}-{2016-3}.

Invoices from

This option allows you to print all invoices included in the selected period. You need to enter an initial and final date.

Unprinted invoices

Invoices where the InvoicePrinted column of the Transactions table is empty are printed. All unprinted invoices are therefore printed.

Layout

The styles allow you to change the invoice layout.

Layout Preferences

Requirements to be able to use the layout preferences:

This option allows you to set the preferences offered by the selected layout.
If a layout with no preferences is selected, this section is not displayed in the dialogue box.

  • Print as
        You can select the type of document you wish to print, the choices are:
    • Automatic: prints the document in invoice format.
    • Delivery note with amounts: prints the document as a delivery note.
    • Delivery note without amounts: prints the document as a delivery note, without showing the amounts and the total.
    • Estimate: prints document as estimate.
    • Order confirmation: prints the document as order confirmation.
    • Proforma Invoice: prints document as proforma invoice.
    • Invoice: prints the document in invoice format.
    • QR Slip: prints only the QR slip (for layout CH10 only).
    • 1st reminder: prints the document as first reminder.
    • 2nd reminder: prints the document as second reminder.
    • 3rd reminder: prints document as third reminder.

The chosen document type is not saved for the next time, instead it is set to "automatic" again.

Layout preferences are offered by the following layouts:

Other layouts

This button takes you to the Manage extensions dialog window, where you can install new layouts, update existing ones with the latest versions, or add your own customised layouts.

Settings

Allows you to access the settings dialogue of the selected layout, where you can customise the printing of the invoice. Each layout has its own customisable settings.

Update the InvoicePrinted column after printing

You can make this column visible by using the Data menu → Columns setup command.

The program will update the content of the column Printed after the print preview, adding the text 1. This will allow the Select unprinted invoices command to only print the invoices with no content in this column.

Options tab

In this section, language-specific texts can be added, for example, to indicate final greetings or bank details for payment. Depending on the customer's language, the programme will display at the end of the invoice the texts saved for the language indicated.

Only one type of text can be entered, one for each language.

The texts entered here are taken over when printing all invoices, whichever print layout is used.

To enter a final text:

    Menu Reports > Customers > Print invoices.
    In the Options section, enter the desired text.
    Confirm with OK.

The text entered will appear in the print preview of the invoice.

stampa fatture, sezione Opzioni

Adding different types of end texts

In order to add different types of notes in invoices, please refer to the following paragraph in page:

Export to PDF

The program displays a preview of invoices or customer statements. From the print preview, using the Export PDF command, you can create:

  • A single file that contains all invoices or customer statements.
  • Separate files for each individual invoice or customer statement.

 

Print Delivery notes

With Integrated invoicing, when you create an invoice, it is automatically recorded in the accounting system and the customer's account. It is possible to print an invoice with the wording "Delivery Note" containing the same invoice data, using layouts CH10 and UNI11.

However, it is not possible to create a standalone record for the delivery note without any accounting impact, one that doesn't debit the customer's account or credit other accounts.

Mandatory requirements to use the layout preferences:

How to print a delivery note

In the Transactions table select the row where the delivery note to be printed is located and proceed as follows:

  • Menu Report > Customers > Print invoices
  • Select Layout CH10 or UNI11
  • Under Print as, select:
    • Delivery note with amounts
      In this case, amounts in details and total amount are included in the delivery note.
    • Delivery note without amounts
      Only the details of the dispatched goods are displayed in the delivery note, without any amounts.
  • Conferm with OK.

Delivery address

When printing the delivery note with an address other than the billing address, the delivery address must be entered in the Transactions table, using the Type column.

In this case, the delivery note will print the address entered in the Transactions table and not that of the respective customer, which is instead found in the Accounts table, Address view.

Printing customization

All settings that characterise Layout CH10 and UNI11 are also retained when printing the delivery note.

To change the settings, go to Print Layout Settings.

Under Texts > Delivery Note you can define the initial and final texts in the delivery note.

Print example:
delivery note preview example

Print Estimates

With Integrated invoicing, when you create an invoice, it is automatically recorded in the accounting system and the customer's account. It is possible to print an invoice with the wording "Estimate" containing the same invoice data, using layouts CH10 and UNI11.

However, it is not possible to create a standalone transaction for the Estimate without any accounting impact, one that doesn't debit the customer's account or credit other accounts.

Requirements in order to use layout preferences to select the label "Estimate" are

 

How to print an estimate

In theTransactions table, select the row that corresponds to the estimate and proceed as follows:

  • Menu Reports > Customers > Print invoices
  • Select Layout CH10 or UNI11
  • Select the option Print as, and choose Estimate
  • Confirm with OK.

The offer is always printed without the Swiss QR bulletin.

Printing customization 

All the settings that characterize the CH10 and UNI11 Layout are also retained in the printing of the estimate.

To modify the settings, go to the Print Layout Settings.

In the Texts > Estimate section, you can define the initial and final texts of the quote.

Print Reminders

In Banana Accounting Plus you can print reminders in two different ways:

Print Reminders from the Print Invoice dialogue

Banana Accounting Plus, with the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, also allows you to print reminders.

Requirements for using layout preferences:

On the basis of the invoice data entered in the Transactions table, reminders can be printed.

How to print a reminder

In the Transactions table select the row where the invoice for which you need to print the reminder is located and proceed as follows:

  • From the Menu Reports > Customers > Print Invoices
  • Select Layout CH10 or UNI11
  • Under Print as, select one of the following options:
    • 1. reminder
    • 2. reminder
    • 3. reminder
  • Confirm with OK

Print customization

All settings that characterise the CH10 and UNI11 layouts are also retained in the reminder printout.

To change the settings, go to Print Layout Settings.

Under Texts → Reminder you can define the start and end texts in the reminder.

Print example:
reminder preview example

Invoice collection registration

There are two ways to close open invoices:

  1. Manually register the collection of customer's invoice
  2. Automatically register by importing the data in the bank statement in ISO 20022 format.

 Closure with manual recording

To manually record the receipts of the invoices, see the following pages

 Closing with ISO 20022 data import (Switzerland)

To automatically close open invoices by importing statement data, you must:

With the import, the program automatically creates records in the Transactions table and enters the data in the corresponding columns:

  • In the Date column, the date of the invoice collection.
  • In the Invoice column, the invoice number extracted from the QR reference number (see parameters).
  • In the Description column, the QR reference number.
  • In the A/C Credit column, the customer account extracted from the QR reference number (see parameters);
  • The extracted customer account will be saved as an account/category or cost center based on the parameters.
  • In the Amount column, the invoice amount.
  • In the A/C Debit column, the counterpart account (the bank account where the amount has been collected) if this has been enabled during the import.

For more information, see the Camt ISO 20022 (Switzerland) Bank Statement page.

QR References

The codes of the QR references are explained on the following pages:

Kundenkonto und Rechnungsnummer bearbeiten

Wenn Sie die Kundennummer sowohl im Postenbuch als auch in den Kosten- und Profitstellen ändern oder die Rechnungsnummer anpassen, stellen Sie sicher, dass keine offenen Rechnungen aus den Vorjahren vorhanden sind.

Kundenkonto bearbeiten ohne Anfangssaldi

Das Kundenkonto kann mit dem Befehl Umbenennen geändert werden.

Wenn bereits Buchungen mit dem alten Konto existieren, werden diese automatisch auf das neue Kundenkonto aktualisiert.

Es wird empfohlen, ein Kundenkonto zu Beginn des Jahres umzubenennen, sofern keine offenen Rechnungen vorhanden sind.

Kundenkontos bearbeiten mit Anfangssaldi

Wenn ein Kundenkonto mit Eröffnungssalden (offenen Rechnungen) umbenannt werden soll, kann das Konto nicht einfach geändert werden. Stattdessen muss ein neues Konto mit der neuen Nummerierung angelegt werden. Der Eröffnungssaldo wird anschliessend durch eine Buchung vom alten Konto auf das neue Konto übertragen.

  • Fügen Sie in der Tabelle Konten das neue Konto mit der neuen Nummerierung hinzu.

cambio numero di cliente

  • Erstellen Sie in der Tabelle Buchungen eine Buchung, um den Eröffnungssaldo vom alten Konto auf das neue Konto umzubuchen.
  • Falls im neuen Jahr noch Rechnungen existieren, die sich auf das alte Konto beziehen, können diese dem neuen Konto zugeordnet werden. Dazu muss die Kontonummer in allen zugehörigen Buchungen geändert werden. 

Wichtige Hinweise: 

  • Seien Sie besonders vorsichtig, wenn Rechnungen bereits an den Kunden gesendet oder bezahlt wurden.
  • Falls die Belegnummer auch die Kundennummer enthält, prüfen Sie, ob eine Änderung erforderlich oder möglich ist.

storno saldo vecchio conto al nuovo conto cliente

  • Im Menü Aktionen > Kundenbericht > Offene Rechnungen pro Kunde wird ein Bericht angezeigt, der die Schliessung des alten Kontos sowie die Übertragung des Saldos auf das neue Konto dokumentiert.
  • Ein Konto mit der alten Nummerierung und einem Nullsaldo kann im folgenden Jahr gelöscht werden, sofern der Anfangssaldo Null beträgt.

report dopo cambio conto cliente

Ändern einer bereits gebuchten oder ausgestellten Rechnungsnummer

Wenn Sie die Nummer einer noch nicht bezahlten Rechnung ändern möchten, stehen Ihnen zwei Möglichkeiten zur Verfügung:

  • Ersetzen Sie die Rechnungsnummer direkt in der ursprünglichen Buchung der Rechnung.

Diese Vorgehensweise wird nicht empfohlen, wenn die Rechnung mit der alten Nummer bereits in der Vorjahresdatei erfasst wurde.

  • Stornierung und erneute Buchung
    • Stornieren Sie die ursprüngliche Buchung der Rechnungsausstellung.
  • Erfassen Sie eine neue Buchung mit folgenden Angaben:
    • Spalte Rechnung – Geben Sie die neue Rechnungsnummer ein.
    • Spalte Typ – Tragen Sie den Wert 15 ein (schliesst den Kundenbeleg).
    • Spalte Soll – Geben Sie ein Transferkonto an.
    • In der Spalte Haben – Geben Sie das Kundenkonto an.
    • Spalte Betrag – Erfassen  Sie den Rechnungsbetrag.

Diese Vorgehensweise wird empfohlen, wenn die Rechnung mit der alten Nummer in der Vorjahresdatei erfasst wurde, da sie sicherstellt, dass die Änderung korrekt nachvollzogen werden kann.

chiusura fatture nella fatturazione

 

Credit notes

Credit notes have their own TypeDoc, different from invoices.

Enter your transaction, as if it was an invoice.

  • In the Invoice column, you must indicate the invoice number to which the credit note refers. 
    The accounts will follow the logic of recording a credit note. As a result, the amount of the document will be negative.
  • Enter '12:' in the Type column.
  • Enter in the Description column the text that will appear in the Credit Note details.
    In some print layouts of Banana 9, the wording Invoice will however always be printed; to change, proceed as follows: 
    • Enter a new row with identical invoice number and  12:tit in the Type column.
    • Insert Credit Note in the Description column.

Printing the credit note

The same command is used as the one for printing invoices: Reports → Clients → Print invoices.

printing the credit note

 

Roundings in invoices

If there is a rounding in the invoice printout, the rounding must be reported into the accounting, otherwise the programme will report an error, indicating the difference to be recorded.

From the menu  Reports > Customers > Settings > Advanced  it is possible to set the roundings of the invoice to the desired cents, but only in base currency.

If you do not wish to round the invoice amount, you must set the rounding in the field Invoice rounding (basic currency) to 0.01; the invoice total will correspond to the amount of the transactions.

In the Exchange Rates table, the Reference Currency column typically contains the base currency, while the Currency column contains the foreign currency.  
When the reference currency is not the base currency, it is not possible to set rounding from the customer settings (menu Report > Customers > Settings > Advanced). In this case, to set rounding, you need to use the Rounding column in the Exchange Rates table (menu Data > Columns setup > display the Rounding column). If you do not wish to round the invoice amount, set the rounding to 0.01 in this column.

Record positive roundings in customer chart of accounts

When there is a positive rounding, enter the following in the Transactions table:

  • Enter the date of the invoice in the Date column. 
  • Enter the invoice number in the Invoice column. 
  • Enter a description in the Description column. 
  • Enter the customer's account in the Debit column.
  • Enter the counterpart (Sales, Consulting or other account) in the Credit column.
  • Enter the hundredths of the rounding in the Amount column. 
     

positive rounding

Record negative roundings in customer chart of accounts

When there is a negative rounding, enter the following in the Transactions table:

  • Enter the date of the invoice in the Date column. 
  • Enter the invoice number in the Invoice column. 
  • Enter a description in the Description column.
  • Enter the counterpart (Sales, Consulting or other account) in the Debit column.
  • Enter the customer account in the Credit column.
  • Enter hundredths of the rounding in the Amount column. 
     

negative rounding

Record positive roundings in the cost centre (CC3)

When there is a positive rounding, enter the following in the Transactions table:

  • Enter the date of the invoice in the Date column. 
  • Enter the invoice number in the Invoice column. 
  • Enter a description in the Description column.
  • Leave the Debit column blank.
  • Leave the Credit column blank.
  • Enter hundredths of a rounding in the Amount column.
  • In the CC3 column, enter the customer's cost centre.
     

positive roundinf CC3

Record negative roundings in cost centre (CC3)

When there is a negative rounding, record in the Transactions table as follows:

  • Enter the date of the invoice in the Date column. 
  • Enter the invoice number in the Invoice column. 
  • Enter a description in the Description column. 
  • Leave the Debit column blank.
  • Leave the Credit column blank.
  • Enter hundredths of the rounding in the Amount column. 
  • Enter the customer's cost centre with a minus sign in front in the CC3 column.
     

negative rounding CC3

 

 

Supplier Management

The supplier management allows you to record, organize, and manage supplier information, enabling you to keep track of supplier transactions and payments, payment deadlines, and contact information. You can monitor due invoices, paid invoices, and the account balance for each supplier, as well as the total open balance.

Supplier management is one of the features of Banana Accounting Plus available in all accounting applications.

Supplier master data settings include both revenue and cash management. Foreign currency supplier accounts can also be managed.

The function of making supplier invoice payments via e-banking is only available in the Advanced plan.

Recording Supplier Transactions

The Transactions table is the heart of Banana Accounting and is used to record all operations, including supplier transactions, simply by specifying the supplier's account. You can work quickly because you can select, copy, and paste supplier transactions that have been entered previously. If you make any mistakes, you can always correct them.

The supplier transactions recorded in the Transactions table include the following:

  • Receiving invoices
  • Making invoice payments
  • Receiving credit notes or refunds
  • Managing payments via e-banking

suppliers transactions

There are columns where you can enter various pieces of information, including:

  • Date of the Transaction, Due Date, and Payment Date.
  • Invoice number.
  • Debit and Credit Accounts where you specify the supplier's account (Credit) and the counterpart account (Debit).
  • Amount.
  • VAT codes for the automatic calculation of VAT
  • Links to Digital Documents (such as the invoice received from the supplier or PDF annotations).

Supplier Accounts

Supplier accounts are used to record all transactions related to a company's suppliers.

The main functions of supplier accounts are as follows:

  • Create an Account for Each Supplier and Track All Transactions.
  • Record Received Invoices for Each Supplier.
  • Create an E-banking Payment Order Directly from the Supplier Invoice.
  • Record Payments to Suppliers and Associate Them with Received Invoices.
  • Generate Lists for Payment Verification.

In Banana Accounting Plus:

  • Supplier accounts and their Addresses (name, surname, company name, address, VAT number, etc.) are set up in the Accounts table.
  • Accounting transactions related to these accounts are entered in the Transactions table.
  • After each entry, all supplier account balances (Accounts table) are automatically updated, providing an immediate overview of outstanding balances yet to be paid.accounts suppliers

Recording Received Invoices

The invoice received from the supplier is used for accounting and tax purposes as it allows for the accurate recording of a company's costs and expenses, as well as the calculation of VAT.

In Banana Accounting, invoices are recorded in the Transactions table by:

  • Entering the date and description.
  • Adding an invoice number.
  • Recording the cost account in the Debit column and the supplier account in the Credit column.
  • Specifying the VAT code for goods or services purchased. Calculations and VAT amounts are automatically inserted.

Recording Payments

In Banana Accounting, payments are recorded in the Transactions table using one of the following methods:

  • Manual Recording:
    • Enter the date and description.
    • In the Invoice column, specify the supplier's account. A dropdown menu will display the open invoices. Simply select the invoice received from the supplier, press Enter, and the program will automatically fill in the supplier's account in the Debit column, along with the invoice amount. Basta poi Then, enter the cash account in the Credit column to complete the recording.

invoice payment suppliers

Outstanding Invoices

Outstanding invoices from suppliers are those invoices that have been received but are still pending payment.

Supplier's outstanding invoices can be managed through an accounting register that tracks issued invoices, payment due dates, and received payments. This allows the seller to monitor the financial status of each supplier and send payment reminders if invoices remain unpaid for an extended period.

It's important to note that outstanding supplier invoices have an impact on a company's liquidity, as they represent funds that need to be allocated for payment.

Banana Accounting automatically generates a report of outstanding invoices, where you can quickly verify which invoices are still pending payment, from which supplier, and the total amount of outstanding invoices.

There are two types of reports:

  1. Open Invoices by Supplier, where all open invoices for each supplier are listed.

open invoices by date

2. Open Invoices by Due Date, where open invoices are listed in order of their due dates.

The due date for an invoice can be set in various ways. Further information is available on the following page: "Expiry Dates and Payment Terms."

Accounts Cards

Accounts cards are accounting documents that record the financial transactions of a company. Each card represents a specific account in the company's general ledger and contains detailed information about the transactions related to that account, such as the date of the financial transaction, the type of transaction, the amount, and the description of the transaction.

In Banana Accounting, based on the data entered in the Transactions table, the program automatically generates an Accounts Card for each supplier. These cards display the opening balance, all transactions, and the final balance. You can also generate account cards for specific time periods.

account suppliers

 

Set up and use supplier features

  1. Set up accounts for turnover accounting (accrual principle).
  2. Set up accounts for collection accounting (cash principle).
  3. Configure supplier settings (explanation as for customers).
  4. Set up the transactions table and post supplier invoices.
  5. Open, overdue or received supplier invoice reports.

Notes

  • In multi-currency accounting, the reports are based on the balances in the currency of the supplier's account, so any exchange rate differences are not taken into consideration.
  • In the Invoices received table, the exchange rate differences transactions are also listed, while in the other printouts only the supplier's currency amount is valid.
  • The Description column of the reports includes the first transaction row for each invoice.
  • For the accounting on the collected, it is possible to set up a suppliers register with cost centers.


Example file

Managing with the accrual method

Introduction

In Banana Accounting it is possible to manage suppliers both with the accrual and cash method. A detailed explanation is available on the accounting with the accrual or cash principle page.

Below we explain how to set up the group and supplier accounts, so that you can have a separate invoice list for each supplier.

If you have few invoices and do not want to keep a detail by supplier, it is also possible to have only one account where all the invoices of the suppliers are recorded. In this case, the list of invoices will be grouped by all suppliers and not by a single supplier.

Setting up the Suppliers' register

The Suppliers accounts & groups can be entered just like regular accounts, directly into the Chart of accounts
 
It is equally possible to create a separate section with the Suppliers' register. In this way, only the total of the Suppliers' group is visible in the Chart of accounts and in the register all the individual Suppliers' accounts are being displayed.
 

To create the Suppliers' register, add at the end of the Chart of accounts:

  • A* section (header)  (see Sections)
  • A 02 section for suppliers (see Sections)
  • The Suppliers' accounts that are needed (see Adding a new account). Each supplier is entered on a row of the Chart of Accounts and has its own account number. The account numbering can be freely chosen (see Accounts), however it is recommended to use only numbers, in particular for the management of payments.
  • A group where all the accounts payable are totaled.
  • This group is in turn totaled into a group present in the liabilities.

suppliers register

  • The total Suppliers will be totaled in the 200A summary group of the Sum in column.
  • The same code or number used for the Gr (200A), must be used in the Liabilities Group column, in the row corresponding to the Total Suppliers. The groups numbering can be freely chosen (see Groups).

suppliers group register in lisbilities

Record a received invoice

registrare una fattura fornitore

Record a payment

  • Enter the transaction date
  • Position yourself on the Invoice field and press the F2 key or double click on the cell.
    The list of open invoices will be displayed.
  • Select the paid supplier invoice and press Enter.
    The program will complete the transaction with the Description, Debit Account and Amount fields. As long as the contra account is not entered, the program will report the difference in the transactions.

post a payment from the supplier

Record a credit note

The same invoice number must be used for the amount to be deducted from the initial invoice. If the adjustment document (for example a credit note) has a different numbering that you still need to keep available, write this reference in another column, for example DocOriginal.

Record a credit note

 

 

 

Collection management (cash principle)

Set up the suppliers register with the cost centers

For Swiss users who have VAT on their receipts, this setting allows you to manage VAT in an optimal way.

It is possible to manage the customers and suppliers register as cost centers (see also the Cost and Profit Centers page). A detailed explanation is available on the Accounting page on accrual or cash method.

  • It is advisable to use the cost center CC3 (accounts preceded by a semicolon ";")
  • The balances of the cost centers will therefore not appear in the balance sheet.

suppliers register with the cost centers

 

 

Transactions

The information is available on the Customers and suppliers page with VAT using the cash principle.

transaction of customers and suppliers with cost centers

Miscellaneous operations

The various functions listed use the same methods as those used for clients. For further information, please refer to the relevant client pages.

View the Invoice column in the Transactions table

See Clients - Display Invoice columns.

Auto-complete

See Clients - Auto-complete.

Extract invoice rows and open invoice link commands

Vedi Clients - Extract invoice rows commands.

Activating the Address columns (optional)

See Clients - Address column setup.

clients address

Configure supplier settings

  • Select the Reports → Suppliers → Settings command. 
  • It is important to indicate in the "Group or account", the group of the chart of accounts where the various accounts of the suppliers are grouped.
  • For explications of the different options see Customers/Suppliers settings.

 

 

 

List of supplier invoices

Displaying invoices received

Command: Reports → Suppliers → Open invoices by supplier.
All invoices that belong to the supplier register or to an individual supplier are displayed in this table.

supplier invoices received report

Displaying the open invoices

Command: Reports → Suppliers → Open supplier invoices

In this table, only invoices that have an open balance are being listed.

For multi-currency accounting, if there are unrecorded exchange rate differences for a particular supplier, an 'Adjustment exchange rate differences' line will be displayed that balances the balance in the open invoice list with the balance on the account card.

open supplier invoices


Displaying invoices by due date

Command: Reports → Suppliers → Open supplier invoices  by due date

Only invoices that have an open balance, are displayed in this table, grouped by due period.

open invoices supplier report

 

 

Comando Importar en la contabilidad

El comando para la importación se activa desde el menú Acciones > Importar en la contabilidad y permite importar datos desde archivos en las siguientes tablas:

Para recuperar datos de otros programas, consulta la página Recuperar datos de otros programas.

Procedimiento para la importación

  1. Elige la tabla de destino de los datos.
  2. Elige el tipo de archivo a importar.
  3. Indica el nombre del archivo.
  4. Elige los movimientos a importar.

Formatos de importación

Dependiendo del tipo de tabla de destino, hay disponibles diferentes formatos de importación.

  • Importación desde otros archivos de Banana Contabilidad (.ac2)
    Diseñados para convertir datos desde archivos.
  • Archivos de texto con encabezado (CSV/TXT)
    Para archivos creados que exportan los datos en el formato requerido por Banana Contabilidad.
    Las indicaciones técnicas sobre cómo preparar estos archivos están disponibles en inglés.
  • Formatos de archivo predefinidos (genéricos)
    ISO 20022 (genérico).
  • Importación mediante una extensión de importación
    Generalmente para extractos bancarios.
    La extensión de importación es un programa adicional de Banana Contabilidad que convierte los datos desde un formato específico.
    El usuario debe instalar la extensión correspondiente. 
    Si se necesita importar desde otros tipos de archivo no incluidos en la lista, se puede desarrollar una Extensión Banana de importación específica.

diálogo importar en contabilidad

Parámetros de importación

Nombre del archivo:

  • Indica el nombre del archivo del cual se deben importar los datos.
  • Para ciertos tipos de importación (por ejemplo, extractos bancarios)
    • También puedes indicar varios archivos a la vez, seleccionándolos con el cuadro de diálogo o escribiéndolos separados por punto y coma ";".
    • Puedes indicar un archivo zip que contenga varios archivos de importación.
    • Si importas varios archivos, todos deben ser del mismo tipo.

Importar datos desde el portapapeles (Excel)

Con esta opción los datos no se leen desde un archivo, sino desde el portapapeles.
Se utiliza para importar datos desde archivos que Banana no puede leer directamente, como por ejemplo un extracto bancario disponible solo en Excel, o proveniente de otro programa.

La ventaja de importar los datos en lugar de utilizar simplemente copiar y pegar es que los datos son convertidos por el programa de importación y completados automáticamente.

Procede de la siguiente manera:

  • Abre el archivo Excel que contiene los datos.
  • Selecciona los datos a importar, incluidas posibles filas de encabezado.
  • Ejecuta el comando Copiar (Ctrl+C).

Esta opción solo se muestra para ciertos tipos de importación.

UTF-8

Marca esta casilla si los datos a importar están en formato UTF-8.
Esta opción se muestra solo para ciertos tipos de importación.

Gestión de Extensiones...

Este comando lleva al diálogo Administrar Extensiones. 

Úsalo para:

  • Buscar, añadir o eliminar una extensión de importación.
  • Cambiar los parámetros de la extensión.

Usa también este comando para cambiar la configuración de la extensión.

Configuración

El botón permite cambiar la configuración de la extensión.
El botón es visible en la versión 10.1 y solo si la extensión permite establecer parámetros.

Botón OK

Inicia la importación.

Informe de errores

Si durante la ejecución de una importación se generan errores, lo primero que debes hacer es actualizar las Extensiones de Importación.

Si los errores persisten, envíanos un comentario, puede que el formato del archivo haya sido actualizado por el banco o institución de origen, y en ese caso también actualizaremos nuestro filtro de importación.

Import transactions from ebanking

This page deals with the importing of transactions from bank statements, the most widely used and most useful feature, which allows you to automate the entry of transactions in the Transactions table.
Bank statement files are defined as those containing incoming and outgoing amounts on a single account. The import dialogue requires the entry of the account and the counterpart, and allows the use of the Auto-completion Rules.

On the other hand, in order to import from files that have other types of movements, e.g. from double-entry bookkeeping, please refer to the page Import Transactions (Generic). For these types of files, there is no possibility of applying the auto-completion rules.

Import procedure

  1. From Actions in the menu > Import into accounts > in the Import box select Transactions.
  2. Choose the file type to be imported.
    See explanations below.
  3. With the Browse button, choose the file from which you wish to import the transactions.
  4. Set the parameters as required.
    See also: Import into accounting.

dialogo importa in contabilità

Next Steps

Once OK is confirmed, the data is read and the following dialogues are displayed:

  •  Import transactions dialog
     Where instructions for completing the imported rows are to be given.
  • Apply rules (Advanced plan only)
    When importing, records can be stored so that the programme will automatically complete the transactions in all subsequent imports.

Bank Statement Import Formats

In the dialogue for importing transactions you can choose between different file types:

  • Import extensions for bank statements (the majority only with the Advanced plan)
    These are additional programs that must be installed by the user and that convert the data to be imported in the formats foreseen by Banana Accounting Plus.
    By using the Manage Extensions button you can install the extensions programmed for importing bank statements of different banks, credit cards and other formats.
    Once the extension is installed it appears in the Extensions menu ready for import.
  • Standard formats included in Banana Accounting Plus (Professional plan)
    These are standard formats that banks make available and are included in Banana Accounting Plus:
  • Generic format with Incoming and Outgoing Transactions TXT (Professional plan)
    This is a text file of the CSV type, which uses the tabulator as a separator and presents the incoming and outgoing amounts of an account as columns.

File name

You indicate a file or even multiple files separated by a semicolon ";".  You can also indicate a ZIP that contains multiple import files.

Import multiple files at the same time:

  • If your bank provides daily camt053, you can select all the files for the month and import them in one step.
  • If your bank provides a zip file, you can choose the file that contains all the statements.

The import files must, of course, be of the same type. You cannot import different formats together.

Import File Structure

The import file contains the typical movements of a bank statement:

  • Date
  • [transaction number] optional
  • Description
  • Incoming or outgoing amount.

When importing, the user indicates to which account the transactions are to be recorded, so that the Debit or Credit account is already created.
Import extensions can be created for any bank statement.
See Technical instructions for importing an Income and Expenses file.

Frequently asked questions:

I cannot see the format of my bank statement. What should I do?
Click onto Extensions menu > Manage Extensions... then on the Update Extensions button and enable the filter for the desired format.

I cannot see the format of the Postfinance xml statement (.tgz file). How can I import my movements?
This format is no longer supported. Please contact Postfinance and ask to receive your statement in ISO 20022 format.

I get the message "This ISO 20022 file does not contain a bank statement (camt.052/053/054)". How should I proceed?
This error message is displayed if the ISO 20022 file does not contain a bank statement. The ISO 20022 format is a generic format that can contain different types of information, such as bank statements and execution confirmations. In Banana Accounting Plus, it is only possible to import bank statements (camt.052/053/054).

My bank is not in the list of supported formats. Can it be added?
It is possible to create new extensions for formats that have not yet been implemented. Support for implementing custom formats is also available for a fee.

I can only import collective orders and cannot see the details (individual entries). Why?
In eBanking (e.g. Raiffeisen Bank), when entering payments, you must choose the option 'individual order' instead of 'collective order'. Only in this way are payments imported as individual orders.
 

Import Transactions dialog

The dialogue Import transactions is activated from the menu:

The display of dialogue elements depends on the type of file being imported:

Import Transactions dialogue

This is followed by the dialogue box that allows the data to be integrated into the accounts.

importa movimenti da estratto bancario

Destination account

This option appears when data is imported from a bank or postal statement or the entry and exit transactions of an account in text format.

  • Enter the bank account number of your chart of accounts, relative to the imported statement.
  • If it is left blank, the programme enters account [A] (Account) so that you can tell whether it is a Debit or a Credit movement.

Select transactions

Start date, End date

Insert the start and end dates of the period related to the transfer of the transactions. The period can also be selected automatically in the boxes under the dates area.

Don't import if exists same External reference, Date, Amount 

If activated, this option allows the user to not import already entered transactions, in order to avoid recording transactions twice. This option can only be activated when the column "ExternalRef" is present in the transactions that are going to be imported. If not, this option will be deactivated.

Sort by date

The option is active by default and allows you to have the imported transactions sorted by date.

Complete the transactions with

Autocomplete values

The option is only necessary for accounting with VAT/Sales tax and multi-currency. If activated, it allows the automatic completion of values that are missing in the imported data (for example, the exchange rate in the Exchange rate table).

Apply Rules (Advanced plan only)

The option is not available for imports of transactions from double-entry accounting files (.ac2 format).

See: Rules for transactions auto-completion.

  •  If this option is activated, when you confirm with OK, the Apply Rules dialogue opens.
  • If you have not activated this option, you can also access the Rules by issuing the command from the menu Actions → Recurring transactions→ Apply rules...
  • This option is activated by default if there are already import rules in the Recurring Transactions table.

 Temporary contra account

The option is not available for imports of transactions from double-entry accounting files (.ac2 format).

A temporary account needs to be indicated to complete the contra account of the entry. The account must then be replaced with the correct contra-account, either manually or with the auto-completion rules.
The programme suggests the commented account [CA] (ContraAccount) by default.
Once the entries have been completed, there should be no more transactions using the temporary account.

Initial document number

The option is not available for imports of transactions from double-entry accounting files (.ac2 format).
This is the document number that is allocated to the first record among those imported.
The number is incremented.

Group transactions by invoice number

If the import file contains values in the DocInvoice column, the dialogue will also contain the following options:

importa movimenti da file fatture

  • Group transactions by invoice number
    In this case, the rows of the same invoice are being grouped in such a way that there is only one transaction for the same account and the same VAT code. Please check the explanation Import invoice data.
     
  • Destination account for balance differences
    When VAT codes are being applied, there may be rounding differences of just a few cents.
    In this case, Banana Accounting Plus creates an additional transaction for every invoice into which this difference can be recorded.
    Of course, it is necessary to pay attention that the data to be imported obtain a balance between debit and credit. If not, the transaction row will contain the difference between Debit and Credit. 

Editing of imported transactions

The programme creates transactions and adds them to the end of the Transactions table.
The transactions can be edited or deleted.
In double-entry accounting, in the DebitAccount and CreditAccount columns and in Income/Expenses accounting, in the Account and Category columns, the programme inserts symbols.
The symbols must be replaced with the appropriate account or category.

  • [A]
    This symbol is shown if no account is indicated in the dialogue.
    Instead of the symbol [A], the account of the bank account is to be entered.
  • [CA]
    This symbol indicates that the contra account must be entered in the cell so that Debit transactions offset Credit transactions.

For rows with only one contra account, both the account or symbol [A] and the counterpart symbol [CA] will be on the same row.
For rows with several contra accounts (transactions on multiple rows), each row will have the account or contra account symbol [CA]. If the symbol [CA] were not indicated, it would be impossible to tell whether the movement is a Debit or a Credit movement.

Import file ISO20022

Banana Accounting Plus allows the import of bank transactions in various formats. 
The ISO 20022 format is an international standard that should now be provided by all European banks. This format may also be called ISO xml, xml, camt.053, camt.054 or other names. Importing bank transactions in ISO 20022 format is possible in two ways:

Generic manual ISO20022 import

Manual import of transactions one file at a time - available with the Professional plan.

  • The user downloads the ISO 20022 file from their bank and saves it in a folder on their computer.
  • Then, from Banana, they manually import this file. 

This import is made possible by the extension Bank Statement Camt ISO 20022 Switzerland (Banana+) for Switzerland and a generic filter distributed with the application for other countries.
The import must be repeated manually each time.

Advanced ISO20022 import [Beta]

Advanced import of transactions from multiple files simultaneously - available with the Advanced plan.
It significantly speeds up the workflow because the user no longer needs to check for which periods transactions need to be imported.

  • The user defines a folder containing ISO 20022 files from different bank accounts.
  • In Banana, with a command, the program notifies if there are new transactions to be imported.

This new advanced import function is made possible by the extension Swiss Camt ISO20022 Reader.

Requirements

Import bank transactions in the ISO20022 format (generic)

Banana Accounting Plus allows the import of bank transactions in different formats.
The ISO 20022 format is an international standard for the transmission of financial data that should by now be available to all European banks. This format can also be referred to as ISO xml, xml, camt.053, camt.054, and others. For some banks, the ISO 20022 format may not be available by default but needs to be requested. The ISO 20022 format replaces the old MT940 standard.
By importing bank data with the ISO20022 format, Banana Accounting Plus also allows you to automatically close open invoices of customers.

The CAMT category regroups the formats used for the account statement, reporting of account transactions and account balance confirmation:

  • camt052: Account Reporting
  • camt053 (including version 4): Account Statement
  • camt054: Credit / Debit Notification

Preview the ISO-20022 file

Banana. offers the possibility to preview contents of a camt file.

Data importing into the current accounting

Proceed as indicated from the menu Actions > Import into accounting.
Compressed files can also be opened with this function. In this case, the program will prompt the user to select the file from which to import the data of the compressed file.

Technical notes on converting ISO 20022 files

The ISO 20022 standard encodes the accounting data of the bank statement very precisely. Nevertheless, it leaves some discretion for the insertion of additional information about the account and its transactions.

Banana, when reading the file, tries to adapt itself to the ways in which the ISO 20022 file has been prearranged.
  • As opening balance, it reads similar encodings
  • As closing balance, it reads similar encodings
  • All contents are read and converted into transactions
    • Transaction date (Date)
    • Currency date
    • Transaction amount (positive or negative)
    • Description
      For the time being Banana Accounting displays the different descriptions as a single text. In the future, it will be possible to extract this information on a distinctive basis and indicate the columns where to allocate data.
    • Distinction between single transactions or transactions with details
      For transactions with details, there is a row for the total and separate rows for each single transaction that constitutes the total.

Country specifications

Each country and/or bank has the possibility to insert additional information in the ISO 20022 file according to its needs. Banana Accounting Plus offers a generic filter distributed with the application and multiple country- and/or bank-specific filters distributed as Banana Extensions. To import this additional information into your accounting, you must install and use the filter that is most specific to your country and/or bank (for example Bank statement Camt ISO 20022 Switzerland (Banana+)).

Import bank transactions in the ISO20022 format (advanced) [BETA]

This new feature allows you to update your accounting by automatically importing bank transactions from Camt files (052, 053, 054). Thanks to this innovation, you can:

  • Accelerate the entire transaction recording process.
  • Reduce the risk of manual errors.
  • Avoid duplicates, since only transactions not yet present in your accounting are imported.

The program reads the Camt files from a selected folder, saves their content in a local database, and detects any new transactions not yet recorded. These are then proposed for import into your accounting, greatly simplifying financial management. Once imported, you can leverage auto-completion rules to further streamline your work.

This feature is currently in BETA version, available for experimental use with Banana Accounting Plus (Advanced plan) in double-entry or income & expense accounting. We welcome any suggestions and feedback to improve it.

Prerequisites

Data Preparation

Before starting the import, make sure you meet the following requirements:

  • Organizing Camt Files:
    Create a dedicated folder containing all the Camt (*.xml) files you want to import into your accounting.
    You can organize the files within the folder as you prefer, for example, by accounting year or by financial institution.
  • Access Permissions:
    Ensure that the selected folder is both readable and writable by the program. This guarantees the proper saving of data and import information.
  • Setting IBANs:
    For each account in the accounting file, make sure you have entered the IBAN in the 'BankIban' column of the 'Accounts' table.
  • Swiss Camt ISO20022 Reader Extension:
    Install the Swiss Camt ISO20022 Reader extension. This is required for the program to correctly interpret Camt files and start the import process.

First Use

The first time you use the "Import bank transactions (Camt ISO20022)" command, available under the Actions menu, the program will ask you to select the folder containing the Camt files. This choice will be saved, so that for subsequent imports the program will automatically use the same folder without asking for the path again.

Note that the first execution may take longer. The program must read, process, and save all the files in the folder, and it analyzes the content of each file. During this phase, a progress bar will display the current status of the operation, indicating both the percentage of completion and the number of files processed out of the total. The same progress indicator is shown both during the reading of the files from the folder and during the opening and reading of their contents.

On subsequent imports, the process will be much faster since the program will read and import only the content of new files, already knowing which data has been previously saved in the database. This way, future operations require significantly less time and ensure a smoother, more efficient workflow.

File Processing

Progress dialog

The processing of Camt files occurs in two distinct phases:

  • Reading Files in the Folder:
    In the first phase, the program analyzes the selected folder and identifies all the files present, adding them to the internal database. During this process, a progress bar is displayed, indicating how much of the file reading has been completed compared to the total number of files.
  • Reading the Content of the Files:
    Once file reading is completed, the program moves on to the second phase, in which it opens the files saved in the database, reads their content, and processes the data. In this phase, a dedicated progress bar is also shown, clearly displaying the percentage of completion and the number of files processed.

If, for any reason, one of these processes is interrupted, the program retains the data already saved. On the next import execution, it will automatically resume from where it left off, without having to start over. This ensures an efficient workflow and avoids repeating already completed processing steps.

Bank Transactions Import Dialog

The import dialog provides an overview of the processed files, the parameters used, and the transactions to be imported. You can modify the parameters in the dialog at any time, and the data will be recalculated immediately.

Folder Tab

Folder Tab

The “Folder” tab provides a general overview of the import, showing the currently selected folder, the files to be processed, and some options to filter the content.

  • Select Folder:
    Here you can view and modify the working folder path. The program constantly checks the validity of the selected path and, if the folder does not exist or is not accessible, it displays an error.
  • Renaming or Moving the Folder:
    If you change the folder’s name or location, remember to update the path in this dialog. The program stores the last used path and, if it cannot find it, will show a warning.
  • Renaming Files in the Folder:
    You can freely rename the files in the folder; the program does not rely on the file name but on its content. Even if two files have different names but identical content, the program considers them duplicates and will only import one of them.
  • Ignore Subfolders:
    By default, this option is enabled, allowing you to exclude the files located in subfolders. This is useful if, for example, you only want to import files relevant to the current accounting period, avoiding older or irrelevant data. If you disable this option, all Camt files in subdirectories will be included in the database, regardless of date or file organization.
  • Ignore Files Older Than...:
    If you set a date in this field, the program will not read the content of files older than that date. By default, files older than the accounting opening date are saved in the database but not analyzed. Adjusting this date allows you to further refine the time filter. If you enter an invalid date, the program automatically replaces it with the current date.
  • Read All Files:
    Clicking this button forces the immediate re-reading of all files in the folder instead of waiting for the normal daily check. This function is especially useful when you add new files and want to import them right away, without waiting for the next automatic update.

Bank Accounts Tab

Bank Accounts Tab

The “Bank Accounts” tab provides a detailed overview of all the bank accounts present in your accounting. For each account, the program shows both static information (such as the current balance in your accounting) and dynamic data, updated based on the latest imports.

Information Displayed for Each Account

  • Accounting Balance:
    Shows the current amount recorded in the accounting for that account.
  • Last Bank Balance:
    Displays the most recent bank balance detected directly from the Camt files. This lets you instantly compare the figure in your accounting with the actual bank amount.
  • New Transactions:
    Indicates how many new movements, not yet recorded in accounting, have been detected in the Camt files.
  • Total New Transactions:
    Shows the total monetary value of the new transactions to be imported for that account, helping you quickly assess the volume of pending operations.
  • Last Import:
    Indicates the date when the folder was last fully read, providing a useful time reference for when the last update occurred.
  • Status:
    • Updated: There are no new movements to import for this account.
    • New transactions: Unrecorded movements have been found, ready to be imported into the accounting.

Transaction Details Tab

Transaction Details Tab

In the “Transaction Details” tab, you will find all the banking operations identified in the Camt files that are not yet imported into the accounting, organized by account. This view allows you to quickly analyze pending movements, verify their relevance, and select which ones to import.

  • Selecting Transactions to Import:
    You can temporarily exclude specific transactions or, if you prefer, all those related to a particular account using the provided checkboxes. Excluded transactions are not permanently removed; they will be proposed again the next time you open the dialog, allowing you to reassess their import at any time. Currently, it’s not possible to permanently exclude a transaction.
  • Consider Only Transactions Starting from a Specific Date:
    To reduce the number of displayed movements, you can set a date from which to consider new transactions for import. By default, the program uses the accounting start date. By setting a different date, it will only display operations occurring after that day, ignoring previous ones. This function is particularly useful if, in the past, transactions were imported without a unique ID (ExternalReference column), typically when importing from CSV files. In these cases, simply set a date after the last recorded transaction to avoid re-proposing older movements. If you enter an invalid date, the program automatically replaces it with the current date.
  • Unique Identification of Transactions:
    Transactions from Camt files (052, 053, 054) should always include a unique ID as required by the ISO20022 standard. This identifier enables the program to accurately detect which movements have already been imported and which are new, reducing the risk of duplicates or errors.

Settings Tab

Settings tab

Settings Tab

In the “Settings” tab, you can manage some advanced aspects of the import process, including the possibility to restore the initial data state and define how to recognize already processed files.

  • Delete Saved Data:
    This function allows you to delete all data related to previous imports stored in the internal database. Once deletion is confirmed, you will be automatically redirected to the “Folder” tab, where the default values will be restored.
    • New Import: If you want to perform a new import after deleting the data, simply click on the “Read all files” button.
    • Limited Impact on Import Data: Deleting data from the internal database does not affect any information already present in the accounting.
    • Complete Database Removal: The command here only clears the database tables. If you want to completely remove the database, you must manually delete the “*.db” file in the selected folder.
  • Always Verify the Existence of Files Using Hashing:
    This option allows you to choose how the program identifies already processed files:
    • Hashing (slower): If you select this option, the program will compute a unique hash for each file, ensuring accurate duplicate detection even if names or paths change. However, this method can slow down file reading.
    • Check Name, Date, and Size (default): If the checkbox is not selected, the program simply compares the file name (including path), creation date, and file size to determine uniqueness. This approach is faster but may not be as robust in scenarios where files are renamed while retaining the same content.

Database File

The program uses an SQLite database to store import-related data. The first time you activate this function, if the selected folder is valid, a database file (*.db) will be created in it.

It is important not to move or delete this file, as the program uses it as a reference for all subsequent operations. In case of loss or deletion, the program will generate a new .db file, forcing you to re-read and re-process all the files in the folder.

What is Saved in the Database?

  • File List:
    All the files detected in the folder are saved. If you have chosen to ignore subfolders in the settings, the files they contain will not be saved. This option is enabled by default.
  • Bank Accounts and Related Data:
    The database stores information about the bank accounts present in the accounting. If these data are modified in the accounting file, the database updates them accordingly.
  • Imported Transactions:
    Transactions found in the opened and read files are saved in the database, allowing you to reprocess or view them later without having to re-read the files.
  • Import History:
    The program records who performed the import operations, when they were executed, and with which software version, providing a detailed historical trace of activities.

Log File

During the import process, the program generates a log file to help identify and diagnose potential issues. In case of anomalies or unexpected behavior, the log file provides detailed information about the operations performed, aiding developers in understanding the source of the error.
If you need assistance locating or interpreting the log file, contact our support team: they will guide you step-by-step to find the file within your active directory.

Troubleshooting

If no transactions are displayed for import despite having selected the correct folder, check the following:

  • Bank Accounts: Make sure that the data related to bank accounts (including IBANs) in the “Accounts” table is complete and correct.
  • Accounting Period: Check that the currently set accounting period includes the dates of the transactions you want to import. If the transactions fall outside the defined period, the program will not propose them for import.

If the problem persists after these checks, contact our technical support for further assistance.

Import transactions (generic)

The following explanation refers to the import of data into the Transactions table from files containing transactions of the double-entry type, from Banana Accounting, or other formats.

The Import of bank transactions is similar to importing transactions, but is dealt with separately in detail on the appropriate page.

Import procedure

  1. Via Actions in the menu > Import to accounting > In the Import box, select Transactions
  2. Choose the file type from which to import
    See explanation below.
  3. With the Browse button, choose the file from which to import the transactions
  4. Set the parameters as required.
    See also: Import into accounting

Once OK is confirmed, the data are read and the following dialogue is displayed:

dialogo importa in contabilità

Importing from other Banana Accounting files

In the type of file to be imported, the programme provides a number of configurations to import data from other Banana Accounting files:

  • To import transactions from an Income & Expenses accounting file (*ac2)
    In order to import transactions from an Income & Expenses accounting file into a double-entry accounting file, it is necessary that the categories of the Income & Expenses file correspond to the accounts of the double-entry accounting file.
  • To import Cash book transactions (*ac2)
    See the specific page Import Cash book transactions.
  • To import Double-entry accounting transactions (*ac2)
    In order to import transactions from a double-entry accounting file into another double-entry accounting file, it is necessary that the accounts correspond.
  • To Import Fixed Asset register 
    Imports transactions from the Fixed Asset register .ac2 file.

Import TXT/CSV files

This format must be used to export data from another programs, which provides an export format compatible with that required by Banana Accounting. See the information at the following link:

Importing account statements with import extensions

Import Extensions are additional programs that must be installed by the user and convert the data for import into Banana Accounting.

There are extensions for importing bank statements from various banks, credit cards and other formats.

These extensions only work with the Advanced plan. All old filters will be updated over time and the new versions will only be usable for those with the Advanced plan.
Search for and install an extension:

Search and install an extension:

  • Click on Manage Extensions
  • Choose Import.
  • Navigate to the desired extension and click onto Install.
  • If the Settings button appears, it means that this extension has parameters that you can customise.

Once the extension is installed, it appears in the list of available types, directly in the Extensions menu, and you can choose it for import.

Import data from a Cash book file

Cash movements can be managed separately from the main accounting file via the Cash Manager. On a regular basis, the movements are imported into the main accounting file, grouping them according to a chosen period.

In this case you have two separate files:

  1. One file contains all the general accounting data (including the cash account).
  2. A file contains only the cash register data.

In order to integrate the cash data into the main accounting, a link must be established between the main accounting and the Cash Manager file.
There are two different ways to create the link:

  • In the Cash Manager file, give the categories the same numbers as the accounts of the main accounting (double-entry accounting or Income / Expense).
  • Enter the corresponding accounts of the main accounting file in the Category2 column (Categories table).
    If the Category2 column is not present, it must be displayed via Data → Columns setup.

Set up the internal transfer account

When importing the cash data into the accounting file, certain settings are required so that there are no overlaps of accounting entries for payment operations between the cash account of the main accounting and the transactions imported from the Cash Manager file.

In the Main accounting file:

In the Cash Manager file:

  • In the Categories table, Categories column in the Revenue group, enter the internal transfer account (the same number set in the main accounting) as a category for payments from the bank or postal current account.
  • Alternatively, in the Categories table, Categories2 column in the Revenue group, enter the internal transfer account. In this case, a category is set in the Categories column to determine payments from the bank. The internal transfer account, located in the Categories2 column, creates the link when you import the transactions into the main ledger.

Payments from the bank account to cash account


Whenever a payment is made from the bank account to the cash desk, the movement is recorded both in the main accounting file and in the cash register file. To avoid overlapping of accounting entries when importing data from the cash desk, the internal transfer account account is used

  • The receipt of funds is recorded in the cash register file, using the tour account as category or alternatively the category for payments from the bank account, if the tour account has been set in the Category2 column.
  • The outflow of funds is recorded in the main accounting file, with the bank account in credit and the internal transfer account in debit.

When importing the cash register data into the main accounting file, the tour account is reset.

Import the cash register data

  • Open the main accounting file
  • Click Action→ Import to accounting
  • In the window that appears, from the drop-down menu Import → select Transactions → Cash book movements (* .ac2) "
  • Using the Browse button, select the Cash Manager file.

importa movimenti dal Cash Manager

The explanations of this window are available at the page Import to accounting.

opzioni importa movimenti dal Cash Manager

In accounting

Destination account

You must select the cash account number, present in Double-entry accounting or Income / Expense accounting, where the movements are to be imported.

Initial document number

An initial document number can be entered which will be attributed to the first imported transaction. In subsequent recordings, the program automatically assigns a progressive number, starting from the initial one entered.
If you do not wish to assign progressive numbering automatically, leave the box empty.

Select movements

Start date / End date (inclusive)

Enter the start and end date of the period to which the imported transactions refer.

Group transactions

By activating one of the options it is possible to choose how the movements of the period should be grouped:

  • No period groupingAll rows are imported with their column contents. The Doc number present in the corresponding column of the cash register file is also imported.
  • If you want to use a different numbering in the accounting and simultaneously keep the original document of the file, in the Cash Manager insert the document in the DocProtocol column.
  • Monthly - groups the transactions by month.
  • Quarterly - groups movements by quarter.
  • Semi-annual - groups the movements by semester.
  • Annual - groups the transactions by year.

One registration per account

If several categories are grouped into a single account in the accounting, but separate transactions are desired for each category, this box must be activated; the program creates recordings for each category. When using VAT codes, postings are created not only by category, but also by different VAT codes for the same category.

Note

When you have an accounting with VAT, the VAT calculations may be slightly different. If the transaction amounts are entered net, the cash account balance may also differ due to rounding differences.

The accounting file is updated with the cash register data.

movimenti del Cash Manager importati nella Contabilità in partita doppia

 

Import transactions from Paypal

On the page Web filter for PayPal transactions you will find the information about the new feature that makes it possible to import all the Paypal transactions directly into Banana Accounting and the instructions on how to proceed (see below).

We have also prepared specific predefined templates for double-entry or multi-currency accounting that you can look at as an example or use as a separate accounting file just for the accounting transactions from Paypal.

More information about all types of import filters can be found on the Import filters page.

Learn more

Import accounts

This command imports the accounts from a Double-entry or Income & Expenses file (*.ac2) or a text file (*.txt), and integrates them automatically in the existing Chart of accounts.

To import accounts from another file, proceed as follows:

  1. Via Action → Import to accounting → select Accounts in the Import box.
  2. Select the * .ac2 or text file type to import the accounts.
  3. With the Browse button, choose the file where you want to import the Accounts to imported from.

importa conti

Accounts or categories can be included in current accounting by activating the following options:

 

importa conti

Options

Include Cost Centers

When there are cost centers, these will also be carried forward.

Add new accounts

When this option is activated, all new accounts are added to the accounting plan.

Replace text description

If already existing accounts are imported, but with different descriptions, the existing descriptions are replaced by the imported ones when this option is activated.

Replace opening balance

If already existing accounts are imported with different opening balances, the existing opening balances are replaced by the imported ones when this option is activated.

 

Import VAT codes

This function is only available in the Accounting with VAT management, and allows the user to Import VAT codes from:

  • Other accounting files (*.ac2)
  • A text file with column headers (text file *.txt)

Import from an accounting file

If you manage several accounts and use customised VAT codes, you can prepare the VAT code table and then import it into your other files.

  • Prepare the VAT Codes table in your accounting file.
  • Command Actions > Import to Accounting > VAT Codes
  • Choose the name of the file containing the updated VAT Codes table.
  • Choose replace all rows.

VAT Code Import Options

When importing from another file, several options are available.

Add new codes and groups

If this option is chosen, new codes are added and existing codes are retained.

Replace all lines

If this option is chosen, all existing VAT codes are replaced with the imported VAT codes.

VAT account not found message

If the message VAT account not found appears, the VAT account must be entered automatically in the menu File > File properties > VAT /Sales tax section.

Importing Predefined Swiss VAT Codes

This procedure shows how to import VAT codes from the model with the default VAT Codes 2024, which contain both the 2024 (VAT 8.1%) and 2018 (VAT 7.7%) rates.

See also page Swiss VAT Codes

In order to import VAT Codes, please proceed as follows:

  • Click Actions > Import into accounting command.
  • Select VAT Codes.
  • Select Switzerland new VAT Rates: in the lower field the file containing the new VAT Codes 2024 will be automatically displayed.
    In the case of VAT codes of another country, you must select the file containing the VAT codes in force according to your country.
  • Confirm by clicking on OK
import vat codes 2024
  • The following window will display
import vat codes 2024 dialog

 

VAT Management Documentation

For more information see the VAT Management page.

Import file

This feature allows you to import data from another Banana accounting file  of the same type.
 

To import data from a Banana Accounting File, proceed as follows:

  1. From the Actions→ Import to accounting menu → select File in the Import box .
  2. Select the * .ac2 file type to import the data.
  3. With the Browse button, choose the file from where you want to import the data.

importa file da Banana Contabilità

The below dialogue box will be displayed with several options that allow you to determine which data to import from the file.

importa file da Banana Contabilità

 

 

Source file

This is the file from the which the data are being taken.

Destination file

The file that is to receive the data.

Options

Import transactions

All the rows of the Transactions table, present in the source file, will be imported.

Import recurring transactions

All the rows of the Recurring Transactions table, present in the source file, will be imported

Import budget transactions

All the rows of the Budget table, present in the source file, will be imported.

Replace amounts in Account table

The amounts of the Opening, Budget and Previous columns of the Accounts table of the destination file are being deleted and replaced with the amounts that are present in the source file.

The accounts need to correspond, thanks to the same account numbers, or when there is a replacement, in that case the option Convert account numbers should be used.

Replace accounting properties (basic data)

The File and accounting properties of the destination file will be replaced by the ones of the source file.

Convert account numbers

Using this function, the imported account numbers will be replaced with those indicated in the alternative column.
If you use this function, you must also specify the column that contains the account numbers to be used in the import instead of the existing ones.
Next to the account number column, there should be a column that indicates the alternative number to be used when importing. If no alternative number is specified, the original account number of the source file will be used.

  • The account matches are in the source file
    This option is to be used when for example you keep an accounting file in a country, with a specific number system, and then you need to regularly import your transactions in a different accounting file, that uses a chart of accounts with a different numbering system.
    • You need to add a new text column in the accounting plan (Columns setup command)
    • For each account, indicate the destination account number in the table.
  • The account matches are in the destination file
    This option is used when for example you want to switch to a chart of accounts with a new numbering and grouping
    • You create a new accounting file with the new chart of accounts.
    • In the chart of accounts, you create a new column where you indicate the account matches (Columns setup command).
    • In this column, indicate the account numbers of the source file.
      Separate the accounts with a semi-colon "1000;1001" to indicate that several accounts need to be grouped into this account.
  • Column containing the account matches (Accounts table)
    Indicate a column of the chart of accounts that has been added by the user and that contains the account matches.

This option is used when switching from one chart of accounts to another, and when you need to convert accounts from one numbering to another.

For more information on converting the chart of accounts, see the page transfer data to a new accounting plan. 

Results and possible errors

The program will have carried forward all the data of the previous accounting, converting the account numbers.

In case the program indicates errors (absence of accounts or other), it might very well be necessary to cancel the import operation, complete the account matches and repeat the import operation.

The program, finding different charts of accounts, cannot automatically execute extended check-ups to make sure that all the data have been imported and grouped correctly.

It is therefore advised to check the result manually, verifying that the totals of the Balance sheet and the Profit and Loss statement are indeed correct.

Advanced import options

For different and more complex and automated conversion needs, we suggest to use the scripts, that allow a total customization of the conversion and the import.

 

Import exchange rates

This option is only present in Double-entry accounting with multi-currencies.
It lets the user import the exchange rates from another file.

How to proceed:

  1. From the Actions→ Import to accounting → menu select Exchange rates. in the Import box
  2. Select the file type * .ac2 of the exchange history or the text file:
  3. With the Browse button, choose the file from where you want to import the data.

Note: Exchange rate history files only show the Foreign exchange rate table and keep a record of past exchange rates.

importare i cambi da uno storico cambi o da un file di testo

A box with the following options are displayed:

importa cambi

Select date

The window lists dates with recently used changes. If you select a date, the program resumes the changes used on that specific date.

Substitute exchange rates

If you activate this option, all the exchange rate rows are replaced in the exchange rate table with the imported ones.

Add rows

If you activate this option, only the exchange rate rows that have different values are updated in the exchange rate table.

Payment orders for invoices from suppliers

The new Payments function allows you to create payment orders (pain.001) either from a list of transactions or by scanning the QR codes on received invoices.

The pain.001 files are XML messages that contains details of the payments to be made and that can be uploaded to the portal of the major financial institutions. Banana currently supports the Swiss payment standards (SPS).

More info Payment orders PAIN.001.

Prerequisites and important notes

Currently the payment functionality 

  • Is available in the Dev-Channel version, so please install the latest version of Banana Accounting+ Dev Channel.
  • This extension works only with the Advanced Plan, you can request a 1 month promo code from our support service.
  • The extension is currently in Beta Test, please check everything and report any problem.

How to create the payment file (pain.001)

  1. Open your accounting file (double entry accounting or income-expense accounting ) or download our example file Payments_2024_en.ac2
     
  2. In the Accounts table, verify the presence of the Address view.
    You can add it using the menu command Tools > Add/Remove functionalities... > Add Address columns in Accounts table.
    If your Address columns are different (e.g. missing IBAN, see the documentation Address view.
     
  3. The first time, install the Payment functionalities with the command Tools > Add/Remove functionalities... > Add payment functionalities
     
  4. Set up the debit bank account, which will be used when creating the payment order. In the Accounts table, select the debit account and complete the following data (Address view):
    - Name, surname or company name (bank account holder)
    - IBAN (IBAN account of the bank or postal account to be debited)
    - Bank clearing (BIC code of the financial institution to be debited)
     
  5. Check and update the address and payment information of your suppliers in the Accounts table (Address view).
    If you don't have a list of suppliers, please define it according to our explanation in the Suppliers section.
    If you make payments by scanning QR-Codes you don't need to setup the addresses because all information for the payment is included in the QR-Code

    accounts payable
     
  6. In the Transactions table enter the invoices of your suppliers or scan your QR-Codes

    open invoices
     
  7. Enter and complete the payment details by clicking directly on the Payment Data column. Ensure that all transactions to be paid are completed with the payment information. 
    If the supplier list (Account ID) is empty, it is necessary to configure the Payments extension by setting up the Suppliers group. 
    See the Payment orders extension (Payment Data dialog) for guidance.

    open invoices
       
  8. Select the command Reports > Suppliers > Create payment file

    create payment file from open invoices
     
  9. Please fill in with the name of the account holder to be debited, their corresponding IBAN, and BIC code. If you have previously entered this information in the Accounts table, it will be automatically suggested.
    If you want to display each payment separately on the bank statement, you must enable the "Individual booking" option when creating the payment order; otherwise, only the total amount will be shown on the bank statement.
    Press the "Next" button.

    create payment file
     
  10. A summary of the payment file is displayed and you can specify where to save it. Click on Finish, you will be asked to save the payment file, which you can upload to your bank. Note: In Banana it's not possible to connect to your bank and transmit the file, you need to upload the file from your computer into the bank app or website.

    create payment file
     
  11. After saving the payment file, a row containing the payment/file object will be inserted into the Transactions table.
    You can view the content of the XML file again by double-clicking on the Payment Data cell or by clicking on the edit icon located at the top right of the cell.
    This is a receipt, and it is no longer possible to modify the payment file or send it again.
    Warning! The payment/file objects are used to determine whether a payment has been transmitted to the bank.
    Therefore, it is recommended not to delete the rows containing these objects; otherwise, payments that have already been transmitted will continue to appear among the pending ones.
     
    create payment file
     

  12. When creating a payment order in Banana, the related payment entries are not generated immediately, as the file must first be transmitted to the bank and the payment is only executed after bank confirmation.
    Once the payments have been made, it is recommended to import into Banana the ISO 20022 file provided by the bank, which contains the details of the completed payments.
    After importing the invoice payments, you can complete them by pressing F2 in the Invoice column, so that they are marked as paid in the Supplier Invoices table (menu Reports > Suppliers).

     

 

Scanning QR-Codes

The Reports→ Suppliers→ Scan QR-code command displays the Scan code dialog,which allows you to enter one or more QR codes and create the accounting entries and related payment files from these data.

We tested the functionality with the Datalogic QuickScan reader (more on scanner configuration). 

It is also possible to scan the QR-Codes with a mobile app, copy the data to the clipboard and paste them into the Banana Scan code dialog.  You can search for an app that scans QR codes and saves them to the clipboard in the Apple or Android store. Our company does not provide or publish any software of this type.

If you have multiple QR codes to scan, use the Next Scan button after each scan. 

If you are picking up a list of QR codes from the clipboard, they must be separated by semicolons, without adding spaces or line breaks (...EDP;SPC...).

To automatically retrieve the supplier's account number, you must correctly specify the supplier's name in the Organization column of the Accounts table, Address view. The text in the Organization column must exactly match the name indicated in the QR code.

 

Scan QR-Codes

Configure and Use QR Code Scanner

  1. Configure and connect the scanner.
  2. In Banana, select the command Reports > Suppliers > Scan QRCode (Ctrl+8) and place the cursor in the input field.
  3. Press the button on the scanner.
  4. The scan dialog will be automatically filled in.
  5. Complete the process.

Configure and Use Mobile App

  1. Install the mobile app, scan QR codes with the app, and save the data to the clipboard.
  2. Transfer the saved text to your computer with Banana (e.g., via email or AirDrop).
  3. In Banana, select the command Reports > Suppliers > Scan QRCode (Ctrl+8) and place the cursor in the input field.
  4. Paste the copied text into the scan dialog.
  5. Complete the process.

List of payments

The command Reports→ Suppliers→ List of payments display all payments included in payment files. Payment data are not included.

Payment transactions

Payment List

Payment transactions

VAT Management in Banana Accounting+

Banana Accounting Plus simplifies VAT management by automating the calculation, recording, and submission of VAT returns to tax authorities. Cutting-edge features reduce manual errors, ensuring tax compliance. Banana Accounting Plus simplifies VAT management by automating the calculation, recording, and submission of declarations to tax authorities. Cutting-edge features reduce manual errors, ensuring tax compliance. Pre-set templates with VAT options and pre-configured codes are available for all accounting applications,

For Switzerland, the new 2024 VAT rates are already available. The new VAT extension for submitting returns digitally is available.

Recording transactions with VAT

With Banana Accounting, VAT management is very simple because it is completely automated. Transactions with VAT are recorded in the Transactions table, the main hub of all accounting, by entering for each VAT transaction the corresponding VAT code, referring to the sale or purchase, according to the rates in force.
Several pre-set columns are available, the display of which can be customised.

In addition, the programme offers:

Registrazioni con IVA

In the Transactions table there are specific VAT Columns for various VAT-related information.

To record a transaction with VAT, enter the following data:

  • The date of the transaction.
  • The invoice number.
  • In the Link column, you can enter the digital link to the Pdf accounting document.
  • The Debit and Credit Account where you can indicate the account and the contra-account
  • The amount.
  • The VAT code relating to the purchase or sale (codes found in the VAT Codes table).

For each transaction, the programme performs the following automatisms:

  • Accurately records the VAT paid on purchases and the VAT received on sales.
  • Automatically calculates the VAT amount.
  • Breaks down the VAT amount from the cost or revenue.
  • Retreives the VAT amount, taxable amount and VAT amount on the VAT accounts.

Predefined VAT accounts and settings

In the Banana Accounting Plus VAT models, the VAT accounts are already set up in the Accounts table. In the passive accounts, there are the automatic VAT split account and the VAT due account (or VAT receivable account). 

To speed up VAT transactions, it is possible to set the VAT code to each account that has VAT transactions in the Accounts table. This setting allows you to automate the entry of the VAT code when you enter the account in the Accounts table.
More details can be found on the page Match the VAT code to account.

abbinare il codice IVA al conto

VAT Codes Table

The VAT Codes table defines the VAT codes for the rates in force and other parameters for calculating VAT.

  • There are columns in which to set VAT codes for calculating VAT gross, net or by VAT amount only.
  • There are both VAT codes for the effective method and for the flat rate method
  • Swiss templates have the VAT Codes table already set up:
    • with the VAT codes relating to the rates in force
    • for each VAT code, in the GR1 column, the reference figure is set, which will allow the VAT data to be reported in the VAT reporting template and also in the Xml file to be transmitted to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA).
  • For each country, there are files with the VAT codes already set according to the national reporting requirements.

Automated VAT reports and returns

The programme automatically generates various reports with very detailed summaries by VAT code, account, percentages, records and period. VAT summaries can be customised by displaying columns specific to the data you wish to obtain. VAT summaries are useful for understanding the movement of VAT (VAT due, recoverable and payable) and allow effective control and in the event of audits by tax authorities, targeted details are available to facilitate audit work.
More information is available on the VAT Report page.

Report IVA

The VAT functionalities of Banana Accounting Plus offer several advantages:

  • Efficiency
    You avoid preparing calculations and statements manually, saving time and effort
  • Accurate calculations and statements
    Errors are avoided because calculations are performed automatically and accurately by the programme on the basis of the data recorded by the system.
  • Compliance with current regulations
    The programme is updated according to current rates. Simply update the VAT Codes table and the calculations and statements are performed correctly and in a manner consistent with the regulations.
  • National VAT Reports Extensions
    These are additional modules, different per country, that print or export VAT data in the format required by the tax authorities. Please refer to the national VAT documentation
  • Archiving of VAT printouts
    All printouts with VAT data can be saved in pdf or other formats and archived. Archiving allows the data to be available at all times in case of tax audits.

Calculation methods

Banana Accounting is a powerful calculation tool and in VAT management, too, you can take advantage of its potential to always have accurate and correct VAT calculations and reports.

There are two calculation methods:

Accounting methods

  • Turnover
    Demands the for the keeping of a customer and supplier ledger. 
    Costs and revenues, with the corresponding VAT code, are recorded when the invoice is issued and received.
    More information can be found on the page How to manage VAT on turnover.
     
  • Cash principle/ Collection
    It is not compulsory to keep a customer and supplier ledger, but if you still wish to have one, it is important to set it up with cost centres.
    Costs and revenues, with the corresponding VAT code, are recorded when collected or paid.
    More information can be found on the page Clients and Suppliers with VAT using the Cash principle

 Features currently unavailable

These features are not available at the moment:

  • In multi-currency accounting, the account to which VAT is recorded net (usually Revenue and Expense accounts) must be in base currency.
    It is not possible to deduct VAT from accounts that are not in base currency.
  • The VAT amount is calculated by the programme and recalculated when the Recalculate accounting is done.  This gives the auditor or others who check the accounts the certainty that the calculations are always made with the same logic. 
    For VAT rounding, it is not possible to enter a different VAT amount than the one calculated by the programme. Generally, these are VAT amounts that have been rounded on the invoice, even by a few cents.
     

Insights

 

VAT documentation specific to Switzerland, Italy and other countries.

In the section of each country you will find the most specific documentation on VAT.
English not being an official language, you will be redirected to the relevant pages in official languages for Switzerland.

  • VAT management for Swizerland
    Information pages specific to Switzerland:
    • Swiss VAT codes table.
    • How to register VAT.
    • Prepare the VAT return.
    • Use the Swiss VAT Extension.
  • VAT management for Italy
  • Information pages specific to Italy:
    • Italian VAT codes table.
    • How to register VAT.
    • Prepare the VAT return.
    • Use the Italian VAT Extension.

Extensions for national VAT reports

For some countries there are Extensions that can be easily installed and allow you to print or export the VAT report in the format required by the authorities.

Each country's VAT extensions work in conjunction with the country's VAT Codes table.

 

Theory

VAT (Value-added Tax) is a tax that weighs on the final consumer. Every VAT subject must calculate and periodically deposit the tax to the Revenues Authority.

Every country has its own VAT rates that are established in different percentages depending on the type of merchandise or service. Certain merchandise and services are exempt or excluded.

The percentages vary according to the financial necessity of the country; therefore, there can be changes over the years.
 

VAT rate

In this document, to make calculations easier, we will use the following rates:

  • 10 % normal rate
  • 5% reduced rate
  • 0% excluded operations or exempt operations
     

VAT calculation

Net Price x VAT Percentage / 100 = VAT Amount

Example:
Net price 300
Tax rate 10%
VAT amount = 300 x 10 / 100 = 30
 

Gross price calculation

Net price + VAT Amount = Gross Price

Example:
300 + 30 =  330

Sometimes the gross amount is known and it is necessary to find the net and VAT amounts.


Net price calculation

Gross Price / (100 + VAT rate) x 100 = Net Price

Example:
330 / (100 + 10) x 100 = 300

The net price represents the cost (purchase) or the revenue (sale) of the company
 

VAT amount calculation

Gross Price - Net Price = VAT Amount

Example:
330 - 300 = 30

or

330 - [330 / (100 + 10) x 100] = 30

The VAT amount represents the debit (sales) or the credit (purchases) towards the Revenues Authority.
 

VAT rate calculation

VAT Amount  / Net Amount x 100  = VAT Rate

Example:
30 / 300 x 100 = 10%

or

[330 - 330 / (100 + 10) x 100]/100 = 10%

Another example:
20 / 400 x 100 = 5%

This way of calculating is used when the rate is not known.

 

File properties (VAT/Sales tax tab)

This tab will only appear if an accounting template with VAT/Sales tax management is selected.

The VAT section for setting up VAT accounts is accessed via the File menu > File properties (basic data) > VAT/Sales tax tab.

Dateieigenschaften, Registerkarte MwSt 

VAT Account

The automatic breakdown VAT account, present in the chart of accounts, is set by default. For Swiss users it corresponds to the VAT according to VAT report. In this case it is not necessary to enter the VAT account in the VAT Code Table.

With the setting of the automatic breakdown VAT account only, all the VAT amounts, both of the sales and of the purchases, flow respectively into the credit and debit of this account and it is not necessary to set up the recoverable VAT account. At the end of the quarter, the balance of the automatic breakdown VAT account is turned over to the VAT payable account (or Inland Revenue VAT account).

Recoverable VAT Account

If the automatic breakdown VAT account is not set up as the only VAT account, the recoverable VAT account is set up. In this case it is not necessary to enter the account in the VAT Codes table.

VAT rounding

It is defined how the VAT amounts must be rounded; for example, if you enter 0.05, the VAT amounts are rounded to multiples of 0.05.

Cost centers 1 (CC1), 2 (CC2), 3 (CC3)

For each type of Cost Center it is possible to choose which amount to use for registration in the cost center:

  • Use the transaction amount.
  • Use the amount with VAT included
    (In the case of cost centers used for customer or supplier accounts)
  • use the amount without VAT
    Setting whether the cost center is used for costs or revenues.
Note

if one of these parameters is changed, the accounting will have to be recalculated.

Related documents:

VAT Codes Table

The settings in the VAT Codes table allow you to define all the parameters necessary to manage the procedures for registering with VAT. The settings concern:

  • VAT due or recoverable.
  • Transaction amount recorded as net, gross, or VAT amount at 100% (Customs VAT).
  • Percentage of applicable VAT rates.
  • The account in which VAT is be recorded.
  • Special rounding off for each code.
  • Grouping and totaling method.

The VAT Codes table has a Base view and a Complete view. The difference between the two is the fact that the Complete view presents several columns that are not available in the Base view. 

Calculation method

The parameters indicated in the VAT Codes table are being used to calculate the VAT of the individual transactions. 
The parameters established in the VAT Codes table cannot be changed in the transactions. This modality guarantees that the VAT calculations are correct and consistent.
Please note: if the values of a VAT Code, which has already been used in the transactions, are being modified, the changes are not active immediately; in this case it is necessary to use the Actions > Check accounting command.
When modifying the VAT table, the program, as a precaution, displays a message in the Info window inviting for a complete recalculation.

The following Table refers to the codes being used according to the Swiss legislation:

Swiss VAT Codes Table

Detailed description of the columns

In the following columns, insert the following data:

  • Group: an abbreviation or a number that indicates the group to which the codes belong.
    For more information on the grouping system, please refer to the Grouping System page. 
  • VAT Code:
    • Normal VAT codes.
      The abbreviation to identify and resume the VAT code in the registrations.
    • Codes preceded by a colon ":" :
      They are not VAT codes. They are used in the Transactions table to specify VAT cases in greater detail (ex.: in Reverse charge transactions, two VAT codes are used at the same time, separated by ":", so that the program can calculate the VAT amount payable and receivable).
  • Description: a text for the description of the VAT Code or the group.
  • Disable:
    Allows you to disable VAT codes that are not used. Facilitates data entry in the Transactions table.
    • 1 - the VAT code is not visible in the auto-completion list (Transactions table), but it can still be used;
    • 2 - the VAT code is not visible in the auto-complete list and must not be used.
  • Sum in: abbreviation or number of the Group in which the row of a code must be totaled.
  • Gr1: this column is used for specific groupings.
    The screen capture shows the groupings for the encoding of the figures of the Swiss VAT return.
  • Gr2: code for additional groupings.
  • Due VAT: 
    If the word Yes is being inserted, this means that the VAT is at debit (due to the State)   
    If the cell is empty, this means that the VAT is at credit (recoverable) 
  • Amount type:
    The code indicates how the VAT amount of the transaction is to be understood.
    • 0 (or empty cell) - with VAT/sales tax (the transaction amount is considered VAT included)
    • 1 = without VAT/Sales tax (the transaction amount is considered VAT excluded)
    • 2 = VAT amount (the transaction amount is considered the VAT amount, 100%) 
      The amount type 2 is used in particular to account for customs VAT paid or charged on the shipper's invoice. More details on the recording are available on the page: Entering VAT at customs for import
  • % VAT: VAT code percentage.
  • % NonDed.: if, for a VAT code, it is not possible to deduct the full 100%, enter the non deductible percentage here (example 100%)
  • VAT% on gross: is usually left empty. The word "Yes" has to be inserted only if the VAT percentage has to be applied on the gross amount (VAT included) and not on the taxable amount (e.g. for flat rates). 
  • VAT account: The account to which the broken down VAT automatically is posted.
    In the File and Accounting properties (File menu), a general account, that will be used as the VAT account, can be defined.
  • Round Min: minimum rounding value.
    If left empty, the rounding indicated in the basic accounting data is used.
  • Don't warn: there are particular entries that the program might interpret as wrong, but which are in fact correct. To prevent the program from reporting error warnings, enter Yes to the code of interest.

Rechecking the accounting file

When the accounting is recalculated and the transactions are not blocked, the program resumes the VAT parameters assigned to each code in the transactions. Therefore, if a setting of a VAT code has been changed, the change is resumed in the respective columns of the transactions which are not editable by the user.

For this reason, when editing the VAT codes table, the program suggests to operate a full accounting recheck.

Adding a new percentage 

When a new percentage is added, a new row has to be added; in the new row, insert the data of the new VAT code with the new percentage, while paying attention to insert the correct grouping. Don't change a code that has already been used in the transactions.  

VAT codes for services provided abroad

In the VAT Codes table, it is possible to set up, in separate groups, VAT codes for the provision of services provided abroad, with specific rates for the country in which one operates and for which VAT is also due to foreign countries.

The corresponding VAT code is set for each country, which can be totaled in its own group or in a totalization group that refers to the VAT to be paid to foreign countries.

To view the amounts to be paid, go via the Reports > VAT /Sales tax report menu and select the specific code for the country or the totalization group for the VAT to be paid to foreign countries.

For the VAT to be paid in foreign countries, it is not possible to send it electronically.

Own Groupings

By creating groups with multiple totaling levels, the user can obtain the totals that are necessary for the VAT declaration.   
In the VAT report, by activating the option Use own grouping scheme, the software calculates the totals exactly as indicated in the sequence of the indicated groupings in the VAT Codes table. 
The groupings are being used to obtain totals for groups of transactions, for example, the totals for all exportations or importations.

Related document:

 

Match the VAT code to the account

In an accounting with VAT, in the Accounts table, it is possible to link a VAT code to the income/expense accounts, so that, when the sales and purchases are being recorded, the program automatically inserts the VAT code and completes the columns with the VAT data while entering the account number.  

In order to associate the codes:

  • Click on the Other view. In this view, the VAT code column is visible by default.
    In case you wish to display the VAT code column in the Base view, click on the Data > Columns setup command.
  • Insert the VAT codes for the income/expenses in the VAT code column. If the VAT code is inserted within square brackets, for example [V81], the VAT will only appear on issued invoices and will not be separated in the accounting records.

associate the VAT with the account
 
N.B: If the VAT rates have changed (refer to New VAT Rates 2024), the values entered in the VAT Code column must be updated manually. 
The same applies to the already entered transactions (in theTransactions table, VAT Code column), which must be replaced manually in each registration row (or using the Replace command to modify them all together).

VAT rounding

The Swiss system for VAT calculation, provides for calculated to the cent, without rounding.

For those who need to have VAT amounts rounded up to cents, the following procedure is followed:

  • In the Transactions table, post normally by applying the appropriate VAT code
  • On the next row, post the expense or revenue account used in the previous line in debit and credit
  • In the amount column, enter the cents to be rounded
  • In the VAT Code column, enter a VAT code with amount type 2 (100% VAT amount), for example M81-2
  • When the cents are to be decreased, enter the code with the minus sign in front of "-M81-2".

VAT rounding

 

Setting up VAT accounts

What are VAT accounts?

The VAT accounts are accounting sheets where the VAT amounts are automatically posted, based on the VAT code settings in the VAT Codes table.

When a VAT code is used, the program automatically calculates the following data based on the values of the transaction:

  • Taxable amount and the VAT amount.
  • Taxable amount on the Debit account.
  • Amount of the taxable amount on the credit account.
  • Amount of the taxable amount on the credit account.

At the bottom of the information window, by moving the mouse over the transaction, you can see which amounts are recorded on the different accounts.

General VAT account (automatic)

If the VAT account is set as default in the File → Properties file → VAT, this is used whenever there is a registration with a VAT code. In this case, the VAT accounts for the various VAT codes must not be set up in the VAT Codes table.

Recoverable and Due VAT Accounts

In the VAT code table, VAT Account column, according to the VAT code (active or passive) you can indicate the recoverable VAT account or the VAT due account. In this case, if these specific accounts are set up in the VAT Codes table, the default VAT account (General VAT account - automatic) must not be set in the File Properties, VAT section.

Using a single VAT account or several VAT accounts?

In accounting, the active part must be separated from the passive part. If the recoverable VAT is offset against that due, only the VAT amount actually due must be shown in the balance sheet.
From an accounting point of view, in most cases, it is not essential, indeed it is better to have only one VAT account.
For reporting purposes, however, it is useful to have the different types of separate VAT transactions. In programs that do not use VAT codes it is necessary to separate each operation on separate accounts. With Banana Accounting, thanks to the VAT codes and the VAT Summary, it is possible to obtain much more meaningful details while also using a single VAT account:

  • Movements and totals (taxable VAT, VAT amount, accounted VAT) for each VAT code.
  • Movements and totals by VAT percentage.
  • Movements and totals by VAT account.
  • Movements and totals by amount due and recoverable.

In order to control VAT transactions, it is not necessary to use several separate VAT accounts.

Banana Accounting leaves the choice of using the general account, set up in the File Properties, or different VAT accounts, set up in the VAT Codes table.

Advantages of using a single VAT account

After several years we have seen that the use of a single VAT account is much more intuitive and, for the Swiss charts of accounts we have therefore chosen to use a single VAT account (2201, VAT statement), obviously leaving the possibility to each change the settings.

  • Balance sheet and income statement much easier to read (there are not many VAT accounts).
  • Possibility of having accounts (for example of revenues) in which to register transactions with different VAT rates.
  • You know immediately the VAT due without having to add several accounts together.
  • Immediate display of all VAT transactions.
    In the VAT account card, all the VAT transactions in Debit and Credit are indicated.

automatic VAT account

Advantages of using multiple VAT accounts

If you use VAT codes, the registration on a specific VAT account is a repetition of information that you already have with the VAT code and its detailed summary.

In countries like Germany it is customary to have a different VAT account for each type of transaction, so that the VAT return can be made using the balances of the individual VAT account cards.

In these cases, for compatibility with this system, it is useful to have different VAT accounts for each VAT code.

Closing of VAT accounts at the end of the period

At the end of the VAT calculation period, it is useful to close the debit and credit VAT accounts and move the balance to one account. This allows:

  • Accounting for the exact amount due to be paid or recovered
  • At each new period, the account "2201, VAT return" starts from scratch, making it easier to check for any differences and errors.

For the periodic closure of the account "2201, VAT statement", see the Periodic closure and VAT payment page.

 

Transactions with VAT

In Banana Accounting, in the Charts of Accounts prepared for Switzerland, the VAT accounts and the VAT rates currently in force are already set. In particular, the 2201 "VAT according to VAT report"  account (VAT account with automatic splitting) is set both in the Chart of accounts and in the File properties (basic data) → VAT section. In this case no VAT account needs to be inserted in the VAT Codes Table.

In case you are not using the Charts of accounts already available in Banana, make sure that the necessary VAT accounts are present in your own Chart of accounts. Our advice is to use the 2201 "VAT according to VAT report" account (VAT account with automatic splitting) and to enter it into the File properties (basic data) → VAT section.

In the VAT codes table, there are codes for the sales, the purchases and for services rendered. When entering the transactions, use the appropriate VAT code. 

The software automatically splits the VAT amounts and records them in the "VAT according to VAT report" account or in the VAT account that has been indicated by the user in the File and Accounting properties.

VAT transactions

 

 VAT columns in the Transactions table (Complete VAT view)

You can find the full explanation of the main Transactions table columns in the Columns and Views page.

In the Double-entry accounting with VAT or in the Income & Expense accounting with VAT, you will find the following VAT columns:

  • VAT Code: for each transaction with VAT you need to enter one of the VAT codes from the VAT codes table. In Reverse Charge operations, two VAT codes can be used, separated by the symbol ":".
  • VAT %: the program automatically enters the VAT percentage associated with the VAT code you entered. If the amount is preceded by a "+/-" sign, it is a Reverse Charge operation.
  • VATExtraInfo: A code related to extra info about the VAT, to be used only in very exceptional cases.
    It is possible to enter a symbol to identify specific VAT cases. The program suggests options, corresponding to the VAT Codes that start with a colon ":".
  • %Eff.: the program automatically enters the VAT percentage referred to the net amount (taxable amount). It is different from the percentage applied when the latter is calculated on the gross amount (balance rate).
  • Taxable: once you enter the VAT code, the software automatically indicates the taxable amount (without VAT).
  • VAT amount: the program automatically indicates the VAT amount.
  • VAT A/C: the account where the VAT is registered is automatically indicated (for Switzerland, this is normally the 2201 "VAT according to VAT report" account) previously entered in the File Properties (basic data), VAT tab (from the File menu).
  • Amount type: this is a code that indicates how the software considers the transaction amount:
    • 0 (or empty cell) with VAT/sales tax, the transaction amount is VAT included.
    • 1 = without VAT/Sales tax, the transaction amount is VAT excluded.
    • 2 = VAT amount, the transaction amount is considered the VAT amount at 100%.
    • Amount type not editable: Default mode.
      • The column is protected.
      • The program uses the associated value of the VAT Codes table.
      • When you edit the value in the VAT Codes table and you recalculate the accounting, the program uses the new value associated with this VAT Code.
    • Amount type editable: this option can be activated with the Add new functionalities command. The activation of the option cannot be undone.
      • When you edit the VAT Code, the program uses the Amount type associated with this code.
      • The value can be edited manually.
      • When the accounting is being recalculated, the value indicated in the Transactions table is being maintained.
  • Non. Ded. %: this indicates the non deductible %.
    • The program uses the Non. Ded. % associated to a VAT Code that is present in the VAT Codes table.
    •  You can manually edit the value.
  • VAT Acc.: this is the VAT amount registered in the VAT account.
    It is calculated by the program according to the transaction amount, the Amount type and the non deductible percentage.
  • VAT number: this is the code or VAT number of your client/supplier.
    When you enter a transaction with VAT, it is possible to enter the VAT number of your counterparty. If in the Accounts table, Address view, in your clients/suppliers register accounts, you enter their VAT number, this is automatically loaded in the Transactions table, in the VAT number column.

 

Transactions with VAT

Before entering transactions with VAT, you must keep in mind all the information on the Transactions page.

Entering a VAT transaction is very easy:

  • Enter the date, document number and invoice number in the respective columns
  • Enter the description, the Debit account and the Credit account
  • Enter the gross amount (including VAT)
  • Enter the VAT code provided for the type of transaction (purchases, sales, investments...) and present in the VAT Codes Table.

Entering a VAT Transaction

How to correct VAT transactions

In case of an error in a transaction with VAT, it is possible to correct it directly on the transaction row, provided that no VAT declaration has been submitted or no accounting lock has been executed.

If however your accounting file is locked or if you have already sent your VAT declaration, you cannot simply delete the wrong transaction, but you need to operate some cancellation-transaction and then re-enter the correct transaction.

In order to rectify VAT operation(s), you need to:

  • Make a new transaction by inverting the Debit and Credit accounts used in the wrong transaction.
  • Enter the same amount.
  • Enter the same VAT code but preceded by the minus sign (ex.: -V81).
  • Enter a new transaction with the correct accounts, amount and VAT code.

Depending on the entity of the mistake, you should consider informing your local VAT office; usually they ask you to download a specific form for correcting mistakes in the previous VAT period that you already declared.

How to only enter the VAT amount

There are cases where only the VAT amount needs to be recorded, such as when you receive compensation from the car insurance.

In these cases, you can proceed as follows:

  • Enter the date, document number and description in the appropriate columns.
  • In the Credit A/C column enter the account used to pay the VAT amount (the Debit A/C column remains empty).
  • In the Amount column enter the VAT amount to be paid.
  • In the VAT code column enter the VAT code I81-2 (the code that refers to 100% amount VAT).

How to only enter the VAT amount

 

 

 

Transactions with different VAT rates

There may be cases in which the total amount is composed of several taxable amounts with different VAT rates. In this case the transaction is recorded on several rows.

For the transaction, it is necessary to:

  • Subdivide the overall amount into the various amounts, each of which is subject to a specific VAT rate.
  • On each row, enter the amount (amount with VAT) and insert the VAT code with the specific rate.
  • Once the transaction is completed, check that the sum of the single gross amounts and the VAT amounts correspond to the invoice total.
Example

Entering transactions with different VAT codes

VAT EXEMPTION

When in the invoice the total amount subject to VAT is made up of a taxable part and a VAT-exempt part, it is necessary to register on more than one row as in the previous case, applying the exempt VAT code, present in the VAT Codes table.

 

Reversals/Credit note

When there are reversal operations for credit or debit notes, or simply to rectify previously recorded transactions whose amounts are subject to VAT, the VAT must also be reversed in the reversal transaction.

For the transaction:

  • Reverse in the Debit and in the Credit column the accounts that were used in the previous transaction, to which the credit note refers.

To reverse the VAT there are two possibilities:

  • Put the minus sign in front of the VAT code (e.g. -V81).
  • Use one of the codes that refer to discounts, already set in the VAT Codes table.

With these procedures the VAT amount will be adjusted.
 

Example of a credit note on a sale

When a client finds a defect on a sold product, usually a credit note on his behalf is being issued. The credit note implies a decrease of the income and as a result a recovery of the VAT (Sales tax).

For example, we enter a sale amount of 12'000 including a 8.1% VAT. We then issue on the client's behalf a credit note of CHF 200.- for a product defect.

Entering a VAT credit note

In the transaction of the credit note issued to the customer:

  • The accounts of the sale, to which the credit note refers, have been reversed
  • For VAT recovery on the credit note, the VAT code of the sales is recorded, preceded by the minus sign.

Example of a credit note on a purchase

When we receive a credit note from a supplier, the procedure for the transaction is similar:

  • The accounts used for the purchase are reversed.
  • Enter the same VAT code used for the purchase, preceded by the minus sign.

For example, we record an invoice for the purchase of goods for CHF 3'000  including a 8.1% VAT. We then receive a credit note of CHF 300.-  from our supplier for a product defect.

Entering a VAT credit note from a supplier

In the transaction of the credit note received from the supplier:

  • The accounts of the purchase, to which the credit note refers, have been reversed.
  • For VAT recovery on the credit note, the VAT code of the purchases is recorded, preceded by the minus sign.

 

VAT registration with the Reverse Charge

VAT with the Reverse Charge

Normally VAT is applied to the seller of the goods. Reverse Charge is the term used to indicate that the VAT tax is applied to the buyer.
The Reverse Charge is used mainly when buying goods or services abroad and that have not been taxed at customs. In these cases, the exporting seller is exempted from VAT, while the importing buyer is taxed at the local rate and can possibly deduct it. In addition, there are other cases of purchases abroad subject to the Reverse Charge and each country, in its tax legislation, provides for different situations. When registering VAT with the Reverse Charge:

  • The transaction must be included so that it will result as VAT due.
  • If the VAT is also deductible, the deductible part of VAT must also be recorded.

Software prerequisites

The possibility of recording the transaction subject to the Reverse Charge, tax liability and VAT recovery on one single row, is available for the Banana Accounting Plus.

Reverse Charge with tax liability only

If you have to include the purchase of goods or services, but do not have the possibility to deduct VAT:

  • Indicate the VAT code due to the appropriate case in the transaction.

The liability with the Reverse Charge without deduction is generally used in the case one is benefiting from a flat-rate scheme or when the type of expense is not considered deductible.

Reverse Charge with tax liability and VAT deduction

If the amount of VAT due is equal to that of the deductible VAT, the Reverse Charge can be registered on a single row, by simultaneously entering both the code for the VAT due and the code for the recoverable VAT.

  • The pre-defined VAT codes are used and there is no need to change the VAT table.
  • In the row of the entry with VAT Reverse Charge, enter the two predefined VAT codes in the VAT Code column, separated by a colon ":".
  • The two VAT codes must be complementary in order for the result to offset one other.
    • One of the two codes must be set up with VAT due and the other with recoverable VAT.
    • The VAT rate and all other calculation parameters must also be identical.
    • If the VAT codes do not have the same parameters, an error message will be displayed.
  • The sequence of codes is not relevant, you can put one or the other first.
  • When reversing an operation, the first VAT code must be preceded by the minus sign "-".
    Reversal is used to cancel an incorrectly posted transaction. In this case, the same elements are kept, but the original transaction is reversed:
    • The VAT payable code is recorded as recoverable.
    • The recoverable VAT code is posted as due.
  • In the VAT columns, the amounts are preceded by the sign "+/-", which signals that the amounts offset each other for VAT purposes.
  • In the account card and in the VAT summary there are separate entries for the debit and credit entries.

Example of transaction with Reverse Charge

Below are some examples of the Reverse Charge transaction inclusive of VAT due and recoverable:

  • VAT included and excluding operations.
  • Cancellation transactions, with VAT codes preceded by the "-" sign.

Notes: The examples in the image below are purely indicative. These codes must be adapted according to the rates in your country. Further information: 

esempio registrazione assoggettamento e deduzione

Reverse Charge with account in foreign currency

When the invoice is presented in a currency other than the accounting currency, the posting must be carried out on two lines:

  • the invoice in foreign currency is entered on the first row
  • the second line records the taxation and deduction of VAT, taking up the amount calculated in the accounting currency.

example transaction of tax liability and VAT deduction in foreign currency

Reverse Charge at different rates

When different rates are to be considered in the taxation of the due and recoverable VAT or the VAT is partially deductible, the transaction must be made on several rows:

  • On one row, enter the VAT due code (tax liability).
  • On another row, the recoverable VAT code is entered.

example transaction different rates, on two lines

Reverse charge with the net / flat rate method (CH)

In this case, it is not possible to post the VAT deduction, as it is not possible to recover the VAT on purchases. In any case, the tax liability must be registered.

example transaction tax liability and VAT deduction on the balance method

 

VAT Summary (Report)

The VAT Summary is a document or a section of an accounting ledger where transactions subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) are summarized for a specific period (monthly, quarterly, or yearly).  

Main elements of the VAT summary

  1. VAT payable: total amount of VAT due on issued or collected invoices (sales).
  2. VAT receivable: total amount of VAT recoverable on received or paid invoices (purchases).
  3. VAT to be paid or credited: Difference between VAT due and VAT recoverable.
    • If VAT payable > VAT receivable: The company must pay VAT to the State.
    • If VAT receivable > VAT payable: The company has a VAT credit that can be offset or claimed for a refund.

The VAT Summary in Banana Accounting Plus is a journal that records VAT transactions and balances, based on the set parameters and selected options. 
It is automatically generated by the program through the Reports > VAT Summary menu and can be saved and archived in PDF format. All transactions with a VAT code, depending on the selected options, can be broken down by account, VAT code, and percentage. 

There are two main groups:

  • Total Due
  • Total Recoverable 

The difference between these two totals results in the VAT to be paid or recovered with respect to the FTA (Federal Tax Administration).

Below is an example of a VAT summary table for the first quarter of 2025:

vat report

For users who do not wish to use automated solutions for managing and submitting VAT data online, the VAT Summary is essential for calculating the VAT amounts to be manually entered into the Swiss paper VAT return or the FTA online portal.

If you wish to have a fully automated Swiss VAT return and electronic VAT data transmission, we recommend using the new VAT extensions, available in the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Comparison between VAT summary and VAT extension

To better understand the differences between the VAT Summary and the VAT Extension, below are their main features:

VAT Summary

  • Available in all plans of Banana Accounting Plus, in all accounting applications with VAT management.
  • It is an integral part of accounting because it represents a ledger where all VAT transactions are recorded.
  • It is particularly important as it provides details that allow monitoring of sales.
  • Serves as a basis for manually preparing the VAT declaration and settlement.
  • It is a support tool for auditors and tax inspections, facilitating the verification of VAT records.
  • In case of tax audits, it provides all the details necessary to verify VAT transactions.
  • Does not allow automatic preparation of the VAT form. Everything must be manually reported.
    • The user must identify and manually sum the amounts to be reported in the various sections of the VAT return.
    • Does not provide automatic submission of data to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA).

 VAT Extension

  • Available only with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.
  • A set of advanced features to automate VAT management and data submission to the FTA.
  • Filters, calculates, and automatically fills in VAT amounts in the correct sections of the VAT return.
  • Always performs calculations according to predefined rules, reducing the risk of errors.
  • Automatically generates an XML file for electronic submission of VAT data to the FTA portal.
  • Creates a PDF file with a facsimile of the VAT return, facilitating documentation and archiving.
    At the end of the return, there is a section where any calculation and rounding differences are reported.

Thanks to the VAT Extension, VAT management becomes simpler, faster, and free from manual errors, improving administrative efficiency.

The Advanced plan includes the two VAT calculation and reporting methods:

The VAT summery dialog

The VAT report is obtained by clicking on the menu Reports > VAT report

riassunto iva nel cash manager

When activated, the following options allow you to include the following data in the VAT report:

Include movements

All transactions with VAT are included.

Include totals for accounts

The totals of transactions with VAT are included, grouped by single account.

Include totals by codes

The totals of transactions with VAT are included, grouped by single VAT code.

Include totals by percentages

The totals of transactions with VAT for each individual rate are included.

Include unused codes

Also included are the unused codes present in the VAT Codes table.

Use own grouping (group and Gr)

Transactions with VAT are grouped according to the grouping of the VAT Codes table.

Order registration by

This function allows you to sort the recordings based on the selected option (date, doc.,
description, etc ....).

Partial Report

By specifying a code or a group and checking the appropriate boxes, the total of transactions with VAT is obtained:

  • just the code indicated (by selecting from the list)
  • just the indicated group (by selecting from the list).

Other sections

Information for the other sections is available on the following web pages:

VAT Report / transactions with totals by code

The overall total in the last row of the VAT report has to correspond with the amount for the end of period of the Automatic VAT account, Balance column, on the condition that both of them refer to the same period.

The data of the VAT report can also be transferred to and elaborated by other programs (f.i. Excel, XSLT) and be presented in formats that are similar to the forms of the tax authority

For Switzerland, one can automatically obtain a document similar to the form that has to be sent to the VAT office. This form shows the amount to enter for each number.  Please consult (in German, French, or Italian) Swiss VAT Report.

Period closing and VAT payment

In VAT management, each country requires specific VAT accounts within the chart of accounts. These accounts are used to record and manage input and output VAT:

  • VAT payable – Account where VAT amounts related to sales and services are recorded.
  • VAT receivable – Account where VAT amounts on purchases of goods and services are recorded.
  • VAT payment account – Account where, at the end of the period, the balances of VAT payable and VAT receivable are transferred.
    The account balance represents the VAT to be paid to the tax authorities or the credit to be received. This account is cleared once the VAT payment is made.

In Banana Accounting, to manage VAT, you must choose an accounting model with VAT that already includes the following settings:

  • In the Banana chart of accounts, the VAT accounts are already set up according to the country
  • The VAT Codes table is already prepared with country-specific VAT codes
  • In the menu File > File properties, basic data > VAT section, the two VAT accounts where VAT is automatically recorded are set, one VAT payable account and one VAT receivable account.
    • You can also set only one VAT account. This is used for both VAT payable and VAT receivable.
    • In the VAT Codes table, you can set a specific VAT account for a single VAT code.
  • If these settings are missing, it is possible to:

How to automatically clear VAT accounts at the end of the period

To better understand how the automatic VAT account is used, let’s look at a practical example.

Note: the VAT account numbers shown in the following example refer to the numbering used in Switzerland. In your own chart of accounts, you must adapt the account numbers according to your country.

  • VAT account 2201 – Represents the automatic VAT account.
  • VAT account 2200 – Represents the VAT payment account.

At the end of the period, to clear the balance of the automatic VAT account, the VAT amount recorded automatically must be transferred to the VAT payment account. This step allows you to determine the VAT to be paid or the possible VAT credit, simplifying accounting management.

In our example shown in the image, at the end of the period, scheduled for VAT submission and payment, the balance of the automatic VAT account shows a balance of 10,995.92.

automatic VAT account

The balance of account 2201 VAT Report (automatic VAT account) must be cleared with a reversal entry by entering:

  • In the Debit column, account 2201 VAT report (automatic VAT account)
  • In the Credit column, account 2200 VAT due (VAT payment account).

This entry is made in this way if there is an amount owed to the tax authorities. If there is a VAT credit, the VAT account transactions are reversed.

This operation results in:

  • Clearing of the balance in account 2201, VAT Report (automatic VAT account).
  • Transferring the VAT balance to the VAT due account (VAT payment account).

clearing the automatic VAT account

Payment of the VAT due account balance

When the VAT amount is paid to the tax authorities, the balance of the VAT due account is cleared.

For the entry:

  • Enter the date, document number, and description in the respective columns.
  • In the Debit column, enter the VAT Due account.
  • In the Credit column, enter the liquidity account.
  • In the Amount column, enter the VAT amount paid.

With this system, it is possible to monitor the balance of each quarter, and in case of errors, it is possible to identify in which period the balance no longer matches.

recording VAT payment

Ledger of account 2200 VAT due after recording the payment

VAT account after clearing

 

 

Cost and profit centers

The Cost and Profit Centres of Banana Accounting Plus are used to analyse and monitor the performance of different areas or divisions of a company: organisational units, departments and branches, even if they are not related to each other. They allow records to be catalogued according to different criteria than normal accounts. The main objective is to minimise operating costs and optimise revenues, while guaranteeing the quality and efficiency of services.In Banana Accounting Plus, the cost and profit centre feature is available in all accounting applications.

Cost centers and profit centers are used solely for internal information purposes to monitor and control operating costs; therefore, they are not included in the Financial Statements.

▶ Video: Cost and profit centers

If you wish to have a Balance sheet broken down by projects, sectors or branches, we recommend using Segments.

Registering transactions in cost/profit centers

In Banana Accounting, cost/profit centers are recorded in the Transactions table, specifying the accounts related to the cost/profit centers in the appropriate columns, as set in the Accounts table. Cost centers are attributed to the transaction row and can be used simultaneously with segments.

Here are the most frequent uses:

  • Cataloging specific expenses
  • Events and manifestations
  • Clients, suppliers, members
  • Additional details for certain expenses (e.g., accessory expenses)

registrazioni centri di costo

The columns for entering data are located in the Cost Centers view. If they are not visible, you can display them from any view via the menu Data > Columns setup. Three different columns are available: CC1, CC2, CC3, each of which is independent of the others.

For registration, proceed by entering:

  • The date, the description, and other usual elements
  • The Debit and Credit account
  • The amount and any applicable VAT code
  • In the appropriate column (CC1, CC2, CC3), enter the cost/profit center account without the preceding punctuation.
  • To record a credit on the cost/profit center, precede the cost center with a minus sign.

In the Income/Expenses accounting and the Cash Manager, you can set the option Record (+/-) cost centers as categories so that the cost centers follow the sign of the category.

If an overall amount needs to be divided among multiple cost/profit centers at the same level, multiple transaction rows must be created. Each row specifies the amount to be allocated to the cost/profit center and the relevant account.

Recording cost centers in the Income & Expense Accounting and Cash Manager

In the Income & Expense accounting, cost centers can be set either in the Accounts table or in the Categories table, depending on the purpose for which they are created:

  • Cost/profit centers related to customers/suppliers or to members/donors should be set in the Accounts table.
  • Cost/profit centers related to expenses or revenues (such as refunds to members, events, projects, etc.) should be set in the Categories table.

To record an entry in a cost/profit center, simply enter the abbreviation or number defined in the Accounts table in the column designated as the cost/profit center. 

When an amount needs to be reversed from a cost/profit center, it must be entered in the corresponding column with a minus sign (-) in front of the center’s abbreviation/number.

In the example:

  • In the member 1 profit center, the CC3 column contains the abbreviation MEMBER 1 to indicate the credit for the membership fee owed by member 1.
  • When member 1’s fee is collected, the CC3 column contains -MEMBER 1, so that the payment is recorded in member 1’s account and the credit owed by member 1 is thus zeroed out.
     
cost centers simple accounting


In the Income & Expense accounting and in Cash Manager, you can enable the option Record (+/-) cost centers like the category so that cost centers follow the category's sign. 

However, be cautious when using this option, because if there are transactions that always go into the income or expenses column, while for the cost/profit centers the amount should be reversed, the program will sum up the amounts in the related cost/profit center ledgers.

In the previous example, the membership fee (credit and payment) is recorded in the income column for both entries. However, in the MEMBER 1 profit center, you need to reverse the amount to zero out the credit for member 1. 

In this case, if you use the Record (+/-) cost centers like the category option, the balance in the corresponding profit center ledger would be incorrect. Since in both transactions the amount is always recorded in the Income column, in the corresponding profit center ledger it would be added instead of reversed, which is necessary to zero out the credit for member 1. Therefore, in these cases, you should not use this option, but rather manually place a minus sign before the cost/profit center.

It is therefore recommended to use this option only in cases where you are certain that the amount recorded in the cost/profit center aligns with the category.

Accounts of cost/profit Centers

The accounts of cost centers are set up in the Accounts table, except for the Cash Manager, where they are set up only in the Categories table.

impostare i centri di costo

  • The Cost and Profit centers (CC) are accounts, preceded by the ".", "," and ";" signs
  • There are three levels of cost centers:
    • CC1 preceded by a period "."
    • CC2 preceded by a comma ","
    • CC3 preceded by a semicolon ";"
  • Each level is independent of the other.
  • For each level, there can be an unlimited number of cost and profit centers.
  • A superior level can be used without using an inferior one.
  • Cost center codes can be alphabetic or numeric.
  • Cost centers can have their own grouping, different to that of normal accounts. 
    For the same level of cost centers, subgroups can be created. Be careful not to mix cost center groups with other groups of a different level or with normal accounts or segments.
  • Each cost and profit center has its own account card, complete with transactions and balances.
  • A transaction on the cost center is independent of the account recorded in debit or credit. 
    It is possible to record on cost centers even if there is no account in the debit and credit column (as in the case of customer/supplier ledger with VAT on cash basis).

Setting up cost centers in the Accounts table

To set up the cost/profit centers in the Accounts table, proceed as follows:

  • Create a specific section for the cost centers at the end of the chart of accounts:
    • Enter a Section with an asterisk * for a section change and in the Description column, enter the title cost and profit centers.
    • In the next row, on the Section column enter 03 and 04 for a profit center and the related description.
  • Add rows for the cost center:
    • In the Group column, enter the group to which the cost center account is assigned
    • In the Account column, Add the cost or profit centers:
      • With a preceding dot (.) for transactions in the CC1 column.
      • With a comma (,) for bookings in the CC2 column.
      • With a semicolon (;) for transactions in the CC3 column.
    • In the Gr column, indicate the group into which the amounts are to be totaled.
    • In a Multi-currency accounting, the account currency is also specified.
  • Add the cost center groups
    • In one and the same group, total only for one specific level.
    • As for normal accounts, different levels can be created.

 
VAT amount with cost and profit Centers

In the File and accounting properties command, in the VAT tab you can set the amount of cost centers with the following options:

  • Use transaction amount - The amount of the cost center is registered according the transaction amount
  • Use amount excluding VAT - The amount of the cost center is registered net of VAT.
  • Use amount including VAT - The amount of the cost center is registered including VAT.

Account card cost center 

The cost center is treated as any other account, so each cost center has its own account card with account balance and account transactions.

Unlike all other accounts, the cost center account does not have a contra account. If you want to view the contra account we recommend using the Segments. 
In order to view all cost center account cards, click on the menu Reports > Account/Category cards > Cost centers (Filter option).

Differences between Cost/Profit Centers and Segments

Cost and profit centers are units where costs or profits are assigned and accumulated with the purpose of monitoring a specific business area (departments, divisions, projects, operational units, or even specific machinery) to improve efficiency and expense management, and they serve an internal control function.

Segments, on the other hand, are assigned to a part of the business activity for external reporting purposes and strategic analysis. They are used to analyze profits and other financial metrics across different business areas, sectors, subsidiaries, projects, markets, customers, and other business dimensions to assess their economic performance

  • Cost centers CC3 in Banana Accounting are used to manage Customers and Suppliers with VAT on a cash basis and to manage Members in non-profit organizations.

Differences in Settings and Transactions

In Banana Accounting, the settings and transactions for cost/profit centers and segments differ as follows:

Accounts Table

  • Up to 3 cost/profit centers (CC1, CC2, CC3) can be set up, and each can have an unlimited number of cost/profit centers. They are entered in the Account column of the Accounts table with a comma, a period, and a semicolon (respectively, CC1, CC2, CC3) before the account number (or account code).
  • Segments can be set up to 10 levels, and each level can have an unlimited number of segments. They are entered in the Account column of the Accounts table, with a double colon (:, ::, :::, etc.) before the code or number that defines the segment.

Transactions Table

  • Cost/profit centers are recorded only in the CC1, CC2, CC3 columns of the Cost Centers view. The account is recorded without any punctuation in front.
  • To record on the credit side of a cost/profit center, the cost center must be preceded by a minus sign.
    Segments are recorded in the Debit and Credit columns, after the main account (e.g., 4000:P1). This means that the amount recorded in the Amount column is assigned to both the 4000 account and the P1 segment. Alternatively, they can be recorded in the specific Segment column of the Accounts table.
  • Segment amounts follow the debit and credit designation of the accounts.   

Reports

  • With Cost/Profit Centers, it is not possible to generate a Balance Sheet and an accounting report.
  • Using Cost/Profit Centers, you can obtain an account statement for each cost and profit center.
  • In the Accounts table, you can view the totalization of the different groups of cost and profit centers.
  • With Segments, it is possible to generate a balance sheet with the breakdown of levels, showing the profit or loss for each segment.
  • In the Accounts table, the total of the different segment groups is also visible, and you can view the account cards for the various Segments. Accounting reports are also possible.
  • With Segments, you can also obtain a multi-level Report that combines accounts and segments, but specific extensions must be used. 
          

Related documents:

Segments

Segments are used to systematically separate costs and revenues by unit, department, or branch. Using segments, you can generate an Income Statement divided by unit, department, or branch, without having to create specific accounts for each unit.
For example, a museum can use segments to track revenue, staff costs, and setup expenses for each individual exhibition.

In transactions, segments follow the account, unlike Cost Centers, which are specific to each entry and used for less structured categorizations (e.g., all expenses for an event or purchases for a specific purpose). 

You can use both cost centers and segments simultaneously.

Segment Features

  • Segments are accounts preceded by a colon ":".
  • Account codes may use numbers or letters.
  • Up to 10 segment levels are supported.
  • The level is determined by the number of colons preceding the code:
    • :LU → level 1 segment
    • ::P1 → level 2 segment
    • :::10 → level 3 segment
  • Each level can include an unlimited number of segments.
  • Segment levels are independent of one another.
  • Segments do not have a class (BClasse) or a currency code.
  • Calculations related to segments are made in the base currency.
  • In transactions, the segment follows the debit or credit account.
    There cannot be entries for segments without an associated account.
  • Account cards can be generated for transactions involving specific segments.

Segment Level Titles

Segment level titles are used to indicate what a specific segment level refers to.

  • A segment consisting only of separators ":", "::", ":::", etc., allows you to specify a description for the level.
  • Enter the segment level explanation in the Description column.
    For example:
    ":" "Projects"
    "::" "Branches"

Setting up Segments

Segments must be set up in the Accounts table, in the Account column, at the end of the chart of accounts.

  • Enter an asterisk in the Section column to define the segment section.
  • In the Description column, type the segment title.
  • Enter segments using :
    • In the Account column, prefix the segment identifier with a single colon for first-level segments.
    • Second-level (and possibly third-level) segments are prefixed with :: or :::, depending on the level.
    • Optionally, enter a description for the segment.

Unassigned Segment {}

If in the transactions you enter the debit or credit account without specifying a segment, the amount is recorded in the "empty" or unassigned segment.
In the chart of accounts, you can define a description for the unassigned segment of the level by following the colon with the text ":{}".
The unassigned segment symbol "{}" is useful for indicating in account cards and scripting that you want to see entries not assigned to any segment. 

unassigned or empty segment
 

Transactions

Segments are recorded in the Transactions table, immediately following the main account.

When a segment includes multiple levels, you must follow the main account with the first-level segment, then the second-level one, and so on.

transactions with segments

Using "-" as a segment separator

In transactions, the dash "-" can be used as a segment separator instead of the colon ":".

  • In the file properties (basic data), activate the option Use dash (-) as segment separator.
  • In the transactions, use the dash as separator.
  • If using "-" as a separator, do not use accounts that contain dashes.

 Segment Column

This column allows you to enter segments independently of the account.

  • The Segment column is hidden by default; to use it, make it visible via the Data > Columns setup menu.
  • Segments entered in the Segment column are applied to the accounts used in the transaction (columns Debit, Credit, VAT Account), if those accounts do not already specify a segment.
  • You can use the Segment column along with segments directly in the Debit and Credit columns.
  • When using the Segment column, the amount is recorded on the segment both in debit and credit, so the balance of the segment in the accounts table will be zero.

segment distribution

Movements between Segments

Usually, cost allocation is done for each individual accounting entry. However, in some cases, it's better to register costs to an account and only allocate them to segments at the end of the year. This applies, for example, to administrative costs that are distributed as a percentage across different company departments.
Here's how to proceed:

  • During the year, enter transactions using the Debit and Credit columns, but leave the segment blank or assign the full amount to a single segment.
    For example, all office supply costs may be recorded without a segment.
  • At the end of the year, enter allocation transactions for distributing the respective portion of each segment to a specific expense or income account:
    • In the entry, use the same account in both the Debit and Credit columns.
    • Indicate the source segment (which can be empty) and the destination segment.
    • For example, to allocate office supply expenses to different departments:
      • Create one transaction for each department.
      • In each row, the credit account has no segment.
      • The debit account includes the segment of the corresponding department.
      • The amount is the portion of expenses to be allocated to that department.
    • These entries assign each department its portion of unallocated expenses.

segment column

Opening Balances for Segments

Segments with an opening balance should preferably be entered as transactions, so that they can be associated with an account. If you enter the initial segment balance in the Opening column (Accounts table), it is assigned to the unallocated "{}" segment.

To assign opening balances to specific segments and accounts, you must enter opening transactions in the Transactions table.

  • In the DocType (Type) column, enter value 01.
  • The date must match the accounting start date.

With the segment opening entry, the amount is removed from the “empty” segment and assigned to the specific segment.
If the balance to be allocated is negative (credit), the account without a segment must be in the Debit column and the one with the segment in the Credit column.

Example of Segment Opening Transaction

Suppose account 1000 has an opening balance of 100.00 (without a segment, so assigned to the empty segment) and you want to assign 80.00 to segment 01 and 20.00 to segment 02, proceed as follows:

  • The opening entries have the accounting start date and DocType value 01.
  • The first entry has 1000:Events in the Debit column and 1000 in the Credit column. Amount: 80.00.
  • The second entry has 1000:Courses in the Debit column and 1000 in the Credit column. Amount: 20.00.

opening balances for segments

Create New Year Command

The Create New Year or Carry Forward Opening Balances commands automatically generate opening entries for all segment levels.
If you don’t want to carry forward opening balances for a segment level, delete the automatically generated opening transactions.

Segment Account Card and Balance

Attention: do not interpret the segment movement as a standalone value.

The value shown for a Segment in the Balance or Movement column of the Accounts Table or the Categories Table should not be interpreted as an independent or standalone accounting value disconnected from the main account or category.

A segment is a subdivision of the total values of an account or category. It does not represent a separate accounting movement. As a result, the same movement may appear duplicated or zeroed out depending on how it's recorded.

  • The amount recorded for a segment always follows the corresponding account or category.
  • From an accounting perspective, it must always be considered in relation to a specific account or category.
  • Typically, segments are used to subdivide the balance sheet or income statement into detailed columns without creating separate accounts for each entity.
    To activate this feature, go to the menu Report > Accounting Report or Report with groups  > Subdivision Section and enable Subdivision by Segment.

Segment Card Results in Double-entry Accounting

In double-entry accounting, the segment follows the account used in the Debit or Credit column, or both. Depending on how it's entered, the segment card shows different results:

  • If in the Transactions table the segment is used in either the Debit or Credit column, the segment card displays the transaction amount.
  • If the segment is used in both Debit and Credit, the segment card will show the amount on both sides, so the balance is zero.
  • If the segment is entered in the Segment column, the amount appears in both Debit and Credit columns in the card, again resulting in a zero balance.
  • In the Accounts table, the segment balance is the total of the transactions of accounts using that segment.

The segment card will only show a balance if the segment is used exclusively with Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet accounts.

Segment Card Results in Income & Expense Accounting

In income and expense accounting, the segment follows the account or category. Depending on how it's recorded, the segment card behaves as follows:

  • If in the Transactions table the segment is entered after the category, the card shows the registered amount.
  • If the segment is used in both the account and the category, the movement appears twice in the segment card (duplicated).
  • If the segment is entered in the Segment column, the amount again appears twice (once for the account, once for the category).
  • In these last two cases, the segment balance in the Accounts or Categories table may be double the recorded amount.

Reports

Segment-based reports can be generated from several accounting documents:

Subdivision Report by Level

In the Enhanced Balance Sheet by Groups, in the Subdivision section, specify the segment level you want to use. 

balance sheet by segments
 

Summary Report

This is a summary of all segments defined in the chart of accounts, with optional breakdown by period or by segment.

segment summary report

Unassigned Segment Report

The "empty" segment aggregates all entries without a specified segment. You can define a title for this segment in the accounts table. Also, enable the option Segment Header: Description in the Subdivision section.

unassigned segment report

 Differences Between Segments and Cost Centers

Segments are assigned to part of the business activity for external reporting and strategic analysis. They are used to analyze profit and other financial metrics across different business areas, markets, customers, and other dimensions for evaluating performance.

Cost and profit centers are units where costs or revenues are assigned and accumulated to monitor a specific business area (departments, divisions, projects, operations, or even specific machinery) for internal control and management purposes.

  • Objective: segments focus on assessing overall financial performance, while cost centers focus on cost tracking and management.
  • Focus: segments are typically used for external reporting and strategic decisions, while cost centers are used for internal detailed cost analysis.
  • Structure: segments are based on strategic criteria like product lines or markets, while cost centers can be any internal operational unit incurring costs.
  • Accounting: segments are more relevant to financial and managerial accounting; cost centers are primarily used in analytical accounting.

Differences in Setup and Transactions

In Banana Accounting, the setup and registration of cost/profit centers and segments differ:

Accounts Table

  • Segments can be defined up to 10 levels, each with unlimited segment codes. Entered in the Account column of the Accounts table, with colons (:, ::, :::) before the code.
  • You can define up to 3 cost/profit centers (CC1, CC2, CC3), each with unlimited codes. They are entered in the Account column using punctuation (comma, dot, semicolon) before the account number or code.

Transactions Table

  • Segments are recorded in the Debit and Credit columns after the main account (e.g., 4000:P1). Alternatively, they can be entered in the Segment column.
  • Cost/profit centers are entered only in the CC1, CC2, CC3 columns of the Cost Centers view. Enter the code without punctuation.

Reports

  • With Segments, you can generate a Balance Sheet with level subdivision, showing profit/loss per segment.
  • In the Accounts table, totals of segment groups are visible, and you can view account cards by segment. You can also generate Accounting Reports.
  • Segments also support multi-level reporting combining accounts and segments, but require specific extensions. Cost centers do not support Balance Sheet or accounting reports.
  • With cost/profit centers, account cards can be generated per center.
  • In the Accounts table, group totals for cost/profit centers can be displayed.

Further Reading

How to manage the company sectors with segments

With the Segments feature it is possible to manage different sectors of a company or different projects of an association and to obtain for each one the balance sheet and the complete profit & loss statement with the breakdown of revenues, costs and profit or loss.

The segments are set out in the Chart of Accounts. When you enter a transaction, you also indicate the segment. Segments can also be used to manage branches, divisions or areas of business. A museum can use them to have reports of different exhibitions, a transport agency to have reports for each individual vehicle.

Setting up segments in your Chart of Accounts

It is useful for a company with several branches that organizes events and courses and wants separate statements for each field of activity and branch.

First level field of activity, accounts preceded by a colon ":":

  • Courses
  • Events

Second level branches, accounts preceded by a double colon "::":

  • Rome
  • Milan

It is generally more convenient to use acronyms rather than long names.

Setting up segments for projects

Entering transactions on the segments

Segments are entered into the Transactions table in the Debit and Credit columns following the account numbers.

  • Segments can be recorded, by having them preceded after the account by either a colon (:) or a minus sign (-).
  • If you want to enter segments with a minus sign preceding the segment code, you must activate the option 'Use minus sign (-) as segments separator, in the File menu, command File properties (basic data) > Options.

Entering transactions with segments

Profit & Loss Statement by segment

The report by segment can be obtained from the menu:

Sections dialogue for segments

  • Activate the Subdivision by segment option
  • Select the segment for which the balance sheet should be obtained (by project or by branch office)

Dialogue subdivision for segments

Report by Sector

The different segments appear in this report. The column with the curly brackets {} is that of values not assigned to any segment.

report by segments

Report by Branch

The report shows revenues, expenses, and profit for the various branches.

Report by branch, segments

 

Liquidity management with the Cash Flow report

Starting from Banana+ Dev Channel 10.1.25, a new command Report > Cash Flow Report has been introduced, offering a detailed analysis of liquidity changes recorded in accounting.

This tool allows you to monitor receipts and payments, including future ones, providing valuable insights into your company's financial strength and operational efficiency.

  • The logic behind this function is based on comparing the balances of liquidity accounts and the movements of counterpart accounts, which usually represent revenues or expenses.
  • By understanding how the movements in liquidity accounts correspond to net cash flows for each period, you can gain an accurate view of your financial situation at any time. This comparison provides valuable information for effective financial planning and informed decision-making, helping you maintain balanced cash flow and achieve your financial goals.
  • Thanks to the forecast functionality, you can analyze the evolution of liquidity over the year, using data from existing entries and budget items.

Prerequisites

Currently the Cash Flow report functionality 

  • Is available in the Dev-Channel version, so please install the latest version of Banana Accounting+ Dev Channel.
  • This extension works only with the Advanced Plan, you can request a 1 month promo code from our support service.
  • The extension is currently in Beta Test, please check everything and report any problem.

The Cash Flow Table

To view the Cash Flow table:

  • select the command from the menu Report > Cash Flow Report
    (if the command is not visible, check the prerequisites)
  • set the parameters in the Cash Flow Report dialog and confirm with OK

Cash report output

Rows

Vertical structure of the report

  • Each liquidity account
    • Total of all liquidity accounts (cash accounts)
  • Counterpart accounts
    • Total of counterpart accounts (cash flow total changes)
  • Difference (displayed only if the total of liquidity accounts differs from the total of counterpart accounts)

Some commands to filter the rows displayed in the table

  • To display only the rows with an amount in the Current view
    |!Movement_?_C:xml!<> |!Balance_?_C:xml!<>
  • To display only the rows with an amount in the Budget view
    |!Movement_?_B:xml!<> |!Balance_?_B:xml!<> 

Columns

The columns with amounts

  • Opening balance (only for liquidity accounts)
    The initial amount of the liquidity account for the period.
  • Closing balance (only for liquidity accounts)
    The final amount of the liquidity account at the end of the period.
  • Movements for the period
    • Inflows (hidden column)
      Indicates incoming money
    • Outflows (hidden column)
      Indicates outgoing money
    • Net Cash Flow
      • Liquidity accounts
        Calculated as Inflows minus Outflows.
        Represents the total of all revenues (positive amounts) and expenses (negative amounts) within the account for the considered period.
      • Counterpart accounts
        The origin (positive amounts) and the destination (negative amounts).

Views

The report has three views

  • Current
    Uses the opening balances and the actual transaction data.
  • Budget
    Uses the opening balances and the data from the Budget table.
  • Forecast
    • Uses the opening balance and the data from the transactions up to the day before the forecast start date.
    • Uses the budget entries starting from the forecast start date (inclusive).

The View Forecast

The forecast combines current accounting data (Transactions table) with budget data (Budget table).

Example:

  • In the Transactions table, movements are recorded up to the end of September.
  • In the Budget table, the budget for the months of the year is recorded.
  • If you set the forecast start date to October 1st, the program will calculate the forecast including:
    • Actual opening balance.
    • Transactions from January through the end of September.
    • Budget data starting from October 1st.
  • The liquidity forecast will therefore use the actual liquidity account balances and calculate the forecast through the end of the year based on the budget data.
  • The forecast can be particularly useful when combined with a monthly breakdown.
    If you use a monthly breakdown, you can view the projected cash flow for October, November, and December, starting from the actual data up to September.

Example of a report for the period 01.01.2025 - 30.06.2025

  • Forecast start date: 01.04.2025
  • 1st quarter amounts are based on actual transactions.
  • 2nd quarter amounts are based on forecasts:
    • The opening balance of liquidity accounts is based on actual data.
    • The net cash flow is calculated based on budget entries.
    • The final balance (projection) is the sum of current and forecast data (transactions + budget).

Cash report output

Report logic

The report will show:

  • For liquidity accounts:
    the total of all inflows and outflows for the period.
  • For other accounts:
    the total of the entries that affected the liquidity accounts.

How the report works

  • The user defines which accounts are liquidity accounts.
  • The opening balance of the liquidity accounts is used as the starting value.
  • For all entries in the Transactions and Budget tables:
    • The program only considers entries involving a liquidity account.
    • The amount recorded in the liquidity accounts is analyzed individually for each account.
    • The amount recorded in the counterpart accounts is also analyzed separately for each account.

Definition of counterpart account

A counterpart account is an account that does not belong to the list of liquidity accounts.

  • For single-entry (debit/credit) records:
    the counterpart account is the one used in opposition to the liquidity account.
  • For entries with multiple rows and different accounts:
    The position of the row including the liquidity account does not affect the decision to include or not the entry in the report.
    • The first liquidity account (whether debit or credit) is considered the main liquidity account.
    • All other accounts used are considered counterpart accounts.

Logic for grouping entries

In the Transactions table, accounting movements are listed sequentially, without the possibility to manually define a start and end for each entry. Therefore, the program automatically determines when an entry starts and ends, as well as which accounts are part of it. This logic directly impacts the correct assignment of the counterpart to liquidity accounts.

Understanding the grouping mechanism of entries in Banana is essential for achieving an accurate interpretation and reducing any discrepancies reported in the cash flow report.

Errors and Differences

When the program is unable to determine the counter-account in a multi-line transaction, a difference is reported. This warning does not necessarily indicate an accounting error, but rather the inability to identify the exact counter-account. 

In these cases, you can assist the program by specifying the liquidity account in square brackets on the relevant line. This action:

  • allows the transaction to be included in the cash flow calculation.
  • Acts only as a comment and does not affect the accounting result.

Managing differences

The inflows and outflows in liquidity accounts must always be associated with:

  • a source account (for inflows, from where the money comes)
  • a destination account (for outflows, where the money was transferred to).

For each entry (whether single or spread over multiple rows), the system reports an error when the total amounts recorded in the liquidity accounts do not match the total amounts assigned to the counterpart accounts.

Differences and errors can therefore arise from:

  • Partial or missing counterpart assignments.
  • Amount errors between liquidity movements and their counterparts.

Practical examples

Below are some examples of accounting entries split over multiple rows, involving the liquidity accounts 1020 Bank and 1000 Cash.
Although these entries are accounting-wise correct, they can generate ambiguities in cash flow calculation, highlighting a possible discrepancy between the liquidity balance and the total of the counterpart movements.

  • Doc change (Doc column)

    • Example: entry over multiple rows with different docs. Report of a 360.00 CHF difference at row 1.
    DateDocInvoiceDescriptionDebitCreditAmountBalance
    14.01.20251 Various purchases 1020360.00-360.00
    14.01.20252 Purchase on 12.014000 30.00-330.00
    14.01.20253 Purchase on 13.014000 330.00 

    • Correction: indicate the liquidity account in square brackets in the second and third rows.

      DateDocInvoiceDescriptionDebitCreditAmountBalance
      14.01.20251 Various purchases 1020360.00-360.00
      14.01.20252 Purchase on 12.014000[1020]30.00-330.00
      14.01.20253 Purchase on 13.014000[1020]330.00 

  • Change in invoice number (Invoice column)

    • Example: entry over multiple rows with different invoice numbers and an empty Doc column. Report of an 8,000.00 CHF difference at row 1.
    DateDocInvoiceDescriptionDebitCreditAmountBalance
    18.01.2025  Customer invoice collection1020 8,000.008,000.00
    18.01.2025 4545Payment from customer 1 30003,000.005,000.00
    18.01.2025 4546Payment from customer 2 30005,000.00 

    • Correction: indicate the liquidity account in square brackets in the second and third rows.

      DateDocInvoiceDescriptionDebitCreditAmountBalance
      18.01.2025  Customer invoice collection1020 8,000.008,000.00
      18.01.2025 4545Payment from customer 1[1020]30003,000.005,000.00
      18.01.2025 4546Payment from customer 2[1020]30005,000.00 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash Flow Dialog

The Cash Flow Report dialog window allows you to customize your liquidity reports by selecting specific liquidity accounts, periods, breakdowns, and other settings to tailor the report to your needs. With the ability to save different configurations, you can create and store multiple customized reports.

In the Banana menu, select Report > Cash Flow Report

Cash report dialog

Basic tab

  • Liquidity account or group
    • Selection: type the name or ID of the liquidity account or group for which you want to generate the report, then click the Add button.
    • When selecting a group (indicated by Gr=), all accounts belonging to that group will be included in the report as liquidity accounts. This is useful for analyzing multiple accounts simultaneously without adding them individually.
    • To remove selected accounts or groups, click the "X" button next to the account name.
  • Forecast checkbox
    • Available only for accounting files that contain the Budget table.
    • Select this checkbox to include forecasts in the cash flow report, allowing you to project future liquidity changes based on budget entries.
    • Enter the start date from which forecast data should be calculated. This date is inclusive, meaning that from the specified day onward, the report will consider budget data (from the budget table). Data before this date will instead use actual data (from the Transactions table). This feature allows for seamless integration of historical actual data with future projections in the Cash Flow analysis.

Other sections of the dialog

Explanations for the other sections are available on the following pages:

  • Period
    Defines the reporting period.
  • Subdivision
    Allows you to generate a report divided into multiple periods.
    Segmentation by segment is currently not implemented.
  • Customization
    Allows you to save report settings. For example, you can create and save separate configurations for:
    • Cash Flow Report: including liquidity accounts.
    • Working Capital Report: including working capital accounts.

Budgeting and Cash Planning

All the accounting applications in the Banana software include powerful and innovative Financial Planning tools based on the double entry method. You can easily display Balance Sheets, forecast Income statements, financial, liquidity and investment plans.

A vision of the future

When using the double entry accounting method, financial forecasts allow you to have a comprehensive vision of the future of the company. You can imagine what the situation will be before things happen, and you are offered the opportunity to take action in time. If you notice that the costs will be too high, you can examine measures to lower them. If you're made aware of a shortage of liquidity, you will have time to take steps to avoid it.
By using financial forecasts, you will add value to your business management.

Financial forecasts within reach of everyone

The planning system based on the double-entry method is incredibly powerful and within everyone's reach.

  • Planning is fully integrated into accounting.
  • The identical Chart of Accounts as the one in your accounting is being used.
    No need to set up a new file, just add the budget movements.
  • Forecasts are carried out with budget registrations.
    The proven accounting method of double-entry accounting is used. Costs and revenues can be specified in detail.
  • Income statement and Balance Sheet forecasts are available.
    You can see how sales, costs, profits, liquidity and the evolution of capital will evolve.
  • You can check the evolution of an account or a group with all the individual budget movements.
  • The program prepares forecasts by month, quarter or year.
  • Forecasts can be set up with quantities and calculation formulas.
    When the forecast is changed, for example when an investment is increased, the year-end depreciation is automatically recalculated. 
  • The financial plan prepared for one year can also be projected over several years.
  • All accounting reports are available with the values of the past, present and future.

Methods of Financial Forecasts and Budget

The planning function, with financial projections of costs, revenues and liquidity, is integrated and available in all Banana accounting applications. 

There are two operating modes:

  1. Complete financial planning in the Budget table
    The Budget table is added to the accounting file, which allows you to enter the forecast movements, which then serve to generate complete financial forecasts.
    The Budget column of the Accounts table is automatically updated by the program on the basis of the transactions entered in the Budget table.
  2. Annual budget in the Accounts table
    A very simple and traditional method that involves entering the annual estimates in the Budget column of the Accounts or Categories table.
    Then on the basis of the final balance, the program indicates the variation in the Difference Budget column, Accounts or Categories table.
    See: Simple annual budget.

Below we focus on the method that uses the Budget table.

Instant display of the budget values

Financial planning, based on the double-entry method, uses the same Chart of Accounts as the accounting.
In the Accounts and Categories table (Income & Expense accounting) not only the current balances are displayed but also the budget balances.
You can freely set up the structure of the Balance Sheet and Income statement by adding accounts and groups.
You can also use cost and profit centers, segments, as well as accounts for customers and suppliers.

preventivo nella tabella Conti

 The Budget table

The planning is prepared by inserting transactions in the Budget table. This is like entering accounting records, but they concern the future.
The rent and other recurring transactions are indicated only once, setting the repeat option and any end date.
The sum for the year is indicated in the Total column.
You may add as many lines as you need, for the current year or for the following ones, carry out changes and modifications at any time.

tabella Preventivo

A clear and comprehensive vision of the future

Banana Accounting provides you with all the necessary reports to have a comprehensive view of your financial future, the same that are used for your accounting, all integrated and balanced, without differences, just like for accounting. All is automatic, you don't need to waste time setting up tables in Excel, inserting and checking formulas, setting up rows and columns.

  • Liquidity plan.
    You can see how liquidity will evolve in the chosen planning period, know in advance if you will have the means to cope with the different commitments.
  • Forecast Income statement.
    You can see what the revenues and costs and the expected result will be, select a summary view with the totals per group or even detailed with the values of the individual elements. The layout of the Income statement can be freely set and changed according to requirements. The program will do the totals automatically, without you having to enter formulas.
  • Forecast budget.
    For each account and group of Assets and Liabilities you will see the evolution over time. 
  • Investment plan.
    For each account or group of Assets you can see the evolution over time in detail.
  • Detailed account cards.
    You can analyze each item in detail, thanks to the account card, examine how the evolution of the bank account or liquidity is.
  • Graphs with evolution over time.
    You can instantly see the future evolution of each item. With a single glance, you can check how sales will evolve or understand if there will be a liquidity crisis.
  • Cost and profit centers and segments.
    You can also use cost centers, profit centers and segments when forecasting.
    You can get detailed forecasts for individual projects, customers or geographical areas.
  • Projections over several years.
    You can have the Balance Sheet and Income statement for one, two, five or even ten years.
    The program automatically projects the data of the year for subsequent periods.
  • View data by month, quarter, year or multiple years.
    You can have the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement for a month, quarter, semester, year or more years.
    You can thus analyze in detail the period that interests you.
  • Compare the budget with the actual figures.
    Using the same Chart of Accounts, the comparison between the forecast and the actual is immediate. You can easily identify deviations from the estimate.
  • Save the report settings (customizations).
    Create reports and save the customizations to be recalled when you wish.

For each report you can select the layout that interests you. The program automatically adapts the prints without you having to set up rows, columns and formulas. You can analyze the data from different points of view, moving from one visualization type to another. 

  • View for a period.
    The program presents you with reports for the year, but you can also request to have the forecast only for a quarter. You can easily switch between annual and multi-year planning.
  • Evolution over time.
    The program is able to present all the reports with a breakdown by period. You can thus see the evolution over time of liquidity, Balance Sheet, sales, costs and operating result. You can easily switch between views without having to reset formulas or tables.
  • Fully customized reports.
    You can select and change the view as you require. You can present your plans professionally and make a good impression on those who support you.
  • Save report setup.
    You can create and save print settings and recall them when needed.

Simple use

Everything is already set up, you have to enter the forecast movements with simple transactions. This approach is particularly suitable for accountants, who are instantly are able to prepare precise and complete forecasts. Thanks to the Income and Expense accounting, even people without particular accounting skills can do it.

  • Entry as for accounting records.
    For each future financial event, a transaction with date, description and the accounts that are concerned is inserted.
    It is the program that totals the amounts by item and period, just like in accounting.
  • Indication of income and expenses in detail.
    The different items of expenditure can be indicated in detail and at the exact moment in which they will occur. For personnel expenses, the salaries of individual employees can be indicated.
  • Easier changes and updates.
    Adapting, adding or removing revenues or expenses is simple, because you just change the specific detail. If in the following year the rent increases, just change this item. If there is a new expense, a new line is added. The program will automatically update the budget.

Fast thanks to repetitions

Repeating operations are entered only once. The forecast movement indicates the frequency with which the operation will repeat itself and the program takes it into account for the future.
In a planning, there are many operations that repeat themselves. Comprehensive planning can be set up in no time. The repetition function is particularly effective when you have to adapt the budget, change a single amount and in an instant everything is updated.

Automation of calculations

The program automatically performs simple or complex calculations.

  • Calculation based on quantities and prices.
    Sales quantities can be memorized to have a more concrete vision of the budget. The program automatically calculates the amount of the movement and updates the accounting.
  • Calculation formula (Javascript).
    The possibility to enter formulas is available in Banana Accounting Plus only with the Advanced plan. Update now!
    Banana Accounting Plus provides an extremely powerful formula system, specially designed for financial planning. You have access to the budget data, so you can create movements that depend on previous events. You can calculate the depreciation based on the value of the investments made or calculate the interest on the loan based on actual use. The program after each modification will recalculate the exact values. 
    Formulas are expressions of the Javascript language, simple or complex schedules can be created, fully automated.
    • You can assign values to variables and recall them on subsequent lines.
    • Javascript expressions have access to the Banana API.
    • You can also program your own Javascript functions and call them up.

Automatic projections over several years

You can set the budget for one year and let the program create projections for the following years.
All reports such as liquidity plan, income statement and forecast balance sheet will also be available for subsequent years.

This way, a medium and long-term view of the financial situation are made available. The projection can be completely controlled for the following years as well. The operating logic is simple, for the operations of the year that will repeat themselves in the consecutive years, an annual repetition code is inserted. This way the program is able to project the planning data for the period in question. Schedules for two, five or even more years can easily be made.

Customer portfolio analysis and supplier control

When entering forecast movements, customer codes can be indicated. In this way, you can build realistic planning starting from your customer portfolio and understand if the costs will be covered and which customers will be more profitable.
Obviously, the same analyzes can be done for suppliers.

Planning of projects or sectors

You can also create financial plans with reports by projects, activities or by business sectors. It is sufficient to indicate in the movements that an expense or income is relevant to a project or department and the program is able to automatically prepare specific reports. 

Easy adaptation

You can adapt the structure of the Chart of accounts and the layout of the Balance Sheet and Income statement; add accounts, categories and and groups, and reports change automatically, without having to set up formulas to calculate row or column totals.

Comparison between the estimate and actual data

Accounting and budget use the same calculation and report preparation engine. In the transactions table, enter the values referring to the past and in the estimate, those of the future. The Chart of Accounts and the arrangement of the balance are always the same and comparisons and indications about any changes compared to the budget are automatically displayed.

Automatic data transfer to a new year

The budgets set up with Banana Accounting are easy to update and modify. Just change the relative movements and the program automatically recalculates the formulas and updates the budget.

When you create a new year, the program reports the budget data, changing the dates. It is then a question of modifying the elements that will change compared to the previous year. This provides detailed and perfect planning for the following year.

Corporate financial simulation

Integrated planning in accounting is very powerful and opens a new era in business planning, as it offers the possibility to simulate the series of future events with great precision and in detail. Forecasts can be analyzed in detail with the same tools used for accounting analyzes; check what is the break-even point and analyze the situation of customers or projects.

Learning accounting with planning

By preparing the budget with transactions similar to accounting, one practices and learns the accounting technique. Accounting training courses can be made much more interesting and effective, because students can be offered the task of creating their own company and ensure to make it become solid and profitable. Students will not only have to practice entering transactions, but they will have to keep an eye on the activity and get used to reading the Balance Sheet and the Income statement.

Starting a financial forecast

You can easily prepare financial forecasts including liquidity plans, balance sheet and income statements.
The procedure is the same as for creating the accounting.

▶ Video: Financial Planning | Double-entry

1. Create the accounting/forecast file

With the File → New command , create a financial forecast file, using the accounting type and the accounting template that best suits your needs.

You can also start by using one of the templates already prepared for learning, which also contain examples of budget transactions.

There are also sample files for more advanced functionalities:

Once created you can save the file under a new name, preferably composed of the company name and the year "company-2020.ac2".

2. Customize the file

Once you have created the file, adapt it to your specific needs:

  1.  Set the File properties.
    1. The company name.
    2. The Accounting period.
      Normally it is the one corresponding to the calendar year. However, you can indicate another one as needed. See Period for the forecast.
  2. Customize the Chart of Accounts.
    You can change the description, add or delete accounts or groups.
    If necessary, you can adapt the Chart of Accounts at any time later.
  3. If it’s an activity already in progress, enter the Opening Balances.

3. Enter financial budgeting movements

In the Budget Table you can now enter the financial forecast movements.

Financial planning, Budget table

4. View the forecasts

The forecast data are visible:

  • In the Charts window.
  • In the Accounts table, in the Budget column.
  • In the Reports, in the Budget column.
  • In the Account card, Budget values.

Adapt the forecast

You can change, add or delete transactions at any time. The forecast will be immediately recalculated.

 

 

Preparing the Liquidity Plan

The liquidity plan is an essential tool to ensure short- and long-term financial stability and sustainability for any company, individual activity, or even a project. 

The liquidity plan is very important not only for startups, which need to assess possible investments based on available financial resources, but also for established companies to maintain balance over time.

Why having a liquidity plan is important

A careful analysis of cash flows allows you to monitor that there are always sufficient funds available to meet financial obligations, such as salary payments, suppliers, taxes, and other operating expenses. Preparing a liquidity plan is essential for several reasons:

  • Strategic planning: provides crucial information for strategic planning and decision-making, allowing the company to seize investment and growth opportunities promptly.
  • Operational sustainability: ensures that the company always has sufficient funds to operate without interruptions, maintaining operational continuity.
  • Prevention of liquidity crises: avoids emergency situations where the company cannot meet its financial obligations, preventing potential insolvency or bankruptcy.
  • Optimization of financial costs: allows for efficient planning of financial resources, reducing financing costs and improving the return on available resources.
  • Improvement of relationships with third parties: effective liquidity management strengthens the trust of investors, suppliers, employees, and other stakeholders in the company.

How to prepare the liquidity plan

To draft a liquidity plan, it is necessary to analyze a series of historical data and documents.

Data collection 

Start by gathering a series of useful documents for the planning process:

  • Bank Statements: to check recent transactions and balances from bank, postal, and credit card statements.
  • Debtors and Creditors Accounts: to examine the receivables the company needs to collect and the payables it needs to settle.
  • Current Balance Sheet: to draft a current balance sheet for an overview of all accounts.
  • Balance Sheets of previous years and periods: to assess, based on historical data, especially revenue trends.

Banana Accounting Plus offers innovative features to create a liquidity plan, using the same chart of accounts as the accounting system and integrating it into the same accounting file without the need for separate spreadsheets.

To create the liquidity plan, forecasts are entered into the Budget table as regular entries, using the Debit, Credit, Amount columns, VAT codes if any, cost centers, and segments. 

Estimating Inflows and Outflows

When forecasting costs and revenues, it is better to be cautious. Therefore, it is recommended to not underestimate costs and not overestimate revenues, while also considering unforeseen events to avoid liquidity shortages. It is also advisable to develop a strategy to identify which costs can be reduced because they are not strictly necessary and which revenues can be optimized.

Future Outflows
Enter forecasts for future costs based on historical data and potential extraordinary expenses:

  • Operating Costs: forecast operating expenses such as salaries, rent, utilities, and production costs.
  • Debts and Payments: plan payments to suppliers and loan repayments.
  • Other Outflows: consider other expenses like taxes, extraordinary maintenance, or investments.

Future Inflows

Enter forecasts for future revenues:

  • Revenue: based on sales from the previous year for the same period, market trends, and marketing strategies, prepare estimates for sales or services. If reliable data is not available, rely on historical data from previous years.
  • Other Inflows: include other possible sources of income, such as interest from investments or potential loans.

Below is an image of the table. For an explanation of the columns, refer to the page Budget Table Columns.  

budget table

Liquidity Plan from the Balance Sheet

Use the command Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups to access the forecast balance sheet report.

  • In the Sections options, enable the display of the Budget for the Balance Sheet (Assets and Liabilities).
    You can view current (accounting) values, budgeted values together or separately.
  • Set the Period.
    If you specify a period beyond the accounting period, the program automatically generates multi-year forecasts.
  • Specify the Period Breakdown you want.
  • In the Rows options, you can exclude accounts and view only the groups.
  • If the setup will be used in the future, it is advisable to create a Customization.
liquidity plan

Liquidity Plan Report from the Accounts Table

The Accounting Report is similar to the Enhanced Balance Sheet with Groups, with the difference that data is displayed in columns, like in the Accounts table.

You can use the Accounting Report to get an immediate view of the liquidity accounts' evolution.

liquidity forecast report

Comenzar un nuevo plan financiero

Banana Accounting integra la Planificación Financiera directamente en la contabilidad.

Añadir la planificación a un archivo contable existente

Si ya tienes un archivo de contabilidad y deseas habilitarlo para la planificación debes Añadir la tabla Presupuesto.

Del mismo modo, si deseas gestionar tu contabilidad y planificación de forma conjunta, crea primero el archivo de contabilidad y luego añade la tabla de Presupuesto.

​

Crear un nuevo archivo para la planificación del presupuesto

El proceso es el mismo tanto si sólo gestionas la contabilidad, la planificación, o ambas:

  1. Crea un archivo de contabilidad
  2. Define las propiedades del archivo
  3. Configura el plan de cuentas
  4. Introduce los saldos iniciales (si están disponibles)
  5. Introduce los valores de pronóstico en la tabla de Presupuesto

Sin embargo, la tabla de Registros sigue preestablecida; si no quieres visualizarla, puedes hacerla invisible: menú Datos -> Configuración de las tablas e indica Registros como no visible.

Documentación con archivos de ejemplo básicos

La mejor manera de empezar a planificar es utilizar una de las plantillas del tutorial, donde donde se utilizan cuentas en orden alfabético, para facilitar la comprensión de los conceptos.
Si necesitas un plan de cuentas más estructurado para introducir los datos de planificación, edita el fichero o utiliza otra plantilla, añadiendo la Tabla de Presupuestos.

Tienes disponibles varias opciones de Presupuesto:

Documentación y archivos de ejemplo avanzados

En las explicaciones y los archivos de muestra relacionados que se enumeran a continuación se indicará cómo utilizar las funciones más avanzadas, como el uso de fórmulas y cantidades.

Planificación anual

Por regla general, la planificación se prepara para el período contable definido en las Propiedades del Archivo, que generalmente corresponde al año natural.

  • En la columna Apertura de la tabla de Cuentas, introduce el saldo inicial al principio del período.
  • En la tabla Registros, introduce los datos de planificación para el año en curso.

Cuando necesites un informe, si no se introduce un período específico, el programa utiliza el período contable.

Para preparar la planificación del año siguiente, debes crear un archivo para el nuevo año. El programa dispone de los registros de presupuesto, que pueden ser editados (ver End of Year and New Year).

Planificar varios años

Con Banana Accounting puedes planear varios años. El período de planificación es libre, cuando solicitas el informe fijas el Período para el pronóstico.

Para planificar varios años, generalmente es necesario establecer la planificación para el primer año y luego extenderla a los años siguientes.

Técnicamente, procede como si estuvieras haciendo una planificación anual, extendiéndola a los años posteriores:

Para obtener la planificación (Informe de balance mejorado con o sin grupos, tarjeta de cuenta), indica la fecha de inicio y fin de la previsión requerida.

  • En las Propiedades de archivo, indica como fechas de apertura y cierre, las fechas del primer año (que es generalmente el año natural).
  • Enter the opening balances in the chart of accounts.
  • Introduce los saldos iniciales en el plan de cuentas.
    • Las operaciones que son específicas sólo para el primer año, las señalamos sin repetición.
    • Todas las demás operaciones, que presupones que se repetirán en los años siguientes, deben señalarse con el código de repetición.
    • Las operaciones que sólo se producen una vez al año deben indicarse con la repetición anual "Y" (por ejemplo, el cálculo de la depreciación se hace al final del año).
    • Las operaciones específicas de los años siguientes deben indicarse con la fecha respectiva en que tienen lugar.
    • En el caso de las transacciones repetitivas que se limitan a un solo año o a un período determinado (por ejemplo, las transacciones de arrendamiento con opción de compra de duración fija), indica la fecha de finalización. Después de esta fecha no se harán más repeticiones.
    • Puedes utilizar las fórmulas para que la cantidad de líneas de repetición se ajuste automáticamente.
      • El cálculo de las depreciaciones puede basarse en el saldo de la cuenta de activos fijos.
      • El cálculo de los intereses puede hacerse directamente sobre la variación de la cuenta bancaria.
      • Puedes especificar una progresión de ventas.
      • Las compras pueden definirse en porcentajes.

Crear Nuevo Año

La función de Banana Accounting para Crear un Nuevo Año también recoge los registros de planificación.

  • A nivel de cada línea tienes la posibilidad de indicar si la operación debe ser prorrogada o no, y si la fecha original debe mantenerse o sustituirse por la del nuevo año.
  • Por lo tanto, crear el presupuesto para el nuevo año es muy sencillo, ya que sólo se trata de modificar las partidas de gastos e ingresos que se espera que cambien.

 

 

Budget table

Financial planning transactions are entered in the Budget table. It's setup is similar to the Transactions table of the accounting type you are using, but has specific columns that speed up entering the budget data.

You can also modify the data as you wish, to display reliable forecasts that are always perfectly updated.

budget table

Easy and comprehensive forecasts

Adding and removing the Budget table

Adding the Budget table

Financial planning is done by adding the Budget table.

If your accounting file doesn't have the Budget table yet, proceed as follows:

Thereafter, the program will:

  • Add the Budget table, carrying forward the budget values indicated in the Accounts table.
  • Lock the Budget column in the Accounts table.
    The values of this column will be calculated according to the budget transactions, using the period defined in the File and Accounting properties, basic data of the accounting.

Remove the Budget table

From the Tools Menu → Add new functionalities,  you can also remove the Budget table.

Warning: This operation can not be undone. Once the command is executed all budgeted movements will be erased.
If you have the possibility to return to previous version, make sure to save a copy before executing.

Once the Budget table is removed, the Budget column will again be available for modifications in the Accounts table.

Budget table columns

The Budget table columns are very similar to the Transactions table columns. To facilitate understanding, letters have been used for account designation in the following example. If you have accounts with numeric accounts, you will obviously use your own account numbers.

Budget table columns

Below you will find explanations for each Budget column:

  • Date
    The future date when you expect the operation to take place.
    If an exact date is not available, for example a monthly sales budget, enter the end of the month date.
  • Repeat
    A repetition code is entered. for further information on use, also see Dates and Repetitions.
    When the forecast is calculated, the program internally creates copies of the rows with the date set successively and based on the indicated repetition code.
    • Blank - no repetition takes place.
    • The initial row keeps the date indicated in the Date column..
    • The date of the copy rows is progressively increased as defined by the repeat code.
    • If the repetition is monthly or yearly, in the created rows:
      • It is generally used on the same day as the Date column.
      • If the day is greater than the number of days in the month, the last day of the month is used.
      • If the end of month indication "ME" or end of the year "YE" is indicated, the last day of the month/year will be used.
    • Basic codes for repetition:
      • "D" for a daily repetition (Day)
      • "W" for a weekly repetition (Week)
      • "M" for a monthly repetition (Month)
      • "Y" for a yearly repetition (Year)
    • Multiples
      If the code is preceded by a number, the repetition occurs with the multiplied frequency.
      • "2M" for bimonthly
      • "3M" for quarterly
      • "6M" for six months
    • Repetition with a later date at the end of the period.
      The "M" and Y "codes with the" E "at the end move the repetition date to the end of the month.
      • "ME" monthly repetition, but with a date at the end of the month.
        If you enter the date 1.1.2022 the next date will be 28.2.2022 and the one after 31.3.2022
        If the date is 28.2.2022, the next date will be 31.3.2022.
      • "3ME" for quarterly end of month
        If you start on 30.6.2022, the next date will be 31.12.2022.
      • "6ME" for half-yearly end of the month
      • "YE" each year, but at the end of the month.
        If the date is 28.2.2022 the next date will be 28.2.2023.
      • "5YE" every five years, but at the end of the month.
        If the date is 28.2.2022 the next date will be 28.2.2027.
  • End - End date:
    • Generally to be left blank.
    • Enter the date after which there must be no repetition.
      For a lease, the date on which the lease ends will be indicated as the final date.
  • Variant
    To indicate a possible variant relating to the budget, in combination with the Extensions.
  • Management of a New Year 
    To indicate how the transfer should take place when a new year is created.
    • No value - the date is incremented by one year.
    • "1" The date remains the same.
    • "2" The transaction is not transferred to the new year.
  • Description
    A descriptive text for the operation that appears in the account card.
    • You can use Calculation formulas by entering the value between ${} (see Javascript template literals). 
      When the account card is prepared the formula is resolved and the result is replaced.
      • For example the text "Amount ${10+20} year" will be "Amount 30 year".
      • If you have defined a variable "quantity=10" and "price=20"
        The text "Quantity: ${quantity} Price: ${price}" will result in "Quantity: 10 Price: 20".
      • You can use all the formulas, but to avoid confusion, it is recommended to avoid entering value assignments in the Description column.
  • Debit and Credit Account, CC1, CC2, CC3
    As in the Transactions table, the accounts in which the transactions are to be registered are indicated.
    Segments and cost centers can also be used. This way, a budget may also be prepared for segments or cost centers.
  • Quantity
    The quantity which, multiplied by the unit price, returns the total amount  (see Quantity and Price columns)
  • Unit
    A description referring to the quantity, for example: m2, ton, pcs.
  • Price/Unit
    The unit price which, multiplied by the quantity, returns the total amount
    • In the Income and Expense accounting, enter a negative value to have the amount entered in the Expenses column.
  •  Formula (in base currency)
    Allows you to enter Calculation formulas, in Javascript, plus the programming functions of the Banana Accounting Extensions.
    If there is a formula (or any text), the value in the Amount column is set based on the result of the formula.
    • In double-entry accounting, the result of the formula must always be a positive number.
    • In the income and expense accounting, if the result is positive, it will be considered as an revenue, if negative as a cost.
  • FormulaBegin
    The text that you insert in this column is inserted before the text used in the Formula and then used for calculation.
    • The main use of the FormulaBegin to insert a  variable setting like "A=", in the Formula you then only insert the value, so that it easier to modify.
    • In multi-currency accounting, the FormulaBegin refers to the Currency Formula column.
  • Amount (in base currency)
    The amount that is used for the forecast.
    In the event in the row includes a repetition, the amount of the first transaction is indicated. The amounts of subsequent repetitions are visible in the account card.
    The amount is automatically calculated in the following cases:
    • If you entered a value in the Quantity or Unit price columns, the amount is calculated based on the contents of these two columns.
      • In double-entry accounting, the result is converted into a positive value.
      • In the income and expense accounting, if the result is positive, it will be considered as an revenue, if negative as a cost.
    • If a formula has been entered, the amount will be the result of the formula.
      The formula also has priority over quantity and price.
  • Total
    This is the total of the repeated row amounts that fall within the Accounting and Forecasting Period set in the file properties.
    If there is no date or if the start or end date are outside of the accounting period, this column will remain empty.

Columns in Income and Expense accounting

For the Cash Manager and the Income and Expense Accounting, the amounts are indicated are follows:

  • Income and Expense Columns 
    The budget amounts are entered in the income and expense columns.
  • Use of Quantity, Price and Formula columns
    When the program automatically calculates the amount based on the Quantity, Price or Formula columns, the result will be entered in the Revenue column if it is positive, and in the Expense column if it is negative.
    In the Quantity and Price columns you can indicate a positive or negative value.

Columns in multi-currency accounting

  • Amount in account currency 
    Is the amount in the currency of the transaction account (see multi-currency transactions).
    This amount is used to calculate the basic currency value at the indicated exchange rate.
    If there is a formula, the value is the result of the formula calculation.
    If the row includes a repetition, the amount of the first transaction is indicated.
  • Account currency amount formula
    A Calculation formula can be entered.
    • If the line includes a repetition, the amount of the first transaction is indicated. The amounts of subsequent repetitions are visible in the account card.
    • The FormulaBegin column refers to this column.
  • Exchange rate
    It is the exchange rate that is applied to convert the amount into the account currency into the base currency.
  • Total amount in the account currency
    Is the total of the amounts of the repeated lines in the currency of the account, whose date falls within the accounting period defined in the file properties
    If there is no date or if the start or end date is outside the accounting period, this column remains empty.

See also: Tutorial File Budget Formulas For Multi-Currency Financial Planning

Financial Planning based on the double-entry method

 

The planning system of Banana Accounting is based on the same double-entry method used for accounting.

It is planned by always indicating an account of origin (credit) and one of destination (debit). This allows for a precise vision of the capital flows and offers the possibility to have a comprehensive vision which includes:

  • Budget forecasts, therefore relating to the financial situation, liquidity, assets, third party and own means.
  • Income statement forecast: revenues, costs and operating result.

Plan Execute Control

The planning of Banana Accounting is an integral part of the Plan-Execute-Control.
This offers a constant and dynamic control of the financial situation and evolution.

General scheme planning-executing-controlling

Planning and accounting in a single file

The same file contains both accounting and planning data. You can get started with a file prepared to keep the accounting and then add the schedule later, or you can start with a file to keep the planning and then also manage the accounting.

Common elements

  • Basic accounting data
    Header, currency, accounting period, address, other parameters.
  • Accounts and Categories table
    Where to set up the Chart of Accounts with accounts and groups total.
    • Opening balances (Opening column)
      They are inserted in the Accounts table and are used as the initial situation for both accounting (current values) and forecasts.
    • Annual Budget (Quote column)
      • With the Budget table
        The Budget column of the Chart of Accounts will be protected and the program indicates the budget amounts, calculated on the basis of the contents of the Budget table, referring to the accounting period.
      • If there is no Budget table
        You enter the budget data manually.
        When forecasting, the program generates the monthly value, dividing the annual value by the number of months of the accounting period.
  • The other tables
    • VAT Codes Table
    • Exchange rate table

Accounting data (past and present)

  • The Transactions table
    Where past (historical) movements are entered.
    The Registration table is always present in the accounting file. If you don't use it, you can hide it
  • Current value (accounting, past and present)
    This is the balance or movement of the period of an account or group.
    In the reports, you can display the column of the Current value.
    These are the values ​​calculated on the basis of the accounting data, calculated taking into account the
    • Opening balances (Accounts table).
    • The movements of the Transaction table
  • Account card (historical)
    These are the movements of an account or group prepared on the basis of the initial balances plus Transactions.

The Budget data

They are those used to make forecasts, budgets and schedules.
The term Budget is always used in the program for future data.

  • The Budget table
    Future budgeted transactions are inserted.
    The method is the same as the one used in the Transactions table, there are the same columns, plus other specifications for planning.
    Movements related to the future, included in the Budget table
    • Static values ​​(as in the Transactions table).
    • They use calculation formulas, which the program solves when calculating the forecast.
    • Repetitive movements, which the program uses to automatically generate forecasts.
  • The Budget value (future)
    The forecasted value. In the reports you can display the column of the Estimate value, calculated taking into account
    • Opening balances (Accounts table)
    • Transactions in the Budget table (if any).
    • If the Budget table does not exist, using the value contained in the Budget column of the Accounts or Categories table.
  • Budget Account card (future)
    These are the transactions of an account or group prepared on the basis of the opening balances and budget transactions.

The Difference Budget values

Difference between the budget and current values (actual, final).
In the reports, there is a column for comparison, which displays the difference.

Mixed projection values (from a certain date)

The value at a certain future date calculated as follows:

  • On the basis of current values and up to the indicated start date .
  • Starting from the date indicated on the budget values.

Mixed projection values are only available through scripts and the web server.

Types of accounting

The accounting method chosen for accounting is used to insert budget transactions or movements.

  • Income and Expense (Cash Manager and Income and Expense accounting)
  • Double-entry (Double-entry and multi-currency accounting).

For budget calculations, the program internally always uses the double-entry based engine. The results and reporting that are obtained are therefore very similar.

Accounting, planning and forecasting period

Accounting or forecasting is always related to a period. The following periods are differentiated:

  • Accounting period
    Is the one defined in the file properties, with start and end date.
  • Budget period
    It is the period for which the planning data is entered..
  • Forecast period
    It is the period used by the program to calculate the forecast. It is indicated when a print is requested.

For more information, see the Forecasting period.

Breakdown by period

With the double-entry method, each operation has its own date in the planning. When printing, the user chooses whether to have a forecast by month, quarter, semester or year, and the program will calculate everything automatically. Contrary to spreadsheets, there is no need, anymore to decide at the beginning whether to make forecasts by month, quarter or year and to divide the amounts manually in the columns.

Automatic projections

Thanks to the possibility of indicating that certain operations are repeated in the future, the program has the necessary elements to automatically prepare forecasts for future years. You can thus know how revenues, costs, liquidity and other assets and liabilities will evolve in the weeks, months, quarters and years to come

Details with all the operations

With the double-entry method, the forecasts are prepared by inserting transactions. The program is able to present the account card with the detailed movements for each account. This view is very useful for investigating elements and represents another advantage of liquidity-oriented planning, which is difficult to achieve with planning prepared with spreadsheets.

The calculation journal

The basis for all accounting and budget processing is the calculation journal. To prepare Financial Statements, Income Statement, Account Cards, VAT Reports, the program creates an internal data structure which is called a calculation journal. Movements are accessible through the API accounting with Journal function. 

The logic for creating the calculation journal works as follows:

  • It is created starting from the data entered by the user.
  • For each financial movement, including also the opening balances, there is a row, where the main elements are:
    • Origin
      Indicates whether the transaction relates to accounting (current) or planning (budget).
    • Operation type
      Opening balance, movement, carry forward, invoice compensation.
    • Date (the relevant date)
    • Description
    • Account
    • Account Type
      Indicates whether it is a normal account or a cost or profit center.
    • Amount (accounting base currency)
      Positive values ​​indicate an increase (debit), negative values ​​indicate a decrease (credit)
    • Amount account currency
    • Other columns
      • All those that are present in the Transactions table.
      • Several others that are used for calculations.

The calculation log is emptied every time recalculation is performed and then the following are added:

  • The rows of current transactions (relating to actual accounting).
  • The rows of the budget movements.

The rows of current values ​​(actual)

The rows for current values ​​are added to the temporary journal starting from:

  • Initial balances contained in the Accounts table
    For each account with a balance, one row is created.
    • Date is the date of the start of accounting.
    • Account is the account.
    • The amount is the opening balance.
  • Accounting movements from the transactions table.
    If the movement has multiple accounts, debit account, credit account, VAT account, cost center, a row is generated for each account with the relative amount in positive or negative.

The rows of the budget values

The rows for the budget values ​​are added to the temporary journal starting from:

  • Initial balances contained in the Accounts table
    As with accounting values, a budget line is created for each account with a balance.
  • Planning movements (with the Budget table)
    As for accounting, for each movement on the account, rows are created based on the Budget table.
    • Static ones, with all the values ​​set.
    • Repeated movements
      • For the entire projection period defined, based on the repetition code, the program creates duplicates of the budget lines and sets the date.
      • The program generates repeated rows based on the contents of the Start Date, End Date and Repetition columns
      • If the projection period is the calendar year and in January there is the registration of the rent with monthly repetition, the program creates duplicates for the following 11 months.
      • If the registration is on January 31, for the months that do not have 31 days, the day will be the last of the month.
      • If the first registration is on March 28 and the repetition code is indicated as the end of the month, in the following months the day will become the last of the month.
    • As for accounting entries, if there are multiple accounts on the budget row, one row is generated for each account.
  • Movements starting from the annual Budget (if there is no Budget table)
    If there is no Budget table, the budget rows are created based on the content of the Budget column of the Accounts and Categories table:
    • The number of months It is calculated how according to the accounting period.
    • One row is created for each month.
    • The amount contained in the Budget column is divided by the number of months.
    • If there is a rounding difference, an additional row is created for the final month.

After creation, the rows are sorted by ascending order.

Amount column calculation

Once the calculation journal has been created, the contents of the amount column of all the budget rows which contain a formula or a quantity or unit price are recalculated.

Resolution of formulas in Javascript:

  • Javascript interpreter creation
    Every time the calculation journal is created, an instance of a Javascript interpreter, specific for the resolution of the Budget formulas, is also created
  • Javascript interpreter initialization
    The Javascript interpreter is initialized by running scripts.
    • The default Banana Accounting scripts.
    • The content of the _budget.js file possibly present in the Documents table.
      This way the user can initialize variables or create his own calculation functions.
  • Resolution of formulas
    • The formulas contained in the rows of the temporary journal are solved one after the other in the progressive sequence of date.
    • The state of the Javascript interpreter is maintained after each operation, therefore the formula can refer to variables defined in a row with a previous date.
    • The formulas contained in the repetition lines are also executed by order of date, so the result varies according to when it is performed.

The calculation sequence is as follows

  • The budget rows are processed by order of date (if they have the same date in the order of entry).
  • The transaction amount is calculated, with this priority:
    • If there is a formula by solving it
    • If the quantity and the price are present, by multiplying them
    • Otherwise the value contained in the amount column is kept.
  • For multi-currency accounting, the currency amount formula is first performed and then the base currency amount formula.
    If there is no formula for amount in base currency, the program reverts to the historical exchange rate and calculates the equivalent value in base currency.
  • For VAT accounting, VAT is recalculated based on the transaction amount.
  • The previously processed rows are used for the calculations of the following lines:
    • The balance of the accounts, as of the date of the estimate line, includes only the previously processed amounts.
    • If you use a formula for calculating the balance for the whole year in a February transaction, you will only have the balance until February.

Calculation column Total Budget table

The Total column is calculated automatically and contains the total amount of the budget for the accounting period indicated in the file properties (start and end date of accounting).

  • If it is a single transaction, the Total is equal to the amount.
  • If it is a recurring operation, the Total is the sum of the amounts of all repetitions that fall within the accounting period.
  • The Total column is empty if the date is preceding or goes beyond the accounting period.

Calculation of the current value, forecast and comparison

Once the calculation journal is generated, it is used to calculate the Balance Sheet and all the other processing necessary for accounting.

For the periods defined in the report, the program calculates:

  • The current value (based on Transactions).
  • The Budget values.

The following values ​​are calculated for current and budget data:

  • Balance at the beginning of the period.
  • Debit movement
  • Credit movement
  • Movement (Total)
  • Balance at the end of the period (Start + Movements)

The comparisons between Current and Budget are also calculated:

  • Absolute Difference (Budget - Current).
  • Percentage change

Automatic and manual recalculation

The budget values ​​are automatically recalculated:

  • If there is a change in the Budget table.
  • If the accounting start or end date is changed.
  • If the Accounts table is modified.
  • When requesting a report and the Transactions table has been changed.

After each recalculation the program automatically updates:

  • The Budget column in the Accounts and Categories table.
  • The Total column in the Budget table.

If you modify the VAT table or the _budget.js file or other Javascript files that are used in the calculation of the formulas, you must perform a recalculation manually (Command check and control accounting).

The calculation speed depends on:

  • Number of accounts and groups in the Accounts and Categories table
  • Number of rows inserted in the Budget table.
  • Number of rows with repetition.
  • Presence of formulas.
  • Schedule period set. The longer the period, the greater the number of repeat lines.

Manual recalculation

If the calculation takes a long time, it may prove difficult to enter data in the Budget table. You can switch to manual recalculation by checking the Recalculate totals manually option in the File menu → Files and accounting Properties → Options tab.

To have the updated values, you must therefore use the Recalculate Totals command.

 

Period for the financial forecast

The planning system based on the double-entry method allows you to prepare forecasts indicating when the operation will take place.
Unlike Excel, where you set up a sheet with the columns for the forecast periods (month, quarter or year), with Banana Accounting you simply indicate the expected date for the event. The assignment to a period is generated automatically by the program when it processes the data. You can decide to display forecasts by day, week, month, 2 months, quarter, semester, annual, 2, 5 or 10 years.

  • Forecasts can be made for one or more years.
  • Based on the data entered, the program calculates the liquidity, Balance Sheet and Income statement projections for the period in question.
  • Daily forecasts can be obtained, particularly useful for liquidity, or even by month or year.
    See Prints and financial forecast reports.

Accounting, planning and forecasting period

Accounting or forecasting is always relevant to a period. The following periods are differentiated:

  • Accounting period
    This is the one defined in the file properties, with start and end date.
    Generally, it will be the same as the calendar year, but it can have any start and end date.
  • Planning period
    The period for which the planning data is entered.
    • The schedule does not require a planning period to be set.
    • It is generally assumed that it is the same as the accounting period.
    • The planning period may be different from the accounting period. In the Budget table, rows are inserted which take effect beyond the accounting period.
      • Transactions with dates outside the accounting period.
      • Repetitive transactions without an end date or with an end date that is beyond the the accounting period.
  • Forecast period
    The period used by the program to calculate the forecast.
    • It is indicated when a print is requested.
      • Use the accounting period as default.
      • It can be set freely and in this way forecasts can be obtained for several years and even for several decades.
    • The accounting period is used as the Forecast period for the calculation of the content of the Total column in the Budget table and of the Budget column of the Accounts and Categories tables.
      • These values therefore refer to the accounting period defined in the file properties.
      • If you change the accounting start and end date, the forecasts are recalculated.

Forecast with monthly logic

Forecast movements are entered in the Budget table indicating the date on which these are expected to occur. For the purpose of liquidity forecasting, it is important to indicate dates for revenues and costs as precisely as possible.

For all other income and expenses that occur on a day of the month or rather at the beginning or the end, such as rent, wages, bank charges and other expenses or income, it is important to indicate by selecting the day close to the actual day of payment.

For other revenues and expenses, approximations will be made. For example - except in special cases - for restaurant revenues, which come in daily, it is not adequate to make day-to-day forecasts. In this case it is sufficient to indicate the overall sales that are expected to occur in the month. We recommend to indicate day 15, the middle of the month.

Forecast for the current year

Movements with or without repetition are inserted in the Budget table.

The calculation of the forecast is generally generated, taking into account the movements that fall within the current accounting period, as defined in the file properties.

  • The total amount for the current period is indicated in the Total column of the Budget table.
  • The estimate balance for the current period is indicated in the Budget column of the Accounts and Categories table.
  • In the various printouts, if it is indicated as the All period, there are forecasts for the current period.

If the file is also used to keep the accounting, the accounting period must obviously be the one referring to the accounting. Even when the file is used for forecasts only, it is better to set the accounting period referring to only one year. In fact, if a period of two years is entered in the base data, the values ​​of the forecasts, in the Total and Accounts column, will be for the two years. This can lead to confusing values.

yearly forecast

Forecasts over several years

If you insert the forecast movements with a repetition code, the program is able to prepare forecasts that extend beyond the defined period.

To obtain forecasts over several years, the movements are entered in the Budget table.

  • Opening balances
    • These are inserted in the Accounts table.
  • Forecast movements prior to the accounting period.
    • For special cases, it is also possible to insert transactions with dates prior to the accounting period.
    • Attention must be paid, because these operations will change the balances at the time of opening.
    • For these transactions, the Total column will be empty because it is outside the accounting period.
  • Forecast movements for the accounting period.  
    • Movements are indicated with the date falling within the accounting period.
    • If there are operations that will also repeat in the following years, the annual repetition code must be set to "Y".
    • If the repetition of the operation occurs during several years, indicate the number of years before the Y, i.e. for every 2 years indicate "2Y", 5 years "5Y", 10 years "10Y".
    • If the repetition does not extend beyond a set date (for example the payment of a lease), the end date must be indicated.
  • Forecast movements for the following years.
    • The future date, on which the transaction is expected is indicated.
    • The repeat code and the end date can be indicated.
    • For these transactions, the Total column will remain empty because they are outside the accounting period.

Use of formulas

The formulas allow you to automate amortization and interest calculations. When an investment increases, the income statement is also immediately updated. Formulas are especially useful when making forecasts over multiple years.

You can use the formulas to automatically adjust the amount in the repeat rows .

  • The calculation of depreciation can be based on the balance of the fixed assets account.
  • Interest can be calculated directly on the bank account movements.
  • You can determine a sales progression.
  • Purchases can be defined as a percentage.

Thanks to the fact that movements with the repetition code or with the dates of the following years have been inserted in the Budget table, the program is able to calculate forecasts for future years.
When the report is printed, indicate the start and end date in the Period section.

Considering that the start date is January 1, 2022:

  • If you want a 2-year forecast, indicate the end date as 31 December 2024. 
  • If you want a 5-year forecast, indicate the end date as 31 December 2027.
  • If you want a 20-year forecast, indicate the end date as 31 December 2042.

The possibility of getting a forecast is available for the following printouts:

All accounting reports can contain accounting values, forecast values, or both together. The parameters available are the same for accounting reports and forecasts.

Thanks to these reports, you may generate a 

and more, for future interest periods.

Columns divided by period

In the Subdivision section you can use the program to create columns for the period.

You can thus display the evolution by month, quarter or year.

With Customization you can set up print formats and call them up again later. If you run forecasts over several years, it is will be useful to have pre-set customizations, overall, per year, 5 years or with the comparisons between the final balance and the estimate, which can be called up immediately .

Budget - Four-year forecast

Balance Sheet, 4 years forecast

Income statement - Four-year forecast

​Profit, Loss statement, 4 years forecast​

Budget transactions

In order to prepare financial forecasts, based on the double-entry method, transactions are entered in the Budget table. Indicate origin and destination accounts for each one. The program has the information necessary to prepare Balance Sheets and Income statements, that will however relate to the future and not the past.

When one is planning with Excel, the Income statement is set up first, then the revenues and costs are listed. Generally, the liquidity and investment plan is prepared only later and on separate sheets.
When making forecasts with the double-entry method, we proceed instead as if we were keeping an accounting for the future. All the transactions that are expected to occur will be listed. The program will then automatically prepare the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss account for the indicated period.

Structuring of budget transactions

For the preparation of a financial plan, we generally proceed by listing the different elements in the following order:

  • Capital injections.
  • Third party capital injections.
  • Setting up expenses.
  • Investments.
    In furniture, equipment.
  • Recurring fixed costs.
    Rent, staff, social security charges, energy, subscriptions.
  • Recurring revenues.
  • Variable revenues
    The turnover which is typically seasonal.
  • Variable costs.
    Commissions, costs of the goods sold and others, which are related to the expected volume of revenues.
  • Year-end transactions.
    Depreciation, taxes, interest on loans, dividends.

By the time you enter sales and variable costs, you already have the cost and capital structure. It will be possible to know instantly, whether the expected turnover will allow the company to generate sufficient profits and liquidity to guarantee its sustainability over time.

Amount and Formula column

As a rule, to prepare a budget, simply use the Amount column.
For more elaborate estimates, there is the possibility of indicating quantities, unit prices, or a formula. The program will automatically calculate the value in the Amount column.

Quantity and formula column in the Budget table

Updating forecasts

With the double-entry method, thanks to the possibility of indicating each operation in detail, it becomes easier to update and improve the forecast. Initially, estimates of different costs or investments will be entered. As you get closer to the operational phase and there will be more precise data, just replace the existing ones. Even when the activity has started and exact elements are known, the forecast can be updated easily. Precise and reliable indications on profitability and liquidity are thus available.

Dates and repetitions in financial forecast transactions

The Date column

The value contained in the Date column is the one that will validate the forecast.

  • If there is no date, the transaction will be taken into account at the beginning of the planning.
    If you require a forecast indicating a period, the amounts will be taken into account in the balance value at the beginning of the period.
    Due to the fact that it does not fall within the period, no amount will be displayed in the Total column.
  • Dates in the accounting period set in the file properties.
    These are the ones commonly used. The total amount will be indicated in the Total column, taking into account repetitive movements, within the accounting period.
  • Dates prior to the period.
    You can enter movements that precede the forecast period. However, you must be careful that they do not conflict with the opening balances entered in the account table.
    Due to the fact that it is not within the period, no amount will be displayed in the Total column.
  • Dates after the period.
    If you make forecasts over several years, they allow you to indicate transactions for the years to come.
    Due to the fact that it is not within the period, no amount will be displayed in the Total column.

The End date

This is used in combination with repetition, to indicate the last date beyond which there is to be no repeat.

  • Must generally be left empty.
    If you enter a date when it is not necessary (for example the end of the accounting period) the forecasts for the following years will not include this operation.
  • For leasing transactions.
    Indicate the date on which the payment of the last installment will be made as the end date.
  • For loan repayment.
    Indicate the last expected payment date.
  • For changes in the amount at set deadlines.
    In the case, for instance, that the amount of a recurring transaction is adapted at certain deadlines (salary increase).
    • Create a transaction row with repeat "M" and End date as per the last payment before the increase.
      Create transaction rows with Dates when the increase begins.
    • If the increase follows a precise and regular automation, this can also be programmed with formulas.

Repetitions

For recurring expenses or income, the repetition code is recommended (refer to Documentation on the columns).

  • When calculating the forecast, the program creates copies of the operation and progressively increases the date, taking into account the indicated frequency.
  • If there is no end date, the program will generate internal copies of the records for the entire period of the forecast indicated at the time of the report when calculating the forecast.
    • If the start date is January, the frequency is monthly
      • If the forecast period is the year, it will generate rows from February, 1 original row and 11 automatic rows, for a total of 12.
      • If the forecast period is 10 years, it will generate rows starting from February, 1 original row and 119 automatic lines (11 the first year + 12 * 9 for the following ones), for a total of 120 lines.
  • If you want the program to automatically calculate forecasts for subsequent years.
    • For recurring operations, indicate the relative repetition code.
    • For transactions that occur only once a year (for example depreciation at the end of the year), indicate the repetition code "Y", so that the depreciation is also calculated in the following years.
    • Don't use the repetition only if the operation will not occur in the following year.

Total column of the Budget table

The Total column is calculated automatically and represents the sum of the amounts of the current row and the repetition amounts that fall within the accounting period. The Total column is empty if the transactions have an earlier date or extend beyond the accounting period.

Schedule with precise date and monthly logic

Forecast movements are entered in the Budget table indicating the date on which these are expected to occur.

However, it is not always possible to predict all revenues and expenses with a daily precision. When making a forecast it is therefore useful, in some cases, to use approximations, generally reasoning on a monthly basis. In any case, it is useful to always follow a specific logic so that reliable liquidity forecasts can also be obtained in the short term:

  • Punctual operations (capital payment, investments) are indicated with the date on which they are expected to occur.
    If there is no precise date, it is useful to indicate them on the 15th day of the month in which they are expected to occur. 
  • Recurring charges that have a precise payment date are to be set with the expected payment date and the relative repetition code:
    • Bank charges, interest, amortization are to be indicated at the end of the month, quarter or year that they will take place.
    • Rentals on the due expected date of payment.
    • Salaries and social security charges
      • For the calculation and monthly payment on the day that wages are paid.
      • For thirteenths, bonuses or whatever at the moment they are paid.
      • Payments for advances and adjustments of social security charges on the expected payment date.
    • Payments and VAT adjustments on the typical payment due day.
  • Revenue Forecasting.
    The preparation of the forecasts depends on the type of activity.
    If you do not know the exact day, but you will know that it will happen in a certain month, it is recommended to indicate the 15th of the month
    • Punctual revenue.
      They are to be indicated on the date on which it is expected to take place or mid-month.
    • Recurring revenue.
      To be indicated on the date of entry or mid-month.
    • In many cases a monthly forecast is well suited. The revenue can be indicated on the 15th of the month.
      • If the revenues are recurring, the revenue can be entered with the monthly repetition. Using formulas you can predict growth.
      • If there are seasonal differences, it is helpful to have a sales forecast row for each month.
    • Forecast of projects or major works.
      If there is a calendar with receipts, a transaction row is to be indicated for each expected entry. It can be approximated by indicating the 15th of the month.
    • Forecast for customers.
      For a consultant or commercial advisor, who works both with budgets and projects, it can prove very useful to set up a detailed revenue forecast for each client, with the expected payment dates. This forecast will also be very useful to check if the customer has actually paid.
  • Variable costs.
    • Constant expenses linked to the turnover (a restaurant for example ), are indicated with the same date as the turnover. With a formula you can also calculate as a percentage value of the turnover.
    • Costs can also be linked to other elements, such as the number of employees, rented premises or other.

Forecasting with the cash principle

Planning for small business and cash activities (such as shops, restaurants) it is useful to proceed with the cash principle, then indicate the revenues with the date on which they will be collected and the costs when paid.

For important operations, such as the purchase of a machine whose payment is deferred over time, it is however useful to insert forecast movements with precise details:

  • Purchase of machinery (asset registration with suppliers) with date of purchase.
  • Payment of the machinery, with the date(s) on which payment is expected.

Forecasts with the accrual method

In this case, the insertion of the operations takes into account when the payment will be made.

  • Cash transactions.
    They are obviously registered normally.
  • Transactions expected to be settled in the near future.
    For simplicity, the operations that fall within the forecast month or the one immediately following, it can be useful to use the cash principle.
  • Deferred payments.
    If the dates are not known with precision, you can use the 15th of the month.
    • Transactions with precise payment terms.
      • One movement indicates the purchase date with the counterpart in the supplier account.
      • One of the other movements indicates payment on the scheduled dates.
  • Deferred collections.
    • With precise payment terms, as is the case with a project:
      • A movement indicates the billing date and the customer account with the counterpart.
      • One of the other movements indicates payment on the scheduled dates.
    • Late payment.
      This is the case when a part of the revenues is collected in the short term, a percentage is collected later. It can be done like this:
      • Enter the revenue as cash collection.
      • With the same date, a movement is created that moves a part of the collection to the customer account.
      • At a later date, the cash collection is indicated with the client account of the counterpart.
  • Use of variables for deferred collections and payments( see Example use of variables)
    When the same value must be reused at the time of payment, it can prove very useful to use the formula column and variables.
    • In the billing transaction, the amount is assigned to a variable.
    • In the payment movement, the variable is inserted so that the amount is automatically taken over.
    • Variables can also be used to define the percentage of the amount that will be deferred, for example.

Examples of financial forecast movements

Scheduling transactions are entered like normal entries, with the date, description, amount, debit and credit account.

In addition, the Repeat column is used, which allows recurring transactions to be entered on a single line.

Below are several examples, taken from the template below, to which we refer for further explanation.

Start-up forecast registrations

These are forecast entries as those registered in the Transactions table.

The example shown here refers to the start of the activity, so it concerns transactions that are not repeated.

Start activity budget

Monthly repetitive entries

Below are examples of entries with monthly repetition, code 'M'. The column Total shows the total amount for the year.

The first two entries refer to the rent, which from February to June is 1'000 monthly, while from July it is 1'200.

The date 2024, when the lease redemption amount must be paid, is also indicated. In this line, in the column Total, there is no amount, because the movement does not fall within the dates of the accounting period defined in the file properties.

The repetition code "ME" Month End is used for administrative expenses counted by the bank. For subsequent entries the day 28 is not used, but the last day of the month, thus March 31, April 30.

February budget forecast 

Quarter-end

Here we indicate some typical entries that repeat at the quarter end. We enter the 3ME repetition, which means repeat every 3 months, with end of month date.

Quarterly budget forecast

End of Year

At the end of the year there are operations which are carried out. Use Repeat 'Y' so that these operations are also performed for subsequent years.

End of year budget forecast

Forecast of income and purchase of goods

The income forecast is specific to each activity. In this case, the income and purchase forecast is shown month by month, with a specific amount.

Starting in March, the annual 'Y' repetition is indicated, so that these transactions are repeated in subsequent years.

Yearly income and purchase forecast

Purchases and next year sales

The months of January and February, in the first year, were not considered significant for the following years, so they did not have a repeat.
For the first two months of the second year, we have to set sales. We also set the annual 'Y' repetition, so that we can repeat the income in the following year.

Purchases and next year sales

Forecasting with quantity and price

The Quantity, Unit and Unit Price columns of the Budget table allow you to prepare forecasts faster.

The value of the Amount column is calculated by the program by multiplying the Quantity by the Unit Price (under the condition that Formula column is empty).

The Quantity, Unit Price columns are set as visible in the Formula View.

Budget, Quantity and Price columns

Advantages of using the Quantity and Prices columns

The quantity and price columns are useful for making predictions based on quantities. For example:

  • In the Unit column you can indicate what the price refers to.
  • The Quantity column indicates the number of seats served daily.
  • The Price column indicates the estimated revenue for each cover.
  • The Amount column will be calculated automatically based on the values indicated.

This approach offers several advantages:

  • All elements of the planning can be precisely detailed in the Budget.
  • We remember the quantities and prices used to make the estimate.
  • Changing the schedule is very simple, you can change the element you want only.
  • How the profit varies, can be seen with a change in the quantities sold or in the price.
    Break-even analysis.

 

Using formulas in the Budget table

The addition of Javascript formulas in the Budget table of Banana Accounting Plus, opens up several possibilities.  

The use of formulas is available in Banana Accounting Plus with the Advanced plan only. 
See all the advantages of the Advanced plan.

Formula column 

The Formula column allows you to enter calculation formulas. The estimate amounts can thus be calculated on the basis of other values of the same budgeting (see Examples of formulas).

  • Indicate the cost of goods based as a percentage of sales.
  • Increase your sales budget based as a percentage of growth.
  • At the end of the year, calculate the depreciation based on the value of the investments made.
  • Quarterly, calculate interest on the bank account based on actual usage (days / 365).
  • Monthly, calculate interest on the bank account based on actual usage (days / 365).

If you enter a value in the Formula column, the Amount column is calculated by the program based on that formula.

Formula Begin Column

In the Formula Begin column you can enter any formula, that is pre-pended to Formula and resolved (see documentation of the table Budget):

It is useful to specify  a variable name and the assignment operator, so that you can easily change amounts:

  • Instead of writing in the Formula  "Price= 100", you can write
  • Formula Begin "Price="
  • In Formula "100" , so you can easily see the amount and change it

Formulas in Description column

You can also enter formula in the column text, so that the text is completed automatically when you request an account card  (see documentation of the table Budget).

The Formula in the Description should be entered within curly brackets preceded by the dollar sign. 

  • Assuming that in the formula you have defined the variable Price "Price= 100"
  • In the Description text you can use the variable price 
    "Sell of goods at price ${Price}" will results in the account card in 
    "Sell of goods at price 100" 

Within the Description column you can use any Javascript formula, but you should avoid use assignment or other calculations, and use only the Description to for retrieving values. 

Example files

For examples of the formulas, refer to the following explanations:

Examples of Budget formulas

Calculation formulas in Javascript

  • The formula must be expressed in the Javascript language (not to be confused with the Java language).
  • If there is a formula (or any text), the value in the Amount column is set according to the formula result.
  • You can use all the functions of the Javascript language, plus the APIs provided by Banana.

Decimal separator

In JavaScript only the point "." is used as a decimal separator
If you use a different separator, the one used for numbers in the local format, the number is likely to be truncated.

Amount = result of the last instruction

In Javascript the semicolon ";" is used to separate expressions.
If the Javascript formula contains multiple expressions separated by ";" the value of the Amount column will be the result of the last executed expression.

  • 10*3 //30 will be returned
  • If there is a sequence of several operations separated by a semicolon ";", the last operation will be resumed.
    10*3;7; //7 will be returned
  • If there is a return, the value is resumed after the return.
    return 10; // 10 will be returned.

Variables

Javascript variables are the most powerful elements of programming, as they let you give a name to a value stored in the computer's memory, so you can easily save, reuse, and update that value in your formulas.
Variables do not exist in Excel formulas, but are similar to the name of the cells, with the difference that the name can be freely assigned.

Javascript variables, budget formulas

What is a variable?

A variable is like a labeled box where you store a value. For example:

price = 10

This means you’re giving the name price to the value 10. You can then use "price" in other calculations:

total = price * 5

This will multiply the value of "price" (which is 10) by 5 and store the result in a new variable "total".

You can also reassign the value of a variable later:

price = 20

Variable initialization

To create a variable, just write a name, an equal sign (=), and a value.

There are two different ways to create and initialize a variable, and they behave slightly differently:

  • Variable with the word "var"
    • var price = 10
    • This creates the variable "price" and the value 10 is assigned to it.
    • The value will not appear in the Amount column. The cell looks empty.
    • The value will be used and displayed only when you refer to "price" in another row.
  • Variable without "var"
    • price = 10
    • This also creates the variable "price" and the value 10 is assigned to it.
    • The value appears directly in the Amount column of the same row.
    • Useful when you want to both define the variable and see its value immediately.

You can define and use variables directly within the rows. By entering the variable name in the formula, the saved value is taken over.

 Nullish coalescing operator "??"

Sometimes, you want to give a variable a value only if it doesn’t already have one.
You can do this using a special symbol called the Nullish coalescing operator "??", in this case the value specified after the operator "??" is used only if the price has not been already assigned. 

price = price ?? 10;

This means: “If price doesn’t already have a value, set it to 10. Otherwise, keep the current value.”

Before using "??", make sure the variable exists. You can write:

var price
price = price ?? 10

Or simply:

var price = price ?? 10

The Nullish coalescing operator is useful for repetitions, due that it allows to assign an initial value, the first time only.  So you can than increment the value and by the next repetition the value will not be assigned again. 

Note: The Nullish coalescing assignment operator "??="  is not supprted.

Objects

Javascipt objects are variables that allow you to save multiple values, each indicated with a property.
The prices object is created below, indicating the curly brackets. To access and save the values, instead use the square brackets or indicate in the name of the property after the name of the object.

prices = {}
prices['car'] = 10;
prices.car = 10;
prices['computer'] = 20;
prices.computer = 20;

Array

Javascript Arrays are created using square brackets and also to access them. 
The first element of the array has index 0.

costs = [1,2,3];
costs[0]=3;
result = prices['car'] - costs[0];

Repetition and variables

For more information on the calculation sequence, see Planning Logic.

  • All rows (including those created for repetitions) are sorted by date. If there are rows with the same date, the order is that of insertion in the table.
  • After the sorting, the rows (including the formulas) are recalculated.
  • In the formulas, you therefore only have access to the budget data up to that date.
  • A variable must be defined in a row that has the date preceding the row where it is used.
  • If the budget entry has a repetition the variable will be reassigned each time.
    sum = 10;
  • If you want to calculate the grand total instead.
    • In an initial line create the variable with value zero.
      sum = 0;
    • In the line that repeats in the sum also include the previous value.
      sum = sum + 10;
      or use the "+="
      sum += 10
  • Use the Nullish coalescing operator "??" for assigning a value to a variable that is not yet initialized.

Automatic variables

  • budgetCurrent
    It is a table that contains the budget rows after the repetitions creation.
    These are used to record values in conjunction with the JRepeatNumber.
  • DEBUG  is a variable that can be "true" or "false".
    If "true", in the messages, all the results of the formulas are being displayed.
  • row
    Is a Javascript object that refers to the current row.
    • The values of the cells can be retrieved with the value function ("columnNameXml").
      row.value("date") returns to the date of the transaction.
    • row.value ("JRepeatNumber") returns the progressive of the repetition.
      The first repetition is 0.
  • _totalPrice
    This is the value of the Quantity column multiplied by the UnitPrice column.
    Equivalent to the formula "row.value('Quantity')*row.value('UnitPrice')"

Budget Functions

In addition to the budget API defined in the accounting class API, there are specific functions.

budgetGetPeriod(tDate, period)

This function is used in combination with the use of repetition. 
When repetitions are indicated, it is advisable to refer to a calculation period and not to a precise date.

  • Parameter tDate.
    The date to which the calculation of the period refers. Usually the date of the recording line.
  • Period parameter.
    Abbreviations
    • For the current
      • "BC" current bi-monthly (2 months)
      • "DC" current day
      • "MC" current month
      • "QC" current trimester
      • "SC" current half-year
      • "YC" current year.
      • "WC" current week
    • For previous
      • "BP" previous bi-monthly
      • "DP" previous day
      • "MP" previous month
      • "QP" previous quarter
      • "SP" previous shalf-year
      • "YP" previous year
      • "WP" previous week
  • Returned values.
    An object composed of two dates
    • startDate
    • endDate
// example
t = BudgetGetPeriod ('2015-01-01', 'MP') returns
t.startDate // 2014-12-01
t.endDate // 2014-12-31

Specific budget functions

The following are similar to those available with Banana.document, but can be used without indicating the object Banana.document.

To be taken into account:

  • Instead of the startDate parameter, you can use one of the abbreviations "MC", "MP", explained in the budgetGetPeriod.
  • If you use an abbreviation, the function calculates the start and end date of the period, based on the date of the current registration.
  • It makes sense to use the end date only if it is earlier than the row date.
    If it is equal or higher, it has no effect because the values after the current row are not yet available, because they have not been processed.
  • If the registration row date is April 15th:
    • budgetBalance("1000","MP") the balance of the 1000 account returns at the end of March.
    • budgetBalance("1000","MC") returns the balance at the current time is the same as budgetBalance("1000").
    • budgetTotal("1000","QP") returns total of the movement for the previous quarter.
    • budgetTotal("1000","QC") returns the total of the movement for the previous quarter, up to the current date.
budgetBalance(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

The balance up to the current row.

budgetBalance('1000', 'MP'); //returns the balance of 1000 at the end of the previous month
budgetOpening(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

The balance at the beginning of the period.

budgetTotal(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

The difference between the debit and the credit movement of the period.

budgetTotal('1000', 'MC'); //returns the total movement of the 1000 account for the current month
budgetInterest( account, interest, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

Calculates the interest on an account, for the period indicated (at the maximum the current date)
If you use it to calculate interest on an account at the end-of-period, the row where the formula is shown should always be the last one for this date.

  • Account parameter
    This is the account number on whose movements interest will be calculated
  • Interest parameter,
    Indicates the interest rate in percent.
    • Positive (2.5, 4, 10) calculates the interest on the account's debit movement
    • Negative (-2.5, -4, -10) calculates the interest on the account's credit movement.
credit(amount)
  • If the amount parameter is negative returns the amount as a positive
    credit(-100) // returns 100
  • If the amount parameter is positive, returns 0 (zero)
    credit(100) // returns 0

This function is useful in conjunction with the other budgetBalance functions to work only on the balances you need.
If you want to calculate the percentage on sales, using this function is easier.
credit(budgetTotal('1000')) // enter the value only if it is a negative.

debit(amount)
  • If the amount parameter is positive, returns the amount
    debit(100) // returns 100
  • If the amount parameter is negative, returns 0 (zero)
    debit(-100) // returns 0

Useful if you have to make calculations using only the debit amount and avoid using the credit amount

include

Includes and executes a Javascript file, with the possibility to create its own functions and variables that can be recalled in the script.

  • Include "file:test.js" 
    Executes the contents of the indicated file. The name refers to the file on which one is working.
  • Include "documents:test.js" 
    Executes the contents of the text document contained in the documents table.
    This has to be a file of the "text/javascript" type.

Functions for multi-currency accounting

They can also be used for accounting without multi-currency, in this case the account is always in basic currency.

budgetBalanceCurrency(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

The balance in the account currency up to the current line.

budgetExchangeDifference (account, [date, exchangeRate])

This formula recalls the Banana.document.budgetExchangeDifference function.

budgetOpeningCurrency(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

The balance in the account currency at the beginning of the period.

budgetTotalCurrency(account, startDate, endDate, extraParam)

Starting with version 9.01, the following functions are also included : budgetCreditCurrency, budgetDebitCurrency.


User defined functions

The user can define personal function with the JavaScript language, and recall them in the formulas.
It is possible to define functions:

  • Directly in a formula
  • In a JavaScript coded attachment; this attachment must have as row id the "_budget.js" name
  • In a text of the Documents table, that needs to be included with the Include command

Note:
In the user functions it is currently not possible to use functions that access current accounting data (currentBalance, ...).

function Taxcalculation(profit)
{
   var percentage = 10;
   if (profit > 50000)
      percentage = 10;
   else if (profit > 100000)
      percentage =20;
   return profit * percentage / 100;
}

 

The GPT budget formula creator is only experimental: it might be subject to changes and improvements.

This Banana Accounting Plus GPT was created using ChatGPT and is designed to generate calculation formulas to be used in the Budget table of Banana Accounting Plus.

Requirements

To use this GPT, you must have a ChatGPT Plus subscription. Without it, you can try the service for free for up to ten requests. After that, you’ll need to either upgrade to ChatGPT Plus or wait some hours before making additional requests.

How it works

  • Open the Banana GPT from this link:
  • In the Message field at the bottom, enter a sentence describing what formula you want to create. Explain what your purpose is. Generally, more specific requests will yield better results.
  • GPT will process your request and return the corresponding result.
    Based on the input provided to the GPT, examples and text strings are generated containing the formulas.
  • Copy the generated formulas.
  • Paste the copied formulas into the Formula column of the Budget table in Banana Accounting Plus.

Examples of messages to enter in GPT

The following are examples of messages to enter into the GPT chat, along with their respective generated results:

Example 1

Input text:
I have the sales amounts for January, February and March 2024. Now I want to calculate the sales forecast for the same months in 2025. I predict that sales will increase by 20% compared to sales in 2024. Let me have the formulas keeping in mind that I want to see the calculated values right away, and then also the example records to enter.

Response:

DateDescriptionAccount DebitAccount CreditFormula
2025-01-31January sales expected 202530004000var jan24 = 1000; jan24 * 1.2
2025-02-28February sales expected 202530004000var feb24 = 1200; feb24 * 1.2
2025-03-31March sales expected 202530004000var mar24 = 1500; mar24 * 1.2

 

 

Examples of the use of formulas in financial forecasts

The possibility to enter formulas is available in Banana Accounting Plus only with the Advanced plan. Update now!

Below you will find some examples of how to use formulas to automate financial forecasts.
Please refer to the specific documentations:

Examples formulas in the Budget table

Parameters

When planning, it can be useful to define variables that can and will be used later.
It is useful to create a parameter section with a posting date of January 1st, or another date that corresponds to the first day of the Budget. The parameter variables will then be used in the following rows.

// 30%
costOfGoodsSold = 0.3 
// 5%
interestRateDebit = 0.05
// 2%
interestRateCredit = 0.02
// 10 %
latePaymentPercentage = 0.1

This way, all parameters that can be set are displayed instantly. When a parameter is changed, the forecast is recalculated.

Repetitions or values per month

By using the Repeat column, you can plan for the whole year on one recording row.

If however, the activity has seasonal variations, it is recommended to use a forecast by month. For each month, a row is created with the sales amount for the month.
If you wish to make forecasts automatic for several years, it is useful to insert the repetition "Y" in this row, so that the row of the year is also used for the next one.

Prices and sales quantities

When making a sales plan it will be easier to enter values using the quantity and price column. For example, a restaurant can enter the number of covers served per day, week or month and the program automatically calculates the amount. By changing the number of covers or the price, the impact on liquidity and on the result for the year is instantly displayed.

Use of formulas with variables for growth

When you use formulas, remember that they are expressed in the Javascript language:

  • The variable must be defined before being used, hence the line, in which it is defined, must be a date preceding the the line in which it is used.
  • Thousands separators in numbers can't be used.
  • The decimal separator is always the "." (Full stop)
  • The names are different for uppercase / lowercase.

You can assign a value to a variable (this name can be freely chosen) and enter the variable name in the following lines to resume the value.
By changing the value assigned to the variable, all the lines, in which the variable is used, are automatically modified.

As an example, you may set the expected sales amount,  proceeding with the following months, by using a formula to increase the amount.

  • Create a "S" (sales) variable , by entering the following text in the Formula column.
    Sales=1000
    The value 1000.00 will be inserted in the amount column
  • In the following lines use the variable by simply inserting the variable name in the formula:
    Sales
    The value 1000.00 will be inserted in the amount column
  • You can add 10% to the amount (multiplying by 1.1)
    Sales*1.1
    The value 1100.00 will be inserted in the amount column (The value of the Sales variable does not change)
  • You can increase the value of S
    Sales=Sales+200
    The value 1200.00 will be inserted in the amount column (The value of the Sales variable will change)
  • If the variable is used in the following line, there will be the new calculation
    Sales
    The value 1200.00 will be inserted in the amount column

You can also define a variable to define the percentage of growth.

  • Percentage=1.1
  • Amount=200
  • In formulas you can use the variable name instead of the number
    • Sales*Percentage
    • Sales=Sales+Amount

Variables and repetitions

Let's say you expect the turnover to rise by 5% every month.

  • Enter two lines where you assign the value to the variable, without putting any account with the start date of the year.
    Sales=1000
    Increment=5
  • Then create a line with the repetition where you enter the accounts and the formula
    Sales=Sales*(1+Increment/100)

Each time the row is repeated the value of the variable S will be increased by 5% and consequently also the amount of the transaction. By simply changing the growth percentage, the forecast will be recalculated.

In a row you can also insert multiple Javascript instructions, by separating them with a semicolon ";"
Sales=1000; P=5

Use of budget formulas

There are functions that allow you to access the balances and movements of the accounts for planning up to the row that is calculated.You can enter a formula that through the budgetTotal function, recovers the value of the sales account "SALES" of the previous month.

credit( budgetTotal("SALES", "MP") )

The budgetTotal function takes account numbers and periods as arguments. An abbreviation can be used instead of the period.

  • MP stands for previous month.
  • QP stands for previous quarter.

Revenues show in Credit, therefore the value returned by the function will be negative and will not be accepted as an amount in the double entry accounting.
Therefore use the credit () function, which uses the negative value and turn it into a positive value.

Objects for incrementing sales or costs

Instead of using a single variable you can group the elements in an objects, for sale or costs.

s = {} // sales
s.p1 = 100 // product 1
s.p2 = 200 // product 2
c = {} // costs
c.rent = 500 
c.utilities = 200 
c.admin = 100

You can now use a function to increments all element by a value

// function to increment the values within an object by a percentage
function Increment(obj, perc) {for (v in obj) { obj[v]+=obj[v]*(perc/100)}}
// Increment all values
Increment(s,20) // Increments sales by 20%
Increment(c,10) // Increments costs by 10%
// Decrement use a negative number 
Increment(s,-10)// Decrements sales by 10%
Increment(c,-5) // Decrements costs by 5%

If you want to initialize the element in a repetition row use the Nullish coalescing operator "??"

// initialize objects
s = {} // sales
c = {} // costs
// repetition rows assign the value only the first time 
s.p1 = s.p1 ?? 100 
s.p2 = s.p2 ?? 200 
c.rent = c.rent ?? 500 
c.utilities = c.utilities ?? 200 
c.admin = c.admin ?? 100

// Begin next year increments values
Increment(s,20) // Increments sales by 20%
Increment(c,10) // Increments costs by 10%

You can see an example how to insert all data:

 

Variables for monthly sales

Sales may vary for each month. In this case it is useful to use separate registrations for each month with the variable name.

sales_01 = 1000
cost_01 = sales_01 * costOfGoodsSold 
sales_01 = 1100

Deferred payments

If you want a very precise liquidity plan, it is useful to separate the sales, which are paid immediately and those that are deferred.
One approach may be to record all sales as if they were paid cash, assigning the value of the monthly variable to the amount.

sales_01 = 1000

A registration is then entered, which reverses the sales that are deferred, calculating the amount with the formula.

sales_01 * latePaymentPercentage

A payment registration with the same formula will then be inserted for the following month.

 

Selling costs

There are costs that can be related to sales (cost of goods) or to other costs (social charges, in relation to wages).

 Cost calculation with variables

If the sales are defined with variables, the sales costs can also be indicated as a percentage of the sales.

  • You can define variable S for sales and variable C for the percentage of the cost.
    Sales=1000
    Cost=60
  • The formula for the calculation will be:
    Sales*Cost/100

You can also use the same approach to calculate social security charges.
This formula can possibly be entered in a repetitive row.

Sales cost calculation with budget functions

When the costs are related to sales, the budget formula can also be used.

credit( budgetTotal("SALES", "MC") )*60/100

When the costs related to sales, "MC" stands for the current month.
This formula will return the sales value of the current month, turn them into a positive and multiply them by 60 and divide by 100.

The date must be beyond the sales registration dates, obviously.

It may be used it in a repeat row, inserting the month end date. Therefore, the costs of the sale will automatically be calculated based on the sales entered with the transaction.

The formula can be combined with variables.

  • At the beginning of the year define the percentage of costs.
    Cost=60
  • Therefore, the formula C is used.
    credit( budgetTotal("SALES", "MC") )*Cost/100

When you change the contribution percentage or any sale, the schedule will be updated automatically.

Sales commission calculation at the end of the year

At the end of the year,  you calculate the commissions of 5% on the total net sales with this formula:

credit( budgetTotal("SALES", "YC") )*5/100

The bugetTotal function returns the movement of the sales account for the period "YC", current year. With the credit () function, the amount is turned into a positive value and then multiplied by 5 and divided by 100.

If you make forecasts over several years, remember to insert the repetition "Y" in the row, so that the same formula will be also calculated for the previous year. As indicated above instead of entering the 5 directly in the formula, you can assign it with a variable.

  • Commission=5
  • credit( budgetTotal("SALES", "YC") )*Commission/100

If the percentage changes from one year to the next, it is sufficient enter a transaction with the following year date that resets the variable for commissions.

Inflation with variables

If you want to forecast over several years, you can also take inflation into account.

  • At the beginning of the planning, assign a base variable for prices and inflation (2%).
    Base=1;Inflation=2
  • When you use the Sales variable, you multiply it by the inflation rate
    Sales=Sales*Base
  • At the beginning of the following year, with annual repetition, you increase the price base
    Base=Base+Base*Inflation/100

 Depreciation calculation

Thanks to the formulas, the calculation of depreciation can be automated.
If you change the value of your investments in planning, depreciation will be automatically recalculated. Make sure that the date of the depreciation calculation line has a date superior to that of the investments. Date is generally 31st December .

Depreciation calculation on book value

To calculate the depreciation of the "EQUIPMENT" account, insert a line at the end of the year with the following formula and the debit and credit accounts appropriately set up to register the depreciation.

budgetBalance("EQUIPMENT")*20/100

The budgetBalance function returns the balance to that date. The amortization of 20% is then calculated on this.

Use the debit function, in case you think the asset account can go into credit.

debit(budgetBalance("EQUIPMENT"))*20/100

Calculation of depreciation on the initial value

To calculate the initial value of the investments, it is necessary to use variables to remember the value of the initial investment. 

Equipment=10000

If the depreciation is spread over 5 years, the formula will be inserted in the year-end depreciation line

Equipment=10000/5

The annual repetition "Y" and the end date, which corresponds to the date of the last installment of the amortization, will be inserted in the row to prevent the amortization from running on indefinitely.

For each investment you will have to create a variable and a specific row of depreciation. Numbers can also be entered in variable names.

Equipment1=10000
Equipment2=5000

 Interest calculation

The budgetInterest( account, interest, startDate, endDate) function allows you to automatically calculate interest based on the actual use of an account.
The parameters are:

  • Account
    Whose movements are used to calculate interest, in case it will be the bank account or the loan.
  • Interest
    The interest rate in percentage.
    If the value is positive, interest on the debit balances is calculated.
    If the value is negative, interest on the credit balances is calculated..
  • Initial date, which may also be an acronym.
  • End date, which may also be an acronym.
  • The returned value is the interest calculated for 365/365 days.

Interest expense on the bank account

To calculate the interest expense of 5%, insert a line with the end date of the quarter and the repetition "3ME", which contains the formula

budgetInterest( "Bank", -5, "QC")

The interest rate is negative, because "QC" means current quarter. The debit and credit accounts must be the usual ones for recording interest expense. If the interest decreases the bank account balance will also be used in the registration. However, another account can be used if it is paid with another account.

It is important that the "3ME" repeat is used so that the date used will always be the last of the quarter.

To calculate the interest of the month use the abbreviation "MC"

budgetInterest( "Bank", -5, "MC")

Interest on the bank account

For interest income of 2%, use positive interest instead.

budgetInterest( "Bank", 2, "QC")

Interest on fixed-term loan accounts

For fixed-term loans, interest will be calculated and recorded on the specified date.

  • Create an separate account for each loan.
    Use the budgetInterest function indicating exactly the start and end dates .If the date is indicated as text, the notation "yyyy-mm-dd" should be used, then "2022-12-31"
  • Use variables.
    As indicated for depreciation, the loan amount can be assigned to a variable. The interest calculation will be done with a Javascript calculation formula,
    • Define the loan variable
      Loan=1000
    • 5% interest calculation, for 120 days.
      Loan*5/100*120/365.

Profit tax calculation

Profit is the total of the group's profit for the specified period.
To calculate a 10% profit tax, use the following formula.

credit(budgetTotal("Gr=Result","MC"))*10/100

  • Use the the budgetTotal function parameter in the "Gr = Result" group, which indicates that instead of an account it has to calculate the movements for the group.
  • MC, current month, is indicated as the period.
  • The budgetTotal function will return a positive value if there is a loss and negative (credit) if there is a profit.
  • the credit function takes only negative values into account, therefore if there is a loss the tax will be zero.

Payments with deferred or different deadlines

For deferred payments or with different deadlines, you can proceed in two ways:

  • Use variables to which payment amounts are to be assigned.
    Use the variable in question when recording the payment.
  • Create customer or supplier accounts for different credit deadlines.

Other cases

Please tell us about your other requirements, so we can add more examples.

 

 

 

 

Chart of accounts for the Budget

Opening column

Enter the initial balance of your accounting period in the Opening column of the Accounts table. This will serve as:

  • Initial balance for the accounting (Transactions table)      
  • Initial balance for budgeting data (Budget table).

Budget column

If there is no Budget table, the Budget column of the Chart of Accounts can be adapted and used to enter estimates for the current year in tabular form.

If the Budget table is set up, the Budget column of the Chart of Accounts is protected, and the values are calculated automatically on the basis of the budgeted movements, as defined in the accounting period. The value displayed in the Budget column is the balance at the end of period, and therefore includes both the initial balance and the movement for the period.

Customize the Chart of Accounts

The Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss Account are set up in the Accounts or Categories table, with the total for accounts and groups.
The columns of the amounts are updated by the program, so the relevant table will provide an immediate picture of the current financial situation and of the estimated one, where the account balance, movement, budget and other important information are shown next to each account and group. With one click, the account card is displayed .

The Chart of Accounts is set up according to the user's needs. New accounts and groups may be added, their number or description changed or cancelled, at any time you.

For your planning, normally start with a few accounts and then add new ones when more detail is available and considered useful.

Planning with more detail

Different types of accounts can be set up in the Chart of Accounts. When recording movements, it is possible to indicate detailed amounts for:

  • Customer and Supplier accounts
    Allows for planning allocated to each customer, with the relative turnover and costs.
  • Cost and profit centres
    Allows for detailed planning for a particular project or sales made by individual agents.
  • Segments
    Manage profit and loss accounts by Department, Branch etc.

Budget separate from accounting

Preparing the file

If the Budget table is not visible in the accounting file, proceed to display it via the Tools → Add/Remove functionalities → Add Budget Table menu.

The Transactions table remains as preset in any case. If you don't need it, use the Data → Tables setup menu and un-tick Transactions table so it is not displayed.

The process will be the same whether you are managing only an accounting, a budget or both:

  1. Create an accounting file.
  2. Set the file properties.
  3. Set up the Chart of Accounts.
  4. Enter opening balances (if any).
  5. Enter the forecast values in the Budget table.

Accounting and budgeting are usually performed in the same Banana Accounting file. If you wish to manage the Budget separately from the accounting, just enter the Transactions in the Budget table only. In this case, the Transactions table, is left empty of posting of movements.

A Budget only file is used:

  • To set up the Budget of a Startup:
    • Prepare the financial plans of a new company, that has not yet started.
    • Initially, if you don't have precise ideas, it might prove useful to select a template with few accounts, without VAT.
    • If you plan to keep the accounting as well, it's helpful to start with one of our pre-set Charts of Accounts.
  • For an existing company that keeps the accounting with another program:
    • The Chart of Accounts will be modeled on the one used for the accounting.
    • There are three possibilities to compare with the actual balance sheet:
      • You can export the Budget data of Banana Accounting and import it into the accounting program.
      • In case you wish to make a comparison between the Budget created in the Banana Accounting file and the actual data of your program on the other hand, you have to export the data and import them into the Budget file (Banana Accounting Budget table).
      • Create Excel spreadsheets and report the Banana Accounting Budget data and the accounting data present in your own program.

Further information on Budget transactions can be found at the following links:

Budget period

It is not necessary to define the budgeting period. You can set up the budget for a year and still get forecasts for the following years.

Annual Budget

As a rule, the budget is prepared for the accounting period defined in the File properties, which is generally identical to the calendar year.

  • Enter the opening balance at the beginning of the period in the Opening column of the Accounts table.
  • Enter the forecasted data for the current year in the Budget table.

When requesting Reports, the program will use the accounting period, if you do not specify a period different from the one present in the File Properties

When you want to budget for the following year, you create a file for the new year. The program reports the budget postings, which can then be modified (see Create new year ... in Actions menu).

Multi-year budgeting

With Banana Accounting you can have planning over several years available. The planning period is free and is set at the time the report is requested.

To make a budget over several years, generally proceed by setting the budget for the first year, then extending it for the following years.

Technically, therefore, proceed as if you were establishing an annual budget, extending it for the following years:

  • In the File properties, the date of the first year (which is generally the calendar year,) is indicated as the start and end date.
  • The opening balances are entered in the Chart of Accounts.
  • The movements of the budget are inserted in the Budget table
    • Operations that are specific to the first year only, are indicated without repetition.
    • Indicate the repetition code for all other operations, which are presumed to also be repeated in subsequent years.
    • Operations that take place only once a year are indicated by the annual "Y" repetition code. For example, the calculation of depreciation, that is done at the end of the year.
    • Specific operations for subsequent years are indicated with the respective date on which they occur.
    • For repetitive operations that are limited to a single year or to a specific period (fixed-term leasing transactions) the End date will be indicated. After that date, no repetition will be made.
    • Formulas may be used to make the amount of the row to be repeated automatic  .
      • The calculation of depreciation can be based on the balance of the fixed assets account.
      • Interest can be calculated directly on the movement in the bank account.
      • A progression of sales can be specified.
      • Purchases can be defined as a percentage of the cost.
  • To obtain the budget (Enhanced Balance Sheet or Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups, Account cards) indicate the start and end date of the required budget.

Changeover to the new year

The Banana Accounting function for Creating a new year ... also carries forward the budgeting transactions.

  • At the level of each row you have the possibility to indicate whether the operation should be carried over or not, and whether the original data should be kept or replaced by that of the new year.
  • Creating the budget for the new year is therefore very simple, because it is only a question of changing the items of expenditure and income that are expected to change.

 

Reports financial forecasting

There are several ways to access financial forecasting data. You can access all the information that interests you.

 

Budget table: Total column

The Total column contains the total amount of the budget for the accounting period indicated in the file and accounting properties (accounting start and end date). This delivers an instant indication of how much a certain expense will be for the current year.

For further information refer to Budget table columns and Dates and repetitions.

Budget table, columns

Evolution Charts - Charts window

In any table you are in, you will see the evolution of the account or group, on which the cursor is located, in the Charts window.

Charts window, evolution of accounts

Budget column in the Accounts and Categories table

The Accounts and Categories table displays the updated budget values for the accounting period indicated in the file and accounting properties (accounting start and end date).

  • Budget column
    Indicates the total budget of the account for the accounting period.
    The value indicated is inclusive of the initial balance and budget movements for the period.
  • Budget difference Column
    Indicates the difference between the Budget and Balance column.

Budget columns in Accounts or Categories table

Account card with budget data

Via the Account card command, or in the Budget table, you can get the detail with all the forecast movements, by clicking on the button next to the account.

  • In the Account card dialogue
    • You can choose the account, cost center, group or segment whose movements you want to view.
    • You can choose to view current data or budget data.
    • In the Period accounting card, you can indicate the calculation period. If you choose an end date, beyond the accounting dates, the program automatically creates a projection of the indicated data.
  • By opening the account card from the Budget table, the card for budget movements is displayed.

Account card for the Budget

Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups

All the prints that are available for accounting, can include financial forecasts.

  • It is sufficient to set up the Budget and Budget difference columns.
  • In the Period Section, indicate the desired forecast period. You can also indicate a period over several years and the program immediately calculates and displays the forecast.
  • In the Subdivision Section, you can select to display data by month, quarter, year or by choosing a segment.

Watch the video tutorial that shows how to create and print the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups.

Enhanced Balance sheet by groups, budget report

All customizations available in accounting are also applicable for planning:

  • Select the desired grouping level.
    Presentation with the account details or only with groups.
  • Choice of sections to include.
    Balance Sheet only, Income Statement, Cost Centers can be printed.
  • Choice of the accounting period.
    If you choose an accounting period beyond the accounting dates, the program automatically creates the projections up to the indicated date.
  • Breakdown by period (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, annual).
    By combining the calculation period and the frequency, ad hoc reports can be created.
    • By indicating a 1 year period without subdivisions, the forecast for the year is obtained.
    • By indicating a 1 year period with quarterly subdivision, there is a printout with the columns for each quarter.
    • By indicating a 6 months period with monthly subdivision, the month by month evolution can be seen in detail.
    • By indicating a 5 years period with annual subdivision the columns with the evolution for the 5 years is available.
  • Comparison between current and budget values.
  • Addition of other columns.
  • Change of print style.
  • Saving Print Setups.
    Print settings can be saved as a composition and can be recalled later.
    You can create as many compositions as you require.

 

 

 

Provisional Profit and Loss account

The Profit & Loss statement forecast presents the profits, costs and result for a future period. It is an important tool for tracking the management of the company which allows you to understand how the situation will evolve, from an economic and financial point of view.

With Banana Accounting, thanks to the forecasts with the double entry method, you have complete forecast budgets that you can organize in different ways. The program also calculates forecasts over several years.
You can have a very precise vision of the evolution of the economical situation.

The structure of the Profit & Loss statement is the same as that used in accounting file. When printing, you can indicate which values to display, those of the final balance, or the budgeted balance or of both.

The forecast values are calculated taking into account the opening balances and forecast movements indicated in the Budget table. When you change a budget entry, the forecasts are instantly updated. You can simulate and test, relocate a payment, add an investment, modify sales and see how the profit and loss statement changes over time.

Profit and Loss statement values can be displayed in several ways.

Use of quantities and formulas

The quantity and price columns of the Budget table allow you to prepare more realistic forecasts, using the same methodology as spreadsheets. This allows for faster simulations. It is sufficient that you change the price and you access the new forecasts of the Profit & Loss statement automatically and also those of the Balance Sheet and Liquidity.

The formulas allow you to automate cost calculation, so that for example, when you change sales the purchase costs change in percentage. In this way you can use precise income statement forecasts that update automatically. Formulas are particularly useful when making forecasts over multiple years.

Detailed forecasts

The Income statement forecast, based on the double entry method, allows you to obtain the forecasts of the costs and revenues, using the same accounts and groups as those of the accounting file. The same structure of the items, that make up the income statements, is used for forecasting. Values and reports are available automatically to display in detail, day by day, how liquidity evolves and the situation of customers.

The structure of the Chart of Accounts, on which the forecast is also based, is customizable. This can be done by simply using the main groups and the accounts that are part of it, or more in a more complex way, by also inserting subgroups, for a more detailed view.

The structure of the Profit and Loss Account is gradually scaled and allows you to view the interim and final results for the year after paying the taxes.

PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT

  • Revenues.
  • Cost of goods.

Gross operating result (total of Revenues and Costs).

  • Staff costs
  • General costs.

Operating result (total of the gross operating result, personnel costs and general costs).

  • Financial costs.

Operating result before taxes and depreciation(Total of operating result and financial costs).

  • Depreciation.

Operating result before taxes (Total of ordinary Result and Depreciation).

  • Taxes 

Net operating result (total of the Result before taxes and Taxes and duties).

 

Accounts / Category Table

In the Accounts table, for Double entry accounting, and in the Categories table for Income and Expense accounting, the forecast values for all the accounts (or categories) and groups of the Profit and Loss statement are displayed. With a glance you have an instant view of the forecasted Profit and Loss statement.  The values refer to the accounting period and the variations are compared to the current balance.

If you require more details, you can add accounts or groups.

Budget Profit and Loss Statement, Accounts table

Profit and loss with groups

Through Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups command, you can view the Provisional Profit and Loss Statement, choosing the presentation mode you need.

Using the different options you can customize your prints. Below are some examples.

Annual Budget Profit and loss

This print was set up with only the budget values for the current year.
You can also display the change as an amount and a percentage.

conto economico previsionale annuale

Budget Profit and loss statement and current year comparison

The final (current) values are compared with those of the forecast.

conto economico previsionale e confronto consuntivo

Quarterly forecast Profit and loss statement

In the Subdivision section set quarterly and the program shows the forecast Profit and Loss statement for the various quarters.
The evolution of the budget forecast during the year will now be displayed.

conto economico previsione annuale con suddivisione trimestrale

Budget and quarterly Profit and loss statement

This print is set up to print the budget and the final balance. Thus we have the budget and current situation for the quarters.

conto economico previsionale e consuntivo con suddivisione trimestrale

Three-year forecast for Profit and Loss account

If you insert the forecast movements with the repetition code, the program is able to prepare forecasts beyond the defined period.

To obtain forecasts over several years, the transactions are entered in the Budget table with repetition (Y).

The printout is set up to obtain the estimate of the Profit and Loss statement over three years.

conto economico previsionale su tre anni

Accounting Report for Budget Profit and Loss

From the Reports → Accounting Report menu you can get printouts of the Profit and Loss Statement displayed as in the accounts table, but with the required column values.
The options are similar to those explained for the Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups.

Accounting Report, Budget for Profit & Loss Statement

 

 

 

Liquidity Planning

Cash is King is the motto that indicates how important liquidity is. It is the main engine for carrying out business activities, meeting commitments and producing profits. To invest safely, it is essential to evaluate the ability to produce liquidity and its evolution over time a rational way.

The financial forecast of Banana Accounting is an important business management tool, which allows you to understand if there will be enough financial means to meet commitments and reduce your debt exposure to the maximum.
Liquidity projections are calculated on the basis of the initial balance and forecasts included in the Budget table. When a budget movement is changed, the forecasts are instantly updated. You can run different simulations, assign a payment, add an investment, modify sales and see how liquidity evolves.

Liquidity values can be displayed in several ways.

Accounts table

Set up accounts and liquidity groups in the Accounts table. In the Budget column you will also see the updated forecast balances for the accounting period. At a glance you will know what the liquidity situation will be at the end of the year.

tabella conti grafico

Evolution graphs

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of Liquidity.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Account card with Budget Group liquidity

Using the Budget Account card command, all forecast movements of the account card are displayed. Day by day you can see which movements will have an impact on the liquidity.

scheda preventivo gruppo liquidità

The Account card command allows you to specify if you want to see current or budgeted movements.

  • Select budget movements.
  • Set the period
    If you indicate a period that exceed the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • If you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When you are in the Budget table, you can access the account card with a click on the icon next to the account.

Liquidity in the Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

In the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you may select to work with values subdivided by column per period. In this way you can see the evolution of liquidity by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

Previsione liquidità su tre anni

Budget Liquidity Accounting Report

The Accounting Report is similar to the Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display of the data takes place in the Accounts table in columns.

You can therefore use the Accounting Report to get an instant view of the evolution of liquidity accounts.

Accounting Report, liquidity accounts forecast


 

Forecasting sales

Sales for a company are the main source of income and liquidity. Unlike costs that are more easily planned, sales are more difficult to budget. As a rule of thumb, you may base yourself on the figure of the sales of the previous year for the same period or, on the possibility important events that are in the pipeline and could lead to an increase in sales or even to the acquisition of new customers.

Based on this concept, Banana accounting, with the forecast based on double-entry accounting, allows you to simulate and project different scenarios over time. Just change the budgeted amounts for sales and the program automatically updates the forecasts and displays detailed reports for the current year or for future years.

The sales projections are calculated on the basis of the forecasts included in the Budget table and can be displayed in different ways.

Accounts table

Set up accounts and sales groups in the Accounts table. In the Budget column you will also have the updated forecast balances for the accounting period. You can check what the evolution of sales will be during the year, at a glance

tabella conti, previsione vendite

Evolution charts for sales

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of the Sales.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Account card with Budget for sales

Using the Budget Account card command, all forecast movements of the account card are displayed. Day by day you will be able to see the evolution of sales and which movements will have the greatest impact.

scheda gruppo previsione vendite

The Account card command allows you to specify if you want to display current or budgeted movements. 

  • Select the budget movements.
  • Activate the account or group of Sales
    You can also activate all sales accounts
  • Set the period.
  • If you indicate a period that extends beyond the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • If you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When you are in the Budget table, you can access the account card with a click on the icon next to the account.

Income statement with Quarterly sales Budget

With the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of sales by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

conto economico previsione vendite

Accounting report with Sales estimate

The Accounting Report is similar to the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups, with the difference that the data is displayed in columns, as in the Accounts table.

You can use the Accounting Report to have an instant view of the evolution of the sales accounts.

report contabile Preventivo vendite

 

Financial forecasting for customers

Customers forecasting completes financial planning with customer data. For example, a company can forecast sales by indicating accounts for the most important customers.

Forecasting with the double entry method also allows you to indicate accounts for individual customers. Depending on the requirement, customer management can be done with balance sheet accounts, profit and loss accounts or with cost and profit centers.

When changing a budget movement, the forecasts for each customer are also updated individually.

Accounts table

Set up the customers in the Accounts table. In the Budget column, the forecast balances are automatically updated for the accounting period. At a glance, you can view what the forecast for the individual customer will be.

tabella conti, previsione clienti

Evolution chart

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of the Customers.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Customer Account card with budget data

With the Budget Account card command you have the possibility to see in detail all the movements for each customer.

Account card for customers, Budget

  • Select Budget movements.
  • Indicate the customer account or group.
  • Set up the period.
    If you indicate a period that extends beyond the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • When indicating a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When in the Budget table, you can access the customer's card with a click on the small icon next to the account number.

Customers in Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

With the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of the customer by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

bilancio clienti, consuntivo e preventivo

Accounting Report with Customers Budget

The Accounting Report is similar to the one for Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display takes place in columns, as in the Accounts table.

You can therefore use it to get an instant view of the evolution of customer accounts.

report contabile previsione clienti

Provisional Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet forecast displays the Balance Sheet for a future period. It is an important tool for tracking the management of your company and allows you to verify what the company's capital structure, the state of assets, of liabilities and the equity will be like.

With Banana Accounting, thanks to the forecasting with the double entry method, you have complete forecast budgets and that you can arrange in different ways. The program also calculates forecasts over several years.
You can access a very precise vision of what the future balance sheet will look like.
The structure of the budget is the same as that one used in the accounting file. When printing, you can indicate which values to display, those of the final balance, the budget or both of those.

The forecast values are calculated taking into account the opening balances and forecast movements indicated in the Budget table. When you change a budget entry, the forecasts are instantly updated. You can simulate and test, relocate a payment, add an investment, modify sales and see how the budget changes over time.

Budget forecast values can be displayed in several ways.

Detailed forecast

The financial forecast, based on the double entry method, allows to obtain the forecasts of the balance sheet values, using the same accounts and groups as those of the accounting file. The same structure of the items that make up the financial statements is used for forecasting. Values and reports are available automatically to display in detail, day by day, how liquidity , the situation of customers evolves and many more.

The Banana Accounting forecast presents the values for assessing the financial, equity and economic situation. The structure is customizable, it can be presented in a simple way, including the main groups and the accounts that are part of it, or in a more complex way, by inserting subgroups, for a more detailed view.

ASSETSLIABILITIES

Current assets

  • Liquidity
  • Credits
  • Inventory

Fixed assets

  • Tangible assets
  • Intangible fixed assets

Third party capital

  • Short term debt
  • Long term debt

Equity

  • Reserves
  • Profit / Loss carried forward
  • Profit / Loss for the year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Accounts table

In the Budget column of the Accounts table you access forecast values for all accounts and balance groups available. In a glance you have an instant overview of the budget. The values refer to the accounting period and the variations are calculated automatically with respect to the current balance.

If you need more details, you can add accounts or groups.

Budget column of the accounts table

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Through Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups command, you can view the Provisional Balance Sheet, choosing the presentation mode you need.

  • Indicate in the Sections options to display the values of the Budget
    You can display the current (accounting) values, the budget values or both.
  • Set up the Period.
    If a period that exceeds the accounting period, is indicated, the program will automatically switch to budgeting over several years.
  • With the subdivision by period the data are presented with the subdivisions chosen for the period.
  • In the Rows section, you can exclude accounts and thus have a view of groups only.
  • If you think you will use this print setting again, create a Customization.

Using the different options you can customize your prints. Below are some examples.

Enhanced Balance sheet annual Budget groups

This print has been set up to produce only the budget values for the current year.

Budget and Current Balance sheet

The actual (current) values are compared with those of the budget. You can also display the change in the comparison as an amount and a percentage.

bilancio annuale con confronto preventivo

Quarterly budget

IIn order to obtain an annual budget with a quarterly breakdown, the quarter must be indicated in the section Subdivision → Subdivision by period. The program will show the budget for the year, divided into 4 quarters.

Budget and current quarter Balance sheet

This printout is set up to display both the budget and the annual final balance with the breakdown per quarter. Thus we have the expected and current situation at the end of the quarters.

bilancio previsionale e consuntivo con suddivisione trimestrale

 Three-year budget

This printout is set up to print the three-year budget forecast.
In the Period section set the reference period to three years and in the Subdivision section → Subdivision per period set to one year. In the File properties (File menu) there must be 3 years as the start and end period (e.g. start 01.01.2022 - end 31.12.2024).

Budget Accounting Report

From the Reports → Accounting Report menu you can get printouts of financial statements displayed as in the accounts table, but with the required column values.
The options are similar to those explained for the Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups.

report contabile Preventivo con suddivisione trimestrale

Financial forecasting for suppliers

Supplier forecasting completes financial planning with supplier data. For example, a company can plan purchases by indicating purchases by indicating accounts for the most important suppliers. It will thus be able to analyze and optimize the relationship with the various suppliers, perhaps by requesting payment extensions.

Forecasting with the double entry method also allows you to indicate accounts for individual suppliers. Depending on the need, suppliers management can be done with balance sheet accounts, profit and accounts or with cost and profit centers.

When changing a budget movement, the forecasts for each individual supplier are also updated.

Accounts table

Set up accounts for suppliers in the Accounts table. In the Budget column, the forecast balances are automatically updated for the accounting period, according to the beginning and the end date, set up in the File properties. At a glance, you can view what the forecast for the individual supplier will be.

tabella conti, previsione fornitori

Evolution chart

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of Suppliers.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Account card with Supplier budget data

With the Budget account card command you have the possibility to see in detail all the movements for each supplier.

scheda conto previsioni Preventivo

  • Select budget movements.
  • Indicate the supplier’s account ot the supplier's group.
  • Set up the period.
    If you indicate a period that extends beyond the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • When indicating a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When in the Budget table, you can access the customer's card with a click on the small icon next to the account number.

Suppliers Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Through the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of the supplier by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

fornitori nel bilancio abbellito con gruppi

Accounting Report with Suppliers Budget

The Accounting Report is similar to the one for Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display takes place in columns, as in the Accounts table.

You can therefore use it to get an instant view of the evolution of the Supplier accounts.

Accounting Report with Suppliers Budget

Investments Planning

The investment plan presents the expected evolution of the equipment, stocks, movable or immovable values that are necessary for the company.

With Banana Accounting, thanks to the forecasting with the double-entry method, you can track what the evolution of assets will be over time. You generate comprehensive forecasts, which you can organize in different ways. The program also calculates forecasts over several years.
The structure of the accounts is identical to the one used for accounting. When printing, you can indicate whether to select which values to display, the final ones only, the forecasted ones or both together.

You also have the Income statement forecasts, so you can display the evolution of amortization and interest. When a budget movement is changed, the forecasts are immediately updated. You can run simulations, assign a payment, add an investment, change sales and see how asset accounts evolve.

For the Investment Plan, you have the same options as in the Liquidity Planning and the Provisional Profit and Loss Account.

Using formulas

The formulas allow you to automate calculation of depreciation and interest. When you increase an investment, the Profit and Loss statement will also be instantly be updated. Formulas are particularly useful when making forecasts over multiple years.

Chart of Accounts

In the Budget column of the Chart of Accounts the forecast values for all accounts and balance groups are displayed, and therefore, for all those relating to investments equally. With a glance, you have an instant view of the values referring to the accounting period. 

tabella conti, previsioni investimenti

If you require more investment details, you may add accounts or groups.

Evolution charts

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of the Suppliers.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Investments Account card with Budget data

Using the Budget Account card command will offer you the possibility to see in detail, all movements of the budgeted investments. You have the evolution, day by day, of every single Assets account and also of the depreciation accounts.

scheda gruppo investimenti preventivo

The Account card command allows you to specify if you want to see current or budgeted movements.

  • Select budget movements.
  • Indicate the account or the Investments group.
  • Set up the Period.
  • If you indicate a period that exceeds the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • If you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When you are in the Budget table, you can access the account card with a click on the small icon next to the account.

Investments in the Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Through Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of the investments by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

Investimenti nel bilancio abbellito con gruppi

Accounting Report with Investments Budget

The Accounting Report is similar to the one for Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display takes place in columns, as in the Accounts table.

You can therefore use it to get an instant view of the evolution of the investments accounts.

report contabile previsione investimenti

Corporate financing plan

The corporate financing plan presents the expected evolution of the accounts relative to the origin of third party and own capital.

With Banana Accounting, thanks to the forecasting with the double-entry method, you have complete forecasts that you can arrange in different ways. The program also calculates forecasts over several years.
The structure of the accounts is identical to the one used for accounting. When printing, you can indicate whether to select which values to display, the final ones only, the forecasted ones or both together.

When a budget movement is changed, the forecasts are immediately updated. You can run simulations, assign a payment, add a new debit, change sales and see how liabilities accounts evolve.

For the Corporate financing plan, you have the same options as for the Liquidity Planing and the Provisional Profit and Loss Account.

Using formulas

The formulas allow you to automate calculation of depreciation and interest.Formulas are particularly useful when making forecasts over multiple years.

Chart of Accounts

In the Budget column of the Chart of Accounts the forecast values for all accounts and balance groups are displayed, and therefore, also for all those relating to funding. With a glance you get an instant view of the values referring to the accounting period. 

gruppo Capitale di terzi nel bilancio abbellito con gruppi

If you require more details on third party capital, you may add accounts or groups.

Evolution graphs

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of the financing of the company.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Account card with Budget for third party capital data

Using the Budget Account card command you have the opportunity to see on a day-to-day basis, how each account payable evolves, debt amortization, interest expense and understand the impact they have on financing.

Scheda gruppo previsione finanziamenti

The Account card command allows you to specify if you want to see current or budgeted movements.

  • Select budget movements.
  • Indicate the account or group of loans.
  • Set up the Period
    If you indicate a period that exceed the accounting period, the program will automatically generate Forecasts over several years.
  • If you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When you are in the Budget table, you can access the account card with a click on the icon next to the account.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

Through Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of the funding of the company by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

gruppo Finanziamenti nel bilancio abbellito con gruppi

Accounting Report for Third party capital Budget

The Accounting Report is similar to the one for Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display takes place in columns, as in the Accounts table.

You can therefore use it to get an instant view of the evolution of third party accounts.

report contabile finanziamenti Preventivo

Project planning with profit and cost centres

Financial planning of projects allows you to take control over the income and expenses of a project. It is used to evaluate investments and returns on a project and to track its implementation.

Budgeting with the double-entry method allows you to indicate profit and cost centers as well. You only need to set up cost centers for the different projects, and in parallel to the balance and income statement forecasts, you will have the forecasts available for each individual project.

The projections are calculated on the basis of the initial balance and the forecasts entered in the Budget table. When a line is changed the budget, forecasts are instantly updated. You can produce simulations, reassign a payment, add an investment, modify sales and spot how the project changes.

Values of projects can be displayed in several ways.

Accounts table

Profit and Cost centers are set up in the Accounts table. After each movement, the updated balances of the forecast for the accounting period of reference are displayed in the Budget column. At a glance you can know immediately what the situation of the projects will be at the end of the year.

tabella conti, centri di costo

Evolution chart

When you open the Charts window, positioning the cursor on an account or a group you will see the graph representing the evolution of the projects.
In the legend are visible Current, Previous and Budget. By clicking on each one it is possible to hide or make visible the respective graphs.

Account card with budget data

With the Budget Account card command you have the possibility to display all the movements for the single project in detail, day by day.

scheda gruppo progetti Preventivo

The Account Card command allows you to specify whether you want to display current or budget transactions.

  • Select budget movements.
  • Indicate the cost or profit center accounts, or the group.
  • Set up the Period.
  • If you indicate a period that extends beyond the accounting period, the program will automatically switch to Forecasts over several years.
  • When you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the accounts belonging to that group.
  • When in the Budget table, you can access the cost center tab by clicking on the small icon next to the account number.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

With the Enhanced Balance sheet with groups you can choose which data columns to display and the reference period, to see the evolution of the projects by day, week, month, quarter, semester, year, etc.

Budget for Porjects with Cost Centers, enhanced balance sheet ny groups

Projects Budget Accounting report

The Accounting report is similar to the Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that the display takes place in columns, as in the Accounts table.

It can therefore be used to display an instant view of the evolution of the projects.

report centri di costo Preventivo

 

Planning with segments per sector and branch

The financial planning by sectors allows you to run budget and income statement forecasts for each sector or branch of the company. With the Segments, you can then evaluate the different areas of the company and understand what contribution it makes to the overall business.

The forecast, with the double-entry method, also allows you to indicate the segments which are set in the Accounts table, at the end of the chart of accounts and are used both for accounting and forecasting. When recording the movements of the forecast, the accounts of the segments must be entered when necessary. Banana Accounting executes the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement of the forecast as well, with the subdivision by the different segments.

The projections are calculated on the basis of the initial balance and the forecasts entered in the Budget table. When a budget movement is changed , forecasts of the project are instantly updated. You can produce simulations, reassign a payment, add an investment, modify sales and spot how the project changes.

Sector or branch data with segments can be displayed in several ways.

Chart of Accounts

Segments are set up in the Chart of Accounts. When indicating the segments for the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statement accounts, the balance of the segment will always result as zero in the accounts.

tabella conti segmenti

Account card with Segments budget data

With the Budget Account card command you have the possibility to examine all the movements for each segment in detail.

scheda gruppo segmenti The Account card allows you to specify whether you want to display the current or budget movements.

  • Select budget movements
  • Indicate the required segment, or the group.
  • Set up the Period.
    If you indicate a period that extends beyond the accounting period, the program will automatically switch to Forecasts over several years.
  • If you indicate a group, you will see the movements of all the segments belonging to that group.
  • When in the Budget table, you can access the Budget Account card by clicking on the small icon next to the account number.

Enhanced Balance sheet with groups

With the Enhanced Balance sheet with groups you can choose to divide the values into separate columns for each segment. Thus, you dispose of the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statement for each sector.

bilancio per segmenti Preventivo

Accounting report for the Budget of Segments

The Accounting report is similar to the Enhanced balance sheet with groups, with the difference that, the display takes place in columns.

It can therefore be used to display an instant view of the evolution of the segments.

report conti per settori

New year for financial forecasting

The Banana Accounting function to Create a New Year also takes up the budget movements.

For each row in the table Budget, in the New Year column, you have the possibility to indicate:

  • Whether the operation is to be carried forward or not,
  • If the date is to be kept or replaced with the date of the new year.

Creating the budget for the new year is therefore simple, because you have to modify or add the expense and income items that are expected to change.

Annual budget in columns (Accounts and Categories tables)

If you wish to set up a budget on an annual basis quickly, without details for the period, you can enter the forecast amounts in the Budget column of the Accounts and / or Categories table.

Annual budget in acconts table

Annual Budget column

In the Accounts and / or Categories table, the Budget column can only be modified if the Budget table has not been added. If the Budget table is present, it can be removed as follows:

Once the Budget table has been removed, the Budget column is activated and you can enter the annual budget amounts in the Accounts and / or Categories table, Budget view .

As a rule of thumb, only the budget for expenses and revenues (double-entry accounting) and for income and expenses (income / expense accounting) will be indicated.

The budget values must be entered on each Account and / or Category. The program calculates the totals automatically, and derives the profit or loss from them.

  • Accounts table:
    • Revenues (Credit) must be entered as a negative value
    • Expenses (Debit) as a positive.
  • Categories Table:
    • Income must be shown in positive
    • Expenses must be indicated in negative.

Budget Difference Column

In the Budget Difference column, the program will calculate the difference between the balance and the value in the Budget column. Whenever a transaction is entered in the Accounts and / or Categories table, this column will be updated automatically.

When printing by month or quarter, the program divides the value indicated in the Budget column into monthly quotas.

The program proceeds as follows for the subdivisions:

  • Calculates the number of months, based on the start and end date indicated in the File menu → File Properties (basic data).
  • The budgeted amount is divided by the number of months calculated.
  • Any rounding differences will be added to the last month. 

If, for example, you have indicated an amount of 10'000, this will be divided into 11 monthly amounts of 833.33 and one salary of 833.37.

If a quarterly preview has been selected, the value of the quarter will be the sum of the individual months and not the value of the year divided by quarters.

If you want a different planning by month or quarter, you should use the planning with the Budget table.

Add Budget columns

Via the Data → Columns setup → Add command you can add other columns to indicate other budget values.

  • Set the Data Type with Amount.
    This way the program will calculate the sums of the groups.

You may add budget columns for:

  • Manage multiple Budget values (different scenarios).
  • Keep a copy of the initial budget created with the Budget table:
    • Prepare the budget in the Budget Table.
    • Go to the first row in the Accounts table, and select the entire column (by clicking on the column header).
    • Menu Edit → Copy.
    • Position yourself on the first row in the budget column where to copy the data.
    • Menu Edit → Paste.

 

Item management integrated into accounting

In the accounting file, a table can be added to manage items and link them to individual transactions via the Item Id (item identifier) that is entered in the Item column.

aggiungere tabella articoli

This feature is very powerful and useful because it allows the following automations:

  •  To integrate a list of products or an inventory with descriptions, quantities, prices and groupings into the accounting.
  • In the Transations table, by entering invoices and simply indicating the Item Id (Item identifier) in the Item column, the description, price and account are taken over.
  • In the transaction row, by entering the quantity (positive or negative), the programme automatically updates the existing quantity balance. It thus functions as a small warehouse. 

Some extensions, such as those for securities management, make use of this functionality, to manage the list of securities, have an inventory and calculate the accounting profit or loss at the time of sale.

Activate the functionality

The functionality is enabled from the menu Tools menu > Add/remove functionalites.  

The options are as follows:

 

Items table in the accounting file

The Items table is a kind of mini-warehouse integrated in accounting.

It is used to:

  • Manage the list of products, with their prices.
  • You can group products into groups.
  • In the Transactions table, you enter the item and the programme takes up the description and price.
  • If you enter the quantity in the Transactions table, the programme updates the current quantity in the Items table.

Add Items table

In order to use the Items table, you need to:

Adding the Items table 

The Items table can be added from the Tools menu > Add new functionalities > Add Items table

In the Items table, you can enter items, products, or other items, and it can also be used as a small inventory control tool.

The predefined columns are the following:

  • Group: Generates the totals rows.
  • Item: Item code.
  • Description: Item description.
  • Sum in: the group in which to total a set of items.
  • Account: account used in the transactions.
  • Currency: Currency to be used (for multi-currency accounting only).
  • VATCode: VAT code to be used (for VAT accounting only).
  • Unit: an abbreviation to define the type to which the quantity refers.
  • Selling: Unit sale price.
  • Cost: Unit cost price,
  • Begin Qt.: initial quantity amount of the item
  • Price Begin: the initial unit price of the item.
  • Value Begin: the initial quantity multiplied by Price Begin.
  • Current Qt.: current quantity, calculated by program, taking into account Begin Qt. and transactions of Item in Transactions table. The Quantity column of the Transactions table is being used.
  • Price current: current Price of Item.
  • Current value: current quantity multiplied by Current price.

 

 

Items columns in the Transactions table

The Items columns in the Transactions table are used to enter quantity and price.
The amount of the transaction is calculated based on the value of the quantity and unit price column.

Add the Items columns in the Transactions table

The Items columns are added to the Transactions table from the Tools menu → Add new functionalities → Add Items Columns in Transaction table.

The columns are the following:

  • ItemsId
    Item listed in Items table.
    By default, in the Transactions table, the ItemsId column will not be visible. With the Columns setup command, you can make the column visible so that you can use it.
  • Quantity
    May be a positive or negative value.
  • Unit
  • Unit/Price
    May be a positive or negative value.

For more information please visit the Transactions table documentation.

Add Transactions

  • When a quantity and a unit price are entered, the amount will be calculated automatically.
  • A negative amount may be entered to account for items leaving the warehouse.

Items columns in Transactions table

Link to the Items table

If the is an Items table is displayed, when you enter a transaction with the Item and the quantity, the current quantity of the respective row in the Items table is updated.

Refer to the Items table page.

 

Import and auto-completion

Banana Accounting Plus provides several ways to import transactions or other data to speed up and automate bookkeeping.

Importing and completing bank transactions

This is the functionality that allows you to keep your accounting quickly:

  1. Import bank transactions into your accounting file 
    The programme creates the entries with date, description, amount, account and exchange rate. Additional data such as the counterpart must be completed by hand.
    Standard formats, such as ISO 20022 or TXT, are included in the Professional plan; other formats require the Advanced plan.
  2. Automatically complete the transactions by using the rules (Advanced plan)
    You can set auto-completion rules to import transactions, including the counterpart, VAT code, cost centres and other information you have specified.

You can always edit and further complete your entries.

Bank transactions import formats

  • Banana Accounting Plus reads the transactions in different formats. Visit the Import transactions page.
  • Thanks to the customised Import Extensions, you can import data from various bank statements and other standard programmes. Some extensions are only available in the Advanced plan.

Other commands for importing data

Banana Accounting Plus provides different ways to import data:

  • Import into Accounting
    You can import in any table and from different formats.
  • Import Rows
    All tables allow the import of data from the CSV format.
  • Copy and paste from Excel or other programmes.
    You can prepare movements or other data in an Excel table and copy and paste them in bulk into the Transactions table or any other table.

Manual completion and undo import

Once movements or other data have been imported, you can easily complete and edit them. This makes it very easy to automate processes, because if there are unforeseen exceptions, you can edit the data directly.

Like all commands, the import command can also be undone. So you can easily try importing the data and see if it works as expected. If you have not chosen the right format or have not set the parameters correctly, simply Undo the import and do it again.

Useful links

Rules for the automatic completion of imported transactions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in automation systems. In collaboration with our users, we have developed an automatic completion system for imported transactions based on predefined rules.

This feature automates and simplifies the accounting entry process, saving time and reducing data entry errors.

Rules are predefined transactions that include all the information necessary to automatically complete accounting operations accurately and quickly.

Below is the introductory video on Rules, as well as videos on how to create Rules:

To use the automatic completion Rules, the Advanced plan and the version 10.1 or higher of Banana Accounting Plus are required.

What are Rules?

Rules are pre-set transaction lines, containing useful information for the program to:

  • Identify imported transactions to complete
    If you enter Description in the column"Swisscom", the rule will apply to imported transactions that contain "Swisscom" in the description.
  • Specify elements to complete the entry
    • In the Debit Account column, enter the account "Phone expenses".
    • In the VAT column, enter the code "M81".

Completion rules are saved in the Recurring Transactions Table. You can enter and modify them directly in the table or use the Add/Modify Rules dialog during the rule application phase.

completion rules transactions

What are the purposes of Rules?

Normally, when you import bank movements into the Transactions table, you must manually complete the transactions by entering the Debit or Credit account, VAT code, Cost centers, or other information. 

Example: when you import an outgoing transaction indicating a payment to the company "Swisscom," you must complete the Debit Account column with "Phone expenses" and the VAT Code column with "M81."

With the creation of Rules, imported movements are entered and completed automatically by the program, without any manual entry.

Depending on the method used for rule creation, these can be created either before or during the import. Once created, the Rules are also valid for all subsequent imports.

Workflow procedure

  1. Import bank transactions
    The program creates transaction lines with date, description, amount, account, document number, and exchange rates.
  2. Create the rule using one of the available methods.
  3. In the Transactions table, the program automatically completes all imported movements with counterpart, VAT codes, Cost centers, and more.
  4. In the Recurring Transactions table, the program saves transactions with the Rules.

Methods for creating Rules

We have created a system that provides various methods for creating Rules. You can choose how you prefer to work:

The benefits of rules

The benefits of the completion system are immediately evident:

  • Complete transactions in just a few seconds.
  • High control and precision.
  • Avoid errors and omissions.
  • You can easily delegate the task of importing data into accounting.
  • You can see how specific transactions were recorded.
  • The auditor can define how to record certain transactions.
  • Immediate operation, even without a learning database.
  • You can add, modify, and delete rules at any time.

Transition to the new year

When you create the file for the new year from the Actions > Create new year menu, all the Rules in the Recurring Transactions table are carried over and included in the new file.
When you import bank statement movements, the Rules are immediately applied.

You can add new Rules and adapt existing ones to new needs, such as VAT changes, adding or removing accounts.

Copying Rules from one file to another

When creating a new file, you can copy rules from one file to another, starting from the Recurring Transactions table:

  • Go to the Recurring Transactions table.
    Check the column arrangement to ensure they are identical in both files.
  • Select the rows of the Rules you want to copy.
  • Copy the rows from the Edit > Copy rows menu, or with the Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut.
  • Paste the copied rows into the Recurring Transactions table in the new file from the Edit > Insert copied rows menu, or with the Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut.

Rules vs. Artificial Intelligence 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in automation systems.
In collaboration with our users, we have developed a system for the automatic completion of imported entries based on Rules. We believe this is a much more effective approach because:

  • Rules follow a deterministic logic, whereas Artificial Intelligence uses a probabilistic approach that involves a series of risks in accounting and tax contexts.

  • Rules offer a very high degree of control and precision.
    For example, payments made to insurance companies can be accurately assigned to an account based on the contract number.

  • All the rules form a valuable knowledge base.
    They are listed in the Recurring Entries table, can be easily modified (for example when VAT changes) and serve as a reference and control tool. You can, for instance:

    • If you do not remember, see how certain transactions have been recorded.

    • Explain to people who are responsible for accounting how to record various transactions.

    • Define for the auditor how certain transactions should be recorded.

    • Adapt the rules if VAT codes change or if accounts, cost centers, or other elements are added or removed.

    • Delete rules that are no longer applicable.

    • Copy and paste the rules into another accounting system and adapt them to specific needs.

  • They do not require a learning phase and work perfectly even for payments that occur only once or a few times a year.

  • Rules can be immediately adapted to regulatory changes. Artificial Intelligence, on the other hand, learns from the past and thus tends to repeat previous actions even if the situation has changed.

Currently unavailable features

These functions, while requested by some users, are not currently available:

  • Ability to change the transaction text to shorten and simplify it.
  • For multi-line transactions, the ability to use formulas that calculate amounts based on the imported transaction amount.
  • Ability to apply a rule based on the transaction date (condition: Date column).

 

How the rules for completing imported transactions work in 3 steps

The following explains the procedure for how Rules work and how they are applied.
The process can be summarized in three steps:

  1. Import bank transactions into the Transactions table.
  2. Create the rules.
  3. Apply the rules for the automatic completion of transactions.

1. Import bank transactions

When bank transactions are imported, the program inserts a temporary counteraccount [CA]. Typically, the completion of contra accounts must be done manually for each entry.

Rules automation

In the example figure, in the Transactions table, it can be seen that:

  • (1) - The cells have the same temporary contra account, related to sales via Twint.
  • (2) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to monthly expenses for May.
  • (3) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to Swisscom telephone expenses.
  • (4) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to insurance costs, policy number 892-948.
  • (5) - The cell has a temporary contra account related to insurance costs, policy number 987-650.

2. Creating the Rules

The Rules are used to automatically complete all temporary contra accounts of imported transactions, adding VAT codes, cost centers, links, and more. 

The rules are template transactions that are already complete, found in the Recurring transactions table, where:

  • The Description column contains the text (one or more keywords) that the imported transaction must include.
  • The Debit Account and Credit Account columns contain the Contra account that will replace the temporary one.

We have created a system that provides different methods for creating the Rules:

Regardless of the method used, the created Rules are saved in the Recurring Transactions table.

Rules automation

In the example, in the Recurring Transactions table, a Rule has been created for the following transactions:

  • (1) - For the "Twint" transactions, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Sales" account. The VAT code has also been added.
  • (2) - For the "Interac Electronics" transaction, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Goods" account. The VAT code has also been added.
  • (3) - For the "Swisscom" transaction, the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Admin" account.
  • (4) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "892-948", the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Insurance Health" account.
  • (5) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "987-650", the rule replaces the temporary contra account with the "Insurance Car" account.

3. Applying the Rules for Automatic Completion (Result)

In the Transactions table, the program completes the imported transactions by adding the contra account, VAT code, etc., regardless of the method used for creating the Rules.

Rules automation

In the example, in the Transactions table, the imported transactions have been automatically completed:

  • (1) - For the "Twint" transactions, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Sales" account and completed with the VAT code.
  • (2) - For the "Interac Electronics" transaction, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Goods" account and completed with the VAT code.
  • (3) - For the "Swisscom" transaction, the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Admin" account.
  • (4) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "892-948", the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Insurance Health" account.
  • (5) - For the "Best insurance" transaction with policy number "987-650", the temporary contra account has been replaced with the "Insurance Car" account.

Additionally, the program recognizes the transactions with the VAT code and completes all the columns related to VAT (VAT account and amounts).

Create Rules from the Apply Rules Dialog

One of the methods for creating Rules is from the Apply Rules dialog. The main advantages are as follows:

  • You can see all imported transactions.
  • The imported transactions are divided into incoming and outgoing transactions, with Rules and without Rules.
  • For each group of identical transactions, the Rule being applied is shown in bold.
  • Rules that are duplicated or in conflict are highlighted.
  • You can add new rules and modify or delete existing ones.
  • By changing the conditions of a Rule (description, amount, account), you can immediately see the list of transactions that comply with it.
  • You can decide which rules to activate and which to deactivate.

Below is the complete procedure for creating Rules from the Apply Rules dialog.

 

1. Give the command Import into accounting

Before accessing the Apply Rules dialog, you must first import bank, postal, or other transactions as follows:

  • Use the command from the Actions menu  > Import into accounting > Transactions
  • Select the appropriate format and indicate the path where the file with your bank statement data is located
  • In the dialog that opens:
    • Enter the account related to the statement from which you are importing the transactions (bank, postal service, etc.).
    • Specify the start and end dates for the period of the transactions to import.
    • Indicate the temporary contra account if you want it to be different from the default "[CA]".
      You can use any account, and if you write it in square brackets, it will not be accounted for.
    • Activate the Apply Rules option (available only with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus).
    • Confirm with OK.
       

contropartita automatizzata

 2. Dialogue Apply Rules

The program opens the Apply Rules dialog. 

In this dialog, you will find:

  • The temporary contra account you entered previously or the default one "[CA]".
  • The bank account entered, where all transactions imported from your bank or postal account are recorded.
  • The imported transactions from the bank account, divided into:
    • Incoming transactions without rules (Money In without rules).
    • Outgoing transactions without rules (Money Out without rules).
    • Incoming transactions with rules (Money In with rules).
    • Outgoing transactions with rules (Money Out with rules).

Rules automation

3. Create new rules

To create new Rules: 

  • Position yourself on one of the transactions for which you want to create a rule.
  • Go to the right-hand side until you see  "...".
  • Click on Add New Rule.

Rules automation

The 'Add Rule' dialogue appears.

In this dialog, you need to enter:

  • In the Description, the text (keyword) that the program uses to find the matching Rule in the imported transactions.
    Example:
    • Best Insurance Contract 892-948
      applies to lines that contain exactly the specified text.
    • +Best Insurance Contract 892-948
      applies to lines that contain the words "Best Insurance" and "892-948" in any position.
  • The contra account, used to replace the temporary contra account.
  • Any other information (Cost centers, VAT codes, etc.).

The program shows the transactions found based on the entered conditions to which the new rule will be applied. In the example, we have a single transaction.

  • Confirm with OK.

Rules automation

4. Confirm Apply Rules

In the Apply Rules dialog, you will see:

  • The row of the created Rule ("NEW") where the data of the temporary counteraccount [CA] and the other information entered in the rule are indicated.
  • Below are the lines of the transactions to which the rule has been applied.

You can decide when to execute the Apply Rules command:

  • You can apply the rules selectively and continue working on the others.
  • You can exit the dialog and return later.
  • You can cancel the operation of applying the rules and repeat it later.
  • The Apply Rules command also saves any changes you made to the rules.

By clicking on the buttons:

  • Apply Rules:
    • The program adds the new Rules to the Recurring transactions table.
    • The program completes the transactions in the Transactions table.
    • The dialog remains open so you can add the rules to the other transactions.
  • OK
    • Confirms the applied rules and closes the dialog.
       

Rules automation

Undo changes made

Once the dialogue is closed, you will see the completed transactions in the Transactions table.
If you wish, you can undo the changes you have made:

  • Menu Edit > Undo edit 
  • With the Cancel button (green arrow).

To also cancel the import of the data, you need to repeat the Cancel command a second time.

Complete other transactions with Temporary contra account

After importing bank transactions, the aim is to complete all transactions so that there are no more transactions with Temporary contra accounts [CA].

You can manually complete the remaining transactions. This is useful for special cases that do not tend to repeat.

You can create new rules by chosing one of the following methods:

Adding information to completed transactions with rules

It is possible to add supplementary information to the Rules through the Recurring Transactions table.

 

Auto-completion rules from the Apply Rules dialogue

The Apply Rules window offers an excellent level of control over changes to accounting transactions because it shows a preview of existing rules, with an indication of which transactions match each one and which transactions do not yet match any rules. You then have the option of creating new rules, modifying or deleting existing ones.

▶ Video: Rules for completing imported transactions (Apply Rules dialogue)

The dialogue may be displayed:

  • From the Import Transactions dialogue, when the Apply Rules option is checked
    Rules are only applied to imported rows
     
  • From the Actions menu > Recurring transactions > Apply rules...
    Rules are applied to the entire contents of the Transactions table

The Apply Rules dialogue, coupled with the import of banking data, becomes a crucial tool for setting up all repetitive records. In this dialogue window, when faced with multiple repetitive transactions of the same type, it suffices to set the rule for just one of the transactions, and the rules are automatically applied to all other transactions in the dialogue, eliminating the need to set the rule again.

Once the rules are confirmed, all transactions are listed in the Transactions table, ensuring consistency and accuracy in records of the same type, and speed in accounting for all transactions.

Rules automation

This dialogue box is divided into three sections:

Apply rules to transactions with...

  • Temporary contra account:
    This field is mandatory.
    It filters all imported transactions that contain that specific contra account, e.g. [CA], which was indicated in the Import transactions dialogue.
  • Account:
    Filters all imported transactions that contain a specific account, usually a bank account or [A], which has been indicated in the Import Transactions Dialogue.

The rule-based auto-completion system assumes that once the transactions have been completed, there is no longer any transaction containing the temporary contra account.

Imported data corresponding to rules or not

The window shows all transactions that have temporary contra accounts indicated above (e.g. [CA]). These are grouped in four main sections:

  • Incoming transactions with rules 
    Transactions with positive change of account (credit) and with indication of the rule to which they correspond
  • Outgoing transactions with rules
    Transactions with negative account variation (debit) and with indication of the rule to which they correspond
  • Incoming transactions without rules
    Transactions with positive change of account (credit) and not belonging to any rule
  • Outgoing transactions without rules
    Transactions with negative account variation (debit) and not belonging to any rule

Contextual commands

From the row of a transaction without a rule, a simple click or the three dots (...) to the right, or a right click anywhere on the row, opens a menu allowing you to:

aggiungi nuova regola

The commands at the bottom of the dialogue

  • Expand All/Collapse All: displays or hides the elements of the Transactions.
  • Display unused rules: checking this option displays all rules defined in the Recurring transactions table; if the option is not checked, the programme only displays rules that have matches.
  • Display rows without rules: if this option is checked, all imported transactions are displayed; if the option is not checked, the programme only shows transactions that match a rule.
  • Remove accounts between [ ]: in multi-row transactions, the import account is placed in square brackets [ ] in the detail rows. If this option is activated, the programme removes the import account from the detail rows.
    Rules with transactions on multiple rows can only be defined in the Recurring transactions table.
  • OK: this button applies the active rules and closes the window.
    • The temporary contra account is replaced in all transactions that have a match with a rule.
    • New or changed rules are also saved in the Recurring Transactions table.
  • Cancel: this button closes the window without applying the rules.
    • If there have been changes to one or more rules, you will be asked for confirmation before closing the window.
    • With this button you cannot undo the Apply Rules command; to do so, you must close this window and use the Undo command from the Edit menu.
  • Apply Rules: this button applies the rules without closing the window.
    • The temporary contra account is replaced in all transactions that have a match with a rule.
    • Rules that are added or changed are saved in the Recurring transactions table.
    • If you wish to undo changes, you must close the window and use the Undo command from the Edit menu.

Tips on how to use the Apply Rules window

The most effective way to work with the Apply Rules window is as follows:

  1. Check that the transactions matching rules are correct.
  2. Use the Apply Rules button to update the Transactions table with the selected rules.
  3. Add new rules for the remaining transactions and check that they are applied correctly.
  4. Use the Apply Rules button again.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all recurring transactions are associated with rules.

Recurring transactions table

Rules are saved and may be edited in the Recurring transactions table.

You can complete or add rules also with transactions on multiple rows in the Recurring transactions table.
As time goes by, you will see that more and more imported transactions will have matches with rules; the more rules you add, the more your accounting work will be reduced.

Add/Edit Rules

From the Apply rules dialogue you may access the Add/Edit rule section as follows: 

  • By right-clicking on one of the transactions or rules:
    • For transactions that already have a rule, you can choose Edit Rule or Delete Rule.
    • For transactions that do not have a rule, you can choose Add New Rule.

Add New Rule example

The following example in the dialogue below is an outgoing transaction of the payment of a health insurance.

To add a new rule:

  • Right-click on the movement row and choose Add New Rule.
  • The dialogue Add rule appears.
  • Fill in the fields available.
  • Confirm with OK.

replace contra-account

Add New Rule dialogue

The Add New Rule dialogue shows the data of the selected transaction from which you are creating the rule.

Inserisci la Condizione più efficace

The Rule

  • Rule type.
    The programme, depending on the type of transaction, if in credit or debit on the bank account, sets the rule as Money in or Money out transaction.
  • Rule title.
    It is optional, it is displayed in the Apply Rule dialogue.

Conditions

These are the elements that are used to check whether there is a match for each individual transaction.

  • A match is given if all conditions are found.
  • If a match is given, the entry is listed among the transactions with rule.

The description

In the description, enter the text to be searched in the text of the imported transaction. If the text is found the transaction will be considered suitable for applying the rule, if the other conditions are then met.

  • Exact word or phrase
    • If you write only Best Insurance 982-948 as a condition of the rule, only transactions containing those words in that exact order will be considered matches.
    • If you write only Insurance, as a condition of the rule, all entries containing this exact word will be considered matches.
  • All words (starting with the "+ "sign)
    • If you write +Best Insurance 982-948 as a condition of the rule, all records containing these exact words, in any position, will be considered matches.
      All words must be present in the description of the transaction.
      The position of the words in the sentence is not relevant.
      The "+" sign is not considered in the search.
  • List of words (using |)
    • If you enter "coffee|restaurant", the program searches for imported transactions that contain the word "coffee" or "restaurant".
    • This mode is useful for identifying multiple categories without having to create separate searches.
  • Upper and lower case
    When searching for input text, no case difference is made.
    The text you enter is applied to both upper and lower case text.

Amount

If you indicate an amount in the rule, only transactions with the same amount, as well as a match in the Description, will be considered as matches.
If you do not indicate any amount, any transaction of any amount that meets all other criteria will be treated as a match.

Account

In this field you will already find by default the account from which you imported the transactions. If you leave the account field empty, all transactions, imported from any account, that meet all other criteria will be considered as matches.

Actions

These are the elements used to complete the transaction row if a match is given.

If the contra account or other items to be completed are not present, you can abort the Apply rules command, add the missing account, and call up the Actions > Recurring transactions > Apply rules... command.

Contra account

Enter the account in your chart of accounts that is to be matched in the rule. In this example, the correct contra account is the Health Insurance account.

VAT

You can already enter in the rule the VAT code that the programme must add to each movement considered as a match.

CC1, CC2, CC3

You can already enter in the rule the Cost Centres that the programme must add to each movement considered as a match.

By confirming with the OK button, the new rule is saved. You will return to the previous window where the imported movements with and without rules are displayed again.  

Matching Transactions

This table shows all imported transactions selected in the Apply Rules dialogue, which fall under this rule.

Buttons

  • The Delete button, cancels the rule.
  • The OK button, saves the rule data.
    Be aware though that, until you do not give the command Apply Rules, the new rules won't be saved in the Recurring transactions table.

Rules from Transactions table

One of the methods provided for creating Rules is from the Transactions table. The main advantages are as follows:

  • You work directly in the Transactions table that you already use regularly. You are already familiar with the table.
  • You see all the columns.
  • You create Rules simply by completing the imported transactions.
    You complete the transactions manually only the first time when creating the Rules. For subsequent imports, the program applies the already created Rules to the new imported transactions.
  • Speed in creating Rules.
    Select the rows with completed transactions and, with a single click, create all the rules in the Recurring Transactions table. You only need to modify the description of each rule to ensure a precise match for future transactions.
  • You do not need to insert Rules through additional dialogs.
  • You do not need to manually enter all the Rule data in the Recurring Transactions table.

Below is the complete procedure for creating Rules from the Transactions table.

Import transactions

In the Transactions table, import transactions from bank, postal, or credit card statements.

import transactions

Complete the imported transactions

For each imported transaction, enter the counterpart, VAT code, cost center, or other information.

When you import a transaction that needs to be recorded on multiple lines, the program inserts a single entry with the total amount and a temporary counterpart [CA].

Proceed as follows:

  • Remove the temporary counterpart account [CA] from the transaction.
  • Insert new rows following the transaction. For each row, enter the complete transaction with description, counterpart, amount, any VAT code, and cost center.

    transactions with rules

Create Rules

Starting from the completed transactions, you can create Rules:

  • Select from the Transactions table the entries to which you want to apply Rules.
  • Right-click on a transaction without rules > Create rule from transaction.
    Alternatively, go to the Actions menu > Recurring Transactions > Create rule from transaction.

    transactions with rules command

All selected transactions are transferred to the Recurring Transactions table, as they were completed in the Transactions table.

Complete the Rules

In the Recurring Transactions table, you need to complete the Rules:

  • Edit the Description column.
  • Modify the text of the description to search for in the imported bank statement transactions. Initially, the program automatically uses the description found in the imported transaction.
    Replace this text with one or more keywords so that the program can find matches in the description of the imported transaction (e.g., + Best Insurance).
  • For multi-line transactions, edit the Doc column.
    In the first row of the transaction, enter empty square brackets [] in the counterpart column.
    In subsequent rows, enter !RuleSplit in the Doc column (see rows 7,8,9 in the image below).

    recurring transactions with rules

The explained procedure only needs to be performed the first time to set up the Rules. For future imports, the Rules found are applied automatically. You only need to complete the new imported transactions without a rule using the same procedure.
To find all imported transactions in the Transactions table that do not have a rule, you can use the Row filter function, entering the text "[CA]".

 

Recurring Transactions table Rules

One of the methods provided for creating Rules is from the Recurring Transactions table via the menu Actions > Recurring Transactions > Recurring Transactions Table.

The main advantages are as follows:

  • You work directly in the Recurring Transactions table where all the Rules are saved.
  • Once you have manually created all the Rules, you can import the transactions and directly apply the Rules.
  • You can see all the Rules that have been created.
  • You can add, modify, and delete Rules directly.
  • You don’t need to use additional dialogs to add, modify, or delete Rules.
  • You can define Rules for transactions across multiple rows.
  • You can add digital document annotations.
  • You can color the rows so that the color is carried over to the transactions in the Recurring Transactions table.


▶ Video: Rules for completing imported transactions (table Recurring transactions)

The Columns Used by the Rules

The Recurring transactions table defines the rules for the completion of imported transactions.

  • Correspondence columns that contain the data for searching matches in the imported transactions. 
    • Doc column 
    • Description column 
    • Amount column 
    • Debit or Credit Account columns ( Double entry accounting) or Account and Category columns ( Income and Expense accounting).
  • Substitution columns which need to be completed with additional information
    • Link column
    • VAT codes column
    • Cost centres column (CC1, CC2, CC3)
       

REgole di automazione nelle tabella Registrazioni ricorrenti

The Doc column

For a rule to exist, there must be either the following texts in the Doc column:

The Description column

The Description column must contain the text to be searched for in the description of the imported rows:

  • The exact word or phrase
    •  If you write Best Insurance 982-948, as a condition of the rule, all transactions containing this exact phrase will be regarded as matches.
    • If you write only Insurance, as a condition of the rule, all transactions containing this exact word will be considered as matches
  • All words (starting with + at the beginning)
    If you write +Best Insurance 982-948, as a condition of the rule, all transactions containing these words, in any position, will be considered as matches.
    • All words must be present in the description of the transaction.
    • The position of the words in the sentence is not relevant.
    • The '+' sign is not considered in the search.
  • Upper and lower case
    No difference is made between upper and lower case when searching for input text.
    The text you enter is applied to both upper and lower case text.
  • [Rule name]
    When a description starts with text in square brackets, this is used as the name of the rule. To be used for better identification of rules.

Attention: DO NOT use the entire text from the bank statement as the description, as it is unique to that specific transaction.

The Debit and Credit account columns

In the Debit and Credit columns, enter the accounts from the chart of accounts to record the transaction.

The Amount column

The Amount column can contain a specific amount to be searched for in the imported transactions. This condition is optional.

If the name of a debtor or creditor, as shown on the bank statement, is specified in the Description column and the amount is not provided, the rule will apply to any amount of the transaction.

The VAT Code column

Enter the VAT Code that should be included in the imported transaction. The program will automatically fill in all the VAT-related columns.
 

The CC1, CC2 o CC3 columns

Enter the Cost Center that should be included in the imported transaction.

The Notes column

Add additional information that should be included in the imported transaction.

The DocLink column

In this column, it is not possible to insert a specific link to a document because each transaction will have its own document. However, you can add an annotation in square brackets (e.g., "[Doc]") to distinguish the rows that need to be associated with a digital document.

Once the transactions are imported, it may be necessary to link them to accounting documents. To speed up this process, it is recommended to proceed as follows:

  • In the DocLink column of the Recurring Transactions table, use text enclosed in square brackets [ ].
  • Within the square brackets, enter the text that should be searched for in the name of the supporting document file.

    Rules automation
     
  • In the Transactions table, the transactions are imported with the text in square brackets in the Link column.

    Rules automation
     
  • In the Transactions table, use the Row Filter function and enter the text "!link![ ]". This will display all the rows in the Link column that contain square brackets where a link to the supporting document needs to be added.
  • When editing the Link column in the Transactions table, the program will show, in the auto-completion, the files of supporting documents that have not yet been linked to a transaction and contain the text entered between the square brackets.
    For example, if you enter "[invoice]," the program will display all the unlinked files containing the text "invoice" in the cell.

Quick Search and Completion of Transactions

It is possible that after importing transactions with the Rules, some transactions may need to be manually completed with additional information.

To quickly find the transactions that need to be completed, you can use one of the following methods:

  • Using the Notes Column
    To quickly locate the transactions that need to be completed, we recommend adding temporary search texts that can be used to filter the transactions. For example:
    • In the Notes column of the Recurring Transactions table, or in any other column of the Rule row (except for those predefined for the Rule), enter a hashtag, such as #city.
    • In the Row Filter function of the Transactions table, enter the same hashtag. This will display the rows that you need to complete.
  • Coloring Rule Rows
    You can color the Rule rows in the Recurring Transactions table. The row color will be transferred to the Transactions table and used to highlight the transactions to which the rule is applied.
    To identify only the colored rows, you can use the Row Filter function by entering the text "!_co!"

Split -row transactions

Normally, when you import transactions from a bank statement with the Rule, a single counterpart account is recorded. If the total amount of the counterpart needs to be split across multiple counterpart accounts, you can create a multi-row Rule.

For example:

  • You regularly receive a payment of 550 that must be recorded on three different accounts and therefore on three rows:
    • (550) rent collection (no contra-account, as this involves recording the global amount split over three rows)
    • (500) flat rent (contra account rent)
    • (50) extra expenses (contra-account for extra expenses) .

To create a multi-row Rule:

  • The first row corresponds to the total amount collected.
    • In the Doc column, enter the text !Rule.
    • In the Description column, enter the text to search for in the imported transactions.
    • In the counterpart column, enter square brackets [].
  • In the following rows:
    • In the Doc column, enter the text !RuleSplit.
    • In the Description column, enter the text to search for in the imported transactions.
    • In the counterpart column, enter the counterpart accounts.
    • In all other columns, input the values that should be included in the additional rows. In this example, we have added the tenant’s Cost Center.

Regole con suddivisione su più righe

In the example of a multi-row rent transaction, it is assumed that the collected amount is always 550. If the collected amount is different from 550, the transaction will need to be completed manually. 

Modifying Rules in the Recurring Transactions Table

All completion Rules saved in the Recurring Transactions table, even if they were created from the Apply Rules dialog, can be modified, deleted, or new ones can be created in anticipation of a future import without a Rule.

Copying rules in bulk from one file to another

From the Recurring transactions table it is possible to copy rule rows in bulk and paste them into another Banana file.

Create a New Year with Rules

When you create a new year using the command Actions > Create New Year, the existing Rules in the Recurring Transactions table are automatically carried over to the new year's file.

Set a Different Description from the Imported One

All imported transactions display the description from the bank statement in the Description column of the Transactions table. Typically, these descriptions are very detailed.

It is not possible to automatically change this description at the time of import.

If you wish to change the imported description, you can use the Notes column in the Recurring Transactions table.  
Note: if the Notes column is already used for your own annotations, it cannot be used to modify the description.

If the Notes column is not being used, proceed as follows:

  • Display the Recurring Transactions table.
  • Make the Notes column visible by going to the menu Data > Columns set up > check the Notes column.
  • In the Notes column, enter the description text that you want to appear in the Transactions table (Description column).
    Repeat this step for each desired transaction.

    Rules recurring transactions
     
  • Import the transactions
  • After importing into the Transactions table, make the Notes column visible (menu Data > Columns setup > check the Notes column)
    The Notes column will display the notes defined in the Recurring Transactions table.

    Rules transactions
     
    • For each transaction, copy the content from the Notes column and paste it into the Description column.

      Rules transactions

Set a different description from the Imported One - Custom Column

In the Recurring Transactions table, it is not possible to directly add custom columns. 

To use a custom column in the Recurring Transactions table, you need to add the custom column to the Transactions table.

Once the column is added to the Transactions table, it will also be visible in the Recurring Transactions table and can be used to set a different description from the imported one.

Therefore, the insertion procedure is the same as described in the section Set a Different Description from the Imported One - Notes Column.

Auto-completion rules for income and expenses accounting

In Income and Expenses Accounting and the Cash manager, the functionality for Completing Imported transactions works in the same way as for Completing transactions in Double-entry Accounting.

The main difference is as follows:

  • In the Income / Expenses accounting, the columns Account and Category are used.
    • The Account column refers to the bank account.
    • The Category column is where the category is specified. It represents the counterpart account entered automatically.
    • The Income and Expense columns are where the amount for the transaction is indicated.
  • In double-entry accounting, the Debit Account and Credit Account columns, along with the Amount column, are used.
     

Therefore, even with income and expense accounting, it is possible to create rules using one of the following methods:

The Recurring transactions table in Income / Expenses accounting

In the Recurring Transactions table, all imported transactions to which Rules have been applied are saved:

  • The columns associated with the amount are the Income and Expenses columns.
  • If no amount is specified, the rule will be applied to both outgoing and incoming transactions.
     

Regole di automazione nella contabilità Entrate e Uscite

  •  

The clearing account

The clearing account is an interim account used to record temporary transactions. It is specifically used in the following cases:

  • Post self-taxation and recovery operations on purchase tax (VAT on services abroad).
  • Import data into the main accounting from the cash book and credit cards.
  • Record the net salaries debited by the bank, pending the complete recording of the gross salaries with the various monthly deductions.
  • Recording incoming payments in camt.054 and camt.053 formats to avoid duplicate credits.

Use of the clearing account when importing data from the cash book or credit card

When the cash book or credit card movements are kept in separate files from the main accounting, it is used as a counterpart account in order not to create overlapping records in the import, regarding payments from the bank to the cash or credit card accounts.

  • In the cash book or credit card file, the receipt of funds will be recorded (the cash book or credit card account balance is increasing).
  • The outflow from the bank or postal current account and the increase in cash book or credit card will be recorded in the main accounting file.

The internal transfer account must be used as a counter-entry, both in recording the withdrawal from the bank (main accounting), and for payment at the cash book or on the credit card (separate file).

When you import the cash book or credit card data, into the main accounting file, the internal transfer account is reset to zero:

  • The data imported from the cash file or the credit card account will be recorded as credits in the clearing account.
  • The movements relating to payments already recorded with debit on the bank or post office account, will be credited to the clearing account.

More details on importing with the clearing account are available on the Importing data from the Cash book file.

Using the Transfer Account for camt054 and camt053 Receipts

Those who collect payments via QR-IBAN can use the camt054 XML file to automatically import and record incoming payments. At the same time, they can import the entire electronic bank statement using the camt053 XML file.

  • The camt054 XML file contains only the details of receipts for each customer.
  • The camt053 XML file, on the other hand, reports the total daily credit without details.
  • Payments received on the QR-IBAN account, imported via the camt054 XML file, are transferred daily to the associated IBAN account (bank account listed in the chart of accounts).

Problem: If both XML files (camt054 and camt053) are imported into the bank account ledger, the same credit is recorded twice: once with the details of individual receipts (camt054) and once with the total daily amount (camt053). This results in a duplication of credited amounts.

To solve this issue, the transfer account is used by following the procedure described on the page Bank Statement Camt ISO 20022 Switzerland (Banana+).

Retrieving data from other programs

One time data importing from other programs using Excel

If you are starting to work with Banana for the first time and you need to import your data from another software, it is probably faster to rely on Excel to copy and paste data.

  1. With your old accounting software, export the data in a format that can be read by Excel (CSV, txt, ...)
  2. Import the data into Excel (see below) 
  3. In Excel, organize the columns in the same order as they appear in the Banana Transactions table.
    Instead of changing column layouts, it may be more convenient to add columns next to existing ones and copy the data into them, or to use formulas that take the data and convert it. Using formulas you can remove spaces, change text or convert amounts and dates.
  4. Open your new accounting file in Banana Accounting.
  5. In Excel, select the data to be copied and use the Copy command (Ctrl+C or Copy from Edit in Menu).
  6. Go in Banana and execute the Paste command ((Ctrl+V or Paste from Edit in the menu).

This method is useful to transfer data from MS-Money, Intuit Quicken and Quickbooks, and from most other accounting programs.

Importing bank transactions

In this case, it is useful to use one of the import functions already available.

If there is no import extension suitable for your case, you can also use the 'one time' import mode indicated above.

Example of CSV bank file import via EXCEL

If you need to import bank data and there is no import extension, you can also proceed via Excel, following the example explained here.

The aim is to load the data into Excel and transform it exactly as it is arranged in the Banana Transactions table, then select and copy and paste it.

  1. Create a new empty file in Excel.
  • Go to "Data"
  • From Test/CSV
  • Select the file to import
  • Adjust the parameters that Excel proposes.
  • If necessary, use the 'Transform Data' button at the bottom to make further modifications.
  • Confirm with "Charge"

   2. To the right of the data, add column headings, as they are in the Transactions table of the accounting.

  • Date
  • Doc
  • Description
  • Debit A/C
  • Credit A/C
  • Amount

  3.  In the first line of data, add the formulas for taking and converting bank data.

  • Date         
    (resumes the desired date)       
    =C2
  • Doc        
    May be left blank, but could be numbered.
  • Description
    (resumes the desired description)       
    =B2
  • CtDebit        
    Add the bank account number, for example "1010",  but only if the amount is positive.        
    =IF(E2>0;"1010","")
  • CtCredit      
    Add the Bank account number, for example "1010", only if the amount is negative.         
    =IF(E2<0;"1010","")
  • Amount  
    Take the value in negative.
    =ABS(E2)
  • Copy the formulas created in all subsequent rows where there is data.
  • Select the data to be copied into Excel and issue the Copy command.
  • Move to the Transactions table of the accounting file, to the first empty row at the end of the table in the date column.
  • Give the command "paste".

 

dialogo importa in contabilità

Multi-currency accounting columns

If the accounting is multi-currency add the columns as well.

  • Currency initial
  • Amount in base currency.           
    If you have the amount in currency and in base currency, the exchange value is calculated by Banana Accounting.

Further advice

  • If import columns do not contain thousand separators, Excel may not convert them into numbers. In this case, select the entire column and use the "Replace" command and then insert the thousands separator.
  • If the data is sorted in reverse order from the way you keep it in Banana, before proceeding with the mapping of the fields in the Date column, click the little arrow on the right and sort from oldest to newest.
  • You can add the columns you need at will.
  • With Excel's Office Scripts you can possibly also create a macro to automate the file conversion.

Recurring data import from other programs

See: Import into accounting

It may also be necessary to import data regularly:

  • To import monthly transaction from your salaries software.
  • To import the invoices issued with a invoicing software.
  • To import the payments made with your invoicing software.
  • To import your sales transactions from your online shop.
  • To import data from another accounting software.
  • To import data from another cashbook management software (for example a restaurants or a hotel).

In these cases you can proceed in two different ways:

  1. Make sure that your application exports the data in a txt (TSV) file format specifically set to be imported in Banana.
    For more information please consult the technical information on how to create a file to be imported in Banana;
  2. Create an import script that will transform data exported from another program so that they can be imported in Banana;

 

Recurring Transactions Table

The Recurring transactions table is used to store transactions that are used repeatedly:

Display Recurring transactions table

The Recurring transactions table is displayed from the Actions menu → Recurring transactions.

Columns and views arrangement 

The Recurring transactions table does not allow you to save your own view settings, but takes over the views and column settings of the Transactions table.
However, it is possible to:

  •  Add a new view in the Transactions table
  •  In the Transactions table, arrange the columns for the new view you have added.
  •  When viewing the recurring transaction, choose the preset view.

Entering Recurring transactions in the Doc column

For repetitive operations, codes can be created for automatic data recovery.

  • If the 'End Date' column is present (see Automatic Transactions), you can also indicate a date after which this entry is no longer taken up in the Transactions table. 
    Transactions that are no longer used must be deleted manually.

recurring transacrtions

Progressive numbering of "docnum" documents 
If, when retrieving recurring transactions, you wish to have a Doc number different to the automatic one in the Transactions table, you need to create a row containing the code "docnum" in the Doc column, and your desired text in the Description column. For the following rows, the text specified in the Description column will be used.

  • "0" when no automatic numbering is required.
  • "1" progressive numbering.
  • "cash-1" progressive numbering with the prefix "cash-" (cash-2, cash-3).
    The program replaces the number indicated at the end of the text with the next progressive number.
     
  • If you wish the program to suggest just one row per code, the description has to be preceded by:
    • An "*": displays just this row and not the others with the same code.
    • An "**" displays just this row, but doesn't retrieve this row (only title row).
    • An "\*" allows the user to start the description with an asterisk, without it being interpreted as a command.

Retrieving recurring transactions in the Doc column into the Transactions table

In the Transactions table, you can resume the rows defined in the Recurring Transactions table:

  • In the Transactions table, enter the date in the transaction row and display any other columns that are missing from the Recurring transactions table.
  • In the Doc column in the Transactions table, choose one of the codes defined in the Recurring transactions table and press Enter:
    • The programme inserts repetitive rows that have the same code.
    • IIf you need to modify or complete any values, you can always do so.
  • Rows stored in the Recurring transactions table can be resumed by entering the code in the Doc column and pressing the F6 key.

Copying transaction rows from the Transactions table into the Recurring transactions table

In order to copy rows from the Transactions table into the Recurring transactions table, you need to:

 

 

Automatic transactions with recurring deadlines

Automatic transactions are useful for facilitating the recording of repetitive entries, such as subscriptions, insurances or taxes. By using automatic transactions, you only have to enter the entry of interest once, set a few parameters such as the start date, the frequency and the end date and then Banana Accounting Plus will inform you when an automatic transaction is ready to be created and will create it for you.

In Banana Accounting Plus, there are two ways to create automatic entries: directly from the Recurring Transactions table or from the Manage Automatic Transactions dialogue.

Requirements

Adding the End Date and Repeat columns to your accounting file

To be able to activate the commands for automatic transactions, the End Date and Repeat columns must be added; without these columns the commands will not be displayed.

  1. Open your accounting file or create a new accounting from the File menu > New command.
  2. Select the command from the Tools menu  > Add/Remove Functionalities...
  3. The Add/Remove Functionality dialogue will appear with the list of available functionalities.
  4. Select the option Add End Date and Repeat columns in Transactions table. 
    If this option is not available, check the Banana version and the plan you are using, as described in the Requirements section. 
  5. Click on the OK button.

registrazioni automatiche

 

Creating an automatic transaction from the Recurring Transactions table

  1. Select the command from the Actions menu > Recurring transactions > Create automatic transaction.
  2. The Recurring transactions table will appear with a new row, showing the date of the day in the Date column and the text !Auto in the Doc column, which serves to identify the automatic transaction.
  3. Update the Date column with the date of the first occurrence you wish to schedule.
  4. Display the End Date and Repeat columns with the command from the Data menu > Columns setup... 
    Make sure to check the Visible box for both the End Date and Repeat columns. 
    If these columns are missing, you can add them as described in the Adding the End Date and Repeat columns paragraph.
  5. Add the desired repetition to the Repeat column. For example, if you want a quarterly repetition, enter the text 3MS in the Repeat column.
  6. If the automatic transaction has an expiry date, set it in the End Date column.
  7. Complete the Description, Debit Account, Credit Account and Amount columns.
  8. Select the command from the Actions menu > Recurring transactions > Manage automatic transactions to display the scheduled transactions.

Note: If you use the command from the Actions menu > Recurring transactions > Create automatic transaction from an existing transactions in the Transactions table, the Description, Amount and Accounts columns will show the text of the original transaction.      
The Create automatic transaction command is also available in the context menu of the Transactions table (right-click on a transaction, and choose the Create automatic transaction command).

 

Creating an automatic transaction from the Manage automatic transactions dialogue

  1. Select the command from the Actions menu > Recurring transactions > Manage automatic transactions.
  2. The Manage automatic transactions dialogue will appear.
  3. Click on New automatic transaction button at the bottom of the dialogue.
  4. Complete the necessary fields:
    • Start date     
      Date from which the first automatic transaction will start. When the transactions are generated, this date will be updated with the date of the last automatic transaction created.
    • End Date
    • Repeat
    • Description
    • Account
    • Contra-account
    • Amount
    • CC1, CC2, CC3
    • Name or description (optional)
  5. Click on the OK button.

Check and recalculate accounting

The command to recalculate and check your accounting can be called up as follows:

  • with the Shift + F9 keys (Windows and Mac) or Cmd + 9 (Mac)
    Primary accounting recheck
  • with the Actions menu → Check accounting command
    This solution includes several extensive control options - Extensive accounting recheck
  • Display the Balance column through the Data menu → Columns setup.

If there are error messages or differences you should correct them.

Primary accounting recheck

The Check Accounting command mainly checks the version in use and, if an updated version is available, the program prompts you to update to the latest version. We strongly recommend updating as many features have been improved and different problems solved.

The recalculate and recheck accounting function will execute the following operations:

  • Reset the accounts balances, as well as the cost centers and segment balances
  • Verify and report if there are errors in the various tables (Accounts, Transactions, VAT Codes and Exchange rates tables)
  • Re-enter all the operations as if they were being entered for the first time
    • for the multi-currency accounting, it will recalculate the opening balances in the basic currency using the latest exchange rates
    • if the transactions rows are not locked, it will recalculate all transaction rows:
      • the VAT percentages are taken over from the VAT Codes table and the VAT amounts are recalculated again
    • Update the account balances, as well as the cost centers and the segment balances
    • In the Cash Manager, the progressive account balance in the Transactions table is recalculated
  • it will recalculate the Accounts and Categories table totals (income and expenses)
    • it will update the Diff. Budget and the Previous year columns
    • In the multi-currency accounting, it will update the Balance Calculated column in line with the latest exchange rates and the exchange rate differences.

Extensive accounting recheck - the Check Accounting window

On top of the principal recalculation and recheck of the accounting, additional checks are executed.

Check Accounting image

Recalculate accounting plus additional checks

This is one of the most useful features: the entire accounting file is being rechecked, all the balances are recalculated and the user is notified if errors are found. The command also updates the texts in the Account Descriptions and Categories columns (Transactions table), if these have been changed.

Accounting properties

This option is being activated by default. The program verifies whether the data entered into the File and accounting properties correspond to the actual accounting (for example: opening and closing date, VAT account, accounts for exchange rate differences, etc.).

Transactions

Differences within transactions

If this option is activated, the program verifies whether there are differences between Debit and Credit or between Accounts and Categories in the Income & Expense Accounting.

  • The rows where the differences occur are being indicated in the Messages Window.
  • The Balance Column shows the difference between the debit and credit movement. If there is an error, the balance does not go to zero.
  • Also, the program shows the total difference amount in the Information window at the bottom of the screen (only when being positioned in the Transaction table).

Include intermediary differences

If this option is activated, the program verifies whether there are differences between Debit and Credit, in composed transactions (transactions over multiple rows).
Often differences are caused by incomplete entries or errors in the amounts (as for example in the following example).

differenze nelle registrazioni

 Balance checks (#CheckBalance)

By activating this check, the program will signal wether the balance indicated in the description is different from the accounting balance on the indicated data. 
The transactions #CheckBalance are used to indicate that the account balance on a determinate date is correct.
At the end of the month, quarter or year it is useful to create #CheckBalance postings for the cash and bank accounts. The #CheckBalance transactions are also useful in conjunction with the lock transactions command.
Using the #CheckBalance transactions you will notice if, after closing the period, incorrect transactions have been made..

Characteristics of #CheckBalance transactions

  • Date. Must be the date the balance refers to.
  • Description must contain
    • #CheckBalance followed by the account balance, including decimals.
      #CheckBalance -1200.00
      #CheckBalance  0.00
    • For multi-currency accounting, the wording #CheckBalance followed by the currency abbreviation and the account balance, including decimals.
      #CheckBalance  CHF -1200.00
      #CheckBalance  EUR 0.00
      #CheckBalance -1200.00 Without the currency code, the check is done on the basis of the balance of the base currency.
  • Debit Account indicates the account on which the verification is to be carried out.
  • Amount must be left blank.

The program has detected a difference between the checking balance and the account balance in the file.

CheckBalance

Same document with different dates

When this option is activated, the program will alert if transactions with the same Doc number have a different date. For transactions on more than one row, where there is no correspondence between Doc and Date, the program cannot correctly determine the counterpart.

Accounts

Chart of accounts structure

When this option is activated, the program checks whether the grouping structure in the Chart of Accounts is correct.

Existence of exchange rate differences

When this option is activated, the program checks whether there are unrecorded exchange rate differences.

Opening balances differ from last year's balances

When this option is activated, the program verifies whether the opening balances of the new year match with the closing ones of the previous year. If there are differences between the closing balances of the previous year and the opening balances of the new year, these are reported as a total amount in the Messages window.

Include additional checks with the shortcut Shift + F9

When this option is activated, the program will run all the checks activated in the dialog window, when pressing Shift+F9. Otherwise only an accounting recalculation will be done (Mac version: Shift + Cmd + 9).

 

Balance column to detect accounting differences

The Balance column is present in the Transactions table in the double-entry accounting, multi-currency accounting, income/expenses accounting, and cash manager files. It is very useful because it detects accounting discrepancies in the Transactions table. 

When accounting discrepancies are encountered, it is essential to identify the cause and proceed with the correction. 

Errors are likely due to the following reasons:

  • The cell where the Debit account, Credit account, or Category is recorded was inadvertently left blank or is incorrect.
  • For an entry spanning multiple accounts or categories, the total amounts do not match.
  • In an entry with a VAT code, the VAT breakdown or the VAT account is incorrect.

Note: In composed transactions of several rows, the program will display a difference between Debit and Credit until the entry is completed.

▶ Watch the video: The new Balance column

The Balance column in Double-Entry Accounting

In double-entry accounting, the Balance column shows the differences between the Debit and Credit columns. 

When the accounting is correct, the Balance column should have no value (empty cells):

  • The balance is zero if the sum of the amounts in the Debit and Credit columns offset each other (no difference).
  • For entries spanning multiple accounts, a balance is displayed until the entry is completed for all the accounts and/or categories involved. With the final entry, the balance should reach zero.

Balance column

In the example image, a difference of 150 was generated:

  • In the entry on line Doc 1, the account 4999, which does not exist in the chart of accounts, was entered; therefore, a difference of 100 was created in the Balance column on the same line.
  • In the entry spanning multiple accounts on the lines Doc 2, the total amount paid is 1,000, but the final entry does not zero out the total amount (1,000) between the Debit and Credit columns, because the counter entries total 950; thus, an additional difference of 50 is added, leading to a total difference of 150.

The Balance column in Income/Expense Accounting

In Income/Expenses Accounting and Cash Manager, the Balance column shows the differences between the Account and Category columns.

When the accounting is correct, the Balance column should have no value (empty cells):

  • The balance is zero if the sum of the amounts in the Account and Category columns offset each other (no difference).
  • For entries spanning multiple accounts, a balance is displayed until the entry is completed for all the accounts and categories involved. With the final entry, the balance should reach zero.

balance column

In the example image, a difference of 1000 was generated:

  • In the entry on line Doc 2, the category was not entered in the Category column. Therefore, the amount, having been recorded only in the Account, resulted in a difference of 1000.

Checking the Accounting

The Check accounting command also includes a check of the Balance column.

If the Balance column is not zero, it means there are errors. To locate the first row where the accounting discrepancy occurred:

  • Scroll through the Balance column to identify the first row where the discrepancy starts.
  • Use the Recalculate accounting command, which indicates the row where the discrepancy begins.

Movement Column

The Movement column, available in the Account card table, shows the debit and credit movements in a single column: positive amounts for debit entries and negative amounts for credit entries. The amounts are the same as those contained in the Debit and Credit columns. 

A single column should allows for better control of your accounting.


You can activate the Movement column in the Account card, via the Data → Columns setup menu.

movement column setup

movement column setup

Export from Banana Accounting+

Banana Accounting Plus offers several exporting possibilities. It is possible to export the data of a single table (export rows), of several tables (export files), or only the data contained in the print preview. You can choose to export in different formats: PDF, Xml, Excel, Html, txt, Json, etc.

New! It is now also possible to export the PDF file that also includes all digital attachments. All accounting is therefore truly included in one file.

The PDF export with digital attachments is only available in Banana Accounting Plus with the Advanced plan. 
See all the advantages of the Advanced plan.

With Banana Accounting it is possible to export data from a single table or from multiple tables (files), in various formats.

Export rows

Choose Data > Export rows  menu in order to export the content of a single table.
If rows are selected before giving the command, the option Only selected rows will be activated in the export dialogue.

Export file

Chose File > Export file  command from the File menu in order to export several tables simultaneously.
In the Export file dialogue the following sections are also used:

  • Those specific to the file type (see export formats).
  • Include tab - to define the tables and the reports that must be included in the export
  • Period (Accounting) tab, to define the period
  • VAT tab (in the accounting files with VAT management)
  • Customization tab

Export Print Preview

In the print preview toolbar:

Export formats

To set up a specific export, each format has one or more sections with options.
You can choose between different formats:

  • PDF 
    This format allows to export the entire accounting file content in a unique PDF file.
    New! Export PDF file including digital attachments
  • Excel 
    Creation of presentations in Excel, comparisons, estimates, index calculations, budget analysis, graphs that are directly linked to the accounting values.
  • HTML 
    With this format the data and accounting statements can be easily accessed with an Internet browser (Explorer, Mozilla, Opera).
    This format fully complies with the legal requirements related to long-term archiving of accounting data.
  • XML 
    This format is the standard used for exchanging data. The accounting data can be easily read and reused with other programs or with XSLT style sheets.
  • Export rows in TXT 
    This format allows to export the table rows in a text format.

Export to Excel

To export to Excel click on the File → Export file → Export to Excel menu.

esporta file da Banana in Excel

File name

In this area, you must enter the name of the new file that the program creates for exporting data. If, on the other hand, an existing file is selected using the Browse button, the program will overwrite the file with the new data.

Display files instantly

The program for viewing the newly created MS Excel archive is launched. In this way you can see the export result immediately.

Options

Define cell names

This option will automatically assign a name to each cell as the file is exported. For example, the cell that contains the balance for account 1000 will receive the name: "Accounts_1000_Balance" in Excel. This means the user can univocally identify each cell independently from its position on the sheet and thus create Excel reports that don't have to be corrected if the account plan is changed.

Define table names

With this option, the program will automatically give a name to the whole area of the cells belonging to a table, at the moment the file is exported. For example, the area formed by the cells belonging to the Accounts table will be identified by the name DB_Accounts. This option is necessary if database functions are used, when creating reports in Excel. 

Use names Xml (English)

The cell names can either be defined in their original accounting language, or with their English name. In the original language, the names will be understandable to someone who speaks that language, but they will not be universally understood like a name in English would be. By selecting this option the user would have, for example, "Accounts_1000_Balance" instead of "Conti_1000_Saldo".

Protect tables

The entire content of cells is locked when selecting this option so that it is only possible to edit the format. This prevents the possibility of making any unintentional changes to the exported data. The user can remove this protection at any time by using the appropriate command in Excel.

Other Tabs

For the explanations of the other tabs, please visit the following pages:

Export result

Exporting to Excel creates a file with html content but with the extension '.xls'. The file is opened by Excel and converted automatically. Excel however warns that the file is not an actual Excel file, simply respond 'Yes' to continue.

Each accounting table is displayed in a different sheet in the Excel file

Use the cell names instead of the row/column references:

  • The names return the desired value even when a new row or column is being entered.
  • The names are easy to use and understand
    "Accounts_1000_Balance" refers to the balance of the 1000 account
    "Accounts_1000_Description" returns the value of the cell that contains the description of the 1000 account
  • The names can be used in the formulas
    "=Accounts_1000_Balance" returns the value of the cell that contains the balance of the 1000 account
    "=Accounts_1000_Balance/1000" divides the balance of the 1000 account by 1000
  • By using the names, it is possible to create links to various files.

A link to a cell is being composed of:

  • File name
  • Table name
  • Cell name

Copy/paste data from Banana to Excel

With Banana Accounting it is always possible, in addition to exporting, to copy/paste Banana data into Excel: only some cells, columns, or the whole table.

Some users have reported to us that in rare cases and only from Mac computers, when exporting data from Banana to Excel, the format of the amounts is not optimal.
However, the situation is easily resolved by simply selecting the columns with the amounts in Excel and changing the cell format to the "Number" type.

Cambio formato importi in Excel

Include Tab

Via File → Export file → Export to Excel → Include section will open the dialog box that allows you to choose the tables and reports to include.

sezione includi nell'esporta file da Banana a Excel,

Recheck accounting

By ticking this box, the accounting will be rechecked before it is exported.

Include

Contains the list of tables and reports that can be exported. The list of data may vary depending on the type of file and accounting.

View

It is possible to select the view where the data are to be imported. This option is available for the export in PDF, Html and Xml format.

Period

This group allows you to indicate options for exporting tables with periods.

Accounts/Categories by period

Refers to the Accounting Period choice and indicates which repetition per period is desired.

VAT/Sales tax report

This option allows to export the VAT/Sales tax report according to the selected period.

Create periods for the whole year

By selecting this function, the partial balances for the whole year will be exported, and not only the ones of the specified accounting period or the selected export period.

Max number of periods

The maximum possible number of periods.

Export to Html

To export to Html click on the File menu → Export file → Export to Html.

esporta file da Banana in Html

File Name

In this area, the user must insert the name of the new Html file that the program will create to export the data. If however the user selects an existing file through the Browse button, the program will overwrite it with the new data.

Display file immediately

As soon as the Html file has been created, the software to view it will be launched. In this way, the result of the export can be seen immediately. It is best to remember that browsers like Mozilla and MS Explorer use a cache mechanism for files. When the export is made for a second time, it is possible that the user will see the previous version until the browser Reload button is pressed.

File creation options

Headers 1, 2 and 3

These are the file headers.

Other Options

For the explanation of other tabs, please visit the following pages:

 

Html Options Tab

From the menu File → Export file → Export to Html → Html Options section opens the dialog box that allows you to activate options when exporting the file in Html format.

esporta file in Html, sezione opzioni Html

Use style sheet CSS

Selecting this cell will allow the user to connect a style sheet to the exported file. By default the program will automatically use its own style sheets and incorporate it into the document.

Use predefined style sheet

The program's default style sheet is used. Disabling the box automatically activates the External style sheet option, where you can select the name of a personal style sheet.

External style sheet

File name

In case an external style sheet is being used, select the file name of the style sheet with the Browse button.

Include style sheet within html file

When the data are sent in HTML format, the style sheet file must also be sent. To avoid sending two separate files, by activating the box, it is possible to embed the style sheet in the Html accounting file.

Selecting the cells will allow the program to file the data with various graphic options:

  • Export visible columns only
  • Table with border
  • Columns with headers
  • Preserve page breaks within the table
  • Export as data - data will be exported without any formatting

Export in Xml

To export to Xml click on the File menu → Export file → Export to Xml.

esporta file da Banana in formato Xml

File Name

Enter the name of the new file to create or choose an existing one using the Browse button.

Display file immediately

The program for viewing the newly created Xml archive is launched. This way you can see the export result instantly. Remember that browsers such as Mozilla and MS-Explorer use a document cache mechanism. When exporting a second time, if you do not press the Update button on your browser, you may still see the previous version.

Style sheet XSLT

In this area you can set the style sheet (external Xml file) on the basis of which the program must graphically arrange the accounting data. Banana Accounting does not make Xslt files available.

Options

It is possible to choose between the following options:

  • Export visible columns only.
  • Include view list.
  • Export as data.

Other Tabs

Other sections

For the explanations of the other tabs, please visit the following pages:

Export rows in txt

In order to export rows, please select the Data → Export rows → Export rows in Txt  menu. The following options options are available:

esporta righe da Banana in formato txt

File name

Enter the file name or select an existing one using the Browse button

Format

Select the desired format.

Display file immediately

As soon as the file has been created, the software to view it will be launched. In this way, the result of the export can be seen immediately. Please notice that browsers such as Mozilla or MS-Explorer have a documents cache mechanism. It is then possible that, when exporting a second time, you will still see the previous version if you don't use the Refresh browser's button.

Options

If activated, different options will allow the export of:

  • selected rows only
  • visible columns only
  • columns header
  • unicode (Utf-8)

Lock transactions with the Blockchain technology

Banana uses an accounting data certification system based on a technique that today is called blockchain. The certification method based on the chaining of data blocks "blockchain" is considered so reliable that it is used to ensure the validity of bitcoins and all modern crypto-currencies.

Banana.ch was the first company in the world to use blockchain technology in accounting. The method was filed as a patent in 2002 (US Patent No. 7,020,640). This method ensures high levels of data integrity and compliance with legal regulations.

For more information, see Blockchain for ensuring the integrity of accounting movements.

The lock transactions command

With the Lock transactions command of the Actions menu, the accounting transactions are locked and marked with control codes that can certify, over the years, that the transactions have not been modified.

  • The validity of a possible already existing lock is being verified
  • The transactions until the lock date are being numbered progressively and are being locked. For each transaction, the digital code of the row and the progressive one are being calculated.
    The calculation of the digital codes is being done according to the sequence of the columns.
  • In the accounting is being indicated that transactions with an equal or earlier date than the lock date will no longer be accepted.

Lock transactions

Date of new lock (inclusive)

Specify the date up until when the transactions will be locked.

Password (optional)

It is possible to insert a password to eventually unlock the transactions or to carry out a new lock in the future.
If the program finds no errors in the transactions included in the lock date, it will lock the transactions, calculate and assign individual numbers and codes to each row of transactions which can be viewed in the Lock view on the Transactions table.

Last lock

The data of the following fields are automatically filled out by the program based on the last executed lock.

Lock valid

A "Yes" is shown if the lock is valid.

Date of lock

The date of the last executed lock is shown.

Lock number

This is the value automatically entered by the program in the last row of the LockNum column.
When the lock is repeated, if the value of the last row lock number is unchanged, it means that the lock is valid and that the data have not been altered; if however the value is changed, the program shows the following codes:

  • (-1) if the lock is invalid from the first row
  • (-2) if there are rows that have the same LockNum.

Progressive Hash

This is the control code present in the last transaction.
 

Transactions: Lock View

All digital codes are shown along with all the information that the program used to create the digital signature.

  • LockNum: the progressive number that identifies the row
  • LockAmt: the cumulative transactions total, similar to the total at the end of the page, as required by some national regulations
  • LockLine (hidden column): the digital code calculated according to the row values.
  • LockProg: the global electronic signature (SHA-256).

The digital code LockProg

This is the main element of the certification; it uses the blockchain methodology.
The digital code is calculated according to the following values:

  • The contents of the current entry, including amounts, descriptions and the description of the account at the moment of the lock
  • The progressive number (LockNum)
  • The cumulative balance (LockAmt)
  • The progressive code of the preceding entry (LockProg).

In case the accounting data undergo even the slightest modification (for example, a date or an amount is changed), the digital code will be different. If the control number remains the same, it implies that the data are original and therefore have not been changed.
 

Check Lock

With the Actions menu → Check lock info command, the program verifies the validity of the lock and displays the data.

  • The program recalculates the digital control codes and verifies if they correspond with the ones related to the transactions.
    • If the codes correspond, the lock is considered valid, and therefore the data are original
    • If they do not correspond, it means that the data have been changed and that they are not the original ones calculated at the time of the lock. 


 

 Unlock transactions

The Menu Actions → Unlock transactions command removes the lock and the control codes. If the lock was set with a password it will be necessary to reenter the password in order to remove the lock.
If later on you want to relock the transactions, and they have not been modified, the control numbers will be the same as the ones of the earlier lock; if however some data have been changed, the control numbers will be different.

Partial lock

If the transactions have been locked, it is possible to unlock them even partially, from a specified date. If a lock password has been set, in order proceed unlocking the transactions, you need to enter it in the specific field.


 

Why unlock the accounting?

In principle, the locked accounting should not be unlocked. It might happen that, after the lock, you find errors in the accounting and see the need to make corrections.
To have the opportunity to make further changes, users kept a copy of the file before the lock. If they found errors, they would restore the previous situation. In the meantime other transactions had perhaps been made, so often it happened that restoring previous versions of the accounting proved wrong. To avoid this unnecessary waste of time it was decided to make the Unlock transactions command available.

The certification must not be confused with data security. The data certification is a methodology that ensures that the accounting data are original. To prevent data from being modified, the methodology is the one related to data security. Data security procedures, however, can only be implemented in an environment that limits data access.

If the file is fully available to the user, such as when it is on a PC, people have complete control of the data. They can thus replace files easily. With a certification one cannot prevent that the data are being altered, but it will allow you to know if the data are the original ones.

The person who keeps the books is responsible for the accounting and decides whether a change is permissible or not.
 

Organizing the certification and data verification

Once you locked the transactions of the period, you need to:

  1. Print the lock information or print the last certified transaction row with its specific certification number (LockProgr).
  2. Sign and store this information along with the accounting documentation or in any other safe place.

In order to check that the accounting data are the original ones, you need to proceed as follows:

  1. Impart the Show lock info command.
  2. Go back to the document that shows the digital control number 
  3. Check whether the row identified with the LockNum still has the same digital control number
  • If the number matches , the accounting data are the same as those certified
  • If the number does not match , it means that the accounting data have been modified.      

Banana works on developing applications that make it possible to compare two files and obtain indications regarding data that have been altered.
 

Data security

Digital certification ensures that the data are still the original ones. It does not prevent the modification of data.
It is the responsability of the accountant to ensure that the data are not altered. Each administration must be organized according to its size and needs.
Those who want to make sure that the data are not being altered by unauthorized persons , must employ other methods and tools, such as :

  • Save the data to a secure system (protected network drive), password protected.
  • Keep the copies of the data.
  • Encrypt archives.   


Long-term archiving

The accounting file contains the entered data. In order to open the file and obtain a report or an account card, you need to have the program at your disposition. 

Banana Accounting gives the possibility to export all the accounting data, and its printouts as well, to Pdf, Html and Xml.
The generated file can be saved on a CD and accessed on any computer even after many years, even by persons who do not have the Banana Accounting software.

 

Add or remove functionality

Banana Accounting Plus offers the possibility of adding new functionalities to the file. See also Add general functionalities.

aggiungi funzionalità

Enable Uppercase/ Lowercase in account description numbers and codes

When accounts in the Chart of Accounts, the accounts are descriptive (e.g. cash), the programme normally converts the letters to uppercase. By enabling this function, the programme allows descriptive accounts to be in upper or lower case.
In the Transactions table, the descriptions found in the Account column will be taken as they appear in the Accounts table.
Please note that the 'Cash' account written with the first letter in capital letters will be different from the 'cash' account written in lower case.

Add Items Table

Information is available on the documentation Items Table.

Add Item Columns to the Transactions table

Information is available on the documentation page Items Columns in the Transactions table.

Add Items Table and Item Columns to the Transactions Table

The information can be found on the documentation page Items Table and on the documentation page Items columns in the Transactions table

 Add Address columns in the Accounts table

For accounting files.

This functionality allows you to add columns to the Accounts table for entering the addresses of customers, suppliers, partners or others.

To add this function, proceed as follows:

  • Click on the Tools menu
  • Select the Add/Remove functionality... command
  • Select Add Address columns in the Accounts table. (If this option does not appear in the list, it means that it has already been activated).

The programme adds in the Accounts table:

  • the Address view where the added columns are visible.
  • The columns which allow you to enter address data and other information.
    • To make one or more columns visible, even in other views, use the Columns setup command in the Data menu.
    • To create other views with specific columns, use the Tables setup command from the Data menu.

 Add and Remove Budget Table

This function enables the accounting file for financial planning by adding the Budget table where you can enter transactions concerning the budget.

See the Budget table for more information.

 Changing VAT amount type column in transactions

In accounting files with VAT, in the Transactions table, this function allows the column Amount type (VAT amount type) to be made editable.

This column allows one of the following VAT amount types to be entered for each transaction, when required:

  • 0 (or empty cell), this means VAT included
  • 1 = VAT amount, means VAT excluded
  • 2 = VAT amount, the amount of the entry is considered as 100 % VAT amount
  • For each entry, the programme automatically enters the default data from the VAT Codes table (for each code) in the Amount type column. If, exceptionally, the type of amount changes for a VAT code, either 1 or 2 can be entered manually.
Note

By using this function there are some VAT data incompatibilities with previous versions that did not have this function.

Dialog - Period section

This section appears in various dialogues (eg in the account card, in the balance sheets ...) and has the function of limiting the display or processing of data only for a specified period.
If, for example, you enter a quarter, only the transactions for the quarter will be displayed in the account card and the results for the quarter will appear in the Balance Sheet.

diaologo sezione periodo

All

All accounting entries will be included.

Period selected

Defines a specified period, indicated by the start and end date.

Movements without date

If movements without dates have been entered in the accounting, they will only be considered if you select All.
On the other hand, if for example you enter, from January 1st to December 31st, the movements without a date will not appear in the report.

Banana Accounting+ charts

In Banana Accounting Plus, when opening a file, the Charts window is available at the bottom, which offers a graphical representation of the performance of a selected account, group, cost centre or segment.

The chart displays the data of the account or other selected item in a table, according to the settings that can be chosen in the right-hand panel:

  • Placing the cursor on the curve or bar of the chart shows the exact values of the amounts.
  • Clicking on a point in the chart opens the corresponding account tab at the corresponding position.

I grafici di Banana Contabilità Plus

Control Panel

Using the right-hand panel it is possible to select the values and period to be displayed, the mode, as well as to print or save the chart.

If the size of the window does not allow all the controls to be displayed, only the controls concerning the legend will be displayed. To display all controls, either the main application window or the bottom window must be enlarged.

Time Values

The following accounting values can be displayed individually or simultaneously in the charts:

  • Current - represents actual values.
  • Budget - represents the budget values.
  • Previous - represents the previous year's values.

By clicking on the name (Current, Budget or Previous) with the mouse, the respective values are displayed or hidden.

Legend

The Legend option selects whether to hide or display the legend within the chart window. As a rule it is hidden, but you can display it in case you need to print or save the chart.

  • Off - The chart shows no legend.
  • Low - The legend is displayed below the chart, in a central position.
  • Left - The legend is displayed bottom left.
  • High - The legend is displayed above the chart, in the middle position.
  • Right - Legend is displayed bottom right.

Period

The period in years for which data is to be displayed.

    1Y, 2Y, 3Y, 4Y, Y (Y indicates years).

Interval

The space between each value on the chart scale can be customised according to the following options:

  • 1D (day), 1W (week), 1M (month), 3M (quarter), 6M (semester), 1Y (year).

Value

The chart can display the accounting balance at the end of the period or the accounting movement for the period. Depending on the selected value, the displayed date is adjusted accordingly:

  • Balance - the chart shows the balance at the end of the period (e.g. 31 Jan '22 - period end date)
  • Movement - the chart shows the movement of the period (e.g. Jan '22 - period)
  • Automatic - the chart represents the balance for balance accounts and CC3, and the movement for income statement accounts, CC1, CC2 and segments.

Type

The chart can represent values in the following ways:

  • Line - the chart is represented by lines.
  • Area - the chart is represented by areas.
  • Bar - the chart is represented by bars.
  • Auto - the chart is represented as area for balance sheet accounts and CC3, and as bars for income statement accounts, CC1, CC2 and segments.

Print, Save or Copy the Chart

This feature is only available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Stampa, salva e copia i grafici

In the top right-hand corner of the chart table, clicking on the Copy symbol displays a menu with the following commands:

  • Print - Displays the chart in the print preview.
  • Save - Saves the chart as a PNG image.
  • Copy - Copies the chart to the clipboard as a PNG image. The copied image can be pasted into any text editor (Word, Excel, ...).
  • Copy Data - Copies the values used to create the chart as a data table that can be pasted into any spreedsheet (Excel, Numbers, ...).

Extensions

Extensions are additional modules of the program that allow the use of supplementary features; most of these are exclusively available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Below is the list of the main ones:

VAT Statement 2024 for Switzerland

It allows creating and printing the facsimile of the VAT form for Switzerland in PDF and XML formats for the electronic transmission of VAT data on the AFC portal. 

The VAT Statement is intended for two methods:

Starting from 01.07.2024, this extension will be available exclusively with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus. For more information...

QR Invoicing for Switzerland

This extension generates invoices with QR codes, following the new Swiss regulations. In the Advanced plan, additional customizations are available for both Integrated Invoicing and Estimates and Invoices.

Financial Analysis and Cash Flow

Advanced financial reports and charts for your double-entry accounting, including the financial statement, standard financial reports, Dupont analysis, and Altman index. You can compare historical data over multiple years and forecast data with the current year.

This extension is exclusively available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Securities Portfolio Management

To manage securities within your accounting file. It generates reports with details on the movements of your securities, reconciliation, and accounting valuation data for the portfolio.

This extension is exclusively available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Construction and Renovation Management

To manage construction and renovation projects. Easily keep track of your project costs, from the estimate phase to allocations and payments. See if costs align with estimates and avoid overruns and surprises. Data classification by expense category and companies involved.

This extension is exclusively available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

List of all extensions

On our Extensions web page, you can find a list of all available extensions for Switzerland, Italy, and other countries.

Self-Programmed Extensions

For programming experts, it is possible to modify existing extensions or create new ones, and then manually install them into the program.

This possibility is exclusively available with the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

Productivity Applications

The Banana Accounting Plus Productivity Applications complement the accounting ones in order to manage, all the other needs additional to accounting, of a company. Everything is done in an easy, fast way and with instant and professional results. The Timesheet is completely free, because it is included in the Free plan of Banana Accounting Plus; while the other applications are free up to 70 transactions in the Free plan and unlimited in the Professional and Advanced plans.

The Productivity Applications are independent from accounting, although there are functions and extensions that can be combined with the accounting file, to create reports and import data into the accounting file.

The Productivity Applications included in Banana Accounting Plus are the following:

Productivity application

Additional useful functions for the Productivity Applications

The following commands are particularly useful when used with these applications:

Link between tables

You can create a link between a field of one table to another one, through the Id field.
For example:

  • Add a new simple table named "Projects"
    • In the Id column indicate a project symbol and in the Description column a small explanation.
  • In another simple table, add the following text columns:
    • ProjectsId (Table name plus "Id")
      When you go into edit mode a list of the available projects will be displayed.
    • ProjectsDescription (Table name plus "Description")
      This column must be protected.
      When you change the ProjectsId contents, the description text will be displayed.
  • When you add a column, proceed with a check of the accounting or close and reopen the file to activate the link.

Estimates and Invoices separate from accounting

The Quotes and Invoices application of Banana Accounting Plus is a tool independent from the accounting file. It allows you to create and print quotes and invoices quickly and easily. It is ideal for replacing Excel in invoice management, offering a professional solution at no additional cost. Its use is intuitive and does not require accounting skills.

  • Automatic retrieval of addresses: addresses are automatically retrieved from contacts, avoiding the need to re-enter them in invoices.
  • Automatic calculations: all calculations are performed automatically, ensuring accuracy and constant updates.
  • Advanced customization: possibility to set language, currency, number of decimals and rounding for each individual invoice.
  • Flexible invoice management: options to edit or duplicate invoices and quotes easily. Simple conversion of quotes into invoices.

Application independent from the accounting file

Quotes and Invoices is an application separate from the accounting file and is used only to create and print quotes and invoices. There is no connection with the accounting file. 

The invoice data in the Quotes and Invoices application cannot be imported into the accounting file and must be entered manually. Furthermore, it is not possible to import bank transactions (including payments). If you need these features, we recommend using the invoicing integrated in the accounting file.

For more details on the differences between the Quotes and Invoices application and the integrated invoicing, visit the page Invoicing in Banana Accounting.

How to get started with Estimates and Invoices

To use the application, you need to download and install Banana Accounting Plus. For a quick and easy start, check out our resources: 

From the File > New menu, you can open an Invoice template to immediately create your Quotes and Invoices file. Enter your data and your customer information and you're ready to go. For more information visit the page How to... 

create invoices with quotes and invoices

Various fields are available to enter all necessary information and the billable items. Here are the main ones:

  • Invoice information: Invoice number, language, currency, VAT mode (invoices without VAT, VAT included in the amount, or VAT excluded with a separate amount), invoice issue and due dates.
  • Customer address: all customer data entered in the Contacts table is automatically retrieved in the Quotes and Invoices.
  • Invoice data: title, opening text, invoice details (list of items to be invoiced, quantity, description, amount) and closing text.
  • Totals and discounts: discounts and advances, partial and total amounts are calculated by the program based on the entered values.

The Tables 

The Quotes and Invoices application is based on several tables that are used similarly to those in Excel, but are already fully configured and programmed to generate quotes and invoices quickly and securely. 

Contacts Table: this is the table where you precisely and neatly set up customer data. The data can always be updated and modified. It is possible to import data from SmallInvoice using a specific Banana extension.

Items Table: in this table, you enter the data for managing items or services to be invoiced. By assigning an ID, you can group different categories of items or services. You enter the quantity, unit price, and can indicate the related accounting account. Columns are also available to enter entry and exit dates of goods and for notes.

Invoices Table: this table is intended for entering all invoiceable items. It is the most automated:

  • Automatic retrieval of the customer's address by simply selecting the customer's contact ID.
  • Automatic retrieval of all invoice data: with a double-click on the Total column cell, a invoice dialog opens, displaying all the data entered in the other columns of the Invoices table (customer address, invoice date and number, reference, order number, unit price, VAT rate, and other possible data). Just enter the quantities and the invoice is ready. It can be saved as PDF or printed on paper.

Estimates Table: this is where you enter quote data. It is very similar to the Invoices table, with the same functions, calculations, and print modes – only the title changes. Estimates can be converted into invoices at any time, automatically retrieving data into the invoice, which can then be immediately saved, printed, and sent to the customer.

VAT Codes Table: in this table you set the VAT codes for invoice creation. During invoice preparation, VAT rates are retrieved automatically and calculations are automated. The rates can be modified if the regulations change.

Invoice structure

In this image, you can see how the invoice is structured:

application invoice print preview 

print invoice step 1

 

Logo

You can insert a custom logo.
Menu File > logo setup

print invoice step 2

 

Header

The invoice header data is taken from
Menu File > File properties (Basic data) > Address section

print invoice step 3

 

Customer address

The customer address is retrieved from the Contacts Table, where you must set the customer addresses.

print invoice step 4

 

Invoice data

The invoice content must be entered in the new create/edit invoice dialog.
Menu Invoices > New invoice

print invoice step 5

 

Free text

You can define title, introductory and final notes in the Invoice dialog.

print invoice step 6

 

Swiss QR Code

Settings can be defined only for Switzerland, using the layout [CH10] Layout with Swiss QR Code.

Prints and reports

Exporting and archiving data

Other functions

Features available only with the Advanced Plan

Characteristics of Estimates and Invoices

The new Estimates and Invoices application is included in Banana Accounting Plus. Creating and printing estimates and invoices becomes quick and easy.

To start, just download for free the Free Plan. You may enter up to a maximum of 20 invoices and 20 offers.

With the yearly plan, you can add an unlimited number of estimates and invoices. 

How to set up estimates and invoices

To create estimates and invoices, just set up your customer data, items or services to be invoiced, unit prices and VAT rates, while the program takes care of everything else.

There are many automations to make your work easy and with immediate professional results.

  • Automatic retrieval of addresses from contacts to avoid having to re-enter the data in the invoice.
  • Data import from SmallInvoice with specific Banana extension.
  • No manual calculation. All calculations are automatic, always accurate and updated.
  • Detailed estimates that can be quickly converted into invoices and sent to the customer.
  • Invoices created with QR code for Switzerland.
  • For every invoice, language, currency, number of decimals and rounding system can be set up.
  • Changes and/or duplicates of invoices and offers already made to the customer. You just need to to add quantities and the new invoice is ready to be sent.
  • Annotations for memos or other.
  • Payment date to check receipts.
  • View of overdue invoices to check due dates.
  • PDF saving and paper-printable.
  • Invoice archiving to have a history that is always organised and ready for possible tax inspections.
  • Dark Mode on Mac and Windows.

Excel-like features

Based on spreadsheets

The estimate and invoice application is built upon various tables, which are used in a similar way to those of Excel, but that are already fully set up and programmed with everything needed to manage your inventory in a fast and safe way.

  • Contacts table
    This is the table where customer data can be registered in a precise and orderly way. The data can always be updated and modified.
  • Items table
    This is the table where the data for the management of the items or services to be invoiced are inserted. By assigning an ID it is possible to group the various categories of items or services to be invoiced. You enter the quantities, the unit price and you can indicate the reference account in the accounting. Columns are also available for entering the date of entry and exit of the goods and for annotations.
  • Invoices table
    This table is intended for entering the items which need to be invoiced.It is the most automated:
    • Automatic resumption of the customer's address by simply selecting the customer's contact ID.
    • Automatic retrieval of all invoice data: by double clicking on the cell in the Total column, an invoice dialogue opens up where you will find all the data entered in the other columns of the Invoices table (customer address, date and invoice number, reference, order number, unit price, VAT rate and other possible data). Just enter the quantities and the invoice is ready.It can be saved in PDF or printed on paper.
  • Estimates table
    The offer data is entered. It is completely similar to the Invoices table, with the same functions, calculations and printing methods, obviously the wording changes. The estimates can be converted into invoices at any time with automatic recovery of the data in the invoice, which can be immediately saved, printed and sent to the customer with automatic recovery of the data in the invoice, which can be immediately saved, printed and sent to the customer.
  • VAT codes table 
    VAT codes are set up for creating invoices. Whilst preparing invoices, both the rates and calculations are taken up automatically . The rates can be modified if the regulations in force change.

Accounting set up

Headings and basic data of Estimates and Invoices set up in a single dialog box, easy to display.

File and data saving

Handling Estimates and Invoices

Error reporting and control

Prints and reports

Data export and storage

Comprehensive documentation

History of updates

The Estimate and Invoice application is constantly subject to updates and improvements.

For further details, consult the page Change history of estimates and invoices extension. 

 Features only available with the Advanced plan

Some customisations of the printing layout CH10 and UNI11 are available only with Banana Advanced.

 Features currently not available

The Estimates and Invoices application is one of the latest additions to the family and for the moment it supports the essential functions related to the preparation and printing of estimates and invoices. It does not yet support the following functionalities:

  • It is not possible to import invoice data into the accounting file.
  • Connect with Inventory application.
  • Export individual invoice data.
  • Automated sending of invoices by email.
  • Automated sending of invoices by eBill.
  • Define multiple IBAN codes.
  • Add additional columns in the invoice details.
  • Define a discount for a single contact.
  • Define a discount for a single item - see Invoice Details page (only available with the Advanced plan).
  • Importing QR-Code payments.
  • Send a payment reminder.
  • Create a new year.
  • Enter the shipping address.
  • The order number and date are not listed in the invoices table (this must be done manually).
  • Automatically adding a charge for the reminder on the invoice.

How to start an Invoice

To use the Invoice application you must have downloaded and installed Banana Accounting Plus.

For a quick and easy start we recommend the use of one of our templates.

 Create an Invoice file

Create an Invoice file starting with an existing template or by creating an empty file as follows:

  • Menu File → New.
  • Select Region / language.
  • As Type, select Invoices.
  • In the section on the right select the required template.
  • Double-click on the template name or click the Create button. The program will open the selected file directly.
  • Save the file indicating it's name.

 Enter basic data

Create new Invoice

Via the Invoice → New Invoice ... dialog a new invoice will be created.

applicazione fattura

  1. Enter the basic information of the invoice (invoice no, date, object, initial text and final text).
  2. Enter your billing address (customer address).
  3. Enter the invoice details (product, description, quantity, amount).
  4. Check subtotals and grand totals and enter any discounts.
  5. In Settings ... define some basic parameters of the invoice (currency, decimal points, rounding, payment term and VAT mode).
  6. Save and print the invoice.

Print an invoice

You can print the invoice via the Invoice menu → Print Invoice command. or by clicking Print in the dialog for creating or modifying an invoice, you access the window for printing the invoice.

On the Print Offers and Invoices page you will find information on how to customise and print invoices.

The tables

The Invoice file consists of the following tables:

Contacts table

The Contacts table displays the columns where you can enter customer addresses.

Contact addresses will be immediately available in the invoice dialogue when creating or editing the invoice, simplifying data entry.

Changing the data in the Contacts table does not change the data of existing invoices and offers. If you want an existing invoice or offer to be updated  with the new customer data, you must:

  • Change the invoice or the estimate in the invoice dialogue.
  • You must select the customer again from the list in the customer address section.

Contacts table

The columns

The Contacts table contains many columns, those displayed in the image are those in the Basic view. The complete list is visible in the Complete view. To customise the columns see the Columns Setup page.

Id

The contact number is entered.
The ID should be used only once and must not be repeated, even if multiple years are managed in a file.

Organisation

Enter the name of the company or organisation.

Title (Prefix)

Enter the title of the contact

Name

Enter the name of the contact.

Family name

Enter the surname of the contact.

Street

Enter the address.

Address extra

Enter extra address.
If you require the QR invoice layout, refer to the documentation Common elements for the QR invoice Switzerland for further information.

ZIP

Enter the postcode.

Locality

Enter the location.

Country code

Enter the Country code.

The country code must be formed by two characters conforming to the ISO 3166-1 standard (eg CH, LI, AT, DE, IT, FR).

Language

Enter the customer's language.

Invoice texts are printed in the customer's language, provided that it is set in the corresponding column.
The language is an ISO code, usually 2 lowercase letters (it=Italian, de=German, en=English, fr=French).

If no language is specified for the customer, the language of the file is used. This language is defined in the menu File → File properties (basic data) → Other → Current language.

Tax Code

Enter the customer's tax code

VAT number

Enter the customer's VAT number

Note

Any notes may be inserted.

 

Items table | Estimates and invoices

The Items table presents the columns where to insert the data for the management of the items and the warehouse.

The items will be available in the Invoice Dialogue when creating or editing the invoice, simplifying data entry.

tabella articoli applicazione fattura

The columns

The items table contains many columns; those displayed in the image are those in the Base view. The complete list is visible in the Complete view. To customise the columns, please refer to the Columns setup page.

All column contents can also be printed on the invoice. See customisation print layout detail CH10.

Links

Link to a product image file or descriptive PDF file

Id

The item number is entered.
The ID should be used only once and must not be repeated, even if multiple years are managed in a file.

Description

The description of the item is entered.

Unit

The type of unit is entered (pieces, hours, etc.).

Unit Price

The unit price is entered.
In the invoice settings dialogue you indicate whether the amounts are VAT excluded or including VAT.
Please note that if you change the setting from VAT excluded to including VAT or vice versa, the program changes the amounts, so that the same invoice can be printed with VAT excluded amounts or amounts including VAT.

Account

Any account is entered as information to be used for manual entry in accounting.
This value serves only as information, it is not used for creating invoices.

Note

Any notes are inserted.

 Import of catalogue

Using the import functions, it is possible to automate the import of data from an existing product catalogue. See Retrieving data from other software.

It is also possible to integrate product catalogues into the invoicing program.

Invoices table

The Invoice table displays the columns where all invoice data that have been entered in the Invoice Dialogue are automatically retrieved.

From this table you can:

tabella fatture applicazione fattura

The columns

The Invoices table contains many columns, those displayed in the image are those in the Base view. The full list is visible in the Complete view. To customise the columns, please refer to the Columns setup page.

Id

Enter the invoice number.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue.
The ID should be used only once and must not be repeated, even if multiple years are managed in a file.

Date

Enter the invoice date.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue.

Description

Enter the subject of the invoice.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue
This text will also be used as the title of the invoice. If defined, it overwrites the title entered in the settings.

Contact Id

Enter the contact ID number, as used in the Contacts table.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue

Address

The program will automatically resume the customer's address data, based on the contact id number entered.

Discount Amount

Enter the amount of the discount to be applied to the invoice.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue.

Total Amount

The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue.

Expiration

The expiration date is entered.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the Invoice dialogue.

Payment

The payment date is entered.

Notes

Further notes are entered.
The program automatically resumes the text entered in the End Text field of the Invoice Dialogue.

 

Estimates table

The Estimates table presents the columns where all offer data that has been entered in the Invoice dialogue are automatically taken over.

tabella offerte applicazione fattura

The columns

The Estimates table contains many columns, those displayed in the image are those in the Basic view. The complete list is visible in the Complete view. To customise the columns, please consult the Columns setup page.

Id

Enter the estimate number.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.
The ID should be used only once and must not be repeated, even if multiple years are managed in a file.

Date

Enter the estimate data.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.

Description

Enter the subject of the invoice.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.

Contact Id

Enter the contact ID number, as used in the Contacts table.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.

Address

The program will automatically resume the customer's address data, based on the contact id number entered.

Discount amount

Enter the amount of the discount to be applied to the estimate.
The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.

Total

The program will automatically resume the value entered in the estimate creation dialog.

Notes

Any notes may be inserted.

 

VAT codes table

The VAT codes table displays the columns where you can enter the VAT codes with the respective rates.

The data must be entered manually. When VAT rates change, the table must be updated by changing or adding the ID codes and percentages of the new tax rates.

VAT Codes will be automatically taken over in the invoice dialogue when creating or editing the invoice, simplifying data entry.

estimate and invoice VAT Codes

The columns

The VAT Codes table contains many columns; those displayed in the image are those in the Base view. The full list is available in the Complete view. To customise the columns, please consult the Columns setup page.

Id

The VAT code is entered.
The ID should be used only once and must not be repeated, even if multiple years are managed in a file.

Description

Enter the description of the VAT code.

%VAT

The VAT rate is entered.

Notes

Any notes may be inserted.

VAT on the gross or net amount

The setting for calculation on the net or the gross amount is done at the individual invoice level, in the Invoice settings dialogue.

 

Invoice Commands

 

Invoices menu

In the Invoices menu you will find the commands to:

 Create a new invoice

To create a new invoice you have two options:

  • From the Invoices menu
    • Use the command Invoices → New Invoice.
    • The invoice dialogue is then opened where the data is entered.
    •  The new progressive invoice number is allocated by the programme. You can change it manually.
    •  Enter the invoice data and save
  • Directly from the Invoices table:
    •  Select a new row in the table.
    • In the Id column (invoice number), click on the small 'New Invoice' icon that appears at the top of the cell.

  • The invoice dialogue then opens where you enter your data.
  • Enter the invoice data and save.

When you create a new invoice, the programme automatically updates the Invoices table. The data of the new invoice are added to a new row in the table.

 Edit Invoice

To edit an existing invoice, you have two options:

  • From the Invoices menu:
    • Select the line with the invoice you wish to edit.
    •  Use the command from the menu Invoices → Edit Invoice.
    • The invoice dialogue opens where you can enter and edit data.
    • Make the timely changes and save.
  • Directly from the Invoices table
    • Select the row with the invoice you want to edit.
    • In the Id column (invoice number), click on the small 'Edit Invoice' icon that appears at the top of the cell.


       
    • The invoice dialogue then opens where you can enter and edit data.
    • Make the timely changes and save.

When you edit an invoice, the programme automatically updates the data in the Invoices table.

 Duplicate invoice

To duplicate an invoice, you have two options:

  • From the Invoices menu:
    • Select the row with the invoice you wish to duplicate.
    • Use the command from the menu Invoices → Duplicate Invoice.
    •  The new progressive invoice number is allocated by the programme. You can change it manually.
    • Then the Invoice dialogue opens with the data of the invoice you have chosen to duplicate.
    • Make the timely changes and save.
    • The programme automatically updates the Invoices table.
  • Directly from the Invoices table:  
    • Select the row with the invoice you want to duplicate. You can also select several rows to duplicate several invoices at once.
    • Use the command from the menu Edit → Duplicate rows.
    • The programme automatically updates the Invoices table by adding the duplicate rows.
    • For each duplicate invoice, you must then manually edit the invoice number and data.

 Delete invoice

To delete an invoice:

  • Go to the Invoices table.
  • Select the row with the invoice you wish to delete. You can also select several rows to delete several invoices at once.
  • Use the command from the menu Edit → Delete rows.
  • The invoices are deleted from the table.

 Print invoices

On the Print Offers and Invoices page you will find information on how to customise and print invoices.

To print an invoice you have two options:

  • From the Invoices menu:
    • Select the row with the invoice you want to print.
    • Use the command from the menu Invoices → Print Invoice.
  • Directly from the Invoices table:
    • Select the row with the invoice you want to print.
    • In the column Id (invoice number), click on the small icon 'Print Invoice' which appears at the top of the cell.

 Show open invoices

You can extract invoices that have not yet been collected into a table:

  • Go to the Invoices table.
  • Use the command from the menu Invoices → View open invoices.
  • The programme extracts all rows of invoices without a payment date.

Each time a new invoice is collected, enter the date of collection in the Payment column of the Invoice table.

 Show customer's invoices

You can extract customer's invoices into a table:

  • Go to the Invoices table.
  • Under the Contact Id column click on the customer number whose invoices you want to have.
  • Right-click on the selected field and select the Extract rows command

The program extracts all rows belonging to the customer.

 Archive invoices

With the Estimates and Invoices application:

  • You can enter as many invoices as you want, there are no limits.
  • You can keep invoices from several years in one file.
  • You do not need to create a new file for each new year.

Invoices from previous years can be archived at any time:

Invoice Dialog Add and Edit Invoices

The Invoice and Estimate dialog allows invoice data to be entered and edited. 

creare le fatture con offerte e fature

Open the Dialog

The dialog can be opened via:

  • For the Invoice
    • The Invoice menu > New invoice.
    • The Invoice menu > Edit invoice.
    • The Invoice table > Double-click on the invoice line of relevance, in the Address column.
    • The Invoice table > Double-click on the invoice line of relevance, in the Total Amount column.
    • From the ID column, click on the small icon Edit invoice on the right-hand-side of the cell.
  • For the Estimate
    • The Invoice menu > New estimate.
    • The Invoice menu > Edit estimate.
    • The Estimate table > Double-click on the estimate line of relevance, in the Address column.
    • The Estimate table > Double-click on the estimate line of relevance, in the Total Amount column.
    • From the ID column, click on the small icon Edit estimate on the right-hand-side of the cell.

Dialog Sections

The dialogue is divided into two sections:

  • Invoice
  • Settings
    • In the Invoice settings section, parameters for new documents and interface settings of the invoice dialogue are defined.

 

 

Invoice Edit Dialog

Here is how the invoice dialog window appears. Below, we explain its individual elements.

applicativo fattura

Views

These are shown at the top.

They define which data entry fields are visible and which are hidden.

By switching between the different views, you can switch between more general and more detailed views.

The following views are available:

  • Base
    • Shows the most frequently used fields.
    • Can be adjusted to one's needs.
  • Short
    • Focuses on the Item table.
    • Can be adjusted to one's needs.
  • Long
    • Complete view with all fields.
    • Can be adjusted to one's needs.
  • Complete
    • Complete view with all fields.
    • Cannot be adjusted.

Via the Settings section, for the Base, Short and Long views, it is possible to define which fields to make visible and which ones to hide.

Structure

(1) Information and Free Texts

This section allows you to enter information regarding the invoice and define free texts to be included in the printout.

  •     Invoice number
    • The invoice number is entered.
    • The number is taken and inserted automatically by the programme in the Id column of the Invoices table.
    • It can be included in the invoice printout.
  • Language
    • The language in which the invoice is to be printed is entered.
    • If defined, the customer language set in the Contacts table is taken over and inserted.
  • Currency
    • The currency in which to print the invoice is entered.
    • You can indicate the abbreviation (CHF, EUR, USD, etc.) that will be printed on the invoice.
    • The programme does not make exchanges and conversions to other currencies.
  • VAT mode
    • Select the VAT mode.
    • If the VAT mode is changed, the programme modifies the amounts already entered, so that the same invoice can be printed with gross and net amounts.
      • Without VAT
        No VAT is applied.
      • VAT excluded
        Amounts are net.
      • VAT included
        Amounts are considered gross.
    • The total VAT amount may vary by a few cents compared to the calculation performed directly on the VAT taxable total. The reason for this is that the VAT total is calculated by adding up the (rounded) VAT amount of each individual item. This difference is not to be considered an error, but a feature of the calculation of invoice amounts.
  • Invoice date
    • The invoice date is entered.
    • The date is taken and inserted automatically by the programme in the Date column of the Invoices table.
    • It can be included in the invoice printout.
  • Due date
    • The payment due date is entered automatically by the programme for all invoices.
    • It can be entered manually for each invoice.
    • It can be included in the invoice printout.
  • Order number
    • It's optional.
    • The order date is entered.
    • It can be included in the invoice printout.
  • Order date
    • It's optional.
    • The order date is entered.
    • It can be included in the invoice printout.
  • Invoice custom fields
    • It requires the Advanced Plan.
    • They are optional.
    • Additional information fields can be defined and added to the invoice (maximum 8 fields) where customised texts can be entered.
    • The value/content is entered. In the Settings section, you define the names/texts of the fields.
    • They can be included in the invoice printout using the CH10 and UNI11 layouts. In the print settings of the layouts, under Print → Information . Custom fields must be activated.
  • Invoice title
    • It's optional.
    • The text of the invoice subject is entered.
    • The text is taken over and inserted automatically by the programme in the Description column of the Invoices table.
    • The text is included in the invoice printout as title/object. It takes priority over any title entered in the settings of the invoice layout.
  • Begin text
    • It's optional.
    • You enter the initial text to be included in the invoice printout, immediately after the title/object.
    • The text may be entered on several lines.
    • You can put the text in bold, including the part of the text between double asterisks **.
      Example: **text1 text2** text3 = text1 text2 text3.
  • End text
    • It's optional.
    • You enter the final notes to be included in the invoice printout, immediately below the details table.
    • The text is taken over and inserted automatically by the programme in the Notes column of the Invoices table.
    • The text may be entered on several lines.
    • You can put the text in bold, including the part of the text between double asterisks **.
      Example: **text1 text2** text3 = text1 text2 text3.

(2) Customer address

This section allows you to enter the invoice address. You have two possibilities:

  • Retrieve the data from the Contacts table.
    • Select a customer from the list.
    • You can also search directly for an address by entering the first name, surname, company, email or tax number.
    • When you select a contact, the various address fields are automatically completed by the programme.
  • Enter the data manually.
    • Complete each element of the address field by field.

The address fields are as follows:

  • Business name
    • Enter business name.
  • Prefix
    • Enter customer's prefix.
  • First Name
    • Enter the first name.
  • Last name
    • Enter the last name.
  • Address street
    • Enter the street.
  • Address extra
    • If necessary, enter extra address.
  • Post Box
    • Enter Post Box
  • Country code
    • Enter country code.
  • ZIP
    • Enter ZIP.
  • Locality
    • Enter locality.
  • Email
    • Enter email.
  • Phone
    • Enter phone number

(3) Items / Items' Columns

This section allows line by line entry of all invoice details.

It is a table with the following columns:

  • Item
    • Optional.
    • Using the Items table, an item can be selected from the list. In this way, the fields in the subsequent columns (Description, Quantity, Unit, Unit Price) are automatically completed by the programme.
    • You can also search for an article by typing part of the descriptive text.
  • Item date
    • Requires the Advanced Plan.
    • Optional.
    • A date is entered for each item, useful for example to indicate the date of execution of the invoiced work.
  • Description
    • The description of the item or object of the invoice is entered.
    • The text of the description may be on several lines.
    • You can put the text in bold, including the part of the text between double asterisks **.
      Example: **text1 text2** text3 = text1 text2 text3.
  • Quantity
    • It is mandatory.
    • The quantity is entered.
    • To create, for example, a credit note or a discount, enter the quantity with a negative sign (the total amount for the row will be negative). See also Create a Credit Note.
  • Unit
    • Optional.
    • The text related to the unit (pcs, hours, etc.) is entered.
  • Unit price
    • It is mandatory.
    • The price of the individual unit is entered.
  • Discount
    • Requires the Advanced Plan.
    • Optional.
    • A discount is indicated for each item. 
      The discount is calculated on the unit price (Unit Price column), and can be indicated:
      • As an amount. The amount of the discount is entered directly.
        Example: Quantity 2; Unit price 10.00; Discount 1.00; Total = 18.00
        If the Discount is same or greater than the Unit price the Total will be set to 0.
      • As a percentage. A percentage is entered (e.g. 10%).
        Example: Quantity 2; Unit price 10.00; Discount 10%; Total = 18.00
        If the Discount is same or greater than 100% the Total will be set to 0.
  • Totals
    • The totals are calculated and entered automatically by the program.
  • VAT
    • Optional.
    • The VAT code to be used defined in the VAT Codes table is entered.

(4) Discounts and totals

This section allows any discounts to be entered and shows the invoice totals.

The programme automatically calculates the following

  • Subtotal
    • The sum of all amounts in the Total details column is shown.
  • Discount
    • It's optional
    • You enter the discount to be applied to the invoice total by entering a description and the percentage or amount.
    • If a percentage is entered, the programme automatically calculates and displays the discount based on the percentage value entered.
  • Rounding
    • Rounding is indicated.
  • Deposit
    • It's optional
    • The deposit already paid by the customer is entered, indicating the description and amount.
  • Total
    • The final total of the invoice is shown.
    • The total is also shown in the top right-hand corner of the dialogue to speed up invoice verification.
  • VAT
    • The totals of the VAT amounts are shown.

(5) Settings

The settings of the Invoice Dialogue.

For more information, please refer to the Invoice settings dialogue page.

(6) Commands

  • Print
    • Command to print an invoice.
  • Copy
    • Command to copy an invoice.
  • Save
    • Command to save changes.
  • Close
    • Command to end the dialogue.
  • Cancel
    • Command to delete changes and close the dialogue without saving.
  • Help
    • Command linking to online documentation where information on invoice dialogue can be found.

Customisation

The invoice dialog is programmed through a BananaPlus extension, and is updated independently of the application. The version provided is generic and covers most of the needs.

For contexts where invoices are complex, or many invoices are created, you can adapt the dialog to make creating invoices easier, more functional, and faster.

Advanced input Type column for Estimates and Invoices

Requires the Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

The Type column in the Invoice Edit Dialog allows you to assign a specific role (e.g. header, notes, subtotals) to the invoice row.

To use the column, you first need to make it visible in the desired view, from the Settings tab (section Items columns > enable the Type column).

application estimates invoices type column


 

 

The available options in the Type column are as follows:

  • Header
    Allows you to insert a header text to be displayed in the invoice details (in blue in the image).
  • Note
    Allows you to insert annotation text to be displayed in the invoice details (in green in the image).
  • Totals
    Allows you to insert up to three levels of subtotals (in yellow in the image).

application invoice type column

Header

Inserts a header row for the content of the following rows, where the items or services are listed.

  • In the Type column, select Header from the list.
  • In the Description column, enter text that will be displayed in bold as the header for the content of the following rows. The text can span multiple lines.
  • The other columns must remain empty.

Example of data entry:

TypeItemDescriptionQuantityUnit priceTotal
Header Consulting services   
 AService A1150150
 BService B2100200
Header Development services   
 CService C3120360
 DService D19090

Note

Inserts a note row to be displayed in the invoice details, before or after the list of items or services.

  • In the Type column, select Note.
  • In the Description column, enter text that will be displayed on the invoice. The text can span multiple lines.
  • The other columns must remain empty.

Example of data entry:

TypeItemDescriptionQuantityUnit priceTotal
 AConsulting service2100200
Note Remote assistance provided   
 BTechnical support1150150
Note Support provided in April   

Total 2

Inserts a subtotal row that sums up the preceding items.

  • In the Type column, select Total 2.
  • In the Description column, enter text that will be displayed on the invoice. The text can also span multiple lines.
  • The other columns must remain empty.

The Total 2 row:

  • Automatically calculates the subtotal of the items entered in the preceding rows.
  • You can insert multiple Total 2 rows: each one sums all the items that precede it.

Example of data entry:

TypeItemDescriptionQuantityUnit priceTotal
 AService A250100
 BService B13030
Total 2 Subtotal 2  130

Total 1

Inserts a subtotal row that sums up Total 2 rows and the previous items or services not included in a Total 2.

  • In the Type column, select Total 1.
  • In the Description column, enter text that will be displayed on the invoice. The text can also span multiple lines.
  • The other columns must remain empty.

The Total 1 row:

  • Automatically calculates the subtotal of the items entered in the preceding rows.
  • If the preceding rows contain Total 2 rows, their values are included in the subtotal calculation.
  • You can insert multiple Total 1 rows: each one sums all the items and Total 2 subtotals that precede it.

Example of data entry:

TypeItemDescriptionQuantityUnit priceTotal
 AService A250100
Total 2 Subtotal 2  100
 BService B13030
 CService C17070
Total 2 Subtotal 2  100
Total 1 Subtotal 1  200

Total

Inserts a subtotal row that sums up Total 1, Total 2 and the previous items or services not included in Total 1 or Total 2.

  • In the Type column, select Total.
  • In the Description column, enter text that will be displayed on the invoice. The text can also span multiple lines.
  • The other columns must remain empty.

The Total row:

  • Automatically calculates the subtotal of the items entered in the preceding rows.
  • If the preceding rows contain Total 1 or Total 2 rows, their values are included in the subtotal calculation.
  • You can insert multiple Total rows: each one sums all the items or services and Total 1 and Total 2 subtotals that precede it.

Example of data entry:

TypeItemDescriptionQuantityUnit priceTotal
Header Consulting services   
 AService A1150150
 BService B2100200
Total 2 Total consulting services  350
Header Development services   
 CService C3120360
 DService D19090
Total 2 Total development services  450
Total 1 Total work  800
Header Extra expenses   
 ETravel expenses1100100
Total Subtotal  900

 

Invoice settings dialogue

By clicking Settings (in the lower left corner) you enter the settings dialog of the invoice.

invoice settings

The settings you set are specific for the invoice.

  • The currency code
    You can indicate the code (CHF, EUR, USD, etc.) that will be printed on the invoice.
    The program does not make exchanges and conversions in other currencies.
  • The number of decimals to be used for the amounts.
    All amounts will have the number of decimals set.
  • Rounding up totals.
    Put a "0.05", "0.10" amount that becomes the minimum rounding unit.
    The decimal separator must always be the dot ".".
  • Payment term in days
    It is used to preset the due date, which can then be changed manually.
  • Validity of the Estimate in days
    This is used to preset the expiry date of the offer, which can then be changed manually.
  • The VAT mode
    If the VAT mode is changed, the program modifies the amounts already entered, so that the same invoice can be printed with both gross and net amounts. If the VAT is set to gross and net amounts have been entered, once the setting has been changed, the amounts must also be changed so that they are net amounts.
    • No VAT. No VAT is applied.
    • VAT Inclusive. The amounts are considered gross.
    • VAT Exclusive. The amounts are considered net.

Use settings for new invoices

You can choose to use these settings for new invoices that will be created.
The settings of other existing invoices are not changed.

Translations of invoice's texts

In the Settings dialog, clicking on a text field, such as the title for new invoices or the description of one of the user fields, leads to the Translations dialog.

traduci testi applicazione fattura

In the Translations dialog: 

  • You can enter the texts to be used in the various languages.
  • Only the languages currently in use are listed.
  • If a language is not listed, simply add a contact or invoice in the desired language.
  • The first language listed corresponds to the programme language.
  • The language marked with an asterisk * is the document language, defined in the menu File → File accounting properties→ Other tab → Current language.

Timeline of changes of estimates and invoices application

See what's is new in dialogs with the 2022-02-01 release.

2024-02-01

Released on February 01 2024

  • General
    • New: Added subtotal items feature.
    • New: Added 'Payment Term in Days' column to the Contacts table.
    • New: Added 'Currency' field to Invoices and Contacts tables.
    • Fixed: Delete selected rows create new empty invoices in invoices table
    • Fixed: 'Move Up' and 'Move Down' buttons were not functioning.
  • Invoice Dialog
    • Fixed: Scrolling issue in the Invoice dialog.
    • Fixed: Long texts overlapping each other.
    • Fixed: Section Invoice Table Items not resizing correctly when changing views.
    • Fixed: Section Invoice Table Items not resizing correctly on HD screens.
    • Updated: In the Settings section in the invoice dialog, the possibility to adjust the Table items height based on the rows has been removed.

2023-07-18

Released on Juli 18 2023

  • General
    • Fixed: the VAT is calculated even when vat mode set to no vat
    • Fixed: after setting the rounding's decimals to 4 digits, the totals remain with 2 digits
    • Fixed: creating an invoice from an estimate doesn't update the due date
    • Fixed: the due date can't be left empty
    • Fixed: wrong dialog title for estimates
    • Fixed: wrong translation for Dutch language
  • Interface
    • Fixed: in the invoice dialog the move item down button is not active
    • Fixed: in the settings tab the option's switchs are not visibles when the dialog is resized
    • Fixed: moving up / down an item create an invalid item object
    • Fixed: in the settings tab the vertical scrollbar has to be always visible

2023-04-03

Released on April 03 2023

  • General
    • Fix: vat total row not visibile in invoice's dialog
    • Fix: error opening dialog with qt 6.5

2022-12-14

Released on December 14 2022

  • General
    • Fix: when the invoice dialog is closed, the application is closed too (this error occurred only with the latest Banana Insider Version)

2022-12-06

Released on December 6 2022

  • Data entry
    • New: added setting "Default Vat Code", the "Default Vat Code" is applied automatically to items added to the invoice

2022-09-29

Released on September 29 2022

  • Data entry
    • Fix changing from incluse vat to exclusive vat change the unit price.
      Now the unit prices remain unchanged, but the invoice total is updated.
    • Fix entering the customer id in the combo box doesn't visual the corresponding customer entry
    • New: changes to the settings for new documents settings are now applied to the current document;

2022-09-21

Released on September 21 2022

  • Data entry
    • Fix the invoice's number is not updated when it is modified in the invoice's table
    • Fix the invoice's dialog does not open and an error is showed if the title for new invoices is empty
    • Fix entering amounts in the local format is not working

2022-03-31

Released on March 31 2022

  • Interface
    • New: You can enter and print business units names in the address (advanced plan)
    • Fix the language of the invoice title is not that of the document
    • Fix the language of the invoice title is not updated when changing the language
    • Fix the language of the invoice title is not updated when changing the customer

2022-02-10

Released on February 10 2022

  • Interface
    • Fix article's search is case sensitive.
    • Fix highlight of the matched article in the combo box.
    • Fix the item quantity can not be cleared, the user can not enter an item as description (quantity and price empty)
    • Fix the quantity for articles without price is set to 1, the user can not use predefined articles as description row (quantity and price empty)

 

2022-02-08

Released on February 08 2022

  • Interface
    • Fix button create invoice does not create any new invoice.
    • Fix button duplicate invoice does not create any new invoice.

 

2022-02-07

Released on February 07 2022

  • Interface
    • Fix save button is not saving the invoice in particular cases.
    • Fix text fields doesn't automatically scroll horizontally, edited text beyond the field's with is not visible.
       

2022-02-01

Released on February 01 2022

  • Data entry
    • New: You can enter a discount for each item, both as amount or as percentage. (Advanced plan).
    • New: You can enter an item's date (Advanced plan).
    • New: You can define and add custom fields to the invoice (Advanced plan).
    • New: You can enter unit prices and quantities with 4 or more decimals.
    • New: You can enter multi-line texts or bold texts for the item description.
    • New: You can enter multi-line texts or bold texts for the invoice begin text and the invoice final text.
    • New: You can enter a deposit already paid by the client.
    • New: The fields Prefix (Courtesy), Address extra and P.O.Box have been added to the customer's address.
    • New: You can search for a contact address by entering the  name, surname, company, email or tax number.
    • New: You can search for an item by entering part of the description.
  • Interface
    • New: You can switch between different views of the invoice, from a general view to a more detailed one.
    • New: The new Settings tab lets you set the initial values for new invoices and estimates, and select which fields are visible in the Invoice tab.
    • New: You can select which fields to show and which fields to hide through views and settings.
    • Added the invoice total at the top right to speed up invoice verification.
    • The total VAT 0% has been added in the VAT recapitulation.
    • The last dimension and position of the dialog are stored and resumed the next time the dialogue is opened.
    • The width of the columns is stored and resumed the next time the dialog is opened.
    • A help button has been added to all dialogs.
  • General
    • A notification is showed when an updated Version of the extension was installed.
    • Improved compatibility with macOS dark mode.
    • Improved compatibility with high resolution monitors.

What's new release 2022-02-01

The release of February 1, 2022 adds new and important functions to the application which are listed below.

What's new

Edit Invoice dialog

Edit invoice dialog

stampa fattura passo 1

  

Settings tab

The new Settings tab lets you set the initial values for new invoices and estimates, and select which fields are visible in the Invoice tab.

stampa fatture passo 2

  

Views

New possibility of switching between different views of the invoice, from a general view to a more detailed one.

stampa fattue passo 3

  

Prefix and P.O.Box

The fields Prefix (Courtesy), Address extra and P.O.Box have been added to the customer's address

stampa fatture passo 4

  

Custom fields (Advanced plan - Beta 2)

You can define and add custom fields to the invoice.

stampa fatture passo 5

  

Item date (Advanced plan)

You can enter an item's date, useful for example if you want to indicate the date on which invoiced work were executed.

stampa fatture passo 6

  

Item discount (Advanced plan)

You can enter a discount for each item, both as amount or as percentage.
stampa fatture passo 7  

Multi-line and bold texts

You can enter multi-line texts or bold texts for the item description.
Multi-line texts and bold texts are also possible within the invoice Begin text and End text fields.
stampa fatture passo 8  

Unit price and Quantity with 4 or more decimals

You can enter unit prices and quantities with 4 or more decimals.
stampa fatture passo 9  

Deposit

You can enter a deposit already paid by the client.

Settings tab

Edit invoice dialog

 stampa fattura passo 1

  

Title for new estimates and invoices

You can define the title for new estimates and invoices.

stampa fatture passo 2

  

Manage views

You can select which views are enabled and change their name.

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Visible fields

You can select which fields are visible in the Invoice tab.
The option Fields not empty shows all fields that contain data.

 

 

Estimates and Invoices Dialogue Beta Release

The beta release of the Estimates and Invoices extension adds new and important functions to the application.
All major developments have been carried out and also tested. We invite everybody to test and give us feedback.

How to install it

Watch the video tutorial which shows you how to try out the brand new Beta version of the Estimates and Invoices extension.

  • Download and install the last Banana Accounting+
  • Open the Extensions menu > Manage Extension dialog
  • Select the Estimates and Invoices extension
  • Select the Beta release as preferred channel.

You can change the release channel at any time without data loss.

What's new

Released on 2025-07-01

  • Added Building Number field for compatibility with structured QR addresses.

Released on 2024-05-06

  • Fixed: Problem with decimals in the quantity column:
    • It is now possible to define a quantity amount without the decimals
    • Fixed a problem when entering a quantity amount with only one digit in the rows where there was already a description or date entered.
  • Fixed: Problem selecting items (with mouse) from combo box.
  • Fixed: Program warning when opening dialog.

Released on 2024-02-01

Released on 2024-01-16

  • Fixed problem with scroll
  • Fixed problem with HD monitors
  • Fixed problem while deleting invoices in table Invoices
  • Added column Payment term in days in table Contacts
  • Added column Currency in tables Invoices and Contacts

  Subtotals of items

Subtotals allow you to add partial totals to the invoice. For example, it is possible to insert a subtotal with labor costs and a subtotal with material costs.

To add a subtotal:

  • Go to the Settings tab > Item Columns section and switch on the column Type
  • Go to the Invoice tab
    • Add a new row
    • In the column Type select "Total", "Total 1" or "Total 2"
    • Enter the desired description for the total line.

Example:

Subtotals in the dialog

Beta subtotals of items in dialog

Subtotals on the invoice

Beta subtotals of items on the invoice

Upcoming new functionalities

  • Add status to the invoice (draft, sent, reminder1, canceled, ...)

Functionalities integrated in the standard release

  • Possibility to print reminders (Advanced plan)
  • Possibility to print delivery notes (Advanced plan)
  • Possibility to print more invoices in separated pdf files

Dialogue extension

The dialogue for entering invoice data is implemented via the Estimates and Invoice Dialogue Extension.

  • The extension is installed automatically when an Estimates and Invoice file is opened.
  • The extension is updated automatically when a new version of the extension is released.
    The dialogue can therefore change even if the Banana Accounting programme has not been updated.
  • To try using a development version of the extension, see Manage Extensions : Using a Development Version.

If you have the Advanced plan, you can edit the source code and upload your modified code on your instance to Banana Accounting+.

Feedback

We would appreciate every feedback about this new release.
You can send us your feedback through the contact form, please also include a short description about the context where your are using this extension.

 

Estimates Commands

With the Estimates and Invoices application you can also manage estimates.

The creation, modification, duplication and printing of estimates are handled exactly as the invoices.
Here is the dialog to create or edit Estimates:

From the Estimates table:

  • Create a new Estimate with the menu command Invoices > New estimate.​​​​
  • Edit an offer with the menu command Invoices > Edit estimate.
  • Duplicate an estimate with the menu command Invoices > Duplicate estimate.
  • Print an offer with the menu command Invoices > Print estimate.
  • Convert an estimate into invoice:
    • Via the Invoices menu > Create invoice from estimate command.
    • Or using the Create invoice button from the estimate creation / modification dialog (Invoices > Edit estimate)

The dialogue for creating and modifying an estimate is the same as that of the invoice. For more information visit Invoice dialogue.

How to customise your invoice

You can easily customise and adapt invoice printing to suit your needs.

Set your company address (sender)

In the File menu > File and accounting properties (Basic data) > Address , set the address of your company.

Set customer language

You can print invoices in the language of your customers. For each customer set the language in the Contacts table. You can also change it from the Edit Invoice dialog.

Retrieving customer addresses from Excel

When customer data are on an Excel file, they can be easily transferred to the Contacts table.

Proceed as follows:

  • Select from Excel the column with the data to be copied and use the Copy (Ctrl+C) command.
  • Go to Banana, Contacts table, position yourself in the corresponding column and issue the Paste (Ctrl+V or Paste) command from the Edit menu.
  • Repeat this operation for all address columns (Account, First Name, Last Name, Organisation, Street, Zip, Country Code, Language).
    The data corresponding to the mentioned columns are required for printing the invoice.
  • If you do not have all the columns mentioned in the Excel file, you must add the missing information manually.

Logo setup position and sender address

To set the logo, you must:

  • Upload the logo image in the menu File > Logo setup.
  • To use the logo in the invoice, in the Invoice Settings you must activate the Logo box and enter the name of the customisation you used, respecting upper and lower case, in the Logo Name field.

For example, you can place the logo on the left and the address on the right and change the size of the logo.

The address is automatically taken from the file basic data.

The sender's address, if the default settings are not changed, is entered on the right, regardless of the presence of the logo.

If you want to set the sender address on the left without any logo, please see the following page:

If you want to enter a different address, via the Invoice Settings:

  • Enter the texts you want using the Line 1 Text , Line 2 Text, Line 3 Text, Line 4 Text, and Line 5 Text.

Set the logo without the sender's address

On the Logo setup page you will find information on how to add and place the logo.

Through the Invoice Settings:

  • Uncheck the Page header option to exclude the address in the header from printing.
  • View the Logo option to include the logo in the printout.

Customise address in invoice header

The style of the sender's address in the invoice header (colour, size, font..) is set by default by the program.

The Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus allows you to customize the style of the address. For more information see the Examples page.

Set invoice information

Invoice information is information about the date, customer number, due date, etc., which is usually located just below the header and next to the customer address.
The CH10 and UNI11 layouts allow you to define which invoice information to include and which to exclude from printing. You can find instructions on the Invoice Settings page.

For the other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the information cannot be modified.

Add a new invoice information field

In addition to the default information fields (invoice number, date, customer number, etc.), you can also enter other custom fields.

In the Invoice section of the Invoice dialog:

  • Go to the Complete view (top).
  • Use the fields Additional info 1... Additional info 8 to add your own additional information fields.
  • In the Information section of the Invoice Layout settings, view the Custom fields field.
  • The new additional information fields are added at the end. It is not possible to change the order.

In the Settings section of the Invoice Dialog:

  • Edit the texts of the Invoice User Fields as you wish.
  • You can enter translations for each language.

Set the payment term

The payment term for invoices by default is 30 days.

To change the payment term you have two options:

  • Change the default settings for all new invoices.
    • Go to the Settings section of the Invoice dialog.
    • In the New documents > Invoice Payment term(days) section set the value you want (e.g. 10).
    • The invoice due date will be recalculated with the new payment term.
  • Change the payment term individually for each invoice.
    • Go to the Invoice dialog.
    • In the Due date field enter the payment deadline date (e.g. 31.12.2022).
    • The invoice due date will be replaced with the new payment term.

Set customer address position and composition

The CH10 and UNI11 layouts allow you to define:

  • The location of the customer address.
  • The elements of the address.

On the Invoice Settings page > Customer address section:

  • In the Address composition field:
    • Choose how to compose the address by entering the XML names of the columns in the Contacts table.
    • You can use only the following columns (XML names):
      NamePrefix, OrganizationName, FirstName, FamilyName, Street, AddressExtra, POBox, PostalCode, Locality, Region, Country, CountryCode.
    • Change the location of the address using the Move horizontally and Move vertically options.

For other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the location and composition of the customer address cannot be changed.

If you need more than one line to print your customer's address, see print customer/company address on four lines.

Set title/object

To enter the title/object of the invoice, you have two options:

  • Enter the text in the Invoice dialog > Object field.
    • For each invoice you can define a title.
    • If you leave the field empty, the default text is used.
    • This title always has priority over entering the title in the layout settings (see next point).
  • With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you can enter the text in the invoice Settings > Texts section > Invoice title.
    • The title applies to all invoices printed with this layout.
    • The title applies only if no title has been defined as per the first point.

Set initial text

To enter the title/object of the invoice, you have two options:

  • Enter the text in the Invoice dialog > Begin text field.
    • For each invoice you can define a title.
    • If you leave the field empty, the default text is used.
    • This title always has priority over entering the title in the layout settings (see next point).
  • With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you can enter the text in the invoice Settings > Texts section > Begin text.
    • The title applies to all invoices printed with this layout.
    • The title applies only if no title has been defined as per the first point.

Setting up the invoice details table

The Invoice Details Table is the central table in the invoice where the invoiced items/services appear, with quantities, unit prices, totals, etc.
Use the Invoice dialogue to enter items or other items to be invoiced.

See also pages:

Set invoice item columns

With the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, you decide which columns to display in the printout. See how to do it in the page Invoice Settings > Invoice Details.

For the other print layouts (CH01-CH09 / UNI01-UNI08), the columns are not editable.


Create a Credit Note

To create a credit note:

  • In the Invoices table, add a new invoice for the credit note.
    The invoice can be created as new or you can copy an existing invoice and then modify it.
  • Open the newly created invoice for editing.
  • Change the title/subject to "Credit Note."
  • In the details table, add a row and set the quantity with a negative sign. This way, the total for the row will be negative.
     

Set final texts

To enter the final text of the invoice, you have several options:

  1. Enter the text in the Invoice dialog > End Text field.
    • It is applied to any print layout.
    • The text is inserted just below the invoice details.
  2. Enter the text in the Invoice Print Dialog > Options section > Final text.
    • It is applied to any print layout.
    • If you have already entered text as per step 1, the new text is added right after the previous one.
  3. Enter the text in Invoice Settings > Texts section > End text field.
    • This text has priority over the text entered as per step 2.
    • If you have already entered text as per step 1, the new text is added right after the previous one.

Set bank account number

If you don't use the QR-Code, you need to enter the bank account number as a reference for the invoice payment.

You have three ways to enter the bank account number as the final text:

  1. Invoice dialog > End text field.
    • The bank account number appears in the printout only for the invoice you are creating/editing.
    • It is applied to any print layout.
    • The text is inserted just below the invoice details.
  2. Print Invoice dialog > Options > Final text.
    • In this case, the bank account is inserted in all invoices you create.
    • It is applied to any print layout.
    • If you have already inserted text as per step 1, in this case the new text is added right after the previous one.
  3. Invoice Settings > Texts > End text.
    • In this case the bank account is inserted in all invoices you create using this layout.
    • This text has priority over the text entered as per step 2.
    • If you have already entered text as per step 1, the new text is added right after the previous one.

Set IBAN for Swiss QR-Code printing

If you want to create QR invoices with IBAN account, you need to:

On the QR-Invoice with IBAN account page you will find more information for setting up QR-invoices with IBAN account.

Set up QR-IBAN for Swiss QR-Code printing

If you want to create QR-invoices with QR-IBAN account, you have to:

On the QR-Invoice with QR-IBAN page you can find more information about the settings of QR-invoices with QR-IBAN account.

If you wish to print an invoice without specifying the amount and address on the QR bulletin, you can find more information is available on the QR-Code Customization page, section Include/Exclude from printing.

Print QR form without amount and address

If you want to print only the QR-bill without amount and customer address, you have to:

See also how to print an Invoice without amount.

Set styles and colors

On the Invoice Settings page you will find instructions for defining:

  • Font and font size.
  • Colors.

Set Bold texts

In the Invoice settings page you will find information on how to apply bold style to invoice texts.

 Add images in Offers or Invoices

The Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus, with the new application Offers and Invoices, allows you to add images to the offers and invoices to be sent to customers.
This functionality makes the invoice even more customisable and the client who receives it has a more complete and direct vision of the invoicing of the items.

See our information pages on how to add images:

 Print customer/company address on four lines

When the addressee is a company with several sectors/departments or a customer living in a housing complex with interiors, it may be necessary to have several lines available for printing the address.
This option is only available with the Advanced Plan of Banana Accounting Plus.

To activate the possibility of printing the recipient address on several lines, proceed as follows:

  • Update extensions from the Extensions menu > Manage extensions > Update extensions.
  • Open the invoice under Edit and in the Settings dialogue > Address section, make the fields Sector 1 ... 4 visible for the Basic view.

 

  • Possibly switch from the Basic view to the Complete view without making the fields visible (in the Complete view all fields are visible).
  • In the invoice address, enter text in the sector fields.

 

  • In the print layout settings, add the Sector fields to the customer address composition.
    The content will be as follows:
    <OrganisationName>
    <OrganisationUnit>
    <OrganisationUnit2>
    <OrganisationUnit3>
    <OrganisationUnit4>
    <NamePrefix>
    <FirstName> <FamilyName>
    <Street> <AddressExtra>
    <POBox>
    <PostalCode> <Locality>

 

  • If you wish to take these fields automatically from the Contacts table, add columns OrganisationUnit2, OrganisationUnit3 e OrganisationUnit4 to the Contacts table.

Other resources

Customize Address, Logo, Footers

Use Sub-Totals

Subtotals allow you to add partial totals to the invoice. For example, it is possible to insert a subtotal with labor costs and a subtotal with material costs.

To add a subtotal:

  • Go to the Settings tab > Item Columns section and switch on the column Type
  • Go to the Invoice tab
    • Add a new row
    • In the column Type select "Total", "Total 1" or "Total 2"
    • Enter the desired description for the total line.

Example:

Subtotals in the dialog

Beta subtotals of items in dialog

Subtotals on the invoice

Beta subtotals of items on the invoice

Upcoming new functionalities

  • Add status to the invoice (draft, sent, reminder1, canceled, ...)

Print estimates and invoices

With the Estimates and Invoices application, included in Banana Accounting Plus, invoice printing is highly customisable and adaptable to all requirements.

Invoice printing is done from the menu Invoices → Print Invoice.

This command creates a print preview of the invoice. Directly from the preview, by clicking on the settings symbol (cogwheel) in the toolbar, you access the following dialogue box:

  • Print Invoices dialogue. From this dialogue box you can do various things:
    • Set the layout to be used for printing the invoice.
    • Access the layout settings to customise the printout.
    • Change the print settings.
    • Export the invoice in pdf or other formats.

With the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus it is also possible to print several invoices at the same time and obtain single PDFs for each of them! For more information visit the page Print invoices or customer statements as separate PDFs.

Print layout and customisation

The printing of the offer or invoice is highly customisable for several reasons:

For more information on customisation, please consult the following pages:

To print the contents of the Contacts, Items, Invoices, Estimates and VAT Codes tables, proceed as follows:

  • Position yourself on one of the tables whose data you want to print.
  • Go to the menu File → Preview/Print.

A PDF is displayed with a list of the data contained in the various columns of the chosen table.

Print Invoices dialogue

You can access the invoice printing dialog from the Print Preview by clicking on Settings (cog wheel symbol).

To access the print preview, you have three options:

  • From the Invoices menu > Print Invoice command.
  • From the Print button of the invoice creation/editing dialog.
  • From the Invoices table, by clicking on the small Print Invoice icon at the top of the Id column cell (invoice number).

The program directly displays a preview of the invoice, using the default layout [CH10] Invoice layout with Swiss QR code.

With the Advanced plan of Banana Accounting Plus it is also possible to print several invoices at the same time and obtain single PDFs for each of them! For more information visit the page Print invoices or customer statements as separate PDFs.

Once you have chosen the printing options, with the OK button the invoice is previewed.

stampa fatture clienti

Print tab

Invoice numbers

You can print single or multiple invoices:

  • For single prints, indicate the number of the invoice.
  • For multiple prints, indicate the numbers of the invoices  between commas "1,3,6".
  • To print a range ( from..to..) indicate the numbers separated by hyphen "1-3" .
    If the invoice itself contains a '-', for example if you have an invoice number '2016-1', this must be enclosed in brackets {}, to distinguish the numbering of a range of documents {2016-1}-{2016-3}.

Invoices from

This option allows you to print all invoices included in the selected period. You need to enter an initial and final date.

Unprinted invoices

Invoices where the InvoicePrinted column of the Transactions table is empty are printed. All unprinted invoices are therefore printed.

Layout

This option allows you to change the layout of the invoice. A number of predefined layouts are available.

Layout Preferences

Requirements for using layout preferences:

This option allows you to set the preferences offered by the selected layout.
If a layout with no preferences is selected, this section is not displayed in the dialogue box.

  • Print as
        You can select the type of document you wish to print, the choices are:
    • Automatic: Print the document in invoice format.
    • Delivery note with amounts: Print the document as a delivery note.
    • Delivery note without amounts: Print the document as a delivery note, without showing the amounts and the total.
    • Invoice: Prints the document in invoice format.
    • Order confirmation: prints the document as order confirmation.
    • 1st reminder: Prints the document as first reminder.
    • 2nd reminder: Print the document as second reminder.
    • 3rd reminder: Print document as third reminder.

The chosen document type is not saved for the next time, instead it is set to "automatic" again.

Layout preferences are offered by the following layouts:

Additional layouts

This button redirects you to the Manage Extensions dialog, where you can install new templates, update existing ones with the latest versions, or add your own custom templates.

Settings

Allows you to set the parameters of the selected print layout. Each layout has its own customizable settings. Visit the Invoice Settings page for more information on customizing the CH10 layout.

Update the InvoicePrinted column after printing

You can make this column visible by using the Data menu → Columns setup command.

The program will update the content of the column Printed after the print preview, adding the text 1. This will allow the Select unprinted invoices command to only print the invoices with no content in this column.

Options tab

In this section you can add specific texts for each language, for example, to indicate final greetings or bank details for payment. Depending on the language of the customer, the program will display at the end of the invoice the texts saved for the indicated language.

Only one type of text can be entered, one for each language.

The texts entered in this section will be included in the printing of all invoices, with whatever printing layout is used.

To add a final text:

  • Invoice menu > Print Invoices.
  • Select from the Settings icon (cog wheel symbol) > Options section. Enter the desired text.
  • Confirm with OK.

The entered text will appear in the print preview of the invoice.

Printing invoices, Option section

Save Invoice as PDF

Invoices can also be saved in PDF format so that they can be conveniently sent via email.:

  • From the Print preview Invoices > Print Invoices > OK
  • select Create PDF from the toolbar

Print Invoice

Once the print preview is displayed, to print the invoice:

  • Go to the Print icon on the toolbar (above).
  • Or save the PDF and print it.

Print Reminders

Banana Accounting Plus, with the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, also allows you to print reminders.

Requirements for using layout preferences:

On the basis of the Invoice data entered in the Invoices table, reminders can be printed.

How to print a reminder

In the Invoices table select the row where the invoice for which you wish to print the reminder is located and proceed as follows:

  • From the menu Invoices > Print invoices
  • Select Layout CH10 or UNI11
  • Under Print as, select one of the following options:
    • 1st reminder
    • 2nd reminder
    • 3rd reminder
  • Confirm with OK

print invoice reminder

Print customization

All settings that characterise the CH10 and UNI11 layouts are also retained in the call-out printout.

To change the settings, go to Print Layout Settings.

Under Texts > Reminder you can define the start and end texts in the reminder

Print example:

reminder preview example

Print delivery notes

Banana Accounting Plus, with the CH10 and UNI11 layouts, also allows delivery notes to be printed.

Requirements for using layout preferences:

Delivery note data are entered in the Invoices table, as is the case for invoices.

If the data on the invoice match those on the delivery note, the same data can be used for both the printing of the delivery note and the invoice.

How to print a delivery note

In the Invoices table select the row where the delivery note to be printed is located and proceed as follows:

  • From the menu Invoices > Print invoices
  • Select Layout CH10 or UNI11
  • Under Print as, select:
    • Delivery note with amounts
       In this case, amounts in the details and total amount are included in the bulletin.
    •  Delivery note without amounts
      Only the details of the dispatched goods are displayed in the delivery note, without any amounts.
  • Confirm with OK.

Print customization

All settings in Layout CH10 and UNI11 are also retained when printing the delivery note.

To change the settings, go to Print Layout Settings.

Under Texts → Delivery Note you can define the initial and final texts in the delivery note.

Print example:
delivery note preview example

Archiving Invoices

With the Offers and Invoices application you can archive your offers and invoices at any time of the year. The file in which the invoice data is entered remains the same over the years.

Archive invoices individually

If you want to archive one or more invoices individually, proceed as follows:

  • From the Invoices table go to the Archive view.
  • In the Archive date column, enter the date of when you wish to archive the invoice.
  • Archive the invoice with the command Invoices > Archive data > Archive table data.

Archive invoices for the year

To archive invoices for the entire year, proceed as follows:

  • From the Invoices table go to the Archive view.
  • In the Archive Date column, enter the date 31.12 in the first line and copy and paste on all lines.
  • Archive the invoice with the command from the menu Invoices > Archive data > Archive table data.

Invoice archive

In the invoice archive you will find all archived offers and invoices.

Archived invoices are displayed in the Archive (Invoices) table and removed from the Invoices table.

The Archive (Invoices) table:

  • Is displayed automatically when archiving invoices.
  • If you close the table, use the command from the menu Invoices > Archive data > Show archived data to display it.

Archiving Table Data

This feature is available in Banana Accounting+ Dev Channel.

Data from the following tables can be archived:

  • Contacts
  • Items
  • Invoices
  • Estimates

To archive table data:

  • Position yourself in the table where there is data to archive.
  • Activate the Arch. Date column.
  • In the Arch. Date column, enter the date of when you want to archive.
  • From the menu Invoices > Archive Data > Archive table data, choose the table with the data to be archived.

The programme creates the Archive table where all archived data (Contacts, Items, Invoices or Estimates) are stored.

Viewing Archived Data

This feature is available in Banana Accounting+ Dev Channel.

Archived data is saved permanently in the Archive table.

To view the tables with archived data

  • From the menu Invoices > Archive data > Show archived data
  • Choose the table with archived data to display

The programme shows the Archive table where all archived data (Contacts, Items, Invoices or Estimates) are stored.

New year

In the Estimates and Invoices application, it is possible to have all invoices created from one year to the next in a single file, without having to create a new file for the new year.

If, however, you wish to have separate invoices from one year to the next or not display the invoices from the previous year, there are two possible solutions:

1.  Archive the registered invoices to empty the Invoices table

  •  From the Invoices menu, choose the option Archive data > Archive table data. More information can be found on the page Archiving Invoices.
  • Archived invoices are displayed in the Archive (Invoices) table and removed from the Invoices table.

2.    Create a new file by making a copy of the previous year

  •  Start from the current file and from File in the menu, click onto Save As command, naming the new year.
     You can also create a copy of the file from the menu, Tools > Create file copy command.
  • In the Invoices table delete all rows where the previous year's invoices appear

For the Estimates and Invoices application, on the topic Create New Year, new developments will be possible in the future.

Import and Export

Estimates and Invoices Tools

Import/Export Estimates and Invoices

You can use the Estimates and Invoices Tools extension to import or export the following data from Banana:

  • Invoices
  • Offers

The imported/exported file format is described in the Estimates and Invoices Tools .

Import/Export Contacts and Items

You can use the "Data" menu to import or export the following data from Banana: 

  • Contacts
  • Items

The imported/exported file format follows Text file with columns header.

 Using catalogues for invoicing

It is possible to integrate product catalogues into the Estimates and invoice application. Companies can make catalogues available to their dealers so that they can prepare estimates and invoices more easily.
If you have any questions about this, please contact our customer service.

 

Serial invoices

With the Estimates and Invoices Application, you can quickly create serial invoices from a data list in Excel. It is ideal for sending bulk invoices to clients or members of an association.

  • Enter the data in Excel.
  • Import it into Banana Accounting Plus using the import functions.
  • Create and print the invoices.

Prerequisites

To create serial invoices with the Offers and Invoices Application, you need to:

Create Serial Invoices

Serial invoices can be created as follows:

  1. Install the Offers and Invoices Tools extension.
  2. Create the Offers-Invoices file and enter the basic data.
  3. Create and import the contacts.
  4. Create and import the invoices.
  5. Print the invoices.

Install the Estimates and Invoices Tools Extension

Launch Banana Accounting Plus and install the Estimates and Invoices Tools extension.

From the menu Extensions > Manage Extensions, search for Estimates and Invoices Tools among the online extensions and click on Install.

Create the Estimates-Invoices File and Enter the Basic Data

There are two ways to prepare the file:

  • Create a new file from the menu File > New, select the region and language, select the type Estimates and Invoices, select the blank template.
  • Use your existing Estimates and Invoices file.

In the menu File > File Properties (Basic Data) > Address section, set the address of your association, which will appear in the invoice header.

If you have a logo you want to use, refer to the Logo setup page.

Create and Import Contacts

Contact data can be created using an Excel file. In this file, all the data is entered and then subsequently imported into Banana. There are two ways to do this:

Method 1

The first method is described on the page Retrieving data from Other Programs > One-Time Data Importing using Excel.

  • In Excel, arrange the columns exactly in the same sequence as they appear in the Contacts table of Banana accounting.
  • Select the data in Excel that you want to copy and use the Copy command (Ctrl+C or Copy from the Edit menu).
  • Go to Banana accounting and issue the Paste command (Ctrl+V or Paste from the Edit menu).

Method 2

The second method uses the Import Rows command from the Data menu.

  • Download the specific Excel file to enter the contact data.
    • The file is already set up with the necessary columns for entering the data.
    • Row 1 contains the column headers. This row should not be deleted, and the column names should not be changed.
    • The subsequent rows are example contacts.
    • To enable editing of the file, click "Enable Editing" in the yellow bar at the top.
  • Open the file and enter the address data of your contacts in the appropriate columns. The columns are as follows:
    • RowId: The unique ID of the contact.
    • OrganisationName: The name of the organization or company.
    • FirstName: The first name.
    • FamilyName: The last name.
    • Street: The street.
    • PostalCode: The postal code.
    • Locality: The place.
    • CountryCode: The country code.
    • LanguageCode: The language of the contact used to create invoices. The invoice texts are printed in the defined language (it=Italian, de=German, en=English, fr=French).


       
  • Save the file
  • Select all the rows and use the Copy command (Ctrl+C or Copy from the Edit menu).
  • Import the contacts into Banana accounting.
    • In Banana accounting, open the Estimates and Invoices file type.
    • Select the Contacts table.
    • From the Data menu, select the Import Rows command.
    • In the dialog that opens, check the option Import data from clipboard, then confirm with OK.

Create and Import Invoices

Invoice data can be created using an Excel file. In this file, all the data is entered and then subsequently imported into Banana accounting.

  • Download the specific Excel file to enter the invoice data.
    • The file is already set up with the necessary columns for entering the data.
    • Row 1 contains the column headers. This row should not be deleted, and the column names should not be changed.
    • The subsequent rows are example invoices.
    • To enable editing of the file, click "Enable Editing" in the yellow bar at the top.
  • Open the file and enter the invoice data in the appropriate columns.
    • For more information on the columns, see the Column paragraph of the Estimates and invoices import page.
    • Each row represents an invoice.
    • You can enter an invoice with multiple items. For each item, add a row to the invoice (see example in the image, rows 5-6).


       
  • Save the File.
  • Convert the Excel invoice file into one of the two required formats (*.csv or *.txt) to import the data into Banana Plus.
    • Open the Excel file with the invoice data.
    • Click on File > Save As.
    • Choose the option CSV (Comma delimited) if you intend to use the *.csv format; or choose Text (Tab delimited) if you intend to use the *.txt format.
    • Save the file (once the file is created, it's advisable not to open it to avoid making any changes, even unintentional ones, that could compromise the import into Banana Plus).
  • Import the Invoices into Banana.
    • In Banana Accounting Plus, open the Estimates and Invoices file type.
    • Select the Invoices table.
    • From the Extensions menu, select Estimates and Invoices Tools > Import Invoices.
    • Select the *.csv or *.txt file you saved.
    • A dialog will show the changes that will be applied to the Banana file. Confirm by clicking OK.
    • In the Invoices table you see the rows with the imported invoices.
      If you do not see the imported invoices (you only see blank rows), use the command from the Invoices > Recalculate All menu.

Print Invoices

See how to print invoices and customize the print settings.

Error Messages and Troubleshooting

Per eventualFor any error messages encountered during the import process, refer to the documentation on Error Messages and Troubleshooting.

 

Inventory in Banana Accounting+

The Inventory management system enables control over available quantities, total value, as well as details of purchased and sold goods.

It is also the ideal solution when selling goods online because thanks to the virtual warehouse, you can keep track of goods to be shipped and goods received, and even manage more complex workflows.

The Inventory management application is very easy and intuitive to use. It manages essential warehouse activities but it is a separate application which does not have any connection to the accounting file or the invoicing.

Recording movements

The Transactions Table is the core of the application, allowing you to enter incoming and outgoing movements for each individual item, with quantities and prices. You can specify the source warehouse (location) from which the item originates and the destination warehouse it is intended for. You can also include descriptions and annotations.
The program keeps the quantities updated, and if you make a mistake, you can modify the transactions to always maintain an accurate situation.

articoli/conti magazzino

The Items table

All the items in the warehouse are defined in the Items Table. Each item has an ID and a description. You can group items into categories and subcategories. In the Items Table, the program also displays the available quantities and other information that is updated based on the movements.
There are several columns available, and the display can be customized. You can also add new columns from the Data > Columns setup menu. Various parameters are defined for each item, which are then reflected in the Transactions Table.

items-inventory

Once the parameters for each item have been defined, recording merchandise movements becomes very fast. You simply need to enter the item ID in the Transactions Table and input the quantities. All the other values are automatically filled in.

Managing customers, suppliers and projects

With the Inventory application, you can add columns and tables to input information about the customers to whom the merchandise is sold and the suppliers from whom the merchandise is received. Additionally, columns can be used to manage projects related to the merchandise.

Using the Extract Rows function, you can display operations performed with customers, suppliers, and for projects.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Advanced Functionalities page.

Multiple and virtual warehouses

To manage merchandise that arrives or is shipped from branches, the Locations Table is used, where the location of each warehouse is indicated. In the case of your company having warehouses in various locations, you can specify which warehouse the merchandise enters or exits from, or keep track of which warehouse the merchandise is shipped to customers from.

The Locations Table can also be used for other purposes by changing the header. One practical use could be to record the movements of keys in the management of a block of flats, by setting the names of the tenants.

Additionally, you can manage an online shop, and in this case, the Locations Table is used to indicate virtual warehouses.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Advanced Functionalities page.

Printouts

All data contained in the various tables can be printed, either in its entirety or by selection. Before printing, you can customize the columns.

To to carry out the printing:

  • Journal
    By selecting the Print option from the File > Print  menu while in the Transactions Table, you will be able to print all the warehouse movements in the desired chronological order.
    print journal
  • Items Cards
    To print article data click on the menu Report > Item Cards
    One or more item cards can be selected for printing. Item cards can be printed according to the following groupings:
    • Group
    • Location
    • Period

print transactions

Many advantages

Automated calculations and specific functions keep your work to a minimum, saving you time and energy:

  • You have accurate stock control at all times:
    • Initial values and quantities.
    • Current values and quantities.
    • Separate columns for incoming and outgoing items.
    • Unit and total prices.
    • Single item card.
    • Group of items card.
    • Item and group cards by location.
  • You can search for items immediately and, if they are no longer available, you can replace them with others.
  • Corrections are possible at any time.
  • Indication of which warehouse goods enter or leave from and the exchange of goods between locations.
  • Export to PDF for archiving data.
  • Import of data from other programmes in Text, Ascii and CSV format.
  • Columns for archiving products that are no longer available.

 Features currently not available

The Inventory application was conceived as a powerful yet easy-to-use tool, which works independently from the other Banana applications.

Its main element is the ease of use, so we have refrained from loading it with too many functionalities. 

Here are some of the features that, although requested by some users, are not available at the moment:

  • No connection to the accounting file. The transactions of purchase and sales invoices in the accounting file do not update the data in the warehouse. The data in the warehouse file must be updated manually.
  • Calculation of cost prices and margins
        In the Items table, unit prices must be entered manually.  
    • Users expect the programme to calculate cost prices and margins automatically. There are very different calculation systems (average price, LIFO, FIFO). We thought about evaluating this functionality within the Items table, but we saw that it would make the programme too complex and it would be very difficult to cover all requirements anyway.
    • We are considering adding specific printouts. We welcome suggestions and possible simple solutions from you users. It would be very helpful if you could send us an Excel file of how you would like the report and which methods and calculations you would use to calculate the prices.
  • Printing of stock situation at a specific time (end of month).
  • Print warehouse overlook by location.
  • Create a new year.

It is possible that certain functionalities will be added in the future.
In all cases we appreciate your suggestions.

Further information:

How to start an Inventory file

To create an Inventory file, you must have Banana Accounting Plus installed and follow the steps described below.

Create a new file

For a quick and easy start, we recommend starting with one of our predefined templates and then customising it, rather than starting with a blank file.

Take the following steps:

  • Menu File > New
  • Select Region and language
  • Select the Inventory type.

Set the basic data

Via File > File and accounting properties ... (Base data) set up your inventory data.

Set up the Articles table

In the Items table set the list of all your items.

For each item you must enter:

  • The Id to identify the item. You can use numbers, letters or both.
  • The description.
  • The initial quantity.
  • Initial price.
  • Unit price.

Once the data has been entered, the program automatically updates the values of all the columns of the Items table.

Set up the Locations table

If your company manages several inventories located in different locations, you can manage the incoming, outgoing and transfers of items for all inventories by setting the locations. You will be able to find out how many items with their relative values are in each inventory and evaluate whether it is necessary to transfer the goods from one inventory to another depending on the stock and sales requests.

In the Locations table you must enter:

  • the Id to identify the location
  • The description

Enter the movements of the articles

In the Transactions table enter purchases, sales and any transfers from one inventory to another.

  • Enter the date
  • Enter the date
  • The quantity in or out

Everything is done! The columns of the values will be updated automatically, at the same time also in the Articles table.

Item cards and reports

From the Report menu, Item cards you can get the cards of each item individually, by selection or for all items.

You can also get reports by item group and also by inventory location. The options are found in the Inventory cards dialog.

File properties

In the menu File → File properties (Basic data) set the data of your inventory.

Proprietà file magazzino

File base data

Enter the inventory header.

Address

Enter the inventory address.

Other

The Other section contains the following options:

Current language
Is the current language of the inventory file.

Creation language
It is the language in which the inventory file was created.

Extensions
Link to any extensions for custom reports.

Password

Enter any password to make the file more secure.

Texts

To make changes to the texts and keys of the inventory application.

Items table | Inventory

In the Items table, enter all the inventory items which need to be managed, along with their respective quantities and purchase values.

Create the items list 

In the Items table, all the available items in the warehouse are recorded. Each item is entered individually on each row. To total the amounts for a group of items, a totalization group must be entered.

The group is defined in the Group column, at the end of the list of items of the same category. The group number must be reported in the Sum in column for each item.
For further information on the grouping system, please refer to the Grouping System page

You can create further groups of items depending on your requirements.

To complete the registration of the items it is necessary to enter:

  • The Id to identify the item.
  • The description.
  • The initial quantity.
  • The initial price.
  • The unit price.

Items table columns

The command Data > Columns setup allows you to add additional columns as needed (for example, an additional description or product expiration date).

Default columns:

Columns marked with "*" are protected and calculated by the program.

  • Links
    Link to a digital document.
  • RowGroup
    Column and row to enter the totaling group of a given set of items.
  • RowId
    Enter a value (number, letters or both) to identify the item.
    When it is entered in the Transactions table, the item description and unit price are automatically added.
  • Description
    Enter a text for the description of the item.
  • Sum in (in the arrange columns it is written RowGroupIn)
    Enter the totaling group for each item in this column.
  • Notes
    You can insert texts for annotations on items or for other needs.
  • Account
    Enter the account present in the main accounting file that refers to the item.
  • ReferenceUnit
    Insert an abbreviation to indicate the unit (eg pcs to indicate the pieces).
  • QuantityBegin
    Enter the initial quantities referring to the total.
    If you want to manage separate quantities by locations, leave this column blank, and enter the initial quantities as entry transactions, with the corresponding location.
  • UnitPriceBegin
    Initial unit price
    If you want to manage separate quantities for locations, leave this column blank and enter initial quantities as entry transactions, specifying the respective location.
  • *Valuebegin
    Initial item value calculated by multiplying the Initial Quantity and Initial Unit Price.
  • *QuantityPlus
    Total quantity of items resulting from the sum of the Quantity Plus in the Transactions table. Both the positive and negative values are added. The internal movements between two locations are not added up, when there is TransferId indicated.
  • *QuantityMinus
    Total quantity of items resulting from the sum of the QuantityMinus in the Transactions table.Both the positive and negative values are added.The internal movements between two locations are not added up, when there is TransferId indicated.
  • *QuantityChange
    Difference between the item's inbound and outbound quantities.
  • *QuantityBalance
    Quantity of items currently in stock. Sum of the starting quantity and the Quantity change.
  • UnitPrice
    Unit price of the item, must be entered manually:
    • When the purchase value of an item changes compared to the initial price, it must be updated in this column.
    • This value is used in the Transactions table to calculate the value of incoming or outgoing goods
    • Updates the total value of the item based on the quantities in stock.
  • *AmountTotal
    Amount calculated by the program based on quantities and unit price. (last purchase price)
  • ItemQuantityEffective
    For insertion of actual quantity when inventory has been done.
  • ItemPriceEffective
    The actual quantity multiplied by the actual price.
  • *ItemValueEffective
    The actual quantity multiplied by the actual price

Transactions table

This is the table where the movements of the items are recorded:

  • Purchases
  • Sales
  • Transfers from one warehouse to another, in case you are running several warehouses.

By inserting the movements, the Items table is also automatically updated, in relation to the quantities and corresponding values of the items.

If several warehouses (headquarters and branches) are run simultaneously, the ID codes, set in the Locations, can be recorded, which will refer to the places where the warehouses are located, in order to keep track of the internal movements of the articles.

The ID abbreviations must be entered in the Locations and Transfer columns of the Transactions table. If they are not visible, they can be displayed via the Data → Columns setup menu.

registrazione articoli di magazzino

Transactions table columns

  • Links
    Link to a digital document.
  • Date
    The date of the operation.
  • Doc.
    Document number (e.g. delivery note number).
  • ItemsId
    Numeric or alphanumeric value to identify the item.
  • ItemsDescription
    Text taken automatically from the Id column of the Items table for the description.
  • Description
    Text to be entered for the description of the items.
  • Notes
    In the column you can enter notes about the items or for any other requirement.
  • QuantityPlus
    Value to indicate the quantities of incoming items, purchased or transferred from other inventories.
  • QuantityMinus
    Value to indicate the quantities of items that are outbound, sold or transferred to other inventories.
  • ReferenceUnit
    Abbreviation to indicate the type of unit.
  • UnitPrice
    The price of the item with which the total value of the items is calculated, based on quantities.
  • AmountTotal
    Total value of the items purchased, sold or transferred.
  • LocationsId
    Identification of the place where the Inventory is located and from which the items enter or leave.
  • LocationsDescription
    Name of the place where the inventory is located, from which the items come in or out.
  • LocationsTransferId
    Code of the place where the inventory is located for which the items are intended.
    It works the opposite way to the LocationsId.
    • If there is an entry to LocationsId, there will be an exit to LocationTransferld.
    • If there is an exit from the LocationsTransferId there will be an entry.
    • If LocationsTransferId is indicated, but the LocationsId is left empty, the program will still consider it as an internal movement without a specific LocationsId.
  • LocationsTransferDescription
    Name of the place where the inventory is located, from which the items arrive or leave, to or from another inventory.

Locations table

The Locations table is used when the company has goods in different places or to keep track of incoming goods, goods to be shipped, etc. (see virtual warehouses below). You can also use locations to know if you have given goods on consignment, loan, or for other purposes.

In order to take into account the total number of items in and out of all inventories, by entering the ID for the locations in the Transactions table, in the columns Location and Transfer all the values of the items are known, also for a single warehouse and the relative movements.

Refer to the Transactions table for further information.

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Places table columns

  • RowId
    Identification of the location where the inventory is located.
  • Description
    Name of the location where the inventory is located.
  • Notes
    You can insert text for notes.

Locations and Virtual Warehouses

The Locations table is used to indicate where the warehouses are located, including virtual ones.

You can also set up virtual warehouses to keep track of orders or other purposes. For example:

  • To Ship
    For ordered products waiting to be shipped.
  • To Pick Up
    Products the customer needs to collect.
  • To Reserve
    Waiting for the customer to decide whether to place the order.
  • Incoming
    Products that have been ordered from the supplier and are awaiting arrival.
  • Returns
    Products the customer has indicated they want to return.
  • Trial
    Products provided to customers for testing, which have not yet been sold.

By using virtual locations, you can also manage more complex workflows, for example simulating that goods are in production, quality control, etc. See Advanced features.

Recheck everything

The program recalculates, double-checks and displays any errors or differences.

The command is available from the Actions menu > Recheck all...
Use this command whenever you are in doubt that there is a problem.

Inventory reports

Everything you see on video can be printed as a report, since, after each transaction, all values are updated.

You can print the table data from the File menu → Print command. Data can also be exported in PDF, Excel, XML, HTML, TXT and JsonCsv formats.

Reports are run from the Reports menu → Item cards command. You can obtain:

  • Journal of a selected item or items.
  • Complete journal of all items.
  • Journal of items of a particular inventory location, in case there are multiple locations.

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Inventory report

inventory report

Note

To obtain the total of the articles for each location and the final balance of the articles, you need to group by article and by location.
If you want to manage separate quantities by locations, enter the initial quantities as entry transactions, with the corresponding location and don't use the column Quantity Begin in the Items table.

General

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Filter

By entering the name of the item, a list of all items with the same name appears. The items of interest can be selected from the list or, by activating All, the journal with the values of all the items will be displayed.

Grouping by

Item

If this option is chosen, the tabs of all items or only those selected are displayed.

Location

If this option is chosen, the item cards related to the selected inventory location are displayed.

Display only totals

When this option is activated, the item cards are displayed with totals only.

Period

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All

All item movements are included.

Period selected

It means the specified period, indicating the start and end date.

In this case, the items relating to the selected period are displayed.

 

 

Customization

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Name

Enter text to define the name of the custom report.

Description

Enter a text for the description of the custom report.

Options

If one or more options are activated, the custom report will be displayed as follows:

Show this window every time

The custom report is displayed in the dialog box and can be edited.

Show in menu

The customized report is displayed in the Items cards menu.

Show in 'Favorites' menu

The customized report is displayed in the Favorites menu.

Read only

The custom report is in read-only mode.

Printout examples

Journal per Item

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Journal per Items
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Journal per Location

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Journal per Locations

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Inventory application advanced functionalies

The warehouse application can also be used for very advanced purposes.

Customer / project management

To find out to which customers a product has been sold or given, you can proceed as follows:

  • Add a column in the Transactions table, where you enter the name of the customer / project.
  • Add a table where you list the customers and assign a code.
    • Add a column in the Transactions table that is linked to the customer.

You can add as many columns / tables as you wish to keep track of projects, suppliers or other.

To filter the transactions carried out by a customer, go to the Transactions table and in the column Customers or Projects, use one of the following commands: Extract and sort rows; right-click on the customer cell and choose Extract rows; use the filter function.

 Online Shop / Virtual Stores

If you operate an online shop, you can use the Locations table to define virtual warehouses, where you can indicate the goods to be shipped, incoming, reserved, etc.

Here some cases:

  • Online purchase of goods by a customer.
    • As soon as the order is received, you record a movement between the physical warehouse and the virtual warehouse called "Dispatch".
    • When the goods are then physically dispatched, you record the outward movement from the warehouse called "Dispatch".
  •  Ordering goods from a supplier.
    • When you order goods, you record an incoming movement to the virtual warehouse called "Arrivals".
    • When the goods arrive, record the movement from Arrivals to the main warehouse.

By creating other virtual locations, you can also manage more complex workflows.

Importing data

With the import command you can take data from other programmes, in any of the following ways:

Aplicación de Hoja de Tiempo gratuita

La Hoja de tiempo de Banana Accounting es una aplicación gratuita, incluida en Banana Accounting, que te permite planear y gestionar tus horas trabajadas.

Consiste en una tabla con varias columnas y cálculos ya establecidos para adaptarse a todas las necesidades. Dependiendo de tus necesidades, las columnas de tu elección pueden ser mostradas.

▶ Video: Timesheet (English)

Inicio inmediato gracias a las plantillas

Si necesitas empezar inmediatamente, puedes usar una de las plantillas preestablecidas, con columnas ya establecidas:

  1. Registros sistemáticos - se indican las horas de inicio y fin del trabajo, como, en términos generales, lo exige la ley.
  2. Registros simplificados - indican las horas diarias trabajadas (con la configuración de las horas debidas).
  3. Pago por hora - indica las horas diarias trabajadas (sin ajustes de las horas debidas).

Completo y flexible

Con la Hoja de tiempo puedes planear y gestionar:

  • Horas trabajadas.
  • Horas extras trabajadas.
  • Horas de proyecto.
  • Viajes y reembolsos.
  • Ausencias, vacaciones y permisos.
  • Discrepancias entre las horas programadas y las completadas.
  • Traspaso de datos al año siguiente (vacaciones pendientes y tiempo no remunerado).
  • Impresión de informes mensuales.

Para poder crear y utilizar la Hoja de tiempo, tendrás que Configurar el archivo Hoja de Tiempo:

time sheet preview 

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Encabezado

Los datos de la cabecera de la Hoja de Tiempo se obtienen de los introducidos en el menú
Archivo → Propiedades de archivo (datos básicos) → Hoja de tiempo

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Programa el horario de trabajo

Puedes planificar tus horas de trabajo introduciendo las horas transferidas del año anterior, los días de trabajo, los días festivos y las horas de trabajo pendientes en el siguiente menú
Archivo → Propiedades de archivo (datos básicos) → Inicio

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Fechas, vacaciones y días festivos

Puedes definir el período y personalizar las vacaciones y los días no laborables. Utiliza la Tabla diario de la Hoja de Tiempo, columna Festivo.

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Datos de Hoja de tiempo

Introduce los datos de la hoja de tiempo, registrando tus horas de trabajo, ausencias y planificando tus vacaciones día a día. En la Tabla Diario de la Hoja de Tiempo introduce tus datos.

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Revisa

Mantén el control de los totales y los saldos de las horas trabajadas, los pagos pendientes, las ausencias y las vacaciones.

Characteristics of the Time Sheet

The Time sheet is the new Free Banana Accounting Plus application that allows you to easily manage your working hours and instantly know the situation of hours worked, overtime, holidays, absences.

To start, just download and install Banana Accounting Plus and, when creating a new file, choose the Time sheet template.

Multiple automations to allow for quick and easy management of hours .

  • Software available free of charge, to work on any operating system, including mobile.
  • Easy to use and implement solutions, no login and password required.
  • Each employee keeps the file on their computer or mobile device.
  • Fully adaptable to the requirements of the employee and the company.
  • Great time savings and calculation errors are avoided.
  • File templates available with the calendar of the current year.
  • Powerful and automated calculation system.
  • Uniformity of calculations. All calculations are based on hours and minutes and this makes it possible to adapt to every case and requirement.
  • Balances and totals updated instantly by day, month and year.
  • Data entered in predefined columns, for results that are always ordered and clear.
  • Forecast for working hours.
  • Management of project hours.
  • Hours worked and indication of less or more hours worked and progressive balance.
  • Indication of the holidays taken and remaining, with carry over to the following year.
  • Possibility of coding other useful information for the company (projects, expenses, notes).
  • Complies with the regulations of the European Court of Justice and Swiss regulations.

journal time sheet

How to keep the hours

The Time Sheet supports different data collection methods:

  • Systematic collection.
    Enter the work start and stop times and the program will calculate the hours worked. Display the Start1-Stop1, Start2-Stop2, ... , Start5-Stop5 columns where you can enter the times of beginning and end.
  • Simplified collection.
    Indicate the hours worked in a day, 
    Display Work1 and Work2columns to enter the hours worked of the day.
  • Mixed collection.
    You can enter both the time of beginning and end, or the time worked.
    Display the Start and Stop columns and the Work columns. 

Accurate and uniform calculations for every use

The time sheet always uses the hour and minute format (for example: 8:15). Holidays and absences are also indicated daily with hours and minutes. This allows for easy and accurate management of situations with irregular working hours, or that are subject to change.

The totals are also always shown in hours and minutes. This uniformity allows an exact overview of one's work situation, fully compliant with legal regulations, and avoids discussions between employee and employer regarding the calculations.

Below is an overview of how data entry and calculations take place.

  • Expected working time (hours due)
    For each single day of the week, the exact number of hours and minutes of work expected can be indicated. The program indicates the expected total of hours per week. The working hours can also be changed only temporarily (for example change of hours during only one week).
  • Hours worked
    The daily working hours can be entered with taking up work or leaving time(s), or even as a total of hours and minutes or a combination of both. The program then calculates the total number of daily hours worked.
  • Extra hours for nightshift or holidays
    They can be specified both as hours and minutes and as a percentage; the program then calculates the total.
  • Holidays
    They are indicated in hours and minutes for the entire year. It's simple, just multiply the total hours per week by the number of vacation weeks. The program calculates the remaining holiday balance which will be accurate to the minute, even if the working hours are variable.
  • Absences due to illness, military service or any other kind
    They are also referred to as hours and minutes. The program then calculates the total number of absences per day.
  • Total hours
    This is the sum in hours and minutes of hours worked, supplements and absences. The program calculates the daily difference between the hours due (expected) and the total. There is also a progressive counter of the differences so that you have an instant view of the hours balance.
  • Columns related to time counters
    The program will calculate the monthly and yearly total, displayed in hours and minutes format, so that you have complete control and consistency of calculation.
  • Hours in decimal format
    When entering hours, you can also indicate a decimal number (8.50) and the program converts it to hours and minutes (8:30).
  • The Time sheet also displays some totals in decimal hour format, so as to simplify the insertion into other programs.
  • The monthly report presents the totals of the daily and monthly hours.
  • Print extensions allow you to total and view working time in any other format.

File and data saving

Based on columns such as Excel

The Time Sheet has a Journal table with columns already set up, where you can write down your working hours (start and end time), holidays, overtime or any sick leaves, day by day.

Error reporting and control

Monthly Printouts and Reports

  • Printable ledger as seen on the screen, or by selection.
  • Monthly Report.

Exporting, Importing and Archiving data

Comprehensive documentation

 Features currently not available

These features, although requested by some users, are not available at the moment:

  • Possibility to include the logo on the printout of the monthly report, as well as an indication for the signature, and to be able to select the columns to be printed.
  • No link with billing. Working hours must be reported manually in the billing

 

How to start a Time Sheet

To use the Time sheet, Banana Accounting+  has to be be downloaded and installed. In the free version, the Time sheet is in unrestricted mode.

For a quick and easy start of the Time sheet, we recommend opening one of our templates.

Banana Accounting includes three types of template with preset columns:

  1. Systematic records - the start and end times of work are indicated, as generally required by law.
  2. Simplified registrations - enter the daily hours worked (with due hours setting).
  3. Hourly wages - the daily hours worked are indicated (without setting hours due).
In our example we use the template of the Time sheet with systematic registration .
 

Setting up your Time Sheet file

Proceed as follows to set up your file:

  • File menu → New
  • Select the Region/Language
  • Select the Category -> All or Other
  • In the Search area, type Time Sheet, or activate under Type -> Time Sheet. The program displays the available templates.
  • In the section on the right, select the desired template.
  • By double clicking on the name of the selected template or on the Create button, the program will directly open the file.
  • Save the file under a new name.

start time sheet

Setting up your data

initiate time sheet

Set working hours as per contract

  • Set the weekly working time via the File → File and accounting properties → Start .
  • The cells of the Report are intended for unpaid hours of work and for hours of unused holidays carried over from the previous year.
  • Enter working hours for each day and define working days, festive days and holidays. These settings are displayed in the Journal table.

initial data time sheet

Recording work time

In the Journal table you enter the daily data, the time of start and end of work, the hours of absence due to illness, holidays and leave. The data can be modified and entered as required.

  1. Write down the hours of vacation you are entitled to in the current year.
  2. Include, edit, add, personalize any holiday if needed.
  3. Enter your daily hours of work, sickness, vacation, etc.

start time sheet journal

  • The first row of the Report shows the hours of holidays not taken from the previous year, present in the Start dialog.
  • In the Start row of the first day of the month, you enter the hours of annual holidays to which you are entitled, as per contract.
  • Non-working days are distinguished in blue, while holidays are in red.
  • The program calculates on the basis of the data entered, the daily and monthly totals of the Due, the difference between the hours worked and those due and the progressive.
  • In the window below, the balances of the weekly hours due and worked and the balance of the holiday hours are reported automatically.

Printing your end of month report

Using the Reports → Monthly Report...  command, the program calculates and displays a summary report of the selected period with the main columns to be used.

print monthly time sheet

For more detailed information and specific examples of the Time sheet application, please refer to the following pages:

 

 

File properties - Time Sheet

Via the File menu → File and accounting properties ... → Time Sheet tab the following data must be set up:

Enter into the Timesheet tab:

  • Name and Surname.
  • Start and End date
    You can enter any period of your choice.
  • Work percentage
  • Any other available data.

time sheet properties

 

Journal table of the Time Sheet

In the Journal table you enter the daily data of the Time sheet, which can be modified and entered according to your own requirements.
Thanks to the rows and columns with totals, it allows for an instant overview of the situation.

The Journal table includes several columns to suit all needs. Depending on your needs, the columns of your choice can be displayed.

time sheet journal

 

Typology of rows, colors, and formats

When creating a new file, the rows of the Journal are generated automatically by the program. When using an existing template, they will already be predefined.

Daily rows

Daily rows are used for entering your data.

  • Normal rows - refer to rows for working hours.
  • Rows in red - refer to official holidays
  • Rows in blue - refer to non working days.
  • Rows high-lighted in yellow - refer to the current date.

Multiple rows for a day

By duplicating the day row, you can enter additional information about the same day, such as timetables by project, annotations, or other.
To differentiate between the following rows, the Day description is slightly indented.

Carried forward, Start, Total and Balance rows

The Carried forward, Start, Total and Progressive row are indicated in bold character.

  • The Carried forward row will automatically display holidays and hours belonging to the previous year, that were entered via File property > Start.
  • The Start rows refer to the start of the year and month.  Enter the initial values for holidays and hours.
  • The Total rows refer to the end of the year and month. The total of columns are automatically reported and totaled here.
  • The Balance rows are automatically calculated by the program and will the progressive value of the columns that contain data.

Journal table view

The Journal table is created with a series of columns that will cover the major part of your requirements.
Predefined columns are displayed, depending on the view you select:

  • Base - displays the main principal columns.
  • Minimal - displays the columns to enter your data.
  • Complete - displays all available columns of the Journal.

 

The columns of the Journal table

The columns in the Journal table can be customized according to your requirements.

Via Data > Columns setup you can display further columns or hide those you don't need, change existing headers, add your own columns and change the format.

In the columns, the program always works with hours and minutes, eg. 8:30 means 8 hours and 30 minutes:

  • Internally, the values are saved as seconds and then displayed in the hours and minutes format.
  • When entering schedules, the times are rounded to the minute.

Section

The column is protected. It is used by the programme to make a distinction between rows used for data entry and system-specific rows.

Rows used for data entry and editing (working hours, absences, holidays, etc.) have an empty cell in the Section column.

System-specific rows, used by the programme to make calculations, have a special identification code in the Section column cell.
This code must not be changed, otherwise the sums may be wrong.
Examples of codes used: AllStart, YearStart_2020, MonthStart_202001, MonthTotal_202001, MonthBalance_202001, SpaceAfterMonth_202001.

The value is an identification code consisting of several elements:

Period
  • All - Refers to year rows.
  • Year - Refers to year rows.
  • Month - Refers to the month rows.
  • Week - Refers to the week rows.
  • Day - Refers to the day rows.
Type
  • CarryForward - Carry-forward rows of hours and holiday balances from the previous year. Carryovers are automatically inserted by the programme in the file's Properties, for both positive and negative values.
  • Start - Start Rows. To enter start values (planned holidays, holiday adjustments).
  • Total - Rows where totals are indicated. They are summed in the total rows (daily time columns, Start and CarryForward adjustments).
  • Balance - For the holiday balance. This is the difference between the sum of the holidays, found in the CarryForward and Start rows, and the sum of the daily holidays.
  • SpaceAfterMonth -To indicate that there should be an empty line (year, month or day to which the identifier refers).

Date

Protected column. Is used for entering the date of the day.

 Festive

Column for setting the day. If the cell remains empty, the value set in the File Properties is taken over, or the value defined with the W code (see below).

The possible values are:

  • Blank - business day.
  • 0 - to set the current day as a holiday (row displayed in red).
    If it is a day that is generally considered as a "public holiday", but on which you are required to work, you must enter "working".
  • 1 - to set the current day as non-working (row displayed in blue).
  • 2 - to set the current day as a working day. Overrides the default value.
  • [0] - festive day set automatically, as per the File Properties. No value is indicated in the Due column.
  • [1] - non-working day set automatically, as per the File Properties. No value is indicated in the Due column.
  • W0 - to set the current day as festive. On the same day, in the following weeks it will be automatically set with the  (0) value.
  • W1 - to set the current day as non-working day. On the same day, in the following weeks it will be automatically set with the (1) value .
  • W2 - to set the current day as a working day. On the same day, in the following weeks it will be automatically set with the (2) value.
  • WR - to reset the current day with the value indicated in the File Properties.
  • WA - to reset the current day with the value indicated in the File Properties. On the same day, in the following weeks it will be set automatically with the value indicated in the file properties.

Day description

Column used by the program for automatic insertion of the name of the day, based on the date.
If you want a text other than that reported by the program, insert a text preceded by the # character (eg #Christmas, #National holiday).

Description

Column for entering an additional description.

Code1

Column to indicate any customer, project or other number.

Work1 and Work2

The columns Work1 and Work2 are used in particular to register working hours in the Time Sheet - Systematic 2023 template. Furthermore, in the Banana Accounting Plus version they can be used to enter special working hours (e.g. nights, holidays).
Supplement columns are also used in parallel with these columns (see explanations below).

Start1, Stop1, Start2, Stop2 ...

These columns allow entry and exit times to be entered. There can be several entries and exits on the same day.
The programme calculates the time of attendance and adds up in the columns Total and Difference.

Sick leave

Column for entering the hours of absence due to illness.

Holiday

Column for entering holiday hours.

Service

Mandatory absences, such as military service, community service or other, can be entered.

Adjustment

Column for entering an adjustment value.

Other

Other types of absence, not indicated in the Service or Sick or Holiday column, may be entered.

Absence

Protected column. It is used by the programme to automatically calculate the sum of absences.

%Surcharge

You can enter the percentage of supplementary work that is paid differently.
If you do both hours without supplement and hours with supplement on the same day, you must enter the times on two lines:

  •  Add day row
  • The first line indicates the work (start and end) normally.
  • On the second line you indicate the supplementary hours and the appropriate percentage.
    If you want the daily total directly in the table, you must add a daily total row.

Surcharge calculated

The column is protected. It is used by the programme to calculate theovertime, indicated in the Supplement or Supplement % column.

Surcharge total

The column is protected. It is used by the programme to calculate the total additional time, indicated in the Surcharge or Surcharge % column.
This value is added to the Total Hours column.

Total

The column is protected. It is used by the program for automatic entry of the sum of working hours, overtime, absences and adjustments.

Due Code

The column is used, in case of need, to change the value of the Due (hours of work due).
If it is left blank, the Due value is automatically resumed day by day based on the settings in the File → File Properties → Start menu.
If you wish to change the Due value from the Journal table:

  • Reset due.
    Codes to be entered in the Due Code column to reset the daily due from the row in which you are. The new value must then be entered in the Due column.
    • DS (Set Today) - Set the due hours of the current day, without changing the other days.
    • WS (Set Week Day) - Sets the hours due for the day and for the same day of the following weeks.
    • PS (Set Predefined) - Sets the due hours for the day and for all subsequent days without a different setting
  • Daily Due Reset Codes
    • WR (Reset Week Day) - Reset the default value for the day of the week.
    • WA (Reset All Week Days) - Resets all the default values for the days of the week.
    • PR (Reset Predefined) - Reset general default. Removes the default value set previously.
    • PA (Reset Predefined and Week Days) - Reset the general default and those of the week. It is like starting everything anew.
  • Progressive reset code
    • RP (Restart progressive) - Restarts the value of the Progressive column from zero. You insert this code in the beginning of month row, when all hourly salaries, when all the hours of the previous month have been paid.

Due

The column is protected. The program automatically calculates the difference between the hours worked and those due. At the end of the month and year, the totals of the Due are also reported.

  • If there are no values in the Due Code column, the program resumes, the values present in File Properties - Start in the Due Code column.
  • If codes are entered in the Due Code column (see previous paragraph), the program calculates the due based on these codes.
  • All rows that have 0 (holiday) or 1 (non-working) in the Festive column, the cell will remain empty in the Due column.

Difference

The column is protected. The program automatically calculates the difference between the hours worked (Total) and those due (Due). At the end of the month and at the end of the year, the totals of the difference are also reported.

Progressive

The column is protected. The program automatically calculates the difference between the hours worked (Total) and those due (Due). At the end of the month and at the end of the year, the totals of the difference are also reported.

Worked

The column is protected. It is used by the program for the automatic calculation of the sum of the hours worked.

Detail

The column is protected. It is used by the program to automatically display work details (eg projects). Also see details in Managing projects.

Surcharge

You can enter the additional working time paid differently, in hours and minutes. It can also be used to manage reclaims or penalties for delays or other.

Split1 and Split1

Columns that can be used to track hours invested in projects.

Hours in decimal format

You can also enter the hours in digital format (1.5 = 1:30).

  • If you enter a value preceded by the sign ">" or "<" (greater or lesser), the program considers it as a decimal value and converts it to hours and minutes:
    • "<1.50" is converted to 1:30
    • "<1.75" is converted to 1:45 an hour and three quarters.
  • In the hour counter, enter the number of hours with the decimal separator. For example, if you enter 1.75, the program displays the value in hours and minutes (1:45).

Display in digital format

  • The info window also indicates the value of the hours in decimals.
  • In the monthly printout certain values are also referred to as decimals (this is because payroll programs often work with decimals).

Speed up insertion

  • Go to the current day.
    • The row of the current day is the one marked in yellow.
    • Actions → Go to today menu.
  • Enter the time of entry and exit.
    • With the "." computer time is entered.
    • If for example, you enter +5 or -5 (or any other number), the program displays the current time with 5 minus plus minutes to the computer time.
  • Copy from the previous week.
    Using the Actions → Copy menu, the times of the previous week are resumed.
  • Take over the value of the previous row.
    Use the Actions → Copy menu from above (or button F4 or Cmd 4).
  • Vacation or Absence Auto-Completion.
    Go to cell modification (with a space) and the program suggests the hours due, minus the hours already performed.

Hour column blocks

The hours columns of the Journal table are organized into blocks, as explained below.

Hours worked columns

These are the columns used to indicate the daily working hours. The working time carried out in the day can be entered in two ways:

  • As hours worked - data is entered in the Work1 and Work2 columns.
    In the Banana Accounting Plus version, all columns of the hour counter type starting with TimeWork are considered hours worked.
  • As time of entry and exit - data is entered in the columns Start1, Stop, Start2, Stop2, etc.
    The program will calculate the time elapsed.

Total hours worked

In the Total hours worked column, the hours indicated in the hours worked columns and those indicated as Start and Stop times are summed.

In the Banana Accounting Plus version there is also the total Detail column. If the Row Type contains the value "D", the working hours are summed in the Detail column and not in the Total column. 

Extra hours

These columns are only available in the Banana Accounting Plus version.
They are used to insert surcharge hour. For example, in the case of holiday or night work which involves a surcharge.
The Extra Total is the sum of the extra hours, indicated as hours, and those calculated as a percentage.

Absences

Absences are entered in the Sickness, Holidays, Service or Other columns, as appropriate.
These hours are totaled in the Absence column (TimeAbsenceTotal) and then in the Total column. When calculating the difference between the hours due, absences are considered as paid.
In the Banana Accounting Plus version all the time counter columns starting with TimeAbsense are added to the total absence. The user can add absence columns for other cases.
If you need to keep track of the absences that do not have to be added to the Total hours, you have to add columns of the Hour counter type.

Adjustments

This column is used for accounting adjustments, as in the case of extra hours having been made and paid; then to scale them from the total, enter the value with the negative sign in the Adjustments column.

The Total hours

Is the sum of the total hours, considered as hours to be counted and as part of the amount due. It includes the following columns:

  • Total hours worked.
  • Total supplements.
  • Totale absences.
  • Adjustments.

Hours due

The Spreadsheet allows you to indicate the hours due. In the case of a Fixed rate salary contract, the hours of the working days are indicated per contract.
In the case of hourly wages, without a fixed number of hours included in the contract, the hours owed part is generally not used.

The employee's daily working time is indicated in the Due column. The value is indicated on the basis of various parameters (see columns of the Journal table):

  • The working hours settings, indicated in File properties → Start.
  • The Festive column.
    The program completes the value due only for the days indicated as Business.
  • The Due Type column
    By indicating a code, the content of the Due daily column can be set differently.

Difference and Progressive hours

In the Difference column, the program indicates the difference in hours between the Total and the Due.
In the Progressive column, the program indicates the cumulative difference.
If no Due has been indicated, the Progressive corresponds to the sum of the hours worked. This value can be reset by inserting the RP (Progressive Restart) code in the Due Type column.

Split

They are information columns that are used to indicate hours allocated to projects.

Journal Table - Additional Columns

In Banana Accounting Plus columns have been added for the calculation of the supplement (festive, night) and for the management of multiple lines for the same day.

Detail

The column is protected. It is used by the program to automatically display work details (eg projects). See Project management.

Surcharge

You can enter the additional work time paid differently, in hours and minutes. It can also be used to manage recoveries or penalties for delays or other.

%Surcharge

You can enter the percentage of additional work that is paid differently.
If both hours without supplement and hours with supplement are worked on the same day, the times must be entered in two lines:

  • Add day row
  • The first row will indicate the work (start and end) normally.
  • The second row will indicate the extra hours and indicate the appropriate percentage.
    If you want the daily total directly in the table, you will have to add a row for daily total.

Surcharge calculated

The column is protected. It is used by the program to calculate the overtime, indicated in the Supplement or Supplement% column.

Total Surcharge

The column is protected. It is used by the program to calculate the total overtime, shown in the Supplement or Supplement% column.
This value is summed in the total hours column.

New user columns

You can add columns which are then totaled into groups. The Xml name of the column must be of type time counter and must start as follows:

  • TimeWork. Added to the total work.
  • TimeSurchargeManual. Added to the total work.
  • TimeAbsence. Added to the total absences.
  • TimeSplit. Summed in the TimeSplitTotal if existing.

You can define the columns to indicate the hours of a project, also added up in the TimeWork, or, the hours of absences for training or other, considered absences and counted in the total absences.

Working Times and Hours

The program always works with hours and minutes, 8:30 means 8 hours and 30 minutes.

  • Values ​​are saved internally as seconds and then displayed in the hour and minute format.
  • When entering timetables, time is rounded to the minute.

Hours in decimal format

The hours can also be entered in digital format (1.5 = 1:30).

  • If you enter a value preceded by the sign ">" or "<" (greater or lesser), the program considers it as a decimal value and converts it to hours and minutes:
    • "<1.50" is converted to 1:30
    • "<1.75" is converted to 1:45 one and three quarters.
  • In the hour counter, enter the number of hours with the decimal separator. For example if you enter 1.75, the program displays the value in hours and minutes (1:45).

Display in digital format

  • The info window also indicates the value of hours in decimals.
  • In the monthly printout certain values ​​are also indicated as decimals (this is because payroll programs often work with decimals).

Speed ​​up insertion

  • Position yourself on the current day.
    • The row of the current day is the one in yellow.
    • Utilities menu → Go to day.
  • Enter the time of start and stop.
    • With the "." computer time is entered.
    • If you enter +5 or -5 (or any other number) the program displays the current time with 5 minutes more or less than the computer time.
  • Copy from the previous week.
    Using the commands menu Actions → Copy, the times of the previous week are resumed.
  • Returns the value of the previous line
    Use the commands menu Data → Copy from above (or the F4 or Cmd 4 button).
  • Vacation or Absence Auto-Completion.
    Go to cell modification (with a space) and the program suggests the hours due, minus the hours already performed.

Hour column blocks

The hours columns of the Journal table are organized in blocks, as explained below.

Hours worked columns

  • Data is entered as hours worked in the Start1 and Start2 columns.
    In the Banana Accounting Plus version, all columns of the hour counter type starting with TimeWork are considered hours worked.
  • As time of entry and exit - data is entered in the columns Start1, Stop1, Start2, Stop2, etc.
    The program calculates the time elapsed

In the Experimental version there is also the total Detail column. If the Row Type contains the value "D" the working hours are added together in the Detail column and not in the Total column.

Total hours worked

The hours indicated in the hours worked columns and those indicated as start and stop times are totaled in the Total hours worked column.

In the Banana Accounting Plus version, there is also the total Detail column. If the Row Type contains the value "D", the working hours are summed in the Detail column and not in the Total column. 

Extra hours

These columns are only present in the Banana Accounting Plus version.
These columns are used to insert hour supplements. In the case, for example, of work on holidays or at night which involves an increase.
The Extra Total is the sum of the extra hours, indicated as hours, and those calculated as a percentage.

Absences

There are the Sickness, Holidays, Service or Other columns, where absences are entered.
These hours are added up in the Absence column (TimeAbsenceTotal) and then in the Total column. When calculating the difference between the hours due, absences are considered as paid.
In the Banana Accounting Plus version all the time counter columns starting with TimeAbsence are added to the absence total. The user can add absence columns for other cases.
If you want to take note of absences that do not have to be added to the hours Total, you have to add columns of Hour counter type.

Adjustments

This column serves for accounting adjustments, as in the case where extra hours have been made and these are paid; then to scale them from the total, enter the value with the negative sign in the Adjustments column.

Hours Total

It is the sum of the total hours, considered as hours to be counted and as part of the amount due. It includes the following columns

  • Total hours worked
  • Total hours supplements
  • Total absences
  • Adjustments

Hours due

The Spreadsheet allows you to indicate the hours due. In the case of a contract with a Fixed salary, the hours of the working days are indicated per contract.
In the case of hourly wages, without a fixed number of hours included in the contract, the hours owed part is generally not used.

The employee's daily working time is indicated in the Due column.The value is indicated based on various parameters (see Journal table):

  • The working hours settings are indicated in File properties→ Start.
  • The Festive column.
    The program completes the value due only for the days indicated as Business. 
  • The Due Type column
    By indicating a code, the content of the Due daily column can be set differently.

Difference and Progressive hours

In the Difference column, the program indicates the difference in hours between the Total and the Due.
In the Progressive column, the program indicates the cumulative difference.
If no Due has been indicated, the Progressive will be the sum of the hours worked. This value can be reset by entering the RP (Progressive Restart) code in the Due Type column.

Subdivision

These information columns are used to indicate hours allocated to projects.

Managing holidays with the Time Sheet

Holidays are designated in hours and are entered in the Holiday column of the Journal.

Holidays carried forward

When creating a new year via File and accounting properties ... → Start, any holidays to be carried forward from the previous year must be indicated.

The value is indicated automatically in the Carry forward row of the Holiday column.

Paid holidays or paid leaves, as defined by contract

If some holidays are already included in your schedules :

  • Indicate the number of hours of paid holiday in the Start year (for example, Start 2020) initial row.
    • Enter the number of paid holiday hours, as per your contract, in the Holiday column.  (ex. for 20 days of 8 hours, enter 160, or 80 hours in case you would work part-time at 50%).
  • Paid leave days, considered as holidays:
    Enter the amount of hours you are entitled to (days x daily hours) in the Start Month row .

Setting up holidays and paid leaves

The start rows are used to indicate the number of holidays granted in hours and minutes. You may indicate the holidays either in the Start year or in the Start month row. 

If a person is entitled to 4 weeks of holidays and works 40 hours a week: 40 * 4 = 160. This value will be indicated in the Start year row.

If the hours of allocated holidays changes during the year, enter the number of hours as plus or minus (negative sign) in the available Start month row, Holiday column.

The Holiday column is also used to indicate paid leaves.

Completed and paid holidays

Completed or paid hours of holidays are indicated In the Holiday column of the daily rows. 

Remaining holidays

The hours of remaining holidays is indicated in the Total row and calculated automatically.

When holidays are paid:

  • In the start row of the following month enter the vacation hours paid with a negative sign.
  • For example, indicate "Payment Holidays" in the Notes column.

Changes during the year

If working hours are changed during the year or there are any interruptions that change the holiday hours, these must be calculated and changed manually.
Plus or minus differences can be entered in the line at the beginning of the month where the change occurs.

 

Enter your work schedule

Working hours and other data are entered in the Journal table.

In the Carry forward row, the programme reports the holiday hours from the previous year, entered in the File and Accounting Properties > Start dialogue.

Giornale foglio ore inizio

In the Journal table, data can be edited and entered as required.

  1. Write down the holiday hours to which you are entitled in the current year.
  2. Include, edit, add, customise any holidays if required.
  3. Enter your daily working hours, sickness, holidays, etc.

 

Print your monthly report

If you go to the Reports menu > Monthly Report..., you can immediately generate, print and save a complete monthly report.

stampa foglio ore mensile

Useful links

Report and Timesheet Actions Menu

Working with the Banana Accounting Time sheet can be optimized, via different functions in the Reports and Actions menus.

Reports Menu

The Monthly Report command is activated via the Reports menu, to create the monthly report of working time and other data entered in the Journal (holidays, absences, other) month by month.

Actions Menu

The following commands can be activated in the Actions menu:

Go to today

Positions the cursor on today's row.

Recheck all... (F9)

The program recalculates, double-checks and displays any errors or differences.
Use this command whenever you are in doubt that there is a problem.

Sort Journal

Sort the rows by date.

Check-in or Check-out

Inserts the current time in the selected cell. Alternatively, you may type "." (point without quotes) in the selected start or end cell.

Fill Day (from last week)

Resumes work and absence time of the current day with the values of the day of the previous week.

Fill Week (from last week)

Resumes work and absence time of the current week with the values of the respective days of the previous week.

Add row day

Adds a row successive to the selected one and with the same date. Use this to enter additional daily values.

Add row total day

Adds a row, where daily values will be totaled.

Create rows for period ...

Add rows (daily, start, total, balances and carryovers) based on the selected period. All rows of the Journal will be sorted by date. 

Create New Year

The command creates a new Timesheet file for the following year, transferring the initial values of the vacation balance and hours from the previous year into the new file.
Warning! When creating a new year, public holidays are not flagged. It is necessary to manually modify the days that are marked as holidays.
 

To avoid manually handling holidays, we recommend downloading the template file with the holidays already set according to the country. In this case, you will need to manually enter the vacation and hour balances in the File Properties > Start section (File menu). See How to start.

Import Time sheet

Takes over values from an external time sheet. You indicate the file from which to recover the values and specify which values to recover.

The program searches the imported file for rows with the same date and section, and resumes these values.
If there are multiple rows for the same date in the imported file, these values after the first line are not imported.
The dialog box allows you to choose one of the following options:

Import festive only

It only imports the values from the Festive column.

Import all values

It imports the Festive, Notes, Worked, Absences, Adjustment, Due and Subdivision values.

Inserimento valori

Ore nel formato decimale

Il programma lavora sempre con ore e minuti 8:30 significa 8 ore e 30 minuti.
Si possono però anche inserire le ore nel formato decimale (1.5 = 1:30).

  • Se si inserisce un valore preceduto dal segno ">" o "<" (maggiore o minore), il programma lo considera come un valore decimale  lo converte in ore e minuti:
    • "<1.50" viene convertito in 1:30
    • "<1.75" viene convertito in 1:45  un ora e tre quarti.
  • Nei contatore ore inserire il numero delle ore con il separatore decimale. Per esempio se si inserisce 1.75, il programma visualizza il valore in ore e minuti (1:45).

Visualizzazione nel formato digitale

  • Nell'info Windows viene indicato anche il valore delle ore in decimali.
  • Nella stampa mensile certi valori sono anche indicati come decimali (questo perché i programmi dei salari lavorano spesso con i decimali).

Velocizzazione inserimento

  • Posizionarsi sul giorno corrente
    • La riga del giorno corrente corrente è quella in in giallo.
    • Menu Utilità -> Vai a giorno.
  • Inserisci l'ora di entrata e uscita.
    • Con il "." viene inserita l'ora del computer.
    • Se inserisci +5 o -5 (o qualsiasi altro numero) il programma visualizza l'ora attuale con 5 minuti in più o in meno rispetto all'ora del computer.
  • Ricopia dalla settimana precedente
    Usare i comandi menu Utilità1-> Ricopia si riprendono orari della settimana precedente.
  • Riprende il valore della riga precedente
    Comando Riprendi da sopra (o il bottone F4 o Cmd 4)
  • Autocompletamento Vacanze o Assenza
    Andare in modifica della cella (con uno spazio) e il programma suggerisce le ore dovute, meno le ore già eseguite.

Gestione progetti

Il Foglio ore si presta bene anche per prendere nota delle ore lavorate su progetti.

Nella Versione Experimental sono state aggiunte ulteriori possibilità proprio per facilitare la gestione dei progetti.

Il Foglio di calcolo offre diverse possibilità, si deve scegliere quella che fa al proprio caso, eventualmente combinando gli approcci. .

Attribuire i tempi con le colonne suddivisioni

Con questo approccio, la tenuta delle ore avviene normalmente con le normali colonne (Lavoro o ora entrata e uscita). Nelle colonne Suddivisioni indichi le ore da attribuire a un determinato progetto.

  • Ci sono due colonne predefinite per la suddivisione e puoi ovviamente aggiungere altre colonne (Tipo contatore) per altri progetti. 
  • Nelle righe di totale si ha poi la somma per ogni progetto.
  • Nella riga Riporto puoi inserire manualmente il riporto per ogni progetto. 

Nella versione Experimental se aggiungi una colonna con il nome TimeSplitTotal, di tipo contatore tempo, il programma somma tutte le colonne il cui nome campo XML inizia con TimeSplit.
Se vuoi il totale giornaliero di tutti le suddivisioni, quando aggiungi una nuova colonna dagli il nome XML che inizia con TimeSplit (per esempio TimeSplitP1, TimeSplitProjectX).

Inserire le ore nelle colonne Lavoro (TimeWork)

Puoi usare le colonne Lavoro1 e Lavoro2 per inserire le ore lavorate al progetto. Le ore del progetto andranno a sommarsi alle ore di lavoro giornaliero.

Nelle righe di totale avrai la somma di ogni progetto.

Nella versione Experimental se aggiungi delle colonne di tipo contatore tempo,  che iniziano con TimeWork, verranno anche queste sommate nella colonna Lavoro totale. Hai la possibilità quindi di aggiungere quante colonne progetto ti servono.

Più righe giornaliere per lo stesso giorno

Nel Foglio ore puoi avere diverse righe dello stesso giorno.

  • Puoi creare una riga per ogni progetto. Se sullo stesso giorno lavori su più progetti dovrai aggiungere una nuova riga, con la stessa data del giorno.
  • A partire dalla seconda riga dello stesso giorno, la descrizione risulterà leggermente rientrata.
  • Per aggiungere una nuova riga puoi usare la funzione duplica riga.
  • Nella versione Experimental c'é il comando per aggiungere una riga giornaliera e anche la riga di totale giorno.

Righe di Dettaglio

Nella versione Experimental è stata aggiunta una colonna RigaTipo. Se in questa colonna inserisci il valore "D" (Dettaglio), le ore di lavoro inserite in questa riga, sono sommate nella colonna Dettaglio totale, invece che nella colonna Totale.

Nella riga giornaliera normale inserisci le ore di lavoro effettive, anche con ora inizio e fine.
Nelle righe supplementari di Dettaglio, inserisci le ore per i singoli progetti. Puoi indicarli come ora inizio o fine o anche inserendo le ore nella colonna Lavoro (TimeWork).

Se usi le colonne TimeWork è meglio non usare delle colonne diverse per inserire le ore effettuate e quelle dei progetti, in questo modo nel totale giornaliero o mensile avrai le somme separate.

Stampe

Per il momento non vi sono ancora stampe che raggruppano i valori per progetto inseriti su righe diverse. Si prevede che verranno create in futuro.
Se sai programmare in Javascript puoi creare delle stampe come desideri e anche metterli a disposizione di altri.

Aggiunta Tabella Progetti, Categorie

Nella Versione Experimental puoi aggiungere delle Tabelle Progetti e Categorie, dove indicare l'elenco progetti.

Nella tabella Giornale ti troverai una colonna dove, per ogni riga, inserire il codice del progetto o della categoria.

Puoi anche aggiungere altre tabelle e collegarli con la tabella Giornale, per codificare altri valori.

 

New year's Time sheet

To create the Time sheet file for the new year, there are two options:

  1. Download the Time sheet Template with Predefined Holidays for the New Year.
  2. Use the Create New Year Command from the Actions Menu.

New Year Time sheet from Default Template

This is the recommended procedure. The template already includes predefined holidays according to the country.

In this case, you need to:

  • Start Banana Accounting
  • Go to File > New
  • Choose Time sheet as the file type
  • Select one of the proposed templates as the Time sheet

new timesheet

There are the following predefined templates:

Time Sheet - Systematic Recording

This model is ideal for those who need to record work hours by specifying the start and end times for all working days defined in the Basic settings (Menu File > File Properties (Basic Data) > Start section).

In the Journal table of this model, there are the following main columns:

  • Start, Stop, Due, Difference and Progressive
    By entering the start time and end time in their respective columns, the program automatically calculates and inserts the hours worked, the difference between the hours worked and the hours due, and the balance of hours in the Progressive column. If the balance is negative, the hours worked are less than the hours due; conversely, if the balance is positive.
     

Time Sheet - Simplified Recording

This model is ideal for those who record the total hours worked daily without specifying the start and end times.

In the Journal table of this model, there are the following main columns:

  • Work 1, Work 2, Due, Difference, and Progressive.
    Unlike the systematic recording model, the start and end times are not entered; instead, the total hours worked are recorded. The program automatically fills in the Due column (for the hours of work required by the contract), the Difference column (between the hours worked and the hours due), and the Progressive column (for the balance of hours).

Time sheet - Hourly Wage

This model is to be used in cases where work is paid by the hour without a fixed salary. Therefore, in the Basic settings (Menu File > File Properties (Basic Data) > Start section), the Start dialog remains empty without indicating the hours due.

The columns are identical to those in the Time sheet - Systematic Recording and Time sheet - Simplified Recording templates. The difference lies in the Progressive column because, starting from February, the Due Code column contains the code RP (Restart Progressive) to ensure that the Progressive column resets and does not display the balance of hours, as payments are made monthly.

Once the template is saved with a name, it is necessary to manually carry over the balances for overtime and vacations from the previous year.

  • Menu File > File Properties (Basic Data) to enter the employee's data.

New Year Timesheet Using the Create New Year Command

This procedure involves creating the new year's timesheet starting from the previous year's file:

  • Open the previous year's Time sheet file.
  • Menu Actions > Create New Year.
  • Save As the new Time sheet.

In this case, the balances for overtime and vacations from the previous year are automatically carried over to File Properties (Basic Data) > Start section (Menu File). The initial data is also carried over to the initial rows of the Journal table, where you need to enter all the hours for the vacation days to which you are entitled in the Start row.

Attention: Public holidays are carried over as they were in the previous year. Therefore, it is necessary to verify all holidays and correct them manually.

 

Printouts

Print Journal table

When using the File → Print ... command, you can:

  • Print all the rows of the Journal table.
  • Print the selected rows of the Journal table.

Monthly report

Using the Reports → Monthly report ... the program will calculate and display a summary report of the selected period including the main columns used

  • If you want to change the column headers in the printout, you have to change them in the Journal table. They will be resumed automatically.
  • The program prints the default columns.
    For the moment it is not possible to print other columns when printing the monthly report.

print monthly hours report

 

Fixed Rate Salary

With the free Banana Accounting Plus Time Sheet, you can easily start entering work times, your holidays and absences and instantly know the totals and balances of all the data.

According to what is stipulated in the contract:

  • Set the due working time (agreed) and include holidays.
  • Actual working hours and absences are entered.
  • The program calculates the daily and progressive balance.

All values, time due, hours worked, absences and holidays are entered and displayed as hours: minutes (eg 10:30).
This unified approach allows you to enter data quickly and instantly and be in control of the situation.
The values entered are checked by the program. If you enter an incorrect value, it will show instantly. 

Setting up the due time

The Time Sheet, in File Properties - Start, allows you to quickly set up the weekly working time.
If the scheduled time is different or changes during the year, you can adapt it, see Set the working period and times.

Planned Holidays are set directly in the Holidays column instead of the Journal table.

initial date time sheet

Entry of working times and absences

Enter the daily values in the appropriate columns of the Journal table, relating to the following data:

  • Hours of work carried out are entered as follows:
    • Entry and exit times (systematic collection)
      The program calculates the hours and minutes of work.
    • Work hours, Work 1 or 2 columns
      Total hours worked are entered.
    • If you enter both entry and exit values and hours worked, the program adds them.
  • Hours of absence (Sickness, Vacation, Service, Other).
    These are the hours that will be deducted from the due hours.
  • Adjustments.
    When accounting adjustments are required, enter a positive or negative value in the Adjustments column.
    When extra hours are paid, for example, the hours are entered in negative, so that the progressive is reduced.

When you start work during the year

When the work period begins during the year, proceed as follows to reset the hours due from the first of January to the work start date:

  • On 1st January, in the corresponding line and in the column Due code, enter WA. The programme resets the total hours for all days before the start of the working period.

modifiche ore lavorate durante l'anno

  • On the start date line, and for all working days of the first week, enter WS in the column Due code and the number of working hours in the column Due. The programme will automatically complete the hours due for all weeks until the end of the year.

cambio ore lavorate a partire di una data specifica

How to change work days during the year

If working days change during the year, the new working day settings must not be changed in the File properties, otherwise the change is applied retroactively from the first of January, but directly in the Journal table using the appropriate codes. Several changes during the year are possible.

If a working day becomes a non-working day:

  • On the line of the day you wish to change (from a working day to a non-working day), enter the code W1 in the column Holiday. For the programme to resume the change as a non-working day for all weeks of the year, the code WS must be entered in the column Due code.

If a non-working day becomes a working day:

  • On the line of the day you wish to change (from a non-working day to a working day), enter the code W2 in the column Holiday. For the programme to resume the change as a working day for all weeks of the year, the code WS must be entered in the column Due code.

For further customisations see the explanation of the Journal Table columns.

How to change the work rate during the year

If the number of working hours due increases or decreases during the year, the new settings must be entered in the Journal table, in the columns Due code and Due.

On the day in which the changes are to be implemented (e.g. from 5 working hours to 8):

  • In the Due code column, enter the code WS.
  • In the Due column, enter the current due hours (8)

The programme resumes the change of the new due hours for all weeks of the year.

cambio percentuale lavoro durante l'anno

For other customisations, please refer to the explanation of the Due code column .

If the available holiday hours change during the year, the differences must be calculated and changed manually. See Changes during the year.

Multiple rows for the same days

You can manage multiple rows for the same working day, where you can enter different daily values. To make understand that it is the same row of the day, the description is indented in the following rows of the same day .

There are several possibilities to create an additional row for the same day:

  • Via the Edit → Duplicate rows... menu
  • Via the Edit → Add rows... menu, inserting the date of the day (you have to remove the protection from the date column).
  • Via the Actions → Add row Day (only in the Banana Accounting Plus version).

The difference with respect to the amount due and the totals

In the Journal Table, the program displays the following data after each entry:

  • The difference between the hours due and the hours worked on the day.
  • The progressive balance.
  • The total by month, year and grand total of the different hour columns and numeric columns.
    The total for the holidays results as the difference between the holidays set at the beginning of the year and those used, see Holidays page.
  • The carry-over to the end of the month and year of the various numerical columns:
    • The carry-over is the total of the position, and also takes into account the values of the previous periods.
    • At the end of the month you will also known how many hours have been done since the beginning of the year.
    • The final total is equal to the carry-over.

Monthly printout

The monthly printout presents all values in summary form.

Adjustments and payment of accumulated hours

The Adjustments column allows you to modify the total hours due / worked.

  • If hours are accumulated and these are paid:
    • In the row of the day they are paid
      • Enter the hours paid in negative in the Adjustment column.
      • Indicate "Payment of accumulated hours" in the notes
      • The progressive balance decreases.
  • When accumulated holidays are paid:
    • In the row of the day when the holidays are paid.
      • Enter the hours paid in negative in the Holidays column.
      • Indicate "Accumulated holiday payment" in the notes
      • The progressive balance decreases.

Paid by the hour wage

It is quick and easy to enter data in the free Time sheet of Banana Accounting Plus as it immediately provides you with daily, monthly and yearly total hours.

All values (due time, worked hours , absences and holidays..) are entered and displayed as hours:minutes (10:30).
allows data to be entered quickly and the programme's automated control allows for correct reports.

The application allows you to enter the days and hours agreed as per contract and the hours of work performed highlighting any differences between what was agreed and what was carried out. The monthly Report which needs to be handed over to your employer is now complete and complies with legal requirements.

Please consult the How to start page.

Setting of weekly working hours

The Time sheet adapts to any kind of working time, whether fixed, flexible, part-time, or with combined settings.

In File Properties → Start indicate the working days and weekly working hours.

With the paid-by-the-hour wage, the hours actually worked are counted.

  • If a certain number of daily working hours have been agreed, it is possible to indicate them as due hours, as for the fixed salary.  In this way, the program calculates and displays the differences between what is agreed and carried out.
  • If the expected working time is different or changes during the year, you can adapt it, as indicated in the next paragraph Set period and working time.
  • The planned holidays are instead set directly in the Journal table columns
new time sheet

Input of working time and absences

In Paid by the hour wages, the hours worked are entered in the Journal table in one of the following ways:

  • Enter the start and end time in the corresponding columns (systematic collection).
    The programme calculates the hours and minutes of work in the Total column.
  • Enter the total of hours worked in column Work 1 or 2.

If the Start, End and also the Work 1 or 2 columns have been used, the programme sums all of the total hours in the Totals column .

Where hours due have been indicated in the File properties, the Progressive column shows the differences between hours worked and due.

Hours of absence due to illness, holiday, duty or other reasons, entered in the respective columns, are added together in the hours due.

Adjustments
When accounting adjustments are required, the adjusted hours must be entered in the Adjust. column, with a positive or negative value.
For example, when overtime hours are paid, negative hours are entered in the Adjust. column, so that in the Progressive column, the hours are reduced.

Start working during the year

When the working period begins during the year, proceed as follows to reset the hours due, from the first of January to the date of starting:

  • On January 1st, enter  "WA" in the column Due code.The programme resets the total hours for all days before the start of the working period.

changes of working hours during the year

  • On the start date line, and for all working days of the first week, enter WS in the Due code column and the number of working hours in the Due column . The program will automatically complete the hours owed for all weeks until the end of the year.

change of hours worked from a specific date

Change of working days during the year

If working days change during the year, the new settings must not be changed in the File properties, otherwise the change is applied retroactively from the first of January, but directly in the Journal table, using the appropriate codes. Several changes are possible during the year.

If a working day becomes a non-working day:

  • On the line of the day you wish to change (from a working day to a non-working day), enter the code W1 in the Holiday column. For the programme to resume the change as a non-working day for all weeks of the year, insert WS  in the Due code column .

If a non-working day becomes a working day:

  • On the line of the day you wish to change (from a non-working day to a working day), enter the code W2 in the Holiday column. For the programme to be able to resume the change as a working day for all weeks of the year, the WS code must be entered in the Code Due column.

For other customisations, see the explanation of the Journal Table columns.

Changing the percentage of work during the year

If the number of working hours due increases or decreases during the year, the new settings must be entered in the Journal table, columns Due code and Due.

On the date when the changes are to be implemented (e.g. from 5 working hours to 8):

  • In the Due Code column, enter the code WS.
  • In the Due column, enter the current hours due (8).

The programme amends the new hours due for all weeks of the year.

change of work percentage during the year

For other customisations, please refer to the explanation of the Due Code column .

If holiday hours change during the year, the differences must be calculated and changed manually. See Changes during the year.

Difference between due and total hours

In the Journal table, the program displays after each input:

  • The daily and progressive due difference.
  • These are the additional or less hours than contracted.
  • The total by month, year and overall total of the different hours and numbers columns.
  • The total for holidays is the difference between the holidays set and those taken, see Holidays page.
  • The carry forward of both the end of the month and the year of the different numerical columns.
  • The carry forward is the total of the position inclusive of the values of previous periods.

At the end of the month the hours which have been done since the beginning, will display.

The final total amount is equal to the carry forward amount.

Progressive balance reset

If you insert the abbreviation "RP" in the Due Code column, the progressive balance restarts from 0.

Holidays

For the setting of holidays, see the Holidays page.

Absences and sickness

Insert the hours of absence in the Sick, Holidays, Service or other columns.

Add km and expenses

To take note of the km traveled or expenses that must be reimbursed, add a special column in the Journal table, from Menu Data → Columns setup.

If the column addition is Type Amount, the program will automatically sum up in the total rows.

Adjustments and payment of accumulated hours and holidays

The Adjustments column allows you to change the total of the due/worked hours.

  • If you accumulate hours and these are paid to you, on the row of the day on which you are paid, proceed as follows:
    • In the Adjustments column, enter the hours paid in negative.
    • In the Notes column enter "Payment Accumulated Hours".
  • If you are paid for accumulated holidays. On the row of the day when the holidays are paid:
    • Enter in the holiday column the hours paid in negative.
    • In the Notes column enter "Accumulated holiday payment"

In both cases, the progressive balance will decrease.

Multiple rows for the same days

You can have multiple rows where to enter daily values. To make it clear that it is the same row of the day, in the following lines on the same day the description is indented.

There are several possibilities to create an additional row for the same day:

  • From the Edit menu → Duplicate rows...
  • From the Edit menu → Add rows...enter the date of the day (you have to remove the protection from column date).
  • From the Actions menu → Add daily row (only in Banana Accounting Plus version).

Monthly Print

The monthly print resumes all the values.

Managing project hours in the Time Sheet

With Banana Accounting Plus you can easily start keeping track of the hours dedicated to projects, obtaining instant reports that you can view at any time.

Users who have files created with older versions must convert their file.

To manage working hours for projects, add the required columns in the Journal table.

There are two ways to manage project hours:

  1. Work with the Projects table.
  2. Work with the Work1, Work2 columns, etc.

Manage projects in the Projects table

You will need to add the Projects table if using this method:

Tools menu → Add new functionalities → Add table → Projects.

The following columns are available in the Projects table:

  • Id - enter an id unique for each project
  • Description - enter the name/description the project.
  • Notes - enter any additionally required notes.

Adding the Projects table will automatically add the Projects Id and Projects Description columns in the Journal table.

Display the following columns in the Journal table via the Data →  Columns display ... menu:

  • RowType (Type) column - enter D if you wish to separate the detail of the project hours  from the total of hours worked.
  • TimeDetailTotal (Detail) - is a protected column. If D has been entered in the Type column, the program calculates and displays the total project hours projects separately.
  • If the Type column is empty, the program calculates and displays the total of project hours in the Total column.

Enter project hours

The hours dedicated to projects can be managed within their own worksheet.

To separate the hours of work done, from the project hours of, it is necessary to:

  • Position yourself on the line of the day to which you want to add the project (or projects).
  • Via Utilities1 → Add row Day add a new row.
  • Enter D in the Type column if you want to separate the detail of the project hours from the total hours worked. Leave blank, if you want the total project hours to be added to the hours worked (Total column).
  • Enter the Id of the project, as set up in the Id table. The project description is automatically displayed. 
  • Enter the start and end time of the project.

The program calculates and updates the Total, Due, Difference and Progressive columns

 

Manage projects in the Work1, Work2 (etc) columns

As an alternative to the Projects table to manage project hours, it is possible to use the Work1, Work2 (etc.) columns. 

Each column refers to the hours of a different project. The program includes two predefined columns, but you can add other columns under condition that TimeWork3, TimeWork4... is inserted in the Xml name of the New column window (menu: Data → Columns setup ... → Add).

Via Data → Columns setup, display the following columns in the Journal:

  • RowType (Type) column - enter D if you wish to separate the detail of the project hours  from the total of hours worked.
  • TimeDetailTotal (Detail) column - is a protected column. If D has been entered in the Type column, the program calculates and displays the total project hours projects separately.
  • If the Type column is empty, the program calculates and displays the total of project hours in the Total column.

Enter project hours

The hours dedicated to projects can be managed within their own worksheet.

To separate the hours of work done from the project hours, it is necessary to:

  • Position yourself on the line of the day to which you want to add the project (or projects).
  • Add a new row via Actions → Add row Day menu.
  • Enter D in the Type column if you want to separate the detail of the project hours from the total hours worked. Leave blank,k if you want the total project hours to be added to the hours worked (Total column).
  • Enter the Id of the project, as set up in the Id table. The project description is automatically displayed. 
  • Enter the start and end time of the project.

The program calculates and updates the Total, Due, Difference and Progressive columns.

Adding Additional Columns

If you need to keep track of instruments used, amounts, kilometers traveled or anything else in the project, you can add additional columns via the menu Data → Columns setup.

These can also be linked with an added table.

Report with project and resource data

You can filter your projects and resources and create a report with data for each of them.

Information on the time sheet for employers

The Time Sheet allows companies, which do not have an automated work time tracking, to easily start with a modern data collection system and have immediate counts and reports, without wasting time.

In order to protect their employees, companies are required by law to set up a system for recording the daily working time, complete with absences and holidays.

  • In Europe this principle was reiterated in a ruling by the European Court of Justice. It is up to the member states to regulate this matter.
  • In Switzerland there are ordinances in this regard which require the systematic recording of working time, with some exceptions for the simplified recording (only the number of hours worked).

How to implement the Time Sheet for your employees

  • Each employee will have to download and install Banana Accounting on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.
  • The employee creates his own time sheet for the entire year.
    There are several methods:
    • Use a template emailed to him by his employer.
    • Start the program and via the File → New menu create your own Time Sheet, for the entire year, choosing the most appropriate Time Sheet template.
  • Each employee enters their working hours and saves the file on their computer.
  • At the end of the month, the employee generates his own Monthly report and sends it to the employer. Alternatively, you can directly send the entire file of your time sheet.

Self-declaration of hours worked

The Banana Accounting Timesheet allows each employee to input their hours individually and to always be in control of their situation.
The month-end report will summarize all the necessary information. You can also create specific reports for specific needs, if required.

Centralized data entry

The Timesheet is also suitable if the employer collects the data of the hours delivered by the employees.
Hours can be attributed to projects or whatever else is needed.

Preparing templates for your company's employees

Each company has different requirements.
To facilitate keeping hours for your employees, it is useful to prepare Time sheet files that serve as templates, with the following presets:

  • Annual holidays.
  • The columns required for the type of data collection (systematic, simplified, mixed).
  • The columns for the type of salary.
  • The columns for absences.
  • Additional columns for reimbursable expenses, projects and notes on the progress of the work can also be added.

Specific reports

Extensions allow you to create specific reports, tailored to the needs of a company.

Version for employers

We are thinking about developing an application for employers that will allow for the collection and consolidation of the data contained in the files managed by employees, for statistical or other purposes.

Should there be a wider interest in such a tool, please report it to us via the contact form, by also indicating which functionalities would be of interest to you.

 

 

 

 

Registro de activos fijos

El Registro de Activos Fijos (por favor comprueba la página de presentación breve) es una aplicación fácil de usar (ver Comenzar Registro de Activos Fijos), que te permite:

  • Conservar la lista de tus bienes que deben ser depreciados de acuerdo con las normas fiscales.
  • Calcular automáticamente las amortizaciones o, en casos especiales, ajustar las cantidades manualmente.
  • Elegir recibir depreciaciones mensuales, trimestrales, semestrales o anuales.
  • Transferir las filas de amortizaciones directamente a tu archivo de Banana Accounting.
  • Gestionar otros cambios de valores (compras, ventas, desinversiones u otros) relacionados con cada activo.
  • Tener un historial de todos los cambios en el valor de cada activo.
  • Gestionar otra información relacionada con cada activo, como el vencimiento de la garantía, el seguro, la ubicación.

Excelente sustituto de las tablas de Excel para la amortización y la depreciación

El registro de activos fijos es una herramienta muy precisa, pero también manejable, que puede adaptarse perfectamente a tus necesidades. Te permite automatizar el cálculo de las amortizaciones, pero también te da la posibilidad de introducirlo manualmente, de manera que cuando haya casos especiales o excepciones, no estés obligado a cambiar las fórmulas y los totales.
El modo de uso está inspirado en Excel, por lo que es de uso inmediato y si se comete un error siempre se puede modificar. Ahorras tiempo y gracias al historial de todos los cambios tienes una visión clara de la situación en caso de auditorías fiscales.

La aplicación puede ser usada en combinación con otros programas de contabilidad, es mucho más flexible y también permite ahorrar en costes de licencia. Para cada período (mes, trimestre, semestre o año) puedes disponer de una impresión del resumen de la amortización que se registrará en tu programa de contabilidad. También podrás exportar los datos.

El contenido del registro de activos fijos

El fichero del registro de activos fijos está compuesto por las siguientes tablas:

Gestión fácil y precisa gracias a la lógica contable

A diferencia de una hoja de cálculo normal de Excel, los cambios de valor (depreciación, nuevas compras, amortizaciones) no se introducen en columnas sino en una tabla de transacciones.

  • En la tabla Artículos se enumeran todos los bienes individuales, con la fecha, el valor de compra, el tipo y el porcentaje de depreciación y otros elementos.
  • En la tabla Registros se indican todas las depreciaciones, revaluaciones o amortizaciones de cada activo individual.
    • Es el rastro histórico de todos los cambios de valor del activo, desde la compra hasta la cesión.
    • El comando Crear filas de depreciación calcula la depreciación basada en la configuración de la tabla Artículos y genera filas de depreciación.
    • Los valores de las transacciones pueden ser editados (si se necesita un cálculo diferente el primer año).
    • Puedes introducir la operación para aumentos de valor, amortizaciones especiales, ajustes del valor fiscal u otros valores.
  • Las operaciones de amortización pueden ser importadas a tu fichero contable con el comando Importar a la contabilidad.

Cada elemento tiene valores diferentes

A diferencia de la contabilidad, en la que por lo general sólo se mantiene el valor contable actual, en el Registro de Activos Fijos se guardan diferentes valores para cada artículo.

  • Comienza con el valor de compra inicial, que se introduce manualmente en la tabla de artículos.
  • Todos los demás valores son calculados por el programa, sumando los cambios introducidos en la tabla de Registros.
  • En la tabla de Registros para cada tipo de variación hay una columna especial donde se puede introducir el valor.
    • Cualquier aumento se ingresa en positivo.
    • Las disminuciones (como depreciación) se introducen en negativo.
  • En la tabla de Artículos para cada valor existe el total y la variación.
  Valor Inicial (introducido manualmente en la tabla Artículos)
+ Compras, producción propia de modernización
- Ventas
= Valor de compra (El gasto total).
+ Revalorizaciones (ej. debido a la inflación)
- Depreciación y amortización (cambian el valor histórico, aparte de la depreciación y la amortización, que sólo cambian el valor contable).
= Valor histórico (base de cálculo de la depreciación lineal)
+ Importe depreciación (reversión de la depreciación)
- Amortización
= Valor contable (base para el cálculo de la depreciación sobre el valor residual)
+ Aumento del valor fiscal (depreciaciones no reconocidas a efectos fiscales)
- Disminución del valor fiscal
= Valor fiscal (Valor fiscal reconocido)


De esta manera el programa tiene todos los elementos para calcular la amortización automáticamente.

 

Characteristics of the Fixed Assets Register

The Fixed Assets Register is a Banana Accounting Plus application to manage your amortisable assets quickly and easily and instantly know their initial value, history, and year-end amortisation.

It is a very flexible, intuitive and powerful tool for calculations.

  • You work in tables like with Excel, very intuitive and with all values always visible and updated.
  • You have functionalities that automate the calculations, obtaining constantly updated values and balances:
    • Initial purchase value.
    • Book value.
    • Quota and percentage of amortisation.
    • Columns for the date of purchase and the duration of the warranty.
    • Journal
    • Items Report.
  • Instant search for amortisable assets
  • In case of errors, you can modify and correct, so as to always have order and precision.
  • Application usable in any country.

Substitute for Excel tables for amortisation

The Fixed Assets register is a very precise, but also malleable tool that can be adapted perfectly to your requirements. It allows you to automate the calculation of amortisation, but also offers you the possibility to enter amortisation manually, so that, when there are special cases or exceptions, you are not obliged to change formulas and totals.

The application can be used in conjunction with other accounting programs, you are much more flexible and also save on license costs. For each period (month, quarter, semester or year) you can produce a printout of the summary of the amortisation to be recorded in your accounting program. You can export the data as well, if you wish.

Based on tables

Fixed Assets Register management focuses on three main tables, which are used in a similar way to those of Excel, but that are already fully set up and programmed with everything needed to manage your inventory in a fast and safe way. 

  • Items table
    This is the table where you set up all the assets subject to amortisation. Each item (or amortisable asset) has an identification ID, a description, a group and an account to which it belongs, the counterpart entry and all the calculation parameters for the amortisation. You can freely create groups of items, without any limits. When viewing this table, you immediately have a complete and updated view of all your amortisable assets.
  • Transactions table
    This table records all the operations that modify the historical, book or fiscal value of an asset. It is a table with automatic columns: by selecting the type of amortisation, the description of the operation is automatically entered (sale, write-down, revaluation, amortisation ...); via the selection of the article ID the description of the article is automatically inserted. When scrolling the table, you have a complete view of all the events during the year. If you realize that you have made a mistake, you can modify to always have perfect accounting. 
  • Amortisation type
    This table where amortisation codes are to be entered so that, when you buy a new asset you can decide which type of amortisation to attribute: on historical value, book value, on a specific amount, full amortisation and no amortisation. Once the codes have been established, they must not be changed to ensure consistency and correctness in the calculations. The column of codes is visible both in the Items table and in that of the Journal, so as to always be in control of which amortisation has been calculated.  
  • Transaction type
    This table defines the types of operations to be resumed in the Journal table. Each operation has an identification ID that must not be changed, so that the same description is always used in the journal table. This facilitates and speeds up the insertion of data in the Journal table.

Accounting setup

Fixed Assets Register headers and basic data set up in a single, easy-to-view dialog.

  • Company headings and address with free texts.
  • Language settings.
  • Link to extensions for customizations.
  • Password to secure your Amortisation Register file.
  • You can have multiple files in different languages.

Easy and precise management thanks to the accounting logic

Unlike Excel spreadsheets, changes in value (amortisation, new purchases, write-downs) are not entered in columns, but in a table of transactions.

  • The Items table lists the individual assets, with the date, purchase value, type and percentage of amortisation and other elements.
  • The amortisation, revaluations or write-downs for each individual asset are indicated in the Transactions table.
    • It is the history of all the changes in the value of the asset, from purchase to disposal.
    • The Create amortisation rows command calculates the amortisation based on the settings in the Items table and generates transaction rows.
    • Amortisation can be calculated monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually.
    • Transaction values can be entered and edited manually. You can thus easily resolve any exception or special case.
    • You can enter transactions for increases in value, special amortisation, tax value adjustments or other.
  • Amortisation operations are resumed in the accounting file via the Import into accounting command.

Each item has different values

In contrast to accounting, where only the current book value is generally kept, different values are kept for each item in the Fixed assets register.

  • Start from the initial purchase value, which is entered manually in the items table.
  • All other values ​​are calculated by the program by adding the variations entered in the transactions table.
  • For each type of variation there is a special column In the Transactions table where to enter values.
    • Increases are entered as a positive.
    • The decreases (such as amortisation) are entered as a negative.
  • For each value there is the total and the variation in the items table.
  Initial value (manually entered in the Items table)
+ Purchases. Own production of modernization- Sales
- Sales
= Purchase value of the asset (The total outlay for the purchase).
+ Revaluations (for example following inflation)
- Write downs (the historical value changes, other than amortisation which only changes the accounting value).
= Historical value (calculation basis for linear amortisation)
+ Historical value (calculation basis for linear amortisation)
- Amortisations
= Book value (basis for calculating amortisation on residual value)
+ Increase in tax value (amortisation not recognized for tax purposes)
- Decrease in tax value
= Tax value (value recognized by the tax authorities)

This way the program has all the elements to calculate amortisation automatically.

File and data saving

Item handling

Error reporting and control

Reports and prints

Data export and archiving

Other features

Added functionalities.

Extensions

Comprehensive documentation

The fixed assets register is an application included in Banana Accounting Plus. It allows easy management of your amortisable assets and quickly obtains all the values you need, as well as the automatic posting of amortisation at the end of the year.

 

Comenzar Registro de Activos Fijos

Crear un archivo nuevo

Menú Archivo, comando Nuevo, selecciona Registro de Activos Fijos.

Por lo general es más fácil empezar con una plantilla preestablecida, en lugar de una nueva en blanco.

Configurar la tabla de artículos

En la tabla Artículos, define el listado de bienes y los grupos a los que pertenecen.

Inserta filas o crea automáticamente filas de amortización

En la tabla Registros introduce los registros relativos a la variación del valor de los bienes.

Con el comando Crear filas de depreciación, el programa crea las líneas de amortización para los activos individuales de acuerdo con los parámetros especificados.

Registra la depreciación y la amortización en la contabilidad

Con la Impresión de las transacciones contables puedes visualizar qué valores serán más importantes.

La amortización y depreciación pueden ser transferidas a la contabilidad:

 

Items table | Fixed assets register

Fixed assets are entered in the Items table, together with their corresponding groups, the parameters for calculating amortisation and other information.depreciable assets, Items table

Creation of the assets list

When you buy an asset, you must register the purchase in your accounting file and, at the same time, insert a new row in the Items table with information about the new asset.

  • Each item must have an Id identifying it and a description.
  • The purchase date, the purchase value, the Amortisation type and the amortisation percentage are then indicated.

Groups

To total the amounts for each article category, a totalisation group is created in the Group column.The group code must be assigned to each article in the same category in the Sum in column.
Multiple group levels can be created.
For more information on the grouping system, please refer to the Grouping System page

It may be useful to create groups to correspond to the accounting accounts. If in accounting there is an "Equipment" account, it is useful to have the Equipment group in the items table. For easier checking, the accounting account number can be indicated as the group number. At the end of the year, you will need to check that the value of the Equipment Group is equal to the balance of the Equipment account.

Groups are equally useful for not having to specify parameters for each individual element. If the parameters (account, counterpart, type and percentage of depreciation, etc.) are not specified at the item level for the calculation of depreciation, the parameters of the sub-group or group are used.

Preset columns

This table contains the following columns; The ones marked with an asterisk (*) are protected and calculated by the program.
You can find more information about adding new columns in the Colums setup page.

  • Identifiers, descriptions and groupings
    • Group
      If a value is present it means that the row is a group.
      Items and groups values are added up in this row.
    • Id
      The Item Id.
    • Description
      The item description.
    • In Group
      The group the row belongs to. This must be a value present in the Group column.
    • Account
      The account to which the item is being attributed in the accounting.
      This account can also be a group.
    • Counterpart
      The account on which to post the depreciation.
      The counterpart can also be indicated at group level.
    • DateBegin 
      The item purchase date (or at which the item was entered in the accounting file)
    • DocumentDate
      The date of the item purchase document, if available.
  • Value/Amounts
    • Initial amount
      Purchase value.
      Once entered it should not be changed. Any changes should be made via transactions for the change in purchase or historical value.
    • Values calculated by the program
      • Purchase variation *.
        The positive or negative value of the total purchase indicated in the transactions.
      • Purchase Value *
        The initial value plus the purchase variation.
      • Historical Variation*
        The positive or negative value of the historical variation (revaluations or write-downs) indicated in the transactions.
      • Historical Value*
        The purchase value plus historical variation.
      • Accounting variation*
        The positive or negative value of the accounting variation (depreciation or amortisation reversals) indicated in the transactions.
      • Accounting value*
        And the historical value plus the accounting changes.
      • Fiscal Variation *
        The positive or negative value of the fiscal value adjustments indicated in the transactions.
      • Fiscal Value *
        The carrying amount plus fiscal adjustments.
    • Residual value
      Any residual minimum value to be indicated.
      If the residual value is equal to or greater than the book value, no more amortisation rows are generated.
    • Estimate value
      An estimated value of the item.
    • ValueMarket
      Eventual market value.
  • Amortisation parameters
    • Amortisation Type
      The amortisation type applied to this item
      The amortisation type can also be indicated for the group.
    • Amortisation Percentage
      The amortisation percentage.
      The amortisation percentage can also be indicated for the group.
    • Amortisation amount
      A possible amortisation amount if the amortisation is not specified as a percentage.
      The amortisation type must be 2.
    • Amortisation Percentage 2
      The additional amortisation percentage to be applied to this item.
      The "Create amortisation rows" command creates an extra amortisation row, the calculation method is the same.
      The extra amortisation percentage can also be indicated for a group.
    • Amortisation Months First Year
      The number of months the item needs to be amortised in the first year.
  • Additional information
    • Serial Number
      The item's serial number
    • Warranty Date
      The warranty expiration date.
    • Insurance Value
      The value this item or group is insured for.
    • Insurance name
      The insurance company's name.
    • Insurance number
      The insurance policy number.
    • Insurance expiration
      The insurance policy's expiry date.
    • Insurance cancellation
      The date by which legal notice needs to be given to the insurance company if automatic renewal is not desired.
  • Archiving information
    • Archiving date
      A date indicates that the item should be archived.
    • Archiving Notes
      They are used when the object is to be archived.

Adding new columns

If you need more information, you can add additional  columns with the Columns setup command.

Amortisation in the year of purchase of the asset

There are an infinite number of methods for establishing how the amortisation value for the first year is to be calculated.
The program offers these possibilities:

  • It normally calculates amortisation for the whole year.
  • In the Amortisation month first year (Month 1.Year) column , you can indicate for how many months the amortisation is to be calculated.
    • If in the first year you desire to calculate only 50% of the normal amortisation, you should indicate 6 months.
  • Amortisation percentage 2 Column
    Used for an extra amortisation. An extra amortisation row is being created.
  • For other situations, let the program create the amortisation row and then adjust the automatically created amortisation transaction.

Transactions table

The Transactions table of the Fixed assets register, contains the operations that modify the historical, accounting or fiscal value of an asset.
Via the Create amortisation row command (from the Actions menu) the program will calculate the amortisation based on the parameters set and creates the transaction rows.

Or you may create entries for amortisation, write-downs, revaluations.

Fixed assets register, Transactions table

Transactions table Amortisation columns

This is the table where you enter the items variations. It has several columns:

  • Date
    The transaction date
  • Transaction Type Id
    The transactions type, identical to the one in the Transaction table.
  • Transaction Type Description*
    The description from the Items table is displayed.
  • Item Id
    The Item Id.
  • Items Description*
    The items description from the Items table is displayed.
  • Notes
    An additional note concerning the transaction.
  • Purchase Variation
    The item (+/-) variation compared to the purchase or sale.
  • Historical Variation
    The Item (+/-) variation compared to a item revaluation or write-down.
  • Book Variation
    The item (+/-) variation value compared to the book variation.
    This is particularly used for negative amortization
  • Fiscal Variation
    This is the fiscal variation amount.
  • Amortisation Type Id
    The amortization type code as shown in the Items table.
  • Amortisation Type Description
    The amortization code descriptions as per the Items table.
  • Amortisation Percentage
    The amortization percentage applied.
  • Account
    The Assets account where the operation must be registered
  • Contra Account
    Contra account (for example the amortization account) where the operation must be registered.
  • Archive Date and Archive notes
    Columns you might use if you need to archive the item.

Amortisation Type table

This table shows the amortisation codes.
Therse are predefined codes that must not be changed.Amortisable assets register, Amortisation type table​​​

Columns

  • Id
    The amortisation code.
    These codes are fixed and must not be modified.
    If you change the Id number the program will not operate correctly anymore.
    • 00 No amortisation. No amortisation will be created.
    • 01 Full amortisation at once of the item. The item is amortised all at once.
    • 02 Specified amount. The amortisation is calculated, based on the entered amount.
    • 10 On the historical value. The amortisation is calculated as a percentage of the historical value.
    • 11 On the book value. The amortisation is calculated on the book value.
  • Description
    The code explanation

Transaction Type table

In the Transaction Type table there are values that define the type of operation.
The most used type is the "35 Depreciation".
Transactions types must not need to be changed.

Assets register Transactions type table

Column

  • Id
    The transaction type code
    These codes are fixed and must not be modified.
    If you change the Id number the program will not operate correctly anymore.
    • 01    Initial value. Used to enter an initial value, instead of entering the initial value in the Items table
    • 11    Purchase or production
    • 15    Sale or value reduction.
    • 21    Revaluation
    • 25    Devaluation
    • 31    Inverse amortization
    • 35    Amortisation
    • 36    Supplementary amortization
    • 41    Fiscal value increase
    • 45    Fiscal value reduction
  • Description
    The code explanation

Amortisation of assets purchased during the year

When a depreciable asset is purchased during the year, it is necessary to set the number of months over which the depreciation should be calculated.

Proceed as follows:

  • In the Items table, go to the Amortisation view, column Month 1.Year
    The column can also be activated and then displayed in the Base view from the menu Data > Columns setup ( AmortisationMonthFirstYear).
  • In the row where the vehicle purchase is recorded, enter the number of months over which depreciation should be calculated in the Month 1 Year column.

On 31.12, when amortisation is calculated, all depreciable assets that have a value in the Month 1 Year column will be depreciated not for the entire year, but only for the number of months specified in the column.

column Amortisation first year

Create amortisation rows

In order to create the amortisation rows click on Actions menu → Create amortisation rows command.

amortisation transactions

Indicate:

  • The date for the calculation of the amortisation.
  • The period of the amortisation calculation (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual).

The program creates the amortisation rows based on the parameters of the items indicated in the Items table.

  • If the parameters Amrt. Type, Percentage, Account or Contra account are not entered for a single item, the software will use the group parameters of which the item is a part to create the amortisation transactions.
  • If the number of months has been set for the item in the Month 1st Year column, the calculation for the first year is done on a pro-rata basis.
  • The amount of depreciation is reduced to ensure that the book value does not go negative or is not less than the Residual value.
  • Automatically calculated record values can be adjusted manually.
  • Value adjustment records, such as devaluations or revaluations, must be entered manually.

Change the automatically calculated values

The rows that the program has created can be modified or deleted. This flexibility is very useful, as there are situations in which the automatically calculated value needs to be adjusted. This way, it is possible to cover all requirements and unexpected events.

In those cases, the amortisation value will be calculated manually and entered instead of the automatic value, such as:

  • First amortisation, calculated according to different methods.
  • Rounding adjustments.
  • Final amortisation adjustment, to ensure that the amortisation is entire.
  • Amortise to maintain an accurate final value.
  • Additional amortisation, in this case it is useful to create a new transaction row.

It is also possible to insert transactions that modify the other values.

Change in the type of amortisation

Amortisation is recorded in the Transactions table, so changes in the Items table have no impact on past amortisation.

You can change the amortisation type and percentage by simply changing the relative values for an item or group in the Items table. The next time the new amortisation rows are created, the new parameters will be used.

If necessary, there are two options to adjust the book value:

  • Add a new transaction with the adjustment amounts.
  • Change the transaction created automatically.

 

Disposals of depreciable assets

When a depreciable asset is disposed of, certain steps must be followed in accounting to zero out its value both in the Fixed Asset Register and in the Balance Sheet, recording any capital gains or capital losses.

To reverse the value in the Fixed Asset Register

Before proceeding to zero the value in the Fixed Asset Register, the following elements should be considered:

  • Disposal date to calculate the periodic depreciation amount (from the beginning of the year up to the date of disposal or sale)
  • Residual book value
  • Sale value
  • The difference between the residual book value and the sale value may result in a capital loss or capital gain.

Below is an example of a vehicle disposal on 31.03.2025, with the following elements:

  • Disposal date: 31.03.2025
  • Residual book value: 12,000.-
  • Sale value: 10,000
  • Capital loss: 2,000 (12'000 - 2'000).

Divestment

 In the Fixed Asset Register application on 31.03.2025, record:

  • The depreciation amount up to 31.03.2025 for the asset being disposed of.
    • Enter the date, select "35" in the Type column,
    • Enter the asset number in the Items Id column
    • Enter the description "first quarter depreciation" in the Notes column
    • Enter the depreciation amount for the first quarter in the +/- Book Value column
  • The disposal or sale on 31.03.2025
    • Enter the date, select "15" in the Type column
    • Enter the asset number in the Items column
    • Enter the description "disposal or sale" in the Notes column
    • Enter the residual book value in the +/- Book Value column
  • The capital loss (or capital gain, as the case may be) on 31.03.2025
    • Enter the date, select "25" in the Type column,
    • Enter the asset number in the Items column
    • Enter the description "capital loss" in the Notes column
    • Enter the difference between the book value and the sale value in the +/- Book Value column

Recording the disposal in the accounting file

When an asset is disposed of in the accounting file, its book value must be removed from the Balance Sheet.

  • If there is an accumulated depreciation account related to the asset:
  • Reverse the accumulated depreciation up to that point with the asset account
  • Reverse the residual book value of the asset
  • Recognize the capital gain or capital loss

Divestment accounting file

Enter transactions that modify other values

The main view of the Transactions table displays the change in book value. The full view shows all other available columns, so as to make the change of the other values possible.

transaction other values

Transactions to change of Purchase, Historical or Fiscal value

You can enter transactions that modify the purchase, historical or fiscal value by using the appropriate columns.

  • Then add a new row and manually enter the values.
  • The amount must be entered manually by the user.
  • Use the appropriate Transaction type for the transaction.
  • If it is a amortisation, use the Amortisation type code.
  • Amount variation columns:
    • +/- Purchase
      • Positive amount for new purchases (Transaction type 11).
      • Negative amount for partial or total sales (Transaction Type 15).
    • +/- Historical
      • Positive amount for revaluations (Transaction type 21).
      • Negative amount for partial or total write-downs (Transaction Type Id 25).
    • +/- Tax
      • Positive amount for the increase in the tax value (Transaction type 41).
      • Negative amount for the reduction of the tax value (Transaction Type Id 45).

Modification of the Initial Value

The initial value in the item table should not be altered. If adjustments are required, postings must be entered that modify either:

  • the Purchase value.
  • or the Historical value (devaluations or revaluations).

Internal value different to the accounting one

There may be situations where the market value of the asset is higher than the book value, so there will be an internal hidden reserve.

To keep track of these differences you can proceed in two ways:

  • In the Items table, display MarketValue column and enter the value.
    With this system, you will always have to update the value each time it changes as a result of actual amortisation.
  • Use the FiscalValue column as internal value.
    The assumption is that the tax value column is not already used and therefore that the tax value is equal to the book value.
    • In the Items and Transactions table, replace the column headings, use "Internal Value" instead of "Fiscal Value" and "+/- Internal" instead of "+/- Fiscal".
    • Descriptions of codes 41 and 45 will change in the Transaction type table.
    • Insert the transaction rows with the transaction type 41 and 45 and indicate the difference in positive in the "+/- Internal" column .

Modify Residual Value

When the Create Amortisation Transactions command is used, each item is amortised based on the residual value. For this reason, when an item reaches the end of its useful life, it is recommended to manually record the amortisation. If the entry is not manually adjusted, a value will be carried forward for the item in the next year.

The residual value of items can be viewed in the Items table, in the Book Value column.

How to proceed:

  • Take note of the residual value of each item that has reached the end of its useful life.
  • In the Transactions table, enter:
    • In the Date column, the amortisation date
    • In the Type column, the number 35 (amortisation)
    • In the Item ID column, the ID code defined in the Items table
    • In the +/- Book Value column, the amount of the residual value to be amortised.

Once the amortisation transactions for the residual values are made, in the Items table, the amortised items will show a value of zero for their residual value.

Recheck everything

The program recalculates, double-checks and displays any errors or differences.

Use this command whenever you are in doubt that there is a problem.

 

Fixed assets register printouts

Accounting Transactions Report

This is the accounting report of the transactions, with the account number and counterpart.
It is used to import the amortisations transactions into the accounting file.

Use the Reports menu→ Accounting transactions report.

amortisation register report preview 

 

Journal View (item cards)


This printout displays all the transactions with the variation of the values and the cumulative value for each item.

depreciable assets register journal

Import amortisation rows into accounting

At the end of the year, the amortisation entries can be automatically imported into the accounting file. Proceed as follows:

import amortisation into accounting

Only the rows of the Journal that fall within the accounting period are included.
You can then choose to import only certain data.


As per version 9.04 of Banana Accounting it is possible to group amortisation transactions by account.

Libreta de direcciones

Se trata de una aplicación para gestionar direcciones (contactos, miembros, etc) e imprimir listados y etiquetas con los datos.

Características:

  • Libre configuración de los campos
  • Posibilidad de imprimir las filas seleccionadas
  • Libre configuración del formato de la etiqueta
  • Copia/Pega direcciones desde otros programas (Excel y Word)


La Libreta de Direcciones incluye tres tablas:

La Libreta de Direcciones se puede sincronizar también con Google contacts.

Imprimir Direcciones/etiquetas

La información para imprimir direcciones/etiquetas la puedes encontrar en la página Print label.

Characteristics of the Address Book

The Address Book and Addresses application are included in Banana Accounting Plus. It is ideal for quickly and easily setting up the addresses of your customers, suppliers, partners, family members and instantly access the contacts you need or to print the address lists for labels.

Multiple functions to speed up and make management easy:

  • Predefined columns for each type of content.
  • Addition of additional user defined columns by the .
  • Customizable column positioning.
  • Customizable label format setting.
  • Ability to print only the selected rows.
  • Free setting of the label format.
  • Copy / paste addresses from other programs (Excel and Word).
  • Ability to color the row to instantly identify the most important contacts.

Based on spreadsheets like Excel

Address management is based on pre-defined columns that can be customized as positioning and as header. The columns are grouped into three main tables:

  • Groups Table
    In this table the address groups are set. Each group is identified by an Id which is used to categorize the addresses. Groups can be created for suppliers, customers, partners, family members, friends. This makes searching easier and allows you to set labels even with group selection.
  • Contacts Table
    The contacts are entered in this table, with all the relevant information.As in any other table, additional columns for notes or other can be added.Contacts can be updated and synchronized with Google contacts.
  • Diary Table
    This table is intended to enter day by day all the annotations relating to the people contacted.

Accounting setup

Address Book headers and basic data set up in a single, easy-to-view dialog.

  • Company headings and address with free texts.
  • Language settings.
  • Link to extensions for customizations.
  • Password to secure your Depreciation Register file.
  • You can have multiple files in different languages.

File and data saving

Error reporting and control

Reports and printouts

Data export and archiving

Other features

Added functionalities

Extensions

Comprehensive documentation

Groups table

​In the Groups table, one can define an identification code for a Group and enter the corresponding description in the Description column (es. CLI - Clients, SUP - Suppliers, COL - Colleagues, etc.) for each row, in the Id column.

Adress, group table

Contacts table

The Contacts table presents the columns where the addresses can be entered.

Contacts table, address book

​The columns

There are different columns. The biggest part of the columns is invisible. The Colums setup command has to be used in order to:

  • Display the columns
  • Change the order of the displayed columns
  • Add other columns
     
The name is based on the VCard standard.
 
  • Id is the contact number.
    This is needed when you want to connect a contact to the diary, to the loans or to another table.
    While being on that column and pressing F6, there is an automatic progressive numbering.
  • Prefix: you can enter "Mr", "Mrs", etc.
  • Family or Company name (if it concerns a company).
    If the contact is a contact person for a company, you can enter the company or entity to which the contact belongs in the Organisation column.
    When pressing F6 on the Name or Family Name column, the program separates or inverts the name and last name.
    If there are more than two names, this feature is not able to distinguish which one are the names or family (last) names.
  • LetterStart: is the greeting that is being used at the beginning of a letter. This is being used for a mail merge.
    For example: Dear John or Dear Mr Smith.
    The program suggests possible texts according to the contents that have already been entered into the columns.

Import new Contacts

It is possible to import new contacts also from external sources and it can be done in several ways:

The views

There are different views available and each view distinguishes itself from another one through the presence of specific columns; in this example (Address Book file), we have the Base, Name, Address2, Archive and Complete views. In the Complete view, all the columns are visible.

 

​ ​

 

Diary table

In the Diary table, you can record all kind of notes, day after day and referring to the entered contacts.

Addresses, Diary table

(Deprecated) Manage, edit, back up Google contacts

Deprecated commands and functionalities

Attention: Google has deprecated the Contacts API used by Banana to access and modify contact data.
The new People API replacement has different purposes and functionalities.
The reading and modification of Google contacts will therefore be available ONLY UNTIL Google keeps the Contacts API in service. After that the synchronization commands will give an error. The data saved in the AC2 file will still be accessible. It is not known how long the Contacts API will still be available. Please do not use these features anymore.

Documentation

Download, view and edit your Google / Android address book contacts in a tabular format. You can update and clean contacts much faster and also print, copy and paste them into Excel.  You can also save the contacts file to your computer as a backup copy.

Addresses, Contacts table

Manage Google contacts

  1.     File->New command creates a New Empty Address Book.
  2.     Menu->Actions->Google Contacts->Download Changes.
    • You will be asked to authorize access to the contacts.
    • The Contacts table will be filled with your contacts.
  3. Edit and update the contacts as you like.
    • Menu->Data->Column Setup let you also make visible all predefined  columns, like Organization Name, Organization Title.
  4. Menu->Actions->Google Contacts->Send Changes.
    The local changes will be saved in Google.

For more information see the explanations below.

Authorize access to your contacts

Synchronizes the contents of your Banana file of the Address Book and Addresses type with the contacts of your Google account.

The first time you issue the command Download and replace existing contacts from the Actions-> Google Contacts menu, to connect to your Google contacts:

  • A window appears that displays a page of the Chrome browser integrated in Banana and asks you for your Google login.
  • You have to enter the email address and password of your Google account.

Banana only saves the email of your Google account: the session data and the password are not saved in Banana, but are managed by the mechanism of your browser.

Google Login

 

Immediately afterwards you must confirm that the Banana software can access and modify your contacts.

Google authorise

Synchronization commands

Download changes

This function imports data from Google and updates the values in Banana.

  • If there is already data existing in the table, the program will merge the various data in the tables
    • Groups.
    • Contacts.

Send changes

Send modified data in Banana to Google, updating your Google contacts.

  • To be able to send data to Google, you must have previously downloaded it at least once.
    If you have made changes on your mobile, you have will have to first download the data and then activate the command Send Changes.

A window with the elements modified, added or deleted will display.

importing addresses Google

It is not recommended to use the "GoogleNoSynchronize" column because it will no longer be used in subsequent versions. If Yes, the contact will not be synchronized with Google.

Download and Replace existing contacts

Banana will not always be able to synchronize all changes.
This command will delete the contacts in the Contacts table and replace them with the existing Google contacts.

This command will also delete items marked as "GoogleNoSynchronize"

Conversion of values in the table

Google contacts manages addresses, phone numbers and e-mail in a structured form. In the Contact stable, the data are instead managed via the column.

Telephone numbers and e-mails

Google allows you to define different e-mails and phone numbers. For each one a label and an indication by default is designed.
In Banana you must follow these directions:

  • If there are different types of telephone or e-mail, you will indicate them in the appropriate column (work, home, other).
  • If for each type there are several telephone numbers or e-mails, indicate them in the column, separated by a semicolon ";".
    Telephone work "+1234567890;+21234567890". E-mail work "example@gmail.com;example@yahoo.com"
  • If the phone number or e-mail has a particular label, it will be indicated in the Other column, with the label followed by a colon ":".
    If there are several numbers, separate them with a semicolon ";"
    "Holidays:+1234567890*;Cousin:+1234566777". "Temporary:example@gmail.com;Mama:example@yahoo.com"
  • To indicate that the phone is a number by default, mark it with an asterisk "*" after the number.Between the different numbers there can be only one default number.

Addresses

Google allows you to have multiple addresses for the same contact.

Banana Accounting instead allows to synchronize only one address, the "Home" being main one.

Groups

Groups defined in Google are imported into the Groups table and new ones can be added as well.

In the Group Id column of the Contacts table you can insert multiple membership groups by separating them with a semicolon ";".

Create a backup of your Google contacts

  1. Create a New empty Address Book file.
  2. Utilities1 Menu  -> Google contacts -> Download changes.
  3. Save the file on your computer with the day's date in the name.

Manage your Google address contacts

If you have multiple addresses in your address book, it will be easier to use the Banana address book to sort out your addresses. You can quickly correct errors, add information and remove duplicates and much more.

  1. Download data from Google contacts
  2. Effectuate your changes
    Remember that the F6 key (Mac Cmd-6) has several features (see the Info window below).
    In the Name and Surname column, invert the values.
  3. Hit the Send changes command button to send the changes to Google.

Archive and remove contacts that are no longer used 

You can save phone contacts that you no longer use on your computer and delete them from your phonebook.

First time:

  1. Create a new Address Book file.
  2. Utilities1 Menu-> Google Contacts-> Download Changes.
  3. Save the file in your documents, "Folder_Philip_donotcancel_ever", so you remember that it is an important file.
  4. Display the Archive view in the Contacts table
  5. In the Archive date column, insert the current date (type the dot ".") for all contacts you no longer require
  6. Utilities1 Menu -> Archive data -> Archive Table data -> Contacts.
  7. Utilities1 Menu-> Google Contacts -> Send Changes.
    Your data will be deleted from the address book.
  8. Utilities1-> Archive data -> View Archived data-> Contacts will allow you to access your archived contacts.
    If you want to add them back to your directory, you must copy the line in the Contacts table and delete it from the Archives.

Safe-keep your file. Proceed as follows if you wish to archive unused contacts:

  1. Open your Address book file.
  2. Utilities1 Menu -> Google contacts -> Download changes or if there are problems Download and replace existing contacts
  3. Proceed as indicated above in the Archiving and Sending Changes procedure.
  4. Save the changes.

Resume data in Excel

  • Download data from Google contacts.
  • Select all (upper left corner button)
  • Copy
  • Paste into Excel.

Synchronization problems and suggestions

The Google address book offers many possibilities and can be used in very different ways. We have tried to make it work better for you , but there may be situations where the program might experience problems with the changes that have been made.
If this is the case, it will be necessary to use the command function. Download and delete existing contacts, to completely realign the two archives.

We are obviously interested in continuously improving the functioning of our software, so send us an e-mail describing the problem and show us how to replicate the problem on our computers. This will allow us to fix the problem.
Any suggestions on how to improve the product are always welcome.

For technical details related to the connection, check the Google API documentation.

 

Print label

The Address Book application allows you to create and print addresses on labels. Printing can be customized and adapted for various needs.

Printing labels is very simple: Menu Extensions → Print Labels. At the following links you can find detailed information about the various dialogs for printing and the format of the labels:

 

Biblioteca y colecciones

Guía de uso / introducción

Esta es una aplicación que te permite mantener una lista de libros, objetos y contactos, y comprobar los objetos prestados y devueltos.

Creación de un arhicvo de Biblioteca y colecciones

Menú Archivo → Nuevo... y selecciona la plantilla  Biblioteca y colecciones (asegúrate de haber seleccionado el español como idioma de búsqueda).
También puedes encontrar la plantilla en el siguiente enlace: https://www.banana.ch/apps/en/node/8109

Tablas

Al abrir un archivo de Biblioteca y colecciones encontrarás varias tablas:

  • Tabla Grupos - donde se puede asignar a cada usuario un grupo, por ejemplo para dividir a los niños entre los usuarios de preescolar y los de primaria., etc.
  • Tabla Contactos - donde puedes introducir los datos de los usuarios: nombre, teléfono, email, ...
  • Tabla Artículos - donde puedes introducir la información de tus artículos: objetos de valor, libros u otros.
  • Tabla Préstamos - donde se pueden introducir los artículos retirados, la fecha de caducidad y la fecha de devolución.
  • Tabla Diario - donde se pueden introducir notas diarias y conectarlas a un contacto específico, por ejemplo los turnos de los bibliotecarios.

Otros comandos útiles

Impresiones

Todo lo que ves en la pantalla puede ser impreso o guardado en un formato pdf.

Utiliza la extensión Informe de libros de la biblioteca para obtener:

  • impresión del catálogo completo del libro en pdf, que se publicará en Internet.
  • impresión de los detalles de los usuarios con los libros que han prestado y los que aún deben ser devueltos (para ser enviados como un archivo adjunto al mandar los recordatorios).

 

Characteristics of Library and Collections

Library and collections is included in the Banana Accounting Plus version. It is the easy and innovative solution to organize books, loans, contacts and collections and, have all the lists instantly available for effective control. You can monitor loans, expiration dates and return dates or simply to put in place perfect order in your home library.

Multiple functions for a digitized and efficient organization:

  • Fast data entry.
  • Categorization by user groups.
  • Retrieve book details from Google with ISBN.
  • Copy and paste book list from Excel.
  • Quick searches by title, author, keywords, user or user group.
  • Internal planning with the Diary (library shifts, annotations or new orders to be made).
  • Loan management.

Accounting setup

  • Headers and basic data set in a single dialog box, easy to visualize.
  • Headings with free texts.
  • Default address fields
  • Language settings.
  • Link to extensions for customizations.
  • Password to secure your Library file.
  • You can have multiple files in different languages.

Tables

In the Library and Collection files there are several tables that allow you to always have data in order and easy to retrieve.

The tables are as follows:

Groups Table - where the groups are defined, according to the subdivision of users you require.

Contacts Table - where user data is entered: name, tel, email, ....

Items Table -  items are entered: valuables, books or other.

Loans Table - manage the loaned items, the expiration and return dates.

Diary Table - to enter daily notes and link them to a specific contact, for example librarians' shifts.

File and data saving

Error reporting and control

Reports and printouts

Everything you see on the screen can be printed or saved in pdf format.

Use the Library Books Report extension to get:

  • Prints of the complete catalog of books in pdf, to be published on the website.
  • Print the contact sheet with the books still on loan (to be sent as an attachment when making reminders).
  • Customizable column arrangement.
  • Print non returned items.
  • Printing of the labels with the codes for the spine of the books.
  • Print return labels inside the book.
  • Print updated list of books not yet returned.

Data export and archiving

Other features

Added functionalities

Extensions

Comprehensive documentation

 

Other useful commands

Come iniziare con la Biblioteca e collezioni

Crea un nuovo file

È generalmente più semplice iniziare da un modello preimpostato, piuttosto che uno nuovo vuoto.

Pertanto consigliamo di procedere nel seguente modo:

Imposta i dati base

Nel menu File → Proprietà file (Dati base) imposta i dati della tua Biblioteca.

Imposta i dati nelle tabelle

Report e Stampe

Scarica l'estensione Report libri biblioteca per ottenere le stampe dei dati e salvarli in *.pdf.

 

Groups table

Groups according to which you wish to divide the users are defined in the Groups table. To identify a group, enter an identification code Id (column Id). In the Description column you enter a text describing the group.

Library, Group table

For a detailed explanation of the columns in the Groups table, please consult the Address Book page.

 

Contacts table

You can to enter user data in the Contacts table, divided into several customizable columns (you can make visible only the ones you need and hide all others - you can also add new ones).

Library, Contacts

For a detailed explanation of the columns, please consult  the Address Book page.

Items table | Library and collections

In this table you can enter your items data: they can refer to valuables, books or other.
There are different ways of entering the items data: copy and paste from Excel, automatic data retrieving from the Internet, etc.
See detailed explanations below.

Library, Items table

 

Columns

There are various columns and it is also possible to add new ones.

  • Id: the item number that has to be attributed.
    The F6 key assigns the number progressively.
    It is also possible to use a prefix. For example: A-001,  after that, the program suggests A-002.
  • ISBN
    The International Standard Book Number.
    When entering the ISBN in the Id column and pressing the F6 key (⌘+6 on Mac), the program automatically completes all the book's data in the other columns, incorporating them from the Google database, provided there is an internet connection available.
    Any already present information will be overwritten.
    For more information see: Google documentation.
    • The data in the Google database are not always complete. For example, the title might be present, but the editor or other data might be missing.
    • In order to know which data are available on Google, please visit the following page:
      https://www.googleapis.com/books/v1/volumes?q=9781906042509, entering after q= the book's ISBN number.
      If you see "totalItems: 0" it means that the book is NOT in Google's database
      If you see a page in a JSon format (programmers format) with the book's data, it means that the book IS in Google's database.
  • Title
    Is the title of the work.
  • Author
    There can be several authors entered, separating them with semicolon ";".
  • Publisher
    There can be several editors entered, separating them with semicolon ";".
  • Return date
    The projected return date for this item.
    This column is automatically completed according to the checked out item.

 

Entering books data

Book data can be entered in different ways:

  • Manual insertion - You can manually enter the books data in the Items table (see previous paragraph)
  • Retrieve data from Excel - If you already have a list of books from another program or Excel, you can simply copy/paste the data.
    In order to copy / paste the data you need to make sure the columns in Excel as arranged in the same order as in Banana. If the column order is the same in both programs you can copy the data in block, otherwise you need to proceed column by column. The copy/paste operation is possible from Excel or from txt files. 
  • Retrieve book data automatically from the internet - The ISBN column is very useful if you have an Internet connection: each book has an ISBN code (internationally recognized and generally written on the back of the cover); If you enter a book's ISBN code on the appropriate column in Banana and press the F6 key (or Cmd + 6 for Mac), the program automatically retrieves the books data from the Internet and inserts all data (title, author, publisher, etc. even a small summary).
  • If the book has different authors or publishers, just separate the names with a semi-comma ";" - they will also be found individually in searches (for example if you need to find all the books of a certain author).

 

Loans table

In the Loans table you can enter the checked out items, the expiration date and the return date.

Library, Loans table

Columns

  • Date
    The date of the loan.
  • ItemId
    The item number. A search can be made based upon the title.
  • ContactId
    The contact number. A search can also be made based upon the name, family name, place.
  • Expiration date
    The projected date for the item's return.
    If you enter "+30", the program proposes the date that comes 30 days later.
  • Return date
    Enter the return date.
     

How to manage the loans 

Loan of a book

  • Enter the date. If you click ".", the date of the day is automatically written.
  • In the Item Id column, as you start typing the title of the book or library user, the program will display all choices available in your database; just select the right option and press the F6 key: the program will automatically fill the Item Id and Description cells.
  • In the Expiration column (date of return for the book) the program automatically uses a date 30 days after your current date, but you can manually change that: you can enter the number of actual days (for example +40) to generate the correct return date (40 days later).

Diary table

In this table you can enter daily annotations and link them to a specific contact.
For example, you can enter the working shifts of librarians, or add relevant notes or facts, to-do lists, etc.
For each annotation you can enter the date, description, an expiration date and associate a user code.

Library, Diary table

Items return

How to register a book return:

To indicate that a book has been returned, simply enter the date the book was returned in the Return column of the Loans table.

If you have a lot of books on loan, the Items return dialogue lists the books on loan, allows you to search for them and indicate with a check that they have been returned.
Here is how to proceed:

  • From the Actions menu, choose Items return;
  • This will open a window where you type the name of the library user. This will display all books on loan to this library user.
    • You can now check all returned books
    • Click the Apply button and the program will automatically insert the actual date in the Return date column of the Loans table.
    • In case of error, return to the Loans table and click the Undo command.

Items return

 

Archive table data

 

How to archive data

The Archive feature avoids the adding up of too many transactions of lent and returned books. Outdated data are being archived in hidden tabs without being deleted. This data can be recalled at any time for statistics or any other use.

Store data of returned books

  • Choose Archive data from the Actions menu and then Archive table data → Loans. The program will delete all transactions of already returned books from the Loans table and store them in the Archive table.
  • Only books on loan that are not yet returned will be shown in the Loans table.

archive table data

Store contact information no longer used

As for your books, you can equally archive your old and unused contacts

  • Indicate a storage date for all the contacts you wish to archive.
  • Choose the Archive data from the Reports menu and then Archive table data and Contacts.

Archive data for Estimates and Invoices application

To archive data for the Estimates and Invoices application, please refer to the Archiving Invoices page.

Print library labels

You can print two different types of labels:

  • Small labels (containing the book code) for use on the spine of the book, so that they are visible on the bookshelves
  • Larger labels are used on the inside of the cover, mentioning that the book belongs to the library and has to be returned at a specified date

Labels can be printed either on the basis of the Banana file, where you have registered all the books in the library, or from an empty file in case you wish to print a list with codes, that you will then assign to the books.

Creating a file to print library labels

Via the File menu -> New... in the Filter by box : enter the the text "library" and select the Banana Library - printing book labels template (also make sure you have selected English as search language).
You can also find the template directly at this link: Banana Library - printing book labels

Printing labels for the spine of the book

In order to print the labels, you can open a new blank file in Banana, containing no data (File menu -> New), but, as stated, you may wish to start from an existing, as explained earlier.

There is a useful Excel function to generate a large amount of codes in a speedy manner, rather than entering them manually or than using  F6 key. Here is how you do it:

  • Open a new Excel file; in cell A1 entere the library code that suited your purpose (any combination of letters followed by numbers will do) - for example B1000.
  • Choose the bottom right angle of your cell with your mouse (the point will now be a cross), and, while holding down the right click, drag down along the column; Excel will automatically generate autoprogressive numbers.

  • Now copy (Ctrl + C keys) the codes that have been generated into Banana's Items table, in the Id column (Ctrl + V keys).

  • You can now create the label. Choose the Labels -> Print command from the Extensions menu. This window will be shown:

  • It is important to have the Items table selected as the source for Data
  • Now you can define your label by pressing the  Extensions menu -> Labels -> format command.

I

  • In the window now shown, enter the margins and other characteristics of your chosen label, Herma 10001 in this case.

  • Before hitting the OK key, open the Customization tab, where you can assign a name to your custom settings (so they can be used in the future). In this case it's Book codes (Spine).
  • Hit the OK key

  • In the Label section select RowId to indicate the contents of the label (in the example you indicate the book code) and press the Add field button. The RowId appears in the View Labels field.
  • Pressing the OK button will generate a preview of your label.

 

 

You may now print using your Herma sheets. 
 

Printing labels for the inside cover

Choose your label format. In the example a 70x36mm (Herma 4630 or Avery 3490) format hase been chosen. The steps to follow are identical to the previous example::

  • First, choose the Labels -> Print command from the Extensions menu
  • Enter the margins for your new label in Extensions -> Labels -> format window.
  • Before hitting the OK key, open the Customization tab, where you can assign a name for your new custom settings (Inside Cover label, for example), than hit OK.
  • Select Label in the Print label section to add the content of your label.

You may enter text, other than the available fields, as well.

Pressing the OK button will generate a preview of your label.

Note:

The template available in Banana already includes the two mentioned label formats: label for the spine of the book and label for the inside of the cover.

Related features:

Management of yearly membership fees

If you run a library requiring an annual membership fee, or if fees are charged for the loan of individual books, it is useful to use the accounting functions of Banana Accounting.
Please check our page Accounting templates.

 

Tabla simple

Se trata de una tabla que puede ser configurada según las necesidades del usuario. Se pueden añadir columnas y vistas y poner el encabezado más adecuado, con los comandos Configuración de columnas y Configuración de tablas en el menú Datos.

tabla simple

 

Tutorial Maker Application: Create, Translate, and Enhance Video Tutorials

The Tutorial Maker application, developed by Banana.ch, is a versatile tool for:

  • Creating comprehensive video tutorials with speech in multiple languages.
  • Adding or modifying speech in various languages to existing videos.

The application, developed primarily for internal use at Banana.ch, plays a vital role in both the production and ongoing enhancement of multilingual Banana Accounting video tutorials. It employs AI-based services to facilitate efficient translation and speech generation.

While the Tutorial Maker application is currently featured in the Dev-Channel version, it has been extended to a select group of partners. You are welcome to try it; however, please be aware that it is not a fully supported product and requires the installation of additional components. Furthermore, its functionalities are subject to change at any time.

How It Works

Creating a Video Tutorial for a Desktop Application

  1. Capture Screenshots.
    Begin by capturing screenshots of the desktop application and saving them to a directory (recommended size: 1920x1080).
  2. Fill in the Clip Table, 
    Enter all necessary information to create a video:
    • Select the image to be used.
    • Apply effects to the image, such as highlighting a section, adding arrows, or circles.
    • Choose the text and voice style for the speech.
    • Input the text for titles and/or text-to-speech.
    • Translate the text into other languages as needed.
  3. Build the Video.
    On executing the build video command, the program performs the following tasks based on the specified language:
    • Adds effects, titles, and subtitles to the images.
    • Generates speech files using internal or Microsoft or Google voices, as selected.
    • Creates a video sequence for each image. The duration of each sequence matches the length of the speech or a duration you specify.
  4. Final Video Compilation. 
    The final video is created by combining all the video sequences.

How it works

Assuming you are creating a video tutorial for a desktop application.

  1. You capture screen shots and save to a directory (size 1920x1080).
  2. In the Clip table you enter all the information needed to create a video:
    • The image to be used.
    • Create effects on the image. Like highlighting a part of image, adding an arrow or a circle.
    • The text and voice style to use. 
    • The text to be used for titles and/or for the text to speech.
    • The text translated to other languages.
  3. You give the build video command and the program, based on the language you specify:
    • It add effects, titles and subtitles to the images.
    • It generates the speech files using the Microsoft or Google voices you choose.
    • For each images it create a video sequence.
      The duration of the sequence is the duration of the speech, or one you specify. .
    • A final video is crated by putting together all video sequences.

Table Clips

Optimizing Videos: A Streamlined Approach

This video creation tool specializes in producing straightforward tutorials and translating them into multiple languages through a progressive process. Typically, we develop an initial version and then pass it on for review and translation. Based on user feedback, we continually modify and enhance the content.

The Tutorial Maker significantly eases the effort and time required to alter video content and text, translate, and generate new versions of the tutorial, each tailored in length to the specific language. Consequently, it employs a logic distinctly different from that of traditional video creation tools, which are more focused on creative aspects.

The speech is automatically generated from the input text, allowing for easy modifications of the text, voice-over, and video sequence duration. This feature simplifies the process of refining and creating new versions of the video.

The tool excels in translation. By entering the translated text into a designated field, a corresponding voice-over is automatically generated. The video sequence is also adjusted to match the exact duration of the new speech, streamlining the translation process.

Video tutorial of the Tutorial Maker application

Create video from images, with speech, subtitles and text decorations.

Here is the full project and files on github.com.

Mainly for software developers

The Tutorial Maker Application offers advanced features, specifically tailored for users who are also software developers.

Currently in its alpha phase, the application has been fine-tuned for our internal use. It necessitates a particular setup and is in the early stages of incorporating error controls. Moreover, the interface and messages are exclusively in English. As such, at present, it is predominantly suitable for software developers and highly skilled users.

Be aware that the data's structure and format might evolve over time, and we may not always provide a means for transition. Additionally, both the terms of use and pricing are subject to change. We reserve the right to modify the technical content, availability, terms, and pricing at any moment without prior notice.

We invite you to share your experience using the application and greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions you may have.

 

 

 

 

 

Requirements and setting up the environment for video and speech creation

Requirements

  • Internet connection (necessary to create speech files)
  • Banana Accounting Dev Channel Version.
  • Subscription to the Advanced Plan.
  • FFmpeg executables.
  • Subscription to a text-to speech service
    • Azure cognitive API
    • Google text-to- speech service.

Setup the environment

In order to use the Educational Video Maker application.

  • For Windows
    • Download and Install ffmpeg tools
      • Download ffmpeg tools for Windows
      • Under "Get packages & executable files" select the Window operating system.
      • Download the essential package.
      • Unpack the file to a directory for example C:\ffmpeg
        Under bin you should have the file ffmpeg.exe and fprobe.exe
    • Make sure your antivirus does not block or slow the execution
      • Search and go to  "Virus Thread and Protection"
      • Manage settings
      • Add Remove Exclusions.
      • Add Exclusion
      • Folder
      • Select the ffmpeg/bin directory
    • Install a video player for mp4 files.
      Video are build in mp4 format, the codec is not preinstalled on Window.
  • MacOS setup (Install Ffmpeg tools)
    • Download the ffmpeg and ffprobe binaries
      • Under "Get packages & executable files" select the Mac operating system.
        Download the
      • ffmpeg
      • ffprobe.
      • Unpack the files and copy them to a new directory.
      • Make sure the ffmpeg and ffprobe are executable file type.
        • Go to the "Get packages & executable files" section of the page.
        • Click on macOS icon.
        • Click on "Static builds for macOS 64-bit".
  • Setup Banana Accounting.
    • Install and run the dev-channel version.
    • Run the software
    • Make sure you can open MP4 files
      • Menu Tools → Program Settings.
    • Activate the integrated Screen Capture.
      • Windows-Appearance → Show developer Menus.
      • Developer menu → Activate ctrl+3.
    • Set the default language to English.
      • Menu Tools → Program Settings.
      • File Handling → Extensions of files conisdered secure
      • Add mp4 to the list
  • Create an empty video project
  • Setup the Global settings
    • Important you need to specify the ffmpeg executable.
  • Request the authorization at Banana.ch
    Speech generation only work if you have the authorization.

How to for creating and translating video

Setup a video project

A video project is composed of different files. So you should create a new directory where you save all your files.

Structure of a video project

A video project is composed by:

  • A directory on your computer where to save all the files relative to the video project.
    • The first step is to create a new directory where your file will reside.
    • Put all file in project directory unless there is a real necessity to do otherwise. 
  • A Banana Video Project file (ac2).
    You can create a new file by:
    • Menu File > New file > Tutorial Maker > Create empty file
      Save the file to your directory
    • By copying an existing one to your directory.
  • The image files with the screen capture.
    When possible create images with size 1920x1080 pixels or else with the 16:9 format.
  • Other images files that are used for titles or slides.
    Image size should be 1920x1080 pixels.
  • If you are creating a video you can also save in the directory the files that are the base for the video creation(accounting file, presentation file or else).
  • Directory for language specific images.
    • Assume you have created the clips images in English.
    • Create a sub-directory "it" where you will save the captured images in italian.
      If the software, when building the "it" video, will find an image with the same name in the directory it will use it instead of the one that is in the main directory. 
       

Example video projects

You can try the following examples

Add a speech to a video with subtitles

You can easily add a speech to an existing video.

  • The speech is generated automatically by the computer.
  • The speech and subtitles remain placed on the same time position.
  • If the translated speech does not fit the original video segment, the specific segment will be automatically speed down to fit the speech.

Here we explain how to translate speech of an existing video.

Prerequisites

  • A video file with subtitles in SRT format or with a Youtube transcript.

Add the speech to a Youtube video with subtitles

  • Create a new Banana video file (ac2).
  • Download the video from youtube.
  • In the Table Clips column Clips enter the nave of the original video.
  • Copy the the youtube transcript to the clipboard
  • Menu Actions>Import subtitles from youtube transcript
  • Menu Actions->Build video.

 

First Video Tutorial Project using Screen shots

Here we explain how to create a video tutorial

Example video projects

 

You can try the following examples

Create a Tutorial Maker project

  1. Structure the video and write the text.
    • Plan the video objective and content.
    • With word processor start writing text part of the video.
      Writing and improving the draft is easier with the word processor.
      • Chapters titles.
      • Speech part.
  2. Setup files.
  3. Enter the content
    • Start Banana Accounting Dev-Channel version.
    • Open the Educational video file you have just created.
    • Menu Actions → Add language column of your desired language.
    • Copy the text you have written on Word and paste it in the column language.
    • In the column Chapter enter the chapter number.
    • In the column Text Style enter the appropriate style.
    • In the column Speech Style enter "None" for text that should only be displayed (no audio).
    • Apply the color Yellow for chapter titles.
  4. Build the first video version.
    • Actions → Build video and the video will be build with:
      • a single still image
      • titles
      • the speech
      • the subtitles
    • You will be able to see how long it is the video based on the spoken text, and also listen the high quality audio voice.
  5. You should now capture the images or the video clips with the tool you already use.
    Better use size of 1920x1080 px  or with 16:9 factor.
  6. Or you can create the image capture in Banana.
    • Create the Banana Accounting file with all the data you will need to explain.
    • Capture the screen using the ctrl+3 functionalities.
    • Set the size of Banana Accounting Windows to 1920x1080 or other size with 16:9 factor.
    • Save the file in the project directory.
      • Better complete the file name with a numeric sequence corresponding to the chapter number.
      • When using number better use 01 instead of 1, so that you get the file listed in numeric order.
      • Use fine sequence multiple of 3 or 5 to easily insert other images.
  7. Complete your project with images.
    • In the appropriate row of the column Clip File enter the file name of the images you have saved.
    • Add Effects to the images.
    • Build again the video .
    • Improve the texts, images, effects until you are finished.

 

Translate the speech and subtitles of a video

You can easily translate the video in another language.

  • The speech is generated automatically by the computer.
  • The speech and subtitles remain placed on the same time position.
  • If the translated speech does not fit in the original video segment, the specific segment will be automatically speed down to fit the speech.

Here we explain how to translate speech of an existing video.

Prerequisites

  • A video file with subtitles in SRT format or with a Youtube transcript.

Translating an existing video with SRT subtitles

  • Save the original video in the project directory.
  • Create a new Banana video file (ac2).
  • In the Table Clips column Clips enter the file name of the original video.
  • Menu Actions>Import subtitles.
    Choose the subtitle type.

 

  • Menu Action>Add language column.
    Enter the 2 letter column
  • Translate the text to another language with an online translation tool like www.deepl.com/translator.
    • Select and copy the text column.
    • Past to a translation tools.
    • Copy and paste the translated text to added language column.
  • Menu Actions->Build video and choose the language.

 

 

 

Translate the text in another language

 

  • Table Clips
    Action->Add Language column.
    Choose the language.
    • If the language does not exists in the list.
      • Menu Data ->Manage Columns->Add Column.
      • Enter the name "Text_"+Language code (2 letters).
        "Text_fr"
  • Translate the text to other language.
    • Position on the first line of the column with the text to be translated.
    • Click on the header of the source language to select all the text.
    • Copy the text in the translation service.
    • Select the language to translate to.
    • Copy the translated text.
    • Position the cursor on the column destination.
    • Paste the text.

Dialogs for the Video Application

Dialog Video Change Global Settings

The global setting dialog allow to set the environment.

To access the dialog:

  • Run Banana Accounting dev-channel version.
  • Open the empty project you have just created.
  • Menu Actions → Global settings.

Dialog Globa Settings

You need to setup the

  • ffmpeg executable path
    • Enter the executable path, including the filename (ffmpeg.exe for windows / ffmpeg for mac).
  • Text to speech service
    • Internal
      It will use the text-to-speech service of the computer.
    • Banana.ch service
      It will use the Banana.ch text to speech service that is based on the Azure service.
      Your need to receive a permission from Banana.ch.
    • Microsoft Azure
      You need an Azure account and a API key for the Cognitive text to speech service.
      Enter the:
      • Region name
      • The API Key
    • Google Service you need the API key

 

  • Menu Action → Build video to test if the build process works.

 

File Properties for Tutorial Maker

When a new file is created, the basic data need to be entered in the File menu → File and accounting properties.

Video tutorial application file properties

  • Header left & Right
    Will be displayed on printing.
  • With and height in pixels of the clips and output.
    Currently fixed at 1920 x 1080.
  • Stylesheet file
    Path and file name of a stylesheet.
    If present the Text Styles and Voice Styles defined in the stylesheet will be available in this project.
    Ideal for creating and reusing styles.
    Download the stylesheet.ac2 example and modify it according to your desires.

 

Import Subtitles

The Actions>Import Subtitles command let you import subtitles. You can choose the available formats.

Dialog Import Subtitles

Imported columns

The commands will import the following columns

  • Start Time
  • Text
    The text will be saved in the current selected language for build.

The lines will be appended at the end of the Clip Table.

YoutubeTranscript

This command allow to import the times and subtitles from the Youtube transcript format.
You should copy the text in the Clipboard.

Youtube Text Transcript

To copy the transcript text in Youtube

  • Clip on the 3 dots button.
  • Clip con Show Transcript
    Not all video have a transcript.
  • Select the text inclusive the time and copy to the clipboard.

Eventually save the text to a txt file so that you can easily access lately.

Example of a Youtube Transcript format

0:01
willkommen bei bex dieser folge schauen
0:05
wir uns an wie ich wiederholen die
0:07
aufträge so genannte abos in bex
0:10
erfassen kann
0:12
als erstes erstelle ich mir dafür unter
0:15
dem reiter verkauf einen auftrag auf den
0:18
entsprechenden kontakt aus

 

SRT Subtitles

The SubRip Subtitles file format is available in most video editing software.

 

 

 

Dialog Build video

Dialog build video

The command "Build Video" give you different choices.

Build Video

  • Build language.
    Select the language to use.
  • Create video file (Always on)
    Create the video file with Titles, Voice and Subtitles.
    • Prepend Chapter to Display titles
      Automatically prepend the Chapter number to the Display text.
      To be used for titles.
      Speech text remain the same
    • Embed subtitles in the video
      The subtitles are embedded in the (style name starting with "Subtitles") in the video.
      The build process will also create a *.srt file that you can use to add subtitles.
    • Add control times
      Include information on the clip and text start and duration time.
      Useful to check if there are any problem in the sequence.
  • Create audio file
    It save the audio in separate file.
  • Create GIF file
    It create a GIF animated sequence.
    • G Width (the height is calculated automatically)
    • Add progress bar.
      Include a progress bar that show the make the gif look like a video progress bar.
    • Progress bar color in FFmpeg format
      You can also specify the opacity"red@0.4". It use color red with a opacity of 0.4. color of the
  • Clear cache.
    The program keep a cache with all the the intermediary files. The file are recreated only in case the data change.
    In case you change the data, but the audio or video is not updated, you should try clear the cache. Build time will take longer.
    • Clips.
      The video are fully regenerated.
    • Speeches
      All the she speech texts are recreated.

Build process

Once you click build the build process start:

  • The audio speech are generated.
  • Each row clip is created and the duration is calculated.
  • The row clips are concatenated.

In the Out directory you will have:

  • A generated .mp4 video file with the speech.
  • The srt file with the subtitles.
  • The index file with the chapter time and text
    Copy the content to youtube to have the chapters.
  • The audio with the speech (if requested)
  • The gif file (if requested)

 

Output directory structure

When you give a build command a new directory is created on the project directory with the same name as the project file, preceded by the "_" and a sub-directory for the specified language. All temporary data will be stored in the directory.

The directory or any sub-directory can be deleted at any time, but the build will take more time dute to the necessity to rebuild all the intermediary and cache files.

Assuming your project file name is "testvideo.ac2", the resulting directory structure will be:

  • _testvideo
    • en
      the temporary file for the language "en"
      • build
        Where all the intermediary file are stored.
      • cache
        Cache for intermediary files.
      • out (results)
        Where the output video, audio and gif are written.
    • it
      the temporary file for the language "it".
    • temp
      temporary files not specific to a language.

Table Clips

In this table you enter the data to generate the video.

Table Clips

Columns

  • Chapter (Optional)
    • Enter a chapter number or letter, that help you organize the video in group of video clip.
    • Use [] for automatic chapter numbering (progresssive).
    • During build the chapter number is added to the language Text (for display only) if the build option is active.
    • Chapter rows should also contain a Clip file name
  • Clip File.
    • The row that contains a Clip File name will be the start of a Video Clip.
    • The Video clip will contains all the rows up to the next row that contains a Clip File name.
    • The image file (png or jpg) or clip (mp4).
      • If you go in change mode you have the list of files available.
      • If you click on the little icon you see the preview and you can change the image.
    • Empty.
      If the clip file is empty, this row will be added to the previous video clip file.
    • Automatic file renumbering
      Use the file in the specified format to renumber file name based on the chapter number.  When you add a new chapter all the existing file with the automatic file format will be renamed.
      • The automatic file name format is in the form of chapternumber-progressive[-freetext].ext.
        The free text is optional.
        Examples:
        • "01-01.png" "101-101.png"
        • "01-01-freetext.png" "101-101-freetext.png"  
  • Effects (default is hidden)
    You can attach effects to the image that will be applied when the video is build.
    For the syntax see the Effects page,
  • Text Style
    The style to be used for showing the text.
    • Empty.
      Same as Subtitles.
    • None.
      Text is not shown.
    • Any other you define in the Text Style table.
  • Speech Style
    • Empty.
      Default speech style.
    • None.
      Text is not translated to speech.
    • Any other speech style you define in the Speech Style Table.
  • Start (Time Start)
    The start time the clip, text or speech start to be shown. Relative to the clip file.
    If the time is empty, the start time is calculated based on the speech duration .
  • Duration
    The duration of the clip, text or speech. Relative to the clip file.
  • Time command.
    • Empty
      The duration is automatically calculated based on the speech duration.
    • Duration Time Command
      If you specify a Duration command the StartTime of the the next row is ignored.
      • DurationAdd (AddTime).
        The entered duration is added to calculated duration.
      • DurationFixed (FixedTime),
        The entered duration is used. If the speech is longer it will be cut.
        Useful for pause.
      • DurationPause
        Same as FixedTime, but with the option to exclude the pause in the build.
      • DurationPause[XX]
        Same as DurationPause, but if the Duration is empty, the duration of the last Duration[XX] is used. 
        You can create different standard pause "DurationPauseChapter", "DurationPauseImage"
        Pause will not be included in build if the option is activated.
      • DurationSpeech.
        The entered duration is used if the calculated speech duration is shorter.
      • DurationMin (MinTime).
        The entered duration is used if the calculated speech duration is shorter.
    • Time Commands for Title, text or effect rows that have no speech and therefore the duration is zero
      In case the rows have the SpeechStyle set to "none" or there is no text and there is no Duration.
      These commands allow display the text for a duration of the speech o clip..
      • SameNextRow (NextRowTime),
        The text will display at the same same start time and end time calculated for the next row.
        Useful in case you need to use for display and speech different texts.
      • SamePreviousRow (PreviousRowTime),
        The text will display at the same same start time and end time calculated for the previous row.
        Useful in case you need to use for display and speech different texts.
      • SameClip (ClipTime).
        The text will display for all the time the clip duration (from begin to end).
      • SameClipEnd (ClipTimeEnd).
        The text will display for up to the end of the clip.
    • Time Command that takes priority over the speech duration
      • SameClipVideo (ClipVideoTime)
        Only for clip files of type video.
        Takes the same duration as the original video clip.
  • Text (language)
    The text to be displayed or for speech creation.
    There is one column for each language.
    Use Action->Add Language to add another language.

Structure and logic of a video

These are the basic elements of a FinalVideo.

  • Chapter (optional)
    It is used to group together a series of Video Clip that together form a unit, exactly as youtube.com chapters.
    • VideoClip (Clip File)
      Start with a row that contains a file name in the column ClipFile
      It include all rows up to the next row containing a file name in the column ClipFile
      • Non-Video Clip Row
      • Non-Video Clip Row
    • Video Clip
      • Non-Video Clip Row
      • Non-Video Clip Row
  • Chapter
    • VideoClip
      • Non-Video Clip Row
      • Non-Video Clip Row

FinalVideo

Is the result of the process of the command Build Video.

  • The FinalVideo is the concatenation of the different VideoClips in the same sequence specified in the table Clips.
  • The length of the FinalVideo is the sum of the length of the different VideoClips.

VideoClips

Each VideoClip is build separately and once all the VideoClips have been build they are concateneted to form a FinalVideo.

  • A VideoClip is based on a ClipFile specified in the column Clip File
  • All the rows before a row that contains a ClipFile are used to create the VideoClip.
  • The number of Video Clips correspond to the number of Clip Files specified.


A Video clip file and can be of type.

  • Image. jpg or png file.
  • A video sequence (mp4 o avi file).

Times columns

The times columns (StartTime, Duration and TimeCommand) are used to determine the length of the VideoClip.

  • The Time columns are specific to each VideoClip.
    The VideoClips are concatenated to form a FinalVideo, so the next VideoClip will start exactly after previous one.
  • The time of a new VideoClip is not influenced by the times value specified before.
  • The duration of a VideoClip is the sum of the duration of the different rows that form the VideoClip.

Start and duration of speech rows

The speech rows are rows that have a text and don't have the SpeechStyle to "none".

  • SpeechDuration
    The duration of the row is automatically calculated, based on the length of the speech.
  • If the speech duration is longer then the duration specified, the SpeechDuration is used.
  • If the next row has a StartTime, the Duration will be expanded so that the next row will start of the StartTime specified. 
  • CalculatedStartTime of a row is the the sum of the duration of the previous rows of the VideoClip. 
    The CalculatedStartTime has precedence over the specified StartTime.
  • You can change the automatic mode with the Duration TimeCommands ( DurationAdd, DurationFixed, DurationMin, DurationSpeech).

Start and duration of Title rows (non speech rows)

In the VideoClip you can have rows that don't have speech:

  • When there is no text
  • SpeechStyle "none"
    • When the text is a title.
    • When the speech text need to be different than the speech.

In this case you need to synchronize the appearance of the text with the speech. So you can use the Sync Time Commands.

StartTime for Video Clip Files (Video Segments)

For Clip File that contains a video the StartTime is used to specify at what exact point a subtitles, title and speech should appears. But, if you build a Video in another language, the SpeechTime can be larger than the original one. In order not to have the speech to be cut fit the video, the program will have slow down a sequence of the video for the time necessary too fit all the speech. 

  • During the build the Video file is cut in different VideoSegments each one corresponding to the specified StartTime.
  • Each segment is than processed separately and the duration adapted to the specific content and time. 
    • If the speech duration is longer than the original one, the duration of the segment is expanded (the video will be slowed down).
    • If there are TimeCommand they will be applied to the row and segment.
  • The speech and text are added to each segment so that the speech and titles start always at the original point. 

You can control the duration of the different video segments by using the following TimeCommand:

  • DurationSpeech.
    Use if you want to make the segment not longer than the speech duration.
    • If the original video segment duration is shorter, the video will be slow down.
    • If the original video segment duration is longer the video will be speed up.
  • DurationAdd
    Add a duration to the DurationSpeech and speed-up or slow-down the video segment.
  • DurationFixed
    Extend or cut the original segment duration of exactly the specified duration and and speed-up or slow-down the video segment. 
    If there is a speech that it is longer than the specified duration the speech will be cut.
    Use mostly in case for segments that have no speech. 

Calculated columns

With the command Tools>Add/Remove functionalities you can:

  • Add Calculated columns
  • Remove Calculated columns

The Add Calculated columns are made available for the developer of the application, but may be interesting also for people creating video.
The command will add the following columns:

  • Start Clip
    The time when the row will start relative to the Clip.
  • Start Clip
    The time when the row will start relative to the complete Video.
  • Calculated Duration
    The duration taking in consideration also the Time command.
  • C. Speech
    The Duration of the speech in the processed language.
  • Calculated Fill
    The time that will be added to arrive at the specified Start time.

Table Clips with Calculated Columns

The calculated columns will be updated at the end of the build process.
The change will not change the modified flag of the file, so if you want to save the date you have to modify some text.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table Text Styles

Define the text style to be used for displaying text on clips.

  • Size and margins are defined in pixels, relative to an image size of 1920x1080.
  • Colors you can use a name (red, blue, etc) or a symbol.

Table Text Styles

Use different colors for subtitles

Define the styles for any subtitle type you want to use.

Start from the default subtitle style and adapt it according to your needs.

video tutorial text styles

  • Id.
    Enter the name of the style.
    Use it in the column Text Style of the Table Clips.
  • Font Name.
    Enter the name of the font.
  • Size.
    Enter the size of the text.
  • Primary Color.
    Enter the color of the text.
  • Outline Color.
    Enter teh color of the outline of the text.

You can also change text sizes, bold, outlines, alignments and positions of any text style.

Add new voices in the Table Speech Styles, and combine each voice with a different subtitle style using the Speech Style column of the Table Clips.

Text Style Effects

In the column Effects you can enter commands and element to use in the columns Effects of the Clips table.

You can specify:

  • object=RowId
    A command with elements.
    Example: "DrawRect:pos=800:200,size=500:400,border=red:4,opacity=0.9;Arrow:3:3
    The parameters can be modified in the table Clips.
    "Object:id=frect,pos=800:300,size=500:300"
  • style=RowId
    Attributes that are used to display a command.
    Example: "border=#ffe01b:3:5,fill=blue,opacity=0.1"

 

Table Voice Styles

Create style to use for creating speech.
If you use a style you should specify also for any language you use.

Table Speech Styles

Columns Speech Styles

  • Id.
    • default.
      The style to be used in case the speech style is not specified.
    • Any other name for a style.
  • Language
    The language code used for the column text in the Clips table.
  • Voice Language.
    Language code  and country code.
    It should be the same as the one of the Voice name.
    Example: "en-US".
    For each language and id you should have only one country code. If you have more the program will use the first id it find.
  • Voice.
    The voice name that available in your service.
    The software will show to you a list of available voice based on the service you have selected.
    Example: "en-US-AriaNeural"
  • Rate, Pitch and Volume see Microsoft Azure explanations.

Predefined Speech Styles

If not defined the software will use this speech styles.

The Speech service used (Microsoft Azure or Google) will be automatically selected based on the API key you have entered in the global settings.

Azure and Google have different voice name, so once you enter the one that is specific to the service you use.

Microsoft Azure

See. Microsoft  azure voices

Predefined languages for Microsoft Azure Service.

  • "de","de-DE","de-DE-KatjaNeural"
  • "es","es-ES","es-ES-ElviraNeural"
  • "en","en-US","en-US-AriaNeural","cheerful"
  • "fr","fr-CH","fr-CH-ArianeNeural"
  • "it","it-IT","it-IT-IsabellaNeural"
  • "nl","nl-NL","nl-NL-ColetteNeural"
  • "pt","pt-BR", "pt-BR-FranciscaNeural"
  • "zh","zh-CN","zh-CN-XiaoxiaoNeural"

Google Speech to Text

See available Google voices.

Predefined languages for Google Text to speech Service.

  • "de","de-DE","de-DE-Wavenet-A"
  • "es","es-ES","es-ES-Wavenet-C"
  • "en","en-US","en-US-Wavenet-A"
  • "fr","fr-CH","fr-FR-Wavenet-Al"
  • "it","it-IT","it-IT-Wavenet-B"
  • "nl","nl-NL","nl-NL-Wavenet-B";
  • "pt","pt-BR", "pt-BR-Wavenet-B"
  • "zh","zh-CN","cmn-CN-Wavenet-B";

 

Table Lexicon

Table Lexicon

 

Add Effects to Images

This dialog allow to add effects to the image.

Command Syntax

The column Effect support the following syntax (Version 2, from December 2021).

  • Levels separated by "|"

Main commands

One per level

  • DrawEllipse:
  • DrawHtml:
    Print the text specified in the Text column.
    TextStyle and Speech style should be "none"
  • DrawImage:
    Draw the specified image file.
    The image is resized.
    Use for inserting a logo.
  • DrawMarkdown
    Convert the markdown text specified in the Text column to html and print.
    TextStyle and Speech style should be "none",
    See further explanation below.
  • DrawRect:
    Draw a rectangle at the specified position and with specified size.
  • DrawText:
    Draw a text. The text is resized to fit the rectangle.
  • FFmpeg:
    You can enter an FFmpeg command
    Examples:
    • FFmpeg:drawbox=x=400:y=100:w=300:h=200:color=pink@0.5:t=fill
    • FFmpeg:scale=4*iw:-1,crop=iw/4:ih/4
  • ObjectClip:rowid
    It use an object defined in the table Clip column Effects with the RowId specified
    • Example: ObjectClip:id=001,pos=800:300,size=500:300
      Use the object defined, but with a specified size.
  • ObjectStyle:rowid
    It use an object defined in the table TextStyle column Effects with the RowId specified
    • Example: ObjectStyle:id=frect,pos=800:300,size=500:300
      Use the object defined, but with a specified size.
    • Use to automate the object creation and styling.
      Create the object in the table Clip and then copy in the TextStyle table.
  • Rescale:
  • SelectRect:
    It makes the rest of the image darker.
  • VideoCut:
  • ZoomIn:

Elements (separated by ";")

Are relative the the commands.

  • ;Arrow:
    Add and arrow next to the form
    • ,align= 1 to 9, numeric on the keyboard
    • ,dim=1 to 5
  • ;Number
    • ,text=
    • ,align=1 to 9 , numeric on the keyboard
    • ,dim= 1 to 5
  • ;Grid:numberpixels
    Will display a grid every specified pixels.
    Example: ";Grid:100,fill=yellow" grid every 100 pixels in yellow.

It use the styles of the main command, unless a different style is specified.

Attributes (separated by comma ",")

Attribute are added to the commands or to the elements.

  • ,align=[number 0 to 9)
    Used for Elements Number and Arrow.
    The position of the elements is as the key on the numeric keyboard.
  • ,Dim=1 to 5
    The size of the Elements Number and Arrow.
  • ,border=color:[width]
  • ,color=color //text color
  • ,endtime=hh:mm:ss.mmm
    for VideoCut
  • ,fill=color:[pattern]
  • id=RowId
    Use the text at the row with the specified RowId
    For ObjectStyle it retrieve the effect specified in the table TextStyle
  • image=filename
    for DrawImage
  • ,opacity=number (0 to 1)
  • ,pos=x:y
  • seconds=seconds
    for ZoomIn
  • starttime=hh:mm:ss.mmm
    for VideoCut
  • ,size=width:height
  • ,style=stylename
    Use the content of the column Effects in the table TextStyles at the line with the id stylename.
    Examples:
    • DrawRect:pos=800:200,size=500:400,style=saa,border=blue:30
  • ,text=text
    Use the text that is specified.
  •  

Examples

  • SelectRect:pos=800:300,size=500:400,border=red:3;Arrow:align=1,dim=3,fill=yellow;Number,text=1,align=7,dim=3
  • DrawImage:pos=900:300,size=200:100,image=filename.png,pen=red
  • DrawRect:pos=900:300,size=200:100,border=red:3,fill=yellow;Number:1:9:3;Number:6:5:3;Number:3:7:3
  • DrawRect:pos=900:300,size=200:100,border=red:3

DrawMarkdown

Markdown is syntax that can be converted easily to html
You can create slides and reuse.

This is an example of markdown text

# Title 1

## Title 2

### Title 3

Proof of **bold** *italic*

* line 1
* line 2
* line 3
 

This commands allows to use markdown in the text.

  • When using this command the columns TextStyle and SpeechStyle should be set to none.
  • The markdown text is rendered in html using the style defined in the file _video.css in the table Documents
  • Example:
    DrawMarkdown:pos=200:100,size=800:600

With the DrawMarkdown command you can use also this elements:

  • ;HtmlSelectLi:2
    A class "selected" is added to the specifiend html tags "li" ;
    This you can display an item with a different style.
  • ;HtmlAddClass:classname
    A class "classname" is added to all html tags that belong to the markdowns.
    You can have styles specific to a single markdown.

 

 

Actions Menu

The Actions menu includes various commands that are specific for the Productivity applications.
The general commands, available in all the Utilities applications, are explained hereunder.
Other commands, specific for the Address Book and the Library application, are explained in the corresponding documentation.

Recheck all...

Checks everything and gives a warning in case there are errors.

Sort contacts by name

Sorts the rows of the Contacts table in ascending order by Name, Family Name, Second Name, Place.

Archive Data menu

The program keeps a list of the rows that have been archived, for each table.

The archived rows are being shown in the Archived rows table. Select the rows that need to be shown.

Archive data

Moves the rows of a table (Contacts, Items, Loans, Diary) to the Archived data table, where:

  • The Archive data column is not empty.
  • For the Loans table, there should be an expiration date and a return date (a "closed" loan)
     

A list of tables is being shown. The tables present on this list contain rows that can be archived.
If there are no tables with rows that can be archived, the selection is empty.

Show archived data

Shows a list of the archived rows of a specific table.

 


 

Add or Remove functionalities Productivity applications

The Tools > Add/Remove Functionalities command lets you extend and adapt your file.

Adding New Tables

You can add these types of tables.

  • Projets
  • Contacts
    Columns set up to manage addresses
  • Categories
    To classify elements
  • Simple table
    With an index field and a description

Once a table has been added, you can customise it to your liking with the Columns setup or Tables setup commands.

In other tables you can then add columns that link to these tables.

Add link to table

The programme, in the table you are in, adds a column where you can insert the link code to another table.
Par exemple, dans le tableau des écritures, vous pouvez ajouter la colonne Projet, qui renvoie au tableau des projets.

 

Index

hello world

PDF Manual

All the documentation about the use of Banana Accounting+ has been put in a unique PDF file that can be downloaded and printed.