11   Transactions

A transaction is an entry that changes the balance of accounts. Your MYOB software creates transactions when you record entries such as sales invoices, purchase orders and inventory adjustments.

You can change, delete and reverse transactions - depending on how your preferences are set up.

If you have transactions that need to be entered periodically, you can set up recurring transaction templates. You can use these recurring templates to store details of transactions you record regularly and to set up reminders to record them. You can also set up your MYOB software to record recurring transactions automatically on their due date.

Finding a transaction

There are several ways to find a transaction. The method you use depends on the information you have at hand. These methods are listed in the table below.

Use the... To find...
Find Transactions window journal entries, sales, purchases, cheques, deposits, supplier and customer payments.
Sales Register transactions relating to sales (such as open and closed invoices) quotes, orders, credits and returns. This method is most efficient if you know the transaction date or the customer's name
Purchases Register transactions relating to purchases (such as open and closed bills) quotes, orders, debits and returns. This method is most efficient if you know the transaction date or the supplier's name
Bank Register spend money, pay bills, receive payments and receive money transactions.
Items Register inventory item transactions for a particular date range. This includes inventory adjustments, auto-build and move items transactions.
Transaction Journal window any transaction by source journal.

To find a transaction using the Find Transactions window

  1. From any command centre, click Find Transactions. The Find Transactions window appears.
  2. Click the appropriate tab - for example, the Card tab to search by card.

  3. Filter your search using the Search By and date range fields. For example, to search for all transactions made during January 2009 relating to the customer Island Way Motel, you would specify the following filters on the Card tab.

  4. If you want to narrow your search further:

    1. Click Advanced. The Advanced Filters window appears.
    2. Type or select your additional search filters, and click OK. For more information, see 'Advanced filters'.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Find Transactions window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

NOTE : Quotes and orders without applied payments do not appear in the Find Transactions window To find these types of transactions, go to the Quotes and Orders views of the Sales Register or Purchases Register.

To find a transaction using the Sales Register window

The Sales Register window lists all open and closed invoices, quotes, orders, returns and credits.

  1. Go to the Sales command centre and click Sales Register. The Sales Register window appears

  2. Click the tab of the sales category you would like to view - for example, Open Invoices.

  3. Filter your search using the Search By and date range fields.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Sales Register window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

To find a transaction using the Purchases Register window

The Purchases Register window lists all open and closed purchases, quotes, orders, returns and debits.

  1. Go to the Purchases command centre and click Purchases Register. The Purchases Register window appears.

  2. Click the tab of the type of purchase you would like to view - for example, All Purchases.

  3. Filter your search using the Search By and date range fields.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Purchases Register window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

To find a transaction using the Bank Register window

You can use the Bank Register window to find spend money, pay bills, receive payments and receive money transactions.

  1. Go to the Banking command centre and click Bank Register. The Bank Register window appears.
  2. Select the bank, credit card or petty cash account you used for the transaction in the Account field.

  3. In the Dated From and To fields, enter the date range during which the transaction was recorded.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Bank Register window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

To find a transaction using the Items Register window

When the Items Register window is filtered to show a single item, a running balance of the item's quantities and values appears.

  1. Go to the Inventory command centre and click Items Register. The Items Register window appears.
  2. In the Search By field, select whether you want to view transactions for all items or a single item.
  3. If you selected Item at step 2, type or select the item number in the field that appears to the right of the Search By field.

  4. In the Dated From and To fields, enter the date range during which the transaction was recorded.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Items Register window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

To find a transaction using the Transaction Journal window

The Transaction Journal window groups all your accounting entries into six journals: general, disbursements, receipts, sales, purchases and inventory. It also enables you to display all transactions.

  1. Click Transaction Journal in any command centre (except Card File). The Transaction Journal window appears.
  2. Click the appropriate tab - for example, the Sales tab to find a sales invoice, the Disbursements tab to find a cheque or supplier payment, and so on.

  3. In the Dated From and To fields, enter the date range during which the transaction was recorded.

    All transactions between (and including) these dates will be listed.

  4. If you want to search for a range of journal ID numbers, enter the range in the ID From and To fields.

    The transactions that match your search criteria appear in the Transaction Journal window. You can view a transaction in detail by clicking the zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

To find a recurring transaction

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Recurring Transactions. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.

  2. Locate the recurring transaction. You can:

    • sort the transactions by name, type or frequency
    • search for a transaction by name, amount or due date.

    For more information on changing the details of a recurring transaction, see 'Recurring transactions'.

Changing or deleting a transaction

If you are part way through entering a transaction, you can erase it and start again by choosing Erase [...] from the Edit menu.

Occasionally, however, you may need to make changes to, or delete, a transaction you have already recorded. A transaction can be edited or deleted only if it is changeable. A changeable transaction is identified by a white zoom arrow (⇨) next to it.

You can choose to make transactions changeable or unchangeable by selecting or deselecting the Transactions CAN'T be Changed; They Must be Reversed option on the Security tab view of the Preferences window. By default, this preference is set to changeable.

If you want to maintain a strict audit trail, you should consider making your transactions unchangeable by setting this preference. An unchangeable transaction is identified by a grey zoom arrow (⇨) next to it. If you make your transactions unchangeable, you need to reverse the transaction to cancel its effect on your accounts - see 'Reversing a transaction'.

Changing a transaction

CAUTION : Transactions that cannot be changed You cannot change a customer payment, supplier payment, refund cheque or a bank deposit once it has been recorded. You can only delete or reverse these transactions.

To change a transaction

  1. Find the transaction in its original transaction window. See 'Finding a transaction' for instructions.
  2. Make the necessary changes and then click OK.

Deleting a transaction

When you delete a transaction, it is permanently removed from your records. Note the following when deleting a transaction:

Sales and purchases   You can only delete a sale or purchase that does not have a payment applied to it. If you have recorded a payment for a sale or purchase, you must first delete the payment (including any discounts) and then delete the transaction. If you applied a supplier debit towards a purchase, you must delete the debit (including the credit note) before you can delete the purchase.

Group receipt transactions recorded in the undeposited fund account   If you want to delete an individual receipt that was recorded as part of a bank deposit of receipts grouped in the undeposited funds account, you must first delete the bank deposit. When you delete a bank deposit, all the cash receipts included in the bank deposit are returned to the Prepare Bank Deposit window. You can then delete the required receipt from this window.

Negative inventory   You cannot delete a purchase that will result in negative inventory on-hand.

Reconciled transactions   If you delete a reconciled transaction, your bank reconciliation will be out of balance.

To delete a transaction

  1. Find the transaction in its original transaction window. See 'Finding a transaction' for instructions.
  2. Go to the Edit menu and choose Delete [...]. For example, if you want to delete a sale, choose Delete Sale. The transaction is removed permanently from your records.

Reversing a transaction

If your accountant wants you to maintain a strict record of all your accounting entries, you should reverse a transaction rather than change or delete it.

A reversal transaction is a new transaction that replicates the original transaction, but with debit amounts shown as credit amounts and vice versa. After posting a reversal transaction, you have two transactions (the original and the reversal), but the account balances appear as if the original transaction was never posted.

A reversal transaction is automatically posted to the same account for the same amount as the original transaction. You cannot change the amount or account of a reversal transaction.

Before you can reverse a transaction   You can only reverse a transaction if it is unchangeable. An unchangeable transaction is identified by a grey zoom arrow (⇨) next to it. To make your transactions unchangeable, select the Transactions CAN'T be Changed; They Must be Reversed preference on the Security tab view of the Preferences window. You can change this preference at any time.

Reversing a transaction can affect closed periods   When you reverse a transaction, be aware of the transaction date you enter:

  • If you use the current date when you reverse a transaction from a prior month, the month-end financials for the prior month will not reflect the reversal transaction.
  • If you use the original date for the reversal transaction, your prior month's financials should be reprinted because they will have changed.

Customer and supplier payments   Note that if an early payment discount was applied to a sale or purchase, you also need to reverse the discount. You can find a discount transaction by searching for a transaction with the memo 'Discount' in the Find Transactions window. For more information about how to find a transaction, see 'Finding a transaction'.

Negative inventory   You cannot reverse a purchase that will result in a negative on-hand inventory count.

To reverse a transaction

  1. Find the transaction you want to reverse. See 'Finding a transaction' for instructions.
  2. Go to the Edit menu and choose Reverse [...]. For example, if you want to reverse a sale, choose Reverse Sale. A new transaction containing corresponding negative amounts to that of the original transaction appears.

  3. If you want, alter the date and memo. Note that you cannot change the accounts and amounts.

    NOTE : Recap transaction Before you record this transaction, you can use the recap transaction feature to view the journal entries that will be created when the transaction is recorded. To recap, choose Recap Transaction from the Edit menu.

  4. Click Record Reversal to record the reversal transaction. The transaction is reversed and all account balances are returned to their previous levels.

Recurring transactions

If you have transactions that you record regularly - for example, a rent cheque or banking fees - you can set them up as recurring transactions and save them for future use.

You can set a recurring transaction to record automatically if the transaction details are the same each time - such as a rent payment. Or you can open the transaction as required, alter the details (for example, if you make regular sales to a customer and vary the items), and then record the transaction.

You can make the following transactions recurring: sales, purchases, cheques, deposits and general journal entries.

Setting up recurring transactions

You can create a recurring transaction in a transaction window, or copy an existing recurring transaction to create a new one. Later on, you can change details of a recurring transaction, or delete one if it is no longer used. These tasks are listed in the following table.

If you want to...
create a recurring transaction
create a recurring transaction from an existing entry
edit a recurring transaction
delete a recurring transaction

To create a recurring transaction

When you create a recurring transaction, you can specify how often you want the transaction to be recorded, and for how long you want to schedule it. For example, you can schedule your car payments monthly for the next 22 months.

  1. Enter the transaction details in a transaction window - such as the Sales window if you make regular sales to a customer.

  2. Instead of clicking Record, click Save as Recurring. The Edit Recurring Schedule window appears.

  3. In the Recurring Transaction Name field, type a name to identify the transaction.
Schedule the transaction
  1. Select the transaction frequency from the Frequency list.
  2. In the Starting on field, type the date the transaction is first due.

  3. Indicate how long you want the recurring transaction to continue. Click:

    • Continue indefinitely to schedule the transaction for an unlimited period.
    • Continue until this date to schedule the transaction until a set date. Type the date in the adjacent field.
    • Perform this # of times to schedule the transaction for a set number of times. Type the number of times in the adjacent field.
Choose Alert Options

In the Alerts section of the window, you can set a reminder to record the transaction, or automatically record the transaction and get a notification when the transaction is recorded.

  1. If you want to set a reminder:

    1. Click Remind.
    2. Select a reminder option from the to record this transaction list.
    3. If you selected # days in advance, enter the number of days in the adjacent field.
    4. Select the user who needs to be reminded from the list adjacent to the option.
    5. Continue with step 9 below.

  2. If you want the recurring transaction to be recorded automatically:

    1. Click Automatically record this transaction when due and notify.
    2. Select the user who needs to be notified from the list adjacent to the option.
Specify the transaction Identification Number

  1. Specify how you want the transaction ID number to be created:

    • if you want the transaction ID number to be one greater than the previous transaction ID, click Use the next sequential number as the [...] #.
    • if you want to specify a transaction ID, click Use the following as the [...] #, then type the transaction ID in the adjacent field.
  2. If you want to save your changes to the recurring transaction each time it is recorded, select the Save my changes when I record this recurring transaction option.
  3. Click Save. The transaction window appears.

  4. Click Cancel to close the transaction window. A warning window may appear.

    1. If you do not want to record the transaction immediately, click Erase.
    2. If you want to record the transaction, click cancel, then click Record.

    The new recurring transaction will now appear in the Recurring Transactions List window. See 'To find a recurring transaction'.

To create a recurring transaction from an existing entry

You can create a recurring transaction by copying an existing recurring transaction entry, then customising the details for the new one. This can save time if there is an existing recurring transaction entry that suits your needs.

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Recurring Transactions. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.

  2. Select the recurring transaction you want to copy and click Create Copy. The Create Copy window appears.

  3. In the Card field, click the search button (). The Select from List window appears listing only card types relevant to the type of recurring transaction you are copying. For example, a purchase transaction can only be applied to your supplier cards.

  4. Either:

    • click the select icon () if you want to select all the cards listed, or
    • mark the select column next to one or more of the cards required.
  5. Click OK when you have finished selecting from the list. The Create Copy window reappears.

  6. Click Save.

    If you selected... then...
    One card in the Select from List window
    • The transaction window for the new recurring transaction appears.
    • You can edit the transaction details if required.
    • Click Save. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.
    More than one card in the Select from List window
    • The Recurring Transactions List window listing all your recurring transactions appears. Each new transaction has a unique name - the original name suffixed by the name of the relevant card.
    • To change transaction details for a new transaction: highlight it and click Edit, make the changes in the transaction window and click Save. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.

  7. If you need to change the schedule details or the name of a new recurring transaction:

    1. highlight the recurring transaction
    2. click Edit Schedule
    3. make the changes in the Edit Recurring Schedulewindow
    4. click Save.
  8. Click Close

To edit a recurring transaction

After you have created a recurring transaction, you can edit its details (such as the cheque details of a Spend Money transaction) and update its schedule.

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Recurring Transactions. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.

  2. If you want to change the recurring transaction details:

    1. Select the recurring transaction and click Edit. The transaction window appears for the selected type of recurring transaction.
    2. Make the necessary changes.
    3. Click Save.

  3. If you want to change the schedule of the recurring transaction:

    1. Select the recurring transaction and click Edit Schedule. The Edit Recurring Schedule window appears
    2. Change the scheduling details of the transaction as required.
    3. Click Save.
  4. Click Close when you have finished editing the recurring transaction.

To delete a recurring transaction

Deleting a recurring transaction only removes it from your list of recurring transactions. Transactions recorded previously using the recurring transaction are not affected.

  1. Go to the Lists menu and choose Recurring Transactions. The Recurring Transactions List window appears.

  2. Select the recurring transaction you want to delete andclick Delete.

    An information message appears explaining that this action will not delete any recorded transactions.

  3. 3 Click OK to delete the recurring transaction.

Recording recurring transactions

For recurring transactions that are not set up to record automatically, you need to decide when to record them. You can either:

  • Record a single recurring transaction from a transaction window
  • Record several transactions at the same time.

If you use the reminders option, you can also record a recurring transaction from the Reminders window. For more information, see 'Responding to reminders for recurring transactions'.

To record a recurring transaction from a transaction window

  1. Open the transaction window for the recurring transaction you want to use. For example, open the Purchases window if you are creating a recurring purchase transaction.

  2. Click Use Recurring. The Select a Recurring Transaction window appears listing only recurring transactions for this type of transaction.

  3. Choose the recurring transaction from the list and then click Select. The transaction appears.
  4. If necessary, change the date, amount, account and other details.
  5. Click Record.

NOTE : Using the Recurring Transactions List window You can also record a recurring transaction from the Recurring Transactions List window by going to the Lists menu and choosing Recurring Transactions.

To record multiple recurring transactions

  1. From any command centre, click To Do List. The To Do List window appears.

  2. Click the appropriate tab - Recurring Sales, Recurring Purchases or Recurring Transactions (for all other recurring transactions).

    In the list of recurring transactions that appears, you can click the zoom arrow (⇨) to the left of a transaction to view it in detail.

  3. Click in the select column () next to the recurring transactions you want to record.

  4. Click Record. A window appears requiring you to enter a date for the selected transactions.
  5. Enter a date for the transactions and click OK.

Responding to reminders for recurring transactions

You can use your MYOB software to remind you on, or before, the scheduled date of a recurring transaction - see 'Choose Alert Options'. If you use this option, your MYOB software checks the reminder dates each time you open your company file. When a recurring transaction is due (or possibly overdue), the Reminders window appears.

The options available in this reminder window depend on the status of the selected recurring transaction (if more than one is showing). For example, if the selected transaction has a due date of today or is overdue, the Remind Tomorrow and Remind When Due buttons are not available.

To respond to the Reminders window

  1. In the Reminders window, choose the required option.

    Click... if...
    Skip This Period you do not want to record the transaction this period. The reminder is removed from the list.
    Remind Tomorrow you do not want to record the transaction today, but want to be reminded tomorrow
    Remind When Due you do not want to record the transaction today, but want to be reminded when the transaction is next due.
    Record you want to record the transaction now
  2. Click Close to close the window and be reminded again next time you open the company file.