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Teagasc eProfit Monitor

User Manual

For External Users

Kevin Connolly

Financial Management Specialist

(047) 81188

Version 1.1

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INDEX

Logging in 3

Year Selection 3

Farmer Selection 4

Setting up the Enterprise Profile 4

Explanation of Enterprise Profile 5

Entering in Farm Data 7

Farm Details 8

Land & Quota Use 8

Sales & Premia 9

Opening & Closing Stock 10

Livestock Sales & Purchases 12

Stock Reconciliation 13

Variable Costs 14

Tillage Variable Costs 15

Fixed Costs 15

Dairy Physical 16

Assets & Liabilities 17

Farmer Data Approval 18

Running Reports 19

Individual Reports 19

Group Reports 21

Saving And Printing Reports 23

Using e-Profit Monitor

Logging in to the programme

The web address for the Teagasc eProfit Monitor is https://epm.teagasc.ie/epm/

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ear Selection

efore entering any data it is very important that you check that you are in the correct

ear for the data you are going to enter.

he year that the system is currently working in is displayed in the banner at the top of

e screen

o change the year

Click on ‘Year Selection’ on the menu bar

Click on the drop-down arrow

Select the relevant year

Login to the system using your Username

(PPS Number) and Password (Date of

Birth).

After entering the Username & Password

click on ‘Login’

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Farmer Selection

To access a particular farm on the system you should

Click on the ‘Farmer Selection ‘option on the menu bar on the left.

Select the relevant farmer off the list by clicking on the farmers name.

The farmers name will appear on the top banner.

Setting up the Enterprise Profile for the farm

Before any data can be entered the type of enterprises for analysis on the farm must first

be defined.

NOTE:

Always check the banner at the top of the screen that the correct farmer name is visible

before setting up or changing a profile.

Click on ‘Enterprise Profiles’

Enter the Year end date in the format DD/MM/YYYY

Select the profiles by ticking the relevant boxes.

Crops in a ‘Detailed-Tillage’ profile are selected by entering the column number

corresponding to the order in which they were entered on the input sheet.

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e.g. if Winter Wheat was the first crop in column 1 on the input sheet then a ‘1’ should be

entered beside ‘Winter Wheat’, number ‘2’ for the next crop and so on. This crop order

will determine the way crops are displayed on the input screen and on any reports.

The profile set up for the farm will determine the type of input data required and the type

of reports available for the farm.

NOTE:

Changing an Enterprise Profile for a farm after data has been entered may result in any

previously entered data being lost -as identified by a warning message.

Explanation of Enterprise Profiles

The purpose of setting up the profiles is to determine the layout of the screens for

receiving the input data as well as determining the level of detail in the output.

The profiles available are summarised as follows

Summary Detailed

Dairy (Detailed)

Cattle Summary Cattle Detailed

Sheep Summary Sheep Detailed

Tillage Summary Tillage Detailed

In setting up a profile for a farm you must select at least one enterprise from the

‘Detailed’ column. Picking an enterprise as detailed means that this is the main

enterprise you are interested in analysing and in generating reports for.

If a Dairy enterprise exists on the farm then you must select the Dairy (Detailed) option.

The other enterprises have the option of Detailed or Summary profiles which can be

selected in addition to the main ‘Detailed’ enterprise.

In selecting an enterprise as ‘Summary’ what you are in effect saying is that while this

enterprise exists on the farm you are only interested in collecting financial data on this

enterprise for the purpose of excluding it from the analysis of the principle enterprise

(which you have selected as detailed).

For example if the farm for analysis has cattle as the main enterprise and a supplementary

tillage enterprise on the farm then this farm could be set up with ‘Cattle Detailed’ and

‘Tillage Summary’ as its farm profile.

NOTE:

If a detailed analysis report is required for a particular enterprise then this enterprise

should be selected as ‘Detailed’

Once the farm profile has been

defined the menu-bar will display the

various input screens available for

entering data

Normally you would start at the top

input screen and work your way

down.

Click on the ‘Farm Details’ option to

start entering data.

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Entering in Farm Data

NOTE: Important General Input Information

As information is entered on each input screen it can be saved by clicking .

You must do this before leaving a particular screen otherwise the data entered will be

lost.

It is good practice to click on after a substantial amount of data has been entered

on an input screen even before you have completely finished entering data on the screen.

ePM is set to disconnect from the internet if it is opened but has not been used for a

certain period of time. To avoid the loss of data you should always hit if you are

leaving the program idle for a period.

Also it is good practice to click upon returning to the programme to enter data

after it has been left idle. This will check whether the program has disconnected. If it

has you will have to login again.

Once you are satisfied that you have completed all necessary input on a particular screen

then you should tick the tickbox and then click . This indicates that the data

input on this section is complete. A tick will then appear alongside that input screen in

the menu-bar on the left.

Moving between the input cells on the screen is best achieved by using the Tab key

(located above the Caps Lock key on the left of the keyboard)

The cream coloured cells cannot be changed and are either pre-determined or are

calculation cells.

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Farm Details

Some of the main farmer details will be already filled in here automatically.

A description of the type of production involved in each enterprise is required.

This is done by selecting an option off a drop down list for the Dairy & Tillage

enterprises.

For Cattle & Sheep enterprises the number of units sold is entered by system and the

most important system is determined for each enterprise.

The number of labour units (paid & unpaid) working on the farm can also be entered

here.

The farm can also be flagged for later group reporting by using the drop-downs available

under the ‘Related Links’. This can also be done for the full list of farmers who have

profiles completed by using the ‘Assign Agencies’ screen under adviser functions.

Land & Quota Use

Details of the farm land area both ‘Owned’ and ‘Leased’ are entered here.

If there is both stock and tillage on the farm then the land area must be allocated

individually to stock and tillage.

Livestock Land Area

Where there is more than one livestock enterprise on the farm there are two options with

the land area

Enter in the total area used by all the livestock enterprises OR

Enter in the actual land area allocated to each specific enterprise

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Tillage Land Area

If ‘Summary Tillage’ is selected under the Enterprise Profile then only the total land area

for tillage will be required.

If ‘Detailed Tillage’ is selected under the Enterprise Profile and individual crops are

selected then there is the option of allocating a land area to each crop.

If there is leased land on the farm then this can be allocated in the same way.

The cost of the lease should also be entered here and this cost will be carried forward to

be included in ‘Fixed Costs’.

A further breakdown of ‘Grass/Forage’ & ‘Tillage’ land usage should also be entered.

NOTE:

The ‘Total Stock Adj Ha’ must equal the total ‘Grass/Forage Ha’ and the ‘Tillage Adj

Ha’ must equal the total ‘Tillage Ha’

Details on the quotas used on the farm should also be entered. Again a breakdown

between owned and leased quota (including lease cost) is required.

Sales & Premia

For dairy and/or tillage farms the sales details for milk/crop sales are entered here.

Physical information (litres of milk or tonnes of grain sold) is required along with the

financial value of the sales.

Livestock sales are NOT entered here but will be catered for in a separate input section.

The Single Farm Payment, REPS and CAS (headage) are entered as total figures.

On the reports only the REPS and CAS payments are broken down by enterprise and

therefore appear on individual enterprise reports.

The Single Farm Payment is shown only as a whole farm figure and therefore will

not appear on individual enterprise reports but only on Whole Farm reports

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There are additional input boxes available to cater for additional enterprise-specific

premia if they apply.

Opening & Closing Stock

For Dairy and Summary Cattle the details required under Opening & Closing stock are

number of animals and average value.

Where Cattle and/or Sheep detailed profiles have been selected then there will be a

further breakdown of the Cattle categories by age.

An extra column of detail is required on Average Kgs for the drystock enterprises.

If there has been a previous years data entered for this farm then last years closing stock

numbers and values can be imported in as the Opening Stock figures for the current year.

To do this click on the button- at the top of the screen.

A set of standard values for the Average Value & Average Kgs can be used and can be

selected by clicking on either or .

The average number of animals in each category for the year is also required.

The average number can be entered against each category on the screen directly or

alternatively the monthly stock table can be used

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Monthly Stock Table

Click on to access this screen.

Using this table the monthly numbers for each category of animal can be entered and the

average is calculated.

Once all the required monthly entries have been completed then by clicking the

button the average values are fed into the average column on the main input

screen.

There is also the option to ‘Print’ these stock details.

Other Stock

Also in the ‘Opening & Closing Stock’ screen there is the facility to enter details of other

stocks of materials on the farm at the start and end of the year.

Details of Feed, Forage and Fertiliser can be entered.

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Livestock Sales & Purchases

For Dairy profiles with summary drystock the data required for Sales & Purchases is

numbers of animals and total value of this number either sold or purchased.

For Detailed Cattle or Sheep profiles there is a further breakdown by age and in addition

to number and total value, a value for the total kgs liveweight sold/purchased in the

detailed drystock categories is required.

Stock Bull Usage

A stock bull used on the farm must be allocated between the dairying, replacement and

cattle enterprises. The percentage usage on each enterprise should be entered and the

total usage should equal 100%.

Livestock Transfers

For livestock enterprises, further information is required on numbers and values of

livestock transferred between enterprises.

Standard figures for the animal value and weight (if applicable) are pre-entered but can

be overtyped if necessary.

Ewes to Ram for Current Lamb Crop

Information on Ewe Number Details is required for ‘Detailed Sheep’ profiles. These

figures will be used in the per ewe analysis on the ‘Sheep Detailed’ reports.

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Stock Reconciliation

The stock reconciliation screen acts as a check on the stock inventories, sales &

purchases entered previously for each of the stock enterprises.

No figures are entered on this screen but you must still ‘tick & save’ the screen in order

to complete the data entry process.

Compare the ‘Balancing Figure’ for each enterprise against the estimated number of

births and/or deaths to check that the stock numbers are reconciling.

You can click on the help button to get an explanation of how to interpret the

Balancing Figure.

Explanation of Balancing Figure Fields.

A negative figure here indicates that Closing Stock numbers are short by this number ofstock - this may be due to animal deaths during the year or an error in the stock numbersentered.

A positive figure here indicates that this number of stock were sold or transferred fromthe enterprise and cannot be accounted for in opening stock or stock purchased/transferred in. Provided Opening & Closing numbers as well as numbers Purchased Sold& Transferred are correct it represents the net figure for 'Births - Deaths' for the year.

If this figure is higher than expected check -- Opening Stock - number too low- Purchases/ transfers - number too low- Sales - number too high

If this figure is lower than expected check -

- Opening Stock - number too high- Purchases/ transfers - number too high- Sales - number too low

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Variable Costs

Costs are entered here for each type of expense category and are allocated to the farm

enterprises either manually or automatically based on enterprise livestock units.

‘White’ input boxes in an enterprise column require a figure to be entered for this

enterprise, if applicable.

For some categories of expense e.g. ‘Purchased Concentrate’ a figure must be entered for

each enterprise on the farm.

For certain expense categories, which have ‘Grey’, coloured boxes there is the

option of –

entering a total figure for ‘Stock’in the ‘White’ input box and ePM will allocate the stock

fertiliser cost among the livestock enterprises

OR

using the ‘Grey’ boxes to manually enter the cost for each enterprise where the actual

enterprise cost figure is known.

For farms with Detailed Cattle or Sheep then an extra breakdown of ‘Contractor’ costs is

also given as an option for these two enterprises. The input cells for these figures are

coloured ‘Green’ .

The individual costs for ‘Silage Making’, ‘Slurry Spreading’, etc. for Cattle & Sheep

can be entered as a total in the ‘Stock’ column which will be split automatically on the

basis of the LU’s in these enterprises. There is also the option to overtype these

allocations with the actual costs for each enterprise.

A column for entry of ‘Tillage’ costs is available here for farms that have ‘Summary

Tillage’ selected in their Enterprise Profile.

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Tillage Variable Costs (VC)

This screen is only available for farms that have ‘Detailed Tillage’ selected in their

‘Enterprise Profile’

Individual costs must be entered for each crop as set up in the ‘Enterprise Profile’

‘Lime’ and ‘Scutch Control’ do not require allocation on a crop-by-crop basis and only a

total figure for these costs should be entered.

Fixed Costs

Total figures for ‘Fixed Costs’ for each expense item can be entered for Livestock &

Tillage farms or the cost figures can be manually split between the Stock and Tillage

enterprises.

NOTE:

No splitting of costs occurs between enterprises on the input screen. The costs will be

allocated between enterprises when the reports are generated.

Fixed costs can be manually allocated to individual enterprises (or crops for a detailed

tillage farm) by using the ‘Additional Fixed Cost Allocation’ option

Insert a tick in the tickbox to use this function

Click on ‘New’ to allocate a € amount to a particular fixed cost

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Select the cost category from the dropdown list and enter the € amount under the

relevant enterprise

Then click on Add to add the cost to your fixed cost list. You can then select

another cost if you wish.

Fixed costs added using this ‘Additional Fixed Cost Allocation’ option will be included in

the analysis in addition to any total costs entered under the same cost category in the

main part of the fixed costs input screen

NOTE:

The figures for ‘Land Lease’ and ‘Quota Lease’ are brought in automatically to this input

screen from the ‘Land & Quota Details’ input screen.

If there are land & quota lease costs they must be entered in the ‘Land & Quota Details’

input screen.

Dairy Physical Data

On this screen you may enter date details and other information relating to the

management of the dairy enterprise.

All dates should be entered in the format DD/MM/YYYY

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Assets & Liabilities

This screen allows the input of the value of the assets and liabilities that the farm business

had at the beginning and end of the year of analysis.

If data has been entered for this farmer for a previous year then the ‘closing’ values for

that year can be brought in as ‘opening’ values for the current year by clicking on

.

The ‘opening’ figures used can be used as the ‘closing’ figures in the current year by

clicking on .

Standard values for Land Ha’s and Quota units can be used by clicking on

. These values can be overtyped if required.

Land/Quota Owned

For ‘Land Owned’ and ‘Quota Owned’ the opening and closing amounts (and values) of

each should be entered. Amounts invested (€’s) in each asset type should also be entered.

These investment amounts are independent figures and do not update the closing values

for the asset.

The opening values for fixed assets, investments and pension should be entered first.

Investment in each asset type should then be entered. These investment figures will be

used in the calculation of closing values of these assets.

Depreciation values for the ‘Buildings’ and ‘Machinery’ that have been previously

entered as ‘Fixed Costs’ are deducted in arriving at the closing value for each asset.

Opening and closing values for debtors, cash on hand, loans and liabilities must be

entered separately.

Farmer Data Approval

If all input screens have been ‘ticked’ as complete and have been saved then the farm

data must be approved for reporting.

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here are three options available for each farmers data

To view the farm data and make changes if required.

To accept the data as suitable for reporting

To delete the data

lick on to allow the farm data to be included for reporting purposes.

OTE:

a farm’s data has been approved but subsequently an input screen for that farm has

een resaved (due to changes in data or otherwise) then the farm data must be approved

gain before reports can be run.

To do this click on the ‘Data Input Approval’

option under ‘Adviser Functions’.

A list will appear of all the farmers who have

complete data i.e. all the input screens have been

Ticked and Saved (there will be a tick beside

each screen on the menu-bar as shown for any

farmer who has complete data)

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Running Reports in ePM

Individual Reports

NOTE:

The ‘Individual Reports’ list will only appear on the menu bar if the selected farmers

data has first been approved. (See ‘Farmer Data Approval’)

NOTE:

Check that you have selected the right farmer for reports by checking the banner at the

top of the screen.

To select a different farmer you must click on ‘Farmer Selection’ and pick the required

farmer.

The list of individual (single farm) reports available is grouped under several headings.

The number of reports available will depend on the way the farm was set up in the

‘Enterprise Profile’.

NOTE:

To see the full list of reports under a particular heading you should click on the + beside

the report category headings.

Whole Farm

The ‘Whole Farm’ reports section is available for all farms regardless of the enterprise

profile that is set up.

Under this heading you will have access to reports that give summary analysis of all

enterprises on the same report.

A Balance Sheet and Multiple Year report can also be accessed here.

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Enterprise Reports

Detailed analysis reports are available for each specific enterprise- Dairy, Cattle, Sheep &

Tillage.

NOTE:

The detailed enterprise reports will only be available for those enterprises that have been

set up as ‘Detailed’ in the farm ‘Enterprise Profile’

Running an Individual Report

After selecting an individual report from the menu bar you should be given the option of

generating the report in either Adobe (PDF) or Excel format.

Select the required option and click on ‘View Report’ to see the report.

NOTE:

A separate window will open up to display the report. The ePM program can still be

accessed by clicking on its icon on the taskbar (usually visible at the bottom of the

screen).

If you want to run several reports in sequence then it is good practice to close down each

report before running the next one.

You can ‘Save’ any report to a file if you wish to look at it later (see later section)

To run the report in PDF format you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer.

The reader can be downloaded from this web address http://get.adobe.com/reader/

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Running a Group Report

A selection of group reports are available under the various enterprise headings.

Before running any group report you must first create a group of farmers and name the

group.

Setting up a Group

In the Adviser menu on the left click on ‘Adviser Groups’

Click on

Name the group so you can easily identify it later

Highlight the farmer you want to include in the group and click . The farmers

name will then transfer to the right of the screen.

Do the same with each other farmer until you have all farmers required for that group

batched together on the right of the screen.

If you wish to remove any farmer from the group them highlight his name on the right

and click

Save the group when you are happy with it.

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NOTE

Once a group has been saved you have the option, at a later stage, to

Edit: Add/Remove farmers from the group

Copy: Copy the group to add/remove farmers to it and then save it under a different

name

Delete:Remove the group from your adviser group list.

Running a report for a group

Firstly select the type of report by

Clicking on the + beside ‘Group Reports’ on the menu bar

Clicking on the + beside the enterprise type

Click on the report heading

Select a group by clicking on the drop down box on the left of screen

You will get a list of farmers in the group together with some information on the type and

status of their data.

If you wish to edit the group then select

To view the report ON SCREEN then select . The report will

then open up in a separate window in Adobe (PDF) format.

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Saving and Printing Reports

All ePM reports can be saved and printed using the toolbar in Adobe Acrobat Reader

It is good practice to save any ePM report on your own computer so you can look at this

report again without having to login to ePM over the web.

Click on the disk icon on the toolbar just above the report itself to save the displayed

report.

To make it easier to find the reports you save you should create a new folder either in

‘My Documents’ or on your ‘C drive’- click on the ‘New Folder’ button (circled) to do

this and name the folder something like ‘ePM Reports’

Give the report an easily recognisable name- e.g. include the farmers name in the title.

To print any report then click on the print icon on the Adobe toolbar and select your

printer.

Button to create aNew Folder in thecurrent location

Type the name of thereport you are saving