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EstateFlow FinMaster (Accounting & Bookkeeping Module)

Overview

The FinMaster (Accounting & Bookkeeping) module provides real estate developers, contractors, and property managers with a comprehensive system to record, track, and analyze financial transactions. This module supports income, expenses, payroll, procurement, fixed assets, and bank reconciliation to ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance with Nigerian real estate and tax regulations.

[Insert Screenshot: FinMaster Dashboard]

Key Features & Benefits

  • Automate transaction mapping across invoices, expenses, payroll, inventory, and procurement.

  • Create and manage income statements, budgets, and journal entries.

  • Reconcile bank accounts with Plaid API or Excel imports.

  • Configure banking rules to automate classification of recurring transactions.

  • Integrate seamlessly with QuickBooks, Sage Accounting, Xero, FreshBooks, and Zoho for external accounting synchronization.

  • Generate standard reports such as Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements.

  • Support both Cash and Accrual Accounting methods for compliance flexibility.

  • Enable role-based access controls to maintain financial data security.

Pre-Requisites & Access Rights

  1. Ensure the FinMaster module is enabled in EstateFlow ERP.

  2. Assign permissions under Settings > Roles for:

    • Creating and editing budgets, journal entries, and bank accounts.

    • Managing invoices, payments, expenses, and reconciliations.

    • Accessing reports and integration settings.

  3. Configure General Settings under Accounting > Settings:

    • Financial Year Start Month.

    • Tax Year Start Month.

    • Accounting Method (Cash or Accrual).

    • Enable or disable Close the Books.

  4. Confirm that users handling bank imports have valid credentials for Plaid API or Excel templates.

[Insert Screenshot: FinMaster Permissions Setup]

Step-by-Step Instructions

Project Automatic Mapping

Overview:
Automatic project-level mapping allows financial transactions to be directly linked to the Chart of Accounts at the estate, block, or unit level. This enhances accuracy in tracking revenues and expenses, improves monitoring of financial performance, and ensures precise reporting for any kind of property development projects.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Navigate to Project > Mapping Setup (Tab).
    [Insert Screenshot: Mapping Setup Tab]

  2. Enable Automatic Mapping.

  3. Assign the appropriate Chart of Accounts categories to each transaction type:

    • Invoice

    • Payment

    • Sales

    • Expenses

    • Credit Note

    • Refund

    • Expense Default

    • Tax Default

  4. Verify that financial transactions are automatically mapped at the selected project level (estate, block, or unit).
    [Insert Screenshot: Chart of Accounts Mapping Example]

Best Practice:

  • Clearly define the project hierarchy (estate, block, or unit) before enabling automatic mapping.

  • Review mapping settings periodically to ensure compliance with internal controls.

  • Use the provided Chart of Accounts Excel template as a standardized baseline for all projects.

General Automatic Mapping Setup

Overview:
The General Automatic Mapping Setup ensures consistency and accuracy across all integrated modules by automatically synchronizing financial transactions into the Chart of Accounts. This reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and improves efficiency in monitoring the financial health of real estate development projects.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Settings > Mapping Setup > General Automatic Mapping.
    [Insert Screenshot: General Automatic Mapping Settings]

  2. Enable Automatic Mapping.

  3. Assign the appropriate Chart of Accounts categories for each transaction type across integrated modules:

    • General:

      • Invoice

      • Payment (Sales / Expenses)

      • Credit Note (Sales / Refund)

      • Expense Default

      • Tax Default

    • Payslip:

      • Total Insurance

      • Income Tax PAYE

      • Net Pay

    • Purchase:

      • Purchase Order

      • Purchase Invoice

      • Payment

      • Purchase Order Return

      • Refund

    • Inventory:

      • Inventory Receiving Voucher

      • Inventory Delivery Voucher

      • Loss & Adjustment

      • Opening Stock

    • Fixed Equipment:

      • Asset Acquisition

      • Maintenance

      • Depreciation

  4. Save your configuration.

  5. Verify that all financial transactions from integrated modules are automatically mapped in the Transactions menu.
    [Insert Screenshot: Chart of Accounts Mapping Example]

Other Mapping Setup

  1. Go to Accounting > Settings > Mapping Setup.

  2. Enable and configure:

    • Item Mapping: Assign Inventory, Income, and Expense accounts.

    • Payment Mode Mapping: Link payment methods to accounts.

    • Expense Category Mapping: Control mapping by category and payment method.

    • Tax Mapping: Assign sales and expense tax accounts.

  3. Save changes.
    [Insert Screenshot: Mapping Setup Screen]

Best Practice:

  • Regularly review and update automatic mappings to reflect changes in organizational policies or Chart of Accounts.

  • Assign separate staff responsibilities for mapping setup and approval of financial transactions to enforce internal controls.

  • Cross-check mappings with the provided Chart of Accounts Excel template to maintain consistency across projects.

  • Schedule periodic audits to confirm compliance with Nigerian financial reporting standards.

Income Statement Modification

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Settings > Income Statement Modification.

  2. Click + Add to create a new row.

  3. Enter:

    • Name of the Income Statement Row.

    • Type (Income or Net Income).

    • Add expressions and select relevant accounts.

  4. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Income Statement Modification Popup]

General Settings

  1. Go to Accounting > Settings > General.

  2. Configure options:

    • Reset Data (It will delete all data related to the accounting module).

    • Remove Invalid Entries (Will delete entries for which the transaction no longer exists.).

    • Financial Year Start (e.g., January or Fiscal Month).

    • Accounting Method: Cash or Accrual.

    • Enable Account Numbers and Show Account Numbers if needed.

  3. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: General Settings Screen]

Banking Setup & Rules

Banking Rules

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Settings > Banking Rules.

  2. Click + Add and define:

    • Transaction Type: Money In / Money Out.

    • Conditions: Description, Amount, Contains, Equals, etc.

    • Assignment: Payment Account and Deposit To.

  3. Enable Auto-Add to apply automatically.
    [Insert Screenshot: Banking Rules Setup]

Plaid API Integration

  1. Create a Plaid API account at Plaid.

  2. In Accounting > Banking > Setup Your Bank Account, enter:

    • Client ID, Secret, Environment (Sandbox or Live).

  3. Click Import New Bank Transactions to sync.
    [Insert Screenshot: Plaid Bank Integration]

Transactions Management

Invoices

  1. Go to Accounting > Transactions > Sales > Invoices.

  2. Create or edit invoices; mappings update automatically if defaults are enabled.
    [Insert Screenshot: Invoice Mapping Screen]

Payments

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Transactions > Sales > Payments.

  2. Confirm automatic mapping or adjust manually.
    [Insert Screenshot: Payment Mapping Screen]

Expenses

  1. Go to Accounting > Transactions > Expenses.

  2. Link expenses with relevant Expense Category, Payment Mode, and Tax.
    [Insert Screenshot: Expense Mapping Screen]

Credit Notes & Refunds

  • Apply via Sales > Credit Notes; mapping occurs automatically if enabled.

Payslips

  • Mapped via Mass Mapping for payroll entries.

Inventory & Purchases

  • Ensure Inventory and Purchase Mapping Setup is enabled before creating receiving vouchers, deliveries, or purchase orders.

Chart of Accounts

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Chart of Accounts.

  2. Click + Add.

  3. Enter:

    • Account Type and Detail Type.

    • Account Name and Number (if enabled).

    • Parent Account (optional).

    • Opening Balance (optional).

  4. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Chart of Accounts Add Screen]

Bank Accounts & Reconciliation

Creating a Bank Account

  1. Go to Accounting > Banking > Bank Accounts.

  2. Click + Add Bank Account.

  3. Fill in Name, Bank Details, Balance, Routing, etc.

  4. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Add Bank Account Form]

Reconciling Bank Accounts

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Reconcile.

  2. Select an account.

  3. Enter Ending Balance and Date.

  4. Match transactions and adjust differences if required.

  5. Click Finish Now when balanced.
    [Insert Screenshot: Bank Reconciliation Screen]

Journal Entries & Transfers

Adding a Journal Entry

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Journal Entries > + Add.

  2. Select debit and credit accounts.

  3. Ensure debits equal credits.

  4. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Add Journal Entry Form]

Creating a Transfer

  1. Go to Accounting > Transfers > + Add.

  2. Select source and destination accounts.

  3. Enter amount, date, and description.

  4. Click Save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Transfer Form]

Budget Management

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Budgets.

  2. Click + New Budget.

  3. Select Fiscal Year and Accounts (Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet).

  4. Enter data manually or import via Excel template.

  5. Save and review under Reports > Budget Overview.
    [Insert Screenshot: Budget Setup Screen]

Bills & Payments

Adding a New Bill

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Bills > + Add New Bill.

  2. Select Vendor, Dates, Debit/Credit accounts, Amount, and Tax.

  3. Save and approve.
    [Insert Screenshot: Add New Bill Screen]

Paying Bills

  • Choose between Electronic Payment, Credit Card, or Check.

  • For checks: Sign digitally or upload signature and save.
    [Insert Screenshot: Pay Bill with Check Form]

QuickBooks Integration

  1. Navigate to Setup > Settings > Accounting Integrations > QuickBooks.

  2. Enter Client ID and Client Secret.

  3. Connect and log in to QuickBooks.

  4. Run cron jobs to push customers, invoices, payments, and expenses.
    [Insert Screenshot: QuickBooks Integration Screen]

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Use Automatic Mapping to avoid manual errors in project cost allocation.

Best Practice: Apply the Chart of Accounts Excel template to maintain uniform account structures across projects.

Tip: For compliance, ensure all VAT and WHT mappings are validated monthly against FIRS requirements.

Troubleshooting & Common Issues

Issue: Transactions not mapping automatically to the project.
Solution: Confirm Automatic Mapping is enabled under Project > Mapping Setup and the Chart of Accounts categories are assigned.

Issue: Incorrect expense allocation to a unit.
Solution: Check that the project hierarchy is correctly set at estate/block/unit level.

[Insert Screenshot: Automatic Mapping Error Example]

Glossary & Notes

  • Automatic Mapping: System-driven allocation of transactions to Chart of Accounts categories.

  • Expense Default: System fallback account for unmapped expenses.

  • Tax Default: Default account for VAT and other taxes.

  • Project Hierarchy: Structure of estate → block → unit for accurate cost and revenue tracking.

Note: Automatic Mapping improves audit readiness and transparency for real estate projects.

Caution: Do not modify mapping on active projects without management approval, as this could disrupt reporting integrity.

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