Spektrix supports accounting related activities such as daily financial reconciliation, reporting on payments and tracking income. In this article, we’ll explain some of the accounting terms and vocabulary you might see and how they relate to Spektrix.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation refers to the process of comparing two sets of financial records to check the figures are correct and match.
Reconciliation can help to identify and resolve any discrepancies and contribute to financial stability.
You can use the Payments & Activities Report to perform a financial reconciliation. To reconcile card payments, take a look at the following articles:
- Spektrix Payments: Spektrix Payments Card Reconciliation
- Opayo / Worldpay / Authorize.net / Moneris: Reconciling Card Payments
You can run the following Reports to help reconcile card payments:
- Payments & Activities Report
- Payments & Activities Report (by User)
- Payments & Activities Report (Daily Breakdown)
- Payments & Activities Report (detailed)
Gross
Gross refers to an amount received before any VAT or Tax has been deducted.
For example, lets say your gross income from ticket sales is £130.40. Because it is described as gross, you can assume this figure includes any VAT or Tax that has been charged.
In the Payments & Activities Report (Detailed), you’ll see a Gross column:
The gross column displays income of £130.40. In the Net column, tax or VAT is deducted - in this example, £108.70.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include the total charged metric to get the gross value, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
Net
Net refers to the amount that remains once deductions for tax or VAT have been taken from the gross amount.
In the Payments & Activities Report (Detailed), you’ll see a Net column:
The Net column displays income from sales after subtracting VAT/tax.
In the example screenshot above, the Gross amount of £130.40 is divided by 1.20 (for 20% VAT or tax) which gives a net figure of £108.66. The net figure is then rounded up to £108.70
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include the total charged metric to get the gross value, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
Ledgers
A ledger is a collection of accounts where you’ll record the financial transactions associated with those accounts.
Ledgers consist of:
General Ledger
The general ledger (also known as GL) is a method of recording your organisation’s entire financial transactions.
As part of your financial reconciliation, your organisation will run Reports in Spektrix to gather information to record transactions in your general ledger.
The general ledger is usually managed in your organisation’s accounting software. For example, Xero, Quickbooks, Sage 50 Accounts or Sage Intacct.
TIP: To help with your financial processes, you can request a custom GL report by completing the Report Request Form.
When submitting the Report Request Form, you’ll need to provide the account codes you’re using to match them up with your GL.
Subledger
A subledger is used to record the details of specific transactions. You can use a subledger to organise transactions for thorough reporting and analysis.
Spektrix acts as a subledger and the Reports you run in Spektrix will only contain details of financial transactions in Spektrix, which you can then enter into your general ledger (GL).
VAT and Tax
When setting up Events, Merchandise, Memberships and Commissions, you’ll need to set up VAT or Tax Code for these items. When an item is sold, you’ll be able to view the VAT or Tax in the following Standard Reports:
VAT (UK and Ireland)
VAT (also known as Value Added Tax) is a tax added to products and services sold by VAT registered organisations.
TIP: Where VAT is applicable, you should enter all prices in Spektrix with VAT included.
In Spektrix you can set a Tax Code against the following items to calculate VAT in Reports:
TIP: VAT will apply to the goods and services/benefit portion of a Membership.
TIP: Ticket Commissions will inherit the VAT Code you set against the Event Instance.
A VAT/Tax code will not add VAT or Tax to the price of your items.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include VAT metrics, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
To learn more about how Spektrix handles VAT, take a look at VAT in Spektrix (UK and Ireland).
Tax (US and Canada)
Tax is a financial charge added to products and services. In Spektrix, you can only set one rate of Tax per item or Instance. If multiple tax rates apply, for example, sales tax and state tax, you will need to manually calculate both rates of tax and include this in your prices.
You can set a Tax Code against the following items to calculate tax in Reports:
TIP: Ticket Commissions will inherit the Tax Code you set against the Event Instance.
A Tax Code will not add tax onto the prices of your items. Instead, you must calculate the tax you want to apply and include this in the price of your items. A Tax Code will then allow you to separate the tax you have charged out in reports.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include VAT metrics, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
To learn more about how Spektrix handles Tax, take a look at Tax in Spektrix (US and Canada).
Categorising and identifying transactions
Categorising transactions in your chart of accounts can help your organisation track financial activity, and enable accurate reporting.
In Spektrix, you can use account codes to further breakdown transactions in your chart of accounts and help you identify where the transaction originated.
Chart of Accounts
A chart of accounts (also known as a COA) is a record of all financial accounts in an organisation’s general ledger (GL). Each chart of accounts includes account codes to help identify financial activities.
Your finance team will likely use financial software such as Xero, Quickbooks, Sage 50 Accounts or Sage Intacct to create and manage your organisation’s chart of accounts.
You can match up the account codes you use in Spektrix to your chart of accounts to help reconcile your financial transactions.
Account Code
An account code (also known as a nominal code) is a unique identifier used in your accounting software that enables you to categorise and keep track of financial activity.
In Spektrix, you can use account codes to categorise income generated through sales for different items. It can be helpful for financial reporting to match up your account codes in Spektrix with the account codes you use in your accounting software.
For example:
| Account Code | Description | Account Type |
| 1002 | Tales of the City | Assets |
| 1102 | Gold Membership | Assets |
| 2002 | Summer Donations Drive | Assets |
| 2102 | Tales of the City Programme | Assets |
In the image below, the Payments & Activities Report (detailed) will list all of the account codes in your system with transactions against them:
To start using account codes in Spektrix, you’ll need to create an Attribute or use a pre-existing field:
- Event: Create an Event Attribute named “Account Code”
- Fund: Create a Fund Attribute named “Account Code”
- Merchandise: Create a Merchandise Attribute named “Account Code”
- Membership: Create a Membership Attribute named “Account Code”
- Campaigns: Pre-existing Campaign Code field in Campaign settings in the Opportunities Interface
- Ticket Subscriptions: Pre-existing Account Code field when setting up a Ticket Subscription
Once you have created the Account Code Attribute(s), you'll need to add the account code to the items above. Any figures for that account code will be displayed in the standard Payment & Activity Reports.
Accounting methods
The two main accounting methods are accrual accounting and cash accounting.
Accounting Date/Accrual Accounting
In Spektrix, it’s possible to record transactions before payments are exchanged by using the Accounting Date feature. Outside of Spektrix, this is commonly referred to as accrual accounting.
When processing transactions, you can manually input the Accounting Date field to set the date you want the income accounted for. The Accounting Date metric is available to use in Reporting and Segmentation.
To learn more about Accounting Date, take a look at the Accounting Date article.
Cash Accounting
Cash accounting enables an organisation to record and recognise income and expenditure when funds related to those transactions are received or paid.
When selling Tickets for a performance, the income from sales is recognised as soon as payment is received.
Spektrix and Standard Reports are treated as cash accounting for reconciliation. Payments are displayed in Reports as soon as they are received.
Managing your Spektrix Liability account
In Spektrix, items purchased by a customer which have not been redeemed or spent are classed as liabilities. This includes:
Take a look at our Credit in Spektrix article for more information.
TIP: To report on the sale and redemption of Credit, Deposits and Gift Vouchers, use the Special Report.
Deposits
In Spektrix, a Deposit is a payment taken against a Reservation. Deposits taken but not yet used are treated as a liability and appear as a credit on the Payments & Activities Report:
Once the Deposit has been used to pay for the Order, the liability account is decreased by the amount of the Deposit used and appears in the Payment Types section in the Payments & Activities Report:
Memberships
When setting up Memberships in Spektrix, you might need to enter a goods and services or benefit amount.
Goods and Services Value
In Spektrix, goods and services refers to the following items:
- Tickets
- Merchandise
- The portion of a Membership’s price that is not a Donation
TIP: In a Membership, goods and services is also referred to as Benefit Amount in the UK and Ireland.
For example, a gold Membership costs £200 with a £150 goods and services value (for the Tickets or Merchandise items which are included in the Membership). The remaining £50 is treated as a Donation.
In the example above, the Payments & Activities Report would display £150 against the Membership and £50 against the Donation.
Fundraising
In this section, you’ll find some of the most commonly used accounting terms which are related to fundraising.
Gift Aid (UK)
Gift aid is a tax relief scheme set up by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) where UK donors can give a UK registered charity permission to reclaim the tax on their donation.
To claim Gift Aid, you’ll need to:
- Be a UK registered charity
- Have received an eligible Donation from an eligible donor
- Have a valid Gift Aid Declaration from the donor
A Gift Aid declaration is a statement a donor makes to confirm:
- That they are a UK taxpayer
- That they agree to Gift Aid being claimed on their donation
To learn more about Gift Aid, take a look at Introduction to Gift Aid in Spektrix.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include Gift Aid metrics, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
Legacy
A legacy refers to a gift that a customer leaves in their will. In Spektrix, you can use legacies in the Opportunities Interface to record a donation which has not been received yet. A legacy does not have a set receipt date, unlike a pledge.
For example, a customer decides to leave a £5,000 legacy which is entered in the Opportunities Interface. When the legacy is realised (the money is received), the Donation is processed and recorded in the Opportunities Interface.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include legacies, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
Pledge
A pledge is a method of tracking gifts in the Opportunities Interface which have been promised by donors but not yet received. A pledge has a set value of Donation and a set date(s) when the gift and/or installments of the gift will be received.
When a pledge is realised, it is “paid off” as a Donation.
TIP: If you’re building a Custom Report and would like to include Gift Aid metrics, take a look at the Metrics Catalogue for more information on available outputs.
Agency and third party payments
When making payments to a third party outside of Spektrix, for example, to an agent or a promoter, you’ll often need to Report on Event sales.
The Settlement Report in Spektrix can help to establish the amount your organisation needs to pay to the third party based on your agreement with them:
The Settlement Report isn’t a standard Report in Spektrix. Complete the Report Request Form and our team will add it to your system.
TIP: Your Settlement Report might display a Mixed Payment. A Mixed Payment means more than one payment type has been used to pay for an Order.
It isn’t possible to split out Mixed Payments into each Payment Type in a Report. Each payment isn’t made for a particular Event or item, but to pay for all items in the Basket/Cart.
Take a look at the Mixed Payments article for more information.
To Report and invoice on Agency sales, take a look at Reporting and Invoicing for Agencies.
Further Reading
To learn more about the topics in this article, take a look at these Support Centre categories: