PBI vs. Client Responsibilities
The responsibility split between Profit Builders and the client across bank reconciliation, credit card verification, and delivery in transit.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Owner | Unassigned — needs an owner |
| Department | General Accounting |
| Effective date | Not set in source |
| Scope | The division of responsibility between PBI and the client for bank reconciliation, credit card and cash verification, and delivery in transit. Use this when scoping a new client or resolving a dispute about who owns a task. |
| Source | Four documents in General Accounting/: Bank Rec - PBI vs Client Responsibilities.docx, Cash and Credit Card PBI vs Client Responsibilities.docx, Delivery in Transit PBI vs Client Responsibilities.docx, and Fixed Assets PBI vs Client Responsibilities.docx |
The source library kept a separate responsibility document per process area. They are consolidated here so the whole split can be read in one place — and so gaps are visible.
A theme runs through all three areas: PBI identifies and reports; the client investigates and resolves. PBI is not responsible for determining the cause of a variance or disputing it with a third party.
Bank reconciliation
| Profit Builders | Client |
|---|---|
| Complete a bank reconciliation for each bank account within the accounting software each period | Provide online bank access to download transactions and bank statements, or send bank statements timely |
| Verify that the reconciliation balance matches the general ledger balance | Identify and code all deposits not captured by the point of sale system |
| Notify the client of any unknown transactions posted to the bank as soon as they are identified | Provide a weekly manual check log with payee, check number, and general ledger coding |
| Verify that any outstanding deposits at period end cleared the bank at the start of the next period, and notify the client of any missing deposits as soon as identified | Provide vendor information and GL coding for any new ACH payments no later than 5 business days post-close |
See Bank reconciliation concepts.
Credit card and cash verification
| Profit Builders | Client |
|---|---|
| Complete a weekly verification that all credit card payments reported in the client's point of sale were deposited in the client's bank account | Communicate to PBI staff any known power or internet outages that would affect proper batching of credit card payments or payment reporting in the POS |
| Notify the client immediately of any missing deposits | Work with internal staff (manager, IT), the POS provider, or the credit card merchant to determine the cause and solution for recovering missing credit card deposits and variances |
| Notify the client timely of any daily variances over $150 |
PBI can be liable for unreported missing credit card deposits, and clients have a limited window to dispute them. This is the responsibility split where timeliness carries direct financial consequence for the firm.
See Credit card and cash deposit verification.
Delivery in transit
| Profit Builders | Client |
|---|---|
| Post all commissions, fees, error adjustments, and variances | Provide PBI staff online access to all delivery systems with appropriate permissions to pull required reports |
| Reconcile the ending delivery in transit balance reported on the balance sheet for each location | Configure all settings for new locations as they come online |
| Report any significant variances to the client. It is not PBI's responsibility to identify the cause of each variance or dispute variances with the third-party provider | Maintain correct settings in both the point of sale and delivery service software for the calculation of sales tax |
| Report any missing deposits as soon as they are identified | Research and/or dispute any variances reported by PBI staff |
| Save all relevant point of sale and delivery service provider reports in SharePoint to support any sales tax adjustments in the event of an audit |
See Delivery in transit.
Areas with no documented split
These gaps are worth closing, because each one has a natural boundary that is currently undocumented.
Fixed Assets PBI vs Client Responsibilities.docx contains only its title. The boundary is stated clearly elsewhere though: PBI does not maintain fixed asset schedules, determine useful life, or determine tax treatment — the client's CPA does. See Fixed assets.
The firm's own document list has a PBI vs Client Responsibilities row for each of these areas, all blank. For receivables the boundary is stated in the SOP — managing accounts receivable and the customer relationship is the client's responsibility, not PBI's — but it has never been captured in a responsibility document. See Accounts receivable.
No responsibility document exists, but the SOP states the client's obligations: set up the correct sales tax permits, maintain rates in the point of sale, and maintain documentation for non-taxable sales. See Accrued sales tax.
Related documents
- Accounting SOPs overview — the full list of known gaps in the source library
- Bank reconciliation concepts
- Credit card and cash deposit verification
- Delivery in transit