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Best Practices
Checklist & Month End for Dealerships

Month end does not have to be a stressful time. Below is a checklist of Daily, Weekly and Monthly “To Do” items that every dealership should utilize.

Don’t wait until the last minute! You can do many of the items on the monthly check list during the month.  If you are not using IDS payroll, enter your payroll entries as soon as possible after your payroll has been processed.
Be prepared to do the month end processing in all locations at the same time to prevent any intercompany timing issues.
All transactions must be posted for the period in all locations prior to month end processing.
Run your month end processing for all locations with no users on the system (after hours) to prevent any timing issues.
After your month end processing has been completed, post transactions before creating the financial reports.  WIP entries are created during the month end process and have not posted yet.

Owner/General Manager's Checklist
Accounting & Reporting

DAILY

Verify that all funds received are being entered into the system daily.

Review the report at 8-4-6 to verify that all tills are being reconciled daily.

Verify that bank deposits are made daily (review the Bank Deposit History Report to see the deposit dates and amounts (8-4-4).

Review Contracts in Transit to ensure timely payment of bank contracts.

Verify that all payables received are being entered into the system daily.

Post transactions (9-1-3) in all locations on a daily basis.

Verify that labor is entered on work orders on a daily basis.

Finalize completed work orders and process warranty claims on a daily basis.

WEEKLY

Accounts Receivable & Accounts Payable

Review the Accounts Receivable Aging Report (8-2-12) and discuss any unusual or past due amounts with the Accounting Manager.
Review the Accounts Payable Aging Report (7-2-4) and discuss any unusual or past due amounts with the Accounting Manager.

Verify that all manually prepared checks (if any) have been entered into the system.

Review the Floorplan Payoffs report (7-2-20), the Trade Payoffs report (7,2,19), and the Inventory Purchase Payables Report (7-2-21) and inquire about any unusual or non-current invoices.

Discuss the status of collection efforts for past-due accounts with the Accounting Manager.

Unit Inventory & Sales

Verify that all units received into inventory have been entered into the system (check the “On Order” status on the inventory report at 1-3-9).

Verify that all unit sales have been posted and commissions entered correctly and updated as necessary.  Review the reports “Sold—not delivered” at 2-3-8 and “Cost Changes on Sold Units” at 2-3-15.

Parts & Service

Review the Open PO’s Report (3-3-14) and inquire about any unusual or old items.

Check the Parts Negative Quantity On Hand report (3-3-32-6) to verify that parts inventory is being monitored regularly.

Review the Uncompleted Work Orders report (4-3-2-11) and inquire about any old or unusual amounts.  Note:  Items left “open” on this report at month-end are not recorded in service revenue and costs.

MONTHLY

Bank Accounts & Cash Management

Obtain a copy of the bank reconciliation prepared by the Accounting Manager for each bank account, checking it for accuracy (9-13-3).   Verify that the reconciled balance matches its respective general ledger balance and question any old, unusual reconciling items.

Scan the month’s check register (7-3-6) and question any unfamiliar vendors listed.

Accounts Receivable & Accounts Payable

Verify that monthly service charges have been invoiced for past-due accounts and that monthly statements have been mailed to customers.

Check the balance in the Sublet Payable GL account for reasonableness by reviewing the GL Schedule report (9-11-2) by Schedule #6.

Discuss any potential customer accounts receivable write-offs and all accounts payable disputed charges with the Accounting Manager.

Unit Inventory, Floorplan & Unit Sales

Print the Aged Inventory report (1-3-7) and verify that all inventory has been accounted for on a timely basis (all units received are on the report and units sold are no longer listed).         

Obtain a copy of the floorplan bank(s) monthly reconciliation prepared by the Accounting Manager.  Review the reconciling “timing” differences for reasonableness.         

Print the Sales Gross Profit Report (2-3-4) and review for any unusual profit/loss amounts.

Parts & Service

Compare the total on the Parts Value Report (3-3-9) with the balance in the GL account for Parts Inventory and discuss any major difference with the Accounting Manager.  Note:  the balances will not match exactly because the Parts Value Report is based upon “Average Cost”. Also, there are timing differences related to unfinalized work orders.    

Review the Parts Stock Adjustments report (3-3-19), the Parts Cost Adjustments report (3-3-23), and the Parts Average Cost Adjustments report (3-10-5) and discuss unusually large items with the Parts Manager (the adjustments on these reports affect the general ledger).

Analyze the Parts Gross Profit report (3-3-22) and inquire about any unusual amounts.          

Discuss with the Accounting Manager any old outstanding items on the Unclaimed Warranty Report (4-3-3-3).     

Analyze the Service Gross Profit report (4-3-2-27) and inquire about any unusual amounts.    

Analyze the GL schedule for accrued parts liability (RBNI) for any unusual balances

Analyze the GL schedule for sublet liability for any unusual balances. 

General Ledger & Financial Reporting

Print the Balance Sheet (9-3-3) and the P & L Statement (9-5-3) for the month and review each account balance for reasonableness.  Discuss any unusual amounts with the Accounting Manager. 

Verify that the standard GL account verifications have been performed for all GL accounts with subsidiary reports (AR, Inventory, AP and Floorplan liability).    

Run the month’s DMS report and evaluate current financial position and operations for the period and year-to-date.  

For a multi-site dealership, have the consolidated financial statements prepared and review the reports.       

Sign the Sales Tax Return, review the monthly Sales tax report (9-12-6), and question any major discrepancies between the two.  

Question any unusual balances on the Balance Sheet for payroll-related GL accounts, including the commissions payable and the service wages payable GL accounts.    

Verify that the Month End closing process is being performed on a timely basis.     

Compare the actual amounts on the financial statements with the budgeted amounts.       

Run the Management Exception Report (9-3-26) and review the items with the applicable Department managers.      

QUARTERLY/YEAR END

Perform standard GL account verifications for all GL accounts with subsidiary reports (AR, Inventory, AR and Floorplan liability).
Verify GL schedules and subledgers are in balance. Compare the totals on the GL schedule and subledger reports to be sure they agree with th GL account balances.
Reconcile Bank clearing. Review reports (8-4-2) and (8-4-6). The totals on the reports should agree with the Bank clearing GL account balance.
Verify Intercompany is in balance.  Review the Balance Sheet. The Intercompany GL accounts should have zero balances for single site dealerships. For multi-site dealerships, the Consolidated Balance Sheet Intecompany GL accounts should have zero balances.
Run the Unclaimed warranty GL schedule report (9-11-2) by #6 and compare to the Unclaimed warranty report (4-3-3-3). Note: it is not unusual for claims to be processed prior to work orders being finalized.

PERIODICALLY

Review the GL Setup Report (11-7-2) for any omissions or invalid GL accounts.
Review the Department Allocation Report (9-8-3), checking for any non-allocated GL accounts.  Evaluate the allocation percentages for reasonableness for each department.
Evaluate cash flow needs—is the credit line adequate?  Are funds invested to earn the best rate of return?
Evaluate the credit status of customers—are there any customers who should be “cash basis only”?
Print the Full Year P & L Statement (9-5-6) and discuss any unusual fluctuations with the Accounting Manager.
Review all pages of the Module Configurations (11-10), especially after installing a new ASTRA release.