Case Study - Accounting services with the use of the Comarch ERP XL system

Podlaska Wytwórnia Wódek Polmos S.A. is a Polish producer of alcoholic beverages that has its own distillery for the production of spirit and specializes in the production of pure vodka, flavored vodka, liqueurs and crème liqueurs.

When choosing its financial and accounting system, the company followed the guidelines within the scope of areas such as inventories, management of production and goods deliveries, materials and raw materials, optimization of production, supply and sales planning, personnel management, accounting and finances of the company, as well as the broadly-defined customer relationship management (CRM). The significant aspect, which influenced the decision on choosing the Comarch ERP XL accounting software, was the possibility of automation of repetitive tasks that would not only reduce the work time but also minimize the risk of human error.

CONFIGURATION OF THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM AND CREATION OF THE ACCOUNT PLAN

Comprehensive financial and accounting services for the company, consistent with the Polish Accounting Act and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), required our experts to properly configure the system and adjust it on an ongoing basis to the changing legal regulations.

Initial works involved creation of a clear, multi-level account plan in the tree structure, flexible in terms of adjusting it to own needs. The design of the account plan includes both accounts of fours and fives, which allows the customer to prepare a profit and loss account in the multi-step variant when needed. Currently, the system also allows for searching for accounts by various criteria e.g., date of creation, part of the name, attribute, symbol, account level, etc.

In order to improve the valuation of foreign currency accounts in the system, we not only set the balance sheet valuation at the end of the period, but also for the distribution of currency on cash funds. The contra-entry of the valuation is automatically generated under the date of the following month. The Comarch system automatically calculates the exchange rate differences upon settlement and downloads the current exchange rates of currencies from the website of the National Bank of Poland, which is particularly important in the booking of invoices in foreign currencies.

Thanks to the implemented changes, the system ensures correctness of booking thanks to the used control mechanisms of the attribution (the customer receives information when the collective assignment does not balance). There is also a possibility of initial recognition of accounting records into the so-called buffer, where they can be verified and freely modified. At the same time, it is possible to easily find the source documents. It greatly minimizes the risk of errors and facilitates detecting any possible irregularities.

LESS BURDEN ON THE ACCOUNTING PERSONNEL OF THE CUSTOMER – AUTOMATION

When using the system selected by our customer, our accounting team made a series of improvements that greatly enhanced the working comfort both for our experts and the customer.

The main purpose involved automation of repetitive processes and tasks connected with periodic bookings. Above all, the change concerned all monthly, quarterly and annual bookings while the automatic periodic bookings greatly streamlined the work of the customer’s accounting department. The said enhancements are currently used usually at the end of the month, during the settlement of costs and VAT, as well as for reclassification of revenues and costs to the financial result.

Automation within the scope of production settlement involved creating patterns that would download correct data from the indicated accounts, recalculate them according to specific formulas and provide hints about assignments. So, the customer can be certain as to the correctness of settlement of costs and any deviations. What is more, the “cost circle” report indicates the incorrectly booked transactions and in order to minimize the risk of errors, we also added the so-called indicator that verifies the circle at the end of the month.

In order to increase the effectiveness of booking, we also allowed preparation of booking templates which mainly provide automation of repetitive actions. “Smart” booking patterns recognize the existing properties of booked documents and automatically assign them to the log (buffer), based on the date from the documents registered in the auxiliary records.

We implemented a similar improvement for the booking of sales invoices. The said action is currently carried out according to the configured accounting patterns. Now, the invoices can be properly sorted and the system provides an additional possibility to safely store the sales invoices in an electronic form so that the required documents can be quickly found.

Also when it comes to inventory documents, we created a separate accounting pattern for each type of document, which results in significant time savings and guarantees proper recognition of transactions in the books.

EASY ACCESS TO REPORTS, ANALYSES AND REVIEWS

Responding to the customer’s needs in the scope of reporting, apart from the standard balance sheet and profit and loss account, we made it possible to conduct a precise store analysis and sales performance analysis by type of the customer’s activity. The creation and use of reports are simple and do not require advanced IT knowledge from the company’s employees. One of the particular advantages in the process of creation of reports is the possibility to define individual items not only by balances but also turnovers or specific lists.

Due to the specific nature of the customer’s operations, our teams had to know the regulations regarding excise tax. As part of the support, we participated in preparation of reports for the purposes of tax reporting such as e.g., “Records on tax warehouses”. For the purposes of daily calculations of excise tax advances, we prepared jointly with the customer a report that selects and then sums up the inventory documents that serve as the basis for the calculation of the tax.

An easier cost analysis became possible thanks to definable analytical aspects. Documents issued in Comarch ERP XL can be described (after prior confirmation) with any categories specified by the customer (e.g. type of cost, place of generation, department, purpose, contractor, location). The data acquired in this way is used for costs analyses in different perspectives.

Comarch ERP XL also allows for creating groups for fixed assets by location, which facilitates the preparation of reports by the customer. The accounting team also can generate reports solely for those fixed assets the acquisition costs of which were covered from EU subsidies. Such a functionality is possible thanks to the use of a proper attribute.

With the available creators, generation of financial statements also became easier and can be conducted automatically based on the available templates.

PAYMENTS AND SETTLEMENTS WITH CONTRACTORS

The current configuration enables handling of many cash registers and bank registers, both in Polish and foreign currency. The Comarch ERP XL ensures integration with electronic banking so the program allows the accounting team to create transfer bundles directly from the system, based on correctly booked purchase invoices. The system also enables verification of the bank account of the contractor on the so-called white list already at the stage of entering the account in the contractor’s sheet.

Thanks to the used software, it is also possible to pair payments and documents, allowing for a partial settlement of receivables or liabilities, including issuing a relevant compensation. As a result, the customer can obtain reliable reports on receivables and liabilities for any date in the financial year.

SETTLEMENTS, VAT DECLARATIONS, ADDITIONAL FEATURES

As part of the cooperation, entries were created to allow the management of VAT registers and define the tax liability in accordance with the applicable regulations in a manner allowing for preparation of VAT declarations. The register is created automatically based on trade documents entered into the system and, additionally, it is possible to enter VAT invoices in a simplified manner – directly to the VAT registers.

Thanks to the proper configuration of the system made by our experts, the customer can send declarations on VAT and Polish Standard Tax Files for Audit to the tax office by electronic means, according to the current instructions.

Booking of payrolls, which in the case of the said customer are broken down on the accounts in a very detailed manner (due to the production-based nature of operations), was fully automated.

Upon the customer’s request, we also issue notices for contractors. Comarch ERP XL can send and print such notices directly from the system which is much faster than in the case of MS Excel.

COOPERATION BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION

Bearing in mind the fact that many companies utilize financial and accounting software adjusted to the needs of a particular industry or nature of operations, experts from the MDDP Outsourcing accounting firm can provide services with the use of the indicated software. As presented in the example described above, such support provided by the teams in Katowice and Warsaw can greatly improve the effectiveness of accounting processes on the customer’s side and delegate some of the tasks for a particular area to our specialists.

If necessary, we can also recommend accounting software that will be the best for your business needs.

Comarch ERP XL used by the experts of MDDP Outsourcing ensures the highest quality of services. A system that is adjusted to the needs of a particular industry or nature of business can greatly increase the effectiveness of accounting processes on the customer’s side as well as delegate some tasks from a particular area to our specialists who provide services with the use of the indicated software. Such support of the teams based in Katowice and Warsaw can improve the efficiency of accounting processes of an enterprise.

Upon your request, we can recommend the best accounting software that will suit your financial needs in the best possible way.