It is common practice to require a tenant to pay a deposit on occupation of a rental property. The rent is intended to secure at least one month’s worth of occupation and provide for potential damages caused by the tenant. Rent deposits are regulated in terms of Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999.
A common feature in managing rental properties, the underlying accounting mechanisms are typically not well understood which often leads to deposits not being accounted for at all, leading to invisible transactions and inaccurate records.
In order to properly account for a rental deposit, the following needs to occur
Debit tenant account with a Deposit required
Credit tenant account when payment is received
This will zero the tenant account
Payment received from the tenant will create a credit on the ledger, but it is not available for pay out to the landlord; to balance this credit, the deposit amount must be invested
Debit the ledger with the investment payment
At this point, the ledger will reflect only the regular monthly rent roll transactions, and the rent deposit investment is accurately and comprehensively accounted for.
Once the rental agreement terminates, these steps are reversed to release the credit on the ledger
Credit the ledger with the amount received from the investment. Note that due to the effect of interest accrued this amount will be more than the initial deposit received
This receipt will result in a credit balance. This credit can be paid to the tenant as a refund, or paid to the owner as settlement
Pay out of this amount will normally zero the account
Description: Easy Invoice run Status: Effective immediately Date: 30 August 2022 Dynamic interface: Two, Core Version: 2.0.1.406
A
single, fast Invoice run at the end of the month
As part of month end compliance and reconciliation, Dynamic can run through all invoices without disrupting operational activities.
This workflow allows for the issuing of invoices on a one-by-one basis when necessary. It also allows for all current transactions to be invoiced without omission and without interruption.
At the end of the Financial Year, Income and Expense accounts are normally closed off to a consolidated profit and loss Equity account.
Dynamic can automatically process these journal entries. The default profit and loss Equity account is number #94001, but may vary on your system.
The benefits of using automatedFinancial Year End Roll Over journal processing include
ease of use
speed
accuracy
Financial Year End journal specifically affect business accounts, and does not affect client trust accounts.
Request guidance from your auditor concerning Financial Year End Roll Over.
Some auditors would prefer for you to run the Financial Year End Roll Over before they start working on the reports. This has the benefit of reducing the number of accounts to deal with. The consolidated profit and loss account contains full transaction details concerning the source accounts. In addition, the Statement of Profit and Loss will still display the original balances regardless of the Financial Year End Roll Over entries.
Other auditors may prefer to work with the raw data without any automated Financial Year End Roll Over transactions processed to the system. This makes it easier to detect discrepancies and provides a framework for reallocating items. In this case run the Financial Year End Roll Over after the auditor has completed the audit.
In any event, the auditor is likely to provide a set of journals to be done. This is standard practice as financial and tax reporting may require additional processing which falls beyond the scope of the software.
Note that supplementary journals may
How to run the Financial Year End Roll Over
Select the date, typically the last date of the last Financial Year
Select the target Equity account from the list
Click Go
Don’t blink. It’s so fast, if you blink, you will miss the transactions.
Inspect the ledgers for the relevant entries.
Supplementary Financial and Year End Journals
Supplementary journals may be required for any number of reasons, including operational, financial and reporting. Transactions which require additional processing include depreciation and amortization. Additional updates based on operational requirements or amended tax guidelines may require supplementary journal entries.
It is not recommended to process these additional journals manually. Since the auditor will provide the required transactions in spreadsheet format, it is strongly recommended that these journals be imported directly into Dynamic.
Ever wondered how to customize your Dynamic Profile Pic?
Each of those little pictures represent somebody already logged in to Dynamic. Those are other people working.
It’s quite simple really. Dynamic is an hybrid cloud based solution, which means it shares a certain number of characteristics with other online products. One of these is the Gravatar.
You can read more about Gravatar on their website.
If you do not have a Gravatar account, don’t worry, Dynamic will automatically create a pixel image from Gravatar, linked to your unique login. Just make sure you use the same login for Gravatar and Dynamic. Please use a different password. 🙂
Unhappy with your current Profile Pic? If you don’t feel like the bee or frog your pixel image represents, or tired of your current Profile Pic, its easy to change. You can easily select an image to upload to Gravatar, and it will automatically refresh in Dynamic. Gravatar uses a WordPress.com account, so you need to complete your registration through WordPress.com.
How to do it
Get a new picture ready, on the same device you log in to Gravatar
Log in to the Gravatar site
Update the profile pic
Yes, it really is that simple!
Once your login is linked to both Gravatar and Dynamic, your profile pic will change.
If you feel the need to force a Gravatar refresh, to show your new image immediately, simply use the Utility >Refresh Gravatar menu option.
Bear in mind that after changing the pic on Gravatar, it may take a few minutes before it becomes available in Dynamic.
Of course the Profile Pics are also enabled for the Dynamic Online Reports.
Make Dynamic your own. Upload your Profile Pic now!
And what about the robots? 🙂
Yes, sometimes you will see a robot image. Those are the robots working tirelessly in the background to make sure everything keeps running smooth. Just ignore them, they are shy 🙂
Dynamic’s unique new Trust to Business Analyzed Transfer analyzes the funds transferred from Trust to Business and gives an instant breakdown of the nature of these funds.
Disbursements refer to refunds – essentially the business account is being refunded for costs incurred on behalf of the client. These funds cover costs and are not available to be spent.
Fees refer to profit – Yes, we can discuss this extensively, but the Fees we transfer refer to our net earnings, which can be applied to business expenses that do not affect clients: rent, salaries, stationery etc. Fees indicate the financial health of the business.
Why is this important?
Trust to Business Transfers can be extensive and cover many files with transactions broken down over a the entire life time of the account in our books. Understanding the composition of the transfer amount gives immediate insight into (a) which portion is begin refunded and (b) which portion is available to pay expenses. Only the fee portion of a transfer is available to cover expenses. The Disbursement portion is being refunded to the business account, those funds cannot be allocated a second time.
We cannot use refunded Disbursement money to pay expenses. We can only use money from Fees to pay expenses.
Why do you need this now?
The immediate breakdown of cash flow into fees (free cash) and disbursements (refunds) provides insight into the cash stream entering the business and an indicator of financial health.
Introducing Dynamic’s Trust to Business Analyzed Transfer
It works like
before, only better.
Balancing the
trust by quickly, accurately and responsibly transferring funds between the
client’s trust and business ledgers.
Before…
A manual or
one-to-one transfer would typical require a single payment from the trust
account to the business account. Each transactions required a trust payment and
a business receipt. For few accounts, and large sums, this allowed a very high
level of control, but creates unnecessary risks concerning accuracy and
duplication. Further it leads to higher than necessary bank charges.
Other
Systems
Custom
attorneys accounting solutions provide for various degrees of semi-automated
trust to business transfer mechanisms. Ideally such a system should transfer
funds from trust to cover any business transactions, while preventing trust
debits from occurring and neutralizing business credits. Not all systems
correct for business credits. A single “Transfer from trust” entry was not very
informative, and only automated an otherwise tedious accounting process.
Dynamic’s
Analyzed Transfer
Dynamic’s
transfer system prioritized the trust. This means any trust debit
balances are corrected first. It also scans for and corrects business
credit balances. The magic, however, happens when the system detects fee
transactions on the ledger. Dynamic analyzes the transfer amount and identifies
the fees and disbursements. This distinction is noted on the individual ledger
accounts, is available for scrutiny on detailed reports and forms the building
block of a basic cash flow forecast report.
TRANSFER
DISBURSEMENTS from trust
TRANSFER FEES
from trust
The accuracy of
the analyzed transfer makes business cash flow management easy.
The transfer auto-corrects,
once the Transfer button is pressed, it will write up the ledger
and check for corrections. Transfer all the items on screen immediately until
the report shows 0.00 to transfer.
VERIFY TRUST INTEGRITY
Trust integrity is confirmed by comparing the
post-reconciliation cash book balance to the trust ledgers. This is easily done
on the Management Snapshot, this is an extract based on formal reports.
This post deals with the circumstances under which trust funds may be transferred to the business, and the procedure for doing so.
Bulk Trust to Business Transfers
When may Trust Funds by paid out?
Trust funds belong to the client. The lawyer maintains the trust on behalf of his client. Only in very limited circumstances is the disbursement of trust funds authorized. Disbursement here has the wide meaning of paying out money, and it means payment to any party not the client.
Generally,
the client may always receive payment of funds held on his behalf;
third parties, if duly authorized by the client, by receive payment from the trust;
the law firm, as payment for its professional services rendered.
This post does not deal with retainers and the point at which a retainer may become transferable from trust to business.
Where payment is made directly to the client, or a third party, this will be a direct bank transaction, such as an EFT (electronic banking) or a paper cheque. A specific beneficiary for such payment must be apparent and trust payments may not be made to unspecified (“cash“) recipients.
The ledger will merely reflect a trust debit entry.
Trust to Business Transfer
Few Transactions
For a very few law firms, it may be suitable to transfer trust funds as settlement of its bill on a one-to-one basis. In this case a simple trust payment is made, and should then be received on the same account with a business receipt.
In any busy law firm, with many active files and high transaction volumes it would soon become impossible to manage the number of files and keep accurate tabs on the current balances. This one-to-one type transfer is not recommended.
Problems associated with this method include
an increased administrative burden
additional costs (bank charges)
multiple additional transactions
increased reconciliation workload
for no apparent benefit.
Many Transactions
Dynamic is designed for trust accounting. This means that a sophisticated and dedicated trust-to-business-transfer function is available.
The trust-to-business transfer is composed to of two distinct set of transactions, (a) the Ledger entry, showing the movement of funds from trust to the business, and (b) the Banking transactions, which show payment from trust and the receipt in the business account.
The benefits of this method include
reduced administrative burden
lower costs (bank charges)
few individual transactions to track
reduced reconciliation workload
less time spent on administration allows more time for professional activities.
How Trust to Business Transfers should be done
The Bulk Trust to Business Transfer procedure
The discussion below is designed to give a complete and accurate description of the transfer procedure. It is the recommended procedure. This can be done on demand, any time, any day.
Bear in mind that Dynamic is designed to ensure compliance in a legal trust accounting environment. Following the steps outlined below will facilitate compliance. The Bulk Trust to Business Transfer procedure will ensure the integrity of the trust.
The goal throughout is to ensure that the trust cash books are always equal to the trust ledgers.
Required
Recent, accurate trust bank reconciliations.
A business Transfer Control Account, we recommend a generic account such as #99000. If separate control accounts are required for each trust account, #99001 can be used for bank 1, #99002 for bank 2 etc.
Procedure
All current transactions must be up to date.
Confirm most recent Bank Reconciliations. Unprocessed banking transactions, or outstanding transaction may present a problem. Please see elsewhere for details on the bank reconciliation procedure. If either the cash book is not up to date or there is no recent bank reconciliation, do not proceed beyond this point.
Management Snapshot prior. The purpose is to verify the integrity of the system at the start of the process. Check the trust assets and liabilities, make sure it does not report a problem. This document represents the state of the books at the start of the process. If anything is unclear, do not proceed beyond this point. Print this report.
Management SnapshotManagement Snapshot with Trust in balance
Processing > Trust to Business Transfer. This journal entry totals the current business and trust client ledger balances on a by-account basis, then typically debits trust and credits the relevant ledger. This will reduce the trust obligation, which will reduce the trust creditors. This report should be printed, but it can also be found in the diagnostic reports.
Processing Trust Transfer JournalsPrint the trust transfer list
Management Snapshot post. The purpose is to find a summary of the trust funds in excess of the trust creditors. These funds have become available due to the trust to business journal entry. This document is a summary, and a detailed report such as the Trial Balance may be required in some areas. Find the trust surplus on this report. Print this report.
Management Snapshot with Trust Surplus
Banking Transactions. Process this trust surplus amount with a trust payment and a business receipt. Take the funds out of the trust banking account with a Trust Payment. Process this transaction against the Transfer Control Account. Receive this payment in Business, against the same Transfer Control Account. These transaction should show a nil balance on the Transfer Control Account once we are done. Unbalanced control accounts indicate a problem.
Management Snapshot final. The purpose is to confirm that the books balance correctly after all transactions have been processed. Print this report.
Age Analysis. Inspect the Age Analysis for Accounts Receivable at this point to ensure that Management is fully aware of the extent of outstanding Receivable accounts.
Common Questions
Sometimes we make mistakes or the unexpected happens. What happens to the trust then?
How do I recover VAT on my transfer ? No. There is no VAT applicable to the trust to business transfer transactions. VAT is calculated on transactions as they occur. This means when a Fee is processed, Output VAT is calculated and processed in the system. Similarly when a payment on an expense is made, Input VAT is processed. The cash transfer from trust to business is only that, a cash transfer, and no additional VAT should be raised on that amount.
Must we wait for month end to do a transfer? No! Dynamic is fully integrated and immediately up to date. Post all the necessary transactions and do a transfer immediately. There is no reason to wait for month end. Transfers may be done daily.
I did not do a transfer at the end of last month. Can I force transfer on a specific date? Yes. Simply select the date on which you want to process this transaction and a ledger entry will be processed on that date. Do follow the remaining steps in order to avoid creating a double transfer.
The bank reconciliation is a few months behind, or inaccurate. May I proceed with the transfer ? No. The bank reconciliation is a required preceding step. Proceeding without an up to date cash book and a recent, accurate bank reconciliation undermines the entire process.
My system shows a Trust Deficit. What do I do now? The discussion above assumes the normal position where positive cash flow is from the Trust account to the Business account. It may happen, for reasons not explored here, that a Trust Deficit arises: this is a situation where the net Trust Cash Books are worth less than the Ledger requirements. In such a situation Dynamic will clearly indicate the Trust Deficit position and banking transactions must be processed to correct this state of affairs.
Process a Business Cheque and Trust Receipt against the standard Trust Transfer Control account.
Check the Management Snapshot for the Trust Position.
The Trust to Business feature balances the ledgers. Any remaining differences between the cash books and ledger balances will be reflected by the Management Snapshot.
Mobile time billing is a vital part of legal practice. The Hours keeper app offers mobile timesheet creation on all major mobile devices. Walking into a client’s office for consultation, or attending a taxation at court, nothing is easier than tapping the start and stop on the Hours Keeper app.
Windows 10 Updates change the way Windows works. Not only does the entire Operating System change from time to time, but the various components upgrade in between. Windows Defender was recently updated. This updated (March 2020) has changed the way Defender behaves.
We have previously written on why it is necessary to set folder exclusions and how to do so. That post can be found here.
The current procedure is hidden, but follows the same basic pattern.
NOTE: That accessing the Defender menu through the Control Panel does not work. The option for exclusion is not available there.
Start by finding the Defender shield icon in the icon tray
Scroll down to Virus & threat protection settings
Click Manage Settings
Scroll down to Exclusions
Click Add or remove exclusions
Click the + button to Add an exclusion, and select Folder
Browse to locate the folder to be excluded. For a standard installation this should be the local c:\Dynamic folder
Dynamic is designed to provide a compliant, integrated Business and Trust Accounting system for attorneys. But, simply distinguishing trust and business transactions is an easy task. That can even be done manually. The truth is that basic accounting is very simple indeed. But simplicity disappears immediately once custom demands are made of the accounting records. A manual system does not immediately and accurately yield a trial balance, cash book, or ledger report on a given day. Nor can a manual system effortlessly and error free provide multiple trust-to-business transfers during a month, a week or even the same day.
Of course, Dynamic can do all these things.
But there is more.
Dynamic can produce easy to read, custom management accounting reports combining business and trust transactions into a single net balance, combined with file activity. Making it easy for management to see at a glance the state of any file.
Not only are reports streamlined on a file level, but high level overview reports provide a birds eye view, with a drill down to the individual transaction.
Whether you want to look at the data form a high level, to spot trends, or investigate a specific department, file, ledger, or transaction, this is all possible.
But there is more.
Productivity Tools
Dynamic supports a wide range of tools designed to increase productivity.
Productivity tools are designed to make tedious, repetitive tasks fast, easy, and reliable. By automating number crunching the risk of error is reduced, or even completely eliminated. Productivity here means to get more done in the time available. If the same task could be performed manually, without rework or error, in the same time, we have achieved nothing. So our benchmarks are clearly defined: speed in execution, accuracy, with no repetition or rework, and as few errors as possible.
Fee Book: Import Hours Keeper Timesheet
Hours Keeper is a premier time tracking mobile app. And it’s compatible with Dynamic.
Effective time management, and eventually effective time billing is central to legal practice.
Keeping a timesheet is not enough, Timesheetsshould be
flexible
complement operations
easily integrate with the overall accounting system
Manual timesheets require paper, are often left on a desk in a private office and still require re-typing timesheet particulars to a billing sheet or system. The Hours keeper app makes it possible to keep accurate, up to the minute time billing sheets on a mobile device.
Dynamic makes it easy to import the Hours Keeper Timesheet directly into the Fee Book.
Hours Keeper is a market leader in mobile time keeping. Hours Keeper allows to record your daily working hours for each client, including your overtime and break time.
It current has a 3.5 out of 5 rating in the Apple App Store and 4.6 out of 5 on Google Play store for Android. Supporting both Apple and Android, makes it possible to capture accurate timesheet information on almost every smartphone. The app generates a CSV export file, which can be imported raw by Dynamic. This means without any fiddling, the timesheet can be uploaded to the Fee Book.
Speed – beats a manual timesheet any day!
100% accurate. No errors in interpretation or conversion of data from timesheet to billing!
No repetition. No rework. Once the data is captured in the app, it can be imported as is into the Fee Book. Of course, editing the CSV file is possible… But why would you want to do that?
Error free.
And, once the data has been imported to the Fee Book, it can immediately be edited, or billed to a client! Reducing the time delay between finalizing the timesheet and billing to seconds!
Timesheets may be uploaded at any time.
Search for “HoursKeeper” in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play store.
Fee Book: Import from CSV
spreadsheet general
CSV is a multi-purpose, basic text file format which can be opened by any spreadsheet application. Think of a CSV file as a basic, text based spreadsheet. All the data, with none of the tricky hidden columns or display options. What you see is what you get.
This allows the import of Fees into the Fee Book.
A common application is to circulate spreadsheet with fees for a specific matter through the office to be edited and updated by everyone who worked on the matter.
Once complete, the file may then be imported into the Fee Book. Simply select Save As… in the spreadsheet app and choose CSV as the format. Don’t worry about the technical stuff like delimiters and text separators, we have that covered.
A sample file is located in the HelpFile.
Why do we use the Fee Book? Again speed, accuracy and simplicity are the key words. The Dynamic Fee Book is flexible and easy to use, making it the ideal control point for fees originating from various sources.
Dynamic applies a strict interpretation of the ISO8601 date format. Dates are imported in YYYY-MM-DD format only. Other date formats will be rejected.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Core Accounting
Processing: Import from Fee Book
Fast, accurate and no repetition! That’s exactly what the Import from Fee Book does! Once a fee as has been captured into the Fee Book, it can easily be processed into the ledger. The design is intended to support the processing of multiple items simultaneous. No tedious re-typing or copy & paste involved. Processing directly from the Fee Book. And current VAT rates can be applied, while the original work done date will be remembered.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Processing: Import from CSV
CSV is a multi-purpose, basic text file format which can be opened by any spreadsheet application. Think of a CSV file as a basic, text based spreadsheet. All the data, with none of the tricky hidden columns or display options. What you see is what you get.
This allows the import ledger journal type transactions directly into the ledger. Suitable for Opening Balances.
A sample file is located in the HelpFile.
This feature uses the same CSV format as the Fee Book, but supports more transaction types, including Trust Journals.
Please see the Help File for more information.
UDT: User Defined Transactions
UDTs are lists of transactions defined by the user, to be used in dropdown selectors, such as the Fee Book, to quickly and accurately process transactions. The main application is in the Fee Book. Think of each UDT Plan as a menu of Fee Items available to select from.
UDTs can be managed from the Core module, using Config: Manage User Defined Transactions. The workflow is as follows:
Create a new UDT Plan. Each Plan has a name: John’s Corporate Fees
Add items to the Plan, eg Drafting Memorandum of understanding
Use the items from the Plan in the Fee Book
Import Items for a Plan from CSV. This CSV uses a simple format exactly like that displayed on screen:
Type, which must be BFA,
Narrative of up to 200 characters,
a Debit amount,
a Credit which must be 0,
Cascade value, set to A and
Order value of 1. Cascade and Order have not yet been implemented.
UDTs are defined in the Core module and activated by Refresh in the Front Desk.
Please see the Help File for more information.
Tasks: Reconcile Cash Book – Advanced
This amazing feature allows semi-automated processing of CSV transaction history from the bank. Transactions are automatically allocated based on user selection.
Each bank uses their own format. The basic seven column import format is
These files must be edited by the user before import.
The columns ACNO, VAT, VOUCHER, may be left blank, but must be inserted into the source file.
A handy little tool is the CSVConvert application. This can be used to modify the raw file received from the bank into a format more import friendly. CSVConvert is available from our Download page.
Dynamic applies a strict interpretation of the ISO8601 date format. To accommodate different date formats, either dd-mm-yyyy or YYYY-MM-DD (ISO8601), Dynamic allows a date format specification. Please see the Bank Account settings.
The ability to pre-set VAT selection on ledger accounts is not only a great time saver, but also prevents processing errors.
Direct processing from bank transaction history to cash book!
Accurate ledger allocation!
Pre-set VAT selection!
No fuss, easy and accurate bank reconciliation. Exactly what you expect.
The Trust Banking Account is subject to uncontrolled deposits by Third Parties. This simply means that persons who do not appreciate the integrity of the lawyers trust banking account may make deposits directly to that account beyond the scope of our control.
Before the advent of internet banking, trust cash was received at the reception counter, and an accounts clerk or bookkeeper’s assistant receipted the money to various ledger accounts and made up a bank deposit. We had total control of all funds deposited.
Internet banking has changed all of this.
Once our banking details have been published, there is no control over the amounts deposited into, or references used (or lack thereof) on our accounts.
This leads to a sharp rise in deposits into the trust banking account where the owner of the money so deposited cannot be identified.
Unallocated trust funds may in fact be the payment of an outstanding bill. Leaving it as an unknown trust deposit creates both an unnecessary administrative burden on the trust, and it means that payment cannot be matched to an outstanding bill.
A management solution
In order to provide for a simple management regime governing unknown trust deposits, it is suggested to use separate accounts for each year.
Name the account “2019 Unknown Trust Deposits“. With the purpose that all unknown trust deposits for the given year will be reflected against this account. Subsequently the age of these individual transactions and the reconciled balance may be easily verified. Start a new account for each new year.
Aggressive management of the trust banking account is essential.
Bank to Cash Book reconciliation should be conducted dynamically and not once a quarter. Weekly of at least monthly reconciliation provides the shortest window periods between actual transactions and the processing/reconciliation process.
Unknown Deposits are typically classified as unknown because we simply lack sufficient information to accurately identify the client and allocate the transaction accurately. Additional tools such as Invoice Trackers, Age Analyses and direct client contact should make identification of the deposits easier.
By aggressively managing trust deposits by using short time cycles and management tools, the number and value of unknown trust deposits may be sharply reduced, reducing the administrative burden and releasing cash into the system.
We have written before about the different reasons why Dynamic may get flagged as a false positive on virus scans. Few things can be as annoying as coming back to your work computer and finding that your shortcut has disappeared because an anti-virus application decided your software is not safe for you to use.
Dynamic has certain built-in features which can trigger anti-virus software diagnostics to make false positive matches. These include
Quick Update – Dynamic makes it easy for users to update their software over the internet. This is a great time-saving feature, and guarantees that the most recent update is only a click away, without relying on specialized IT support. However, anti-virus software designers tend to take a dim view of software with download capabilities. The zip file (it’s always a zip file) is described as a “payload” and because it originates on the internet, automatically defined as malicious. Well, it’s not.
Bundled file distribution – Dynamic applications act like self-extracting zip files, containing everything they need to go operational immediately. This means that when you run a Dynamic executable file in a folder, it will immediately create any missing files, such as the DLLs (dynamic link library’s) used to supply run-time functionality. This features allows smaller and faster updates, and only writes to the local folder. Much the same case as with the Quick Update feature, anti-virus software designers unfortunately tend to take a dim view of software with self-extracting capabilities. These files are extracted silently in the background. And only to the local folder.
Microsoft Windows Outlook integration – Dynamic provides Microsoft Outlook integration. Dynamic sends email through Outlook. The local user gets to use their own primary email account as the Dynamic sender account. Outgoing mail can be seen in the Outbox and Sent Items. Again, anti-virus software designers tend to take a dim view of software with Outlook integration capabilities. This is typically flagged as MachineLearning. 🙂
PDF document generation creates new content. Client Billing, such as invoices are generated at a speed of approximately one every 3 seconds. These documents are written to the %documents% folder. However, certain anti-virus software considers this malicious activity and blocks the creation of the PDF.
AVAST Anti-virus interferes with file creation
Dynamic installs into a single folder. Typically c:\Dynamic\mylawfirm and installs it’s required files and folders here. Specifically no registry keys are written or read.
It should be noted that a common threat detection mechanism is to scan for files which did not originate on the local computer. This is done by scanning the “data stream” of each file. As Dynamic software is internet delivered, it is a tell tale sign that the files are indeed foreign. But not malicious.
Once operational, Dynamic creates folders for each matter in the Documents user folder. Again no registry keys are written or read.
Windows Defender False Positive
Note that this screen grab shows the same target, identified by Windows Defender as three different threats.
Add an exclusion to Windows Security
Set Windows Defender Exclusions
Since May 2019 we noticed increased instances of false positive detection by Windows Defender. This coincides with Windows 10 Updates.
Other anti virus applications that are known react very harshly to our products include Kaspersky, Norton, Avira and Avast. Please set exceptions. Do not Quarantine or Delete, just Allow Always.
We have taken remedial action to safeguard the relevant modules. This seems to make Windows Defender happy and has reduced the number of false positive hits. Users are encouraged to use the Quick Update feature and use at least version 2.0.1.76.
Our software is scanned by Eset’s Nod32 and Malwarebytes prior to release.
Typical applications of this function include the following
Financial Year End entries are easily generated from Income and Expense reports and can conveniently update all affected accounts through a single import. Use Journal type “BJA”
Bad Debt reversals can easily be managed with type “BDX”. Debit the Bad Debt account and credit the relevant client account.
Off line users can maintain spreadsheets with information, such as Fees which can then be conveniently imported into the system. For Fees use type “BFA”
Recoverable Disbursements may be captured manually or loaded from monitoring software, such as telephone or copier solutions. Use Journal type “BJA” or Petty Cash “BPC”
The various transaction types are all ledger based and it is not possible to update a Cash Book using this import.
The Processing: Import from CSV menu item allows the direct processing of transactions from a pre-formatted, prepared CSV file.
The file must follow a layout similar to this: BookType, Matter1, Business2, Description1, Description2, Date, Amount, VAT, Voucher
CSV template in Excel
BookType Users familiar with import of batch transactions in any suite of legal software should be comfortable with this type of file and layout.
Contains a valid transaction type. Only Ledger type transactions are support. Bank transactions such as receipts and cheques cannot be processed here. Valid options are
BJA – Business Journals
BFA – Business Fees
BFX – Business Fee Reversals
BDX – Business Credit Notes
BPC – Business Petty Cash
BBF – Business Balance Brought Forward
TJA – Trust journals
Matter1
An existing ledger account number. The account to be debited.
Business2
An existing ledger account number. The account to be credited.
Description1
Transaction narrative for the account to be debited.
Description2
Transaction narrative for the account to be credited.
Date
A valid date in yyyy-mm-dd format.
Amount
A valid transaction amount. 0.00 transactions are not processed.
VAT
Contains a valid VAT type.
Valid options are
N*0 – No VAT
I*10.00 – Input VAT at 10%
O*17.5 – Output VAT at 17.5%
Voucher
Optional. If blank will be replaced with the word “Import”
Business Balance Brought Forward BBF types are suitable for bringing forward balances from third party accounting records.
Dynamic is an integrated Trust and Business accounting system, and all standard transaction processing functions are possible in the Core module. To facilitate workflow and allow non-accounting staff to capture transaction details directly onto the system, Dynamic’s Front Desk provides a handy little processing screen for Agents’ Journals.
Law firms represent clients and act as an agent on behalf of the principle. Often third parties are contracted to provide specific professional services which the law firm does not provide directly, such as using Tracing Agents or Private Investigators to find missing persons, or Expert Witnesses to provide research or courtroom evidence. There are many possibilities.
Front Desk, under Processing: Agents Journals.
Agents Journals processing screen
Notes
For ease of use the screen is color coded.
Start by Selecting the relevant Agents List from the first dropdown. (Top left)
Then Select the Agent you wish to use from that list.
Notice that the Contra account box will show the the Agents’ account number and the Rearview will immediately update to show recent transactions. Check the entries to prevent duplicates.
Select the client account numberyou wish to use. Remember the General Search is always available here.
Notice that the Debit account box will show the client account number and the Rearviewwill immediately update to show recent transactions. Check the entries to prevent duplicates.
Document Properties should be completed based on the document received back from the agent.
The Agent’s Reference should appear on the Agent’s report. This makes matching source documents to transaction entries easy. Document Type refers to the type of document provided by the Agent, such as a Report, or an Invoice. Status of the document implies the result contained in the Agent’s report.
The document Date refers to the date the document was issued by the Agent. This is especially important when dealing with Court dates. The Processing Date should be the date on which we process this transactions, normally Today.
The Amount is the total amount owing the Agent.
If we are entitled to an allowance, enter the applicable percentage, and Dynamic will calculate the value and process same as a Fee.
Click Accept the process.
Remember to Refresh Bookset & Folders to get the latest lists!
Client’s see WINMAIL.DAT attachments in Thunderbird but in Outlook they open fine
Dynamic sends invoices and statements to clients’ by email. This is a great time saving feature but sometimes problems occur.
One such problem is the display of the attached PDF in Thunderbird.
What is this?
This not a Dynamic issue. The issue is experienced by Thunderbird users who received PDF invoices sent by Dynamic.
The problem is with Thunderbird.
Any PDF sent as an attachment will be treated in this way by Thunderbird.
Who gets this?
The problem described here is typical for Thunderbird users and the same email, with attachment, forwarded to an Outlook user will not report the same problem.
Why is this important?
Never open untrusted attachments.
Clients may complain that they do no receive invoices sent to them by email.
The attachment is normally named invoice_123456789.pdf – and in standard PDF format.
Thunderbird users may report that they do not see a PDF attachment. The attachment may appear as a winmail.dat attachment.
Solution
The solution lies with Thunderbird. Please install the LookOut plugin for Thunderbird.
Client’s can’t open “noname” attachments in Gmail but in Outlook they open fine
Dynamic integrates with Microsoft Outlook. Dynamic sends invoices and statements to clients’ by email. This is a great time saving feature but sometimes problems occur.
One such problem is the display of the attached PDF in Gmail.
What is this?
This not a Dynamic issue. The issue is experienced by Gmail users who received PDF invoices sent by Dynamic.
The problem is with Gmail.
Any PDF sent as an attachment will be treated in this way by Gmail.
Who gets this?
The problem described here is typical for Gmail users and the same email, with attachment, forwarded to an Outlook user will not report the same problem.
Why is this important?
Never open untrusted attachments.
Clients may complain that they do no receive invoices sent to them by email.
The attachment is normally named invoice_123456789.pdf – and in standard PDF format.
Gmail users may report that they do not see a PDF attachment. The attachment may appear as a noname attachment. Some users may see a Winmail.dat attachment, similar to the problem experienced by Thunderbird users.
The problem presents itself like this:
Gmail noname attachment
Solution
Click the download button. The noname attachment will be downloaded to the local Download folder. Right click and select Open with… Reader (or your preferred PDF Reader). The correct attachment will display.
Never open untrusted attachments.
Additional information for this issue:
This link indicates that the problem is at least seven years old:
We are proud to confirm that several minor software niggles have recently been resolved.
#201708001 – The Client Trust Investment List report displayed amounts wrong in certain circumstances. This was a display issued and does not affect the underlying data. Information was correct on all other reports. Implications: This report may display a different balance to other similar reports. Status: Resolved. Please obtain an update.
#201708002 – The Find in Transactions search option ignored certain data items due to lower case input. Implications: Searches on the transactions entered would not return a result. Status: Resolved. Searches are now accurate regardless of the text case.
#201708003 – Processing Cash Book transactions would in certain circumstances post a nil transaction to the cash book. This created a nil entry in the cash book. Implications: Not an error, but certainly not what we want. Status: Resolved.
Please report issues immediately? Please remember that an issue may not be an error. Issues may be resolved in a variety of manners, depending on the nature and implication of the issue.
Recovering from a data-loss disaster is easy. Make sure you have a working, off-site backup and follow the steps below.
The WannaCry disaster has re-emphasized the importance of off-site backups.
Don’t despair. Every time you work in DynamicLTA, it automatically makes a backup of the data file to an internal backup folder.
In the example above, the old installation runs from the “fastcar” folder. In normal conditions the “fastcar/database” folder is all you need to recover.
Simply perform a new DynamicLTA installation as discussed elsewhere.
Once the nex installation is complete, copy the content of the old “fastcar/database” folder from your backup into the new “manhatten/database” folder. The system should be operational immediately.
Do not rely on the internal backup mechanisms of DynamicLTA to survive a disaster. It is designed as an internal safety feature. When your entire computer is compromised by malicious activity such as a ransomware attack, you need a clear, accurate backup procedure.
Make sure you have backups in place before you need them.
Antivirus and anti-malware software are essentials to protect our computers against malicious software attacks.
Firewalls protect us from unauthorized internet based access.
DynamicLTA constists of two portions. The actual software and the database.
The database is an on-disk file that just houses the data. The software is the front end that the user sees. The software continuously reads and writes to the database. It is this series of read-and-write processes which the anti-virus software detects and flags as an suspicious and typical of virus or malicious software.
False Positive
This result where good software is incorrectly identified as bad, is called a False Positive. The test result is positive, that means it has identified a problem, but that test result is false. We want to keep this good software and do not agree that the match is in fact positive. That is why this match is called a false positive.
If it is any relief, other accounting systems that use this type of data read, modify and write cycle are subject to the same scrutiny by anti-virus products.
Usually, the solution is NOT to quarantine, isolate, delete or remove the files in question.
The problem can be neutralized by setting the scanner to exclude the software folder.
The only reliable solution is to set an Exclusion on the Dynamic folder.
Each anti-virus has its own specific mechanism for Excluding files and folders from further scrutiny. Select the Exclusion folder for Dynamic and you should be good to go.
In this example a “c:\dynamic” folder hosts the DynamicLTA installation inside the “fastcar” subfolder. By excluding the dynamci folder, all sub-folders, where the dLTA.EXE application and data is located, are excluded.
My currency symbol is different. Why does it display $ for dollars, when I do not use dollars?
DynamicLTA uses the local computer’s Regional Settings to format and display local currency. If your computer is set up for USA, then the leading $ dollar symbol will be used to display your currency.
This is a common issue and is easily fixed.
The solution is to update local Windows Regional Settings to reflect the correct, local currency.
Windows Regional Settings
Start by searching on your computer for Regional Settings.
If you need more assistance, try and internet search for the term “Regional Settings”
Have I posted this before? What was the amount? To which account did I post this transaction? In any bookkeeping environment, one may lose track of transactions posted.
Fortunately, DynamicLTA has a specialized search function to help find those transactions.
In this example a payment was made to JetSpeed Couriers. Now, we need to find this transaction. We need to identify the account against which it was posted.
The Ledger for the account reflects a 27.50 entry for “BCh JetSpeed Couriers“. We need to identify the original account.
Find a transaction
This is not a search on a file name, but rather the contents of a transaction. The menu item FIND A TRANSACTION is located in the Processing menu.
Find a transaction
Find a transaction on amount or narrative
The key is the overview in which to search. Setting the start date too close to the end date will make the search space very small.
Note that
the search word is not case sensitive
combined searches on eitherword or amount or both are possible
This search shows that a transaction where the narrative “jet” was used, it appears on the account #00000 on 2 July for the amount of 27.50. This is the transaction we were searching for.
search
Note there is a separate search for Files. If trying to locate a specific ledger account, use the standard search with the option. For locating an amount, or a narrative of a transaction, use the advanced search option.
Sometimes, Excel will not recognize a CSV file for what it is. Instead of breaking the delimited fields up into separate cells, it will consider each line as a line of text and list the entire line in a single cell.
The problem is typically caused by a mismatch between Windows and Excel Regional Settings.
To fix this permanently, follow these steps:
Windows 8+
Windows Regional Settings
List “,”
Decimal “.”
CSV used to be an abbreviation for Comma Separated Value files, a simple text file format used to import and export data between databases.
At the time of writing this, Microsoft had started using the name Character Separated Value files. This system allows both traditional Comma Separated Value and Character Separated Value files.
Example of traditional CSV (comma): "text 1","text 2","text 3" using a comma: , Example of Microsoft CSV (character): "text 1"|"text 2"|"text 3" using a pipe: |
The CSV export format used by Dynamic has been tested a wide range of systems and should work by default.
Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice Calc should recognize the data format. It may be necessary to use a Paste Special option, to select the delimiter and separator characters.
Note, sometimes numbers will appear as text and it will not be possible to do calculations. To fix this, follow these steps:
Edit > Find & Replace…
[More Options]
tick Regular Expressions
Search: .+ (a dot and a plus)
Replace: & (the ampersand character)
[Replace All]
This is a very clever trick leveraging the power of Regular Expressions built in to spreadsheet software.
Dynamic CSV reports export and will automatically open in Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice Calc. This has been tested on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.
Law firms, like other businesses, often use card purchases for a variety of business expenses. These cards are often linked to the primary business banking account. Transactions are debited to the card as they occur, and settled once a month with a bank fund transfer to the card.
Assume a Credit Card used for Business purposes.
The steps below show how this should be processed on DynamicLTA.
Required
We will require the following:
Open an Current Liability account named “Card Purchases” for the card. Do not use a cash book for the card. This Current Liability account is a clearing account and should not carry an opening balance. Eg account number #98001
The Expense, or Asset account to which the purchase will be allocated. Expense accounts typically start with #91xxx, #92xxx or #93xxx numbers. Assets start with #95xxx or #96xxx accounts numbers.
In this example we will use account number #98001 as our Card Purchases account.
Note that card related purchases only affect the business.
Card Purchases
When a card purchase is made, the purchase will be supported by a cashier’s slip, and will subsequently reflect on the card statement. In our example we need to purchase a new kettle for the office. In this example the kettle is treated as an expense.
Process
Process the following transaction:
Business Journal, debit the “Office Equipment” account, with the amount on the slip, and credit the “Card Purchases” account. In our example the Office Equipment account is #95000.
This reflects the expense incurred for purchasing office equipment, and a credit for the card purchase – we need to settle the short term credit provided by the card at month end.
Office Equipment and Card Purchases
Post Business Journal
At the end of the month, when the settlement transaction takes place, funds will move out of the Business Bank Account, to settle the balance of the card account. The card account is not a cash book in our system, we only use the Current Liability account named “Card Purchases”.
Process the following transaction:
Business Cheque against the “Card Purchases” account. This debit the ledger and update the Business Cash Book.
After this payment, the “Card Purchases” account should be nil and the Business Cash Book reflect the outstanding settlement on the bank reconciliation.
Card Purchase Bank Settlement
This is a simplified example. Typically the bank settlement will be for a larger amount, and include bank charges. Process this to the normal expense accounts.
It is not necessary to process these transactions manually. Please note that the bank account statement can be imported using Import from CSV. This is not a cash book import. Please see the Import from CSV section in the Help File.
Proceed with the bank reconciliation as usual.
The “Card Purchases” account is a clearing account. It only serves as a place holder until such time as the card is settled.
How to Open a new client file on Dynamic follows a simple sequence.
The Menu item is located in File Index, under Open or Amend Client Ledger Accounts.
Once opened, files are immediately visible throughout the system.
For any new system, the first number will appear as #00000.
To activate the Take on Screen, press Tab or Enter, and watch the progress bar run as the screen is populated.
The image below shows the main features of the Take On Process.
Matter Take On
Note that only the account number input and Save button controls are available. Save will only be available after selecting an account number.
The following sequence applies
If you know the number of the account you want to use, type this into the ACNO box, press Tab or Enter. 1 above.
Complete all the details. Click the Save button. 2 above.
If you want to open a new matter for an existing client, start with an existing account number. Tab or Enter, wait for the screen to populate and then click the Save button. At this point a popup will appear “Do you want to open a new file?” If you click the No button, you may continue with an existing file. If you click Yes, the system will automatically supply the first available number. 3 above.
Previous file information is cleared away.
Where SetOff is anticipated, use a main control account for the client, and on each matter insert the main control account number into the Link No box. 4 above.
Additional notes
File Type to facilitate Compliance Reporting
The Reference box is used for the Client’s Reference. This can be a name or a number provided by the client.
The Legacy # box refers to a previous number used by this firm for the same matter.
The Department dropdown is used to distinguish different departments within the firm, often headed by lawyers. This selector can be used for internal administrative purposes.
The File Type dropdown is used to distinguish the nature of the professional mandates on different files. This selector can be used for Compliance Reporting categorization.
All new files start off with Status marked as “1 Active“
The General Search icon is always available to search for existing files. The Advanced Search option includes Invoice numbers.
The account number input 1 above and the Save button 2 above control all input.
Ever wondered how to customize your Dynamic Profile Pic?
If you do not have a Gravatar account, don’t worry, Dynamic will automatically create a pixel image from Gravatar, linked to your unique login. Just make sure you use the same login for Gravatar and Dynamic. Please use a different password. 🙂
Hours Keeper is a premier time tracking mobile app. And it’s compatible with Dynamic.
Speed – beats a manual timesheet any day!
Please see the Help File for more information.
General Search is always available here.
General Search icon is always available to search for existing files. The Advanced Search option includes Invoice numbers.
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