Module 1 Introduction

Contents
Simple Overview ........................................................................................ 3 Accounting Overview ................................................................................. 3 Which Tabs do I need to get going? ........................................................... 3 Getting started checklist............................................................................. 5 FAQs........................................................................................................... 7 Top Tips and Shortcuts ............................................................................. 10 Add a User................................................................................................ 12

Liquid Accounts has a range of powerful accounting functions, but at its simplest level, weve tried to make it easy to use and easy to understand. The aim of this guide is to get you going and explain the basic principles of how to use the system for managing your business. Once you are up and running, there is more detail available through the Help screen in the top right of your screen with videos and printable documents.

Simple Overview
This guide will highlight the importance of recording your transactions in the correct place. Every company has a series of Tabs that are inter-related. Eg: Transactions recorded in the Sales Tab and Purchases Tab also feed into the Bank Tab, the VAT Tab (if enabled) and the Results Tab. This avoids time consuming multiple entries, posting transactions to the relevant part of the accounts for you.

Accounting Overview
The system comes with a number of features that build the full accounting package. How you actually use the system is up to you. Some businesses use Liquid as a simple invoicing tool and some use the full system to run VAT returns and export to produce their year end accounts. If you are in any doubt about the best way to use Liquid for your business, please consult your accountant/bookkeeper or watch the online help videos. The following guide is not an exhaustive list, but is aimed at introducing the essentials to get your business accounts setup and running. See also our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

Which Tabs do I need to get going?

Sales

Input Customer Details Raise and send Sales Invoices Collect money from sales activity Review outstanding debts If its for an invoice, its got to go through here, not the Bank Tab

Purchases

Input Supplier Details Record Purchase Invoices Purchase invoices are all invoices that you have received from suppliers e.g. BT Bill Pay suppliers See which suppliers you owe money to

Banking See whats in your Bank Accounts Ensure that your Bank Accounts and the system agree Add Transactions that arent linked to Sales or Purchases e.g. Bank Interest Remember, the system only knows what you tell it. Checking your statement against the system is a good check that youve not missed any transactions

VAT Calculate your VAT return see setting up VAT Returns

Company Details Various settings that youll need to administer your company and its users Amend passwords and privileges

Configuring your system for you

Ok, Im ready to get started. What do I need to do next?

Getting started checklist

Bank Tab: The system comes with one bank account. To add more accounts see the How to Add a Bank Account help document in the help menu. Setup date and frequency to reconcile Bank (defaults to end of each Month): More information is in the How to Add a Bank Account help document. Invoice Numbers: In Company/ Company details, adjust the last Sales and Purchases invoice number if you dont want to start at Invoice number 1. Once detail has been entered click on Save in the bottom left corner. VAT Scheme (if registered): This is located Company/ Company details. Default is Standard VAT accounting, tick box to select Cash Accounting or PRN. Alternatively enter your rate for Flat Rate Accounting. Once detail has been entered click on Save in the bottom left corner. Opening Balances: If you have previous accounts for this company, any previous balances will need to be transferred into Liquid. We recommend that you discuss this with your accountant, as they can do this through their Liquid Accounts Client Manager.

Nominal Code Structure: you are provided with a generic Nominal Structure. If you require industry specific nominal codes, this is possible through Company/Nominal Setup/Maintenance. Eg in the motor industry, you may want to classify your sales as SA01- Sale of Vehicles, SA02- Sale of Parts and Servicing, SA03 Labour etc. Invoice template structure: Liquid comes with a standard invoice template. However, if you wish to include personalised information in the header and footer, e.g. a company logo, bank details, remittance advice, this is possible through Company/Company Details and follow Setup next to Invoice Filename. NB you will need basic HTML knowledge to do this. Otherwise this is a service that we can provide. Invoice setup: Company registration number: to display this on your invoice you will need to have a bespoke invoice set up for your company. Year End Date: you entered this on sign-up. Check that this is the date that your current year ends, not your last year. Check it in Company/Company details/Year End.

FAQs
Q. I have a company credit card for expenses. How do I put this into my accounts? A. We advise that you set up your credit card account as a supplier and put your transactions on as a purchase invoice. This way your credit card company is treated by the system as any other supplier. If you do not pay your credit card off in full the amount owing will show along with any other suppliers you owe. Q. I have got a company debit card. How do I deal with these transactions? A. If you are using the debit card to pay for transactions you have entered as purchase invoices, you will need to put the transaction through on the correct supplier account. Do this as a payment out of the bank account that the card will debit from. However, if you are using the card to buy small items that you do not receive a purchase invoice where you only receive a till receipt, it is easier to enter it through the Batch process as a bank payment. Q. How do I handle personal expenses? A. We advise that each individual expense account is set up as a supplier and expenses are added to it as purchase invoices. They are then paid just like any other supplier to the company. Q. Why do the screenshots on the help documents look different to my version? A. There are many additional modules available on Liquid. The screenshots on the help documents may not be exactly the same as on your screen because the additional modules add extra functions and therefore buttons. Most of the help documents have been done with no additional modules added to avoid confusion. Q. How do I transfer money between bank accounts? A. Use the Batch function in the banking section to transfer money between bank accounts. Simply choose a Bank payment and select the bank account you are transferring from in the bank field. Enter the details and amount, then select the nominal code of the bank account you are paying the money in to in the Nominal box.

How do I work with my accountant/bookkeeper? A. Your accountant and bookkeeper can access your accounts through our Client Manager tool, which provides them the functionality to do the activities they need in order to support you. We have designed our system this way so that we can keep your part of the package as simple as possible. In order for your accountant and bookkeeper to gain access to your accounts you will need to provide them with your company code and company password. Q. What does the Liquid support service cover? A. Liquid Accounts support is free of charge and is available during normal business hours. Examples of what Liquid can support you with: Help with how to use the software Changing your account, for example adding extra modules. If you believe there has been a fault with the system. If you cannot access your account. If you have made an error and want to know how to rectify it. However, liquid cannot support you regarding accounting issues. You must speak to your accountant for this. For example, Liquid can help you add new nominal codes to the system, but for advice on what nominal codes to use you must speak to your accountant. Q. Can two people log in at the same time? A. The system was designed so that you can have many users logged in simultaneously. Q. My invoices are printing with a web address at the top, what should I do? A. This is a setting in your internet browser on your computer. You need to remove the header and footer from the page settings in your browser (see below). In Internet Explorer (see below), go to File and select Page Setup. If there is anything in the Header and Footer box, then delete it (this is usually only the URL and the date and not important).

In Firefox (see below), go to File and select Page Setup. Choose the Margin & Header/Footer tab and ensure that the boxes are set to blank for each section.

Q. I cannot remember my log in details? A. Go to your company administrator and they can access them for you. If you are the administrator ring our support line and we will help you. Q. Do I have to enter everything in date order? A. No, you can put your entries into the system in any order you wish, providing you put the correct date in against the entry it will order them accordingly. Please note that purchase and sales invoice numbers will be allocated in the order that they are entered though. Q. I signed up for Client Manager, but it doesnt seem to do anything. A. The Client Manager is for accountants and bookkeepers to manage a Liquid Accounts client using the system. They need to add that client by entering the company code and password. You must sign up to Liquid to manage your books, not the Client Manager.

Top Tips and Shortcuts Shortcuts

In the date field, to enter todays date, enter a full stop [.]and then the tab key.

If you need to enter another date, simply enter the numbers for it. For example, for the 9th August, instead of typing in 09/08/2010 simply enter 0908 and it will automatically convert it to the correct format.

Tabbing
The application has been designed to utilise the Tab key, not the Enter key. The Enter key has varying functions in different internet browsers. Tabbing through the boxes is quicker than selecting each one with the mouse.

Searching
There are several different ways to find the customer or supplier you are looking for using the new dropdown menus. Firstly, you can click into the search box and scroll down the list. Click or press tab on the desired one.

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Secondly, you can start typing the name of the supplier. Once it has filtered out the irrelevant ones it will highlight the predicted one in blue. You can either keep typing or simply press the tab key to select this customer/ supplier.

You can type in the start of the name and click on the desired one. Alternatively, use the arrow keys and then press the tab button the required one is highlighted. You can search for a customer/ supplier by typing in any key word; it doesnt have to be the first few letters. In the example below I have typed in decoration and it found Elle Decoration

Finally, you can enter the company code of the desired customer/ supplier.

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Add a User
Liquid Accounts comes with one user that is set up during the sign-up process. If you wish to add additional users, follow the instructions below. Select the Company menu tab at the top of the screen and then choose the Users menu option

On the right-hand side of the list of your existing users, press the New User button.

The form below will appear on the right-hand side of the screen and you need to complete it. Guidance notes on each section are given below.

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Notes on completing the form: First Name This is the first name of the new user. Surname This is the surname of the new user. Date of Birth The date of birth of the new user. Email The email address of the new user. Security Question This is a question that may be asked to identify the user. It can be any question that the user will know the answer to. Security Answer Answer to question above. Password A password for the individual user. Permission This is the permission level for the new user. Depending upon the role and how much of the accounts you wish your new user to see will depend upon what level their permission should be set to. Location Leave set to UK. Traditional Menu Tick this if you would prefer the new user to have traditional accounting terminology - for example, age debt. If you leave this box un-ticked, their menus will be displayed in plain English - for example, money owed. Show Icons This will display pictorial icons against the menu buttons. Exclude This will allow you to exclude certain functions for this user. So for example, at the permission level you have chosen there may still be aspects of Liquid Accounts that you do not want the user to see. Simply press the build list button and a separate window will appear. Pick the functions you wish to exclude. When you have finished, press the update button. It will then take you back to the user form. The items you have chosen to exclude will be listed in the exclude window and will not be shown when the user logs in.

Once you have completed the form, press Insert at the bottom and your user will be created. The new user will appear on your user list on the left-hand side of this page. Do not forget that in order to log in, they will need the company code, company password, first name, surname and password. The last three of which you have just created for them in this form.

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The following table shows what each permission level has access to:

Sales Purchases
50/100 150 200 250 255/ 300
NO NO

Banking
NO

VAT Results
NO NO

HR
NO

Company
NO

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

NO

NO

YES

YES

NO

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

YES

YES

NO

YES

NO

NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

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