Finance settings

Page: Settings → Finance

What it is

The rules the money runs on. Prices live in the rate book; these are percentages, days, limits and switches: the payment terms the forecast and the ageing use, the bank account payment runs leave from and the balance the forecast starts at, the GST basis and BAS period, the margin and cash targets the watchers fire on, the overhead recovery every estimate carries, labour on-costs, who gets the Monday email and how far an alert climbs, the automation policy, and who may approve how much alone. Every change is recorded as a key detail with who changed it and when. It is for an organisation admin.

Before you start

• You must be an organisation admin. The page redirects anyone else.
• Xero connected, if you want the GST settings read from Xero.

How to

Set payment terms

Under Payment terms, open When the money actually leaves.

1. For each cost type — labour, material, subcontract, equipment, other — enter the days after a cost is incurred that the cash leaves. The card is marked ASSUMED until you save.
2. Under Money in, set Client pays claims in (days; stamps the due date when a claim is emailed and starts the overdue chase) and Answer subbie claims within (business days; the Security of Payment window).
3. Press Save terms. The cashflow forecast is rebuilt on the new timing.

Own-labour timing is not in the forecast yet; the labour figure changes nothing until that is wired up, and the card says so.

Enter the bank account and balance

Under Bank, open Bank details for payment runs. It is marked MISSING until set.

1. Enter the Bank (3 letters), BSB, Account number, Account name (26 characters at most), the APCA user id your bank issued for batch payments, and optionally the Remitter name shown on the payee's statement.
2. Press Save bank details. Every ABA file is built from these, and every admin is told the account changed.
3. Under Bank balance for the forecast, enter the balance and the As at date and press Save balance. The cashflow forecast and the money position start from it when Xero is not connected; with Xero connected its bank summary is used instead and this is ignored. Leave it blank to clear it.

Confirm GST

Under GST, set Registered for GST, the Basis (cash or accrual), the BAS period (monthly, quarterly, annual), when the Financial year starts, and the Set-aside buffer on top of the GST owing. Press Save GST settings. The card says when the settings are assumed, and the current period and lodge-by date. From Xero when connected; a change here wins.

Set the targets

Under Targets: the Gross margin target, Net margin target, the margin a job is thin under (below zero it reads as losing), the Cash buffer in days, how much of the GST owing to set aside, and the Margin drop that raises the alarm in points. Press Save targets. The Money page's job cards and watchers judge against these.

Set overhead recovery

Under Overhead recovery, enter the percentage every job carries for the company's fixed costs, the Basis (% of cost or % of revenue) and the Target net margin, then press Save overhead recovery. Or press Use the derived figure to adopt what the last twelve months say, shown beside the rule.

Set labour on-costs

Under Labour on-costs, set the default On-costs percentage on pay and, if they differ, the percentage for Employee, Apprentice, Casual and Contractor (usually 0 — a contractor's invoice already carries their on-costs). Press Save on-costs. A crew member with a pay rate and no cost rate typed costs the job at pay × (1 + on-costs). Until you set it, Base assumes 25% and says so.

Choose who gets the Monday email, and how alerts climb

Under Digest and escalation, open Monday money email. The account owner always gets it; tick The owner and every admin (the default) or pick the people yourself, and press Save recipients. Anyone can Stop sending it to me for themselves. Below it, two switches: Email when a money alert stays open and SMS for the two that cannot wait (the cash low point and a subcontractor claim on the statutory clock). Each says what happens when it is off. Press Save escalation.

Decide what runs on its own

Under Automation, each switch says what happens when it is off:

• Issue the purchase order the moment a tender is awarded, at the awarded price. Off, the award drafts the order and puts it on Money → Decide.
• Issue direct (un-tendered) purchase orders the plan drafted, under a limit. Off, every draft waits for a person.
• Issue purchase orders the plan drafted, under a limit, optionally Known suppliers only.
• Tender a package at or above an amount; below it the plan drafts a direct order. Mobilisation days before the trade's first task. Lead time by supplier category in days.
• Approve a bill that matches its order and its delivery, under a limit, with a Tolerance over the order's remaining and whether to Require a recorded delivery. Off, every machine-read bill waits for a person's tick.
• Draft the payment run on a weekday and file it as a decision — never paid without you. Pick the Weekday.
• A payment over $75 to a payee who has quoted no ABN: hold it off the run until an ABN is recorded, or pay it 47% short and report the withholding.

Press Save automation policy. These send real orders and approve real bills; the drafts and decisions they do not take wait on Procurement and Money → Decide.

Set approval limits

Under Approval limits, choose A person or A role, the Action (approve a bill, issue or raise an order, approve a payment run, approve a variation, certify a subcontractor claim, pay ahead of supply), and the largest amount they may approve alone, ex GST — 0 means never. Press Set limit. A person's own row beats their role's; no row means no limit. Over the limit, the decision waits on Money → Decide and the people whose limit covers it are told. Remove deletes a row.

Find the Xero settings

Under Xero, three links: Connection and account mapping (Settings → Integrations), Chart of accounts, and What counts in reports (the Xero page).

What happens on its own

• Every change is recorded with who made it and when; a bank account change is sent to every admin.
• The forecast is rebuilt when terms or the balance change; the Money page's judgements follow the targets.
• The automation switches run the policy: the finance tick issues drafts within limits each hour, matched bills approve themselves as they link, and the payment run is drafted on your weekday and filed as a decision.

Things that surprise people

• These are rules, never prices. A dollar figure here is a threshold or a limit; prices belong in the rate book.
• A target is a threshold, not a forecast. Lowering the thin-margin line does not make a job healthier; it only stops the watchers saying so.
• The entered bank balance is ignored once Xero is connected. Xero's bank summary wins.
• Overhead recovery derived from a thin year can be wildly high. The derived figure is shown beside the rule and never adopted without you.
• No approval limits means anyone with the permission may approve any amount. The page says so.

Related

• Payment runs — what the bank details and the weekly draft feed.
• Money — the position these targets judge.
• Procurement — the drafts the policy issues.