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DMS Accounting Take On Rules

8 min read

Master this for hassle free onboarding

Onboarding Steps #

  1. Qualify your Customer- See Pre Quote Requirements.
  2. Quote your Customer
  3. Setup VMG Accounting
  4. Train Users
  5. Measure and Report

Pre-Quote Requirements #

DO GREAT BUSINESS AND CHOOSE YOUR CUSTOMERS WISELY!

It is imperative that you ensure that only qualified clients are permitted access to VMG’s DMS Accounting Module. Failure to meet these requirements will cause serious damage to your time, VMG’s time, your clients time, you clients’ money, your reputation and VMG’s.

The following requirements MUST be met before you send a quote to your client for the DMS Accounting Module. If any of these items are not met, walk away from the sale.

  • Your client must have an up-to-date trial balance
    • Missing, unbalanced, out of date trial balances are a huge red flag that must be resolved before you bring the customer on board.
    • This trial balance must be reviewed and approved by you.
    • Where applicable, the debtors and creditors ledger balances MUST balance to the Debtors and Creditors control accounts seen on the trial balance. Do not skip this step.
    • Pay close attention to the state of the debtors and creditors balances. Are they a mess?
    • The trial balance is required to bring on the opening balances.
  • You must meet with the accountant to conduct due diligence and discovery.
    • This is only relevant if the accountant is activley involved in the business.
    • The accountant will be your closest ally. You will need their goodwill, enthusiasm, and support.
    • You MUST disclose that VMG’s system is accrual based and not cash based. This could be a problem for the accountant, and they may want to delay any forward movement until the new financial year.
    • You MUST disclose what VMG’s module is NOT. It is only a to-trial balance, accrual based system.
    • They will be able to provide you with the trial balance.
    • They will give you better insight regarding the VMG user that will be processing the bookkeeping data.
  • The Bookkeeping user must be verified by you.
    • You do not want a user constantly contacting you asking you basic bookkeeping questions.
    • Gather info and manage expectations. Speak to your user about the role. Are they up for it? do they have any concerns? do they have on demand access to the bank statements? are they able to receive answers to their queries in real time?
    • Make sure your user understands the intense focus VMG has on debtors and creditors management.
    • We are not in the business of training people to become bookkeepers. Rather, we train experienced/qualified bookkeepers how to use VMG’s Accounting module.
  • DMS Pro admin data processing MUST be PERFECT! There is zero room for error. Perfection is mandatory.
  • The Regional settings MUST be VMG compatible.
  • VMG will manage the chart of accounts setup with the bookkeeping user. But VMG controls.

Only once you have met these requirements, can you send your client a quote for the use of VMG’s Accounting Module.

Don’t accept anything less and walk away from the sales that do not meet our criteria.

Pre-Training Requirements #

Once your quote is approved by your client, you will need to get the accounting module setup, PERFECTLY. There is no room for error and excuses for failures, are not welcome.

  1. Tripple check that DMS Pro data is perfect. Solve any issues there first.
    1. This is the data that will be entering the accounting module. Diamonds in, diamonds out.
    2. Make sure that consignment vehicles are marked in DMS.
    3. Make sure that your Stock on Hand value matches the Stock on Hand value on the Trail balance (inventory) vehicles. If it does not ask why! This will affect the balance sheet
  2. Make sure that your day-to-day admin user and your bookkeeping user understand the process flows.
  3. Setup the Current accounting period, Start period and Financial year.
  4. Ensure that accounting periods and years are correct
  5. If accounting year is 2026 but calendar year is still 2025, ensure that the display date is 2025.
  6. Ensure that regional settings on the users PC’s are correct.
  7. Setup the chart of accounts (Map the Chart of Accounts)
    1. Once this is done, send the VMG Chart of Accounts to the accountant and get approval from the accountant, in writing, to proceed.
  8. Setup cost types by assigning the relevant ledger account to each of them.
  9. Setup sundry invoice ledger accounts to the sundry income types.
  10. Setup default ledger account for cost types.
  11. Update user levels
    1. Remove ability to post to custom periods
    2. Remove access to the accounting module for anyone not involved in bookkeeping data processing. This includes the owners.
    3. Ensure that only the relevant reports are accessible by the appropriate person.
  12. Clear all accounting transactions prior to your starting period
    1. Inform your users what happens to stock transactions in the stock management module when those transactions are removed from the stock transfer window.
    2. NB!!! NEVER REMOVE ACCOUNTING TRANSACTIONS AFTER RELEVANT PERIOD DATA CAPTURING HAS BEEN DONE.
  13. If available, bring on the opening bank balances. Ideally, we want to user to do the opening balance data capturing. VMG Bookkeeping Services is available, but that time is not free.
    1. Use the suspense account and when the Trail balance is bought in for the bank take on balance use that same suspense account to clear it.

Once these items are complete, you can commence with your training schedule.

Training Phases – High Level #

TRAINING IS METHODICAL AND “PAINT BY NUMBERS”. DO NOT TAKE SHORTCUTS. EVER!!

You must communicate effectively and ensure your user understands every step of the training process.

You will be training in phases. Each phase must be complete before moving onto the next phase. Make sure that have met ALL the pre-training requirements.

Do not neglect to send progress, objectives, tasks and “Whats Next” emails. You must build training momentum and keep it going like clockwork.

Training and data processing may commence even if the opening balances have not been brought into the system.

The following training phases assume that you have verified that Step 1 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow is PERFECT

Training Phase 1 #

Transfer transactions to the ledger (Step 2 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow)

  • Transfer Stock and Sundry transactions to the ledger  (DMS)
  • User must transfer ALL relevant transactions to the ledger for that date period. Out of period transactions can cause havoc. 
  • Send progress and objectives to achieve email
  • User must let you know when all transactions have been transferred. Show the user the pending ledger report.
  • Review the data
  • When you are happy, move onto Phase 2
  • Send progress and “Whats Next” report
  • User must maintain stock transfers daily
Training Phase 2 #

Process Cashbooks (Step 3 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow)

  • Only one bank at this time.
  • Manual cashbook processing during training phase (you can discuss bank import only once user is fully trained).
  • User must capture all payments and receipts
  • User MUST NOT update cashbook entries to ledger.
  • Once user has completed the data capturing, they must let you know so you can review the data. User MUST NOT update to ledger until you have verified the data.
    • Chek that running total balances with bank statement
    • Check that entries are being processed to the correct ledger/debtors/creditors accounts. Reciepts for sold vehicles MUST go to a debtors account NOT to a GL account. Payments for vehilce purchases MUST go to a creditor account NOT to a GL account.  
    • Check that VAT is accurate on all cashbook entries.
  • If you are happy, let the user update cashbooks to the ledger.
    • Review the Income Statement and the debtors and creditor reports with your user. Discuss the impact of their work on these reports.
  • User must process all other banks (do not forget Petty cash and Cash On Hand accounts)
  • Only once ALL Cashbooks are processed to date can you move onto Phase 3
  • Send progress and “Whats Next” report.
  • User must maintain cashbooks daily.
Training Phase 3a #

Reconciliation Debtors and Creditors (Step 4 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow)

  • Show user how to navigate to debtors and creditors ledger summary reports
  • Show user how to process debtor and creditor journals
  • Objective is to ensure that only legitimate and known debtors and creditors must ever display on the summary reports.
  • User to reconcile ALL their debtors and creditors. Show user how to match items , remember match items will not appear if there is one sided entry from stock transfer screen. Do NOT rely on the match items screen as your work is done (ALWAYS pull debtors and creditors age analysis)
  • Show user how to bank recon DO NOT USE BANK RECON ON THE CASHBOOK
  • Send progress and “Whats Next” report.
  • User must maintain debtors and creditors daily. Never let this pile up.
Training Phase 3b #

Income Statement to Full Profit (Step 4 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow)

  •  Show user how to verify accuracy of income statement. (Accounting Health Check)
  • Once user can process this recon themselves, move onto phase 4
  • Send progress and “Whats Next” report.
Training Phase 4 #

Month End (Step 5 of the VMG Bookkeeping Process Flow)

  • Training phase 4 MUST take place as early as possible in the new month.
  • You must do this in person with your user wherever possible. Don’t take shortcuts because you’re “too busy”. Rather, manage your calendar like a professional.
  • Show user how to role over to a new month.
    • Stock Month End
      • This must be done for Workshop on the 1st of every month. It does NOT matter if they have not finished with their accounting side. If they do NOT do it, all workshop transactions for the new month will go into the wrong period.
    • Ledger Month End
    • Accounting Month End
  • Show user how to export income statement to PDF and email to the owner and accountant.
  • User is to continue step 2, 3 and 4 of the VMG Bookkeeping process flow.
  • Arrange sit down with owner and accountant to go through income statement, inventory, debtors, and creditors.
  • Let owner know that training is complete.
  • Send progress reports, congratulate the user publicly (Dale Carnegie), and set new objectives.

Ensure regular follow ups to maintain data processing momentum. DO NOT get caught out by a user who stops processing data the moment you step away. You must be diligent and aware.

Health Checks #

  • Stock Transfer 
  • IS to FP
  • Debtors and Creditors Recon
  • Bank Recon
  • Match Items  
  • Suspense Acc 
  • TB Balanced   
  • Cost Types    
  • Opening Balances

Progress Reporting #

  • Keep your users and relevant role players informed.
  • Achievements and objectives still to achieve.
  • What’s next and where are they in the process.
  • How well are they doing.
  • What should they be focusing on?