Technology Project

Cecilia Annichia

University of Maryland Global Campus

ACCT 326: Accounting Information System

Professor Jeffrey Pullen

April 12, 2021

Introduction

System Requirements

Billing

Electronic invoices, commonly understood as the digitization, issuance, and storage.

Invoice processing involves many single steps such as input, output, and control. Steps need to

be coordinated, managed, and surveyed to create true “digital added value”.

Inputs:

One caveat during data entry is that the association must be able to generate itemized bills for

each homeowner. The input requires generating an invoice with a customer ID. All the data will

be entered initially manually, then they can be stored electronically, and arrangements can be

generated based on the computer system. The process will be as follow:

Homeowners’ information such as legal full names, phone numbers, emails will be entered

invoices. Then, entering address to distinguish amount ranging from $100 to $200 per month,

based upon the location of each house, and depending on the type of the town-house or single-

house. Next is the late fee 20% per month of the unpaid balance, payment due by the 10th of the

following month.And finally, we will have 7,500 invoices in output to mail homeowners by the

20th/ month.

Output:

The invoice will include the header and position data, and data retrieved. Then, the invoice will

be released, allocated or booked and a document is created in accordance with the required

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standard formats. Employees need to check carefully and can be issued via different interfaces to

print it out like printer, fax server, in the desired format. Next, mail the invoices to homeowners

as fast as possible. We will have printable reports for the homeowners. The reports can be

specific to the homeowner or have a variety of different filters.

Control:

Internal control, reports are checked regularly by staff and manager.

Set a reminder so the bills can be mailed on the 20th each month.

Invoices must be shipped with a traceability date in case the homeowners said that they did not

receive the invoices or did not receive them on time.

To the present, the amount of fee and terms need to be seen clearly. the invoices are designed to

be as plain as attainable, no graphics, shading, or something fancy.

Collections

Input:

Once the invoicesare sent out, collecting the money is the most essential job of the association

and the accounting department. The data and information are needed for collections as follow:

ccustomer’s ID, homeowners’ name, and address, amount being paid and any late fees and

additional fee, cash, check, credit card, bank card.

Collection can be made in-person at the HOA main office; via mail to a P.O box; or

electronically. Homeowners will be given the time and address where they can pay in-person; or

information to write down on checks and P.O. box to mail the payment; or information to pay

electronically.

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The balance paid needs to be directly linked to the accounting software

A valid telephone ought to be collected because we may need to remind the homeowners who

are late in paying and go to collect where applicable.

Output:

Past and present reports are an integral part of the collection. The accountant must create a

description of each homeowner's past due balance and an ongoing constant log with the date and

time showing when collection attempts were made. The staff will print out receipts immediately

if customer pays in-person. If customer pays via mail to P.O box, staff checks fee and terms, then

print out the receipts to mail customer.

Staff check double and verify the payment and then mark the invoices as paid.

Accounts Receivable table shows the total amount owed from all homeowners as well as the

amount owed by individual homeowners.

Control:

To maximize collection and minimize risks, fax should be added with other collections. It is

important for employees to contact the appropriate authority as collecting money from the public

is a sensitive activity. To minimize the risk of paying with cash, there should be cameras in the

office. The employee who receives the customer's cash form is not the employee who generates

the credit note. For 7,500 homeowners, I recommend outsourcing or co-outsourcing.

Payments

Input:

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The system ought to be ready to spend 400 payments per month with efficiency. All information

of vendors and services and goods suppliers, fixed or not fixed expenses, have to setup in

computer system to prepare payments. Because the association will rely on electronic payments,

therefore, all payments are directly deposited to the providers’ accounts. Payments will be office

supplies (not fixed expenses), rental space for the HOA (Fixed expense), utility, landscaping,

trash and snow removal, invoices from vendors and suppliers.

Output:

The staff checks receipts form vendors. The vendor reports and those based on how money was

deposited into the providers' accounts need be availed. Expense reports need to be created and

included in the system. We should be able to pull up an expense and create a report based on

date, month or so. It is aged payables report.

Control:

To ensure uninterrupted and timely receive of goods and services, I recommend that each

employee manages a group of suppliers. He will follow up to receive recurring bills on time and

take notes to get arising invoices. These accountants must present the payment plan to the

manager. The manager will balance the payable amount to the seller and the amount collected

from the customers. This way, the manager will create a complete payment plan, avoiding

penalties or interruptions due to late payments. The manager has to make sure money in the

accounts are availed for payments.

Payroll

Input:

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Output:

Control:

Outsourcing Considerations

For saving money and time, and increasing efficiency, we propose outsourcing

consideration payroll, collection HOA fee, office supplies and some services such as

landscaping, trash/ snow removal.

Payroll

Payroll is a complex part of an accounting. It is a group activity in tandem. If you process

payroll in-house, you will spend money to buy computers, payroll software, payroll accountants,

payroll tax, accounting deadlines, and training to ensure that payroll is processed correctly.

Therefore, I propose you outsource your company payroll. The payroll provider will perform

payroll. I propose you choose ADP company to be your provider. It is a full-service provider.

They, ADP, will perform employee analytics and forecasting for attracting, developing, engaging

retaining the workforce. They will be responsible for wage calculations, tax withholdings and

deposits, reporting. Because they are payroll experts, they can minimize payroll errors, maintain

compliance, integrate data, improve security. So, you not only save time and money, but also

prioritize your core business and enhance compliance. Additionally, ADP can provide other

associated HR services whether you need (Mills, 2019).

Collections

Collecting fee from seven thousand five hundred homeowners is not simply. Collecting

money from people is a sensitive activity. Instead of employing company’s in-house accountants,

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bookkeepers, CFO to perform the collections, you should outsource professional services.

Professionals have the knowledge, experience, and flexibility to respond to problems as they

arise and minimize potential failures.They will help you achieve financial security. They use the

latest technology and will get the collections done on time. The newest technology will increase

the security and protection of your sensitive information. Companies often think that their

employees should do collections work because employees are paid by the hour.The company

believes that the cost of paying employees to do collections work is cheaper than

outsourcing.But they forget that in addition to the cost of wages and salaries, the company also

must pay for training, supervision, benefits, software, payroll taxes, and necessary

machinery.Instead of spending time on collections, you should spend that time on productivity

and revenue. I propose you should outsource the collections. You can save money and increase

efficiency in the long run (Young, 2014).

Office supplies

The association will have to buy many machines, equipment for using To save money

and not to manage too many employees, uTopia should outsource equipment such as computers,

fax machines, copiers, scanners, printers, postage machines from Staple. Staple will be

responsible for maintenance, upgrading new equipment, security for computers.

Let's try to imagine an office operating in the usual way. With 100 full-time and 150 part-

time employees, how much equipment will your association purchase equipment for employee

use, such as copiers, scanners, fax equipment, toner cartridges, and computers? In addition to the

cost of buying equipment, the association will have to pay maintenance and repair costs when

damaged. After a period of use, the association needs upgrade them. The cost of upgrading a

series of machinery and equipment is not small, and the time to survey and upgrade is also not

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small. We all understand time is money. The association will avoid the cost of purchasing,

maintaining, and upgrading by outsourcing to professional suppliers. Professional suppliers will

provide your demands with the best finance (Dryden, 2018).

Internal audits
I also recommend that the association outsource the quarterly audit. With the

development of science and technology, the accounting industry has many effective tools to

complete the work accurately and quickly. Everything will be stored in the cloud for easy access,

control, markup, and accounting records. Professional auditors also provide potential risk

assessments, financial statements, employee benefits plan, and internal control assurances

(Simpson, 2018).

System Selection
Simple accounting software cannot handle the complex and heavy workload of an

association of 100 full-time, 150 part-time, and 7,500 HOA fee-paying homeowners. I suggest

you choose the accounting software of Sage.

Sage, formerly known as Peachtree Accounting Software, is an easy-to-use accounting

platform software for several sizes of businesses. Sage does not only work in desktop, cloud-

based computing, but also in mobile apps for iOS, Android and BlackBerry and can be used by

up to 40 users (Kriss, 2020). Sage is very strong in accounting software. It is chosen by many

businesses because it contains many important features. Its main features are cash flow

management, online bill payment, mail or email invoices, customer management center,

excellent inventory and work management, fixed asset management, task/project management,

standard and essential accounting, supplier management center, inventory, and service

management center, over 100 modifiable reports and financial statements to support decision

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making, look at trends and data insights, etc.It also intergrades with Microsoft application such

as Excel, Word, and Outlook. Its output produce is described in non-technical language with

high graphics and easy to use consumer interface (Sage, n.d.). I also propose you host Sage on

cloud to get many unmatched benefits to help your association run smoothly along with saving

money and time.

There are some benefits of hosting Sage accounting software on cloud. In terms of

security, the service provider will store data in the cloud and encrypt the data, third-party

inspection, backup power, and firewall to avoid the risk of data loss and the risk of being hacked.

They regularly implement security and storage measures.

In terms of cost, you don't have to buy expensive servers, maintenance, repair, upgrades,

IT specialists. These tasks will be done by the cloud provider. You only need to pay a fixed

monthly rental fee.On the internet, people who have access to Sage software will easily work

without being constrained by space and time. Managers and employees are also not restricted by

piles of paperwork. This helps people to access a lot of convenient information for quick work.

Eliminate unnecessary paperwork.With Sage on cloud, the association employees and outsourced

servants interact more conveniently. An important benefit that the cloud brings is that sync or

duplicate files will be excluded. At the same time, users can view, edit, retrieve data to Excel,

PDF without losing functionality or efficiency.Another important benefit of using Sage on the

cloud is auto backup. Data that is automatically backed up in the cloud will not be lost due to any

natural or physical risk. Cloud outages have so far been deemed unlikely. In the end, the

association will still achieve business efficiency while saving on software upgrade costs (Rana,

2018).

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In my opinion, the old system manages 3,500 homeowners. The new system with 7,500

homeowners, 100 full-time and 150 part-time employers have very different system to handle.

The new system has 4,000 new homeowners. So, this is a chance to take completely to the new

system. The association can direct migration, stop using the old system and begin with the new

system. To make sure a smooth transition, the association needs to set up several structure data,

merge general ledger data, enter data to posting journals, eliminate outdated data, run and test

repeatedly practicing data, and pick the time to run the new system that users are not so busy

(Open door, 2016).

Impact of Technology

Accounting and information technology come from the same mathematical essence. The

development of information technology led to the development of accounting. The rise of the

cloud and automation makes it easier for accountants and bookkeeping students to find data and

knowledge. They don't have to go to the library to find books or spend a lot of money to buy

them. The Internet is a huge store of knowledge, even enough for them to study for the CPA

certification exam. Automation makes payments, an important part of accounting, convenient

and fast (Padar, 2021).

Audits are also made easier thanks to the cloud, automation, and AI. Transactions are

coded and run on a digital system. Therefore, information can be accessed immediately by

accounting professionals using intranet, internet, and digital databases to serve business

requirements. Before, when there was no technology, accountants had to store and work on piles

of paperwork, now they work paperless.

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When financial professionals need history data for analysis and financial planning, they

can also instantly access the information they need on the internet at any time without driving to

the office. This saves them time in preparing financial advice for clients.

Accountants don't just work for clients within a limited geographical area, they can

provide financial accounting services to any client anywhere thanks to the rise of digital.

The very important thing of technology to support accounting is the confidentiality of

information. Encryption software and verification tools keep accounting data and sensitive

information safe, especially for money processing departments (Technology, 2020).

Challenges to Automation

With the number of toll houses and the increasing number of employees, it's hard to

perfectly do the job the old way with paperwork. Current trends force us to automate. However,

we must be prepared to face challenges due to doing differences and automation.

The first challenge when working on the internet is cyber security. Much data for

homeowners, staffs, and association financial reports is stored in the cloud. Therefore,

information security is always a top priority for network administrators. The association needs to

update and upgrade anti-virus software. In addition, the devices also need to be upgraded to

synchronize with the software.

Resistance from employees when the association transitions from the current system to

the new system is a challenge any organization faces. This challenge is caused by doing anything

different, not by automation. Especially for older employees who are going to retire. They will

not want to learn new things. The association needs to place them in more suitable jobs.

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The third challenge is the ability of staff to work. Employees who know little about Sage,

technology and software need to be trained to integrate when the new system comes into

operation.

Downing system time during update or upgrade is the fourth challenge. To solve this

problem, the system should handle them at nighttime.

Finding good outsourcing providers is the ultimate challenge. Associations should

consult other associations or find out customer reviews of suppliers before signing contracts.

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References

Mills, D. (July 30, 2019). 8 reasons you should outsource payroll. Linkedin.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-reasons-you-should-outsource-payroll-david-mills

Young, B. (May 22, 2014). The top 5 benefits of outsourced collections services. SWBC.

https://blog.swbc.com/lenderhub/the-top-5-benefits-of-outsourced-collections

Dryden. (December 18, 2018). Benefits of outsourcing supplier relationship

management.https://drydengroup.com/why-you-should-outsource-your-supplier-relationship-

management/

Simpson, A. (September 12, 2018). Internal audits: to outsource or not? ICSA.

https://www.icas.com/professional-resources/audit-and-assurance/internal-audit/internal-

audit-to-outsource-or-not

Sage. (n.d.). Sage 50 Accounting 2015 U.S. Edition. https://www.sage.com/na/~/media/site/Sage-50-

Accounting-US/pdf/Sage50US_2015_System_Requirements.pdf#:~:text=Sage

%2050%20Accounting%202015%20U.S.%20Edition%20System%20requirements,single%20user

%20and%202%20GB%20for%20multiple%20users

Rana, R. (August 03, 2018). 10 benefits of hosting sage 50 accounting software on cloud.Ace cloud

hosting. https://www.acecloudhosting.com/blog/benefits-hosting-sage-50-on-cloud/

Open Door. (December 01, 2016). Best conversion practices when moving data to a new accounting

system.https://www.opendoorerp.com/best-conversion-practices-when-moving-data-to-a-new-

accounting-system/

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Padar, J. (April 22, 2021). Technology’s growing impact on accounting. Accounting today.

https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/technologys-growing-impact-on-accounting

Technology. (September 25, 2020). 7 ways technology has changed the game for the accounting

profession.Urdesign. https://www.urdesignmag.com/technology/2020/09/25/7-ways-

technology-has-changed-the-game-for-the-accounting-profession/

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