Banking: accounts, transfers and reconciliation

The big picture#

Your bank accounts in Hubtoll are not a copy of your bank's website. They are the records of money that your books keep. Three things matter:

1. Bank Accounts are where you list the accounts you bank through. Each one has a balance that always matches your ledger.
2. Transfers move cash between your own accounts, with an optional bank fee.
3. Reconciliation is the check. You compare your records with the bank's statement, line by line, until the two agree.

There are two more pages in this guide. Opening Balances sets your starting figures when you move onto Hubtoll. The Settlement Account says where money your customers pay online is sent.

Where everything lives#

Open Sales and Finance›General Ledger. These pages are in this guide:

The settlement page is under Sales and Finance›Finance Settings›Settlement Account.

Add a bank account#

1. Open Sales and Finance›General Ledger›Bank Accounts and click New bank account.
2. Type the Bank name. Add an Account name (optional), Account number (optional) and NUBAN (optional).
3. Choose a Currency (optional). Leave it empty for your base currency.
4. If the account already holds money, type the Opening balance and the As of date.
5. Click Create.

Good to know:

• Opening balance. If you type one, Hubtoll records that the account started with that money. The other side of the entry goes to Opening Balance Equity. A negative number means an overdraft.
• Edit changes the bank name, account name and numbers. It does not change the money.
• Deactivate hides the account from new transfers and reconciliations. Hubtoll asks you to confirm. Click Show inactive to see hidden accounts, and Activate to bring one back.
• The balance of a bank account is read from the ledger, so it always agrees with the books. It changes when you record payments, receipts and transfers.

Move cash between accounts#

Use a transfer when you move money from one of your accounts to another, for example from your main account to a petty cash account.

1. Open Sales and Finance›General Ledger›Transfers and click New transfer.
2. Pick the Date.
3. Choose From account and To account. They must be different.
4. Type the Amount.
5. If the bank charged you, type the Fee (optional). Add Notes (optional).
6. Click Record transfer.

Rules:

• Only bank and cash accounts can be used. Hubtoll says "A transfer source must be a bank or cash (asset) account" if you pick something else.
• The amount must be more than zero, and a fee cannot be negative.
• A fee needs the Bank Charges account (code 6030) in your chart. If it is missing you see: "The Bank Charges account (6030) is not configured. Remove the fee or add the account".

Void a transfer#

If you recorded a transfer by mistake, click the Void icon on its row. It needs the Accountant role. Confirm. Hubtoll reverses the posted entry, so both balances go back. A transfer can only be voided once. The reason is recorded for you as part of the void.

Reconcile an account with the bank statement#

Do this once a month for each bank account. It catches mistakes, missed payments and bank fees you did not know about.

You need the bank statement in front of you. Write down three things: the statement date, the opening balance on the statement and the ending balance on the statement.

1. Open Sales and Finance›General Ledger›Reconciliation and click Open reconciliation. You need the Accountant role.
2. Choose the Bank account and the Statement date.
3. Type the Statement opening balance and the Statement ending balance exactly as they are on the statement.
4. Click Open session.
5. Click the new session in the list. Its detail opens below.
6. Go through your bank statement. For every line that is also in the list, switch it on in the first column. The list shows the Journal number, Date, Memo, Debit and Credit.
7. Watch the four figures at the top: Opening balance, Ending balance, Cleared balance and Difference.
8. When Difference is 0.00, click Complete.

How the sum works#

Cleared balance is the statement opening balance plus every line you ticked. A debit line adds to the bank balance. A credit line takes away. The Difference is the statement ending balance minus the cleared balance.

The Complete button stays off until the difference is exactly zero. If you try another way, Hubtoll says: "The cleared balance (...) does not tie to the statement ending balance (...). Match or unmatch lines until they agree".

What a normal result looks like#

• Every line on the statement has a matching line in your books.
• A few lines in your books are not on the statement yet, like a cheque that has not cleared. Leave them switched off. They stay for next time.
• A bank fee or interest on the statement that is not in your books has no line to tick. Record it first (for example as a transfer with a fee, or a payment), then come back and tick it.

Rules and limits#

• Only one open session per bank account. If you try a second, Hubtoll says: "A reconciliation is already open for this bank account. Complete or delete it first". Finish the first. The console has no way to delete a session, so complete the open one.
• A completed session cannot be changed. "A completed reconciliation cannot be changed".
• A line already settled in another session does not appear and cannot be matched again.
• The list shows every posted line for that account up to the statement date.

Set starting figures: opening balances#

When you move your books onto Hubtoll, use Opening Balances to enter what each account held on your start date. You do not need to balance the entry yourself.

1. Open Sales and Finance›General Ledger›Opening Balances.
2. Pick the Opening balance date.
3. For each account, click Add account, choose the account, and type either a Debit or a Credit.
4. Click Save opening balances. You need the Accountant role.

Rules to know:

• Every line needs exactly one of a debit or a credit. Otherwise Hubtoll says: "Each opening-balance line must have exactly one of a debit or a credit (account ...)".
• Saving again replaces the old opening balances. Hubtoll reverses the previous entry and posts the new one. It is never counted twice.
• This is separate from the opening balance you can type on a single bank account, and from the opening quantity on a stock item. Each of those makes its own entry.
• Opening balances can post into a period that is only soft-closed. See Reports and closing the year.

Where customer payments are paid out: the settlement account#

When a customer pays one of your invoices online using a pay link, the money first reaches Hubtoll's payment partner. Hubtoll then sends it on to your bank account. This page controls which account that is. See Sell: customers, quotes, invoices and payments for pay links.

Open Sales and Finance›Finance Settings›Settlement Account. The page says money is paid out "automatically and immediately, minus the platform charge".

Anyone with a Finance role can read this page. Only a Finance settings admin can change it. Everyone else sees the note: "A finance settings admin can verify it."

Add a settlement account#

1. On the settlement page, click Add settlement account.
2. Pick the Country. Payouts work for Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa today.
3. Choose Bank account or mobile money, then the Bank.
4. Type the Account number.
5. Click Verify & save.

Hubtoll asks the bank for the name on the account. If the bank gives it, it is saved as Name verified with bank. If the bank cannot be asked (some countries) or it fails, you are asked for the Account holder name and the button changes to Save. Type it exactly as the bank has it. It shows as Name unverified (as entered).

Accounts are never edited or deleted. Saving adds a new one to Your Settlement Accounts. The full record stays on the page. Saving does not make the new account active.

Choose the account that receives payouts#

Each account card has an Activate button. Click it and confirm. Only one account is active at a time. Activating a new one switches the old one off. Money goes to the active one.

For Nigerian accounts, there is an extra safety check first. Rules about money laundering say payouts may only go to an account owned by the person or company that was identity-checked. So you need a verified BVN, and the account holder name must match the name on that BVN by at least 60%.

If you have not verified a BVN yet, the button reads Verify BVN to activate.

Verify your BVN#

1. On the settlement page, find the Identity Check (BVN) card and click Verify BVN.
2. Type the Bank Verification Number (BVN) (11 digits) and the Full name as registered on the BVN. Click Verify BVN.
3. If Hubtoll has already verified this BVN before and the name you typed matches, it links at once with no new charge. If not, more boxes open: First name, Last name, Bank, Account number and Account type (Personal account or Business account).
4. Click Validate & verify.
5. Wait a few moments. The box says Identity check in progress.

Hubtoll never shows your full BVN again, even to administrators. If the check fails, the card shows the reason and a Try again button.

Things that go wrong#

• "Verify your BVN first. Settlement payouts can only go to an account owned by the verified BVN holder." Do the BVN steps above.
• "Your BVN verification is still in progress. Try again in a moment." Wait and click Activate again.
• "Your BVN verification didn't succeed. Verify your BVN again before activating an account."
• "This account can't be activated: its holder name matches the name on your verified BVN at only ...%" The account is in a different name. Use an account that belongs to the BVN holder.
• "This account's holder name couldn't be verified with the bank yet..." Wait and try again, or add the account again.
• "Enter a valid 11-digit BVN." Check the number.
• "We couldn't verify this BVN. Check the number and the name exactly as registered."

The payouts list#

Under Payouts you see every customer payment collected for you. The list shows Invoice, Collected, Platform charge, Paid to you, Status and When. It is empty until a customer pays an invoice link.

Who can do what#

You also need an active Sales and Finance seat. See the permission reference and Roles: give people the right access.

Common questions#

Why does my Hubtoll balance not match my bank's balance?expand_more

Money that is in one list but not the other, like cheques that have not cleared, or fees you have not recorded. A reconciliation shows exactly which lines are missing.

Can I connect Hubtoll to my bank so statements load by themselves?expand_more

Not today. You type the statement balances and tick the lines by hand.

I made a transfer to the wrong account. What do I do?expand_more

Void it (Accountant role), then record the correct transfer.

I cannot open a new reconciliation. It says one is already open.expand_more

Open the older session in the list and click Complete once the difference is 0.00. Only then can you start another for the same account.

Can I change my settlement account?expand_more

Yes. Add the new account, then click Activate on it. Old accounts stay in the list as a record. Payouts go to the active one.

Why was my payout 'Awaiting account'?expand_more

A customer paid before you had an active settlement account. Activate one and the payout is sent.