The following FAQs for the General Ledger module are divided into categories. Click the appropriate topic below to view the questions and answers for that area of interest, or scroll through the FAQs one at a time.
See also: FAQs (Write-Up CS)
Working in the Chart of Accounts
When you choose to post transactions, the application first deletes all balances for the period from the Chart of Accounts and then posts the transactions.
In the Setup > Chart of Accounts window, choose Force Balance Recalculation from the Edit menu or from the F3 or right-click context menu.
If you delete all the transactions for a single period, the application will not post since there are no transactions to post. This is a safeguard against zeroing out balances that were manually entered in the Chart of Accounts.
To zero the balances that are in the Chart of Accounts, do either of the following:
Open the Setup > Chart of Accounts window and then choose Zero Balances from the Edit menu or from the F3 or right-click context menu. In the Zero General Ledger Balances dialog, choose All accounts, Single Year, Single Period (selecting the current period), and Balance.
Choose Utilities > Balance and Transaction Utilities, mark the Balances checkbox, choose the Delete option, and specify the period for which you want to zero the balances. Using the Balance and Transaction Utilities dialog is also an easy way to delete all transactions for a period or to move all transactions from one period to another.
It means you are currently out of balance in that period. The Out of Balance Amount status pane at the bottom right corner of the Chart of Accounts window shows by how much you are out of balance in the period where the cursor presently rests.
Processing a short year for a client
Working with journals
Working with reports
Choose Setup > User Preferences, click the Print tab, and mark the Save report options checkbox.
It means the balance in the Chart of Accounts does not match the balance to which the transactions actually total. This will happen if amounts (other than in the Beginning Balance field) have been manually entered into the Chart of Accounts. If you did not enter amounts manually into the Chart of Accounts, go to each period in the current year and post the transactions.
Working with transaction entry
This can occur if the Use vendor ID to autofill option is marked in the Transaction Options dialog and you enter a GL account number that exactly matches the vendor ID for an existing vendor. The following can occur when saving the transaction:
- If no account number has been entered in the Standard Check section of the vendor record, the account number is not saved during data entry in the Transactions window.
- If an account number has been entered in the Standard Check section of the vendor record but that number is the same as the vendor ID, the amount of the check entered during data entry is automatically changed to zero.
To prevent these possible scenarios: (a) do not mark the Use vendor ID to autofill option in the Transaction Options dialog but do mark the Use vendor description to autofill option, and > or (b) use alpha or alphanumeric rather than numeric vendor IDs.
This is a result of converting the same client twice. Converting into a CSA client that has already been converted will double up all GL transactions. If you need to reconvert a specific client, you must first delete the CSA data file created from the first conversion of that client. To do this, choose File > Delete > Client and then select the client(s) to delete.
See also: Checklist for Converting a Client to Write-Up CS (PDF)
In the Tasks > Transaction Entry window, choose Recalculate Entry Balance from the Edit menu or from the F3 or right-click context menu.
In the Tasks > Transaction Entry window, choose Edit > Options. Mark the checkbox for Make reversing entry for beginning balance and then click OK. Enter your transaction with the ending balances. When you post, another entry will be created reversing the beginning balance for the period and thus giving you the net change for the period.
- Choose Utilities > Balance and Transaction Utilities.
- In the Balance and Transaction Utilities dialog, mark both the Balances checkbox and the Transactions checkbox (in the Data group box), select the Delete option, and then specify the period you wish to delete by moving it to the right-hand pane.
- Click the Continue button and answer Yes at the confirmation prompt.
- Choose Utilities > Balance and Transaction Utilities.
- In the Balance and Transaction Utilities dialog, mark the Transactions checkbox (in the Data group box), select the Move to Period option, and specify the period to which you want to transfer.
- Specify the period from which you want to move the transactions by moving it to the right-hand pane.
- Click the Continue button and answer Yes at the confirmation prompt.
- I don't like the arrangement of the columns in the Transaction Entry window. Can I rearrange them?
You can change either of those references, but doing so could cause problems with transactions already entered using the old references (in places such as Bank Reconciliation). To the change the references, choose File > Client Properties. In the Client Properties dialog, click the General Ledger tab.
What did you enter as the reference for the check?
A check is considered anything with a reference greater than or equal to the number specified as the Starting Check Number in the General Ledger tab of the File > Client Properties dialog. The starting check number must be greater than 100 and cannot contain alpha characters or a decimal.
In the Tasks > Transaction Entry window, choose Edit > Options and then select Enter multiple descriptions for journal entries.
Open the Tasks > Transaction Entry window and choose Edit > Options and select Do not post tax adjustment entries.
- Open the Tasks > Transaction Entry window and choose Edit > Options. In the Data Entry tab of the Transaction Options dialog, mark the Do not post adjusting entries checkbox (in the Posting Options group box). Click OK to return to the Transaction Entry window.
- On the Journal Entries tab, add a new journal entry and select Adjusting as the special type. This adjusting entry will not be posted to the General Ledger, nor to the Chart of Accounts.
- Print the reports and financial statements for the client's cash-basis information.
- Return to the Transaction Entry window and choose Edit > Options. In the Data Entry tab of the Transaction Options dialog, unmark the Do not post adjusting entries checkbox. Click OK to return to the Transaction Entry window.
- Press F5 to re-post the transactions, including the Adjusting Entry that you entered in Step 2 above.
- Print the reports and financial statements for the client's accrual-basis information.
- To enable the application to go back once again from accrual-basis to cash-basis, return to the Transaction Entry window, and choose Edit > Options. In the Data Entry tab of the Transaction Options dialog, mark the Do not post adjusting entries checkbox, click OK, and then re-post the transactions.
Choose Tasks > Transaction Entry and then choose Edit > Options. In the Date Field section of the Transaction Options dialog, mark the Prompt if date is not within current GL period checkbox.
The Date, Account, and Description fields will repeat the information from the previous transaction when you TAB or ENTER past the field.
Press the F8 key on your keyboard.
Note: Toggling from the Transactions window to the Payroll Check Entry window forces the Transactions window to be in balance before closing. This is related to the automatic tax table update option that is triggered when opening the Payroll Check Entry window. The automatic update process attempts to close any open data-entry screens before proceeding. If there are unbalanced transactions currently being added or edited in the Transactions window, the application displays an out-of-balance error message. Also, remember that the tax tables can be updated automatically only after all other users have exited the application.