Contents

Introduction

Why financial accounting?

For the administration of financial procedures a financial accounting method is essential. Stock-accounting bb-Fibu is an EDP program, which works according to the principle of the double account processing.

The double account processing was described for the first time 1445 by Luca Paciolo and been based on a conceivablly simple idea: ''Each procedure is represented as a cash transaction, which proceeds from a source to a target.'' Sources and targets (called accounts) can be thought of also as pots, which all stand on a large table, and out of whose money is taken (sources), or into whose the money is inserted. Arithmetically seen the withdrawal of money means a subtraction (-), and inserting an addition (+).

      Lower                    source 
      +     <--- procedure --     -

Since each procedure concerns always 2 accounts, the procedure is called also double account processing (partita doppia).

The account-plan contains a freely selectable quantity of accounts, as they are needed for the description of the different transactions. The account-plan can be extended at any time as required. Taking of an account away in the midst of one financial year is permitted only if no movements were made using this account.

The accounts are divided into 4 groups:

Some abstract thinking is necessary to understood or believe that the balances of these groups have changing signs in the context of the bookkeeping:

This results in a global balance sum of zero as control.

The journal is a sequential recording of all procedures. The important task of the accountant consists of dividing the procedure evt. into its single steps and determining the associated accounts. In the case of doubt a new account can be opened at any time.

The account statement:

All movements, which concern a certain account, registered in the journal, can be summarized on a ledger card, and from the initial amount and the movements the current total amount of the account can be calculated (balance). The force of expression of this compilation depends only and alone on the grain-size of the account plan (fine tuning the graininess of the plan permits more selective distinctions).

Balance / account:

May not be confounded. The balance is the comparison of the balances of all active and passive accounts on a certain day. It informs about the present financial situation.

The account is the comparison of the balances of all expenditure accounts with those of the income accounts, over a certain period. The restaurant calculation informs about the economic behavior.

Initial values:

At the beginning of the accounting period (new journal) only the active and passive accounts get initial values, in such a way that the sum of the positive assets accounts is equal to the sum of the negative passive accounts.

Controllability:

Since the sequentially added movements concern always 2 accounts, once + (target), once - (source), the total sum of all accounts equals zero all the time.

The difference between active and passive accounts is in the amount equal to the difference between incomes and expenditures, however with opposite sign (with is necessary if the sum total of all accounts has to be zero).

Why stock bb-Fibu?

If one reads relevant books concerning bookkeeping, one cannot get the impression that the accompanying bookkeeping rules, which are partly legally embodied are more complicated, than it the subject requires.

The numerous EDP programmes present at the market carry this ballast with itself around, and are therefore accordingly complex.

In order to realize quite easily the above relations in a just as simple and undemanding program, this new development became necessary (it is e.g. possible to correct already inserted journal-entries, further the journal is sorted automaticly in respect to the date). From this a clearer bookkeeping that is always settled results.

Efforts were made to write the program in such a way that it can be easily be portet on different EDP platforms and that it is directly executable under any operating system.

Target group for stock bb-Fibu:

Private individuals, accountant von Groupings or small companies without legal constraints.

Installation

Caracteristics of bb-Fibu:

Prerequisites for this program:

To run this program several assertions have to be fulfilled: you need:

Installation

After unpacking the fibu tarball:

User - Manual

usage of bb-Fibu:

File - Formats

File format kpl

Pos 01 side control (P new side, empty sequentially) of 02 empty 03 account number 1-4 digit, e.g. 1101 07 empty 08 account titles 50 indications, e.g. cash 58 currency 2 indications, e.g. left, DM, telex, etc. (at present not verw.) 60 amount for estimate (0 with active/passive accounts), 12 characters 72 freely

File format jrl

Pos 01 date 8 indications, e.g. 01,01,1993 09 empty 10 account number +, (lower), 1-4 characters 14 empty 15 account number -, (source), 1-4 characters 19 empty 20 procedure of max 45 characters 65 currency 2 indications (as with KPL) 67 amount up to 12 characters 79 freely; the program hangs last position in the output format on to this position the balance = 12 characters 90

In bb-Fibu compatibility / * eof is ignored.

Accounting concepts

Initial values

At the 01.01.9X initial values must be given to the active and passive accounts (so-called transfers). This is achieved by inserting journal-lines where only one account is designated, either the positive account, or the negative passive account, while the second account is set exeptionally to 0.

Example:

01,01,93 1101 0 transfer cash 100000 01,01,93 0 2100 transfer Patrimonio 100000

References to record keeping

For the demonstration purposes the following shortened account plan is used:

1001 cash 1010 current account account 1020 time deposits: Credit at comrade x OFFERED 1100 1999 suspence account 0 end of Aktivas 2001 abilityability abilities 2010 reserve rear 2100 debts at supplier 0 end of liabilities 3001 administratives expense 3010 energy costs 3020 service costs 0 end of the costs 4100 incomes: of members 4500 incomes: Interest 4600 incomes: various 0 end of the incomes

Many procedures consist in reality of several single steps, which must be registered separately in the journal:

Such allocations over a suspence account or the cash are necessary, in order in particular to prove on the bank accounts only the amounts, which will appear to the bank also in the account statement (= easier control).

Finally recommended to always use the same formulations as possible be as short should (e.g. / = for, etc.). With recurring procedures one should check therefore always only in the journal further above.

About this document ...

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The translation was initiated by Bruno Boettcher on 2004-04-17


Bruno Boettcher
2004-04-17