Create a bridge between a billing program and accounting software

A long time ago

I like to mention this subject because it goes back to my very first years in the profession. At a time when the concept of an « ERP » (integrated software) was not at all widespread among small and medium-sized businesses, it was common to use several different programs, including one for commercial management (invoicing, inventory management, …) and another for accounting.

Many users then faced the inconvenience of having to enter the same data in two different places, but in a different context. A customer created in the commercial management software also had to be created in the accounting software. Every invoice entered in the first system also had to be posted to the accounts in the form of an accounting entry.

Many integrators had promised a magical connection between the two. In reality, few of these integrations ever materialised or provided the expected level of reliability. This is precisely where I carried out a great deal of development work at the time.

This is a sensitive area. Among other things, the accuracy of the VAT return and the annual accounts produced downstream depends on the reliability of this entire process.

A good understanding of the rules

Transferring a EUR 100 invoice under the domestic VAT regime to accounting software will generally present few difficulties. But things can quickly become more complicated: a purchase invoice with an undiscounted cash discount and partially non-deductible VAT can rapidly turn into a real challenge. A good understanding of accounting and VAT mechanisms is essential. Validation by the people responsible for accounting within or on behalf of the company helps confirm that the accounting schemes used are correct.

Making these transfers secure

This type of development therefore cannot be taken lightly. A number of basic rules must be followed:

• Avoid gaps in accounting document numbering.
• Do not create duplicate invoices.
• Do not allow any further changes to commercial management documents once they have been transferred to the accounting system.
• Make sure beforehand that the customer or supplier has been correctly transferred to the accounting software and, if necessary, updated.
• Implement « multi-user » locking mechanisms to prevent two users from transferring the same data simultaneously.
• …

And in a true ERP

Of course, the same processes apply within an ERP, but they take place internally within the software. This makes it possible to go even further:

• Posting received point-of-sale payments to the accounts, with automatic matching.
• Automatically matching different entries: various deposits, payment when goods are collected, the remaining balance paid against the invoice, with automatic matching.
• Displaying a « paid » status on a customer order based on a payment automatically identified in the accounting system.
• …

Communication between two software systems is ultimately only the starting point. The real challenge lies in accurately translating accounting and tax rules into algorithms.