IMOS - Financials General Overview

The Veson IMOS Platform is the market-leading cloud solution for commercial marine freight and fleet management.

The Financials module is a comprehensive vessel/voyage financial system that automates the accrual accounting process. By drastically cutting the hours spent on complex calculations and the updating of information, your team can quickly realize revenue, close voyage accounts without delay, and refocus on financial strategy and planning. Accounting features include built-in alerts and automatic invoicing. This enables more accurate and efficient billing, tracking, processing, and auditing your everyday transactions. When your team members gain more control over the financial process, they have time to focus on strategic financial planning.

This section provides an overview of how financial data flows from the point of entry to your accounting books.

Financial Setup

General Accounting Ledger

• The main accounting record of a business, using double-entry bookkeeping, can be stored in the Chart of Accounts. Each ledger code (or account number) can be defined and categorized as a Revenue, Expense, Asset, Liability, or Equity. In addition, ledger codes can be marked as a Bank, AR, or AP.
  

  

Operations Ledger

• The Veson IMOS Platform (IMOS) maintains a default list of internal Source codes. These Source codes are used to define all revenue or expense items that might occur within the length of a voyage. Aside from the default codes, you can use the Operations Ledger to create a unique list of items pertaining to your business (crude oil, dry bulk, chemicals, etc.).
  

  

Mapping Business Rules

• To ensure that all accounting items generated throughout a voyage are mapped to the right account, a Business Rules table links the Veson IMOS Platform Source Codes and unique Operations Ledger codes to the General Ledger. This ensures that a properly defined Trial Balance exists, and you know exactly what debit and credit actions are occurring within the Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

• Through this tool, the Veson IMOS Platform enables accountants to manage straightforward accounting mapping, as well as special cases (crediting accounts and intercompany relationships).

Financial Company Structure

• The Veson IMOS Platform allows the creation of a single- or multiple-company organization structure. After creating a master company, any subcompanies can be included. Vessels can be set up as subcompanies, to have remittances for invoices go directly to the subcompany of the vessel. With the financial reporting tools, a Profit & Loss can be run on a per vessel basis rather than at a voyage or company level.

• If such a structure exists, Object Rights in Security can restrict data to specific users or groups, depending on their company or vessel access.
  

  

Voyage Accounting

Financial Voyage Attributes

• From contract booking and estimate to transaction posting and voyage completion, financial-related attributes can be defined. For example, a vessel can run a voyage under code HEADC (Head Company), and the next voyage can be run under code SUBC (Subcompany). This ensures that all revenues and expenses linked to that voyage are finalized in accounting as linked to that company code for robust reporting. Key attributes that can be used are:

  • Vessel Code

  • Company Code

  • Line of Business (user-defined Profit Centers, such as Spot or Time Charter).

Voyage Profit & Loss

• The Veson IMOS Platform P&L includes Estimated, Actual, Posted, and Cash columns, as well as Variance columns showing the difference and percentages between Actual and Estimated, Actual and Posted, and Posted and Cash. This information can be used (along with a Remarks text box and data snapshots) to closely monitor variances.

• The display can be modified to show data categorized by a traditional voyage P&L (expenses and revenues) or by General Ledger codes.

• Drill-down capabilities allow for instant diagnosis of unexpected variances.
  

  

Voyage Transaction Types

• The Veson IMOS Platform knows what invoices are expenses or revenues because of the Operation Type of each voyage, which is defined when fixed. For example, a Time Charter-Owned Voyage assumes that the P&L shows Time Charter Hire, bunkers, and port costs as expenses and freight as revenue. Other example Operation Types that the P&L manages are Owned Vessel - Owned Voyage, Owned Vessel - Time Charter Out, Time Charter In - Time Charter Out, and Relet voyages.

• As Operations users enter data, the Veson IMOS Platform alerts them to generate invoices; an Operator or a Voyage Accountant can create invoices directly in the voyage. Invoices can also be created from the Financials module using the Transaction Data Entry form. When generated this way, such as a miscellaneous payable, the Veson IMOS Platform auto-creates the invoice on the voyage side so the Operator is aware.

  • In the traditional workflow, transactions flow from voyage to accounting. This ensures that all the voyage attributes are assigned appropriately (Vessel Code, Company Code, Operations Ledger Code) using the established Business Rules. If transactions are entered directly from the Financials module, these values can be selected manually. Security can be configured to ensure that all the necessary fields are used.

• The status of a transaction can be Pending, Actual, or Posted. The status determines which invoice workflow is applicable:

  • A Pending transaction is not ready for approval.

  • An Actual transaction is ready for approval.

  • An Actual transaction that is approved is ready for posting.

• The Veson IMOS Platform allows for creating payments and receipts, including tracking bank charges, write-offs, and recording exchange differences.

  • Batch payment processes are also supported.

• The Veson IMOS Platform has a built-in Invoice Approvals tool that allows a limit-based permission by transaction type.

• In the example below, note the fields that are mapped:

  • AP vs. AR, Accounting Date, Invoice Date, Due Date, Invoice Number, Payment Terms, Invoice Type, Exchange Rate and Date, Company and Vessel codes, General Ledger Account code, and Remittance Bank.
    

    

Financial Procedures

Accruals

• The Veson IMOS Platform supports accruals on a monthly or end-of-period basis. A year and month can be entered, or a specific date. The Veson IMOS Platform generates a list of accrual calculations on a voyage percent-to-complete basis. 

• Regarding the voyage P&L and what value is accrued:

  • Estimated values are generated from the original Estimate of a charterer before fixing.

  • Actual values match the Estimate upon the voyage commencing and continue to update as a running forecast throughout the voyage when invoices are generated, and data is modified.

  • Posted values are actual values that are posted to the General Ledger.

  • The accrual value is the difference between the actual and posted amounts.

• When a voyage goes beyond the accrual period, the Veson IMOS Platform prorates.

• Options can be configured to fit your accounting methods, such as only running accruals for completed voyages and not a voyage portion percent. This is also true for managing off hire that overlaps an accrual period.
  In the example below, note the fields that can be used:

  • Accruals can be run for a specific Company code, Operation Type, or Vessel name. An accrual data snapshot can also be generated when generating an accrual Journal Entry. This can be viewed in the voyage P&L.
    

    

Closing Voyages & Account Periods

• Voyages progress in status from Scheduled to Commenced, Completed, and Closed. While a voyage is in Completed status, data, and existing transactions can be modified. Security rights exist to ensure that a Closed voyage can only be opened by the appropriate user. Once closed, no data can be modified.

• The Veson IMOS Platform allows accounting periods on a monthly and yearly basis. When a period is closed, for example, the month of January 2017, transactions with an accounting date of January 31, 2017, or before cannot be posted. In the case of a Head Company and Subcompany organizational structure, closing periods can also be set up on the basis of a specific Company code.

  • There are various configuration options regarding the rules around accounting dates and posting into a closed period.

General Journal Entries

• To move money between General Ledger accounts, the Journal Entry form includes a credit and debit account.

Data Snapshots

• P&L snapshots can be generated across multiple areas of the Veson IMOS Platform:

  • Manually, a stored snapshot of data can be generated directly from the voyage P&L with the click of a button. The current P&L is always the default view, but data can be switched to a previous time stamp.

  • When generating accruals, a single-month accrual snapshot can be created within the voyage P&L.

  • Other tactics use the Messaging Service to generate snapshots of the voyage P&L on a scheduled basis. This can be used within the user interface or for external reporting. For more information, see the Messaging Service Manual.

Reporting & Invoicing

Account Analysis

• A report can be run to show all debits and credits for a specific General Ledger account code (or range) over a period of time. There is also the ability to filter by Vessel, Company code, Voyage Number, or Vendor.

Outstanding & Aging Invoices

• An AP and AR report shows all transactions across a period of time. Custom aging buckets can also be specified in order to display data with a detailed Aging Analysis.

Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, and Income Statement

Voyage Profit & Loss Data Analysis

• Reports to analyze voyage Profit and Loss data are throughout the Veson IMOS Platform. The Report List includes various sets of data that allow operational and accounting information to be linked together. These reports can be run on a period basis to ensure that the proper prorating takes place.

Invoices

• Custom invoice headers can be stored in the Veson IMOS Platform to ensure continuity with vendors when migrating to the Veson IMOS Platform.

Bank Links

• The Veson IMOS Platform supports a complex bank linking configuration that allows defining which Remittance Bank is used for each Address Book item. When invoices are generated, the Veson IMOS Platform defaults the correct bank information.

Roles & Permissions

Security Configuration

• The Veson IMOS Platform enables permissions to be managed on a group or user basis. Within each user's settings, rights can be granted to allow access to specific Veson IMOS Platform tools or workflow actions. For example, a Voyage Accountant may need read-only access to operational data like bunker consumption but full access to Post bunker consumption cost. Such permissions are also convenient for financial roles that only focus on reporting and analysis and do not need to edit or save data.

• In addition to Module Rights, the Veson IMOS Platform allows Object Rights. For example, a user can be given full access to accounting tools in the Veson IMOS Platform but only be able to view data for a specific Company code or Vessel name.

Accounting Interface

Note: The Messaging Service is available with an interface license, and the documentation is available in PDF form to clients who have purchased the license.

• The Accounting interface enables the Financials module to integrate even more completely with your existing system. Key features include:

  • Management of complex invoicing for time charter, voyage, freight, bunkers, commissions, demurrage, rebillables, trading, and other revenues and expenses

  • Ability to import and export AP, AR, Payments, Batch Payments, Address Book (Company) records, Receipts, and Journals 

The Veson IMOS Platform offers bi-directional integration with major corporate accounting systems, including SAP, SAP B1, Oracle Financials, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and AX, JD Edwards, Sage, and SUN Accounting. This ensures a streamlined flow of accurate information between departments and eliminates manual re-entry of financial information.