Why Customising Transaction Types Matters: A Practical Guide for Better Business Control

QuickEasy BOS Transaction Types

In the world of business, transactions are the backbone of financial and operational systems. A transaction type is a classification that describes the nature of a transaction within a business’s financial and management systems. These types can include sales, purchases, payroll, and more. Customising these transaction types allows businesses to tailor their operations to meet specific needs and regulatory requirements, providing a robust framework for tracking and analysing financial data.

Four Compelling Reasons for Customising Transaction Types

1. Enhanced Clarity and Control

Customising transaction types offers businesses a clearer view of their operations. By defining specific types for different business activities, companies can gain better control over their financial reporting and management.

  • Example: A business can distinguish between a cash sale and credit sale, which helps in better cash flow management and credit risk assessment.

2. Improved Financial Analysis

With customised transaction types, businesses can categorise financial data more effectively, making it easier to perform detailed analyses.

  • Example: Customising transaction types by region or product line can help in understanding which segments are performing better and why.

3. Streamlined Operations

Custom settings in transaction types enable automation of certain processes, reducing the manual effort required and minimising errors.

  • Example: Automating tax calculations for different types of sales transactions depending on local tax laws.

4. Better Compliance

Having specific transaction types helps ensure that businesses meet legal and tax obligations by accurately recording and reporting transactions according to the requirements of different authorities.

  • Example: Distinguishing between taxable and non-taxable sales to comply with tax regulations.

QuickEasy BOS’s Five Powerful Customisations

1. Settings

Settings in transaction types dictate how transactions behave and are processed within the system. Here you decide which pricing option to use, the VAT implications and how much flexibility the operator has to choose an account or transaction item.

You also decide which features such as proposals, production planning, and calendars to include.

  • Example: When capturing supplier invoices, staff can be forced to only select a cost of sales account but still be able to choose which cost of sales account to debit.

2. Statuses

Statuses help track the progress of a transaction through its lifecycle, from initiation to completion.

They also determine when a transaction affects inventory, is posted to the ledger, and most importantly can or can no longer be changed.

Statuses also allow controls to be placed on when customers can be sent quotations or invoices.

  • Example: Statuses can be created to capture the reasons customers accept or reject quotations such as Lost – Price, Accepted – Price, Accepted – Reputation, and so forth.

3. Categories

Categories allow you to classify transactions for better reporting and tracking. Using categories give you more insight into the business because you can generate reports per category.

  • Example: For sales transactions, you can create categories for the size of the customer (small, medium, or large). By filtering customer invoices by category, you can see who your top customers are and where to focus your marketing efforts.

4. Copy Rules

Copy rules define how transactions can be duplicated or modified, saving time and ensuring consistency.

These rules determine whether a transaction is automatically copied when a certain status is set or manually copied.

  • Example: Once a quotation is accepted, the customer invoice is automatically created by copying the quotation.

In addition, copy rules have their own user-access settings. You can allow senior staff to copy quotations to invoices manually but prevent junior staff from doing the same by not giving them access to the copy feature.

In production, copy rules offer powerful features such as guaranteeing that an item is copied only once, directing in‑house–produced items exclusively to work orders, and routing items that must be purchased directly to purchase orders.

5. Output Options

Output options determine how transaction documents such as quotations or invoices are presented and delivered.

All the documents that are generated can be customised, and you can choose to send these documents to everyone, only internal staff, or only external people like customers or suppliers.

  • Example: Quotations can be sent to the applicable sales rep, customer, and sales manager. Additionally, the sales rep and manager can receive a cost sheet which shows the expected profit that will be earned on the job.

Output works in conjunction with statuses and helps to determine when a transaction is final.

Conclusion

Customising transaction types is crucial for businesses looking to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and compliance in their financial operations. By tailoring transaction settings to their specific needs, companies can gain better insights into their financial health, streamline operations, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

For more information, see the category Transaction Types in our Knowledge Base.