Set up petty cash fund

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Set up petty cash fund within SmartERP.

This page is for Financial Controllers setting up petty cash imprest funds using custom_petty_cash.

{screenshot:set-up-petty-cash-fund-overview-dashboard}

2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: account, smarterp_finance, smarterp_ethiopian_payroll
• Security Groups:
  • Show Full Accounting Features (Technical ID: account.group_account_user)
  • Billing Administrator / Financial Controller (Technical ID: account.group_account_manager)
  • Chief Financial Officer / Auditor (Technical ID: account.group_account_readonly)
• Master Data Dependencies: Chart of accounts, statutory tax definitions (VAT 15%, WHT 2%/30%), payment terms, and open fiscal periods for Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.).

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Accounting app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Accounting → Customers / Vendors / Accounting / Configuration.

{screenshot:set-up-petty-cash-fund-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Name / Reference (Mandatory): Unique identifier or auto-generated voucher sequence number
   • Accounting Date (Mandatory): Effective posting date falling within an open fiscal period
   • Journal (Mandatory): Designated financial journal (Cash, Bank, Customer Invoices, Vendor Bills, Miscellaneous)
   • Partner / Entity (Mandatory): Registered customer, vendor, or employee partner record (res.partner)
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Analytic Distribution (Optional): Cost center or project allocation percentage
   • Tax Treatment (Optional): Statutory withholding tax or VAT exemption certificate
   • Payment Reference (Optional): Commercial bank transaction reference or cheque number
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:set-up-petty-cash-fund-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Draft → In Payment / Confirmed → Posted / Reconciled).
• Ledger & System Impact: Generates immutable double-entry journal items (account.move.line) updating general ledger balances, trial balance, and statutory tax registers.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:set-up-petty-cash-fund-transaction-processing-state}

Open Petty Cash Funds#

Open Petty Cash → Configuration → Funds.

The list displays active funds, custodians, allocated float ceilings, and current balances.

Create an imprest fund#

1. Press New.
2. In Fund Name, enter an identifier: e.g. Head Office Operations Petty Cash Fund.
3. In Custodian (custodian_id), select the staff member responsible for the physical cash safe.
4. In Imprest Amount (max_amount), enter the authorized fund ceiling: e.g. ETB 30,000.00.
5. In Replenishment Threshold (threshold_amount), enter the trigger balance: e.g. ETB 6,000.00 (20% of float).
6. In Journal, select the linked cash journal (e.g. Petty Cash - Head Office).
7. In Expense Account, choose default operational expense clearing account.
8. Press Confirm & Activate. The fund state changes from Draft to Active.

Initial fund disbursement#

To fund the newly created safe:

1. Issue a Bank Payment Voucher (BPV) drawn from the main company bank account for ETB 30,000.00.
2. Debit the Petty Cash Account (110150) and Credit the Bank Account (110200).
3. The custodian receives the physical currency into the safe.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • Account: Automatic reconciliation (account.ir_cron_auto_reconcile): Runs nightly to match open ledger transactions
  • Asset: Compute depreciation lines (account_asset.ir_cron_compute_depreciation): Runs monthly on the 30th to compute fixed asset depreciation schedules
  • Tax: Generate VAT and WHT schedules (smarterp_finance.ir_cron_tax_schedules): Runs monthly to prepare MOR tax return summaries
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • Official Cash Receipt Voucher (CRV)
  • Bank Payment Voucher (BPV) & Cheque Payment Voucher (CPV)
  • Withholding Tax Certificate (Form 3.4)
  • General Ledger & Trial Balance Audit Schedules
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#

Next#

• Disburse petty cash: Disburse petty cash voucher.
• Replenish the fund: Replenish petty cash fund.