Operating templates
Keep useful notes when human input is needed.
Practical templates for exceptions, customer questions, invoice adjustments, pro formas, receivables and month-end handoffs. They support AI bookkeeping rather than replace it.
Notes for the moments that need people
Arcaiva uses AI to handle supported day-to-day bookkeeping work and brings you in when your input or review is needed. These templates supplement the software when an exception, document decision or handoff needs business context. They are not instructions for manually performing all of the bookkeeping.
Copy the fields into your own authorized working document or print the guide. Examples are fictional, not customer evidence. These are educational aids, not application forms, import formats or financial, legal, tax or compliance advice.
Exception review
- Name the question Arcaiva needs help resolving.
- Identify the company, transaction or document involved.
- Record the business context and evidence needed.
- Identify the person who can provide clarification or approval.
- Keep unresolved items distinct from resolved ones.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Question | What information, clarification or review is needed? |
| Context | Which company and transaction or document does this concern? |
| Evidence | Where can the authorized source be checked? |
| Owner | Who can resolve the question? |
| Disposition | What was decided, or what remains open? |
Customer-account review
- Confirm customer and company identity.
- Read balance and activity together.
- Separate observed facts from assumptions.
- Leave one clear unresolved question and next owner.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record | Fictional illustrative entry |
|---|---|---|
| Review context | Company, customer reference, review date, and reviewer. | Cedar Studio; Sample Customer A; weekly review; account reviewer. |
| Question | The specific issue to understand before acting. | Does the customer’s question relate to the latest invoice? |
| Record context | Balance and recent activity observed, with the time checked. | Balance and recent activity reviewed; document reference still to confirm. |
| Source documents | Relevant invoice or document references, without duplicating sensitive information. | Latest invoice and its PDF identified for review. |
| Open issue | What is not yet established. | The customer’s document reference is ambiguous. |
| Next owner and review point | Who will resolve the question and when it will be reviewed again. | Account owner to clarify the reference before the next internal review. |
Invoice adjustment review
- Check the sign rather than relying on a verbal description alone.
- Confirm the reason and responsible reviewer.
- Review the generated PDF when the document is ready.
- Escalate tax or accounting-treatment questions to the appropriate professional.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record | Fictional illustrative entry |
|---|---|---|
| Document identity | Company, customer, invoice reference, and reviewer. | Cedar Studio; Sample Customer A; draft invoice under review. |
| Adjustment | The adjustment line and whether its sign adds or reduces. | Negative adjustment proposed to reduce the document amount. |
| Reason and source | The stated reason and evidence supporting the proposed change. | Reviewer requests the source note explaining the adjustment. |
| Review authority | Who must confirm the change under your own process. | Finance reviewer to confirm the reason and direction. |
| PDF check | Whether the generated PDF was reviewed against the intended document. | PDF review held until the adjustment question is resolved. |
| Disposition | Accepted for the next step, held, or returned with a reason. | Held pending source-note review; no treatment assumed. |
Pro-forma decision record
- Do not record a pro forma as an invoice or receivable before conversion.
- Make acceptance and document state explicit.
- After conversion, identify and review the one resulting draft invoice.
- Do not equate conversion with payment or a legal/tax conclusion.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record | Fictional illustrative entry |
|---|---|---|
| Document identity | Company, customer, pro-forma reference, and reviewer. | Cedar Studio; Sample Customer B; proposed service document. |
| Current state | Prepared, issued, or accepted, based on the actual record. | Issued pro forma; acceptance not yet established. |
| Acceptance basis | Where the acceptance decision can be checked in your process. | Business owner to confirm the relevant acceptance record. |
| Conversion decision | Whether conversion is appropriate and who decides. | Hold conversion until the acceptance question is resolved. |
| Draft invoice review | Resulting draft invoice reference and review question if converted. | If converted, review the resulting draft before proceeding. |
| Unresolved items | What remains open and who owns it. | Document scope question remains with the business owner. |
Receivables review
- Keep current-month invoice-cohort figures distinct from all currently open receivables.
- Record the filter context so the review can be understood later.
- Do not label the result as a cash forecast or credit score.
- Assign unresolved questions without predicting a collection outcome.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record | Fictional illustrative entry |
|---|---|---|
| Review context | Company, reviewer, and the time the view was checked. | Cedar Studio; finance reviewer; scheduled weekly check. |
| Question | The invoice population and issue being investigated. | Which open invoices need a document question resolved? |
| View and population | Receivables Flow or Overdue Pressure, with its scope. | Overdue Pressure: all currently open receivables. |
| Invoice-register check | Relevant filter context and invoice references reviewed. | Filtered register reviewed; document reference recorded in working notes. |
| Exception | The unresolved issue, not a prediction about payment. | An invoice has an unresolved document question. |
| Next action owner | Who will verify the evidence and the next review point. | Document reviewer to clarify the issue before the next review. |
Month-end handoff questions
This handoff is a review aid, not a month-end close certification or assurance that all accounting work is complete.
- State what was reviewed, not simply that the period is complete.
- Preserve company identity and relevant document references.
- Distinguish accepted items, open exceptions, and work not yet reviewed.
- Confirm the receiving owner understands the unresolved question.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns on smaller screens. Keyboard: focus the table and use the arrow keys.
| Field | What to record | Fictional illustrative entry |
|---|---|---|
| Handoff context | Company, period, preparing reviewer, and receiving reviewer. | Cedar Studio; review period identified; preparer hands off to finance reviewer. |
| Work reviewed | Records and documents actually examined. | Customer-account questions and relevant invoices reviewed. |
| Checks still open | What has not been reconciled or confirmed. | One adjustment reason remains unconfirmed. |
| Evidence location | Where the authorized source documents or working notes can be found. | Use the internal working-note reference; do not copy sensitive data into this template example. |
| Decision needed | The specific question the receiving reviewer must resolve. | Does the source note support the proposed adjustment direction? |
| Owner and next review | Who owns each open question and when it will return for review. | Receiving reviewer owns the question for the next internal review. |