Cash forecast variance review: start from the version you approved
After the week closes, compare actual bank movements with the frozen forecast, separate timing from omissions, and carry each delayed item forward exactly once.
Better records.
Clearer decisions.
Keep the books in order, plan for cash needs and understand reporting changes. Practical guides with worked examples and links to the evidence.
Accounting and finance blog
150 articles
Customer deposits: carry the advance until the promised goods transfer
In a qualifying IFRS 15 goods contract, an advance is a contract liability until control transfers. Follow a £4,000 deposit from receipt to revenue and final payment.
Finance staff leaving: remove access and hand over the open work
When a finance user leaves, end the access they no longer need, keep their historical approvals and audit records, and reassign every open task and deadline.
Foreign-currency supplier bills: separate the bill, remeasurement and payment
Follow a EUR supplier bill through recognition, month-end remeasurement and payment in GBP, so exchange differences are booked once and the expense stays put.
Late supplier invoices: record the work in the right month
How to accrue a routine service performed before month end but not yet billed, support the estimate, and clear it against the later invoice only once.
Management report commentary: test the explanation before asking for a decision
Check each causal sentence in a monthly pack against the records, separate revenue from cash, mark what is unconfirmed, and end with a decision, owner and date.
MTD for Income Tax exemptions: check the route and the expiry date
Some MTD for Income Tax exemptions follow automatically from your 2024 to 2025 return; others, like digital exclusion, need HMRC's decision. Check route and expiry.
Payroll reconciliation: check net pay, deductions and employer costs separately
Why payroll cost exceeds the net pay leaving the bank, how to post one pay run, and how to reconcile wages, third-party liabilities and provider-held funds.
Supplier bank changes: verify the request before updating the payee
A genuine, unique invoice can still be paid to the wrong account. Verify a supplier bank-detail change through a trusted contact before editing the payee record.
Suspense account review: identify the receipt before clearing the balance
Trace an unidentified bank receipt in suspense, clear only the part evidence links to a customer invoice, and keep the remainder open with an owner and a date.
Accounts receivable ageing: turn overdue invoices into specific actions
Two overdue invoices can need opposite responses: one lacks a PO, one is already paid. Age from the agreed due date and let evidence choose the next step.
Chart of accounts cleanup: map the reports before changing live accounts
In this example, office costs look 37.5% higher than last year until stationery is mapped in. Map the reports first, then choose to rename, inactivate or merge.