Talk to a Sage Intacct Expert 
Design starts with the operating model
Nonprofit & Social Services
Grant and program reportingIndustries
Ten industries. Many operating models.
Each industry here holds more than one way of working: a nonprofit and its social enterprise, a contractor and its service division, a ministry and a regulator. They all reach the general ledger. They should not be designed the same way. Sage Intacct design starts with how your organization is funded, spends, controls and reports.
One invoice, read ten ways.
Take a single supplier invoice for contracted services. The amount is the same everywhere. What finance needs to know about it is not. Select an industry to see how the same invoice is coded.
Nonprofit & Social Services
How it is coded
Coded to the program, the fund and the grant that pays for it.
The question finance must answer
Is this an eligible cost under the agreement, and what restricted balance remains?
Indigenous & First Nations Organizations
How it is coded
Coded to the entity and program that own it, under the approval authority the organization has set.
The question finance must answer
Which entity and funding agreement carries this cost, and who approved it?
Senior Care & Community Services
How it is coded
Coded to the location, the program and the service it supports.
The question finance must answer
Which location and funding stream carries this cost, and is it inside the approved budget?
Professional & Financial Services
How it is coded
Coded to a client project as billable or not, or to an entity and cost centre and recharged where it is shared.
The question finance must answer
Will it be billed to a client, recharged to another entity, or absorbed?
Government & Regulators
How it is coded
Checked against budget authority and an approved commitment before it is paid.
The question finance must answer
Was there authority and an approved commitment for this spend?
Construction
How it is coded
Coded to a job, phase, cost code and cost type, against a subcontract commitment.
The question finance must answer
Is it inside the committed amount, and does it change the cost to complete?
Energy, Utilities & Oil & Gas
How it is coded
Coded to a work order or capital project, then treated as capital or expense.
The question finance must answer
Does it create or extend an asset, or is it operating cost?
Retail & Consumer
How it is coded
Coded to the store or channel and the department it serves.
The question finance must answer
Which location or channel carries it, and what does it do to margin?
Facilities & Property Services
How it is coded
Coded to the property, the contract and the work order.
The question finance must answer
Can it be recovered from the client or tenant, and on what terms?
Food & Related Industries
How it is coded
Coded to the site and product line, and possibly into the cost of inventory.
The question finance must answer
Is it part of the landed cost of inventory, or an operating expense?
Find the operating model closest to yours.
Each industry sits where its money comes from and how its activity is shaped. Select one to see what drives its finance design.
Nonprofit & Social Services
Funding with conditions
- Money comes from
- Grants, contribution agreements, donations and fees for service.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, people and shared services.
- Finance must prove
- That restricted funds were used as agreed.
- Agreement
- Program
- Spend
- Allocation
- Report
Indigenous & First Nations Organizations
Governance leads the structure
- Money comes from
- Funding agreements, own-source revenue and Nation-owned businesses.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, capital projects and shared administration.
- Finance must prove
- Who is responsible for each entity, program and agreement.
- Governance
- Entity / Program
- Funding
- Responsibility
- Reporting
Senior Care & Community Services
Locations, people and mixed funding
- Money comes from
- Government funding, client or resident fees and fundraising.
- Cost is driven by
- Staffing, across locations and programs.
- Finance must prove
- That each location and program is accountable for its funding and its cost.
- Funding / Revenue
- Location / Program
- People & Services
- Cost
- Accountability
Professional & Financial Services
Client work or controlled platforms
- Money comes from
- Fees for client work, or activity recorded in specialist financial platforms.
- Cost is driven by
- People and time, or platform operations.
- Finance must prove
- Project profitability, or reconciled control totals.
- Professional Services lens
- Shared finance backbone
- Financial Services lens
Government & Regulators
Authority before spend
- Money comes from
- Appropriations, transfers, fees and levies.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, procurement and capital.
- Finance must prove
- That spending stayed within approved authority.
- Authority
- Budget
- Commitment
- Spend
- Evidence / Reporting
Construction
Priced before it is built
- Money comes from
- Contracts, progress billings and change orders.
- Cost is driven by
- Labour, materials, equipment and subcontracts, by job.
- Finance must prove
- Earned revenue, margin and cost to complete on every job.
- Change
- Commitment
- Cost
- Billing
- WIP
- Forecast
Energy, Utilities & Oil & Gas
Assets and long capital cycles
- Money comes from
- Energy and utility sales, contracted or regulated revenue, or production.
- Cost is driven by
- Operations, maintenance and capital programs.
- Finance must prove
- What was capitalized, and why.
- Operational work
- Project / Cost
- Capitalization / Expense
- Asset / Entity
- Reporting
Retail & Consumer
High volume, thin margins
- Money comes from
- Store, online and marketplace sales.
- Cost is driven by
- Inventory, fees, returns and people.
- Finance must prove
- That every settlement reached the bank and the ledger.
- Sale
- Settlement
- Fee / Return
- Bank
- Ledger
- Margin
Facilities & Property Services
Contracts and recoverable cost
- Money comes from
- Contract fees, recurring billing and recharges.
- Cost is driven by
- Labour, vendors and work orders, by property.
- Finance must prove
- Which costs are recoverable, and whether they were recovered.
- Property / Client
- Contract
- Work Order
- Cost
- Billing / Recharge
- Performance
Food & Related Industries
Inventory that moves and changes
- Money comes from
- Sales to distributors, retailers, food service or consumers.
- Cost is driven by
- Ingredients, freight, production and wastage.
- Finance must prove
- True margin after freight, rebates and adjustments.
- Purchase
- Receive
- Produce / Distribute
- Adjust
- Sell
- Margin
Funding with conditions
- Money comes from
- Grants, contribution agreements, donations and fees for service.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, people and shared services.
- Finance must prove
- That restricted funds were used as agreed.
- Agreement
- Program
- Spend
- Allocation
- Report
Governance leads the structure
- Money comes from
- Funding agreements, own-source revenue and Nation-owned businesses.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, capital projects and shared administration.
- Finance must prove
- Who is responsible for each entity, program and agreement.
- Governance
- Entity / Program
- Funding
- Responsibility
- Reporting
Locations, people and mixed funding
- Money comes from
- Government funding, client or resident fees and fundraising.
- Cost is driven by
- Staffing, across locations and programs.
- Finance must prove
- That each location and program is accountable for its funding and its cost.
- Funding / Revenue
- Location / Program
- People & Services
- Cost
- Accountability
Client work or controlled platforms
- Money comes from
- Fees for client work, or activity recorded in specialist financial platforms.
- Cost is driven by
- People and time, or platform operations.
- Finance must prove
- Project profitability, or reconciled control totals.
- Professional Services lens
- Shared finance backbone
- Financial Services lens
Authority before spend
- Money comes from
- Appropriations, transfers, fees and levies.
- Cost is driven by
- Programs, procurement and capital.
- Finance must prove
- That spending stayed within approved authority.
- Authority
- Budget
- Commitment
- Spend
- Evidence / Reporting
Priced before it is built
- Money comes from
- Contracts, progress billings and change orders.
- Cost is driven by
- Labour, materials, equipment and subcontracts, by job.
- Finance must prove
- Earned revenue, margin and cost to complete on every job.
- Change
- Commitment
- Cost
- Billing
- WIP
- Forecast
Assets and long capital cycles
- Money comes from
- Energy and utility sales, contracted or regulated revenue, or production.
- Cost is driven by
- Operations, maintenance and capital programs.
- Finance must prove
- What was capitalized, and why.
- Operational work
- Project / Cost
- Capitalization / Expense
- Asset / Entity
- Reporting
High volume, thin margins
- Money comes from
- Store, online and marketplace sales.
- Cost is driven by
- Inventory, fees, returns and people.
- Finance must prove
- That every settlement reached the bank and the ledger.
- Sale
- Settlement
- Fee / Return
- Bank
- Ledger
- Margin
Contracts and recoverable cost
- Money comes from
- Contract fees, recurring billing and recharges.
- Cost is driven by
- Labour, vendors and work orders, by property.
- Finance must prove
- Which costs are recoverable, and whether they were recovered.
- Property / Client
- Contract
- Work Order
- Cost
- Billing / Recharge
- Performance
Inventory that moves and changes
- Money comes from
- Sales to distributors, retailers, food service or consumers.
- Cost is driven by
- Ingredients, freight, production and wastage.
- Finance must prove
- True margin after freight, rebates and adjustments.
- Purchase
- Receive
- Produce / Distribute
- Adjust
- Sell
- Margin
A conceptual map of operating patterns, not a ranking. Organizations inside one industry can sit in different places.
Sage Intacct underneath every industry
One platform, configured ten ways.
The industry decides the design. Sage Intacct provides the depth to carry it: dimensions, entities, budgets, approvals, projects and open integration, all in one cloud financial platform. Each industry page shows the configuration that matters there.
- DimensionsEvery transaction carries the structure the industry needs.
- Multi-entityEntities, intercompany and consolidation.
- Spend ManagementBudgets, commitments and funds availability.
- AP Automation and approvalsInvoices captured, coded and approved.
- Project accounting and revenue recognitionProjects, billing and revenue on agreed rules.
- Open API and MarketplaceSpecialist systems connected and reconciled.
Actual Sage Intacct interface. Demo data shown. It can be customized for your organization.
The industry changes the questions. The discipline does not.
In every industry, Biviti settles the same six decisions before configuration begins. They are what make integrations reliable and reports trustworthy.
- 01System of record
Decide which system owns each record, before anything is integrated.
- 02Master data
Give entities, customers, vendors, projects and dimensions one owner each.
- 03Source to finance
Map how operational activity becomes accounting detail, field by field.
- 04Exceptions
Agree what happens when data fails a check, and who resolves it.
- 05Reconciliation
Prove that what left the source arrived in Sage Intacct, completely.
- 06Reporting
Name who is responsible for each report, and what it must show.
Not sure which model fits you?
Many organizations combine models: a nonprofit with a social enterprise, a contractor with a service division, a Nation with several businesses. Start with a conversation or a short assessment.