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Luca Guide To launch Luca, double-click on the Luca application icon. You will see a sample Chart of Accounts template which you can modify to build your own. Sample transactions have been entered into the system for the period June 2006.
To see the transactions for the period June 2006, go to Luca > Preferences and set the default period, i.e., the default year and month when you open a window to view a list of transactions.
You can create new accounts and delete, clone and modify existing accounts. But try not to change the sample Chart of Accounts until you have a chance to look through the rest of this Quick Start Guide.
This is how the Expense account, 5-1160 Advertising Expenses, was created. Enter a unique Account Code and a description for the account in the Title field. The account should be created as a "Header" account if you are creating a hierarchy of sub-accounts under it. Otherwise, it can be set as a "Detail" account. For a revenue or expense account, put them under the "Profit and Loss" Group. (The other groups being "Assets", "Equity" and "Liabilities".)
The following is an example of a Debtor or Creditor (i.e., Customer or Vendor) account. Debtor and Creditor accounts are created just like any other account. Select Debtor or Creditor from the pull-down menu. You will be able to keep track of the invoices, payments and receipts for these accounts.
Click on the button next to the label Debtor/Creditor to open up this panel which will allow you to enter the address of the Debtor or Crditor account. This address will be used in the Statement of Accounts that Luca will help you to generate.
The following is an example of a Cash or Bank account. In this example, the cash account has been grouped under the Cash At Bank parent account. To indicate a cash account, select "Checking Account" from the Role pull-down menu. This account will show up in the list of Checking Accounts you can select when you're deciding where to bank in a receipt or make a payment from, when you're filling in a Receipt or Payment voucher, respectively.
In the sample database, a Currency Exchange account, Bank Fees account and Retained Earnings account have been created. These are set-up by selecting the appropriate Role for the respective account. Transactions that involve currency exchange gain or loss, bank charges, and retained earnings will be automatically posted to the appropriate account.
Finally, a sub-account can be moved from one header account to another in the Chart of Accounts, by simply holding the ctrl-key and 'dragging and dropping' it. All the subordinate accounts and the postings associated with this account (and its subordinate accounts, recursively) will be automatically moved with it.
Before entering transactions in Luca, some default accounting values are needed to be set-up. This can be done in Utility > Edit Company Record. The Company Data The fields in this pane are not mandatory. In the demo database, the accounting records are kept for Glendale Company.
The Accounting Values This pane allows you to set-up the base currency code and the default tax percentage that you'll be using in your accounting transactions. The list of currency codes are maintained in Utility > Edit Setup Tables. In the demo database, the base currency code is USD (United States Dollar) and the default tax percentage is 5%.
The Fiscal Periods The accounting period for which transactions are first entered in Luca is set-up in this pane. The start of accounting month in each year is also entered here. The accounting periods entered here are used to facilitate the month-end and year-end closing of accounts. In the demo database, transactions are first entered for June 2006. The Company's accounting period starts in January of every year.
For this demo, transactions have been entered in the system for the period of June 2006. You may view the list of transactions from Journal > List All Vouchers. The following shows the double-entries that are created either manually or automatically in the system. The different types of vouchers are indicated by the Type column GE = General Vouchers (double-entries created manually)
Journal > General Vouchers allows transactions to be entered as double-entries. An example of such a transaction is the record, Depreciation of Equipment, shown here.
However, most transactions are entered through screens where the double-entries are done automatically for you by the system. The examples follow : Cash Disbursements (Without An Invoice) To make cash disbursements to one-off vendors, or for expenses without an invoice, use Journal > Cash Disbursements. Examples of such cash disbursements are purchase of postage stamps, purchase of office supplies and transportation expenses.
The following is a cash disbursement entry. USD 49.00 has been paid, using petty cash, for the purchase of office supplies from Sunny Bookstore.
Cash Receipts (Without An Invoice) To make cash receipts to one-off customers, or for receipts without an invoice, use Journal > Cash Receipts. Examples of such cash receipts are receipt of bank interest and cash sales.
The following is a cash receipt entry. Bank interest of USD 57.20 is received from and deposited into Citibank.
Payables (Credit Purchases From Vendors) Credit purchases and services from vendors are entered as payables in Journal > Payables.
The following is a payable entry. The invoice number INV-073999 for USD 2,100 (inclusive of USD 100 tax) was issued by Maple Inc, for the rental of equipment.
Receivables (Credit Sales To Customers) Credit sales and services to customers are entered as Receivables in Journal > Receivables.
The following is a receivable entry made in the demo database. The Company issued an invoice (invoice number INV-00-0003) to Netrear (quotation number Q1009288), for the provision of training and rental of equipment. The invoice amount of USD 2572.50 includes a tax of USD 122.50.
Payments & Receipts (Against An Invoice) In Luca, an invoice can be settled in full in a single disbursement or receipt. It can also be settled partially in different disbursements or receipts. Multiple invoices from one vendor or a customer can be settled in a single disbursement or receipt, or in any combination of the above. Plus, in Luca, the billing, settlement and base currencies used can all be different. An invoice can be retrieved from Journal > Payables or Journal > Receivables. Clicking the "New Payment" or "New Receipt" button will launch the Payment/Receipt window. Alternatively, launch Journal > Payments & Receipts and click the "New" button for the settlement of multiple invoices. The following is an example of a full settlement of a payable invoice. The payment is made by cheque (cheque number C680141) from Citibank, for invoice number INV-73999. The invoice details can be viewed by double-clicking the invoice record. Clicking the check-box on the right end of the invoice record will toggle the amounts to be settled.
The following is an example of a partial settlement of a receivable invoice. Cheque Number 011933 for USD 1,200 is received for invoice number INV-00-0005. The amount to be settled for the invoice can be entered in the App (for, Applied) Amt column of the invoice record. The cheque will be banked into Citibank.
An invoice can be settled partially in different disbursements or receipts. The invoice settlement history can be viewed directly from within the payable or receivable record, as shown below. In the demo database, invoice INV-00-0005 (which can be found in the Receivables list) has been settled by receiving two different cheque payments from Greens Company on different days, as can be seen in the following panel which appears when you click on "Show Receipts History".
Settlement Of Multiple Invoices This is how you can record that a customer has settled multiple invoices from you with one payment. The cheque number 722555 of USD 1,552.58 (that you're banking into HSBC) is for the settlement of invoices INV-00-0002 and INV-00-0005. INV-00-0002 is partially settled, while INV-00-0005 is fully settled with this payment.
Settlement In Billing Currency The following is an example of an invoice billed in a foreign currency, and settled in the same billing currency. Invoice INV-00-0007 was issued in SGD (Singapore Dollar), with the exchange rate of 0.585000 at the time of issue. A cheque is received in the billing currency (i.e. SGD), for the full settlement of the invoice amount of SGD 6,837.62. A currency exchange gain of USD 20.51 is automatically computed by the system. The bank charges a fee of USD 10.00 for the conversion of currency.
The double entries for the above settlement are automatically generated by the system, as shown below, when the transaction is saved. The highlighted entry shows a posting to the Bank Fees account, and a posting to the Currency Exchange Gain / Loss account.
The following is an example of an invoice billed in a foreign currency, and settled in the base currency. Invoice INV-00-0011 was issued in SGD (Singapore Dollar), with the exchange rate of 0.581000 at the time of issue. A cheque is received in the Company's base currency (i.e. USD), for the full settlement of the invoice amount of SGD 2,000. There is no currency gain or loss for this transaction.
The following is an example of an invoice billed in a foreign currency, and settled in a currency different from the billing currency and base currency. Invoice INV-00-0004 was issued in SGD (Singapore Dollar), with the exchange rate of 0.575000 at the time of issue. A cheque is received in Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). The cheque amount of MYR 4,000 is for the full settlement of the invoice amount of SGD 1,826.09. An exchange gain of USD 48.56 is automatically computed by the system.
Offsetting Outstanding Invoices The following is an example of a creditor (vendor), who is also a debtor (customer). Outstanding invoices from the same creditor or debtor can be used to offset one another in the system. To retrieve the invoices, go to Journal > Payments & Receipts, and click the New button. Choose the debtor/creditor and the currency of the invoice. In the following example, Robert Brown is both a creditor and a debtor. There is an outstanding payable of USD 3,000 to him, and an outstanding receivable of USD 500 from him. He has made a request that his receivable be offset against his payable.
The double entries for the above settlement are automatically generated by the system when the transaction is saved.
In Luca, when a cheque is received with the amount greater than the invoice amount, a Credit Note can be generated to record the over-payment by the debtor (customer). Similarly, when a payment is made with the amount greater than the amount owing to the creditor (vendor), a Debit Note can be generated. In the following example, a cheque amount of USD 2,100 is received from Netrear for the full settlement of invoice INV-00-0012. The actual invoice amount is USD 2,000, so there is an over-payment of USD 100 by the debtor. By clicking the "Create CN/DN for Over-Payment" button, a Credit Note is generated to record this over-payment.
When recording new receipts from Netrear, the Credit Note can be used to offset against other payments from this same debtor/customer.
Transactions entered in the system can be viewed in different consolidated forms. As the double-entry postings are immediate, the Trial Balance, Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss statements can be viewed at any time. The following are examples of a Trial Balance and a Profit and Loss statement. The Profit and Loss statement shows the up-to-date Net Profit or Net Loss for the current period and year-to-date.
Analysis By Individual Accounts Transactions can be viewed by individual accounts and by different accounting periods by drilling into the Chart of Accounts. The following shows the net transactions and closing balance of the Expenses Account for the period of June 2006.
The constituent parts of the consolidated balances can be further analyzed by double-clicking on the record row itself, which will open up the window, below :
This allows you to see the transactions for the account as a whole, as well as for the individual sub-accounts. You can get at the vouchers that contibute to each line item, by double-clicking on item line. The Aging Report gives a consolidated view of the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable situation.
Double-clicking on the debtor's or creditor's aging record will get you the Statement of Accounts for that debtor or creditor. Alternatively, choose Analysis > Statement of Accounts from the Menu Bar.
At the end of each accounting month, the accounts need to be closed to freeze changes to the transactions for that accounting month. At the same time, balances are brought forward to the following month. At the end of the accounting year, the net profit or net loss are brought forward as Retained Earnings for the next accounting year. Closed months can be re-opened to allow for changes. At the same time, transactions for the future accounting months can be entered even before the current month is closed. The utility for the closing and re-opening of the accounting months can be found at Utility > Status Of Accounting Period.
Most of the lists of transactions can be printed and exported. Select Print Listing from the File Menu to print. Select Export Listing to export the data to a text file. The export facility allows listings to be exported in either Comma Separated Values (CVS), or Tab Delimited format. The user has the option to export or leave out the column headers and totals, if any.
To Start Using Luca This concludes the Quick Tour of Luca. To start using Luca for your own business, delete first all the vouchers. Go to Journal -> List All Vouchers, and open each voucher and delete them. If the voucher is linked to a payment record, look to its payment history (it's just one click away) and delete the payment records. After you have deleted all the sample transactions, you can start modifying the Chart of Accounts to meet your own needs and then create vouchers of your own. You can check the Trial Balance that the transactions always balance, and you can get an immediate view of the Profit and Loss situation and the Balance Sheet. |
Indexes... Setting Up: • Getting Started Transactions: • General Vouchers Settlement of Invoices: • Full Settlement Analysis: • Financial Statements Utilities: |
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Contact : Bernard Teo |
