---
title: "PBI vs. Client Responsibilities"
sidebarTitle: "PBI vs. client"
description: "The responsibility split between Profit Builders and the client across bank reconciliation, credit card verification, and delivery in transit."
icon: "handshake"
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

| 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.

<Note>
  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.
</Note>

## 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](/internal/sops/accounting/general/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** | |

<Warning>
  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.
</Warning>

See [Credit card and cash deposit verification](/internal/sops/accounting/general/credit-card-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](/internal/sops/accounting/general/delivery-in-transit).

## Areas with no documented split

These gaps are worth closing, because each one has a natural boundary that is currently undocumented.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Fixed assets — document exists but is empty">
    `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](/internal/sops/accounting/general/fixed-assets).
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Sales, inventory and COGS, receivables, prepaids">
    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](/internal/sops/accounting/general/accounts-receivable).
  </Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Sales tax">
    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](/internal/sops/accounting/tax/accrued-sales-tax).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related documents

- [Accounting SOPs overview](/internal/sops/accounting/overview) — the full list of known gaps in the source library
- [Bank reconciliation concepts](/internal/sops/accounting/general/bank-reconciliation-concepts)
- [Credit card and cash deposit verification](/internal/sops/accounting/general/credit-card-deposit-verification)
- [Delivery in transit](/internal/sops/accounting/general/delivery-in-transit)