At the 2019 National Council AGM it was resolved to adopt a standardised form of electronic accounting system and the Management Committee was tasked with the process of implementing the resolution.
In July 2019 the Management Committee agreed to purchase 6 Xero licences through BDO Wellington Limited to be funded initially by the Management Committee.
Branches that are not registered for GST have been assigned to one of 4 ATCANZ Groups. As Xero cannot handle a mixture of GST and non GST accounts one Branch has been allocated to a unique Xero GST file.
Branch Treasurers are being contacted by email on a progressive basis and asked to complete a form authorising their banks to provide “feeds” from Branch bank accounts to Xero. When these have been completed and returned to the General Secretary application is made to Xero to commence the bank feed process. When this is complete Branch Treasurers are granted access to the Group account.
In order to accommodate multiple Branches within the same Xero file charts of accounts have been developed which conbine basic account codes and a Branch identification number. For the most part the names of the items in the accounts chart are the names that will already be familiar to Treasurers. They will however start with the number of the ATC Squadron that the Branch supports.
To enable Branch reporting the Xero "Tracking" system has been adopted. All account entries will need to use the "Tracking" code for the Branch.
Xero provides extensive help for users. This can be accessed from within the Xero application or even from a quick search using standard search engines.
Xero provides a comprehensive system for maintaining contacts. Contacts can be invoiced and the payment of invoices monitored. Contact groups have been created so that contacts for each Branch can be easily identified and managed. Information about cadets is not to be used in the Xero Contacts area unless the parents or caregivers have given permission for this information to be shared within the Association. Cadet Forces provide information about parents/care givers that can be used within the Association.
Invoice "Branding" has been developed for use by Branches.
All Branches should be using this Xero platform by the date of the National Council AGM in (expected to be in June 2021) . However, Branches may chose to purchase their own Xero licence if they consider the expense to be the best use of funds. Branches that opt to do this must ensure the General Secretary has access to the Xero file and that the file is maintained in the required format.
Issues of privacy have in the past been riased by some Branches. These issues have been resolved with the help of Cadet Forces. As far as compliance with the Privacy Act is concerned the "agency" in the Act is ATCANZ. Branches and the Management Committee are not separate "agencies". There is only one ATCANZ with Branches and a Management Committee.