Overview
The What I Owe report is technically your Accounts Payable. It shows you all the outstanding Expenses that are in the system and yet to be paid.
Of course in many small businesses it may very well be the same person who manages Projects, creates Expenses, and processes payments at the bank. That person will have the Owner or Super Admin User Role with full access and control of the workflow.
However it is very common for a book keeper to be involved with part of this process and therefore it's important to understand what this User Role isn't mean to do with this What I Owe report.
Key points:
- Only Finalised Expenses appear in this report.
- The Accountant Role doesn't get to approve payments, they only get to mark payments as paid once they are Approved by the Owner or Super Admin User.
Why split this process? By having a Book Keeper enter payments at the Bank (though they may not actually authorise the payments) not only streamlines the process but more importantly introduces a check and balance so as to eliminate the possible fraudulent activities as well as provide a double check by someone else to ensure that expenses aren't paid twice or unnecessarily.
The What I Owe report is more than just a report showing what is outstanding, it also provides a workflow where Expenses in this list can be reviewed before being approved for payment.
Why doesn't the Accountant Role get to approve payments?
The reason is that generally speaking a Book Keeper isn't usually involved in the day to day running of projects. Therefore they will not generally know why an Expense has been create, if it is correct (otherthan teh attached invoice) or if there are certain circumstances relating to that Expense that may require it from not being paid. That's the responsibility of the Manager role. This User will be either a Producer or Production MAnager or even an Account Manager, but rarely will they also have the ability to process payments at the bank. Even the Manager needs to be made accountable and this is why the Approval process has this workflow ensuring the the Owner or Super Admin User has the final check and final say a so whetehr an Expense should be paid.
This Report therefore provides a workflow whereby only the Owner or a Super Admin user can Approve expenses to be paid. They do this by clicking on the Approve button on the far right of each Expense line.
Importantly this report shows if an Expense does or does not have an attached Supplier invoice. It makes sense that someone approving an Expense for payment probably wants to see the original Supplier Invoice to cross check this with the amounts in the Expense. Think of this as a double check for someone to ensure that the Expense reflects the actual Invoice amount that has been received from a supplier. Sometimes they may slip in additional amounts that were perhaps agreed to be included but somehow found their way onto the invoice. While this may be considered the Managers responsibility, the person managing the project, sometimes it's missed and it takes a second eye (usually with a vested interest in ensuring the business is not overpaying for something) to over see it. By having this workflow in place it provides a workflow that encourages all involved to make sure things are done right. More importantly it eliminates the possibility of any fraudulent payments from being processed. It's also provides a secondary check for someone to ensure that expenses aren't paid twice or unnecessarily.
Generally the User responsible for approving payments will likely check that the attached Invoice matches the amount that the Expense is for. They will be able to see if anything looks out of order before they Approve the Expense for payment. Once they click on the approve button this reveals a checkbox which then allows the Expense to processed or allow the Expense to have a Payment applied to it. This will be done at the same time that the Expense payment is set up at the bank or a Cheque written for the Expense. In other words, revealing the check box provides an indication that this Expense has been approved for payment.

Let's look at each Role
AKA: The Boss
This is the Owner of the Account and more often than not they are also the Owner of the business. The business Owner should obviously see everything so of course they have Full Access to all parts of the application but importantly they are unique in that they are the ones who are responsible for managing the Beeswax Subscription and associated Plan.
It's likely they have a business partner or a dedicated senior staff member who needs to be able to see and do all the same things that the Owner can. That's what the Super
Admin Role which we get to next.
Business Partner or a Senior Employee
The Super Admin User also has Full Access to everything however they don’t have access to the Subscription but that’s all. These are usually Partners in the business or Senior Employees who need to see and control everything in the Business. Warts and all!
Production Manager or Account Manager
The Manager Role is generally the person who takes care of the day to day running of Projects, and oversees Tasks.
This Role would be for a Production Manager, Studio Manager or Account Manager for instance.
They generally don’t get involved in Payroll financial reports and as such are not expected to know anything about Accounting or Tax related matters.
Of course these things aren’t necessarily that difficult to understand, however, so as to avoid the potential pitfalls associated with incorrectly allocated transaction Accounts and / or Taxes we have chosen to limit this Users access and control over such things.
So, while Manager can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account and Tax when working on any of these documents. While Managers can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account allocation nor the Tax Allocation when the are preparing any
These are defined by the Items that make up these documents and are therefore meant to be set up specifically by someone with this knowledge such as your Bookkeeper or Accountant.
Your Accountant (obviously) or your Bookkeeper
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
A User who primarily works on Tasks
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
External Resource
This is someone who usually is a freelancer that needs access to Tasks but not much more. They have a similar level of access as the Basic User but we've included this for future use.
The Client
Someone who probably would like to get access to all your stuff but really you only want them to see things you want them to see. Like outstanding invoices and access to Files you share with them but apart from this you don't really need much more.
Dashboard
Projects
Companies & People
Companies
Contacts
Users
Money
Items
Templates
Bank Reconciliation
Bank Import
Scheduled
Bank Transfers
Manual Journal
Chart of Accounts
Reports
Reports
Who Owes Me
What I Owe
General Ledger
Profit & Loss
Tax Report
Time
Statement
Subscription
Subscription
Overview
Companies exist for two main reasons:
- Assigning Projects & other related things
- Grouping Contacts and Users
1. Assigning – Projects and other related things
Most things in Beeswax, like Projects, Quotes or Invoices, need to be assigned to a Company. These things can’t be assigned to a specific User or Contact.
Why? Because small businesses, those businesses that Beeswax is specifically built for, generally work with and provide services to other businesses rather than individuals or customers. In other words, we think of Beeswax as being a B2B application rather than a B2C. It’s one of the key assumptions we’ve made when building Beeswax.
Remember a Quote or Invoice is technically a legal document that relates to the obligations that your business has to another party. And therefore the name of the other party, which is usually a business, should be stated specifically. Of course you will have a contact who will receive documents from you but they are still technically representing the third party and are usually not themselves obligated to fulfil their financial obligations to pay you.
It’s the company or business they represent. When they leave the company still owes you money.However, while we think of these entities as Companies, it’s not to say that a Company can’t be something else. That’s for you to decide.In any case just remember that Projects, Invoices, Quotes and Expenses are all allocated to this idea, this entity, this concept, that we call a Company.
2. Grouping Contacts & Users
SM
JC
DJ
JC

It’s the way Beeswax groups or organises Users and Contacts. We think it makes sense to keep all Users and Contacts under the specific Company that they are associated with.