Microsoft Office Accounting

Using the Company Setup wizard, you create a new company and enter basic information about that company. As part of the company setup process, you select what type of business you are creating. The business type uses a Microsoft Office Accounting business template to configure the initial settings of a new company with the most common settings for that type of business.

Set up one company at a time. If you have more than one company, complete the Company Setup wizard from start to finish for each company.

Start the wizard

Do one of the following:

• On the File menu, click New Company.
• On the Start - Microsoft Office Accounting page, click Start a new company.

Wizard pages

Add company details

Enter your company contact details. This information can be included in company reports, on purchase orders, on sales orders, and in other documents.

On the Add company details page, click Next to continue.

Select VAT preferences

You can choose to set up the VAT information in this wizard or return to preferences later.

On the Select VAT preferences page, click Next to continue. The next page you see depends on the selection you made on this page.

If you selected Yes:

• Enter your VAT-related information.
  

  Option	Description
  Enter your VAT registration number	(Required.) Type your VAT registration number. Your VAT registration number will have been given to the taxable person (the person who is registered for VAT for your company) by HM Revenue & Customs.
  Enter your VAT reporting period	Select whether you report VAT on a monthly, bimonthly, quarterly or annual basis. Your VAT reporting period will have been given to the taxable person (the person who is registered for VAT for your company) by HM Revenue & Customs.
  Select ending period for VAT reporting	Select the ending period when your VAT return is due: Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec or Apr/Jul/Oct/Jan or May/Aug/Nov/Feb. These are the months in which VAT must be reported.
  Select one of the following VAT reporting options: Report VAT on accrual basis (when invoices are issued) Report VAT on cash basis (when invoices are paid)	(Required.) Select the basis on which your company reports VAT to HM Revenue & Customs. For more information, see About VAT accounting schemes. You may want to consult your accountant or verify how your company is registered with HM Revenue & Customs prior to making this selection. Although it is possible to switch your VAT accounting scheme, it will be easier for you if this initial selection is accurate.

• On the Select VAT preferences (cont.) page, click Next to continue.

If you selected No or My business is not VAT registered:

• You will continue to the Choose a business type page.

Choose a business type

Select the business type that best matches your business. The business type determines which business template is used when your company is created. The business template will configure your initial company preferences and chart of accounts with typical settings for that type of business.After you save a new company, you can modify any settings configured by a business template.

Important After the new company is created and saved, you cannot apply a different business template. To see what effect a business template has on a company, you can use the Company Setup wizard to create a test company. Apply a business template and see if the settings and setup are right for your company.

For more information, see About business templates.

On the Choose a business type page, click Next to continue.

Create company file

This step creates your new Office Accounting company. If you want to save the new company shortcut to a location other than the default, click Browse. Note The shortcut points to the location where your actual company file is stored. For more information, see About data files.

To create and save your new company, click Finish.

After you complete company setup, we recommend that you verify that initial settings for the new company are correct.

The Office Accounting Resource Centre

After you save the new company, the Office Accounting Resource Centre opens with the Quick Start page open on top of it. If you are already familiar with the basics of Microsoft Office Accounting 2008, use the Quick Start page to quickly get started. If you are new to Office Accounting 2008, close the Quick Start page and use the Resource Centre to learn what you need to do to start using your Office Accounting company.

We recommend that you start with the Quick Start Guide. To open the Quick Start Guide, do the following:

• In the Resource Centre, in the Navigation Pane, under Get help in the product, click Get Started.

The Quick Start Guide includes information about reviewing company preferences, entering opening balances, setting up the company start date, setting up taxes, and more.microsoft

Items marked with a double asterisk (**) are available in Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2008 only.

On the Start - Microsoft Office Accounting page, you can start a new company, open an existing company, restore a company database and more.

Open the page

The Start - Microsoft Office Accounting page opens automatically the first time you start Microsoft Office Accounting 2008. To open the page later, on the File menu, click Close Company.

Select a task

The page contains the following options.

If your business is registered for VAT, you must report VAT under either the regular (accrual) accounting scheme or the cash accounting scheme. These accounting schemes consist of rules that are used to determine when and how VAT is reported to HM Revenue & Customs. These methods differ primarily in the timing of when transactions, including sales and purchases, are credited or debited to your accounts.

• In an accrual scheme, you account for VAT on your sales (output tax) when they occur or as soon as you issue a VAT invoice. This is regardless of when your customer makes payment. You can reclaim VAT on your purchases (input tax) as soon as you receive a VAT invoice, even if you have not yet paid your supplier. NOTE   Business income is recorded when the sale occurs, and expenses (receivables) are recorded when goods are delivered or services rendered. You don’t have to wait until you either get or spend money to record a transaction.
• In a cash accounting scheme, you account for VAT (output tax) on the basis of payments you receive and make, rather than on invoices you issue and receive. Similarly, you can only reclaim the VAT incurred on your purchases (input tax) after you actually pay your supplier. NOTE   Business income is recorded when your customers pay you and expenses (receivables) are recorded when you actually pay creditors. This enables you to think in terms of cash flow in and out of your business, rather than invoiced amounts.

For more information on choosing the right VAT scheme for your business, contact your accounting professional, or see the HM Revenue & Customs Web site.

 IMPORTANT   Ensure that you make the right selection when setting up your company as changing your VAT reporting scheme is not a simple business process.

Should you need to change your VAT accounting scheme after your initial company setup in Microsoft Office Accounting 2008, follow the steps in switching your VAT accounting scheme.

Before you set up a new company in Microsoft Office Accounting 2008, gather the following company information. Doing so will help you set up your initial company information and balances more quickly.

1. Define your company’s financial year. You can use a standard calendar year, or you can use another period for accounting and reporting purposes.
2. Determine a start date on which you want to begin using Office Accounting 2008 to track your company’s finances. NOTE   Consider your start date carefully. You cannot change the start date after your company is set up. If you later want to prevent postings to accounts as of a certain date, you can change the posting date.
3. Collect the following information on your company:
   • Cheque account statement dated just before your company’s start date
   • Cheque book with any remaining, uncleared cheques that you have written but that have not yet shown up on your cheque account statement
   • Savings account statement dated just before your company’s start date
   • Deposits or any other record of any remaining, uncleared deposits, withdrawals, or transfers that have not yet shown up on your account statement
   • Any other bank statements dated just before your company’s start date
   • Credit card account statement dated just before your company’s start date
   • Credit card receipts or any other record of any credit card charges that have not yet shown up on your account statement
   • Records of unpaid customer invoices as of your company’s start date
   • Records of supplier purchase invoices that your company has not paid as of your company’s start date
   • Account balances for any other assets, such as stocks, as of your company’s start date
   • Account balances for any other debts, such as loans, as of your company’s start date

Microsoft Office Accounting Add-in Manager

In the Microsoft Office Accounting Add-in Manager dialog box, you can install an add-in to or remove an add-in from your computer and the computers of users in your user group. An add-in is a supplemental program that adds features or customer commands to Microsoft Office Accounting 2008. You would probably purchase these add-ins from a software manufacturer other than Microsoft. Only administrators can install add-ins. Users with roles other than Administrator can enable or disable add-ins from their Office Accounting 2008 company. To learn about user roles and granting permissions to users, see Manage users.

The administrator should notify users that new add-ins have been installed. Users can enable or remove add-ins by opening the Microsoft Office Accounting Add-in Manager dialog box, selecting the add-in, and selecting or clearing the Enable check box.

Open the dialog box

To open the Microsoft Office Accounting Add-in Manager dialog box, on the Filemenu, point to Utilities and then click Add-in Manager.

Dialog box options

The dialog box contains the following options.

Manage Add-in Packs

In the Manage Add-in Packs dialog box, you can enable an add-in pack that has been installed on your computer or server. An add-in is a supplemental program that adds features or customer commands to Microsoft Office Accounting 2008. An add-in pack can include multiple add-in programs or just one. Once an add-in pack is enabled, it is available for all newly created companies. Add-in programs are listed in the Microsoft Office Accounting Add-in Manager dialog box.

Only Windows Group Administrators and Application Administrators can install add-ins. Users with roles other than Administrator can enable or disable add-ins from their Office Accounting 2008 company. To learn about user roles and granting permissions to users, see Manage users.

Open the dialog box

To open this dialog box, on the File menu, point to Utilities and then click Add-in Packs. 

Dialog box options

The dialog box contains the following options.

You use the Select Sample Company dialog box to choose whether you want to open a sample company that sells services or a sample company that sells products. Choose a type of sample company that is similar to your actual company so that you can see how Microsoft Office Accounting 2008 appears when you enter your company’s information.

Open the dialog box

To open the Select Sample Company dialog box, close the company that you have open, and then click Open a sample company.

Dialog box options

The dialog box contains the following options.

The Delete Account Record Error dialog box opens if you attempt to delete a system account or an account that has transactions or an opening balance recorded against it.

Instead, you can change the status of the account to Inactive. For example, if you make a mistake in creating an account, you can create a new account, make a journal entry to move the opening balance to the new account and then make the initial accountInactive.

The Delete Transaction Form dialog box opens when you attempt to delete a transaction form (for example, a Quote, Sales Order, Purchase Order or Time Entry) that is referenced by other accounting records. For example, a partially invoiced sales order cannot be deleted because of its association with the portion of the sales order that has already been invoiced.

The British government has temporarily lowered the standard VAT rate from 17.5% to 15.0% effective 1 December 2008. The government has posted a number of FAQ documents concerning this change.

In Microsoft Office Accounting, you can change the effective standard VAT rate according to government rate changes.

We recommend that you add a new rate, as described here, instead of editing the existing rate. When you add a new rate, Office Accounting is able to manage backdated transactions correctly. Additionally, when you add the new VAT rate and enter all invoices and purchase invoices on the date that they were issued, Office Accounting will calculate the VAT liability correctly and enter the correct amounts on the VAT return, regardless of your filing scheme and filing period.

Follow the steps below for the version of Microsoft Office Accounting that you are using.

Office Accounting Professional

1. On the Company menu, point to VAT, and then click Manage VAT Codes.
2. Under VAT Code, select S, and then click Edit.
3. In the VAT Rates table, under Rate, type 15 in the first available line.
4. Under As of, click the arrow and select 1 December 2008.
5. Click OK.

Office Accounting Express

1. On the Company menu, click Preferences.
2. On the VAT tab, click VAT Codes.
3. Under VAT Code, select S, and then click Edit.
4. In the VAT Rates table, under Rate, type 15 in the first available line.
5. Under As of, click the arrow and select 1 December 2008.
6. Click OK.