Automating email data entry into accounting software

[Sheepshanks]

Eric Mc said:

There are two sides to every accounting entry - that's why it's called "double entry". All these systems will perform a "double entry" transaction for each item posted.

For example, if it's a supplier's invoice, the entry should go to the relevant profit and loss or balance sheet category (material, purchases, overheads, fixed assets etc) and also to the supplier's ledger account as a liability.

If it's a bank payment, the two entries would be a reduction in funds in the bank and a charge either to a profit and loss or balance sheet heading or an offset against a supplier's ledger account.

I'm not always sure if non-accountants or non-bookkeepers appreciate correctly how these transactions are supposed to be handled. And consequently, they don't understand whether these automated softaware systems are doing the right thing with the postings.

For accountants, unscrambling the mess made by computerised bookkeeping systems is more complex and time consuming than sorting out accounts from simple summaries and spreadsheets.

Xero seems to do a third thing of inventing the invoice line for itself, based on history! (I have nothing to do with accounts, maybe they all do that?).

[22s]

Our current accountant uses this - you just forward the email to a special email address: https://www.autoentry.com/

Our new accountant will be using Dext.

[Eric Mc]

Sheepshanks said:

Xero seems to do a third thing of inventing the invoice line for itself, based on history! (I have nothing to do with accounts, maybe they all do that?).

Which can be dangerous as not every item from the same supplier is for the same type of expenditure. Oversight and review of what the automated system is doing is vital. It’s like flying a fly by wire Airbus. Don’t assume it’s doing everything the way you think it should.

[48k]

Sheepshanks said:

Eric Mc said:

There are two sides to every accounting entry - that's why it's called "double entry". All these systems will perform a "double entry" transaction for each item posted.

For example, if it's a supplier's invoice, the entry should go to the relevant profit and loss or balance sheet category (material, purchases, overheads, fixed assets etc) and also to the supplier's ledger account as a liability.

If it's a bank payment, the two entries would be a reduction in funds in the bank and a charge either to a profit and loss or balance sheet heading or an offset against a supplier's ledger account.

I'm not always sure if non-accountants or non-bookkeepers appreciate correctly how these transactions are supposed to be handled. And consequently, they don't understand whether these automated softaware systems are doing the right thing with the postings.

For accountants, unscrambling the mess made by computerised bookkeeping systems is more complex and time consuming than sorting out accounts from simple summaries and spreadsheets.

Xero seems to do a third thing of inventing the invoice line for itself, based on history! (I have nothing to do with accounts, maybe they all do that?).

Which is one reason why, when you use an automated tool such as Ezzybills to import an invoice from an email and create the bill in Xero, you configure it to create the bill at draft status, instead of approved. There should always be a manual process to review draft bills and approve them.

I went through a period where Ezzybills decided that Microsoft was German Doner Kebab . Got some very odd looking bills in Xero, until I trained EzzyBills properly to identify Microsoft invoices. Having them imported as draft saved me a world of pain unpicking a muddle.