Fright-free Accounting FAQs

Oct 23
Welcome to part 2 of our Halloween Accounting series! In this post, we'll address your most spine-chilling questions and share clever tricks to help you conquer your accounting fears!

In our FAQs, we're going to review:

  • How to check if all your items have GL Accounts attached to them
  • The difference between a refund, a void, and a payment reversal
  • Why your reports might not be matching
  • Why you might not see an order in Fusion
  • The difference between money in account and credit on account

Are there any checks I can do to see if all my items have GL Accounts attached to them?

Yes! Fusion comes with Default GL Accounts, so your revenue is always accounted for somewhere. However, to avoid a frightful accounting nightmare, it's best practice to assign a GL Account to every item in Fusion, ensuring your revenue is recorded in the right place.
Feeling a bit haunted by this task? Lucky for you, we have a ghost-busting way to check this out. Simply navigate to System Preferences > General Settings > System Settings. At the bottom of that page, you’ll find a “Check System Health” button. Click it, and you’ll see all items using the default revenue account, tax items using the default liability account, and payment methods using the default asset account. You can even print preview this and then use that as a reference to edit the ones that need a little cleanup! 
 
Please note Add Money and Payout Money will always appear in the Products section, and there is no way to include GL Accounts for those.

What is the difference between a refund, a void, and a payment reversal?

At first glance, these things might look the same, but they function quite differently in Fusion! Have you ever wondered when you should be using each option? Read on to learn more!

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Refunds

Imagine a customer purchases a costume they no longer like...they want to return it...AND they want their money back. That's where refunds come into play!
 
When you refund, there will be a new transaction that debits the revenue account and credits the asset account.
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Voids

Voids are essentially saying “we want to pretend this didn’t happen.” It’s like going ghost! These should be used when you want to fully remove the history in Fusion, such as when an order was done in error. These are rare and are usually reserved for Admin permissions only.
 
When you void something in Fusion, it fully removes the record from Chart of Accounts. You can still see the transaction’s history, and the voided label for it, in the Financials tab within a Member Record. Voiding cannot be undone.
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Payment Reversals

You drop candy to an eager trick-or-treater, but it accidentally falls to the ground. Oh no! You still owe them that candy.
 
A payment reversal works similarly by returning the invoice to an owing status. A common situation where you might use this is when a customer's check bounces. You already marked the invoice as paid by check, but you never actually received the money since it bounced! You can go to that invoice and select Payment Reversal to put the invoice back to owing.
 
When you select Payment Reversal, the asset account is credited and the Credit on Account (or Accounts Receivable) asset account is debited, ensuring everything is balanced in your sweet haul.

Why are my reports not matching?

When you invoice a customer, Credit on Account gets debited on the day of the invoice. They might not pay off that invoice until a later date. 
 
In most Accounting Reports, you'll see the Credit on Account debit amount on the invoice date. The Credit on Account debit amount would balance the Revenue Account's credit amount, as shown below. 
When the payment happens, which could be on a different day, you will see a credit on the Credit on Account asset account and a debit to the payment method's asset account (in the example below, that would be cash). This will zero out the asset side, ensuring balance is maintained. Revenue will not be recorded again on the payment date.
On some Sales Reports, the amount might not appear until the invoice is paid. This could lead to your Accounting Reports reflecting the balance on the invoice date, but the Sales Reports not including it until it's paid.

I see a history of payment through my Payment Processor, but that order is not showing in Fusion. How can I find it?

Remember to check the Pending Payments Log, a place where unfinished transactions linger. You can view the Pending Payments log my navigating to System Preferences > Accounting > Pending Payments Log.
 
Wondering why an order might be trapped in the Pending Payments Log? This will happen if Fusion doesn't receive a response from the Payment Processor within 20 minutes of the order's creation. This eerie occurrence might happen due to a variety of frightful factors, including a flickering internet connection or a member pressing the back button or exiting the page before the transaction has completed.
If you see an item in the Pending Payments Log, you should confirm your Payment Processor has received the money for this order. If they have received the money, you can:
 
  1. Click on the hyperlinked Order Number.
  2. Click Complete Sale. This will add the purchase (Membership, Program Registration, Pass, etc.) to the Member Record.
 
It is good practice to check this log at a regular cadence to ensure your records are up to date!

What's the difference between Credit on Account and Money in Account?

Credit on Account

Credit on Account is an asset tied to Accounts Receivable,  representing the haunting amounts that customers owe you! Whenever you invoice a member, you'll see the invoice as "paid" by Credit on Account. However, don't be fooled! This doesn't mean you've actually captured the funds!
 
Let's say Luna Darkfur is invoiced for a Forfeit Fee. You'll see a line item for "Credit on Account" in the Payments section. This is to ensure there is an equal debit and credit, maintaining balance for Fusion's Accounting. If you only see Credit on Account listed as the payment method, it indicates that Luna is still haunted by an outstanding debt of $20.00!
Once Luna finally conjures the courage to pay off her haunting debt, you'll see a brand new line item in the Payments section that shows the Payment Method. You can see an example below. 
 
This magical transaction offsets the previous Credit on Account, banishing the ghost of debt that once lingered. When this happens, the Credit on Account asset account is credited and the Payment Method's asset account is debited.
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Money in Account

Money in Account is a liability tied to Accounts Payable. It's money for future use! Money in Account can be summoned to a customer's account in three ways:
 
  1. Customers can purchase it for future use
  2. If a customer wants a refund on a previous purchase, you can direct their refund money to Money in Account, where they can save it for a later purchase, instead of sending it back to their wallets
  3. Staff can manually adjust Money in Account directly in their Member Record by navigating to the Financial tab > A/P Transactions > Adjust Money.
 
Once in their account, customers can use those funds in person at Point of Sale. Staff also have the ability to pay out Money in Account to the customer.
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Thanks for joining us!

Come back next week for our last blog of the Halloween Accounting series, where we'll review Reporting options!