Lesson 3: Company preferences
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Overview
Ajera also installs company preferences that contain the most commonly used options for your type of firm.
You set up your company preferences to
- Identify basic company information such as addresses, phone numbers, and account numbers
- Define default options for your firm that control:
- The way you want to process invoices, payroll, timesheets, and expense reports
- The financial accounts that are affected as you do data entry
Verify that the settings you select in Company > Preferences are what you want for your firm by previewing client invoices, reviewing project setups, and reviewing various reports.
Follow a work plan
- Review Ajera's predefined settings in Company > Preferences and change them as needed.
- Pay special attention to the significant settings listed in this lesson. These settings affect the information and reports you will produce later, after your implementation. Review these settings and make the appropriate selections for your firm.
Review significant settings
These links go to help. To return to this course, click the Back button.
These fields in Company > Preferences are especially important.
Company > Preferences > General tab
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Beginning balances date |
Enter the date you plan to start entering current project and financial data. Make sure this date is acceptable to all the key players in your firm; if you need more time, change the date. For example, if you want to start entering detail time and expense as of May 1, then you would specify April 30 as your beginning balance date. Typically, your beginning balance date is the month-end date of the last reconciled trial balance from your CPA. Why this is significant: Once you enter a transaction, you cannot change the beginning balance date; it is locked down. If you need to change the date after you start entering data, you must contact Axium Client Services. |
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Use departments |
unavailable in ajeraCore unless you have the Departments add-on Select this check box if you plan to track project or financial information by department. For example, you have multiple disciplines or sites and you want to track costs and revenue. Why this is significant: You can always choose to use departments later, but you may have to re-enter data for accurate tracking. |
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Don't allow entries prior to |
Enter a date if you want entries to be made only after that date. Otherwise, leave it blank. Why this is significant: This allows you to prevent users from entering information before a certain date. For example, you close the year on 12/31/2010 and do not want entries made before then, so you enter 01/01/2011. Ajera also uses this date and the beginning balance date to determine valid dates and assign accounting dates. For more information, see this topic in help : How Ajera validates and assigns dates. |
Company > Preferences > Address tab
On this tab, you enter your company's address information.
Why is this significant: The address can be printed on your client invoices and statements.
Company > Preferences > Project tab
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Warn if over invoiced Don’t allow over invoicing |
unavailable in ajeraCore unless you have the Consultant Management add-on Select one of these options if you want to track amounts budgeted and paid to consultants for a project. For more information, see this topic in help : About commitment management. Why this is significant: You can always choose to track these amounts later, but you may have to re-enter data for accurate tracking. |
| Average Labor Budget Rates |
unavailable in ajeraCore Enter your firm's average cost and billing rates. For more information, see this topic in help : About budgeting a project. Why this is significant: Ajera uses this amount to calculate cost budgets and fee budgets when you enter budgeted hours without specifying an employee or employee type. |
Company > Preferences > Billing tab
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Create finance charges |
Select this check box if you plan to bill your clients for finance charges on outstanding balances. Also, enter information for how you want to process finance charges. Why this is significant: If you use finance charges, you want to select this option at the beginning to ensure that your clients are billed uniformly. |
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Apply sales tax |
Select this check box if you want to bill your clients for sales tax. Why this is significant: If you bill for sales tax, you want to select this option at the beginning to ensure that your clients are billed uniformly. |
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Labor Markup Expense Markup Consultant Markup |
Select all the check boxes that apply if you mark up your labor, expense, or consultant costs by a percent to bill your clients. Also, enter descriptions for them. For example, your markup percents for labor may include direct personnel expense (DPE), overhead, and profit. Your markup percents for expenses and consultants may include profit and general and administrative costs. Why this is significant: If you mark up your costs, you want to select these options at the beginning to ensure that your clients are billed uniformly. |
Company > Preferences > Payroll tab
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Payroll type |
Select one of the following:
For more information, see this topic in help : Setting up payroll preferences. If you selected Payroll Service or None, you must ensure that your payroll information is entered in Ajera. For more information, see this topic in help : About payroll variance and accurate financial reporting. |
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Certified payroll |
unavailable in ajeraCore unless you have the Payroll add-on Select this check box if you have any projects that require certified payroll reporting. For more information, see this topic in help : Setting up payroll preferences. Why this is significant: Selecting this check box now ensures that you can quickly set up a project that requires certified payroll reporting later, when needed. |
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Use wage tables |
Select this check box if you want to use wage tables to set up different pay rates for employees based on employee type and/or type of work performed. For more information, see this topic in help : Setting up payroll preferences. Why this is significant: Selecting this check box now ensures that time is entered correctly for employees based on type of work later, when needed. |
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Payroll start date |
unavailable in ajeraCore unless you have the Payroll add-on Enter the date you want to start processing your payroll by using the time entered on timesheets. Why this is significant: Verify that this date is correct. Any entries on timesheets dated earlier than this date are not included in a payroll. |
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Allow state taxes from multiple states on one paycheck |
If any of the following situations apply, you can activate processing in Ajera for multiple state withholding:
Do not turn on withholding for multiple states if you only have employees who live and work in the same state, or live in one state and work in another. |
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DPE % Overhead % |
Enter a percentage in all the fields that apply if you want to include DPE and overhead in your project costs. You can distribute DPE/overhead based on fixed percentages only, costs, or hours. For more information, see this topic in help: DPE and overhead. Why this is significant: Including DPE and overhead in your project reports more accurately reflects project cost. |
Company > Preferences > Time & Expense tab
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Week starts on |
Enter the day you want as the first day of the week on your timesheets. Why this is significant: Verify that this day is correct. You cannot change this once you start entering time through Manage > Time & Expense. |
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Allow changes to employee type |
Select this check box if your employees work as different employee types and need to change the type on the timesheet. For example, a principal may also work as a designer. Why this is significant: Selecting this check box now ensures that time is entered correctly for employees based on type of work later, when needed. |
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Track start and stop times |
Select this check box if you want start and stop times written to your employee’s timesheets. Why this is significant: Some government agency audits require start and stop time to be recorded on timesheets. |
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Allow timesheet changes by |
Select this check box if you want to allow a supervisor and/or accounting manager to change an employee’s timesheet. |
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Allow expense report changes by |
Select this check box if you want to allow a supervisor and/or accounting manager to change an employee’s expense report. |
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Require expense report approval |
Select the appropriate check box if you want to allow a supervisor and/or accounting manager to approve an employee’s expense report before it can be paid or billed to the client. |
Learn the details
These links go to help. To return to this course, click the Back button.
Setting up general preferences
Setting up account preferences
Setting up project preferences
Setting up billing preferences
Setting up payroll preferences
Setting up time and expense entry preferences
Setting up company preferences, part 1: general, accounting, projects, and billing 
Setting up company preferences, part 2: payroll, time, and expenses
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