Use of Custom Fields

[Arkden]

I understand that it is not possible to include custom fields on any reports such as P&L reports or cash flow statements. Then what use are the custom fields if they don’t appear on any output reports and are only present on input screens? Without being able to analyze based on custom fields, they’re just Electronic post-it notes…

[tony]

In case you haven’t reviewed the old guides - Use custom fields | Manager

[Ealfardan]

Welcome to the forum @Arkden,

That’s a very ambitious request. I cannot imagine how Custom Fields could be used within the context of an already detailed and comprehensive report such as the cash flows or the P&L.

I can only assume that you will get quite a handful to look at.

Maybe if you provided an example of what you intend to have we could better understand your use case.

Also, there’s been some recent changes to reporting so maybe you could give Advanced Queries and the new Transactions view a try and see if it could give you the report you’re after:

Advanced Queries

So based on the feedback, I’ve realized the previous implementation of elevating Advanced Search into Custom Reports was not as good. In the latest version (24.2.26) it works as follows. I’m going to call the feature Advanced Queries. [image] The reason is that it’s not always search what users are doing thus Advanced Search is not appropriate. And it’s not always a report that users want out of this feature so Custom Reports is not the right terminology either. I think Advanced Queries capt…

Added new "Transactions" button to view transactions across all tabs

In the latest version (24.2.28), there is new Transactions button under Summary tab in bottom-right corner. [image] This will take you to the list of all general ledger transactions. By default, you will see the following columns Date Transaction Reference Account Debit Credit But you can adjust the columns using Edit Columns button. You can also use Advanced Queries to select columns, apply filters and group by any column or columns. The difference between Advanced Queries within individu…

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Edit: I have to mention that Custom Fields support in the Transactions view is yet to be confirmed, however, you can use that view to have greater control over the report layout using Advanced Queries

[Tut]

@Arkden

what use are the custom fields if they don’t appear on any output reports and are only present on input screens?

First, that is not necessarily true. There are reports that make use of custom fields.

Second, many users make heavy use of the “electronic post-it notes” you seem to denigrate. And they can be selected for display in functional tabs, making it possible to sort and create advanced queries with them.

Third, Manager is a computer system. Its full capabilities are not restricted to what you can print on paper. A great many users never print anything at all or seldom look at View screens, because they show less information than Edit screens.

[Arkden]

Thanks a lot for introducing me to Advanced Queries. I upgraded to the later version and checked them out. It was only afterwards that I noticed your Edit. As you said, Advanced Queries wont serve my purpose either because there is no way to retrieve the Custom Fields information.

Is there any way to retrieve the custom fields at all? I would be happy if I could just get a dump of all transactions including the Custom fields information. I can analyse it in a spreadsheet if necessary

[Arkden]

Thanks for your guidance. You mentioned custom fields could be used in advanced queries, and also some reports. Could you please let me know which reports can use custom fields?

[Arkden]

Here is the background for what I would like to do:

Ideally, Security Deposits received from a Tenant would be treated as a Liability and when they are paid back, the Liability would be satisfied. Using Special Accounts under a Liability called “Tenants Security Deposits” it is very convenient to track how much is owed on which Rental Property. This works when using the Accrual Basis of accounting.

Now, my CPA advised that I should be using the Cash Basis of Accounting. ie: when a Security Deposit is received, it is Revenue, not Liability. And when it is paid back, it is Expense. This makes it very difficult to keep track of how much is owed on which Rental Property, because I dont think Special Accounts could be created for Income and Expenses.

Therefore, I wanted to create a custom field titled “Client Property Name”. Then by creating a custom report, I could produce a report of all the Revenues and Expenses filtered for a particular property, and the Net would be the balance owed.

This was the background of my question on Custom Fields and how they could be used to conduct analysis.

[Joe91]

I’m surprised your CPA advised to use cash accounting- did they say why?

[Arkden]

They said it’s just simpler and less effort given that I only have 3 rental properties. I didnt question them too much. I just guessed that recognizing liabilities such as work done by mechanics in December but not paid until January would be unnecessarily complex for such small transactions, and such a small business.

This is what ChatGPT advised today:

For an individual with three rental properties, cash basis accounting often makes more sense due to its simplicity and the direct correlation with cash flow management. It’s easier to manage on a personal level and can be advantageous for tax purposes. However, if your rental operations are part of a larger investment strategy, or you have plans to significantly expand your rental portfolio, accrual basis accounting might offer better insights for making strategic decisions.

Ultimately, the choice might also be influenced by how you intend to grow your rental business, your personal comfort with accounting practices, and specific tax considerations. It’s often beneficial to consult with a tax professional or accountant who can provide advice tailored to your specific situation and financial goals.

[tony]

I am also surprised that a security deposit would be classified as income. If that is correct and you would also like to track the future liability you can consider allocating each security deposit to three accounts to achieve the same net result as follows:

• CR income account.
• CR liability account.
• DR liability offset account.

[Arkden]

That’s an interesting solution, and certainly feasible! The duplicate entry is slightly cumbersome but not a deal breaker.

Let’s see what other ideas there are…

[Tut]

@Arkden

Now, my CPA advised that I should be using the Cash Basis of Accounting. ie: when a Security Deposit is received, it is Revenue, not Liability. And when it is paid back, it is Expense.

On that basis alone, I would find a new accountant. Under no circumstances can security deposits be considered income. You would have to pay income tax on money that does not belong to you.

And I would never take tax advice from ChatGPT.

[Tut]

@Arkden

Could you please let me know which reports can use custom fields?

Without conducting a thorough review, Sales Invoice Totals by Custom Field comes immediately to mind.

[lubos]

@Arkden

Ideally, Security Deposits received from a Tenant would be treated as a Liability and when they are paid back, the Liability would be satisfied. Using Special Accounts under a Liability called “Tenants Security Deposits” it is very convenient to track how much is owed on which Rental Property. This works when using the Accrual Basis of accounting.

This is how you are meant to be doing it. It’s simple and gives you very easy access to figures you require.

@Arkden

Now, my CPA advised that I should be using the Cash Basis of Accounting. ie: when a Security Deposit is received, it is Revenue, not Liability.

Treating security deposit as income is taking it too far. I mean by this logic, why not treat sales tax collected from customers as income too? This has nothing to do with cash vs accrual accounting. Some funds that are received are simply liabilities under all circumstances (loans, sales tax and yes - security deposits too).

In other words, use special accounts, it was specifically designed for this purpose. Anything else, you are just making it more complicated than necessary and your financial reports less accurate.

[VACUUMDOG]

Assuming you are in Australia, there is plenty of advice on the ATO website with regards to rental properties e.g.
https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/in-detail/your-industry/property/gst-and-residential-property#Rentandbondsfromresidentialproperty

https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/in-detail/your-industry/property/gst-and-property

If you really need help the ATO provides free one on one consultancy which should help you out.

[Arkden]

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately I havent enabled the Sales invoicing module, because we dont issue sales invoices. We just receive rents from our tenants. So I wasnt able to check out the feature in the Sales Invoice Totals report.

[Patch]

@Arkden

havent enabled the Sales invoicing module, because we dont issue sales invoices. We just receive rents from our tenants.

Create a test business and try it.

• Use Managers recurrent invoice setting to automatically generate invoices for each tenant.
• Bank rules to allocate receipts to each tenants accounts receivable

You will then know who is behind and maybe able to generate the reports you want.

Note, you do not need to send out the invoices Manager generates.