For customers in different regions, the terminology around trust accounts may vary. We'll be using the term Trust Account in this instance. If you come across a term that's unfamiliar, please consult our Glossary of Regional Terminology for more information.
These steps should be performed on the old trust account prior to the end of the final month of processing:
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- Send advance notification to your tenants alerting them to the change so they can adjust payment details at the right time.
- Ensure this is done prior to issuing invoices for the following month.
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- Clear as many tasks as possible to reduce the amount of old transactions becoming outstanding on the new bank account.
- Aim to have no outstanding tasks.
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- Ensure all banking is complete.
- Reverse any deposits which have been processed in error.
- There should be no outstanding unpresented deposits.
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- Cancel aged cheques at the bank, then cancel in the software to return funds to the appropriate ledgers.
- There should be no outstanding unpresented payments.
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Process End of month on the old account:
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- Run the end of month disbursement as normal.
- Upload payment files and complete all funds transfers at the bank.
- Avoid issuing any new cheques.
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- If possible, import the transactions for the final disbursement and match so that there are no unpresented payments left on the old account.
- This will only be possible if all funds have been disbursed at the bank after uploading the payment files.
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- Perform the close of period as normal.
- Download all reports and files for your auditor as normal.
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- Transfer the total ledgers balance to the new bank account.
- Note that the ledgers balance is not the same as the account balance if there are unpresented transactions.
- Do NOT import this transaction on a bank statement for the new trust.
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- If any payments remain unpresented, use a manual bank statement to match them to.
- This step can be skipped if the Unpresented Payments have been reconciled in the Final Reconciliation step.
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Update the Trust Account/Company Settings:
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- Update the company contact information to reflect any changes in name or general account.
- Go to the Contacts tab and search for the company contact name to do this.
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- Update the company information to reflect any changes in name, upload a new logo if required, and update the terms and payment advice in the Invoicing section.
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- Edit the name and account details for the trust account under the Bank Chart of Account.
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- Edit the account name
- Update APCA number
- Adjust EFT and BPAY file types
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- Ensure all invoice templates contain the new bank account details.
** This step may be done ahead of time to ensure the new account details are shown on invoices that should be paid to the new account.
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- Edit the account numbers.
** This step could be done ahead of time according to the processing and payout schedule for your location (Australia 2 days, New Zealand 4 days)
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- Re-issue overdue invoices with new payment details.
- This can be done using the Bulk Email feature in the Income & Expenses tab.
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Transactions going forward:
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Do not import the transaction for the balance transfer from the old bank account.
This can be done by modifying the file prior to import, or by entering that day’s transactions on a manual bank statement instead of importing.
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Transfer any deposits received in the old account after the final reconciliation to the new account. This will be easier to receipt if each deposit is transferred individually.
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Only receipt funds that are received in the new bank account.
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