Allocations Overview
SapphireOne is a powerful and feature-rich Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solution, designed to streamline and automate businesses’ financial, operational, and managerial processes. One of its key features is the Allocations function in Accounts mode, which facilitates effective transaction management for Open Item Clients and Vendors. This overview will discuss the role and benefits of SapphireOne Allocations, as well as the steps involved in using the feature.
Function of Allocations in SapphireOne
The primary purpose of the Allocations function in SapphireOne is to link or allocate transactions for Open Item Clients and Vendors to their corresponding transactions. This allocation process enables businesses to maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records, track outstanding invoices or payments, and streamline their accounts receivable and payable workflows.
Benefits of Using Allocations:
- Improved cash flow management: Allocating transactions helps businesses monitor and predict cash flow more effectively by providing a clear view of outstanding invoices and payments.
- Enhanced financial reporting: Accurate allocation of transactions leads to more reliable financial reports, which are essential for informed decision-making.
- Reduced risk of errors: By linking related transactions, the Allocations function minimizes the risk of duplicate or incorrect entries, ensuring that financial data remains accurate.
- Time savings: The allocation process simplifies the reconciliation of transactions, reducing the time and effort required to manage accounts.
- Improved client/vendor relationships: Timely allocation of transactions enables businesses to address any discrepancies promptly and maintain good relationships with their clients and vendors.
Using SapphireOne Allocations
To effectively use SapphireOne Allocations, follow these steps:
- Access Accounts Mode: Launch SapphireOne and navigate to the Accounts mode by clicking on the Accounts icon.
- Select Receivables or Payables: Depending on whether you want to allocate transactions for Open Item Clients or Vendors, choose either the Receivables or Payables option.
- Open the Allocations Window: Select a client or vendor from the list and click on the ‘Allocations’ button to open the Allocations window.
- Review Unallocated Transactions: The Allocations window will display a list of unallocated transactions for the selected client or vendor. Review these transactions to identify which ones need to be linked.
- Allocate Transactions: To allocate a transaction, click on the ‘Allocate’ button next to it. This will open the ‘Allocate Transactions’ window, where you can select the related transaction(s) and allocate them accordingly.
- Save Changes: Once you have allocated the transactions, click on the ‘Save’ button to save your changes and update the client/vendor’s account.
- Monitor Allocations: Regularly review and update the allocations for Open Item Clients and Vendors to maintain accurate financial records and ensure efficient transaction management.
In conclusion, the Allocations function within SapphireOne is a valuable tool that streamlines transaction management for Open Item Clients and Vendors. By allocating transactions accurately, businesses can improve their financial reporting, enhance cash flow management, and maintain strong relationships with clients and vendors. Following the steps outlined above will help users get the most out of this essential feature.
Foreign Currency, PAYG and Prompt Discount Clients and Vendors must be Created as Open Item Clients/Vendors for allocation purposes.
How do Allocations function within SapphireOne?
Example Scenario(s)
- A Vendor Invoice (VI) of $200 is paid with a cheque for $200.
- A Vendor Invoice (VI) of $500 is paid using a cheque of $200 and a Vendor Credit of $300. The $300 credit is received from the vendor as a loyalty reward for the past ten years and is used to reduce an invoice in SapphireOne.
- A Client Invoice (CI) of $400 is written off with a negative journal of $400, which is used to correct data entry errors.
- A positive journal is created for a client receipt.
- A Vendor Invoice (VI) of $200 is paid using a cheque of $500. The remaining $300 from the cheque is allocated against another invoice of $400. The outstanding balance of $100 is paid in SapphireOne using a credit note of $100 received from the vendor.
What Types of Transactions Can Be Allocated to Each Other?
When an allocation is made between two or more transactions, an entry is recorded in the Allocations file of SapphireOne for each link. This record stores the following useful information:
- The “From Link” Sequence No.
- The “To Link” Sequence No.
- The amount of the allocation.
What Can Go Wrong in Allocation?
When an allocation is created, a link is established between the two transactions. Sometimes, due to issues, allocations may fail to perform the specified task, and the links may require rebuilding or deleting. Some effects of these problems include:
- The balances of Open Item Clients/Vendors not agreeing with the General Ledger.
- Over allocations, i.e., > 100% allocation.
Symptoms
- Statements not balancing.
- Clients/Vendors balances not agreeing with the General Ledger.
- Difficulty allocating.
Allocation Rebuild A and Allocation Rebuild A (Auto) both check all current and historical records for Clients/Vendors.
- They will bring to current any records that have problems accordingly.
- Allocation Rebuild A should only be run on individual Clients and/or Vendors, unless specifically instructed otherwise by SapphireOne support staff.
- After running Allocation Rebuild A, you may need to re-allocate records. These records can be found in the Client/Vendor Allocation Inquiry screens.
How to fix Allocations in SapphireOne?
Below are the steps required if your allocations are incorrect in SapphireOne.
- Check to see if the Client/Vendor is an Open Item. You can ascertain this using the first page of a Client/Vendor Inquiry. Alternatively, do a query on the field Open Item equals False, to find which Clients/Vendors are not an Open Item.
- Check to see if the transactions are an Open Item.
- Using Report Design, report on the field Open from the Transaction Inquiry. (Opening transactions should be Balance Brought Forward as they were entered in First Time Mode).
- Ensure all transactions are posted.
- Ensure the status of the transactions in question is YES (“1”) in the Transaction Inquiry screen. Additionally, if there is an error, you will need to resolve this first. Refer to the article on error codes for more information on resolving error codes.
- Run the Aging Function by navigating to Utilities > Utilities > Custom Functions.
- In Utilities > Utilities Custom Functions, perform either a Client Allocation Audit Report or a Vendor Allocation Audit Report depending on your needs. The results in these reports highlight the Clients/Vendors that are of concern and need to be investigated. Ensure there are no un-posted allocated records, as this will affect the output of this query.
- These Clients/Vendors will need to have Allocation Rebuild A performed on them. Allocation Rebuild A (Auto) may also be used, as it immediately executes the rebuild procedure.
| Vendor ID | Total of all Transactions in Current with allocations (i.e. Total Due) | Total of all Transaction in SapphireOne without taking allocations into account | Difference of the Two columns |
| ANZBA | (1,304.96) | (1,304.96) | 0.0 |
The Client or Vendor Allocation Audit Report will also provide the following useful information:
- Each Client/Vendor will be listed on a separate line.
- The first column provides their ID.
- The second column provides the total of all transactions in Current with allocations, i.e., Total Due.
- The third column provides the total of all transactions in SapphireOne without taking allocations into account, and the last column shows the difference between the two columns.
If you have gone through all the above steps and everything is in order, run Allocation Rebuild A.
Allocation Rebuild A
Allocation Rebuild A is a function built into SapphireOne to cross-check the allocation link between the current records for all Clients and/or Vendors. As a result, if Allocation Rebuild encounters a damaged record, it will display this record in the Allocation Error screen at the end of the procedure.
Consequently, the user is given three options, so read carefully before proceeding:
- Fix – Put a tick next to the transactions, and this will fix the allocation link.
- Delete – Put a cross next to the transaction, and this will delete the allocation link. The transaction will then need to be allocated as new. This option is normally used when over-allocation occurs and requires an allocation rebuild or rebuild A to be re-run.
- No Change – Leave the screen without making any changes by clicking on Reset, then Process.
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