VT Final Accounts

If there is a single feature of VT Final Accounts that makes it practical to produce statutory accounts in Microsoft Excel, then it is AutoHide. AutoHide hides any notes or rows with nil balances and any blank notes. AutoHide re-numbers the notes which remain visible.

AutoHide also determines which columns are displayed in the fixed asset and investments notes.

Using AutoHide

AutoHide is very simple to use. You just have to click on the AutoHide On/Off button on the VT toolbar. The workbook is then scanned and any notes or rows with nil balances are automatically hidden. If you want to see the rows or notes again, you can turn AutoHide off by clicking on the button again. If the numbers change and a different set of notes and rows should be hidden, click on the Re-evaluate Hiding button.

AutoHide On/Off button

Re-evaluate Hiding button

When hiding is on, the text AutoHide Is On is displayed in red at the top of the TB, Data, CFWorkings and Partners sheets. This is to remind you that if you change any of the data on these sheets then AutoHide may need re-evaluating. If you want to print out one of these sheets without this caption, just delete the text in the cell. It will be replaced when you next evaluate AutoHide.

How AutoHide works

Areas of cells in the templates supplied have been given special names all beginning zAutoHide. These areas are known as AutoHide areas. When AutoHide is evaluated the areas are examined to see if they contain any none zero numbers and are hidden or unhidden as appropriate.

To get a better understanding of how AutoHide is set up, select a sheet such as the Notes sheet and choose the Select All AutoHide Areas command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar

Creating AutoHide areas

Creating AutoHide areas requires some thought because there are several different types of area and you cannot normally see the areas. Fortunately, unless you are designing your own templates, you are unlikely to want to create AutoHide areas.

AutoHide areas of the same type should not overlap. If they do, their effect is difficult to predict because it depends on which is evaluated by the software first. When you create an AutoHide area, you are warned if it overlaps with an existing area of the same type.

To create an AutoHide area, select an appropriate range of cells and choose the Set As AutoHide Area command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar.

Removing AutoHide areas

AutoHide can work erroneously if you have added new rows and inadvertently expanded an existing AutoHide area. It can be quite hard to track down what is wrong. The easiest solution is to remove all AutoHide areas from the region which is not correctly hiding and hide the rows manually as required.

To remove AutoHide, select the rows with a problem and choose the Remove All Areas From Region command (VT Final Accounts AutoHide menu). There is also a button for this on the VT Utility toolbar. For more details, see Removing AutoHide.

To manually hide a row using standard Excel techniques, click on the row number with the right mouse button and choose the Hide command from the pop-up menu.

Spreadsheets are not normally very good at handling text more than one row long. To overcome this, VT Final Accounts uses borderless Excel text boxes placed over a row of cells. Text boxes behave like a mini word-processing area. Because they are borderless, the text boxes used by VT Final Accounts can be a little difficult to see. However, they can be identified by the absence of the grid lines around the cells that they cover or by clicking on them.

Editing text boxes

To change the text in a text box:

1. Click on the box to select it
2. Click again where you wish to begin typing
3. To exit word processor mode, click on the border of the box or on any ordinary cell

Automated text boxes

The text in text boxes cannot contain embedded formulae, but it is possible to link the text box to the contents of another cell, and hence a degree of automation can be achieved. VT Final Accounts uses this technique to automate some of the text in the directors report.

When you select an automated text box, you will find that the text cannot be directly edited. Instead, a reference in the formula bar (the white row just beneath the toolbar buttons) links it to a cell on the Library worksheet. If you want to edit the text, edit the cell on the Library sheet. If you want to break the link, remove the formula in the formula bar.

Text longer than 255 characters cannot be automated in Excel, and hence you have to manually alter the wording in the auditors/accountants reports.

Re-sizing text boxes

Text boxes do not re-size automatically. If a text box is too big or small, alter the height of the row behind the box. To quickly alter the row height, drag the bottom line of the square containing the row number up or down with the mouse. If a text box becomes mis-aligned from its row, choose the Re-align Text Box command from the VT Final Accounts Format menu.

Inserting text boxes

1. If necessary, create a new row by clicking on a row number with the right mouse button and choosing the Insert command from the pop-up menu

2. Select the cells to be covered by the text box

3. Click on the Insert Text Box Across Columns button on the VT toolbar. Do not use the Excel text box button, as this does not create a borderless box Insert Text Box Across Columns button.

Deleting text boxes

1. Select the text box (In Excel 97 or higher you can only select a text box by clicking on its border)
2. Press the Delete key

Note The boxes used for notes such as Transaction with directors automatically hide if they are left blank.

The VT Main toolbar is installed when VT Final Accounts is first enabled in the Add-Ins dialog.

In Excel 2007 or later the VT commands and toolbars appear on the Add-Ins tab.

If you have problems finding the VT Main toolbar, or the toolbar is not working correctly, choose the Re-install/Delete VT Final Accounts Toolbars command from the VT Final Accounts View menu.

An Excel workbook is saved in a single file on your hard disk. A workbook consists of a series of worksheets. A worksheet consists of cells in a grid. One or more cells is a range.

Workbooks

A single workbook is used to contain all the presentational data for a set of final/statutory accounts for a business.

The easiest way to create a new workbook based on one of the templates is to click on the New Accounts Workbook button on the VT toolbar.

When you create a new workbook it will be given a default name such as Manstat1. When you save it you should change it to a more appropriate name.

Worksheets

Individual worksheets can be selected by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of the Excel window. You can also select sheets by clicking on the arrow buttons at the bottom left of the screen with the right mouse button and then by selecting a sheet name from the pop-up menu.

There are three types of sheets in a statutory/final accounts workbook:

In order to make printing and previewing more straight forward, there are special print and preview buttons on the VT Toobar which enable all the sheets making up the normal or abbreviated accounts to be printed in one go. This also numbers the pages correctly. If you want to print out a data input or workings sheet, select the sheet and use the standard Excel print button.

Ranges

A range is one or more cells on a worksheet. In VT Final Accounts documentation a range is sometimes referred to as an area. Many buttons and menu commands in Excel apply to the currently selected range on the currently selected sheet.

An entire row or column is also a range. To select an entire row, click on the row number. To select an entire column, click on the column letter.

Ranges can be given defined names. Many features of VT Final Accounts are implemented behind the scenes using defined names.

Add-in programs enable third party developers such as VT Software to add toolbars, menu commands and features to extend the capabilities of Excel. Add-in features usually have the same look and feel as original Excel features. The VT add-in programs are written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) which is supplied as a standard part of Excel. In other words, the only software used to create VT Final Accounts was Excel itself.

Add-in programs can be enabled or disabled at any time by choosing the Add-Ins command from the Tools menu of Excel (in Excel 2007 or later click the button at the top left corner of Excel, click Excel Options, click Add-Ins, select Manage Excel Add-Ins and then click Go). When an add-in program such as VT Final Accounts is first enabled, it adds custom toolbars to the main Window of Excel (in Excel 2007 or later to the Add-Ins tab). Even if you disable the add-in program, the toolbar remains. Tip: To remove the VT toolbars, choose the Re-install/Delete VT Final Accounts Toolbars command from the VT Final Accounts View menu.

The add-in programs provided by VT Software are called VT Final Accounts, VT Function Library and VT Data Export. VT Final Accounts is a large program. We recommend that you normally disable it as an add-in to prevent it loading each time you start Excel. If you do this, it will not load until you click on a button on the VT toolbar.

The VT Function Library is a small program and we recommend that you leave it permanently enabled. You will then not be bothered with messages about links whenever you open a workbook based on one of the accounts templates. The VT Function Library contains the SWITCH function, which is used throughout the accounts templates to automate text which changes with the results such as Profit/(loss) for the year. It also contains functions used by workbooks linked to the VT Transaction accounting package.

The VT Data Export add-in enables accounts data for sole traders and partnerships to be exported to tax software packages. There is no need to enable this add-in unless you want to export data. VT Data Export can be used with any Excel workbook, not just the ones supplied with VT Final Accounts.

These instructions assume that the software is already installed on your PC, and deal with the next step, which is to enable VT Data Export as an add-in program.

Step by step

1. Start Microsoft Excel
2. In Excel 2003 or earlier, choose the Add-Ins command from the Tools menu. In Excel 2007 or later click the button at the top left corner of Excel, click Excel Options, click Add-Ins, select Manage Excel Add-Ins and then click Go.
3. In the Add-Ins dialog, tick the VT Data Export box and then click OK
   

Notes

• The first time you enable the program, the VT Data Export toolbar will be installed
• After you have first used VT Data Export, you may wish to disable it as an add-in (by un-ticking the box in the Add-Ins dialog). This prevents VT Data Export loading every time you start Excel
• You can still start VT Data Export even when it is disabled by clicking on the Send To Tax Package button on the VT Data Export toolbar
  

BTC Assist is an Excel based add-in that has been designed to compliment VT Software’s VT final accounts package - VT Final Accounts. BTC Assist is designed to be simple to use and will enable the user to save considerable time when preparing accounts using VT Final Accounts, both in its first year of use and subsequent periods.

The package currently has two purposes. The first is to automate the entry of a company’s trial balance into a VT Final Accounts workbook and the second is to record year end adjustment journals that will automatically update the VT Final Accounts extended trial balance, that can be printed out in conventional format and that can also be exported to file whose format is suitable for importing back into the original accounting application.

for further details check BTC site

VT final accounts software, runs in Microsoft Excel and produces professionally formatted statutory accounts, sole trader accounts and partnership accounts from trial balance stage upwards. A trial balance can be entered directly into VT Final Accounts, or imported from the VT Transaction+ bookkeeping software package at the touch of a button.

Key features

VT Final Accounts, our accounts production package, runs in Microsoft Excel and produces statutory, sole trader and partnership accounts from trial balance stage upwards.

• Easy to use and customise

• Trial balance can be entered directly into Excel or automatically obtained from the VT Transaction bookkeeping package

• Choice of a simple two column trial balance or an extended trial balance with any number of adjustment columns

• Add-in program adds features to Excel such as the automatic hiding of lines and notes with nil balances and automatic note numbering

• Enhanced print button enables all the sheets making up a set of accounts to be printed out together and correctly numbered

• Profit and loss account and balance sheet for sole traders and partnerships can be exported to tax software packages at the touch of a button

• Includes abbreviated accounts for small companies

• Can be used for an unlimited number of clients/companies