Accounting

Accounting Skill

Use this skill when the user wants to:

• Process new receipts and add expense records
• Reconcile receipts against spreadsheet records
• Generate entertainment supplement tables
• Check budget or fund balances
• Organize procurement card accounting

Keywords: receipt, expense, accounting, budget, fund, supplement, p-card, procurement, GL code, reconcile

Available Resources

• references/gl_codes.md — GL code reference table with entertainment flags
• references/supplement_guide.md — Supplement form layout and filing rules
• references/smartdata_reports.md — SmartData report formats, parsing, the 1% international fee, and pairing rules
• scripts/parse_smartdata.py — parses a SmartData Account Statement XLSX and pairs international fees
• scripts/check_missing_receipts.py — flags posted charges missing from the expenses sheet

Session Start

Run this skill from the accounts and receipts working folder. Every path below is relative to it, and {working_folder} means that directory — the current one. The folder's location is deliberately not recorded in this repo.

One exception: scripts/ and references/ name this skill's own files and resolve against the skill's directory — the one holding this SKILL.md — not the working folder. {skill_dir} below means that directory; substitute it when running a command, since the current directory is the working folder and python3 scripts/… would not be found there. Every other path in this file, {year}/… included, is relative to the working folder.

If the current directory holds neither spreadsheet_links.yaml nor a {year}/ directory, this is the wrong folder: say so and ask the user to restart the session from the right one. Do not go searching the filesystem for it.

1. Detect year: Determine the current year from today's date. Confirm with the user: "Working on {year} expenses — correct?"

2. Get spreadsheet link: Check for spreadsheet_links.yaml in the working folder.

   • If a link for this year already exists in the YAML, show it and ask: "Using this spreadsheet — correct? {url}"
   • If the file is missing or has no entry for this year, ask the user for the Google Sheet link. Save/update the link:

   {year}:
     spreadsheet_id: "{extracted_id}"
     url: "{full_url}"
   

3. Read current expenses: Detect the environment by testing whether this is a local Mac session — command -v open succeeds and the {year}/receipts/ directory is present. Then:

   • On cowork (local Mac): Open the spreadsheet in Chrome so the user can interact with it:

     open -a "Google Chrome" "{full_url}"
     

     Also fetch the expenses tab via WebFetch CSV export:

     https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{SPREADSHEET_ID}/gviz/tq?tqx=out:csv&sheet=expenses
     

     If the WebFetch CSV export fails or returns an auth/login page, note this and ask the user to manually export the sheet as CSV and provide the file path.

   • Not on cowork (cloud/remote — no local receipts tree): Fetch directly via WebFetch CSV export:

     https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{SPREADSHEET_ID}/gviz/tq?tqx=out:csv&sheet=expenses
     

     If this fails, ask the user to paste the spreadsheet data or provide a downloaded CSV file.

   Parse the expenses data to understand existing records and the receipt numbers already used. Analyze patterns in existing records to learn Fund and GL code assignment conventions — e.g., which vendors consistently map to which funds and GL codes. Use these precedents when proposing values for new receipts rather than defaulting to a single fund.

   Expenses CSV file for check_missing_receipts.py (the expenses-CSV recipe, referred to by that name from step 8 and Phase 3). That script needs the sheet as a file on disk; WebFetch yields content in context, not a file. So download it with curl to a temporary path outside this repo and outside the working folder, use it, and delete it in the same command:

   curl -sL -o /tmp/expenses_check.csv \
     "https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/{SPREADSHEET_ID}/gviz/tq?tqx=out:csv&sheet=expenses" \
     && python3 {skill_dir}/scripts/check_missing_receipts.py "{year}/reports/{file}" \
          --expenses /tmp/expenses_check.csv --json
   rm -f /tmp/expenses_check.csv
   

   {SPREADSHEET_ID} comes from spreadsheet_links.yaml at run time and is never written into this file. Keep the rm -f in the same invocation and unconditional, so a failed check still deletes the file — expense data must not linger anywhere outside the working folder, least of all in this repo. If curl returns an HTML login page instead of CSV, the sheet is not readable by link: say so and skip the check rather than running it on a bad file.

4. Read past supplements: List and read existing supplement PDFs in {working_folder}/{year}/supplements/ to learn default patterns for entertainment supplement fields (Persons Involved, Business Purpose). For example, grocery store purchases may consistently use a standard lab group description while restaurant meals may list named attendees. Use these patterns as defaults when proposing supplement data for new entertainment expenses.

5. Scan receipts folder: List files in {working_folder}/{year}/receipts/. Identify:

   • Highest existing receipt number (pattern: YYXXX_...)
   • Any unnumbered files (those not matching the YYXXX_ prefix pattern)

6. Read all unnumbered files: Proactively read the contents of every unnumbered file before presenting anything to the user. Files may have misleading names (e.g., receipts_2026.pdf, Pcard Missing Receipt Form.pdf). Classify each file by inspection:

   • Normal receipt: proceed with processing
   • Duplicate: matches an already-numbered receipt — flag for user but don't process
   • Non-receipt: forms, summaries, statements — flag for user, skip processing
   • Unreadable: image too low-resolution or corrupted — flag and ask user for details

7. Load SmartData reports: List {year}/reports/. For each YYYY_MM.xlsx, run:

   python3 {skill_dir}/scripts/parse_smartdata.py "{year}/reports/{file}" --json
   

   Keep the parsed purchases, fee lines, and pairings for use in Phase 1, and note which posting-date windows are covered. See references/smartdata_reports.md for the formats, the PDF fallbacks, and what each problems reason means.

   The script exits 1 when validation.ok is false, including in --json mode. That is a verdict, not a crash — the JSON on stdout is complete and usable. If validation.ok is false, report the failing checks to the user, then continue using the parse, treating any fee amount derived from it as unconfirmed until the user says otherwise. The common benign cause is a refund or a real payment in the month: those land in the statement's Payment bucket alongside the fee lines, so fee_count/fee_total disagree even on a perfectly correct parse. Do not stop work over it.

   If the script instead errors outright (a traceback, no JSON), report the error and continue without that report — the reports folder is documented as optional, so its absence is a known-supported state rather than a blocker.

   Also report, per report loaded: the number of problems entries (fees the parser would not attribute) and the number of international_without_fee purchases. Both need the user's eyes and neither shows up in validation.ok. Step 1.3 says what to do with each when a receipt reaches it.

   The folder is optional — if it is missing or empty, continue without it and ask per Step 1.3 when a receipt actually needs the information.

8. Report status:

   Year: {year}
   Spreadsheet: {url}
   Existing expense records: {count}
   Reports loaded: {count} covering {posting-date windows}
   Unattributed fee lines / international purchases with no fee: {count} / {count}
   Numbered receipts: {count} (highest: {number})
   Unnumbered files to process: {count}
   {list unnumbered filenames}
   Posted charges not yet recorded: {count}
   

   Posted charges not yet recorded is the size of missing_from_sheet — the actionable bucket only, not the other three. Populate it by running check_missing_receipts.py for each loaded report, using the expenses-CSV recipe in step 3 to get the file. If the CSV could not be fetched, print unknown rather than 0 — an unfetched sheet is not an empty one.

9. Ask the user what they'd like to do: process new receipts, reconcile, check budgets, or generate a supplement.

Phase 1: Receipt Processing

For each unnumbered file in the receipts folder:

Step 1.1 — Read the receipt

The file was already read during session start (step 6). Use the extracted contents. If the file was an image too low-resolution to read, acknowledge this immediately and ask the user for: vendor name, amount, date, and description. Do not guess from unreadable images.

From the receipt contents, extract:

• Vendor name
• Date of purchase
• Total amount (including tax)
• Description of items purchased
• Payment method if visible

Step 1.2 — Propose filename

Generate the next receipt number continuing from the highest existing number:

• Format: YYXXX_short_description.ext (keep original file extension)
• Short description: lowercase, underscores, 2-4 words describing the purchase
• Example: 26025_amazon_labsupplies.pdf

Step 1.3 — Cross-check against the SmartData report

Use the reports loaded during session start (step 7). See references/smartdata_reports.md for details.

1. Payment method: match the receipt to a parsed purchase by description and amount. Descriptions are card descriptors (AMAZON MKTPL*<id>, SQ *<merchant>), so match fuzzily. A match confirms p-card. If there is no match, ask whether this is a p-card charge that has not posted yet, finance, or reimbursement — never silently default to p-card.

2. Amount: compare the receipt total to the posted USD amount. If they differ, show both and ask which to record. Differences are usually legitimate — tips, currency conversion, partial capture, hotel incidentals — so the posted amount normally wins, but do not assume it.

3. International fee: the charge is international when the report's Country is present and not UNITED STATES. If no report covers the receipt's period, fall back to the heuristic (non-USD receipt, or a vendor outside the US even if billed in USD).

   Branches (a), (b), (c) and (e) are the four ways the parser can describe this charge; exactly one of them applies, so take that one. Branch (d) is not reached from the receipt at all — a no_match fee has an empty candidates list, so nothing in the parse links it to any receipt. It is reached from the report, must be surfaced on its own, and branch (e) consults it before computing anything.

   • (a) A paired fee line exists — the charge appears in the parser's pairs. Use the fee's actual amount. No estimate, no computation.

   • (b) The charge has not posted — either no report covers its period, or a report covers the period but does not list the charge. Compute 1% of the posted USD amount, rounded half-up to the cent and mark it an estimate.

   • (c) The fee is in problems with reason: "ambiguous" and this receipt's purchase is one of its candidates — several purchases could have incurred it. Show the candidates and ask which. When equivalent is true, say that either assignment gives the same numbers. Never guess the parent. If the user rules this receipt's purchase out — the fee belongs to a different candidate — the purchase has no fee of its own, and the parser will not have listed it under international_without_fee. Fall through to (e) and treat it as a charge whose fee has not posted.

   • (d) A fee is in problems with reason: "no_match" — an orphan. Its candidates list is empty, so nothing links it to a receipt and there is nothing to show. Report its transaction date and amount to the user. Before assuming it belongs to the receipt in hand, check it against the estimated fee rows carried over from the previous statement: a fee that posts just after a statement close appears on the next statement without its parent, and it belongs to that earlier row — Phase 3 step 4 retires it there. Never guess a parent.

   • (e) The report covers the charge, shows no paired fee, and it is not in problems either — the parser lists it under international_without_fee. First check (d): if exactly one unpaired no_match fee in the same report shares this charge's transaction date, has an amount equal to 1% of the posted USD amount to within a cent, and does not already match an estimated row carried over from the previous statement, that fee is this charge's — use its actual figure, say the pairing was made by hand, and do not compute an estimate. If two or more fees fit, or the fee also fits a previous statement's estimated row, show them and ask rather than choosing: the rule against guessing a parent applies to hand matches too. Only when no such fee exists, treat the fee as not yet posted: compute 1% of the posted USD amount, rounded half-up to the cent, add the fee row marked as an estimate, and tell the user the report showed no fee line for that charge. The likely cause is the fee posting just after the statement close; Phase 3's estimated-fee check will confirm or correct it once a later report covers it.

For an international charge, Cost on the main row is the posted USD amount, not the receipt's foreign total, and notes carries the original amount, currency, and conversion rate.

When a report is needed but missing: if the receipt's period has no report at all, ask the user to export that statement month from SmartData into {year}/reports/ as YYYY_MM.xlsx. Offer to continue meanwhile with a computed 1% estimate and a flagged payment method — a missing report must never block the work. If a report covers the period but the charge is absent, it simply has not posted; do not ask for another report.

Step 1.4 — Propose expense record

Fill in all 10 columns of the expenses tab:

International transaction fee row. When Step 1.3 found or computed a fee, emit a second row alongside the main one:

The fee inherits the parent's GL code, so no new GL code is needed. Sharing the parent's receipt_number is expected: Phase 3 already treats one receipt number covering multiple rows as normal. If the fee's own posting date differs from the parent's, note it rather than splitting the rows apart.

For finance and reimbursement, add no fee row — the 1% is a card assessment. Record the USD amount if it is known, from the payer's own statement or the reimbursement figure, and otherwise ask: no report this skill can read covers a non-p-card payment. Put the foreign amount in notes either way.

Step 1.5 — Entertainment check

If the GL code is an entertainment code (6455, 6460, 6470, 6475), collect supplement form fields. Use patterns learned from past supplements (read during session start, step 4) to propose defaults:

• Location: venue name and city (often derivable from receipt)
• Persons Involved: propose based on patterns from past supplements for similar expense types — e.g., grocery/snack purchases may consistently use a standard lab group description, while restaurant meals list named attendees. Only ask the user to confirm or correct, not to provide from scratch
• Business Purpose: propose based on past supplement patterns for the same venue or expense type. Only ask to confirm
• Alcohol: ask if alcohol was purchased (affects VP approval requirement)

Store this supplement data for Phase 4.

Step 1.6 — Confirm with user

Present all proposed data clearly and ask for confirmation before proceeding. Show:

• Proposed filename
• All expense record fields
• Entertainment supplement fields (if applicable)

Only after user confirms:

• Rename the file using mv
• Add the expense record to the accumulator for Phase 2

Step 1.7 — Repeat

Move to the next unnumbered file. After all files are processed, proceed to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Spreadsheet Update

After all receipts are processed:

1. Compile all new expense records using pipe | as separator, matching the column order:

   Expense|Vendor|Cost|date|method|Fund|GL code|receipt_number|notes|request reimbursement
   

2. Print the pipe-separated rows directly (do NOT write to a file). Instruct the user:

   • Click on the first empty cell in column A
   • Paste the text
   • Click the small paste icon that appears at the bottom-left
   • Select Split text to columns
   • Choose Custom separator and type |

3. Remind the user to sort the sheet by date after pasting if desired.

Phase 3: Reconciliation

Compare receipts folder against spreadsheet records:

1. Read current expenses from the spreadsheet (re-fetch via CSV export).

2. List receipt files in {year}/receipts/ matching the YYXXX_ pattern.

3. Compare:

   • Orphaned receipts: files in folder with no matching receipt_number in the spreadsheet
   • Missing files: spreadsheet records whose receipt_number has no matching file
   • Note: some receipt numbers may cover multiple expense rows (same receipt, multiple items) — this is expected

4. Confirm estimated fees: for rows whose notes carry 1% estimate, check them against a report that now covers the period. Correct the cost if it differs and drop the estimate caveat once confirmed.

   Where the actual amount is. A fee that posted just after the previous statement's close lands on the next statement with no parent on it, so the parser cannot pair it: it appears in that report's problems[*].fee entries with reason: "no_match", not in pairs. Look there. A no_match fee whose transaction date matches the estimated row and whose amount equals 1% of that row's parent cost to within a cent is the confirming figure. If none matches, leave the estimate caveat in place and say so — never drop it on the strength of a fee you could not identify.

5. Check for unrecorded charges: for each YYYY_MM.xlsx in {year}/reports/, get the expenses CSV with the expenses-CSV recipe in Session Start step 3, then run:

   python3 {skill_dir}/scripts/check_missing_receipts.py "{year}/reports/{file}" \
       --expenses /tmp/expenses_check.csv --json
   

   Delete the CSV afterwards, per that recipe. This script always exits 0 — read the buckets, not the exit code.

   Report each bucket separately — missing_from_sheet is the actionable list; possible_amount_mismatch means recorded with a different amount (often the receipt's foreign total instead of the posted USD); ambiguous needs the user to pick; rows_without_receipt_number cannot have a receipt file.

   Every charge lands in exactly one of the first three or is matched cleanly and reported in none of them. rows_without_receipt_number is different in kind — it is a subset of the matched rows, so it never overlaps the other three and its count is not additive with them. One more thing to know when reading the output: an unrecorded fee never appears in possible_amount_mismatch, because every fee line carries the same descriptor and so has no vendor words to match a row on. It normally lands in missing_from_sheet — though if its amount and date happen to fit two unclaimed rows it goes to ambiguous instead, since exact matching runs before the descriptor test.

   State the limits alongside the results: a charge not yet processed is a true positive, and early in a cycle the missing list is expected to be long; another cardholder's spending never appears in this report; and aggregated monthly rows cannot match individual charges. Never create rows or invent receipt numbers from this output — report and ask.

6. Report findings clearly, listing any discrepancies.

Phase 4: Entertainment Supplement

Generate the supplement table for a given month:

1. Ask which month to generate (default: current or most recent month with entertainment expenses).

2. Filter entertainment expenses (GL 6455/6460/6470/6475) for that month from the spreadsheet.

3. Combine with the supplement data collected during Phase 1 (if in the same session) or ask the user for missing fields.

4. Format as a table matching the supplement form layout:

   Date | Location | Persons Involved (Name, Title, Company) | Business Purpose | Total
   -----|----------|------------------------------------------|-----------------|------
   {rows}
                                                                          Total: ${sum}
   

5. Output the table as copyable text.

6. Note if any expenses involved alcohol (VP approval required).

7. Remind: save as supplement_BASM_{YYYY}_{MM}.pdf in {year}/supplements/.

Phase 5: Budget & Fund Check

On user request:

1. Fetch the funds tab via CSV export — show available balances per fund.
2. Fetch the budget tab via CSV export — show spending by GL category, flag any over-budget items.
3. Present a concise summary with the most relevant information.

Communication Guidelines

• Be concise. Lead with the data, not explanations.
• When proposing expense records, present them in a clear table format.
• When multiple receipts need processing, handle them one at a time — don't batch confirmations.
• For the paste block, use pipe | as separator. Tab-separated text does not survive copy-paste from Claude, and commas conflict with values. Pipe is safe and Google Sheets supports it via custom separator.
• Always confirm before renaming files or finalizing expense records.