embedded-accounting-engine-srs

name

embedded-accounting-engine-srs

description

Generate the SRS subsection for any system that handles money, inventory value, payroll, tax, grants, fees, payments, receivables, payables, fixed assets, or financial reporting. Specifies embedded accounting engine requirements: chart of accounts, mapping layer, LedgerPostingService, append-only journals, subledgers, accounting periods, reversals, reports, audit trail, IFRS/IFRS for SMEs/local tax context, and integrity invariants.

Embedded Accounting Engine SRS

Use When

• The system records sales, expenses, inventory, payroll, school fees, clinic billing, grants, donations, payments, loans, assets, wallets, or tax.
• The SRS must prove the product can replace routine external bookkeeping software for the operating entity.

Do Not Use When

• The product only exports data to an external accounting system and never owns the books.
• Accounting treatment depends on a current law, tax rate, or professional judgement not provided in the brief; write a verification requirement instead of inventing the answer.

Required SRS Subsections

Add these to functional requirements for every money-handling system:

1. Accounting standard and compliance profile: IFRS for SMEs by default, full IFRS where required, or project-specific local GAAP.
2. Chart of accounts: tenant-specific CoA cloned from an industry template, account types, control accounts, status, currency, and report rollups.
3. Mapping layer: product categories, expense categories, payment methods, tax rates, payroll components, asset categories, donor funds, and inventory categories mapped to accounts.
4. Posting engine: one LedgerPostingService write path, idempotency key, period validation, account validation, debit-credit validation, and atomic database transaction.
5. Journal model: append-only journal_entries and journal_lines; no edits or soft deletes; reversing journals only.
6. Subledgers: AR, AP, inventory, fixed assets, payroll, tax, bank/mobile money, grants/funds implemented through tagged journal lines or reconciled registers.
7. Accounting periods: open, closed, locked states; no posting to locked periods except approved reopening workflow.
8. Reports: trial balance, income statement, statement of financial position, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity/net assets, GL detail, ageing, tax schedules, inventory valuation, payroll liabilities, fixed asset register, donor/fund reports where relevant.
9. Integrity invariants: balanced entries, control-account reconciliation, inventory tie-out, period enforcement, idempotency enforcement, tenant isolation, rebuildable balances.
10. Audit trail: actor, timestamp, source document, posting rule version, mapping changes, CoA changes, reversals, exports, and close approvals.

Requirement Wording Pattern

Use testable requirements:

FR-ACC-001 The system shall post every accounting entry through a single LedgerPostingService.
FR-ACC-002 The system shall reject any journal entry whose total debits do not equal total credits.
FR-ACC-003 The system shall prevent updates, deletes, or soft deletes of posted journal lines.
FR-ACC-004 The system shall correct posted accounting errors only by posting reversing journals linked to the original journal.
FR-ACC-005 The system shall run a nightly per-tenant accounting integrity check and alert operators on failure.

Compliance And Standards Template

Accounting standard: IFRS for SMEs / full IFRS / local GAAP: [fill in]
Functional currency: [fill in]
Presentation currency, if different: [fill in]
Tax regime: [fill in]
VAT/sales tax regime: [fill in]
Payroll statutory regime: [fill in]
External sign-off required: statutory audit / tax filing / donor audit / board approval: [fill in]
Current-rate verification owner: [role/person]

Outputs

• SRS accounting-engine functional requirements.
• Compliance and standards section.
• Requirements traceability entries for accounting invariants.
• Open verification items for current tax/regulatory rates.