Finance Workflows Guide

Purpose

This guide explains how to run finance operations in Kraal with repeatable quality — from client onboarding through day-to-day accounting to month-end close.

Workflow categories

1) Client onboarding

When you create a new client in Kraal:

1. Go to Settings > Clients and create the client record.
2. Kraal provisions a dedicated ERPNext instance automatically.
3. Choose data intake in guided setup:
   • Statement upload for any client.
   • Plaid as an optional paid add-on for live bank and credit-card feeds.
   • QuickBooks for clients migrating historical data or running in parallel.
4. Set up the chart of accounts — apply a standard template, build with AI, or sync from ERPNext.
5. Configure a close template for the client's month-end workflow.

The client is now ready for recurring operations.

2) Bank feeds

For banking intake:

• Upload bank statements manually as PDF or CSV for any client.
• Connect optional Plaid bank feeds when the client wants automatic intake.
• New transactions appear in the Banking view.
• Each transaction includes date, description, amount, and account information.

3) Bank reconciliation

To reconcile bank transactions:

1. Open the Reconcile view.
2. Select a bank account and date range.
3. Kraal runs smart matching to suggest reconciliations:
   • Algorithmic matching — scores matches based on amount, reference, and date.
   • Auto-rules — automatically matches common patterns like bank fees, interest, and recurring charges.
   • AI-assisted matching — handles ambiguous transactions that don't have a clear algorithmic match.
4. Review the suggestions and approve correct matches.
5. Matched transactions are linked to payment entries or journal entries in ERPNext.

Reconciliation best practices

• Reconcile regularly — weekly is better than monthly.
• Set up auto-rules for recurring transactions (bank fees, subscriptions).
• Use the AI assistant to help with bulk reconciliation: "Help me reconcile the bank."
• Review unmatched transactions promptly.

4) QuickBooks migration

For clients moving off QuickBooks Online:

1. Connect QuickBooks through Integrations.
2. Run the sync — Kraal imports:
   • Chart of accounts
   • Customers and vendors
   • Items
   • Invoices and bills
   • Payments
3. Monitor progress in the Logs tab.
4. Review imported data in the Mappings tab to verify what has been synced.
5. Parallel-run option — keep both QuickBooks and ERPNext in sync during the transition period, then cut over when ready.

5) Day-to-day accounting

Use Kraal's interface for routine accounting tasks:

• Invoices — create sales invoices for clients' customers.
• Bills — enter vendor bills and purchase invoices.
• Payments — record payment entries against invoices and bills.
• Journal entries — create manual adjustments, accruals, and reclassifications.

All entries are stored in the client's ERPNext instance using proper double-entry accounting.

Sales tax data readiness

Sales tax review depends on the quality of the accounting data captured during daily work. Before a client relies on invoice data for sales-tax filing or a future sales-tax automation provider, make sure the client record, customer records, item records, and invoice lines are complete enough to support calculation.

Minimum readiness data:

• Entity context — which legal entity made the sale and where it is registered.
• Customer location — complete bill-to and ship-to address when applicable.
• Customer tax status — taxable, exempt, or pending certificate review.
• Item taxability — clear item or service category on each invoice line.
• Transaction timing — invoice date, posting date, and credit memo relationship to the original invoice.
• Data quality status — imported or ambiguous records should be reviewed before tax-sensitive reporting.

Do not store tax-provider credentials, certificate files, or sensitive taxpayer information in free-form notes. Use the designated settings, document, or compliance workflows when available.

6) Month-end close

The close engine manages period-end workflows:

1. Create a close period — set the date range and accounting basis.
2. Run the templated checklist — steps include:
   • Verify all transactions are posted.
   • Complete bank reconciliation.
   • Review trial balance.
   • Enter accrual adjustments.
   • Post any reclassifications.
   • Review financial statements.
3. Dependency gating — steps wait for their prerequisites. For example, trial balance review waits until all transactions are posted, and reconciliation is complete.
4. Generate close pack — produce the period summary, supporting schedules, and binder reports.

Close workflow customization

• Templates can be customized per organization or per client.
• Skip non-required steps or add client-specific steps.
• Reuse templates across clients for consistency.

7) Reporting

Generate financial reports pulled from ERPNext:

• Profit & Loss (P&L) — revenue and expense summary for a period.
• Balance sheet — assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time.
• Cash flow statement — cash inflows and outflows.
• AR/AP aging — outstanding receivables and payables by age.
• General ledger — detailed transaction listing by account.

Reports include AI-powered explanations to help interpret trends and anomalies.

Operating standards

Naming conventions (recommended)

• Include client short-name + period in task titles (e.g., "Acme — Mar 2026 Bank Rec").
• Use action-oriented verbs (e.g., "reconcile", "review", "generate").

Escalation flow (recommended)

Escalate when:

• A core dependency is missing (e.g., bank feed not connected).
• A critical step repeatedly fails.
• Output quality cannot be validated.

Quality control checklist

• [ ] Inputs verified (bank feeds connected, data synced).
• [ ] Workflow completed without unresolved errors.
• [ ] Outputs reviewed by owner or reviewer.
• [ ] Next actions assigned.

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Starting close work before bank reconciliation is complete.
• Treating AI output as final without human validation.
• Running period workflows with inconsistent date windows.
• Leaving failed sync tasks unresolved without documented follow-up.
• Not setting up auto-rules for recurring bank transactions.