SOP: how to work
in the accounting system
Step-by-step standards for every process in BAS: what gets entered, by whom, with which mandatory fields — and how to verify it was entered correctly. An SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is an instruction that lets any employee perform an operation the same correct way.
Why standards are needed
The quality of data in the system directly determines the quality of decisions. Three typical holes without SOPs:
How a process SOP is structured
For each section of the system — sales, purchasing, warehouse, cash, staff, planning — the SOP describes every document by one scheme: who enters it → mandatory fields → the check → which reports it feeds into.
| Element | Standard |
|---|---|
| Who enters it | Assistant (loaded from the bank statement — automatically) |
| Mandatory fields | Debit account · operation type 'Supplier payments' · the correct supplier · cash flow line item · supporting document (goods receipt note) |
| Check | The payment amount matches the receipt note; the payment is linked to the supporting document |
| Feeds into reports | Cash balances · supplier payables · cash flow statement |
Every document has a card like this: orders, delivery notes, cash receipts, card payments, payroll runs, expense requests. The employee doesn't memorize — they open it and do it.
The report SOP: not just 'enter' but also 'reconcile'
A separate class of SOPs are report verification procedures. An example: the weekly reconciliation of the 'Cash balances' report.
| Section | What it defines |
|---|---|
| Purpose and frequency | The report reflects real money in accounts and cash desks; reconciled weekly, sent on Monday by a fixed time |
| Owners and roles | Bank operations — the financier · cash desks — their holders · final correctness — the financier |
| Correctness indicators | No unposted operations · cash desk balances = holders' actual counts · account balances = bank statements · transfers and currency exchanges recorded |
| Typical errors | Each one — with its place in the system, a fix algorithm, and the specific person to go to |
| Recording the result | Three scenarios: correct · correct with agreed deviations · not confirmed (a delay notification with the reason and deadline) |
A report is not 'sent as is' — it is confirmed against the indicators. If something doesn't match, you hear it from us, with the reason and a deadline — you don't discover it yourself.
What SOPs cover
SOPs are linked to the transaction map: the map answers 'what and who', the SOP answers 'how, step by step'. One operation code — one instruction.
What it gives you
- They aren't written once and for all — processes change, and SOPs are updated with them (on the subscription, that's our job).
- They don't replace training — we train the team on SOPs using real operations, we don't send people off to 'read the document'.
- They don't work without accountability — a standard lives only while compliance is checked (that's what checklists and controls are for).
SOPs are assembled during implementation — around your processes
For a month we run your books with our own hands, and every process that passes through us turns into an instruction. By the handover to your team, you have standards written from your real life.