Dear Friend,

FBS friends and family at the World Pork Expo.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by our booth at the 2018 World Pork Expo or participated in the Future of Your Software meeting and webinar also held at the Expo.  The summer is just beginning with two big events coming up in July and August:

• Speaker and registration information for FBS Ag Software Success Summit in Moline, IL.
• Farm Financial Standards Conference in Champaign, IL, to explore data integration with management accounting.
• Don't get trapped in canned accounting.
• Hord Family Named Pork Industry Masters.
• Bank Balance Discrepancy.                                                                                                                                                   SDG

Speakers and Sponsors Announced for FBS Ag Software Success Summit

August 22-23 is your best opportunity to master the theory and application of management accounting in agriculture.  We've assembled world-class experts who will share best industry practices and guidance for implementing practical, customized management and analysis systems. 

The FBS 2018 Ag Software Success Summit in Moline, Illinois, includes an in-depth workshop, but doesn't stop with just theory.  You'll have the opportunity to interact with both producers and professionals who have tight control over costs and margins.

Dick Wittman Wittman, Idaho farmer, past president of the Farm Financial Standards Council, and TEPAP faculty member will keynote the conference with "Using Management Accounting to Link Financial Performance Analysis and Strategic Thinking."
Casey Westphalen, MBA Director of Business Solutions/CFO at NutriQuest, Casey helps livestock producers establish financial planning, monitoring and benchmarking tools that are grounded in the key production aspects of the business.
Jennifer Brown, CPA Prior to joining NutriQuest, Jennifer served as CFO and Controller for a company with multi-state operations in grain farming, livestock production and timber management.
John McNutt, MBA Past president of the National Pork Producers Council, John is a business analyst and consultant with LattaHarris, LLP.
Bob Krogmeier, CPA Bob specializes in corporate, partnership, and personal tax preparation; business analytics; managerial accounting; budgeting; internal auditing at LattaHarris  LLP.
Kent Mogler After 33 years in corporate manufacturing, financing and IT, Kent is innovating in his Iowa family livestock and grain operation and providing guidance to FBS clients.
Brian Metzger For the past 6 years, Brian has served as Controller of Pig Hill Company, a multi-generational farming operation which produces hogs, cattle, and crops in Northwest Iowa.

Click here for the conference brochure.

Online "early bird" registrations are now available through July 13 by clicking on this link. 

For more information on the conference contact sale@fbssystems.com or call 800.437.7638.

 And thanks to these co-sponsors:

This month we continue a series on the most important factors that contribute to successful farm software implementation and results.

Reason #6:

Don't get trapped in canned accounting.

Don’t force your unique operation into a general accounting program that just tracks dollars. With FBS you’ll be capturing essential agricultural units (weights, rates, purchase/application quantities) as well as meaningful management segments (fields, locations, groups and ownership splits).

View all 7 Steps for Success and watch our video.

Farm Financial Standards Conference Explores Data Integration

The Farm Financial Standards Council will take a closeup and intimate look "behind the curtains" at some of the influencers affecting ag financial reporting when it gathers in Champaign, Illinois on July 25-27.

Highlights include:

• Panel discussion on the latest in farm management software technology and integration from the companies and people developing and implementing the software.
• Integrating financial accounting metrics into changing ag technology and vice versa.
• A second panel of agricultural accounting software providers on the implementation challenges, integration issues, and latest developments in financial and management accounting and reporting.  (FBS will be represented on this panel.)

Q&A: Bank Balance Discrepancy

Sarah Dixon, FBS Sales and Support Coordinator

Q.  Why is my bank balance incorrect when I go to write a check?  When I run the Check Register and Balance Sheet the balance is fine.

A.  Here's an example:

Here we see that the Check Register Bank Balance is -592,279.96 but the check entry shows a Bank Balance of -352,522.50.  The reason the two figures are not agreeing is because the amount you see on the check entry screen is a running balance.  It accumulates from the first check or deposit you wrote for the year and add or subtracts that amount from the beginning balance.  It remembers that number from entry to entry and adjusts based on all the entries you've made for the year.  The value on the Check Register (and Balance Sheet) is always going to be the most accurate because it runs a calculation and goes through the entire database to calculate the balance every time you run the report.  Also you can "back-date" the Check Register to any time period while the Bank Balance display is only valid as of the "last" entry. 

It is very easy to get the two numbers back in sync. 

1. Run your Check Register through the current date and note the Ending Bank Balance.

2. Go to Setup>Accounting>Ledger Accounts and find your bank account.  Highlight the account and click on the Change button at the bottom of the screen.   The very last field is the Current bank balance just type in the correct current balance and it will update the entry screen.

Editor's note:  This example shows a large negative bank balance.  If this is a combined checking account / line of credit often used in agriculture the bank ledger account can be set up as Class 4 (Liability).  The balance will be displayed as a positive number on the input screen and Check Register, but as a credit balance (+) in the liability section of the Balance Sheet rather than a credit balance (-) in the asset section.