If you do not use Xero, QBO or Netsuite as your accounting software, you can still export Float transactions into a CSV, and upload them directly to your accounting software. Here is how you would reconcile the three types of activities on Float:
- Spend
- Cashback
- Top-ups (i.e. sending funds to your Float account to start spending)
Chart of Accounts/ GL Code Setup
To get started, you need to add the following accounts to your Chart of Accounts in your accounting system. These are only recommended account names, you may use your discretion on naming conventions:
- Float Balance: this account will hold the true Float balance at any given time. It should agree at each month-end to your Float account statement. This account should be setup as a bank account or a cash equivalent.
- Float Clearing Account: this account will be credited for all of the spend that occurs on Float, at the end of the period it is swept into the Float Balance account (more explanation to follow). This account should be setup as a prepaid or other asset account.
Once these accounts have been added to your accounting software, navigate to the accounting > transaction export page and categorize your transactions (i.e., add GL codes, tax codes etc).
Click once the transaction has been accurately categorized. This moves the transaction to the "Ready to Export' tab!
Exporting Transactions 🧾
Spend and Cashback
Spend
- Select all transactions that are in the 'Ready to Export' Tab
- Click 'Export CSV'
- Click 'Download and move to Export History' (not doing so increases the chances of duplicate exports)
- Next, format the file accordingly and upload them in bulk as an expense or journal entry (depending on the accounting system).
The impact should be:
Debit Various expense accounts (or assets if capitalizing)
Credit Float Clearing Account
Cashback
Cashback will be included in the transaction CSV download in the 'Spend'. This needs to be uploaded to the accounting system as a journal entry with the following impact:
Debit Float Clearing Account
Credit Cashback or Other Income (or an income statement account of your choice)
Top-ups
While you reconcile the Funding Bank Account (i.e. the one that you used to send funds to Float), create a bank transfer in your accounting system for each of the top-ups made. The bank transfer will be between the Float Balance and the Funding Bank Account. This will create the following impact:
Debit Float Balance
Credit Funding Bank Account
CHECK: The ending balance in the Float Balance account should match the Float account statement end balance. This will ensure you’ve captured all of the transactions.
End of Period Sweep
For all of the spend and cashback that was logged to the Float Clearing Account during the period, sweep it out of the clearing account and into the Float Balance. You can do this in one bulk transaction on the last day of the month (or period).
For example, if the total spend & cashback was $100k for January, the entry would look like this on January 31st:
Debit Float Clearing Account 100k
Credit Float Balance 100k
CHECK: The Float Clearing Account should now be nil.
Alternate Method
At Float we recommend using the Float Clearing Account method, however we have seen customers skip this step. In this case, you would download the account statement in a CSV format and upload it to your Float Balance (note the Float Balance must be a bank account) as a bank statement. You can then categorize the transactions in your accounting system rather than in the Float web application. When the bank reconciliation is complete, check that the end balance in the accounting system matches with the end balance on the Float account statement to ensure you've included all the transactions.