DBA provides a complete, closed loop manufacturing system with its own general ledger, which is optimized for a manufacturing company with absorption inventory costing and work in process tracking.

When it comes to financial applications, however, you can use DBA's integrated financial modules or you can use our Financial Transfer option to transfer financial data from DBA to your existing accounting system.

No matter which system you use for financial applications, DBA assures that your manufacturing accounting will be done properly, with a complete audit trail maintained in the DBA general ledger and Sales and Purchasing modules.

Here in the Accounting Configuration screen, you can select the Financial Transfer option. This de-activates the Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Banking modules, and activates the Financial Transfer module.

When is it advantageous to continue using your existing accounting system? For many companies, payroll is the major consideration. DBA does not have a payroll module because payroll is a highly specialized application and has no direct connection with job costing.

If you are using the payroll module in your accounting system, which is common in the QuickBooks community, and it is tightly integrated with payables and online banking, you may wish to avoid changing accounting systems. On the other hand, if you use a payroll service such as Paychex or ADP, it makes no difference whether you use DBA financials or your existing accounting system.

Here we are looking at the Financial Transfer module. Only three items are exported or manually transferred to the outside system: customer invoices, PO related supplier invoices, and period end account totals.

The financial transfer is designed for minimal data entry, which makes it practical for use with any accounting system, with or without a data import capability.

Customer invoices, for example, which are generated in DBA as part of the sales order cycle, are transferred in a one line voucher format with a single total amount, which is all the information needed by your accounting system for collection and payment purposes.

Supplier invoices, which are generated in DBA during the PO matching process, are also transferred in a one-line voucher format with a single total amount, which is all that is needed by your accounting system for payment processing.

And only account totals are transferred at period end to your accounting system's general ledger.

The audit trail for customer and supplier invoice details and account transactions is maintained for reporting purposes in the DBA system.

Let's take a look at how the Financial Transfer is set up.

Here in the Account Assignments screen, you designate an AR Transfers account. When a customer invoice is generated in DBA, this account gets debited for the total invoice amount. When the invoice is transferred as a voucher into your accounting system, this account gets credited and accounts receivable is debited so that the invoice is now on your books as an open receivable.

All your default sales accounts get posted to when the invoice is originally generated. Those account totals accumulate in the DBA general ledger and are transferred to your accounting system's general ledger at period end.

Accounts Payable works the same way. Here you designate an AP Transfers account. When a supplier invoice is generated in DBA during the PO matching process, this account gets credited. When the invoice is transferred as a voucher into your accounting system, this account gets debited and accounts payable gets credited so that the invoice is now on your books as an open payable.

All your default purchasing accounts get posted to when the supplier invoice is originally generated. Those account totals accumulate in the DBA general ledger and are transferred to your accounting system's general ledger at period end.

Let's now take a look at how invoices are transferred. Customer and supplier invoices are transferred on a daily basis. The transfer process for each is identical.

Here we are looking at the AR Invoice Transfer. All invoices and credit memos that have not yet been transferred are listed on the screen.

Note that the only detail that gets transferred is the invoice date, the invoice number, the customer, the total amount, the due date, the transfer account, and the payment terms. All line item detail stays in DBA.

If your outside system can import this information, select the output to Excel or output to text option.

Here we are looking at an excel spreadsheet transfer file.

If you wish to transfer this information manually, select the output to printer option.

Here we are looking at our printout.

Let's take a look at how a manual entry is made. In this case we will use QuickBooks as our example, but this entry would be the same in any accounting system. Using our report, we enter the customer, the invoice number, invoice date, payment terms, and one line item used solely for invoice transfers, against which is entered a single amount for the invoice detail. Only six fields are involved.

Again, the original invoice, with all the sales and tax detail, remains in DBA. The voucher style invoice entered in the outside accounting system only needs a single amount, for payment processing purposes.

PO invoices work the same way. You enter a single line supplier bill. Again, only six fields are involved.

If your accounting system has the ability to import customer and supplier invoices, you can automate these entries. But if manual entry is required, these daily invoice entries, with only six fields per invoice, are easy to make, and thus it is practical to use DBA with any accounting system.

At each period end, you transfer GL account totals to your outside general ledger.

Select the period to transfer on this tab.

On this tab you see a debit total and a credit total against each account. The X-Ref Account is the account in your outside system that corresponds with cross-referenced accounts in the DBA chart of accounts. All the transaction detail behind these totals remains in DBA.

The same output options to Excel, text, or to the printer that we saw with invoices are available for the GL transfer.

Here is an example of the period end journal entry that is made in your outside accounting system.

The financial applications of receivables, payables, banking, overall general ledger, and payroll are independent from the core processes that comprise the DBA manufacturing system. You are therefore free to use DBA's integrated financial modules, or you can use the financial transfer option to continue processing financial applications in your existing accounting system.

Whatever you choose for financial accounting, DBA assures that your manufacturing accounting will be done properly, with a complete audit trail maintained in the DBA general ledger.