FOLLOW THE CORN-SOY-WHEAT-FLORIDA ROTATION TO TAMPA

"Yo-ho-ho and a barrel of ethanol."

The final winter trade show of 2007 is located far from the snow and ice that have plagued us this winter.  Spirits should be high for corn, soybean and wheat growers as they head to Tampa, Florida, for the annual Commodity Classic.  If you're headed that way, drop by our booth (513) and say, "hi" to Norm and Cheryl, who drew the short straws for this daunting assignment.  They'll be happy to answer questions about your current FBS products as well as demonstrate some of the new and intriguing tools like Farm SeRVey dashboard, Farm SeRVer hosted software, LifeCycle Budget and the Scanner and Contract modules.  The trade show will be held at the Tampa Convention Center from Thursday, March 1, through Saturday, March 3.

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Matt Downey (seated), Doug Ball (standing)

We're excited to announce two staffing changes at FBS Systems.  Beginning this month, Matt Downey has joined us as a Software Sales Consultant in training.  Matt grew up on a local hog and grain farm and concentrated in Spanish and music in college.  He's a talented singer and a genuine "people person" ready to listen and learn from our customers as well as his mentors here at FBS.

Doug Ball has been promoted to Sales Manager and will be responsible for directing FBS's internal sales force and network of resellers and consultants as well coordinate training for end-users.  Doug has served FBS clients for 13 years as a Software Sales Consultant and trainer and has specialized in delivering solutions for pork producers.  He and his family are active in sports and livestock showing.

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It doesn't make much sense to go to all of the trouble of developing a Whole Farm Plan and then ignore it the rest of the year, does it?  The best approach is to monitor your actual performance against the plan on a month-by-month basis.  This requires that your total farm plan not only parallels your accounting system, but that is also integrates with it.

Should your actual performance match your plan?  Yes.

Will it match your plan?  Of course not.

Most likely, one of three things will happen:

•	Net cash flow, production or income will be higher than planned
•	Net cash flow, production or income will be lower than planed
•	Receipts and expenses will occur at different times than planned

When these things occur, it's time to "earn your keep".

"A manager's function is to adjust to change", says Donald Chafin of Wilmington College.  To accomplish this, you've got to have access to as much "known" information as possible.  That can come from six different levels of farm records.

Cash accounting records.  Why do revenue and expenses vary from the plan?  Is it due to a change in quantities, unit costs or prices, or timing?  How have cash requirements changed?

Accrual financial records.  What is the true financial position of your business?  Are departures from the plan caused by serious problems or just distortions in the cash flow?

Production records.  Are production schedules "on track"?  Are yield or market price assumptions still realistic?  Were inputs like feed, seed, chemicals and fertilizer consumed at a different rate than projections?

Inventories.  How much of this year's and next year's crops are left to sell or price?  When will livestock inventories be ready for market?  What quantity of needed supplies are currently on hand or booked.

Enterprise records.  How have costs of production for each crop and livestock enterprise changed since the original plan was developed?   (Remember, unit costs are affected by production events and inventory positions as well as cash receipts and expenses.)

Ownership records.  Are deviations from the plan caused by outstanding payments due from or to landlords, partners or other accounting entities within the operation?

Once this known information is in hand, you can begin to deal effectively with all those unknowns-weather, markets and the government, that invariably crop up every year.

Conclusion
Whole Farm Planning is a continuous process.  During some years, you can get by with one or two "midcourse corrections".  But under the volatile conditions (of 1988), your plan may have to be monitored and revised on a weekly or even daily basis.

Whole Farm Planning can tell you precisely where you are today and project where you'll be tomorrow based on all currently available information.  These facts are organized in the following form:



(The preceding is a reprint of a FarmSmart article first published in 1988.)

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This month we begin a new series on "things you never knew your software could do."  We'll be looking at various modules we've developed to meet the unique needs of our clients.  The first application—the Intercompany Module—allows you to communicate between and consolidate companies.

Background
There are two ways of handling and consolidating accounting entities in TransAction Plus accounting:

1.	By Division within a (three letter) company database.
2.	Through separate company databases.

Technically, you can maintain up to 500 Divisions/(accounting entities) within one TransAction data file, each maintaining its own balance sheet and fiscal year.  Over the years many of our clients have used Divisions (originally called Profit Centers) successfully for this purpose.  However, as operations grow and financial reporting requirements become more stringent, a more "arms-length" approach is often desired, leading to the development of the Inter-Company Module.

Overview
The Inter-Company Module does the following:

•	Creates offsetting accounts payable/accounts receivable entries between companies
•	Combines selected companies in these reports:
	•	Balance Sheet
	•	Income Statement
	•	Consolidated Cost Analysis
•	Prints columns by companies as well as "eliminations" column to net out inter-company entries

Cost: $1,495.00

1. Create A/P (or A/R) entry in Company #1 and check "Create Offset"

2. After selecting Company #2 and offsetting A/R (or A/P) entry is created.

3. Run Balance Sheet or Income Statement with columns for each company as well as an "Eliminations" column to net out inter-company transactions.  Consolidated Cost Analysis will also create a "giant spreadsheet" including activities of selected companies.

Prerequisites

1.	Companies must use the same chart of accounts
2.	Data files must be in the same directory
3.	You must have both Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable installed
4.	Recommended:  Define a Division for posting all inter-company entries.

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