DebConf12/Accounting

DebConf12 specific Accounting

• we're basically gonna do accounting by the general Accounting rules
• for the pre-conference Accounting stuff there is/was the directory debconf-team/dc12/accounting/locatlteam folder - there are copies of receipts/quotes/invoices and a bookkeeping.ods file with
• We create a ledger-dc12-onsite ledger file

Local Onsite Expenses

If you pay something for the debconf that should be reimbursed, please *ALWAYS* get a receipt. We need it. When a name gets on it, make it "ISIC / DebConf12" - that will work for all types of money transaction, we expect.

Tasks of the onsite Accountant

• Ensure frontdesk people (and anyone else with debconf cash) are aware of procedures and necessity for clear records.
  • And learn to know them well himself at first ;)
• collect any receipts for any type of expenses
• take care of cashbox after frontdesk close
  • Each day, verify the amount of cash and add transactions to dc12-ledger-onsite
  • Talk to front desk staff when there are discrepancies. It isn't necessary to spend too much time tracking them down, since that may be impossible, but just try to be as good as possible. (unresolved things can be put as income:cash or expenses:cash to represent "cash income/expenses which isn't accounted for any other way)
• Ensure that records do not get lost or thrown away. (perhaps take a photograph of each day's daily ledger and svn it)
• Work with the food team to ensure accurate accounting of money from food ticket sales.
• As a bonus, work with food team to keep track of how many people eat at each meal, and how many are sponsored vs purchased..
• Keep track of incoming quotes / outgoing invoices(to FFIS/SPI usually) / incoming receipts of ISIC transactions - goal is to ensure that actually paid stuff from ISIC account matches the invoice amount - mot less, not more
• Hold a "Consultation hour" one time each day to handle reimbursements in cash as well as for bank transferred reimbursements, as well as ravel reimbursements

Questions about accounting handling

• How are ISIC Invoices going out to SPI or FFIS are handled in the ledger?
  • This is really a philosophical question about cash accounting or accrual accounting. In cash accounting, we list all transaction when currency actually trades hands. In accrual accounting, we use the `liabilities` account to record money we we need to pay, as soon as it is agreed upon (money flows expenses <- liabilities), and then when it is paid, we mark it as paid (money flows liabilities <- assets)
  • For the most part, we want to use cash accounting, just because that is simpler and has less overhead. So, when you see invoices leave a bank account, that is the date they should be recorded in the ledger. Same goes when we reimburse people.
  • However, sometimes it is useful to fill in something under `liabilities` just so we don't forget about it. This was mainly useful for expenses which would be reimbursed many months later. If you have a need or want to add an entry in `liabilities`, by all means, go ahead (there are plenty of cases where this could be helpful). Just don't be so pedantic that the system is abandoned (this is what happens most years...).
• do I have a free usage filed in ledger entries, to enter an id by which I sort the physical or binary representation (paper receipt that's in a physical folder or file with a scan/PDF/... ) to have them connected
  • darst would just make extensive use of entry comments (darst recently learned that placing the comments here is better than where darst has been placing them above the date line. Sufficiently advanced ledger can parse this as metadata, but we probably won't actually go that far to using it.):

 2012/07/01 Sample Transaction
    ; Receipt: #00013
    expenses:conf       275 USD
    assets:cash:frontdesk

FrontDesk handling

Frontdesk opening/closing procedures.

• General Frontdesk info: http://wiki.debconf.org/wiki/DebConf12/Frontdesk
  • Frontdesk Shifts - Who's working: http://wiki.debconf.org/wiki/DebConf12/Frontdesk/Shifts

The front desk crew arrives.

• They get the cash box, and pull out a blank sheet of paper to serve as the daily ledger. They write the date on the paper.
• Front desk counts the cash in the box, and puts it in "starting balance", and initials it.
• They put the paper in a secure place, such as in the cash box itself.

Front desk crew closes for the night.

• They get the cash box, find the daily ledger.
• Front desk counts up the money in the box, and at the bottom of the daily ledger, records this total, and initials it.
• Front desk does *not* make any more transactions: if anyone wants to give or take money, they state "you need to come back tomorrow"
• Crew brings the daily ledger to the accountant
• Account sums the starting balance and all transactions, and ensues that everything matches. If not, accountant <sarcasm>finds someone to yell at </sarcasm>
• Accountant records all transactions in dc12-ledger-onsite as items in the account assets:cash:frontdesk.

Example

Alpha goes out and buys a paper ledger to organize the physical part of accounting, and paid 362 Cordoba from eir own money. Alpha can't be reimbursed right now, but doesn't want it to be forgotten.

• Alpha emails accounting@debconf.org stating the date they bought it, what it was, the purpose, and the amount, and if they have a receipt.
• The accountant adds this into ledger-dc12-onsite. This represents an increase in expenses, and a

 2012/06/28 Paper to create record books (bought by Alpha)
    expenses:conf    362 NIO
    liabilities:alpha

• Alpha keeps the receipt until they are reimbursed.

When Alpha wants to be reimbursed, ey brings the receipt to the accountant, who finds the money, gives it, and records it in the ledger like such. Let's say that they are reimbursed 15 USD, instead of the 362 $C.

2012/07/10 Reimburse Alpha for paper products
  liabilities:alpha   362 NIO
  assets:cash:frontdesk  -15 USD

The positive value in liabilities:alpha cancels out the previous negative value there, reconciling that account. The subtraction of value from frontdesk indicates that cash was removed. (Of course, if this cash was removed from the frontdesk box, it would be noted in the frontdesk daily ledger)

Example

Alpha spent 362 $C and wants to be reimbursed right away.

• Alpha brings the receipt to the front desk. The front desk examines the receipt, and gets approval for reimbursement (FIXME not sure how this happens. Probably, someone comes with Alpha to authorize the transaction).
• The front desk takes their daily ledger, and makes this note:

 date: $today
 time: $time
 description: "Alpha is being reimbursed for $thing to be used for $purpose".
 received: <blank>
 given: 362 NIO     (Note currency!  If you want to use another currency, that is fine) 
 initials: <both front desk crew and payee initial here>

• The front desk puts the receipt in the cash box
• The front desk gives 362 NIO (or 15 USD or whatever it is) to Alpha.
• The front desk does *not* need to immediately email accounting@debconf.org, because it is noted in the ledger and they will record it that evening.
• The accountant eventually adds it in ledger-dc12-onsite like this:

 2012/07/05 Alpha being reimbursed for buying a ledger for frontdesk
   expenses:conf   362 NIO
   assets:cash:frontdesk  -15 USD

Needed things

• A room to work in silence and with some amount of space
• A printer
• A scanner
• A Box to collect receipts
• Pre-Printed forms with reimbursement info for stuff people pay that's not cash-reimbursed but by bank-transfer

FIXME

Things you might want to take care in future debconf's to avoid undesireable situations...

• Ensure however possible to have enough cash available in frontdesk (or otherwise onsite) cashbox from a few days before debcamp starts, especially in the first days there are a lot of cash expenses, and collecting them for multiple days and having to calculate everything in the middle is tedious and hard to catch up
• For the accounting work, ensure there is some reserved place, it should be quiet and with restricted access. (it's just tough when an accountant has to free his workspace every time he gets to his desk and needs to do the paperwork, which requires about 4 times as much space as a laptop space, also being abused as a general printing/scanning service - not everybody is good in saying no, but feels sorry afterwards for saying yes when being late to pool parties)
• The accountant should have access to his workroom as deliberate as possible - it'shard when you have to stop in the middle of the work because e.g. for security reasons you must leave the hacklab with the last other person there...

HOWTO

How lazyb0y is handling the books. Some hints that might be useful later (and so he has some lead to not get confused)

Basic working tools:

• a desk
• Scanner
• Printer - including *enough* toner/ink!
• Great: Fotocopier machine! (or: Scanner/Printer/Copier combi!)
• Folders for paper
• GlueStick
• whole puncher for A4 / Letter sized Paper

Handling Receipts for Cash Expenses - TODO

TODO

Handling Conf Expense Reimbursements

for people who spent their pesonal money on things we needed, and who should get that money back.

• Getting a list of people that curently deserve money
  • ledger -f ledger-dc12 bal liabilities:* | grep -v liabilities| awk '{print $3}'| sort| uniq
• Get the physical receipts from the to-reimburse compartment of the finance folder
• For each person to be reimbursed:
  • get an envelope
  • out the name/nick on it
  • check if the receipts for that person match the ledger amount
  • Write the amount to be reimbursed on the envelope
  • TODO: also create a piece of paper with the calculation for that person?
  • put the money in from cashbox/other cash assets
  • search the person/make an appointment for all to come by
  • let them check the amount and keep it
  • let them sign the envelope - take this back
• take all the envelopes and book the reimbursed expenses in ledger
• DONE! :) Relax!

Questions

• what to do with partial dollar amounts? Calculate in C$ and pay as that?