Ambrook is an accounting software built for users that need to handle the needs of complex, multi-enterprise or multi-entity businesses. We designed our system to handle this complexity yet continue to be easy-to-use and collaborative for folks who have limited time to spend on their books. Our goal is to make it easy to stay on top of recordkeeping, and to make it easier for accountants and their clients to get tax and managerial insights about their business.
We created this guide to help you navigate Ambrook, and you can reach out to our team at any time at support@ambrook.com.
How Ambrook is Different
Ambrook was built around the needs of agriculture and industries that are underserved by existing accounting platforms. Our customers choose Ambrook for a few reasons:
It's simple yet comprehensive. We've built all the tools to be powerful enough for accountants while making it easy for operators to navigate. This means less back-and-forth to get data from your customers, and more time spent on the high-value work you can offer to clients.
It's built for complex, multi-P&L businesses. Agriculture is often multi-P&L, whether through enterprises, locations, entities, or another dimension. We've heard from customers that it's hard to track the categories they care about while also keeping track of taxes. We let users personalize their setup with input from our team, and make sure that tax prep is happening under the hood. Ambrook is also compatible with ag tax forms, making Schedule F tax prep easy at the end of the year.
It makes insights accessible. Customers find it tough to get the data they need to make business decisions out of other platforms. Without getting the insights they're looking for, it's hard to motivate to keep up with entering data. At Ambrook, we focus on giving managerial insights while getting reports for tax season at the same time.
Ambrook also includes a few unique features:
A US-based customer service team with industry-specific expertise
Chart of accounts consulting upfront to help set up customers' system for success
Tracking for Schedule F and C
Grant & other funding program tracking
Native bill pay and mailed checks
Built-in enterprise accounting
Team cards for expense management
Logging in to Ambrook
When creating your account with Ambrook, your single email address and password grants you access to all of the organizations that you're a member of, although you can only view one at a time.
To switch organizations, you use the quick-toggle in the bottom lefthand side of the screen, or navigate to Settings, and then use the button at the top of the screen.
Each of your clients has their own username and password, and only has access to their own organizations.
Ambrook Basics
Ambrook is a cloud-based software that is available on both web and mobile. Similar to Quickbooks, Ambrook allows users to connect their bank accounts to bring in transactions. These transactions can then be tagged with categories or tagged to balance sheet accounts. Note that there are two ways to record transactions in Ambrook:
Automatic: Transactions that come in from connected bank accounts or imported transactions will automatically be recorded to the bank account. Uncategorized transactions will go into an “uncategorized” income or expense category. Note that automatic recording is the default method in Ambrook
Manual: Transactions must be recorded in order to be reflected on statements and accounts. If the Manual accounting method has been selected, you can find unrecorded transactions that were brought in via a bank connection in the Ledger by selecting the Review button.
Users can select their recording method by going to Settings→Bookkeeping and choosing your recording method by clicking on the pencil.
Tips to Navigate Ambrook
We know that identifying errors and verifying accurate categorization ahead of tax season is critical. Here are a few ways to review and adjust your client’s books in Ambrook.
Review balance sheet accounts. Asset, liability, and equity accounts on your client’s balance sheet can be viewed in Balances. If any are missing, you can add them by selecting “New Custom Account” and inputting a beginning date and starting balance.
Encourage tagging uncategorized transactions. These will show up in exports as “uncategorized income” (inflows) or “uncategorized expenses” (outflows). Your client can easily filter to uncategorized transactions in their Ledger via the “To Do” button.
Use the Accounting tab to catch errors. Review your client’s profit & loss and balance sheet across any time period, and drill into the transactions for any period that looks off.
Filter to review a specific account or transaction type. The Ledger’s search bar and “Filter” button can be used to find transactions with any combination of dates, amounts, accounts, descriptions, and more.
Make year-end adjustments. Ambrook supports recording transactions and journal entries to
Reviewing the Chart of Accounts
Expense and income categories in Ambrook are associated with line items on the Schedule F. To review your client’s Chart of Accounts, go to Settings → Categories. Here, you can see the associated Schedule F box to verify that your client’s accounts map to the right boxes.
Reconciling Accounts
The Ledger can be reconciled against bank and credit card statements. Though transactions are pulled in automatically, you may want to compare them to an external source to verify accuracy. To use reconciliation in Ambrook, start by clicking the “Reconcile” button on the Ledger, selecting an account, and entering bank statement information. Check off transactions one by one, and hit “Save” to bookmark your place for the next time you pick back up.
Exporting for Tax Prep
Ambrook offers a full-service data export for tax prep purposes. Built-in to Ambrook, we have common exports including:
Profit & Loss
Balance Sheet
Transaction Export
General Ledger Export
Expenses by Vendor (1099 Export)
For other data exports, contact support@ambrook.com and we'll help get data in the format you need.
Learning the Ambrook System
We've created a robust library of resources to help you get started in Ambrook. You can start with a tour of the Ambrook tabs to help you orient, and explore our other resources in Ambrook for accountants.