Accounting & Finance User Manual

1. Introduction

The Accounting & Finance module is Elinom ERP's core financial management workspace. It covers the full record-to-report cycle: banking, sales and receivables, purchases and payables, general ledger, tax compliance, fixed assets, budgeting, and statutory financial statements.

Open the module from the ERP shell sidebar (#accounting) or directly at public/accounting.html?standalone=1. Authenticated users land on the Dashboard; visitors see the marketing landing page first.

• Finance users — day-to-day transactions, reconciliations, and reports.
• Finance administrators — chart of accounts, tax rules, periods, and approvals.
• Auditors / compliance — read-only access to audit trails, filing logs, and governance panels.

2. Getting Started

First-time setup checklist

1. Log in to Elinom ERP with a user that has Accounting access.
2. Open Accounting from the app switcher or sidebar.
3. Confirm Company Settings (legal name, base currency, fiscal year).
4. Review or import your Chart of Accounts.
5. Configure Tax (VAT/GST rates, withholding rules if applicable).
6. Connect Bank Accounts or import opening balances.
7. Create customers and suppliers (CRM / AP Suppliers).
8. Post opening Journal Entries if migrating from another system.

3. Dashboard

The Dashboard gives a real-time snapshot of cash position, revenue, expenses, receivables, and payables. KPI cards drill through to underlying reports when configured.

How to use the Dashboard

1. Navigate to Accounting → Dashboard.
2. Select the date range or period filter at the top of the page.
3. Click any KPI tile to open the related section (e.g. aging, P&L).
4. Use quick actions for new invoice, receipt, or journal entry where shown.

4. Banking

Manage bank accounts, import or sync transactions, reconcile statements, and transfer funds between accounts.

Bank Accounts

1. Go to Banking → Bank Accounts.
2. Click Add Account and enter institution, account number, currency, and GL link.
3. Save — the account appears on the banking dashboard and in transfers.

Bank Reconciliation

1. Open Bank Reconciliation.
2. Select the bank account and statement period.
3. Match imported statement lines to system payments and receipts.
4. Create adjusting journal entries for bank fees or timing differences.
5. Mark the reconciliation complete when the closing balance agrees.

5. Sales & Revenue

Track sales performance, issue invoices and credit notes, record customer receipts, and monitor receivables aging.

• Sales Overview — summary metrics and trends.
• Sales by Customer / Item / Region — dimensional analysis.
• Credit Notes — reverse or adjust prior invoices.
• Receipts — allocate customer payments to open invoices.
• Aging Reports — overdue balances by bucket (current, 30, 60, 90+ days).

Create and send an invoice

1. Open Sales or the invoicing workspace from the sidebar.
2. Click New Invoice.
3. Select customer, invoice date, due date, and line items (products/services).
4. Confirm tax codes per line; totals calculate automatically.
5. Save as draft or Post/Send to update AR and the general ledger.

6. General Ledger

The general ledger is the system of record for all financial balances.

Chart of Accounts

1. Navigate to Chart of Accounts.
2. Use account types: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense.
3. Add sub-accounts with codes that match your reporting structure.
4. Deactivate (do not delete) unused legacy accounts to preserve history.

Journal Entries

1. Open Journal Entries → New Entry.
2. Enter date, reference, and balanced debit/credit lines.
3. Attach supporting documents where required.
4. Post the entry — it flows to Trial Balance and financial statements.

7. Bookkeeping & Period Close

Bookkeeping tools help controllers manage accounting periods, month-end checklists, adjustments, and close notes.

• Overview — period status and completion score.
• Periods — open, soft-close, or lock periods.
• Checklist — standard close tasks (reconcile banks, accrue expenses, etc.).
• Adjustments — recurring and manual adjusting entries.
• Notes — document assumptions for auditors.

Month-end close workflow

1. Complete all bank reconciliations.
2. Post accruals and depreciation runs.
3. Run Trial Balance and investigate variances.
4. Generate P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow.
5. Lock the period in Bookkeeping → Periods.

8. Accounts Payable

Manage vendor bills, payment vouchers, supplier master data, and optional AP automation (capture, review queue, PO matching, approvals).

1. Register suppliers under AP Suppliers.
2. Enter or capture vendor bills (Vendor Bills).
3. Route high-value bills through Approval Workflow if enabled.
4. Create Payment Vouchers and pay via bank transfer or cheque.
5. Review AP Audit Trail for compliance evidence.

9. Fixed Assets

Maintain the fixed asset register, run depreciation, handle revaluation and impairment, and process disposals with automatic journal postings.

• Asset Register — add assets with cost, useful life, and GL accounts.
• Depreciation — monthly or annual depreciation runs.
• Asset Disposal — gain/loss on sale or scrap.
• Component Accounting — significant parts of larger assets.

10. Budgeting & Cash Flow

Plan budgets by account or dimension, compare actual vs budget, and model cash inflows, outflows, and projections.

1. Define budgets in Budget Setup.
2. Run Actual vs Budget reports each month.
3. Use Scenario Planning for what-if analysis.
4. Monitor Projected Cash Flow alongside bank balances.

11. Tax Management

Configure and file VAT/GST returns, generate tax reports, and maintain filing logs. Advanced packs support multi-country rules, reverse charge, withholding tax, and deferred tax ledgers.

1. Set tax codes on products and default accounts in settings.
2. Review transactions for correct tax treatment before period close.
3. Generate VAT/GST Returns for the filing period.
4. Export or submit per local rules; record confirmation in Filing Logs.

12. Financial Reports

Produce statutory and management reports directly from posted ledger data.

• Profit & Loss — revenue and expenses for a period.
• Balance Sheet — assets, liabilities, and equity as at a date.
• Cash Flow Statement — operating, investing, and financing flows.
• Trial Balance — verify debits equal credits before signing off.

Generate a report

1. Open the desired report from the sidebar.
2. Set period, comparison period, and currency if applicable.
3. Click Run or Generate.
4. Export to PDF or Excel using the toolbar actions.

13. Advanced Features

Depending on your subscription, you may have access to:

• Multi-Entity Consolidation — group reporting with eliminations.
• FX Intelligence — rates, revaluation, dual reporting.
• Dimensional Accounting — cost centre, project, department tagging.
• Governance & Internal Controls — maker-checker, period lock, immutable journals.
• Treasury Module — cash visibility, loans, interest accrual.
• AI Accountant — assisted categorisation and insights.

14. Integrations & Payroll Link

Accounting integrates with CRM, Inventory, POS, and the Payroll add-on. Payroll journal entries can post automatically to configured expense and liability accounts when a pay run is approved.

1. Open Integrations from the sidebar.
2. Enable the Payroll bridge and map wage, tax, and pension accounts.
3. After each payroll run, review the suggested journal batch before posting.

15. Troubleshooting & FAQs

• Cannot post to a period — the period may be locked; reopen in Bookkeeping (admin only).
• Report does not balance — check for unposted journals or sub-ledger mismatches.
• Blank screen in a section — refresh the page; ensure you are authenticated and the module finished loading.
• 401 / 403 errors — session expired or insufficient role; log in again or contact admin.
• Tax amount wrong — verify tax code on line items and effective dates on rate tables.