Criar uma contabilidade partindo de um modelo

Siga os seguintes passos:

1. Menu Arquivo, comando Novo
2. Selecionar a Região, a categoria e o tipo de contabilidade
3. Da lista de modelos que aparece, escolha aquele que melhor se adapta às suas exigências
4. Clicar no botão Criar.

Na caixa Procurar, ao inserir uma palavra-chave, o programa visualiza os modelos que contêm a palavra-chave.

Também é possível iniciar com um arquivo vazio, selecionando a opção Criar arquivo vazio. No entanto, para facilitar o início e evitar erros de agrupamento, aconselhamos começar sempre com um modelo existente.

Mais informações sobre como criar un novo arquivo estão disponíveis na página Criar um novo arquivo.

Configurar as Propriedades do arquivo

No menu Arquivo, comando Propriedades do arquivo

Secção Contabilidade

• Indicar o nome da empresa que aparecerà no cabeçalho das impressões e de outros dados.
• Escolher da lista ou inserir as iniciais da moeda para a contabilidade.

Salvar no disco

Com o comando Arquivo → Salvar como..., guarde os dados e atribua um nome ao ficheiro. Aperecerà o dialogo tipico do seu sistema operativo.

• É aconselhado usar o nome da empresa, seguido do ano "empresa-2020.ac2" para o distinguir de outros arquivos de contabilidade.
• Pode guardar quantos arquivos precisar, cada um com o seu próprio nome.
• Pode escolher o percurso e o suporte (guardar num disco, pen USB o cloud).
  Se espera ter também documentos ligados à contabilidade do ano corrente, sugerimos criar uma pasta separada para cada ano de contabilidade para reunir todos os arquivos.

Uso do programa em geral

Banana Contabilidade foi inspirado no Excel. O modo de uso e os comandos são o mais semelhante possível aos do Microsoft Office.
Para informações sobre o uso, inviamo-lo a explicação na página Interface.
A contabilidade é mantida ao interno de tabelas e são usadas todas da mesma maneira.

A tabela Taxas de Câmbio

Na tabela Taxas de Câmbio configuram-se as iniciais da moeda, que serão usadas na tabela contas e lançamentos.

Personalizar o plano de contas

Na Tabela Contas moeda estrangeira, é possível personalizar o plano contábil segundo as próprias exigências:

• Adicionar e eliminar contas existentes (adicionar linha)
• Mudar os números de conta, a descrição (ex: inserir o nome do ccb do próprio Banco), inserir outros grupos, etc.
• Para criar subgrupos, consultar a seguinte página Grupos.

A tabela Lançamentos

Os lançamentos em multimoeda têm que ser inseridas na tabela Lançamentos e fazem parte do Livro Jornal.

Acelerar a inserção dos Lançamentos

Para acelerar a inserção dos lançamentos utiliza-se:

• a função de Emissão de dados com preenchimento automático que consente recuperar automaticamente dados já inseridos previamente
• a função dos Lançamentos repetitivos (menu Conta2) que permite memorizar numa tabela os lançamentos repetitivos
• a importação de dados do extrato bancário ou postal.

Controlo faturas clientes e fornecedores

Banana permite ter sob controlo as faturas para pagar e aquelas por receber. Consulte:

• Submenu Clientes
• Submenu Fornecedores

As fichas Conta

A ficha conta relata automaticamente todos os movimentos registados numa mesma conta (ex: caixa, banco, clientes, etc.).

Para visualizar a razão de uma conta, basta posicionar o mouse no número de conta e clicar no símbolo azul que aparece.

Fichas conta por período

Para visualizar as razões de conta com os saldos referidos num determinado período, ocorre clicar no menu Conta1, comando Razão por conta e na secção Período ativar Período selecionado, inserindo a data de começo e de fim do período.

Para mais informações, consulte a página Periodo.

Imprimir as fichas de conta

Para imprimir uma ficha conta, basta visualizar a ficha a partir de qualquer tabela (Contas ou Lançamentos) e acionar a impressão no menu Arquivo.

Para imprimir várias ou todas as fichas conta, clicar no menu Conta1, comando Razão por contas e selecionar as fichas conta para imprimir. Através do filtro presente na janela, pode-se fazer uma seleção automatica de todas as contas, os centros de custo, os segmentos, os grupos, etc.

Mais informações estão disponíveis na página Razões por conta.

O Balanço e o Demonstrativo de Lucros e Perdas

O Balanço visualiza os saldos de todas as contas patrimoniais, Ativas e Passivas. A diferença entra Ativos e Passivos determina o Capital próprio.

A visualização e a impressão do Balanço faz-se a partir do menu Conta1, comando Balanço Patrimonial analítico ou Balanço Patrimonial por grupos.

• O comando Balanço Patrimonial Analítico cataloga simplesmente todas as contas sem distinção de Grupos e Subgrupos
• O comando Balanço Patrimonial por grupos cataloga as contas con a separação dos grupos e subgrupos; além disso, apresenta tantas funcionalidades para personalizar as apresentações que não são previstas no Balanço Patrimonial Analítico.

Armazenamento de dados em PDF

Ao fim do ano, quando toda a contabilidade estiver completada, corrigida e revista, pode-se armazenar todos os dados da contabilidade com o comando Criar PDF, no menu Arquivo.

O Orçamento

Antes de começar um ano de contabilidade, pode-se criar um orçamento com possíveis despesas e receitas, de modo a ter sob controlo a situação económica e financiária da própria empresa.

O orçamento pode ser configurado de duas maneiras diferentes:

1. Na tabela Contas, coluna Orçamento. Em cada conta é indicado o montante do orçamento anual.
   Neste caso, quando se elabora o Orçamento no menu Conta1, comando Balanço Patrimonial por grupos, a coluna do orçamento descreve os montantes que se referem ao ano inteiro.
2.  Na tabela Orçamento, que se ativa no menu Ferramentas, comando Adicionar novas funcionalidades.
   Nesta tabela registram-se todos os orçamentos de despesas e de receitas com lançamentos. Caso se ative esta tabela, a coluna Orçamento da tabela Contas é desativada automaticamente.
   Neste caso pode-se configurar um orçamento detalhado que tenha em conta possíveis variações durante o ano e nos diversos períodos do ano.

Mais informações disponíveis na página Orçamento.
 

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.

• ▶ Video: How to start a Multi-currency accounting

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.
  • Watch the video tutorial that shows how to create and print the Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups.
• 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:

• Double-entry accounting features.

In this section, the basic theoretical notions about currency exchange are being explained.

See also the File Properties (Basic Data) page for information about the other sections of the dialog.

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.

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.

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

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.

 

 

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

 

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.
   

 

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.

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.
   
• 

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).

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).

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.

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).

 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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).
• 

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.

Print opening balances

To print the opening balances:

• To print the contents of the table, use the Print / Preview command, by selecting the rows of the Balance Sheet.
• You can also use the Accounting printouts and set the printout only for the Balance Sheet part and the opening column.

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
• Enhanced Balance Sheet
• Enhanced Balance Sheet by groups
• Accounting Report

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 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.

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.

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.

Once the closing and verification entries are executed, it is recommended to lock the transactions

• Actions > Lock Transactions
  The transactions rows will be numbered and will have a blockchain code that ensures their security.

End of year printouts

For end-of-year financial statement printouts, you can find the information by clicking on the following links:

• Accounts cards 
• Journal
• Enhanced Balance Sheet with groups
  • Check the tutorial video: it shows you how to create and print the enhanced Balance sheet with groups. 
• Accounting report
• VAT summary (Report)
• End of year PDF Printouts

PDF Folder

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

• Year end closure of the Double-entry Accounting
• Year end closure of the Multi-currency accounting for exchange rate issues

All accounting information relating to the opening of the new financial year can be found on the page

• Create a new year in the Double-entry accounting

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:

• To print the contents of the Table use the Print/Preview command, selecting the rows of the Balance sheet.
• It is also possible to use the Accounting Printouts and set the print only for the part of the Balance sheet and the opening column.

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.

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:

• Enter the official exchange rates as of 31st December into the Exchange Rates table, in the Exchange Rate column, in the rows without a date.
  (or the closing exchange rates provided by the company’s statutes).
• Via the Actions menu > Create transactions for exchange rate variation.
• Open the file for the New Year and Update opening balances 
   

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

• 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.

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. 

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.

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

• Tools Menu → Convert to new file ...

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.

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).