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Issue related to why IFS allows the bank balance to become negative

  • 9 October 2023
  • 3 replies
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Financials > Cash Book > Mixed Payment

Considering that there is no possibility of the bank balance being negative, but as you can see in the picture, the bank balance in the cash account is negative, and in addition, we can make another payment from the same cash account.

Our question is, why does IFS allow the bank balance to become negative?

Is there a logical reason for this?

 

Best Regards

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Best answer by Thomas Peterson 9 October 2023, 16:16

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Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi, 

From my experience, perhaps depending on country, the timing of certain cash transactions is very different in IFS as compared to the bank. For example, many clients transfer cash from one cash account to another inside IFS periodically rather than daily or even transaction by transaction. In the case of ZBA (zero balance accounts) the timing of those transactions can be / will be very different.  Blocking the ability for IFS to go negative would force more real time processing.   I don’t believe from a software perspective a negative cash account balance should be blocked / controlled.  

 

Best regards, 

Thomas

Userlevel 7
Badge +16

Besides technical consideration related to sequence of payment registrations (if we register payments outgoing before payments incoming, calculated balance might get negative), there are valid business case where cash account balance can get negative - e.g. credit card account is negative by nature.

That’s why system does not have any restriction on allowed balance for cash account. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +11

Cash Box (cash in hand) is a functionality that does not allow to be negative. But there are other limitations as e.g. no import of bank statements is possible, restrictions if it comes to editing already existing lines.

 

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