Lesson 10.4: AP/AR and Purchase Order Reports
While financial statements provide a high-level view of your organization’s health, effective daily management requires detailed insight into who owes you money (Receivables) and who you owe (Payables). FastFund Online provides specialized subsidiary ledger reports that allow you to track individual vendor and client balances, analyze the age of outstanding debts, and monitor purchase commitments.
This lesson covers how to generate and interpret Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), and Purchase Order (PO) reports.
1. Accounts Payable Reports
Accounts Payable reports help you manage cash flow by prioritizing payments and ensuring you do not miss due dates. These reports are generated from the transactions entered in the Vendor Invoices and Cash Disbursements screens.
To access these, navigate to Reports > Accounts Payable/Receivable.
Key AP Reports:
• Vendor Subsidiary Ledger: Lists all vendors with their current payable balances as of a specific date. The total of this report should match the balance of your Accounts Payable General Ledger account.
• Vendor Subsidiary Aging: Spreads vendor balances over time periods (0-30 days, 30-60 days, 60-90 days, 90-120 days, and Over 120 days). This helps identifying overdue bills.
◦ Summary Option: Prints one line per vendor with the total balance due.
◦ Detail Option: Lists every individual open invoice within the aging columns.
• Vendor Detail Activity: Provides a transaction history for vendors over a specific date range. It shows every invoice, check, and credit memo, along with a running balance. This is the best report for researching payment history or discrepancies.
2. Accounts Receivable Reports
If you use the Accounts Receivable module to bill for services or grants, these reports are essential for collections and revenue tracking.
To access these, navigate to Reports > Accounts Payable/Receivable.
Key AR Reports:
• Client Subsidiary Ledger: Lists all clients with their current receivable balances as of a specific date. Like the AP ledger, this total must match your Accounts Receivable General Ledger control account.
• Client Subsidiary Aging: Categorizes unpaid client bills by age (0-30, 30-60, etc.). This is your primary tool for collections.
• Client Balance Due Statement: Unlike internal reports, this document is designed to be sent to the client. It lists their open activity and total amount due. You can print these or email them directly to clients in bulk.
• Items Billing Report: Analyzes revenue by “Item.” This report tells you which services, fees, or products are generating the most revenue, regardless of which client purchased them.
3. Purchase Order Reports
For organizations using the Purchase Order module to track encumbrances and commitments, FastFund provides specific reports to monitor goods ordered but not yet received.
To access these, navigate to Reports > Accounts Payable/Receivable.
• Purchase Order Journal: Lists all purchase orders entered during a specified date range. It includes the PO status (Open or Closed), vendor, description, quantity ordered vs. received, and price.
• Purchase Order Summary: Lists a summary of all open purchase orders by vendor. This report is vital for determining your future financial commitments that have not yet been recorded as actual expenses (invoices).
4. Reconciling Subsidiary Ledgers to the General Ledger
One of the most important internal controls in accounting is ensuring that your detailed sub-ledgers match your main General Ledger (GL).
The Reconciliation Rule:
• The total of the Vendor Subsidiary Ledger must equal the ending balance of the Accounts Payable account in the Trial Balance.
• The total of the Client Subsidiary Ledger must equal the ending balance of the Accounts Receivable account in the Trial Balance.
If these do not match, it usually indicates that a journal entry was posted directly to the AP or AR control account without specifying a vendor or client name—a practice that FastFund generally prevents to maintain data integrity.