In addition to these help documents, we also offer other support options.
AccountsPortal is a real-time online accounting system, aimed specifically at owner-managed companies, contractors and temporary workers in the UK, as well as accountants offering services to Limited Companies.
There are no downloads or installations procedures, and the system can be accessed by multiple users at the same time.
AccountsPortal streamlines and automates the administration and management of UK Limited Companies significantly, and the system is designed to be intuitive and easy to use.
With AccountsPortal, you can easily create and maintain a record of a company's financial transactions, such as invoices, income, expenses and assets, and create reports based on this information.
All information is presented in an easy to understand format.
AccountsPortal is very flexible with regards to VAT (with the ability to handle standard rate and flat rate vat, as well as the accrual or cash basis), and it is also easy to perform bank reconciliations and import your bank statement in an electronic format.
You can access your information from anywhere, as long as you have a web browser and internet connection (see System requirements for more information).
Managing your accounting and bookkeeping is made easy and fast through AccountsPortal.
Your information is stored on a centralised high-end web server, that is connected to the internet permanently, allowing you access to your information at any time and from any location.
There are no installation requirements, and you never have to worry about upgrades - everything is taken care of seamlessly behind the scenes.
Only users that have been provided with valid login details will have access to the system, and only they will be allowed to view the information that pertains specifically to them.
All of this happens via high security SSL encryption (similar to what online banks use) which means that no one else will be able to view the information. You can rest assured that your data will always be available to you, and that it will be kept safe and secure at all times.
Providing that you have a web browser and internet connection, there is nothing to install. Simply start your web browser, navigate to www.accountsportal.com, click the "Login" button and follow the Login or Signup prompts.
If your computer does not yet have Adobe Flash Player installed, this will install automatically the first time that you run AccountsPortal. See System requirements for more information.
When you register for the first time or add a new organisation in AccountsPortal, it is immediately ready for use. There are, however, some items that you should check and possibly update in order to accurately represent the setup of your organisation.
For more information on each step, please click on the relevant links.
1. Organisation details should be checked for accuracy and completeness. In particular, ensure that the financial year-end settings are correct, as these impact on reporting.
2. If the organisation is VAT registered, then the VAT settings must be updated.
3. You can invite additional users to your organisation at no extra charge. For example, you may wish to grant access to your accountant or bookkeeper.
4. You may want to examine the default Chart of Accounts, which can be modified to suite your unique circumstances. You can, for example, add new accounts or disable those accounts that you will not need (they can always be re-enabled at a later date).
If you are converting from another accounting system, then steps 5, 6 and 7 are of particular importance.
5. Transaction Numbering for the organisation should be checked. This is particularly relevant for outbound documents (such as sales invoices and credit notes), and if you would like to continue with the numbering used in a previous system.
6. The Conversion Date should be checked in the organisation's settings, and must be set to the first day you will be entering day to day transactions in AccountsPortal.
7. Conversion Balances and outstanding sales and purchase transactions can be added. These relate to the accounts and records you have kept prior to the Conversion Date that you entered in step 6.
In addition to the organisation that you create with a new profile, AccountsPortal automatically creates a Demo Company for you.
The Demo Company is a great way to get comfortable with AccountsPortal before you start entering real transactions into your own organisation. In addition to a few transactions that have already been entered for you, you can add, edit or delete any of the information in the Demo Company. Feel free to experiment as much as you want!
Note that access to the Demo company will expire one month after first signing up to AccountsPortal.
Click on My Profile to modify settings relating to your user account.

The My Profile pop-up will appear as follows:

Changes made to your profile will become active once you have clicked the Save button.
Navigate to the Sales tab and click on the New Invoice button
Proceed to enter the invoice details as follows:

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the invoice or choose the Save Draft option which saves the invoice but does not update your financial results. Draft invoices can be edited at a later stage and saved again as draft or actual invoices.
Recurring Invoices are a convenient way to automate the creation of Invoices or Draft Invoices.
Recurring transactions are automatically processed once a day at 04h00 UK time and will generate invoices based on the recurring invoice settings for your organisation.
CREATE RECURRING INVOICE
Navigate to the Sales tab and use the drop down arrow on the New Invoice button to select New Recurring Invoice. Proceed to enter the recurring invoice details as follows:

The remainder of the invoice should be filled out as per the normal Create Sales Invoice procedure. Click the Save button to complete the creation of the recurring invoice.
EDIT RECURRING INVOICE
Navigate to the Sales tab followed by the Recurring tab. A list of all recurring invoices will be displayed.

Click on the link in the Customer field to view or edit a recurring invoice. Any changes made will only affect invoices created on the Next Invoice date.
Recurring Invoices can be deleted at any stage to prevent further invoices being created. Alternatively, use the End Date to achieve the same result and still retain a record of the recurring entry in the list.
Navigate to the Sales tab.
Invoices and credit notes are displayed in list format with the following statuses:

Click on a transaction in the All, Draft, Outstanding and Paid tabs to view or edit the entry. See Create Sales Invoice for a detailed explanation of each field.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) has been paid/credit noted or is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Items displayed in the Recurring tab can also be viewed or edited. See Recurring Sales Invoice for more information.
PRINT INVOICE
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Print to PDF option.

Depending on your web browser settings, you will be prompted to open or save the PDF.
EMAIL INVOICE
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Email option.
The fields in the Email window will be populated automatically, but can be edited as required.

Click on the Send button to transmit the email.
Invoices can be voided if they were entered in error as long as they are not included in a VAT Report or have not been partially or fully paid/credit noted.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Void option, which will set all value fields in the invoice to zero.

Click the Save button to void the invoice.
Voided invoices are still visible in the Paid and All Sales tabs, to show that no gaps exist in the invoice number sequence.
Cloning is a convenient way to copy an existing invoice in order to create a new one.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Clone option.

All details from the originally selected invoice are copied to the new one and can be freely edited.
Click the Save button to complete the invoice.
Navigate to the Sales tab and click on the New Credit Note button
Proceed to enter the credit note details as follows:

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the credit note or choose the Save Draft option which saves the credit note but does not update your financial results. Draft credit notes can be edited at a later stage and saved again as draft or actual credit notes.
An efficient way to enter a credit note is to create it directly from within a saved invoice, retaining all the field values previously entered.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Issue Credit Note option.

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the credit note.
Note that there is no link created between the new credit note and the original invoice. If you wish to allocate the credit note to the invoice, then this must be done from within the credit note (see Allocate Credit Note).
See Create Sales Credit Note to view full details on entering credit notes.
Navigate to the Sales tab.
Invoices and credit notes are displayed in list format with the following statuses:

Click on a transaction in the All, Draft, Outstanding and Paid tabs to view or edit the entry. See Create Sales Credit Note for a detailed explanation of each field.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) has been refunded/allocated or is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Items displayed in the Recurring tab can also be viewed or edited. See Recurring Sales Invoice for more information.
PRINT CREDIT NOTE
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Print to PDF option.

Depending on your web browser settings, you will be prompted to open or save the PDF.
EMAIL CREDIT NOTE
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Email option.
The fields in the Email window can be edited as required.

Click on the Send button to transmit the email.
A credit note can be allocated to one or more invoices in order to reduce the outstanding amount of the invoice. The credit note can be wholly or partially allocated as required.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Allocate Credit Note option.

Proceed to enter the credit note allocation as follows:

A list of the customer's available invoices (where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be presented for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for allocation.
Note that the amount in the This Allocation field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and allocate as many invoices as required.
Click the Save button to complete the allocation of a credit note to an invoice.
Credit notes can be voided if they were entered in error as long as they are not included in a VAT Report or have not been partially or fully allocated/refunded.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Void option, which will set all value fields in the credit note to zero.

Click the Save button to void the credit note.
Voided credit notes are still visible in the Sales tab (Paid & All) to show that no gaps exist in the credit note number sequence.
Cloning is a convenient way to copy an existing credit note in order to create a new one.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Clone option.

All details from the originally selected credit note are copied to the new one and can be freely edited.
Click the Save button to complete the credit note.
There are three options for recording the payment of invoices and the refund of credit notes.
Where possible, we recommend that you make use of the third option, the Bank Statement Import, to enter these transactions. This will enhance efficiency, accuracy and transparency in managing your payments and receipts.
However, when using the Bank Statement Import, timing differences can arise between the actual transaction date and the date that the value appears on your bank statement. This is especially relevant if you are registered for Cash Accounting VAT which has special rules regarding the payment date and the relevant date is not always considered to be the date that the cash/credit card/cheque clears in your bank statement (see HMRC website for further details). Therefore, in some cases, it may be more appropriate to use option one or option two as detailed below. This can then be followed by a 'matching' activity when the transactions clear on an imported bank statement, which will avoid duplicate entries.
The three options for entering payments and refunds are:
1. Directly from an invoice or credit note
Payments and refunds entered in this manner have the benefit of certain fields being pre-filled based on the invoice or credit note values.
2. In the Bank Transactions section
Payments and refunds entered in this manner are not initiated from an invoice or credit note. The relevant invoices or credit notes are instead selected from within the Receive Money or Spend Money transaction.
Click here for more help on this option.
3. Bank Statement Import
Import a bank statement file to create payments and refunds directly from the line items of the statement.
Any items already entered using option 1 or option 2 above, should be 'matched' during bank statement import processing, to avoid duplicate entry.
Click here for more help on this option
Navigate to the Sales tab.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Sales Invoice options drop down list to select the Enter Payment option.

The New Receive Money popup will appear with most fields pre-filled including the invoice you are entering the payment for. All fields can be changed if required and additional invoices can be selected for inclusion in this payment.
Make sure to specify the bank account into which the money is being received.

Click the Save button to complete the transaction.
Go to Customer Invoice Payment for a more detailed explanation of the field entry requirenents.
Navigate to the Sales tab.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Credit Note options drop down list to select the Enter Refund option.

The New Spend Money popup will appear with most fields pre-filled including the credit note you are entering the refund for. All fields can be changed if required and additional credit notes can be selected for inclusion in this refund.
Make sure to specify the bank account from which the money is being paid.

Click the Save button to complete the transaction.
Go to Customer Refund for a more detailed explanation of the field entry requirements.
Navigate to the Banking tab and click on Bank Transactions.

Select the appropriate bank account from the drop down list.
Click on a transaction to view or edit the entry.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Navigate to the Purchases tab and click on the New Invoice button
Proceed to enter the invoice details as follows:

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the invoice or choose the Save Draft option which saves the invoice but does not update your financial results. Draft invoices can be edited at a later stage and saved again as draft or actual invoices.
Recurring Invoices are a convenient way to automate the creation of Invoices or Draft Invoices.
Recurring transactions are automatically processed once a day at 04h00 UK time and will generate invoices based on the recurring invoice settings for your organisation.
CREATE RECURRING INVOICE
Navigate to the Purchases tab and use the drop down arrow on the New Invoice button to select New Recurring Invoice. Proceed to enter the recurring invoice details as follows:

The remainder of the invoice should be filled out as per the normal Create Purchase Invoice procedure. Click the Save button to complete the creation of the recurring invoice.
EDIT RECURRING INVOICE
Navigate to the Purchases tab followed by the Recurring tab. A list of all recurring invoices will be displayed.

Click on the link in the Supplier field to view or edit a recurring invoice. Any changes made will only affect invoices created on the Next Invoice date.
Recurring Invoices can be deleted at any stage to prevent further invoices being created. Alternatively, use the End Date to achieve the same result and still retain a record of the recurring entry in the list.
Navigate to the Purchases tab.
Invoices and credit notes are displayed in list format with the following statuses:

Click on a transaction in the All, Draft, Outstanding and Paid tabs to view or edit the entry. See Create Purchase Invoice for a detailed explanation of each field.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) has been paid/credit noted or is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Items displayed in the Recurring tab can also be viewed or edited. See Recurring Purchase Invoice for more information.
Most Purchase documents are sent to you by a supplier and so it is less likely that you will need to print or email purchase invoices or credit notes. The same functionality provided for printing and emailing Sales transactions is available in Purchases.
PRINT INVOICE
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Print to PDF option.

Depending on your web browser settings, you will be prompted to open or save the PDF.
EMAIL INVOICE
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Email option.
The fields in the Email window can be edited as required.

Click on the Send button to transmit the email.
Invoices can be voided if they were entered in error as long as they are not included in a VAT Report or have not been partially or fully paid/credit noted.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Void option, which will set all value fields in the invoice to zero.

Click the Save button to void the invoice.
Voided invoices are still visible in the Purchases tab (Paid & All) to show that no gaps exist in the invoice number sequence .
Cloning is a convenient way to copy an existing invoice in order to create a new one.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Clone option.

All details from the originally selected invoice are copied to the new one and can be freely edited.
Click the Save button to complete the invoice.
Navigate to the Purchases tab and click on the New Credit Note button
Proceed to enter the credit note details as follows:

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the credit note or choose the Save Draft option which saves the credit note but does not update your financial results. Draft credit notes can be edited at a later stage and saved again as draft or actual credit notes.
An efficient way to enter a credit note is to create it directly from within a saved invoice, retaining all the field values previously entered.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Issue Credit Note option

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the credit note.
Note that there is no link created between the new credit note and the original invoice. If you wish to allocate the credit note to the invoice, then this must be done from within the credit note (see Allocate Credit Note).
See Create Purchase Credit Note to view full details on entering credit notes.
Navigate to the Purchases tab.
Invoices and credit notes are displayed in list format with the following statuses:

Click on a transaction in the All, Draft, Outstanding and Paid tabs to view or edit the entry. See Create Purchase Credit Note for a detailed explanation of each field.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) has been refunded/allocated or is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Items displayed in the Recurring tab can also be viewed or edited. See Recurring Purchase Invoice for more information.
As opposed to Sales documents, most Purchase documents are sent to you and so it is less likely that you will need to print or email purchase invoices or credit notes. The same functionality provided for printing and emailing Sales transactions is available in Purchases.
PRINT CREDIT NOTE
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Print to PDF option.

Depending on your web browser settings, you will be prompted to open or save the PDF.
EMAIL CREDIT NOTE
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Email option.
The fields in the Email window can be edited as required.

Click on the Send button to transmit the email.
A credit note can be allocated to one or more invoices in order to reduce the outstanding amount of the invoice. The credit note can be wholly or partially allocated as required.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Allocate Credit Note option.

Proceed to enter the credit note allocation as follows:

A list of the supplier's available invoices (where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be presented for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for allocation.
Note that the amount in the This Allocation field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and allocate as many invoices as required.
Click the Save button to complete the allocation of a credit note to an invoice.
Credit notes can be voided if they were entered in error as long as they are not included in a VAT Report or have not been partially or fully allocated/refunded.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Void option, which will set all value fields in the credit note to zero.

Click the Save button to void the credit note.
Voided credit notes are still visible in the Purchases tab (Paid & All) to show that no gaps exist in the credit note number sequence.
Cloning is a convenient way to copy an existing credit note in order to create a new one.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Clone option.

All details from the originally selected credit note are copied to the new one and can be freely edited.
Click the Save button to complete the credit note.
There are three options for recording the payment of invoices and the refund of credit notes.
Where possible, we recommend that you make use of the third option, the Bank Statement Import, to enter these transactions. This will enhance efficiency, accuracy and transparency in managing your payments and receipts.
However, when using the Bank Statement Import, timing differences can arise between the actual transaction date and the date that the value appears on your bank statement. This is especially relevant if you are registered for Cash Accounting VAT which has special rules regarding the payment date and the relevant date is not always considered to be the date that the cash/credit card/cheque clears in your bank statement (see HMRC website for further details). Therefore, in some cases, it may be more appropriate to use option one or option two as detailed below. This can then be followed by a 'matching' activity when the transactions clear on an imported bank statement, which will avoid duplicate entries.
The three options for entering payments and refunds are:
1. Directly from an invoice or credit note
Payments and refunds entered in this manner have the benefit of certain fields being pre-filled based on the invoice or credit note values.
2. In the Bank Transactions section
Payments and refunds entered in this manner are not initiated from an invoice or credit note. The relevant invoices or credit notes are instead selected from within the Receive Money or Spend Money transaction.
Click here for more help on this option.
3. Bank Statement Import
Import a bank statement file to create payments and refunds directly from the line items of the statement.
Any items already entered using option 1 or option 2 above, should be 'matched' during bank statement import processing, to avoid duplicate entry.
Click here for more help on this option
Navigate to the Purchases tab.
Open an existing invoice in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Invoice options drop down list to select the Enter Payment option.

The New Spend Money popup will appear with most fields pre-filled including the invoice you are entering the payment for. All fields can be changed if required and additional invoices can be selected for inclusion in this payment.
Make sure to specify the bank account from which the money is being paid.

Click the Save button to complete the transaction.
Go to Supplier Invoice Payment for a more detailed explanation of the field entry requirements.
Navigate to the Purchases tab.
Open an existing credit note in View/Edit mode. Use the Purchase Credit Note options drop down list to select the Enter Refund option.

The New Receive Money popup will appear with most fields pre-filled including the credit note you are entering the refund for. All fields can be changed if required and additional credit notes can be selected for inclusion in this refund.
Make sure to specify the bank account into which the money is being received.

Click the Save button to complete the transaction.
Go to Supplier Refund for a more detailed explanation of the field entry requirements.
Navigate to the Banking tab and click on Bank Transactions.

Select the appropriate bank account from the drop down list.
Click on a transaction to view or edit the entry.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) is already included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
A Journal entry allows the user to enter amounts directly into the accounts listed in the organisation's chart of accounts.
Note: If you are unsure about creating manual journal entries, speak to your Accountant first.
To create a new Journal, navigate to the Journal tab and click the New Journal button.

Proceed to enter the Journal as follows:
Click the Save button to complete the creation of the journal.
Navigate to the Journal tab.
All previous Journal and Conversion Balance transactions are displayed in a list format in ascending date order.
Click on a journnal transaction to display it in its original entry format.

All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction (or line item) has already been included in a Bank Reconciliation.
You can also delete a journal unless the transaction (or line item) has already been included in a Bank Reconciliation.
All transactions that have a monetary value should be reflected in one of your bank accounts. This includes, but is not limited to, movements in your current account, credit card account, petty cash or deposit accounts.
The Banking area in AccountsPortal enables you to enter, manage and reconcile these entries in a logical and timely manner.
You can add a new bank account at any time.
The accounts set up in your Chart of Accounts with account type of 'Bank Account' will be displayed with summary information for a quick overview of the current status. This overview will help you identify which accounts need attention so that they can be brought up to date.

Navigate to the Banking tab and then click on the Banking Transactions tab.
Enter incoming and outgoing payments by way of Spend Money, Receive Money or Bank Statement Import.
Manage bank transactions by viewing/editing if required.
Reconcile any bank account, card account or even petty cash using the Reconcile tool.
A list of all transactions relating to the selected bank account is displayed. Use the drop down list to select a different bank account if required.

Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to delete bank transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Navigate to the Banking tab and click on Bank Transactions
Select the appropriate bank account from the drop down list and then click on the Receive Money button to start entering receipts. Choose one of the options from the Type drop down list:

This transaction is used for entering customer payments against existing Sales Invoices. If you are entering a cash sale for which you have not issued an invoice, you should consider use the General Receipt option.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the popup window for New Receive Money is activated:

A list of the customer's outstanding invoices (i.e where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be displayed for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for payment, and enter an amount in the This Payment column. Note that all other columns in this section are read-only and you will not be able to edit the information here.
Note that the amount in the This Payment field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and enter a payment for as many invoices as required.
Click the Save button to complete the Customer Invoice Payment.
NOTES
Each invoice selected for payment results in one line posted to the Accounts Receivable account for this transaction ie. if five invoices are selected for payment, this transaction will result in five separate lines posted against the Accounts Receivable account. This is to allow you to subsequently report which invoices were paid by a particular bank transaction.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Received equals the Total Amount Allocated.
This transaction is used for entering miscellaneous receipts and cash sales for which you have not issued an invoice.
If the receipt relates to an issued customer invoice, use Customer Invoice Payment.
If the receipt relates to the refund of a supplier credit note, use Supplier Refund.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the pop up window for New Receive Money is activated:

Click the Save button to complete the General Receipt.
NOTES
Unlike, Invoice Payments and Refunds, General receipts do not save values to the Accounts Receivable account. The Customer field in this type of bank transaction is optional and for information purposes only.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Received equals the transaction Total.
This transaction is used for entering supplier refunds against existing Credit Notes. If you are entering a refund for which you did not receive a credit note, you should consider using the General Receipt option.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the pop up window for New Receive Money is activated:

A list of the supplier's outstanding credit notes (i.e where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be displayed for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for payment, and enter an amount in the This Payment column. Note that all other columns in this section are read-only and you will not be able to edit the information here.
Note that the amount in the This Payment field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and enter refund for as many credit notes as required.
Click the Save button to complete the Supplier Refund.
NOTES
Each credit note selected for refund results in one line posted to the Accounts Payable account for this transaction ie. if five credit notes are selected for refund, this transaction will result in five separate lines posted against the Accounts Payable account. This is to allow you to subsequently report which credit notes were refunded by a particular bank transaction.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Received equals the Total Amount Allocated.
Navigate to the Banking tab and click on Bank Transactions
Select the appropriate bank account from the drop down list and then click on the Spend Money button to start entering payments. Choose one of the options from the Type drop down list:

This transaction is used for entering supplier payments against existing Purchase Invoices. If you are entering a cash purchase, or where you have not received a purchase invoice, you should consider using the General Payment option.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the pop up window for New Spend Money is activated:

A list of the supplier's outstanding invoices (i.e where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be displayed for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for payment, and enter an amount in the This Payment column. Note that all other columns in this section are read-only and you will not be able to edit the information here.
Note that the amount in the This Payment field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and enter payment for as many invoices as required.
Click the Save button to complete the Supplier Invoice Payment.
NOTES
Each invoice selected for payment results in one line posted to the Accounts Payable account for this transaction ie. if five invoices are selected for payment, this transaction will result in five separate lines posted against the Accounts Payable account. This is to allow you to subsequently report which invoices were paid by a particular bank transaction.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Spent equals the Total Amount Allocated.
This transaction is used for entering miscellaneous payments and cash purchases for which you may not have received a supplier invoice.
If the payment relates to an issued supplier invoice, use Supplier Invoice Payment.
If the receipt relates to the refund of a supplier credit note, use Customer Refund.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the pop up window for New Spend Money is activated:

Click the Save button to complete the General Payment.
NOTES
Unlike, Invoice Payments and Refunds, General payments do not save values to the Accounts Payable account. The Supplier field in this type of bank transaction is optional and for information purposes only.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Spent equals the transaction Total.
This transaction is used for entering customer refunds against existing Credit Notes. If you are entering a refund for which you did not issue a credit note, you should consider using the General Payment option.
The starting point for creating this entry is one of the following options. View the relevant help files to see how the pop up window for New Spend Money is activated:

A list of the customer's outstanding credit notes (i.e where the outstanding amount is greater than zero) will be displayed for selection. Tick the checkbox in the first column to select an invoice for payment, and enter an amount in the This Payment column. Note that all other columns in this section are read-only and you will not be able to edit the information here.
Note that the amount in the This Payment field can be changed by clicking on the value.
Continue to select and enter refund for as many credit notes as required.
Click the Save button to complete the Customer Refund.
NOTES
Each credit note selected for refund results in one line posted to the Accounts Receivable account for this transaction ie. if five credit notes are selected for refund, this transaction will result in five separate lines posted against the Accounts Receivable account. This is to allow you to subsequently report which credit notes were refunded by a particular bank transaction.
The transaction can only be saved if the Amount Spent equals the Total Amount Allocated.
Navigate to the Banking tab and click on Bank Transactions.

Select the appropriate bank account from the drop down list.
Double click on a transaction to view or edit the entry.
All fields will be available for editing unless the transaction, or one or more line items, have already been included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to edit transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
Navigate to the Banking tab and then click on Bank Transactions.

The Delete indicator on the bank transaction will only be available if the transaction (or line items) have not already been included in a Bank Reconciliation or VAT Report.
Click the button and confirm the prompt to delete the bank transaction.
NOTE
Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items and delete VAT Reports in order to delete transactions. Careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties such as the HMRC.
The goal of the reconciliation process is to compare banking related transactions (i.e. money received and money spent) in AccountsPortal with your actual bank statement.
To initiate a new bank reconciliation:
At this point you will have access to the bank reconciliation screen. You will not be able to navigate to other areas in AccountsPortal until you Save or Cancel the reconciliation.

Once you have set your parameters as above, then you can commence the actual reconciliation process by ticking off individual items in the main list, which will automatically affect the following amounts:
Once the Total Reconciled is equal to the Change in Bank Statement, then the Difference will be equal to zero and the reconciliation can be saved.
NOTES
Items with a blue checkmark are transactions that have previously been reconciled in AccountsPortal. These can be un-reconciled, but only if they have not been included in a VAT report.
Once a bank transaction has been reconciled, then you will be unable to edit or change certain elements of the transaction. Although inadvisable, it is possible to unreconcile bank items in order to edit transactions, but careful consideration should be given to any representations already made to external parties.
Where possible, we recommend you make use of this functionality to enter bank transactions. This will enhance efficiency, accuracy and transparency in managing your payments and receipts. Use Import Rules for intelligent, assisted transaction entry.
The following steps should be followed:
1. Download your bank statement from your online banking account in either OFX, QFX or CSV formats and save the downloaded file on your local computer.
2. Import the bank statement into AccountsPortal.
3. Process each line item in the imported bank statement.
Once you have downloaded the OFX, QFX or CSV file from your online banking, navigate to the Banking tab and then the Bank Statement Import tab. Click the Import New Bank Statement button.

Once you have made your selections, click the Import button to read the transactions in the selected file.
If you selected an OFX or QFX file for import, the fields will appear similar to the image below:

Cell values can be edited before the Bank Statement is saved. It is not advisabe to edit dates or amounts but the functionality can be useful to add text or comments.
If you selected a CSV file for import, you will need to assign each of the fields in the file to an appropriate system field.

Cell values can be edited before the Bank Statement is saved. It is not advisabe to edit dates or amounts but the functionality can be useful to add text or comments.
Click the Save button to create the bank statement. You will be transferred to the Bank Satement Detail screen from where you can process the bank statement.
NOTE
When importing a bank statement, timing differences can arise between the actual transaction date and the value appearing on your bank statement. Time taken for cheques to clear is a good example of this. This is especially relevant if you are registered for Cash Accounting VAT, which has special rules regarding receipt date and does not consider the relevant date to be the date the cash clears in your bank statement (see HMRC website for further details) In some cases, it is therefore more appropriate to make use of Receive Money or Spend Money options to initially record the entry followed by a 'matching' activity when the values clear on the bank statement which has been imported.
Tip for users who cannot download Bank Statements
You can create a bank statement import file from scratch by entering a record for each bank transaction in your favourite spreadsheet program and saving the file as a CSV type. This is helpful if you cannot download a statement from your bank but wish to use the Import Bank Statement tool and would like an online record of statements in AccountsPortal.
File preparation:
10/06/2009,"1,000.21",Endcorp,INV39
11/06/2009,"-1,250.20",Telco Ltd,Telephone Charges
15/06/2009,-25.50,Charges,"Bank Charges, May09"
Go back to the top of this page and process the file as a CSV type.
Navigate to the Banking tab and then the Bank Statement Import tab.

Click on a bank statement line to open the statement for processing

Once you have completed the creation of a new bank transaction or matched a statement line item to an existing bank transaction, the status will be updated to reflect the bank transaction (saved bank transactions will be visible in the Bank Transactions tab). There will also be a V and a U button visible.

M - Matching statement lines to bank transactions
You can only match one bank transaction to a statement line. Select the appropriate bank transaction and click on Use Selected to create the link.


Navigate to the Banking tab and then the Bank Statement Import tab.

The Delete indicator on the bank statement line will only be available if none of the line items have been processed.
Click the button and confirm the prompt to delete the statement.
NOTE
Line items that have been processed (thus preventing deletion of a statement) can be reset to unprocessed. Click the U button to unlink statement line items and saved bank transactions. This action will mark the saved bank transaction as unreconciled but does not delete it. The bank transaction can only be deleted in the Bank Transactions screen (see Process a Bank Statement).
During bank statement import, AccountsPortal checks for existing rules which match the Payee (payee/payer) field in the bank statement line. If a rule is found, it can be used to quickstart the bank transaction by selecting the appropriate Transaction Type and where applicable the Customer/Supplier, Account and VAT code. The purpose of this functionality it to increase efficiency and consistency of how bank transactions are created from bank statement lines.
If activated in your organisation's settings, Import Rules will be created automatically when a bank statement line is processed using button P (see Process a Bank Statement). The rule is based on a search term that is derived from the Payee field in the bank statement line and is only created once. If you want to change the settings of a rule or delete the rule, then follow the instructions below.
Navigate to the Banking tab, click on Bank Statement Import and then Manage Import Rules.
Double click on an existing rule to edit the settings. All fields can be changed including the Transaction Type.

The existing field values are based on the bank transaction created from the first statement imported. It is not necessary to differentiate at a rule level between payments and receipts as this determined whilst processing a bank statement line based on the sign of the Amount field.
Customers and Suppliers are third parties that you do business with. They are managed centrally in AccountsPortal which means that it is possible to set up a third party as both a Customer and a Supplier. Customer and Supplier records must exist in order to enter Invoices and Credit Notes
Navigate to the Customers/Suppliers tab and click on the Add New Customer or Supplier button.

The remaining fields are for information only.
Click the Save button to create the new Customer/Supplier
Customers and suppliers can also be created during invoice and credit note entry by clicking on the '+' sign next to the relevant drop down list
Navigate to the Customers/Suppliers tab.

If needed, use the filter text box to find the customer or supplier from the list.
Click on the appropriate cusomter or supplier to open the popup and view or edit the customer/supplier.
See Create Customer or Supplier for more detail on each field.
You can view individual transactions for each customer on a line-by-line basis in the Customer Statements view.
Navigate to the Customers/Suppliers tab. Determine the relevant customer and click the View statement icon. The icon is only visible for customer accounts.

The statement is presented on the screen. Change the Start Date and End Date as required and the statement will refresh automatically.

The ageing buckets at the bottom of the statement are calculated based on the Due Date of each invoice and credit note. All payments and refunds are taken into account when calculating this ageing. This can also be viewed in detail in the Aged Receivables report.
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Email, Print or Export the customer statement as required
Click on the Close Statement button to return to the main Customers/Suppliers screen or use the View statement icon for any customer in the left column to generate a new statement..
The Vat Report will calculate the figures to use on your VAT return.
To view an organisation's previous VAT Reports, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the VAT Report link. All previous VAT reports that have been saved in AccountsPortal will be listed; you can view these in more detail by double clicking a row.

To create a new VAT report, perform the following steps:

The report will then calculate the appropriate figures. If you would like to view additional details and how each value is calculated, click the View Underlying Transactions button.
Click the Save button to complete the report and save it for future reference.
Validations will now prevent any changes to transactions saved in this report which may impact on the VAT reported. In order to make changes to these transactions you will need to delete the VAT report.
Important Note: You must ensure that there is no change in the organisation's VAT status (for example, from standard rate VAT to flat rate VAT, or from the cash to accrual accounting basis) during the VAT reporting period. Any change in VAT status MUST be effected at the start of a VAT period. See the section on Adding a VAT status for more information.
Note that EU related transactions are not currently supported in AccountsPortal.
The Profit and Loss report is an indication of an Organisation's financial performance over a period of time.
To view the Profit and Loss report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Profit and Loss link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.

The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.
This report will automatically exclude all transactions (with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions) entered before the Conversion Date. Refer to the section on Converting from Another Accounting System for more information.
The Balance Sheet report is a summary or snapshot of an Organisation's financial position at a point in time.
To view the Balance Sheet report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Balance Sheet link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.
The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.

This report will automatically exclude all transactions (with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions) entered before the Conversion Date. Refer to the section on Converting from Another Accounting System for more information.
All reports in Accountsportal are created in real time and there is no need to process any end-of-year journals. This means that Retained Earnings will be automatically calculated for prior financial years, and the Profit and Loss reflected in the Balance Sheet will therefore always pertain to the current financial year only. Accordingly, it is critical that the correct financial year-end has been specified in the Organisations's settings.
The Trial Balance report is a summary of all accounts for the Organisation at a point in time. Totals Debits should always equal Total Credits.
To view the Trial Balance report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Trial Balance link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.
The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.

This report will automatically exclude all transactions (with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions) entered before the Conversion Date. Refer to the section on Converting from Another Accounting System for more information.
All reports in Accountsportal are created in real time and there is no need to process any end-of-year journals. This means that Retained Earnings will be automatically calculated for prior financial years, and the Profit and Loss reflected in the Trial Balance will therefore always pertain to the current financial year only. Accordingly, it is critical that the correct financial year-end has been specified in the Organisations's settings.
The Period Balance report reflects the movement in all accounts between two dates. The total Period Debits should always equal the total Period Credits, and the total Period Change should therefore always be equal to zero.
To view the Period Balance report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Period Balance link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.

The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.
This report will automatically exclude all transactions (with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions) entered before the Conversion Date. Refer to the section on Converting from Another Accounting System for more information.
All reports in Accountsportal are created in real time and there is no need to process any end-of-year journals. This means that Retained Earnings will be automatically calculated for prior financial years, and the Profit and Loss reflected in the Period Balance report will therefore always pertain to the current financial year only. Accordingly, it is critical that the correct financial year-end has been specified in the Organisations's settings.
The Transaction Line Item report reflects the detailed postings in all accounts between two dates.
To view the Transaction Line Item report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Transaction Line Item link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.

The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.
This report will automatically exclude all transactions (with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions) entered before the Conversion Date. Refer to the section on Converting from Another Accounting System for more information.
The Aged Receivables report is a summary of all outstanding Sales Invoices (and Credit Notes, where applicable) for the Organisation at a point in time. The information is displayed in specific aged brackets in each column.
To view the Aged Receivables report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Aged Receivables link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.

The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.
The overall total should agree to the balance of the Accounts Receivable account on the date specified. It is good practise to check this periodically against any one of the Balance Sheet, Trial Balance or Period Balance reports for the same date.
By default, the Aged Receivables report displays information on an aggregated basis; i.e. the ageing for each Customer is shown as a total. It is also possible, however, to display the information in more detail, so that the ageing for each invoice or credit note is shown individually - this is achieved by clicking the Display Detail button. You can revert back to the Summary view at any time by clicking the Display Summary button.
The Aged Payables report is a summary of all outstanding Purchases (and Purchase Credit Notes, where applicable) for the Organisation at a point in time. The information is displayed in specific aged brackets in each column.
To view the Aged Payables report, navigate to the Reports tab, and then click the Aged Payables link on the left hand side of the page.
Once the parameters have been chosen, click the Refresh button.

The current report can be exported at any time by clicking the Export Button.
The overall total should agree to the balance of the Accounts Payable account on the date specified. It is good practise to check this periodically against any one of the Balance Sheet, Trial Balance or Period Balance reports for the same date.
By default, the Aged Payables report displays information on an aggregated basis; i.e. the ageing for each Customer is shown as a total. It is also possible, however, to display the information in more detail, so that the ageing for each invoice or credit note is shown individually - this is achieved by clicking the Display Detail button. You can revert back to the Summary view at any time by clicking the Display Summary button.
The Settings tab allows you to set up or edit options for your Organisation in AccountsPortal. These options will not typically need changing on a frequent basis.
To view an Organisation's Details:
Note: The current active Organisation is always shown in the top right of the browser windows, above your user name. You can view additional details on any Organisation in the displayed list, even if it is not the active Organisation.
Although each user may have access to one or more Organisations, there can only be one active Organisation at any one time. The relevant Sales Invoices, Purchases, Banking and other Organisation-specific information will only be displayed for the active Organisation.
Note that the active Organisation's name is always shown in the top right of the browser window, above your user name.
If you have access to more than one Organisation, then you can change the active Organisation as follows:
To add a new Organisation, or edit an existing Organisation, perform the following steps:
DETAILS
CONTACT INFO
LOGO
PDF OPTIONS
These settings only effect PDFs for customer sales invoices, sales credit notes and statements.
INVOICE OPTIONS
INTRODUCTION
AccountsPortal allows you to give one or more other users access to your Organisation's information. The number of users that you can add to your organisation is unlimited, and there is no additional cost.
USER ROLES
Primary User
Authorised User
Other users
To display a list of all users that have have access to the active Organisation, click the Settings tab, and then click the Users tab.
Note that you must have the 'Primary User' role to perform the actions listed below. Users with the 'Authorised User' role will not be able to perform any of these actions.
To add a new User, or edit an existing User, navigate to the Settings tab, and then click on Users.
To add a new User, click the “Add new User” button, and proceed to enter the following information:
Note that the only change that a Primary User can make to an Authorised User's profile is to change their enabled/disabled status. Once a user's status has been disabled, then they will no longer be able to access any information for that organisation.
Note: Changes made to this part of the application can signficantly affect your data. If you are unsure, speak to your Accountant first.
AccountsPortal provides comprehensive VAT treatment, and caters for Standard Rate and Flat Rate VAT, as well as Accrual or Cash accounting.
When entering new transactions (such as sales invoices, for example), the system will automatically determine the Organisation's VAT status at the date of the transaction and apply the correct accounting and VAT treatment.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
We highly recommend that you speak to your Accountant before editing an existing VAT status. If you know your VAT Status is going to change on a certain date, then you should create the new status well in advance of that date, and prior to entering new transactions.
If the Organisation is already VAT registered, and you are changing to a different VAT scheme or accounting basis, we advise where possible, that you arrange with the HMRC for the new status to be valid from the beginning of a new period/month. This will greatly reduce the complexity of checking the values of the VAT Report before and after the change of status.
If the VAT status for the Organisation has changed, then a New Vat Status should be entered and saved, rather than editing the existing status.
If a new VAT Status is created, any existing transactions with a transaction date on or after the 'Valid From Date' will need to be opened and resaved to pick up the new VAT Status. This step is extremely important as the VAT Status is set in the transaction and referenced during creation of the VAT Report. Alternatively, you can void/delete these existing transactions and re-enter them.
To add a new VAT status, or edit an existing status, perform the following steps:
Note: Changes made to this part of the application can signficantly affect your data. If you are unsure, speak to your Accountant first.
To delete an existing VAT status, perform the following steps:
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE
The deletion will only succeed if there are no existing transactions already saved with the VAT Status being deleted. You have two options if existing transactions were entered with an incorrect VAT Status:
1. Firstly, delete/void all the incorrectly entered transactions. Then change the VAT Status, or delete it and enter a new one. Lastly, re-enter the transactions.
2. Enter a new VAT Status with the correct settings and the same 'Valid From Date' as the existing incorrect record. You will only be able to do this if the date is not included in a saved VAT Report. Any existing transactions with a transaction date on or after the 'Valid From Date' will need to be opened and resaved to pick up the new VAT Status. This step is extremely important as the VAT Status is set in the transaction and referenced during creation of the VAT Report. Alternatively, you can void/delete these existing transactions and re-enter them.
Price List Items are products and/or services that you use on Invoices or Credit Notes on a regular basis. Using Price List Items can greatly speed up the entering of transactions into AccountsPortal, as you do not have to manually key in the relevant information each time.
Price List Items can only be used in Invoices and Credit Notes.
VIEW PRICE LIST ITEMS
Navigate to the Settings tab and click on the Price List tab.
ADD OR EDIT PRICE LIST ITEMS
Proceed to enter the information as follows:

Click the Save button to complete the creation of the Item.
Notes:
AccountsPortal automatically applies a sequential number sequence to all transactions, which means that the sequence will automatically increment for each new transaction.
AccountsPortal will automatically create a default set of transaction numbers for all new Organisations.
To view the Transaction Numbering sequence, click the Settings tab, and then click the Transaction Numbering tab.
Although AccountsPortal creates a default Transaction Number sequence (with all transactions starting at '1') for new Organisations, the transaction numbering can be changed at any time.
To simulate the effect that a change in Prefix and Next Number would have on the Transaction ID, try changing the values in the text boxes. The result is displayed below as the Next Transaction ID.
Clicking the 'Update Transaction Sequence' button will permanently store any changes that you have made.
NOTE
If you set the Next Number back to a number which already exists, and leave the Prefix unchanged, you will be able to create a transaction with a Transaction ID that has previously been saved. In other words you will now have a duplicate Transaction ID. This is not prevented by the system because in some countries there is a legal requirement to reset the numbering of certain transactions at the start of each financial year. This is not a requirement in the United Kingdom and should be avoided unless legally required.
The Chart of Accounts is a list of all the accounts used by an Organisation. To view the Chart of Accounts, click the Settings tab, and then click the Chart of Accounts tab.
Each Organisation will start off with a default Chart of Accounts, which will contain the most commonly used accounts, and will cover the majority of requirements for most Organisations.
A default Chart of Accounts is provided for all new Organisations, and the following numbering scheme is used for Account Codes.
The Account Code for new Accounts is typically incremented by 5. For example, if the largest Account Code for Expenses is 6165, then the Account Code for the new Expense will be 6170.
Certain accounts are also automatically designated as System Accounts, which are special accounts that cannot be disabled or modified in any way. The System Accounts are:
Note: Changes made to this part of the application can signficantly affect your data. If you are unsure, speak to your Accountant first.
To add a new Account, or edit an existing Account, perform the following steps:
This is fully explained in the section dealing with How to Convert from Another Accounting System.
In order to access and enter transactions in an organisation beyond the Free Trial period, you will need to enable billing for the organisation. This activity is carried out individually for each organisation. Once you have enabled billing and provided valid payment card details (only required for the first organisation enabled), your subscription for the organisation will be valid and a monthly charge applied to your card. This monthly charge will continue until such time as you disable the billing for that organisation.
To check which organisations you will be paying subscription fees for, navigate to the Settings tab and then click on the My Subscriptions tab

In order to check or change the details of the card being charged, click on the Update Card Details link.
NOTE
The subscription schedule only applies to the logged on user . It is possible that someone else is responsible for the subscription of an organisation you have access to. This is evident by checking the billing contact in the Billing Details field of the Organisations tab. For more information see enable billing.
All subscription fees paid by a single user, regardless of the number of organisations included, will be charged to the same payment card.
The payment card will be charged separately for each organisation listed in the subscription schedule.
AccountsPortal will send out one invoice per organisation that has been enabled for billing.
In order to ensure ongoing access to each of your organisations, its is necessary to enable the billing. After billing has been enabled for an organisation, that organisation will be added to the subscription schedule in My Subscriptions.
The first time you enable billing for an organisation, you will be asked to enter payment card details, and for each subsequent organisation you enable the same card details will be used. You can update your card details at any time.
To enable billing, navigate to Settings tab, and then click the Organisations tab. This will list all the organisations that you have access to (for more information on organisations, click here).

ENABLE BILLING
Any user can enable billing for an organisation that they have access to. This will add the organisation to your subscription schedule in My Subscriptions.
Click on Enable billing in the Billing Action field.

The Billing Details are transferred from the organisation. They are for viewing only to ensure you selected the correct organisation.
If you are taking advantage of a promotion being run by AccountsPortal, enter the code in the space provided and click the Apply button. Otherwise, this field can be left blank.
Click on Step 2 to enter your payment card details. You will only be asked for these when you enable the billing for your first organisation. If you have previously entered card details, you will only need to agree to the T&C's to proceed.

Enter details for all the fields marked with * (if you select Maestro/Switch/Solo as Card Type, you may have to enter an Issue number if your card has one).
Note that we currently only accept cards registered to a UK address.
You will also need to agree to the AccountsPortal T&C's before saving the settings.
All card details are processed by Optimal Payments and AccountsPortal does not save these at any time.
Click Save to complete the billing activation for the organisation. If all your card details are correct, then you will receive confirmation that your records have been successfully updated.
The organisation will now be listed in the subscription schedule in My Subscriptions.
DISABLE BILLING
Disabling billing is restricted to the user that initially enabled the billing for an organisation. This action will set the organisation to disabled in your subscription schedule in My Subscriptions.
Click on Disable billing in the Billing Action field.

Read the warning carefully before clicking OK. Ensure that you have selected the correct organisation to disable billing. Once you have disabled the billing you will no longer be able to access the organisation's information.
NOTE
You will only be able to access organisations that have a green tick associated with their billing status.
Organisations that have been disabled for billing may be permanently removed from our database in line with our T&C's.
To re-enable billing for an organisation which has a status of 'Billing disabled by Joe Bloggs', you will need to raise a support ticket.
You can update your card details at any time. You may want to do this, for example, if your card is nearing its expiry date.
Navigate to the Settings tab and then click on the My Subscriptions tab

Click on the Update Card Details link.

All card details are processed by Optimal Payments and AccountsPortal does not save these at any time.
For security reasons, if you are changing any details, you will need to re-enter the Card number and Expiry date (and Issue number if applicable).
Click Save to update the changes you have made.
Please read My Subscriptions and Enable and Disable Billing for more information.
The procedure for adding a new bank account is exactly the same as adding any other account to the Organisation's Chart of Accounts.
Follow the steps listed to add a new account, making sure to specify Assets as the Account Group and Bank Account as the Account Type. You should also ensure that the Account is Enabled.
You can allow anyone else to access your information in AccountsPortal by following the steps listed in Adding another User.
There is no limit (and no additional charge) to the number of other users that you can give access to.
Note: Changes made to this part of the application can signficantly affect your data. If you are unsure, speak to your Accountant first.
If you are transferring from another accounting package, then it may be necessary to enter a Conversion Balance (which is essentially an opening balance) for all of your existing accounts.
You must first make sure that the Conversion Date is correct in the Organisation's settings. The Conversion Date is the first date that you start to enter transactions in AccountsPortal. Once you have decided on a Conversion Date (this should be the start of a VAT reporting period, or a calender month if you are not VAT registered), ensure that your accounts from the previous system are up to date; for example, if your Conversion Date is 01 July 2009, then the accounts from the previous system should be complete up to 30 June 2009.
Enter a Conversion Balance for each of your existing accounts.
Enter all Sales Invoices, Purchase Invoices and Credit Notes that were still outstanding at the Conversion Date. Ensure that the date of these transactions is before the Conversion Date.
To enter your conversion balances into AccountsPortal, navigate to the Settings tab, select the Chart of Accounts tab and click on the Add Conversion Balance button.

Once you have entered a Conversion Balance for each of your existing accounts, make sure that the total Debits equal the total Credits and then click the Save button.
Any Conversion Balances entered as above will be immediately reflected in the Conversion Balance: Debit and Conversion Balance: Credit columns in the Chart of Accounts.
NOTE
If you have added in conversion balances for the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable accounts, you should consider adding the transactions which make up these balances. This will ensure that the Aged Receivables and Aged Payables reports correctly reflect the ageing on all outstanding invoices and credit notes.
If you have already entered a conversion balance for an account and you wish to change this, there are two options:
To view Conversion Balances on a per-account basis, navigate to the Settings tab, and then click on the Chart of Accounts tab. The Chart of Accounts will display each account with a corresponding Conversion Balance:Debit or Conversion Balance:Credit amount.
Additional details on each individual Conversion Balance transaction can also be viewed by navigating to the Journals tab, and double-clicking each Conversion Balance transaction in the list.
You can enter other transactions (such as invoices or purchase invoices), where the transaction date is earlier than the Conversion Date. For example, you may wish to enter a sales invoice or sales credit note that was issued from your previous accounting system, but is still oustanding after the Conversion Date. To do this:
Note that with the exception of Conversion Balance transactions, any other transaction entered into AccountsPortal before the Conversion Date will not be taken into account for reporting purposes. The Aged Receivables and Aged Payables reports will, however, correctly reflect the ageing on all outstanding invoices or credit notes, including those entered before the Conversion Date.
Entering a transaction with a date before the Conversion Date displays a warning next to the date field

Usually an employee is paid a net salary after certain taxes/deductions have been taken into consideration. What follows is a suggestion of how you might account for these various components.
As an example, let's assume that an employee gets paid monthly and that the following values apply:
| Amount paid to employee (a) | £1150 |
| + PAYE (b) | £250 |
| + Employee NI contribution (c) | £100 |
| = Gross Wage on payslip | £1500 |
| + Employer's NI contribution (d) |
£150 |
| = Total Salary Cost to Organisation | £1650 |
To reflect this in Accountsportal, you need to enter two transactions. Start with a Spend Money - General Payment transaction for the amount paid to the employee, followed by a Journal entry transaction to capture the taxes/deductions and show that they are payable to the HMRC at a later date.
1.Spend Money - General Payment transaction to reflect Amount paid to employee (e)
Proceed to enter the transaction as per the instructions in the link above. The following fields need special attention:

2. Journal entry of PAYE(b) and NI(c + d)
This step will capture the taxes/deductions and show that they are payable to the HMRC at a later date. For more detail on entering journals view the instructions in the link above.
Line Item 1 raises the taxes as an expense in our books. The amount is the total of all (b) + (c) + (d). If you prefer, you could split this line into multiple debit lines to enter each category of tax/deduction against its own account.
Line Item 2 raises the liability for the amount the needs to be paid to HMRC at a later date.

At some point you will need to pay the HMRC the total amount of PAYE and NI due to them. This can also be entered as a Spend Money - General Payment transaction. In the example below, it is assumed that the HMRC is paid monthly for taxes/deductions. If you only pay quarterly, then you should adjust the amounts as required. The entry against the PAYE and NIC Payable account creates a debit entry which offsets the credit amount entered in the journal above.

In various screens throughout AccountsPortal, you will notice an Export button.

Clicking this button will export your data in csv format. Because csv is a common and simple file format, it is easy to view this data in Excel or any other spreadsheet programme.
Out-of-pocket expenses are business costs that have been paid out of your personal bank account or cash. At a later date, the business reimburses you for the full out-of-pocket amount.
Using online bookkeeping and accounting means you and your staff can submit these expenses from just about anywhere. You no longer have to wait until you return to the office.
Managing out-of-pocket expenses consists of just four easy steps:
Remember though, maintaining online accounts does not mean you can ignore good basic accounting practises. Hang onto your physical invoices/receipts and file them methodically for future reference.
This procedure explains how to record the transactions required when a customer overpays you.
Note that if the payment is an overpayment of a single invoice and there are other outstanding invoices for the customer, then this would not be considered an overpayment in the example being covered here. You should assign the excess payment to one of the other invoices.
Let's assume you have only one invoice outstanding for £200 and your customer pays you £250.
1. Create a Customer Overpayments account in your Chart of Accounts
If it doesn't already exist, create an account in your Chart of Accounts called 'Customer Overpayments' (Account Group - Liabilities, Account type - Current Liabilities, Default VAT - Out of Scope).
2. Enter a payment against the customer invoice
Use the Receive Money option to enter £200 as a Customer Invoice Payment transaction to settle the outstanding invoice. If you are entering the payment from an imported bank statement, then you will need to change the Amount Received from £250 to £200. The reason for this is that you need to enter a separate Receive Money for the £50 overpayment (see the next step).
3. Enter a separate payment for the overpayment value
Use the Receive Money option to enter the £50 overpayment as a General Receipt. In the line item, select the 'Customer Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code (or 'No VAT' if not registered).
If you intend to refund the overpayment, continue with 4. If you intend to apply the overpayment against the next invoice you issue, then go to 5.(VAT registered on Accrual Basis or not registered) or 6.(VAT registered on Cash Basis).
4. Refund the overpayment
Enter a Sales Credit Note transaction for £50. In the line item, select the 'Customer Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code (or 'No VAT' if not registered). When you pay the customer, use the Spend Money option to enter a Customer Refund.
5. Offset overpayment against next invoice - you are VAT registered on Accrual Basis or not registered
Enter a Sales Credit Note transaction for £50. Allocate the Credit Note to the next available invoice.
6. Offset overpayment against next invoice - you are VAT registered on Cash Basis
In order for the VAT to be correctly calculated under the Cash Basis, the invoice needs to be 'paid' rather than have a Credit Note allocated against it. Remember that at this stage the full £250 has already been received into the bank account (steps 2 & 3). To simulate a payment type transaction and and apply the amount in the 'Customer Overpayment' account against the invoice in the customer account, carry out the following 2 transactions:
a. Spend Money - General Payment for £50
This moves the £50 overpayment out of the 'Customer Overpayments' account and into the bank account. In the line item, select the 'Customer Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code.
b. Receive Money - Customer Invoice Payment for £50
Ensure that you enter the same Bank Account as a. above. Select the appropriate invoice to allocate the payment against it.
Note that the net impact of the above two transactions on the bank account is zero.
This procedure explains how to record the transactions required when you overpay a supplier.
Note that if the payment is an overpayment of a single invoice and there are other outstanding invoices for the supplier, then this would not be considered an overpayment in the example being covered. You should assign the excess payment to one of the other invoices.
Let's assume you have only one invoice outstanding for £200 and you pay your supplier £250.
1. Create a Supplier Overpayments account in your Chart of Accounts
If it doesn't already exist, create an account in your Chart of Accounts called 'Supplier Overpayments' (Account Group - Assets, Account type - Current Assets, Default VAT - Out of Scope).
2. Enter a payment against the supplier invoice
Use the Spend Money option to enter £200 as a Supplier Invoice Payment transaction to settle the outstanding invoice. If you are entering the payment from an imported bank statement, then you will need to change the Amount Spent from £250 to £200. The reason for this is that you need to enter a separate Spend Money transaction for the £50 overpayment (see the next step).
3. Enter a separate payment for the overpayment value
Use the Spend Money option to enter the £50 overpayment as a General Payment. In the line item, select the 'Supplier Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code (or 'No VAT' if not registered).
If you expect to be refunded for the overpayment, continue with 4. If you intend to apply the overpayment against the next invoice you receive, then go to 5.(VAT registered on Accrual Basis or not registered) or 6.(VAT registered on Cash Basis).
4. Receive refund for the overpayment
Enter a Purchase Credit Note transaction for £50. In the line item, select the 'Supplier Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code (or 'No VAT' if not registered). When you receive payment from the supplier, use the Receive Money option to enter a Supplier Refund.
5. Offset overpayment against next invoice - you are VAT registered on Accrual Basis or not registered
Enter a Purchase Credit Note transaction for £50. Allocate the Credit Note to the next available invoice.
6. Offset overpayment against next invoice - you are VAT registered on Cash Basis
In order for the VAT to be correctly calculated under the Cash Basis, the invoice needs to be 'paid' rather than have a Credit Note allocated against it. Remember that at this stage the full £250 has already been paid out of the bank account (steps 2 & 3). To simulate a payment type transaction and and apply the amount in the 'Supplier Overpayment' account against the invoice in the supplier account, carry out the following 2 transactions:
a. Receive Money - General Receipt for £50
This moves the £50 overpayment out of the 'Supplier Overpayments' account and into the bank account. In the line item, select the 'Supplier Overpayments' account and apply the 'Out of Scope' VAT Code.
b. Spend Money - Supplier Invoice Payment for £50
Ensure that you enter the same bank account as a. above. Select the appropriate invoice and allocate the payment against it.
Note that the net impact of the above two transactions on the bank account is zero.