An accrual is method of accounting for something before it happens. In finance, an example would be to account for your upcoming tax bill before you have to pay it.

In our context, this is accounting for emissions before they have happened, or before we have the data about what happened.

Often, utility bills (e.g. electricity, water, gas) can take weeks to arrive. When year end reporting is  upon us this delay in receiving that data is not acceptable.

So, using a calendar year as an example, in January you may still be missing electricity data for all of December and even some of November.

So we would need to enter accruals for that missing period so we can complete our year end reporting.

Afterwards, using "batches" in BraveGen CSR, we can reverse those acruals out and enter the actual data once it comes in.

Doing this will leave a full and detailed audit trail of both the inputting of accruals and their later reversal.

How to add accruals

  1. Create a process that describes how and why you are adding your accruals. Be sure to add the word "Accrual" in the process name and task names. This means the Accrual Management tool will be able to pick out your accrual batches from all other batches.  
  2. Create the necessary tasks from this process. Possibly these just need to be annual tasks. We need tasks so we can upload our accruals file in to quarantine. All data that goes through quarantine is done so in a "batch". This is what enables us to reverse our accruals later.
  3. Calculate your accruals and put them in an excel file.
    How you calculate the accruals is up to you. It could be based on the historic data in BraveGen or looking at past invoices or what your accounts team advises.
    Just be sure your file contains references to the relevant inventory items in BraveGen. An ICP/MPAN or meter number or some identifier.
  4. Create a data file configuration for this accrual file
  5. Upload the file in to quarantine
  6. Approve it in quarantine. Be sure to mention this is accrual data in the comments. This will help us find the batch later amongst the other many batches that often happen at year end.
  7. Now your data is in you can wait till after your year end reporting is finished and/or the actual data comes in. As will all data input through quarantine, you will see the usual history against the related task and the effected inventory items.

How to reverse accruals

  1. Go to Data Collection > Batch Management > Accrual Management
  2. Find your accrual batch in the drop down and click "Review Details".
    If you cannot find it it will be because you didn't include the word "accrual" in the process and task name. In that case you can go to Data Collection > Batch Management > Batch Reversals and you will find it in there.
  3. Details of the batch are displayed indicating what was in the batch and what will hapen if you reverse it.
  4. Click the check box if you wish to reset this original task to With DSO and notify the DSO so that data can be uploaded again. Typically with accruals you don't want to do this. This is only if your original batch had mistakes and you wish to re-upload the data.
  5. Enter comments - This is important to let others know why you reversed the batch.
  6. Click the "Reverse this batch" button and the data is reversed.
  7. You will see history entries against the related task and the effected inventory items regarding the reversal.