Your first hour in Kraal

Kraal is one place for the firm's clients. The left menu starts with Portfolio and Inbox, for the whole firm. Under the client name are Home, Close, Books, and Client settings. Further down are Team & Roles, Firm Settings, and Receipts.

This page walks that first hour in the order you will use it. Ask Kraal is the panel beside the page. It answers first, names the page you need, and can take you there when you say "take me to…". It does not post from the conversation. A draft it prepares shows up in the Inbox for a person.

Portfolio

Portfolio answers which clients need the firm today. You see who is at risk, how far the close has slipped, and what needs you.

Click a client's name to open that client. Fix backlog goes straight to that client's overdue close work.

On Portfolio, Ask Kraal reads one client's books at a time. Choose a client before you ask about the books.

Opening a client

There is no door named for this. The current client is the name at the top of the left menu. When none is chosen, that spot says Choose a client.

Click a client's name on Portfolio to land on that client's Home. You can also pick a name from the menu. Home, Close, Books, and Client settings then follow that client. Inbox stays the list for every client. Until you choose a client, Home, Close, and Books stay unavailable.

Client settings, under Books, is that client's own setup.

Home

Home answers what this client needs from you, and where the money stands.

You get a Needs you card, with the first items and a link through to the Inbox. Next to it are four tiles: Cash, AR overdue, AP overdue, and Ran auto today. The overdue tiles are aging, as of today. Ran auto today is what Kraal did on its own, each with a receipt.

Open the item that needs you, or the tile that is off. Upload statements on this page is for bringing a statement in.

When Ask Kraal draws a chart, read the mark on it.

• Certified. The line under the chart is: "Figures computed by the accounting engine, not by the assistant."
• Derived. Kraal computed these points from the rows the answer read. The accounting engine did not state them. Double-check before relying on them.

How those marks work is on Certified and derived charts.

Inbox

Inbox is the firm's mail, across every client.

The tabs are Needs you, Waiting on client, and Done. Needs you splits into Signatures and Reviews.

Open a row. The evidence sits beside the list. Take the action that row names. A period lock is signed here. A draft from Ask Kraal waits here for a person, and nothing posts from the chat.

Refresh reloads the list. Done is what you addressed in this sitting. Other finished work is in the audit trail.

Close

Close answers whether this period can be finished, and what is still in the way.

The menu under Close has Current close and Reconciliation Hub. The page has two tabs: Close and Financial package.

On Close you see the sheet for the period: status, evidence, what is next, and the gates that rule the lock. Lock the books for this period sends a lock request. The period locks when that request is signed in the Inbox. A completed close is not locked yet. Ask Kraal does not lock a period.

Financial package is where you build and review the package for that period. It lives on Close.

Reconciliation Hub is the account-by-account coverage of the balance sheet. Open it from Close.

Ask Kraal can explain this page and take you to the close.

Books

Books is the client's everyday accounting. Opening it lands on the Ledger.

The rows are Ledger, Upload & process, Journal entries, Transactions, Bank reconciliation, Invoices, Bills, Payments, Reports, Chart of accounts, Documents, Connections, and More.

Open the row you came for. To bring files in, use Upload & process. It accepts PDF, CSV, XLS, XLSX, OFX, QFX, TXT, and images (PNG, JPG, WEBP, and TIFF). You review what was extracted before anything is posted. Upload statements on Home accepts PDF, CSV, OFX, QFX, XLS, and XLSX.

Bank accounts are under More, in Banking. Connections is the other integrations. Reports stay quiet when you open them. Press Run report.

More also holds customers, suppliers, expense claims, subscriptions, registers, Budget, and setup.

Ask Kraal can explain the page you are on. If it drafts an entry, that draft goes to the Inbox. The chat does not post it.

Team & Roles

Team & Roles answers who is in the firm and what they are allowed to do.

Invite a member, or change a person's role. The roster lists the firm, and under it each client's team.

Ask Kraal does not change who has access.

Firm Settings

Firm Settings is how the firm is set up. The rows are Overview, Profile & email, Autonomy controls, External access, Close templates, Chart templates, and Billing.

Some things stay a person's decision, whatever the autonomy setting: locking a period, reopening a locked period, money leaving the business, and judgment calls.

Change the setting you came for, then leave. Ask Kraal does not change these for you.

Receipts

Receipts answers what happened, who did it, and when. The page is the audit trail of receipts: every action, by a person or by Kraal, with a receipt you can trace.

Filter by kind, including Kraal, and open the row you were asked about.

Ask Kraal can point you at a receipt. Receipts are not a second set of books.