How the Cash System Works

When money arrives in a fund bank account, the first question is what the bank received. The next questions are who the money belongs to and which contribution, expense, investment event or transfer it settles. OpenAdmin keeps those answers in connected records so an uncertain classification does not erase the evidence that cash moved.

Connect bank evidence to its business purpose

The Activity Feed preserves imported bank or broker movements. An Account Transaction represents a movement inside OpenAdmin and can reference that feed evidence. These are linked representations of the same money movement, so they are not additive cash.

A Cash Split explains an amount within the transaction and identifies its economic owner. The bank account says where the money sits; the split owner says whose cash it is. Splits must together explain the transaction. A Cash Split Link applies an amount from a split to a subscription activity, investment activity, expense, income or transfer. A split can support several links, so each link's applied amount matters.

A contribution records subscription or investment funding. Linking cash to it supplies settlement evidence; it does not supply a posted journal. The stages can therefore have different statuses, and signs must be read under each record's own convention.

Follow the saved receipt

The fictional Learning Sandbox contains a USD100,000 receipt dated July 5, 2026 for Cedarbridge Core Subscription in Cedarbridge Example Fund LP, Class A. Open Cash → Transaction Explorer, select the fund Entity and an As of Date that includes July 5, then expand Cash Split #1 and its stages.

Learning Sandbox, Cedarbridge Example Fund LP, cutoff October 26, 2026. Cash Split #1 is expanded to show the July 5 receipt's Feed #1, Transaction #1, Split #1 and Contribution #3. Read the amounts and status in the next image of the same grid.

Activity Feed #1 preserves the imported receipt of +USD100,000. Account Transaction #1 records that movement inside OpenAdmin and links it to the feed. These are two representations of one receipt; adding them would count the funding twice.

Cash Split #1 assigns the +USD100,000 to Class A. The account receiving the wire and the class owning the cash answer different questions. The split's Cash Split Link #1 points to Subscription Activity #3, the Contribution that records this subscription's funding.

The contribution displays −USD100,000, while the bank receipt and split display +USD100,000. The activity and cash layers use different sign conventions. Read the category, record amount and allocated link amount together; the minus sign on the contribution does not turn this receipt into a bank payment.

The same records after horizontal scrolling. The receipt is +USD100,000; the contribution and its linked amount are −USD100,000. Transaction status is Posted, while Accounting explicitly says Missing journal.

The explorer displays Posted for the account transaction, Assigned for the split and Linked for the contribution. Its Accounting stage explicitly reports Missing journal. Posted on a cash transaction is not Posted on an accounting journal. This saved example establishes a linked receipt and contribution; it does not establish posted accounting.

The chain demonstrates the general separation: bank evidence supports the movement, the split identifies ownership, the link explains its business purpose, and the missing journal leaves an accounting task. Opening and expanding the explorer only inspects these existing fictional records; it does not create, match or post them.

Review the connections

Start with the account, currency and dates you intend to review in the Cash app. Use Transaction Explorer to inspect the movement and its explanation. Compare the transaction total with the sum of its splits, then compare each split with the amounts applied through its links.

This review tests both coverage and purpose: do the splits explain all of the movement, and do the linked amounts settle the intended records? A correct split owner does not establish a correct activity link. Do not apply a split's full value independently to each of several linked activities.

A contribution and a cash link establish operational funding and settlement evidence. They do not prove that an accounting journal has been posted. Check accounting separately when reviewing the books.

When the receipt does not explain its purpose

In a separate hypothetical USD60,000 receipt, suppose the bank description identifies Smith Holdings LLC but no remittance advice explains its purpose. The description identifies a reported payer; it does not establish which subscription or activity the receipt settles.

Preserve the confirmed receipt amount and date, and keep the payer or likely-owner evidence in Notes or a supporting document. While the split is parked as Unapplied Cash, leave its owner and business-activity link unassigned. Cash → Integrity treats an assigned owner or business link on Unapplied Cash as Needs Review. When the evidence supports the purpose, reclassify the split, assign the economic owner and link the correct activity. Do not select an unrelated contribution simply to remove an unmatched item.

A short receipt also needs an explanation. If a USD100,000 call produces only USD99,975 of bank cash, record the cash the bank actually reports. Check whether the USD25 is an evidenced bank fee, an FX difference or an unpaid amount. A fee needs its own supported treatment; an unpaid balance remains outstanding. Do not increase the receipt to the notice amount or create a fee merely to force a match.

Transfers, fees and balances

A transfer moves cash between accounts or owners. Its cash links can point to a Transfer record; they do not have to point to subscription or investment activity. Review both sides and any separate fee so the movement is not mistaken for new investor funding or investment income.

A bank fee reduces cash and may require an expense record and related split link. The bank evidence and supporting information determine its classification.

The Account Balance Feed records the bank or broker's reported balance at a date, separately from the Activity Feed's movements. Use a balance to check whether OpenAdmin's reconstructed cash agrees with the account statement for the same account, currency and date. A closing balance is a total at a point in time; it is not another receipt or payment.

Balance Snapshot at August 31, 2026: the source bank balance is USD58,800 dated August 31; three Class A splits attribute USD58,800, leaving a displayed difference of USD0.

The saved Cedarbridge Balance Snapshot at August 31, 2026 shows a bank-feed balance of USD58,800 dated August 31 and USD58,800 attributed to Class A through three splits. At a July 10 cutoff, the available source balance is still USD0 dated July 4, while the July 5 receipt already produces USD100,000 of attributed cash. The displayed difference is −USD100,000. That is a comparison of evidence from different dates, not independent proof of economically negative or unowned cash. Check the source date and later movements before reassigning splits or forcing a tie-out.

The same account at a July 10 cutoff. The bank source is still dated July 4, before the receipt, while attribution includes July 5. The displayed −USD100,000 difference needs a date/evidence investigation; it is not another cash movement.

Find what still needs work

Open Cash Recon to investigate feed-to-transaction differences, split totals, missing activity links, transfer differences and balance tie-outs. Then recheck the same scope after correcting the confirmed cause.

For how Cash Recon and FundOps Recon complement each other, continue to Cash & Fund Operations Reconciliation.