What belongs in April?
You review a vendor service contract for the fictional Alder Supply Co.
The question
The controller’s case instruction counts each completed and accepted service day in its service month. The opening April ledger snapshot shows no entry for this work. The invoice is pending. The controller approves the close amount.
| From | Through | |
|---|---|---|
| April portion | April 26 | April 30 |
| May portion | May 1 | May 5 |
Dates are inclusive. The contract rate is $200 per eligible day.
“Propose an April close amount and explain how you would handle the invoice.”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: What can you estimate from the schedule?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Estimate up to $1,000 and request the service record
The strong move. This uses the April dates and keeps the amount open for verification.
Propose $2,000 for April because the vendor starts in April
Tempting, but it misses something. Five of the ten scheduled days are in May.
Wait for the invoice to identify the month of service
Tempting, but it misses something. The invoice date alone cannot establish which days the vendor completed.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Five scheduled April days at $200 give an upper amount of $1,000 for April. I would label it provisional and ask for the accepted service record.”
Why it works: The schedule shows the planned dates. Eligibility depends on completion and acceptance under the case instruction.
Step 2: Which days qualify for April?
The service log confirms April 27 through 29. April 26 was canceled. April 30 was incomplete and was not accepted.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Use the original $1,000 because the schedule still shows five days
Tempting, but it misses something. The service log rules out two of those scheduled days.
Support $600 with the three accepted service days
The strong move. Three accepted April days at $200 give $600.
Support $800 by adding April 30
Tempting, but it misses something. April 30 was incomplete and had no acceptance.
See how a strong candidate says it
“April 27 through 29 are the three accepted days. They support $600 for April. I would keep the canceled and incomplete dates in the record as exclusions.”
Why it works: The case counts completed and accepted work by service month.
Step 3: How do you handle the invoice?
The vendor invoices $2,000 for all ten scheduled days. All five May days were completed and accepted. The two unsupported April dates remain disputed.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Record the whole $2,000 in May and leave April blank
Tempting, but it misses something. The service log supports work in both months and leaves two dates disputed.
Accept $1,600 in April and dispute the remainder
Tempting, but it misses something. The $1,600 includes five accepted May days.
Keep the month split and raise the $400 discrepancy
The strong move. The accepted days support $600 in April and $1,000 in May.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The records support $600 in April and $1,000 in May. The $2,000 invoice is $400 above that $1,600 total. I would send the two disputed dates to the payable owner.”
Why it works: The accepted May work adds $1,000 to the supported invoice amount. April stays at $600.
Step 4: What remains to record for April?
A newer April ledger extract shows $400 already posted for April 27 and 28.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Propose only the remaining $200 and flag the prior entry
The strong move. This reaches $600 and gives the payable owner the information needed to avoid a duplicate.
Propose the whole $600 because that is the supported amount
Tempting, but it misses something. That would leave $1,000 recorded for three accepted days.
Keep the $400 because an entry already exists
Tempting, but it misses something. The existing entry omits the third accepted April day.
See how a strong candidate says it
“April needs $600 in total. The newer ledger already contains $400 for two of those days. I would send a $200 proposal and the prior entry reference to the controller and tell the payable owner what is already in the close.”
Why it works: The prior entry covers two of the three accepted April days.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Send the $200 April proposal to the controller and the $400 invoice discrepancy to the payable owner.
- Because
- The accepted service record fixes the period and supported amount. The newer ledger shows what has already posted.
- What would change it
- New accepted service evidence or a ledger correction would change the amount to propose.
Common traps
- Count accepted service days within each month.
- Recheck the ledger before you propose the amount.
Check your answer
- I identified the provisional April amount from the schedule.
- I counted only the accepted April days.
- I split the invoice support and documented the dispute.
- I checked the prior entry and briefed both owners.
Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026