Accountant - Professional Accounting
Upgrade from Invoicing to Accounting with advanced features, detailed reports and asset management
The Accountant module upgrades the system from basic invoice management (Invoicing) to full professional accounting (Accounting), unlocking advanced features like lock dates, tax closing journal, detailed financial reports and fixed asset management.
The system automatically reorganizes the menu according to professional accounting structure, adds "In Payment" status to track unreconciled payments, and integrates with advanced reporting modules.
Key Features
Key points
• Upgrade Path: Upgrade from Invoicing to professional Accounting
• Lock Dates: Lock accounting periods to protect closed data
• Tax Closing Journal: Automatic tax closing journal for each company
• In Payment Status: New status to track unreconciled payments
• Advanced Reports: Detailed financial reports with drill-down
• Asset Management: Fixed asset tracking and automatic depreciation
• Analytic Accounting: Cost analysis by project and department
• Professional Menu: Menu organized by standard accounting structure
User Groups and Permissions
User Groups
| Group | Permissions | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Read-only | View all accounting data, no modifications | Staff who need to view reports |
| Bookkeeper | Full accounting access: reports, assets, analysis. No system configuration | Daily accountants |
| Account Manager | Full access including system configuration | Accounting department head |
Important Terminology
| Fields | Trường dữ liệu | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | Kế toán | Full accounting module after upgrade |
| Invoicing | Hóa đơn | Basic module before upgrade |
| Bookkeeper | Kế toán viên | Person performing daily accounting work |
| Account Manager | Quản lý kế toán | Person managing and configuring system |
| Lock Date | Ngày khóa sổ | Date that locks entries before it |
| Tax Closing Journal | Sổ nhật ký đóng thuế | Journal for recording periodic tax closing |
| In Payment | Đang thanh toán | Payment status not yet reconciled |
| Chart of Accounts | Hệ thống tài khoản | List of accounting accounts |
| Analytic Account | Tài khoản phân tích | Account for tracking costs by project |
| Fiscal Year | Năm tài chính | 12-month accounting period |
Installation and Upgrade
Steps
1. Go to Apps and search for "Accounting" or "accountant"
2. Click Install to install the module
3. System automatically installs dependencies (account_reports)
4. Main menu changes from "Invoicing" to "Accounting"
5. Tax closing journal automatically created for all companies
6. Advanced accounting features are activated
7. Refresh browser (Ctrl+F5) to update interface
Lock Dates - Accounting Lock
Lock Dates protect closed accounting data by preventing edits to entries before the lock date. There are 3 types of lock dates with different protection levels.
Key points
• Lock Date: Lock date for regular users, cannot edit entries before this date
• Tax Lock Date: Separate lock for tax, protects filed tax returns
• All Users Lock Date: Lock date for all users including admin
• Fiscal Year Lock: Lock entire fiscal year after audit
Tax Closing Journal
Steps
1. Module automatically creates Tax Closing Journal on installation
2. Go to Accounting → Configuration → Journals to view
3. This journal is used to record periodic tax closing entries
4. Integrates with tax reports in account_reports
5. Each company has its own Tax Closing Journal
6. No additional configuration needed, ready to use
"In Payment" Status
New status helps track payments being processed but not yet reconciled with bank. Invoices automatically change from "In Payment" to "Paid" when reconciliation is complete.
Payment Status Flow
| Status | Description | Next Action |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | New invoice, not confirmed | Confirm to post |
| Posted | Posted, not paid | Register Payment |
| In Payment | Payment processing, not reconciled | Bank Reconciliation |
| Paid | Payment complete, reconciled | Complete |
Advanced Reports
Key points
• General Ledger: Detailed ledger with drill-down to each entry
• Trial Balance: Balance sheet with movements by account
• Balance Sheet: Statement of assets and equity
• Profit & Loss: Income statement by period
• Cash Flow Statement: Cash flow report
• Aged Receivable/Payable: Aging analysis of receivables/payables
• Executive Summary: Financial summary for management
• Tax Report: Detailed tax report by period
Fixed Asset Management
Fixed asset management feature helps track original cost, depreciation and remaining value of assets. System automatically calculates periodic depreciation and creates entries.
Steps
1. Create Vendor Bill with fixed asset account
2. From Bill, create Asset with depreciation period
3. System automatically creates monthly depreciation entries
4. Track remaining value through Asset reports
5. Create disposal entry when sold or damaged
Analytic Accounting
Analytic Accounting allows cost analysis across multiple dimensions like project, department, or customer. Attach Analytic Account to entries for detailed tracking and reporting.
Key points
• Analyze costs by project or department
• Track profit per project
• Compare actual costs with budget
• Multi-dimensional reports by various criteria
Module Integration
Related Modules
| Module | Description | Auto-install |
|---|---|---|
| account_reports | Advanced accounting reports | Yes |
| account_reports_cash_basis | Cash basis accounting (AU, CA, US) | Yes (by country) |
| account_asset | Fixed asset management | No |
| account_budget | Budget management | No |
Best Practices
Key points
• Set Lock Dates periodically to protect closed data
• Use Analytic Accounts to track costs by project
• Reconcile bank regularly to update payment status
• Assign appropriate permissions to each user (Read-only, Bookkeeper, Manager)
• Backup data periodically before closing books
• Check reports regularly to detect errors early
• Use entry templates for recurring transactions
• Store documents fully according to legal requirements
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Menu still shows "Invoicing" | Browser cache | Refresh Ctrl+F5 or clear cache |
| Cannot see advanced features | Missing Bookkeeper permission | Ask admin to assign permission |
| Report has no data | Invoices not posted | Confirm invoices before viewing reports |
| Cannot edit entry | Past Lock Date | Contact Account Manager to unlock |