Utility accounting and financial operations

SUPPORT FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY, REPORTING, & RECONCILIATION

United Systems’ Accounting software supports utility and municipal financial operations with connected tools for general ledger activity, accounts payable processing, reconciliation, vendor oversight, and financial reporting.

Built around Government Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting (GAAFR) principles, the suite helps organizations strengthen financial accountability, improve reporting accuracy, support audit preparation, and maintain clearer visibility into day-to-day financial operations.

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ACCOUNTING MODULES INCLUDE

Alliance General Ledger icon

General Ledger

Maintain GL records, fund activity, and transaction reporting with accounting tools designed for utility and municipal financial operations.

Alliance Accounts Payable icon

Accounts Payable

Process invoices, manage vendor payments, support approval workflows, and maintain accounts payable records.

Alliance Asset Management icon

Asset Management

Maintain asset records, purchase history, maintenance activity, disposal details, and location information for utility and municipal equipment.

Alliance Payroll icon

Payroll

Support payroll processing, employee compensation records, tax reporting, benefits tracking, and year-end payroll documentation.

Graphic describing accounting software for utilities and local government featuring financial reconciliation, vendor payment processing, payroll reporting, asset records, and operational reporting workflows.

Support daily accounting workflows

RECONCILIATION, REPORTING, & FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Support day-to-day accounting operations, including accounts payable processing, billing reconciliation, payroll activity, audit preparation, and financial reporting through accounting tools designed for utilities and local government.

Our Accounting modules help organizations maintain financial accountability, improve reporting consistency, and support operational oversight with configurable reporting, transaction records, and connected financial workflows.

General Ledger

TRANSACTION ACCURACY, FUND ACCOUNTING, & FINANCIAL REPORTING

General Ledger brings together transaction reporting, fund accounting, reconciliation activity, and account oversight for utility and municipal financial operations.

Transaction Validation

  • Review transactions before posting to help reduce entry errors
  • Automatically flag invalid or incomplete transaction activity during entry

Fund & Account Structure

  • Support fund, enterprise, departmental, and divisional accounting structures
  • Maintain accrual, modified accrual, or cash-basis accounting methods
  • Configure custom account numbering structures
  • Generate reporting by fund, department, or accounting structure
  • Create configurable financial statements and reporting formats
  • Define fiscal accounting periods with configurable start and end dates
  • Continue transaction entry and processing while prior fiscal periods remain open

Posting & Journal Entry Workflows

  • Create journal entries with automatic balancing validation
  • Search accounts using multiple account fields and transaction criteria
  • Use recurring journal entry codes for standardized transaction processing
  • Configure recurring general ledger entries using fixed or variable amounts
  • Conduct budget preparation and ongoing budget adjustments

Ledger Transparency

  • Maintain detailed audit trails by transaction date, source, amount, and operator activity
  • Retain prior fiscal year activity and comparative records across multiple years
  • Enter transactions for prior periods within the current fiscal year
  • Generate detailed ledger reporting across user-defined date ranges
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BUILT AROUND GAAP & GAAFR PRINCIPLES

Accounts Payable

PAYMENT OVERSIGHT, VENDOR RECORDS, & AP WORKFLOWS

Track invoices, vendor payments, remittance activity, and accounts payable records through connected workflows designed for utility and municipal operations.

Payment & Remittance Workflows

  • Process invoices, credit memos, and debit memos
  • Maintain detailed records for accounts payable transactions
  • Generate check payments with separate remittance documentation
  • Place payments on hold for flagged or questionable vendors
  • Handle typed, immediate-print, and manual remittance workflows

Vendor Records

  • Maintain vendor profiles with status details, payment terms, year-to-date activity, and discount structures
  • Use vendor templates for one-time vendors while reducing unnecessary record buildup
  • Generate 1099 reporting for year-end processing

Transaction Lookup

  • Access accounts payable transactions and vendor records from a centralized lookup screen
  • Retain detailed records for individual AP transactions
  • Review audit trails and transaction reporting across accounts payable activity

Automated AP Processes

  • Automate recurring accounts payable tasks and transaction routing
  • Distribute expenses across departments or operational areas using automated allocation rules

Configurations

  • Configure custom accounts payable processing parameters
  • Issue payments from multiple checking accounts and banks
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INTEGRATED PURCHASE ORDER ADD-ON AVAILABLE

Asset Management

ASSET RECORDS, DEPRECIATION, & LIFECYCLE OVERSIGHT

Maintain asset records, depreciation schedules, acquisition details, and departmental tracking across utility and municipal operations.

Asset Records

  • Maintain asset records including acquisition date, cost, salvage value, depreciation method, service life, department assignment, and operational status
  • Generate control numbers automatically or assign user-defined asset identifiers
  • Organize assets by department, grouping, or operational category
  • Retain historical asset activity and generate listings for periodic inventory reviews

Depreciation Schedules

  • Calculate asset depreciation automatically or manually
  • Choose from multiple depreciation methods, including Straight Line, Declining Balance, Sum of Years Digits, Units of Production, and MACRS
  • Configure depreciation schedules using monthly, quarterly, or annual criteria
  • Maintain detailed general ledger distribution records tied to asset depreciation activity

Asset Activity

  • Track asset activity from acquisition through retirement
  • Review audit trails, transaction history, and posting activity for asset records
  • Maintain disposal details, such as reason, approval history, and asset destination
  • Retain purchase records, including vendor, invoice number, purchase order details, and approval activity
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Payroll

PAYROLL RECORDS, TAX REPORTING, & EMPLOYEE ACTIVITY

Maintain employee records, payroll processing activity, tax reporting, and year-end documentation.

Employee Records

  • Maintain employee profiles with employment details, classifications, and personnel records
  • Access current and historical employee information
  • Organize employees by department, position, job grade, management group, or occupational classification
  • Enter and process employee time records with configurable defaults

Configuration

  • Configure payroll processing for single or multiple organizations
  • Process salaried or hourly payroll across weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, quarterly, or annual schedules
  • Define wage-date, department, position, and shift-based time entry settings
  • Maintain configurable wage rates, deductions, and employee benefit structures

Payroll Processing

  • Process payroll through ACH direct deposit and printed check workflows
  • Handle regular, special, and manually issued payroll checks
  • Apply one-time deductions during payroll entry
  • Calculate payroll earnings, taxes, deductions, and employee benefits
  • Compute overtime using standard or average-rate calculations
  • Display current and year-to-date earnings, taxes, deductions, and benefit totals on employee pay stubs

Tax and Year-End Reporting

  • Generate tax reports, quarter-end reporting, and W-2 documentation
  • Maintain multiple open payroll years to simplify year-end payroll processing and adjustments

Personnel History

  • Review payroll audit trails and historical reporting activity
  • Calculate hypothetical payroll scenarios using example check routines
  • Retain current and historical earnings, tax, deduction, and benefit records
  • Track employee accruals for vacation, holiday, sick leave, and workers’ compensation by hours or days
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Ready to reduce friction across operations?

Coordinate billing, payments, customer service, metering, work orders, and operational workflows through utility-focused technology and support services. Talk with our team to learn how United Systems supports utilities through technology, operational services, metering, customer service, and workflow management.