Frequently Asked Questions

[Accountancy & other tax issues]  [Club Management]  [Constitutional]  [Payroll Issues]

COMPUTERISATION

101.   Computer Solutions for Clubs
102.   Quicken – Notes on Guidance
103.   Quicken – Frequently Asked Questions
104.   Quick Books – Notes on Guidance
105.   Quick Books – Frequently Asked Questions

COMPUTER SOLUTIONS FOR CLUBS 

Uses of Computers

Computers are acquired by clubs for a number of reasons:-

·        Accounting Packages and Cash Books – choose the right accounting software package and you will save time, make fewer mistakes and
    obtain useful management information.  The most recent breakthrough has been making the software easier to use – you no longer have to
    understand bookkeeping.  A computerised system can simplify and automate routine tasks, for example, there will no longer be any need to
    add up the cash-book

·        Payroll – for the calculation of PAYE; NIC; Statutory Sick Pay; Maternity Pay; Gross and Net Pay.  Maintenance of staff time records

·        Members Register – for recording names and addresses; class of member; date of joining; subscriptions due; subscriptions outstanding, etc.

·        Word Processing – for writing letters, notices and communication with members, suppliers, etc.

·        Stock Control Systems – sophisticated computer packages linked to the club tills.  Such systems are frequently the first contact a club has
    with computers.  The problem with these systems is that they require time and expertise to ensure their effective operation.  Many clubs
    install such systems but never received the full benefit.  Where they are properly used by the club secretary and committee they can be
    very effective in reducing losses and increasing stock surpluses

·        Stocktaking Software – although most clubs prefer to employ the services of a professional stocktaker

·        Electronic banking

In selecting software it is important to select the right software for the job, for example, spreadsheets are very flexible and ideal for displaying and manipulating data in tables, but are not suited to maintaining the cash-book as the main accounting records of a club.

Features required:-

·        Secretaries and club officers usually work part time and require a system that is quick and easy to use

·        The system will become the main record of the club and should have security controls and high quality accurate reporting function

·        Availability of local training and support

·       Cost – expensive packages do not always relate to the best club software.  The dearer packages usually have the most expensive stationery
   and support costs

·       Suitable for use and checking by external organisations, eg, Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise, Accountants, etc.  A club secretary should
   never computerise its records without regard to the requirement of these organisations

Recommendations

It is recommended that clubs in South Wales purchase off the shelf packages produced by the major software houses.  These packages are produced in volume, are well used, reliable and benefit from low cost.  The software and any stationery can be purchased locally from the major PC business stores and local mail order firms.  No one package meets all the needs and requirements of a club and where specialist packages exist they tend to be expensive and not as user friendly as the well used Windows packages supplied by the major software houses.

ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING PACKAGES 

Club secretaries tend to be neither trained accountants nor willing to spend money on training courses.   Secretaries tend to buy through local high street outlets or mail order, rather than through specialist dealers or consultants.  It is, therefore, essential that the software they operate is easy to use with minimal training and has good help facilities.  The leading accounting packages for small business users such as Sage Instant Accounting and Pegasus Capital Lite appear to be scaled down versions of higher end packages.  They are good products but they do not cater for the inexperienced user nor for a member’s club, for example, they are not ideal for dealing with cash sales where there are no credit customers and thus no requirement for features such as customer sales ledger. 

We would not recommend the route tried by a few clubs of using an Excel, Lotus or other spreadsheets.  These packages are not designed to become the main accounting records of a club.  Such systems become prone to error as time passes and more and more data is entered and moved around.  Formulas on these spreadsheets become corrupt and they no longer add up or cross cast.  Most officers and members realise that just because a system is on a computer it is not necessarily accurate, this applies especially to spreadsheet cash-books.  The statement ‘garbage in garbage out’ is true.

Cash Book – for the majority of club secretaries we would recommend Microsoft Money, which retails at £29.99 including VAT.  Although Quicken and the very similar package Microsoft Money are primarily designed for home users they can also be used for small businesses particularly cash businesses such as a club with a bar trade. These packages provide a very powerful cash book and reports to track the club’s income and expenditure, far beyond what you would expect for the price.   The key part of each programme is the cash-book or ‘register’.  The register would look familiar to most secretaries as a sheet of paper where each transaction is entered one after the other down the page.  Transactions can be given more than one category so you can find out how much you spent on each separate item.  A large selection of reports are available which will help the club monitor transactions, cash flow, income and expenditure to a level far beyond the sophistication previously available.  We have developed upgrades to change the standard package to one more suitable for a club.  Upgrades are available for Workingmen’s Rugby, Golf Clubs and Miner’s Institutes.

Accounting Packages – Some clubs may prefer a more advanced package and would choose to opt for a system which in addition to a cash book can handle more advanced features such as a suppliers’ purchase ledger, VAT reporting and even a nominal ledger.  The major small business packages specialising in this field include, Sage Instant Accounting, Pegasus Lite, TAS Books, MYOB and Quickbooks.  Based on the tests we have performed we have found Quickbooks, which retails at £99.99 including VAT, the easiest to use and the most suitable for clubs.  Quickbooks is produced by Intuit the suppliers of Quicken and the two programmes share many similar features.  The package has over two million users worldwide and is the winner of many awards including BASDA (The Business and Accounting Software Developers Association) entry-level business software award.  It performs well in computer magazine surveys of accounting products, for example, it is the Editor’s Choice in the November 1999 edition of Personal Computer World.  However, for most clubs especially where there is limited experience of computer packages we would recommend Quicken 2000 upgrading to Quickbooks once a level of proficiency and under standing has been achieved.

PAYROLL

Most clubs like many small businesses cannot cope with the raft of new legislation effecting payroll. Accordingly, more secretaries, in all but the smallest clubs, will be looking for help with their wage and payroll calculations and many will turn to computer software packages to provide this assistance.  Good payroll software does more than just calculate wages and print pay slips.  Advantages of these packages include:-

-      The software ensures compliance with statutory rules and procedures

-      It performs complex calculations involving different tax and National Insurance rates, automatically interpreting tax codes

-      The software should be able to calculate Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, holiday pay etc.

-      Gross pay is calculated from hours worked

-      Payslips are automatically produced

-      Additional deductions can be made for court orders, pension contributions, etc.

-      Most software will print end of year returns, P45’s, P35’s P14’s and P60’s

For between £100 to £200 there are a number of excellent payroll packages available. Support and training must be considered and we recommend one of the major software houses for most clubs such as Pegasus or Quickbooks if the Quickbooks accounting package is used.  Once a payroll package is acquired it is necessary to buy upgrades every year.  For a small annual fee these upgrades take account of changes in income tax and National Insurance legislation.  It is not advisable to use packages based on prior year tax tables.  When purchasing a payroll package it is important that it can handle the number of staff you employ remembering to add on an allowance for starters and leavers during the year.

MEMBERS REGISTER

A few clubs successfully operate a member’s ledger on a word processing or spreadsheet package, however, these are not ideal because they have limited reporting functions.  A database system such as Microsoft Access is a far better programme providing stronger control and reporting functions.  It should not be necessary for a workingmen’s clubs to pay a great deal for a member’s register, Microsoft Works and Access and Lotus Approach, for example, contain a member’s register built in which is suitable for many clubs.

A number of specialist packages exist although these tend to be expensive especially for the smaller workingmen’s club, and the packages tend to be designed for members’ clubs with a high subscription rate, or for golf clubs who require a more detailed record of members, eg, including handicaps, etc.  

ONLINE BANKING

A number of clubs have taken advantage of the electronic banking facilities offered by the major banks.  The club’s computer will require a telephone modem to communicate with the bank.  Features used by a club include:-

·       Payments to major suppliers direct from the club.  Payments can be timed to co-ordinate with the club’s cash flow requirements. The bank
   systems provide security controls over authorisation of payments

·       Managing the current account balance

·       Transfer of funds between the club’s current and deposit accounts

·       Obtaining bank statements

NOTES ON GUIDANCE – QUICKEN

1.    Click on the Quicken Icon.

2.    The home page is displayed.  Select the option you require by clicking on it.  eg to enter Cheques, Standing Orders etc on the current
 account register, click on  Current Account.

3.    When you enter the register, the date column will be highlighted, to proceed to the cheque number column, alter the date, if necessary and
 press enter/return.

4.    A drop down table appears in the cheque number column.  Click on the option required, eg next cheque number if appropriate, or, enter the
 cheque serial number manually.  Press enter/return.

5.    Type in the Payee shown on the cheque.  If the name has been used previously, it will come up automatically when the first couple of letters
 have been entered.  Press enter to proceed to payment column.

6.    Once again, if an entry has previously been made, the program memorises the amount that was paid.  If the amount is the same, simply press
 return.  Enter the amount manually if it is different.

7.    If an entry has been made previously, the category will have been set already, eg if a payment is entered for Crown, it will be allocated to
 Cost of Sales – Bar Purchases.

      If the payee is new, click in the category column and a drop down menu appears.  Use the slider bar and arrows on the right hand side to view
the categories available.  Click on the category which best describes the expense – eg Western Mail would be classed as advertising.

8.   It is important that the register mirrors the bank statement.  Where one payment or receipt related to more than one category the ‘split’
function should be used.  For example, where one club cheque is used to reimburse the steward for wages, entertainment, or where the Treasurer banks income from many sources.

·        Click on ‘Split’

·        In the Split Transactions Window select the relevant category

·        Type the amount in the Split Compartment

·        Check the total of the splits equals the transaction in total

·        Click ‘OK’

·        On the bank register click ‘OK’

9.   Click on Reports, then Easy Answer Reports to see where the cheques have been allocated.  eg – click on ‘How Much Did I Spend On’ then
      enter the details that are required and the period that is required.  Click on Create then Show Report to bring the details up on the screen.
      Then click on Print to print a copy.

10.  Other Features

       Lists – Categories show account headings eg gas, electricity.  If you want to create a new category, click 
       on New.  Type in the name of the category – eg Crisps.  Click on whether you want the category to be 
       income, and expenses, or a subcategory.

       Crisps would be a subcategory of Bar Purchase – Dry.  Once you have clicked the subcategory option, 
       use the down arrow to select the category you want – in this case, cost of goods sold.  Click OK to save 
       the details. 

       To edit a category highlight the details to be changed, click on edit and the screen will come up for you to 
       alter the details.

       To delete a subcategory, click on the relevant line and click Delete.

11.  If you wish to find a supplier, payment or any other transaction, a useful feature is the ‘find’ function.  Open the cash book register, one of
      the top menu bars states ‘find’, (above the right arrow).  Click on find and complete the dialogue box.

12.  To amend details of standing orders, click on Standing Orders.

       Click New to set up, Delete to cancel etc when you use these options another screen will appear to enter 
       the necessary details.

        E.g.  Account to use                   Current Account

        Payee                                       SWALEC

        Category                                   use down arrow and select electricity

        Type of transaction                     payment

        Next date                                  say 1st April 2000

        Irregular First Payment                 click if applicable

        Amount                                     say £350

        How often                                 monthly

        Number of Payments                   leave as 999 if you think the amount will not alter for some time

        If however you know that it will change after say 2 months, enter 2.

13.  Home Page

       You will see a number of options.  Click on the one you wish to use eg Forecast My Income and 
       Expenses. 

14.  Printing Reports on Just One Page

       There are some reports and views in Quicken that permit ‘fit to page’ functionality.  This function 
       automatically reduces font size, eliminates wasted space between columns and does other things that help 
       squeeze the report onto a single page or onto fewer pages if it spreads across many pages.  This function is 
       available when printing reports.  After selecting Fit to One Page Wide (on print dialogue box), select print 
       Preview to see if the font size is acceptable.

15.  Help

       If in doubt click on this.  Click on Index and you will be asked to type your question.  You can then display 
       or print the details that have been requested.

16.  Back Up

       This feature is very important and a back up procedure should be carried out every time you use the 
       system.  To use this feature click on file, Backup.

       Insert floppy disk and click yes to continue.  A message will appear to tell you whether the files have been 
       copied successfully. 

17.  End of the Year Procedures

       Your computer may have sufficient hard drive space and processing power to enable you to continue 
       adding data, in which case no specific procedures may be necessary for the year-end other than taking and 
       keeping a back-up copy.  However, Quicken has a couple of features that help you manage the size and 
       integrity of your file.

Archive Last Year’s Quicken Data

To Archive a Quicken File:

·        From the File menu, point to File Operations, and then click Year-End Copy

·        Select Archive and click OK

·        If necessary, change the Quicken-generated filename for the archive file and the location where you want the file saved

·        To archive transactions from only part of last year, change the date shown

·        Click OK

Quicken creates the archive file and copies the historic transactions to it.  When it finishes, Quicken asks you which file you would like to use the current file, or the archive file.

Start a New Year file

To start a new year file:

·        From the File menu, point to file Operations, and click Year-End Copy

·        Select Start new year and click OK

·        Type in a filename for the copy of your current file

·        If you want the new file to begin at a date other than 1st January of this year, type in the date

·        Type in the Move Current File to location if necessary, and click OK

·        When Quicken asks if you want to use the old file or the one you just created, select File for New Year and click OK.  Then check your
    registers to see that the old transactions were removed

18.  Closing Down the System

       Click on the x in the top right hand corner, this takes you back to the desk top.

NOTES TO GUIDANCE – QUICKBOOKS 

1.    To log onto Quickbooks

       Three user-ids have been set up:

            Chairman – Access to input and enquire on details but not to amend

            Treasurer – Full access

            Admin – Full access

       When you double click on the icon for Quickbooks, a password verification screen will appear – Admin automatically defaults as the user-id.
  To alter the user-id press Shift and Tab and overtype admin with Treasurer or Chairman.  You will have been informed of the passwords when
  you were first trained on Quickbooks.

       If you click on OK after you have typed in the password, the Quickbooks Navigator should appear.  If it does not appear click on the QB
 Navigator button at the top right hand of the screen.

2.    To enter Cash Sales or Bar Takings

       To enter Bar Takings or Sundry Sales click on the Sales and Customers tab.

       Then select Cash Sales

         Both Bar Takings and Sundry Sales are entered in almost exactly the same way:-

Bar Takings

1)    Click on the down arrow next to Customer: JOB

2)    Select Bar Takings.

3)    Alter the Tax Date either by overtyping the date or by using the calendar icon.

4)    Tab to the Item field and click on the down arrow.

5)    Select Bar Takings or other appropriate name for the type of income.  You will notice that the VAT rate field is automatically entered –
 S = Standard Rate.  When the item (Bar Takings) was set up there was an option to set the VAT Status (See Note on HOW TO SET UP
 ITEMS).

6)    The Description field does not need to be completed, however it may prove useful to complete this field (eg w/ending 3/7/99).

7)    Tab to the Rate field, here you should type the total amount of bar takings.

8)    Quickbooks will automatically calculate the VAT at the rate specified.

9)   You will notice at the bottom of the screen that Deposit to Petty Cash Account has been selected.  This allows you to post the full
amount of bar takings to a deposit account, pay out for various petty cash items and then post the remainder to the Bank Account.  This
ensures that all income is shown on the VAT 100 report.

10)  You have now completed this screen, if you have more income to post click on Next otherwise click on OK to exit this screen.

Sundry Cash Income

1)    Click on the down arrow next to Customer: JOB.

2)    Select Sundry Cash Income.

3)    See points (3)-(8) above.

4)    With Sundry Cash Income you may have more than one item of income.  Tab to the next line and repeat points (3)-(8).

5)    Click on OK when you have finished.

3.    How to set up items

       When entering income as shown above you may come across a miscellaneous income receipt for which no 
       item code has been set up.  (For an example use Subscriptions).

1)    Enter the income as above but when you come to selecting the item click on <Add New>.

2)    A new screen will appear.  Tab to the item Name/Number field and enter the type of income eg Subscriptions.

3)    Tab down to Sales VAT Code and click on the down  arrow.  A list of possible VAT types is displayed, select the relevant type (e.g.
 Subscriptions is chargeable at standard rate of 17.5%).

4)    Then tab to the Account field and click on the down arrow, you now need to select the account that the income relates to.  Double click
 on the account name to select it.

5)    Press OK, you will now be able to select the new item as normal.

4.    To enter an invoice

1)    Click on the Purchases and Vendors tab.

2)    Select Enter Bills.

3)    Select the name of the vendor the invoice relates to by clicking on the down arrow.

4)    If the supplier does not exist click on <Add New>.  Complete all fields that you require, the only field that you have to complete is
 Vendor. Click on OK once you have completed the details.

5)    Bills and credit notes can be processed through this option.  To select credit notes simply click on the o before the word credit note.

6)    Input the date, invoice ref, Gross Invoice amount, and due date (this is only used to prompt you to make payments on a set date).

7)    If you have used a supplier before then the account detail and amount of the previous invoice will default in.  All you would then need to
 do is check that the invoice is relating to the same type of goods/services (if it is not, select the correct account by clicking on the down
 arrow).  If the invoice is the same then simply overtype the amount, ensuring that the VAT is correct.

8)    Click on OK when the invoice is input or Next if you have another invoice to input.

5.    To Pay Bills

        1)    Click on the Pay Bills icon within Purchases and Vendors.

        2)    Overtype the payment date with the correct date.

        3)    Select “Show all Bills”.

        4)    Ensure that you are paying from the Current (main) account, click on the down arrow and reselect if 
               the account is incorrect.

        5)    Scroll down the list of invoices that are due for payment.  To select the invoice or invoices that you 
               are paying simply click in the “tick” field.

        6)    Click on OK when you have finished.

6.    To pay miscellaneous cheques with no related invoices

        1)    Click on the Banking and Credit Cards tab, then select Cheques.

        2)    Select the bank account that you want to pay out of by using the drop down menu.

        3)    Alter the date as appropriate.

        4)    Tab the to “Pay to the Order of” and use the down arrow to select who you are paying.  If the name 
               does not appear select <Add New> and select Vendor then fill in the relevant information.  NB The 
               vendor field must be completed.

        5)    Tab down to account field and use the drop down menu to select the account you wish the cheque to 
               relate e.g. repairs and renewals.

        6)    Complete the net field and then select the VAT type.  Ensure that the VAT is correct and press OK.

7.    Transfer money between bank accounts

               1)    Select Transfer Money, from the Banking and Credit Card tab.

               2)    Select the account you wish to transfer money from.

               3)    Select the account you wish to transfer money to.

               4)    Input the correct date and amount of transfer and press OK. 

8.    Make Payments out of Petty Cash Account

               1)    You can either make payments as shown in Cheque payments above or

               2)    Click on Bank Register and specify the petty cash account.

               3)    Input the date of the expenditure and tab to the Payee field.  For payments out of the bar takings select Sundry Bar Expenditure, and
                for sundry cash payments select Sundry Cash Expenses.

               4)    Input the full amount of the payments and click on Splits.

               5)    Once the above payees have been used once the transactions are memorised.  To input the new amounts simply tab to the Net Amt
                field and overtype the existing amounts with the new amounts.  Tab all the way down to the bottom of the Net Amt field to ensure
                that there are no remaining postings.  Then click Close.

               6)    Select Record to post the transaction.

               7)    To post the actual amount of bar taking etc that was posted to the bank account, input the date and tab to the payee field, select
                either bar takings banked or sundry income banked.

               8)    Input the amount banked and click on record.  You should always endeavour to keep this petty cash account up to date so that the
                balance always returns to zero after posting the bankings.

9.    Backup 

               1)    Select file from the main tool bar and then select backup.

               2)    Insert a floppy disc, use two discs, one for every other week.

               3)    Select backup to A:\Drive. and press OK.