By Stephanie Elsen

The Farm Financial Standards Council (FFSC) has been working on developing recommendations for hedge transactions for agricultural operations. In January 2014, nearly 70 pages of additional content will be added to the Financial Guidelines for Agriculture. The content will provide content and examples of how to account for hedge (futures and options) transactions on financial statements for agricultural producers.

The additional content to be released contains information about two types of hedging: fair value hedges and cash flow hedges. Fair value hedges are when a producer stores grain that is valued on the balance sheet at fair market value and is readily available for sale. In this case the resulting hedging gains and losses are included in the revenue section of the income statement. Cash flow hedges occur when a producer hedges items not available for sale, including planned or growing crops or livestock. These items are valued at cost on the balance sheet, and the resulting hedging gains and losses may be excluded from the income statement and instead shown in other comprehensive income.

To learn more about the FFSC recommendations on accounting for hedging transactions, look for the new content in January of 2014 at www.ffsc.org

The FFSC was created to promote uniformity and integrity in financial reporting and analysis for farmers. Learn more about their mission and the tools they offer by visiting their Web site: www.ffsc.org

By Stephanie Elsen

The Farm Financial Standards Council or “FFSC” is an all-volunteer non-profit group consisting of individuals interested in the improvement of financial and managerial accounting for agricultural producers. The FFSC works to create uniformity in farm financial accounting analysis. Farmers can benefit from paying attention to the FFSC and The Guidelines.

Using The Financial Guidelines for Agriculture provides consistency to third parties such as lenders and consultants. If you understand and follow The Guidelines, your lenders and consultants will have a better understanding of your financial information. With a better understanding of your business, those third parties can help you improve your operation. While you may be using your farm accounting software application to track this information, setting it up correctly is also important, and that’s when you can turn to The FFSC Guidelines.

The FFSC Guidelines are detailed in one document, which is indexed by subject. While The Guidelines are quite lengthy, reading the entire document from cover to cover is not necessary. Rather, The Guidlines should be used as a resource when a specific question arises. For example, there may be a field in your accounting system for you to assign a value to breeding livestock. You may not be aware of how to assign this value, and this situation is a perfect example of when to turn to the FFSC Guidelines and look up the best way do that.

The FFSC was created to promote uniformity and integrity in financial reporting and analysis for farmers. Learn more about their mission and the tools they offer by visiting their Web site: www.ffsc.org.

By Stephanie Elsen

Red Wing Software provides software to help cities/municipalities be in complete control of their own finances. CenterPoint Fund Accounting Software for Municipals is Red Wing Software’s accounting application that is a great fit for small to medium-size towns and cities that are outgrowing their basic systems and need more functionality.

Red Wing Software customers understand the benefits of using CenterPoint Fund Accounting to manage their city’s finances, rather than using a basic program. Because of their wide-appeal, basic, mass-marketed accounting systems get a lot of press and have a massive number of users. These products are top-of-mind for many people in search of accounting software. Many people ask us to compare CenterPoint against those products. CenterPoint Fund Accounting includes the basics you need plus specific features for municipals. Here are some of the main differences between CenterPoint Fund Accounting for Municipals and basic accounting programs. To summarize the reason: many CenterPoint users come from basic programs and are seeking specific features that can help them manage their city better.

• Track by Funding Source

  Track income and expense by fund, department, and/or locations. With basic systems, tracking options are limited.

• Track Operational Results

  Tracking financial operational results can be done by fiscal year or calendar period. Many basic systems limit this information to yearly.

• Six-month Financial Report

  CenterPoint has the ability to produce a customizable six-month financial report for local or state reporting. Basic systems do not typically offer this report.

• Cost Analysis

  Track repair and maintenance costs to assets for easy reporting and analysis of total costs. Most basic systems do not track specific asset and equipment maintenance costs.

• Financial Analysis

  CenterPoint offers a financial analysis tool to easily cross-section your results by fund, department, and location. Basic systems offer generic financial tools that are not easily customizable.

• Labor Allocation

  Allocate labor across multiple funds and departments with CenterPoint. Basic systems allow tracking by company only.

• Setup Wizard

  A setup wizard will guide you through the process of setting up items to track and manage your city. Many basic programs only guide you through the setup of only basic information.

Expand Limited to Unlimited.

Some programs limit the amount of data you can have in your system. When you reach these limits, which you were likely unaware of at the start, you will need to move on to something new. Here are some of the ways CenterPoint compares to typical basic systems when it comes to limits:

Beef Up Security

One person might start out running the whole accounting system, but eventually tasks will be divided up. At that point, you will likely want to limit what employees can do and see in the accounting system, based on their job. CenterPoint has menu level security, so users can see only the screens they are given access to within the system.

Not all programs are created equal. Any accounting system has its positive and negative points. Just because something is used and known by the masses does not mean it’s the best product available. Basic programs do a great job for many municipals, for many years. But when your city starts to outgrow its accounting software feature set, it might just be time to contact Red Wing Software. 800-732-9464, info@redwingsoftware.com.

By Stephanie Elsen

Red Wing Software provides software to help nonprofits be in complete control of their own finances. CenterPoint Fund Accounting Software for Nonprofits is Red Wing Software’s accounting application that is a great fit for organizations that are outgrowing their basic systems and need more functionality.

Red Wing Software customers understand the benefits of using CenterPoint Fund Accounting to manage their finances, rather than using a basic program. Because of their wide-appeal, basic, mass-marketed accounting systems get a lot of press and have a massive number of users. These products are top-of-mind for many people in search of accounting software. Many people ask us to compare CenterPoint against those products. CenterPoint Fund Accounting includes the basics you need plus specific features for nonprofits. Here are some of the main differences between CenterPoint Fund Accounting and basic accounting programs. To summarize the reason: many CenterPoint users come from basic programs and are seeking specific features that can help them manage their nonprofit organization better.

• Track by Funding Source

  Track income and expense by fund, department, and/or locations. With basic systems, tracking options are limited.

• Track Operational Results

  Tracking financial operational results can be done by fiscal year or calendar period. Many basic systems limit this information to yearly.

• Cost Analysis

  Track repair and maintenance costs to assets for easy reporting and analysis of total costs. Most basic systems do not track specific asset and equipment maintenance costs.

• Financial Analysis

  CenterPoint offers a financial analysis tool to easily cross-section your results by fund, department, and location. Basic systems offer generic financial tools that are not easily customizable.

• Labor Allocation

  Allocate labor across multiple funds and departments with CenterPoint. Basic systems allow tracking by company only.

• Setup Wizard

  A setup wizard will guide you through the process of setting up items to track and manage your nonprofit organization. Many basic programs only guide you through the setup of only basic information.

Expand Limited to Unlimited

Some programs limit the amount of data you can have in your system. When you reach these limits, which you were likely unaware of at the start, you will need to move on to something new. Here are some of the ways CenterPoint compares to typical basic systems when it comes to limits:

Beef Up Security

One person might start out running the whole accounting system, but eventually tasks will be divided up. At that point, you will likely want to limit what employees can do and see in the accounting system, based on their job. CenterPoint has menu level security, so users can see only the screens they are given access to within the system.

Not all programs are created equal. Any accounting system has its positive and negative points. Just because something is used and known by the masses does not mean it’s the best product available. Basic programs do a great job for many nonprofit organizations, for many years. But when your organization starts to outgrow its accounting software feature set, it might just be time to contact Red Wing Software. 800-732-9464, info@redwingsoftware.com.

By Stephanie Elsen

Thousands of Red Wing Software customers understand the benefits of using software specific to agriculture in managing their farm, rather than using a basic program. Because of their wide-appeal, basic, mass-marketed accounting systems get a lot of press and have a massive number of users. These products are top-of-mind for many people in search of accounting software. Many people ask us to compare CenterPoint against those products. Red Wing Software's farm accounting software, CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture, includes the basics you need such as writing checks, entering payables and receivables, and managing your general ledger. CenterPoint offers specific features for farms to help see their true potential. Here are some of the main differences between CenterPoint Accounting for Agriculture and basic accounting programs. To summarize the reason: many CenterPoint users come from basic programs and are seeking specific features that can help them manage their farm better.

• Book, Market, and Tax Asset Value Tracking:

  Know the true value of your assets for whatever purpose you choose.

• Budget and Forecasting:

  Gain the ability to create “what if” scenarios for your farm, and you’ll be able to project future sales, cash flow, income statements, and assets and liabilities. You’ll then be able to more accurately plan for future business strategies!

• Financial Analysis:

  Owners and managers can get in-depth financial analysis with unlimited ability to structure and segment entire operations, profit centers, accounts, and inventories to track data, combine entities, and receive the most relevant farm reporting available today.

• Information Tracking for Farms, Fields, Landlords, etc.:

  Always have access to information at your fingertips about your farm, land, etc. for yourself and your managers, landlords, bankers, and more.

• Multiple Quantity Inventory Tracking:

  While basic programs often don’t allow for any inventory tracking, CenterPoint for Agriculture allows for inventory tracking in multiple quantities, so you can keep better track of your items no matter how you buy or sell them.

• Multiple Tax Entities:

  Allows you to track multiple tax entities in one database for keeping financial data separate, yet still perform combined business analysis when necessary.

• Production Analysis:

  Provides detailed crop and livestock information on a cost per unit basis.

• Ratio Analysis:

  Calculates ratios for your farming operation and shows trends, so you can address issues and become more profitable.

• Transaction Distribution to Multiple Accounts:

  Easily distribute complex transactions across multiple accounts and production units, for an accurate financial picture.

Expand Limited to Unlimited.

Some programs limit the amount of data you can have in your system. When you reach these limits, which you were likely unaware of at the start, you will need to move on to something new. Here are some of the ways CenterPoint compares to typical basic systems when it comes to limits:

Beef Up Security.

One person might start out running the whole accounting system, but eventually tasks will be divided up. At that point, you will likely want to limit what employees can do and see in the accounting system, based on their job. CenterPoint has menu level security, so users can see only the screens they are given access to within the system.

Not all programs are created equal. Any accounting system has its positive and negative points. Just because something is used and known by the masses does not mean it’s the best product available. Basic programs do a great job for many farms, for many years. But when your farm starts to outgrow its accounting software feature set, it might just be time to contact Red Wing Software. 800-732-9464, info@redwingsoftware.com.