Cash-basis Reporting

The DPS Accounting application is an accrual-based accounting system. However, you also have the option of tracking financial data on a cash basis by using the Cash-basis Reporting feature.

  • In accrual-based accounting, revenue is recognized as it is earned (through invoices) and expenses are recognized as they are incurred (through accounts payable vouchers).
  • In cash-basis accounting, revenue is recognized when cash is received (through cash receipts) and expenses are recognized when cash is disbursed (through accounts payable or cash disbursements).

With the Cash-basis Reporting feature, you set up and maintain a second, separate cash-basis general ledger.

Enable the Cash-basis Reporting feature in Settings > Advanced Accounting > System on the Reporting tab. Then add cash-basis accounts to the chart of accounts, enter balances for the cash-basis accounts, and map the cash-basis accounts to your accrual accounts.

DPS then posts revenue and expense transactions to both your accrual-basis general ledger and your cash-basis general ledger. You can generate cash-basis financial statements in parallel with accrual-basis financial statements.

DPS supports cash-basis versions of these reports:

  • Balance Sheet
  • Chart of Accounts List
  • Income Statement
  • General Ledger Account Analysis
  • Cash Journal

Considerations in Setting up Cash-basis Reporting

  • Cash-basis Reporting can be set up at any time. It is best to enable Cash-basis Reporting at the beginning of a fiscal year so that you only need to translate Balance Sheet account balances, not Income Statement account balances, from an accrual to a cash basis.
  • DPS begins to maintain cash-basis detail from the time that you enable Cash-basis Reporting and enter account history. For this reason, do not enable Cash-basis Reporting until you are ready to use it and have determined a cut-off date. The cut-off date is the date that Cash-basis Reporting is enabled, as well as the date on which cash-basis opening balances will be calculated.
  • When you enable Cash-basis Reporting, it is enabled in all past and future periods. If you must make entries in a prior period and you do not want those entries to affect your current cash-basis account balance, you must turn off Cash-basis Reporting.

    Before you enable Cash-basis Reporting, you should close all prior periods and deselect the Allow processing in closed periods option on the Accounting tab of Settings > Security > Roles for all of your security roles. This ensures that your cash-basis account balances remain accurate.

Related Topics:

  • Cash-basis Tax Reporting
    While accrual-basis reporting provides the most effective method for analyzing profitability and other management results, many enterprises pay taxes on a cash basis. You may want to produce cash-basis reports for income tax purposes and simultaneously maintain accrual-basis reports for management control.
  • Mapping Cash-basis Accounts
    In both accrual and cash-basis accounting, any transaction that involves cash is considered a cash-basis transaction. However, the accrual-basis and cash-basis general ledger accounts to which offsetting entries are made for these transactions might not be the same.
  • Cash-basis Transaction Postings
    When you use the Cash-basis Reporting feature, DPS posts transactions to both your accrual-basis and cash-basis general ledger accounts.
  • Cash-basis Transaction Example
    You may find it helpful to review an example of how a cash receipt is posted when you use the Cash-Basis Reporting feature.
  • Cash-basis Reporting and Payroll Accounts
    By default, timesheet postings are not cash entries. To include payroll postings in your cash-basis reporting general ledger, you must enable Cash-basis Reporting, then map payroll accrual accounts to cash-basis accounts.
Parent Topic: General Accounting Concepts