CROPSHOP.2005: PROFITABLE
PRELUDE TO THE NATIONAL FARM MACHINERY SHOW
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| Our
user panel will reports on their second year of managerial accounting. |
Dr.
Howard Doster will guide us in benchmarking and strategic decision-making. |
You'll reach for the top and raise your bottom line with training at CROPSHOP.2005,
which this year will cover the latest cropping advancements from accounting
to new data collection to benchmarking. Here are the highlights of the
February 15th Louisville seminar:
| • |
How
producers like you are adapting managerial accounting practices. (FBS
user panel) |
| • |
An
M.I.S. Growth Path that will help you reach your goals…one
step at a time |
| • |
Collaborating
with your Crop/Financial consultants via the Internet (Bill
Stangel and Ev Chambers, AgCompass) |
| • |
Standardizing
reporting of Farm Service Agency / crop insurance payments |
| • |
Incorporating
cash and futures contracts into your information system |
| • |
Evaluating
innovative field data collection technologies. (Phil
Neff, Critereon, and Norm Brown) |
| • |
Can
you rely on managerial accounting for benchmarking to make
strategic decisions? (Dr. Howard Doster, Purdue University
(retired) and Brown) |
| • |
By
attending you qualify for free beta versions of two new
FBS modules! |
CROPSHOP.2005
is not a repeat of
last year's training. We're loaded with fresh new information and materials
you'll want to know about. You don't have to be an FBS user to attend!
Space is limited. For more information, email us at sales@fbssystems.com
or call 800-437-7638, or check out our web
page. You'll enjoy this productive prelude to the National Farm Machinery
Show. Make your reservations today!
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THE FUTURE OF AFRA
This time
of year we receive a lot of inquiries as to the future of AFRA
(Agricultural Financial Reporting and Analysis). Last year
we compared the "Old World" (manage by cash/report by accrual) financial
approach used by AFRA with the "New World" (manage
by accrual/report by cash). We haven't forgotten our AFRA
users and are slowly but surely building a growth path from this DOS design
to a Windows application that is tightly integrated with TransAction
Plus, Crop Audit and Smart Feeder. Here's an update:
Historical Reports
AFRA uses a pre-formatted set of external financial statements
(Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flows, Statement
of Owner Equity and Ratio Reports). By external we mean
that while they can be updated from the TransAction Plus general
ledger, they can also be manipulated without directly posting transactions.
While cash income and expenses are simple to transfer between the two
systems, inventories, adjustments for accounts payable/receivable and
cost of goods sold are much more challenging.
Our solution in Windows involves five improvements to TransAction Plus:
| 1. |
No
redundant information. Every report is created
in real time directly from the general ledger database. |
| 2. |
Flexible
format. Financial report layout can format to your
preferences and unique chart of accounts. |
| 3. |
Multiple
reporting levels—Cash /Accrual / Management / Market
values. |
| 4. |
"Date
cash exchanged" option changes the timing of accounts payable/receivable
expenses/revenues from accrual to cash basis. |
| 5. |
Multi-year
balance sheet and income statements. |
| 6. |
Optional
Ferguson and FFSC Ratio Reports. |
| 7. |
Optional
e.CLIPSE module
automates inventory valuation and accrual adjustments by accounting
period. AFRA users who convert to e.CLIPSE also qualify for free
copies of the (Work In Process) WIP Inventory Change and Standard Cost / Vendor
Monitor reports, which provide detailed "supporting schedules"
for statements. |
These enhancements
will require conversion and commitment to a "New World" accounting mindset,
but the results will be much more acceptable to accountants and lenders
and useful to owners and managers.
Next month we'll describe how we're converting the budgeting functions of AFRA to Windows.
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MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL PARTNERING
In November,
2004, software companies providing managerial accounting to agriculture
shared their experiences at the Farm Financial Standards Council annual
meeting. The Council is active in coordinating the introduction
and standardization of management accounting (M.A.) in agriculture. (FBS's
entry into this category is called e.CLIPSE.) Click
here for more information. This month we conclude this
report with recommendations on how accounting and educational professionals
can facilitate successful adoption of management accounting.
Educational Process
Unlike early (and unsuccessful) efforts by the National Pork Producers
Council to train producers to be cost accountants, educational goals should
primarily focus on exposing managers to the concepts and possibilities
of M.A. This process should focus on case studies (both in
an outside of agriculture) and foster user groups that are committed to
long-term learning.
Adding Value
Accountants, financial consultants and their clients are beginning to
discover the synergy that can be achieved through information specialization. Technologies
ranging from data synchronization (Figure 1) to Terminal Services (Figure
2) permits the producer to concentrate on basic cash entries and inventory
control while the accountant can serve as "virtual controller" without
leaving his office. We'll be demonstrating this second function
at CROPSHOP.2005
on February 15th.
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| Figure 1 |
Figure 2. Using
Terminal Services to provide real time connections between clients,
service providers and a "virtual controller." |
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SOFTWARE Q&A
– WITH Q'S FROM YOU, OUR CLIENTS!
Send us
your questions/problems–be they short, long, simple or downright
frustratin'!–about SeRVware
and we'll handle them right "on the air" for the benefit of all.
|
Q.
|
I need to void an AP (or AR) invoice. What is
the best way to do this?
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| a.
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FBS has a new feature
in the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable modules to
void invoices that have not been paid.
| 1. |
Choose
INPUT | A/P and A/R Payments | Void A/P Invoices
or Void A/R Invoices |
| 2. |
Choose
the date range you wish to search for the invoices
to void. |
| • |
Starting
date: Type the beginning invoice
date to include or click on the calendar. |
| • |
Ending
date: Type the ending invoice date
to include or click on the calendar. |
| • |
Search
by due date: Checkmark this box if
you want to find entries based on the due date using
the range above. |
| • |
Date
voided: Enter the date you want recorded
for the date you actually voided the entry. |
| 3. |
To
select the vendors to search for, either put a
checkmark in the box beside the vendors name or to
select all vendors click the Select All Vendors button. |
| 4. |
To
find the A/P or A/R entries to void, click OK. The
program will return the invoices that match the search
criteria. It will not find an invoice that
has been paid or money received. |
| 5. |
To
void the entry, type "Y" for Yes in
the entry field and click on the Void Invoice button. To
leave the entry alone, leave the field with an "N"
in it for No. |
| 6. |
This
routine creates a journal entry with offsetting entries
to the Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable ledger
account and to the Expense or Income account of the
original invoice. |
To void invoices that have been paid follow
this procedure:
| 1. |
Void
the check (or deposit) that paid the invoice(s). |
| 2. |
Edit
each invoice that the check paid and change the amount
paid (or received) field on the A/P (or A/R) entry(s)
to 0.00. |
| 3. |
Now
the invoice can be deleted or voided through the process
above. |
|
Call in your questions (800.437.7638) or e-mail them
to support@fbssystems.com. |
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CLIENT'S CORNER
• In The News!
Jerry
Brightbill, Plainview, Texas, was featured in two January 2005,
Progressive Farmer articles: "Eye on Irrigation"
describes how he uses his computer to track his 22 center pivots across
40 miles. "Charged
Up" covers how he uses the Energized Spray Process to reduce
drift with his two Spra-Coupes. .
Steve Kerns as President Elect of the Iowa Pork Producers
Association joined the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on a trade
mission to Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Mike and Sarah Ver Steeg have been awarded Iowa Master
Pork Producers.
George Holsapple, Illinois, Jeff and Gordon Smiley,
Indiana, participated the Corn F.I.R.S.T. (Farmers Independent
Research of Seed Technology) trials.
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