Add reservations and obligations

You can record reservations and obligations within a budget. A reservation is subtracted from the available budget when determining the budget amount that is still available, while an obligation is taken from the reservation.

The sequence shown below is not mandatory. You can also record an obligation directly (without first making a reservation).

You can import reservations and obligations via Financial / Management / Import assets and contract / Reservation and Financial / Management / Import assets and contract / Obligation.

Example:

4300 Hardware maintenance: annual budget € 120,000. This budget is evenly distributed over the periods, i.e. € 10,000 per period. For period 10, € 80,000 has been reserved for maintaining the servers. For the rest of the year, therefore €40,000 remains for hardware maintenance (= available to spend).

To add a reservation:

1. Go to: Financial / Ledger / Budget.
2. Select the budget line of the ledger account.
3. Click on the action: Reservation.

   You can also add a reservation via the Financial / Contract management / Reservation menu. Click on: New.

4. Complete the general ledger account, the financial year and the period of the reservation.
5. Enter a reference that, when recording an obligation, you can use to write off this obligation from the reservation.
6. Enter the creditor, the amount and/or the number for the reservation.
7. Enter the allocation axis to which the reservation applies. The field has the name of the axis.
8. Click on: Finish.

To add an obligation:

1. Go to:
   • Financial / Ledger / Budget
   • Financial / Contract management / Obligation
2. Select the budget line of the ledger account.
3. Click on the action: Obligation.

   You can also add an obligation if you go to the Obligation tab in the budget properties. Click on: New.

4. Enter the ledger account, the financial year and the period for the obligation.
5. Select the reservation against which you want to write off the obligation. The Description, Reference, Year, Period number, Creditor fields and the allocation axis/axes are automatically completed by Profit.
6. Enter a reference with which you can write off the obligation when you enter the invoice.
7. Enter the creditor, the amount and/or the quantity for the obligation.
8. Enter the allocation axis to which the obligation applies if you are allocating. The field has the name of the axis.
9. Click on: Finish.

   If the amount of the obligation is less than the reservation, Profit asks if you want to write off the whole reservation.

Write off a purchase invoice from a reservation or obligation

During the entry of purchase invoices using the financial entry program, you can write off the amount entered on the ledger account (excluding VAT) against an obligation or reservation. While entering the invoice, you retrieve the reservation or obligation in question and record it using the reference. This is stored as the obligation number in the financial entry. If the amount of the purchase entry is less than the obligation or reservation, Profit asks if you want to write off the whole obligation or reservation.

Note:

In order to be able to record the obligation number, you need to add the Obligation number field to your purchase journal layout.

To write off an obligation from within a purchase invoice:

1. Go to: Financial / Enter / Journal.
2. Check Financial year and Period. These are the financial year and the period in which you post the entry.
3. Select the correct purchase journal.
4. Click on: Finish.
5. In the Search help field, enter (part of) the search name of the creditor or select the creditor in Account.
6. Enter the original invoice number of the purchase invoice in Factnr. Crediteur (also called Voucher number).

   In the Invoice number column, Profit automatically suggests your internal invoice number.

7. Enter the total invoice amount in Amount credit.
8. Press: Enter or Tab.
9. Profit asks whether you want to write off the obligation if an obligation is present for the creditor.
10. Click on: Yes.

    The Write off obligations from purchase journal entry entry window opens. This window shows the obligation(s) that is/are present for the creditor.

11. Select the check boxes for the obligation(s) you want to write off and click Finish.
12. While making the entry, a message may appear (if Invoice amount is greater than the balance of the obligation), asking you whether you want to write off the obligation completely. If you agree, then the obligation disappears, otherwise the balance of the obligation remains.
13. Profit adds the cost line.
14. If the creditor has a fixed contra account then Profit enters this in the entry line. Otherwise, you select the contra account yourself.
15. The net invoice amount appears automatically in the entry line. The VAT code for the contra account is filled.
16. Press: Enter. You enter the entire amount on the contra account.
17. Profit adds an extra entry line for the VAT amount.
18. Check the data.
19. Click on: Finish.

To check the obligation write off:

1. Go to: Financial / Ledger / Budget
2. If you now look at the budgets, you see that the obligation has disappeared. The amount is now 0.00.
3. Open the properties of the budget line for the general ledger account.
4. Go to the tab: Obligation.
5. The Completed check box is selected.

To complete an obligation manually:

You can write off an obligation 'manually' using the entry layout for maintaining obligations. In that case you enter the written-off amount manually. Manually writing off a reservation or obligation should only be used to write off any remainder amounts against an obligation or if the obligation is not getting realised.

1. Go to: Financial / Ledger / Budget.
2. Open the properties of the budget line for the general ledger account.
3. Go to the tab: Obligation.
4. Enter the Amount written off.

   Note: 

   You can add the Amount written off field to the Obligation (Profit) entry layout. Click here for an explanation of adjusting an entry layout.

5. Click on: Finish.