FNB Instant Accounting

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Subways81

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Im starting this thread so that we have a place to find FNB Instant Accounting Tips and Tricks. So far the knowledge on the net is minimal, and for some reason I cant access the Instant Accounting help page. :erm:

1. You need an FNB Business bank account
 
Interesting quirk I found today. When you create a Partner - Supplier you have the option of ticking that they are VAT registered, and you can enter in their VAT number.

I then went on to create a purchase invoice and it turns out that if your company is not VAT registered then you CANNOT select VAT on the line items for capturing, even though its for a purchase that you are paying VAT on.

So, as per FNB, what you have to do is manually (excel or paper and pen) work out the individual vat amounts per line item, add the VAT and ex vat costs together and then capture that amount in Instant Accounting so that when you pay the supplier you have a supplier invoice that matches up... Seems a little dodgy to me.

I suggested to FNB Instant Accounting that they look into this, not only because when you capture you are saying that you have not paid vat on an item you have paid vat for, but because it makes no sense that one would have to leave their financial system, sit and work out individual line item vat amounts, add those up and then capture. Imagine if you had an invoice with 100 different line item amounts.

Otherwise, im impressed with the system. The automation is working well and its awesome not to have to think to much about GL accounts.

Cheers!
 
I looked at this solution from FNB and found that it was lacking somewhat but then again it is for free if you have an FNB account.
I also looked at myERP.com which is very feature packed but not specific to SA so there maybe some catches that I am not aware of. Again it was free for 2 users and integrates with other cloud services.
I eventually settled on Pastel My Business Online which worked out to about R110 per month on special for 1 year. It is basically cloud version of Pastel. It is South African and therefore I dont have the worry of legislation issues etc. It also has an iPhone app, if that is something that you require except the app does not allow you to create invoices or POs rather view customer performance and info.
 
Tip #2

Do NOT under any circumstance expect a reply when you use the web based help form. FNB are great when you phone, and have always phoned back promptly, but I haven't had one reply to the numerous messages ive sent via the online help form...
 
Sigh, I tried to assign a payment from a client to an invoice for that client, but it still tells me the client owes me money... Also, the Help function has ceased to work, it opens but you cannot actually browse any of the categories, i have tried on Chrome, IE, Firefox and Dolphin Browser on my Android based phone, no luck.

I will phone them tomorrow to find out whats going on. Imagine they decide to drop the feature, I mean Instant Accounting, all together!! Pastel online is starting to look more like a viable solution...
 
@ Subways81 05-10-2011 (VAT): This is a matter of how VAT works in South Africa. If your own business is not VAT registered, you cannot claim any input VAT and your cost for a product or service will include the VAT.

FNB Instant accounting has automatic importing and categorization of transaction, unlimited users (as accountants we can see the same information as all our client’s staff who require access – without worrying about extra fees). It also has a mobile web app from which you can do categorization, reports, budgets, and capture manual payments, receipts and customer invoices.

@ Subways81 10-10-2011 (Invoice receipt allocation and Help): We you allocate an invoice please ensure that the deposit is allocated to the debtors control account with the relevant debtor selected as partner. When allocating the invoice the status of the invoice should change to closed as an indication that it was fully paid.

My Help is working on my IE8: Have you seen the video's under the setup guide
 
Hi InBiz Accounting, after some very helpful hours spent on the phone with the Instant Accounting support staff I am now getting quite competent with my bookkeeping. I think (besides the help menu not working) most of my problems were related to my lack of bookkeeping knowledge.

One thing I would like to see would be a quicker integration of new transactions from my statement to the IA system. Often it takes 2 days, 47 hours longer than my memory lasts, which means I still have to write transactions down to remember what to do with them. I am working on the memory thing. :p

As it stands now, IA is working a treat and i am recommending it to every Entrepreneur I know.
 
Oh, and it would be nice if I could create Quotes on the system as well. Its not easy getting a quote to look the same as the invoice generated by IA, which is very smart by the way!!
 
Still using Instant Accounting, besides a 4 day roll back that happened around July 2012 :S, it has been great. I hope they continue to develop it into something closer to a full blown ERP solution.
 
FNB IA has just added the ability to do quotes and Pro-Forma invoices. Great stuff!
 
Is there a way to customise an invoice like putting your bank details on. I couldnt find a way, but still testing
 
Bernie said:
Is there a way to customise an invoice like putting your bank details on. I couldnt find a way, but still testing
Click to expand...

Bank details are on by default, bottom right of the invoice. The only thing you can "customise" is your logo placement, ie top middle, left or right.
 
I'm getting errors every so often and then battle to get back into instant accounting :) Is there an easier (direct) way to log in?
 
Not as far as I know, I always go back into IA via www.fnb.co.za.

I have also been running into a few errors lately, bookkeeping is painful enough without having the system muck about :(
 
Pitty. I so wanted to change to FNB accounting so I don't have to see my accountant all the time (can share) but as it is now my quickbooks will have to do for now :(
 
Just a side note- FNB does not own or manage Instant Accounting. It is managed by a completely different company altogether, even the website is nothing more than hyperlinked to the FNB one. All FNB do is license and provide the service.
 
I have finally got IA working. It is very basic, and is buggy, specifically for updating company contact details, and I find the font on the invoices seems to have changed. Reporting could also use some changes - anyway it does the job for very small 1 man show. for anything slightly more complicated probably better to go with more traditional system.
 
It would seem that all my invoice allocations have been reset, at least until May this year... FUDGE!!! Free comes with its costs I suppose.
 
Is there any way to delete an invoice? I created one with I correct info and now can't delete it.
The other option would be to delete my entire company profile and start from scratch but I can't find a way to do this either.
 
I don't know FNB's IA. But any decent accounting system will not allow you to delete an invoice. You should issue a credit note for the 'returned' invoice and then raise a new/correct invoice.
 
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