When TDF
starts up your first task is to click the Check for Updates button. (If a new
version is available, follow the instructions). Pressing Enter displays
the MAIN screen which has a list box of all the companies on the
system and another showing the year ends for the currently selected
company.
Before you can e-file accounts to Companies House and check for
responses the Presenter Details and Presenter Codes
on the user data page should be completed,
but there is no necessity to do this until you are ready to actually
e-file. You can
get to know the accounts production and validation processes prior to set-up.
Familiarise yourself with the various buttons to see what they do. Try
them first on the demo company already
installed - some commands are disabled when using the demo company.
Better still add new ones - either with 'real' or
'demo' data. You can simply edit or delete any company or year file when you
wish or you can store each set of accounts on the system until you
are ready to fire them off to Companies House. When a new company is added, TDF automatically generates
a blank first
year file to which the accounts data is added. If the company has never traded check the Dormant
(DCA) checkbox.
ACCOUNTS FILING DATA
Clicking Do Next Task will display the ACCOUNTS FILING DATA
screen where you can manually enter the balance sheet data/notes etc.
Only enter data in the white boxes (the yellow/blue boxes are
automatically updated). Try out the Notes feature for any item with a
checkbox. The balance sheet, naturally, has to balance before you can go
to the next stage. For residual dormant companies, you should select
Abbreviated & Dormant in the Accounts Type selector. (If
the company has never traded (DCA), a separate, smaller data screen is
shown).
IMPORTING DATA
Alternatively, you can eliminate most (if not all)
keyboard input (numbers and text) by using one of the import functions.
The
Import
Excel button
converts and imports from final Accounts in Excel workbooks (Importing
Excel Accounts).
And there is a general purpose function which converts and imports the data from the vast majority of accounting software packages
(Click
the
Import/CSV
Data
button). (Importing from other software)
COMPARATIVES
For existing companies where the previous years accounts
have already been filed on paper or by another method, you must first create a year file for
the previous year, enter (or import) the data and then select the
External
Filing
option. Then add a new year file for the current year. The program will
then recognize the previous year’s data as comparatives. These will be
displayed (and locked) on the
right hand side of the ACCOUNTS FILING DATA page. The
opening balances and notes will be pre-populated in the current year.
REVIEW/PRINT
ACCOUNTS
You can review and check the format of the XBRL rendered
accounts in your browser at any time by clicking the View/Print
Accounts button.
Printing from the browser is best performed from the PRINT
PREVIEW option as this paginates the accounts properly.
You can either print from the browser or ‘print’
to a PDF file and then print this file. (Note: The format of the
accounts is fixed by the CH XML style sheets and not by TDF).
VALIDATE
ON-LINE (optional)
When you (and the software) are satisfied the accounts are complete and
correct, Validate On-Line will connect you to the on-line Companies House
Accounts Validator. Right
click in the File
Name:
box and select paste,
which will fill in the location of the appropriate XML file on your hard
disk. (Do NOT click the
BROWSE button). Click the VALIDATE button and wait until the Validator
has responded. (Sometimes you may have to repeat the paste if the
Validator is busy). You will either receive a SUCCESSFUL or ERROR response. Close the Browser. Check
that the Status
box has been updated accordingly. (If the validation was unsuccessful,
click Message
Log and
check out the reported errors in the MESSAGE DATA field. Correct the errors and revalidate).
ACCOUNTS
APPROVAL
If you require a ‘hard copy’ of the accounts signed by the directors, see above on how to print a draft copy. Alternatively you
can easily “SEND” an email with attached PDF file for the client to
print, sign and return.
FILE ACCOUNTS
ON-LINE
Before you can e-file
Accounts you must
set up TDF with your presenter details/codes.
User Guide Index
TDF homepage
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