Set up

[CiderHouse]

Hi There,

Apologies in advance as I appreciate for those who are far wiser than I the following will be relatively basic set up requests for guidance.

In short I am in the process of trying to salvage our bookkeeping and am only too aware that the configuration and process will be key to saving time in what I know will already be a huge task!

I have linked the relevant bank accounts and uploaded the backdated transactions.

We use the booking system Freetobook which handles all bookings 50% of the payment is taken at the point of booking and 50% on departure. Is there a way to download booking details and link Paypal (our initial Payment system) and Stripe (we changed onto this) so that the payments can be reconciliated? for the period I am currently looking at the first payment date is detailed within the booking so I can download customer details, booking information and initial payment in csv format this initial 50% is taken through paypal which I have also linked going forward but the second 50% needs to be reconciled as such could you confirm how I might be best to do this?
Currently I have:
1.Imported all the customer information under clients
2.Imported backdated csv files for bank accounts and linked those required to an automated feed

In terms of the structure going forward I would welcome some assistance on the following:

I have 2 PayPal accounts one which was used for the initial 50% payment and one for the final payment - this enabled me to distinguish which was which - how would you recommend importing this information? Can I link 2 Paypal accounts?

Should I import all bookings as invoices - as the date of booking and the date of departure will usually be the 2 dates of payment is there any speedy way I can reconcile 2 payments with the PayPal account or will that be a manual process? (Going forward we are linked with stripe and all payment dates are logged so it should be easier!)

Stripe in now linked to QuickFile on an automated system could you confirm that I will need to upload backdated transactions via a csv?

I have a detailed spreadsheet with all receipts logged next to expenditure codes - I am struggling to see how I can enter these as it would appear I need additional information to that I have recorded - for example whilst suppliers may be Tesco, Lidl, Morrisons etc I have logged them under “Groceries” for my spreadsheet - if possible I would rather not have to go through one by one by one but appreciate this is the mess of my making and I need to get it right.

I am mindful that in a rush when I tried to start this process a couple of months ago I probably over complicated the level of detail I needed for the expenses - i am now wondering if it might be sensible to create a master list of all items under a particular heading and reduce the individual breakdown. - is it possible to go back and change the description?

Within the codes I seem to remember I could add a specific flag to the receipts - if for example under “Fuel” I wanted to know how much was for logs and how much for oil would adding a flag be the correct way to do this? Or likewise for car expenses if I wanted to be able to see how much was spent collectively on all vehicles and individually?

Apologies for the barrage of questions, I am determined to get on top of this - no doubt with lots of coffee and gin! But don’t want to get halfway through and suddenly realise I could have set things up in a more logical / efficient / sensible way!

Many thanks for any assistance!
Bryony

[QFMathew]

Hi @CiderHouse

I’ll try to help you here, and address your post in parts.

@CiderHouse

Is there a way to download booking details and link Paypal (our initial Payment system) and Stripe (we changed onto this) so that the payments can be reconciliated?

There’s no automated way of doing this, although you could import this in steps:

• Import booking details as invoices
• Import a CSV from PayPal
• Import a CSV from Stripe
• Tag the payments from PayPal and Stripe to the relevant invoices

This should at least put you in a position to know what you have payment records for and what you don’t.

@CiderHouse

for the period I am currently looking at the first payment date is detailed within the booking so I can download customer details, booking information and initial payment in csv format this initial 50% is taken through paypal which I have also linked going forward but the second 50% needs to be reconciled as such could you confirm how I might be best to do this?
Currently I have:
1.Imported all the customer information under clients
2.Imported backdated csv files for bank accounts and linked those required to an automated feed

The above point may help with the remaining 50%. How would these have been paid? CSV imports are generally a good way to fill in any gaps as the bank feed itself will only pull from the date it’s setup.

@CiderHouse

I have 2 PayPal accounts one which was used for the initial 50% payment and one for the final payment - this enabled me to distinguish which was which - how would you recommend importing this information? Can I link 2 Paypal accounts?

Yes, 2 PayPal feeds are possible. You would just create a second bank account, ensure “PayPal Merchant” is selected as the bank type, and should then have the option to set up another feed.

@CiderHouse

Should I import all bookings as invoices - as the date of booking and the date of departure will usually be the 2 dates of payment is there any speedy way I can reconcile 2 payments with the PayPal account or will that be a manual process? (Going forward we are linked with stripe and all payment dates are logged so it should be easier!)

I believe it will be a bit of a manual process with the tagging, but the invoices may be able to be created by importing the CSV from the booking system.

@CiderHouse

Within the codes I seem to remember I could add a specific flag to the receipts - if for example under “Fuel” I wanted to know how much was for logs and how much for oil would adding a flag be the correct way to do this? Or likewise for car expenses if I wanted to be able to see how much was spent collectively on all vehicles and individually?

Maybe you’re thinking of project tags? These can be assigned to invoices, but these would take into account the full invoice value rather than individual lines. Not sure if that would help?

---

On a side note to the questions, I have 2 for you

1. What software do you use for your booking system? I’m wondering if there’s a way of linking them using Zapier or a customer API (if that’s an option)?

2. What did you use previously before QuickFile? Was it just the booking system?

With the second point - if you’re starting at a defined place (like start of a new year), then you could use a trial balance rather than entering records. This would just be, essentially, a summary and totals of everything that’s happened prior to that date, and your account would be set up from there. Providing you have the records and data to support it, I can’t see there being an issue with this approach.

I hope that helps?

[CiderHouse]

Thank you! Thank you!

I will work through the above step by step, that is most helpful!
I get a little overwhelmed at the task and I know I need a better system which is managed regularly rather than an end of year panic - best foot forward as of now! Fingers crossed!

In answer to your questions, we use Freetobook Book as our system for booking and whilst I am not sure about its ability to link I will certainly contact them to see if it might be possible. As we are small it is not an overly onerous task to send booking information across on a regular basis if a link was not possible.

Prior to QuickFile… Honestly… It was and end of year panic, 6 horrendous weeks of downloading bank statements, scrabbling through receipts which may or may not have been in order, reconciliation of payment systems and at least 2 phone calls from the accountant saying the cut off deadline could not be extended And each year I promised myself I would change the system but was so traumatised by the time I sent it all off that I couldn’t bring myself to look at it during our quiet time and by the time we hit our busy season I was flying by the seat of my pants again and couldn’t face the growing backlog!
Determined to get on track now however and set things up to be far more simplistic going forward! Wish me luck!