Savetime Calculator provides financial reports that help institutions understand their financial position and how their funds are being used. These reports bring together information from client payments, expenses, starting balances, and other financial transactions recorded in the system.
You can access the financial section through Client Accounts → Institutional Finances.
The main areas are:
Each serves a different purpose.
Starting Balances is used when you are setting up your institution in Savetime and already have financial balances before you begin recording transactions in the system.
For example, an institution may already have:
These figures establish the financial position from which Savetime begins tracking your institution’s transactions.
Starting balances should be entered before you begin recording regular transactions so that your financial reports can reflect the correct position from the beginning.
Starting Balances is therefore mainly a setup feature, rather than a page you use for everyday transactions.
For detailed instructions, see Setting Up Your Starting Balances.
The Institutional Funds report helps you see the funds available within the institution based on the financial information recorded in Savetime.
This is particularly useful for institutions that collect money for different purposes and use the funds to meet institutional needs.
For example, a school may collect payments from parents for different purposes while also recording institutional expenses such as food, supplies, or other operating costs.
The Institutional Funds report helps you understand the financial position of the institution based on the figures recorded in the system.
Because the report depends on the information entered into Savetime, it is important to keep client payments, expenses, and starting balances accurate.
The Balance Sheet provides a broader view of the institution’s financial position.
It brings together information relating to what the institution owns, what it owes, and the resulting financial position.
Depending on the information recorded in Savetime, this can include items such as:
The Balance Sheet is useful when you want to see the institution’s overall financial position rather than looking at individual payments or expenses.
These sections are connected.
Your Starting Balances establish the opening position of the institution. As you continue using Savetime, you record client payments and institutional expenses, and the financial reports use the recorded information to present the institution’s financial position.
A simple way to understand the three areas is:
Starting Balances → Transactions → Financial Reports
For example, suppose a school begins using Savetime with existing cash, money owed by parents, money owed to suppliers, and an outstanding loan.
You first enter these figures under Starting Balances.
You then begin recording:
The financial reports can then reflect the institution’s position using both the opening figures and the transactions recorded afterward.
Financial reports are only as useful as the information recorded in the system.
For reliable reports:
If an opening balance or transaction is incorrect, the financial reports may also show an incorrect position.
You do not need to use all three sections every day.
Starting Balances
Use this when setting up your institution and entering its opening financial position.
Institutional Funds
Use this when you want to review the institution’s available financial position based on the information recorded in Savetime.
Balance Sheet
Use this when you want a broader view of the institution’s financial position, including recorded assets, liabilities, and related balances.
Imagine a school that starts using Savetime in August.
Before recording new transactions, the school already has money available, parents who owe fees, amounts owed to suppliers, and an existing loan.
The school first enters these figures under Starting Balances.
During August, the school then records payments received from parents and institutional expenses.
When the administrator later opens Institutional Funds or the Balance Sheet, the reports can use the opening balances together with the transactions recorded in Savetime to present the school’s financial position.
This gives the administrator a clearer picture than looking at individual payment records alone.
For institutions that use Savetime regularly, it is good practice to keep financial records current.
Record payments and expenses as they occur and review the financial reports periodically. This makes it easier to understand the institution’s current financial position and identify figures that may need correction.
Savetime’s financial reports are designed to bring the institution’s recorded financial information together in one place, making it easier to monitor and understand the institution’s finances.
The Institutional Finances section is primarily for reviewing and managing the institution’s financial information.
Starting Balances is used for the initial setup of the institution’s opening figures, while Institutional Funds and Balance Sheet are primarily reporting areas.
For information about recording expenses, see Recording Institutional Expenses.
For information about setting up your opening figures, see Setting Up Your Starting Balances.