| Back to Manuals Page | Home | Printable Version |
General Ledger
| 1. Overview | 5. GL Account Maintenance |
| 2. Menus | a) Query Selected Accounts |
| 3. Initial Setup | b) General Ledger Master File |
| a) Company Information | c) Delete Chart of Accounts |
| b) Setup Chart of Accounts | 6. Reports (except financial statements) |
| c) Input Last Year's Totals | a) Print Chart of Accounts |
| d) Input Budget Amounts | b) Print Detailed General Ledger |
| 4. Journal Posting | c) Print Trial Balance |
| a) Online Journal Entries | 7. Year End Processing |
| b) Batch Journal Entries | 8. Financial Report Writer |
| c) Correct Posted Journal Entries | 9. Financial Reporting |
| d) GL Check Register | 10.Sample Chart of Accounts |
| e) Journal Report |
As in all of the BMS modules, the flow of processing is outlined on the menus themselves. If you need further help, there are help screens available in each screen. There are also examples of various screens found in General Ledger included in this manual. These will help you become more familiar with the look of BMS module screens. Since the modules are integrated, the general ledger manual may refer to other modules. To find more information on those modules, check the appropriate manuals.
As in most of the BMS modules, a few basic "rules" or keystrokes are in effect for order entry. They are the following:
All functions must be performed in CAPITAL LETTERS
<F1>=Help
<F9>=Clears screen
<Esc>=Exit
<Tab>=Find
<Backspace>=Clears the line
This manual is intended to be used as a guide in learning the General Ledger program. It is not a replacement for a manager's direction. This manual is not intended to teach accounting procedures. Some processes in the Business Management System are subjective and require specific instructions from a manager as to how your company would like a particular situation handled. Executive Computer Systems is not responsible for any actions taken based upon information found within this manual.
The General Ledger will support up to 55 user defined accounting periods for a given fiscal year.
The system fully supports multi-branch/multi-department. Consolidations and eliminations are supported by the report writer. The report formats illustrated are for reference only. The actual format may vary from those shown.
This instruction manual will make no effort to teach bookkeeping or accounting. You should work closely with your accountant during the setup phase of the system .
The General Ledger system is totally interactive. No updates are needed unless a major error has occurred. The only exception to this rule is during the end of year closing where a new year's journals have been opened before the last year was closed out. See End of Year Processing.
Some of the menus have passwords. The password will be enclosed in parentheses and will be in upper case. The passwords are used to prevent you from accidentally starting an unwanted operation that could be fatal. For example, if you were halfway through a year and someone ran (INIT)ialize New Year, it would erase all of the postings for the current year. Top.
Note: Your system is a customized system. Therefore, the menus may not have exactly the same order or options. The following are samples of the various menus found in General Ledger.
From the Master Menu, choose General Ledger.
|
General Ledger |
| General Ledger |
| General Ledger Journals |
| Financial Reporting |
| Company Setup & Year End |
| Financial Setup & Specials |
| Backup AP & GL to Alt Area |
|
General Ledger |
| General Ledger Master File |
| Delete Chart of Accounts |
| Print Chart of Accounts |
| (UPDATE) General Ledger |
| Print General Ledger |
| Print Trial Balance |
| Print G/L Worksheet |
|
General Ledger Journals |
| Online Journal Entry Menu |
| Batch Journal Entry Menu |
| Correct Posted Journal Entries |
| GL Check Register |
| Journal Report |
| Query Selected Accounts |
| Financial Reporting |
| -----INCOME STATEMENTS----- |
| Month vs Year to Date |
| Month Comparative |
| Period vs Year to Date |
| Period Comparative |
| -------BALANCE SHEETS------- |
| Current |
| Current vs Last Year |
| ------BUDGETS & OTHER------ |
|
Company Setup & Year End |
| Company Information |
| Setup Chart of Accounts |
| Input Last Years Totals |
| Input Budget Amounts |
| Year End Processing |
|
Financial Setup & Specials |
| Report Writer Setup |
| Setup Alternate Page Headers |
| Setup Financial Stmt Notes |
| Report Writer Control Lists |
| Duplicate Report |
| Fix Net Income (Loss) |
Top.
Section
To access the company master file, select Company Setup & Year End from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Company Information option. The following is an example of Company Master File screen.
Enter the company name & address. The company name appears on all reports generated by the system. The rest of the address will appear on financial statements.
If entered here and programmed by the report writer, the comment line will appear at the bottom of the financial statements. In addition, the company name from the date file will print on a second line. If the use of this package is providing a service for other companies the comment line may appear as follows.
Prepared from company records without audit by XYZ Accounting Firm
Note the account numbers you are establishing in the company file. Even though multi-branch/departments are supported, they will all use the same supporting account number. If Accounts Payable has a 3210 account for the same master company, each branch and department must have the same account. If each has a bank account, they all have the same master bank account number. This is only critical if using accounts payable.
The account number for net income / retained earnings is needed. This is the number you will
assign the net income to during financial printing discussed later in the report writer section. Also see General Ledger Update.
If the company is not going to use branches or departments answer N to the questions on branch or department. If the answer entered is N there will be no stopping on the screens for branch or department.
The periods must be defined for the company. Enter the first day of the year followed by the last day of the year. Enter the length of each period in days. The smallest number the system will accept is 7. If the number entered is 31 the system will assign the last day of each month as the end of the accounting periods.
Enter the start with period date (1 or 2). 1 uses the start of the year as the start with date and the number of days in the period to calculate end of period dates. 2 uses the start with date that you will enter in the start with date window.
Enter the first end of period date to be computed from the date entered in the starting date. For example, assume that the accounting periods are going to be defined as 7 days or one week. The calendar may start the year in the middle of the week. By starting with the second period date (2) the system can be set up to have all periods (except the first and last) start on Sunday and end on Saturday.
Periods may be redefined at any time. If the periods are redefined run the General Ledger Update program. This will reassign the journals to new periods and adjust the totals for the individual general ledger numbers to the proper period.
If last year's periods were based on months and the current year periods are based on weeks, financial statements that compare period(s) last year to periods this year would be comparing a week to a month. Therefore, if the new year is going to weeks, you should redefine the periods before closing the last year. Top.
If you are using the General Ledger system you must have a chart of accounts. You can refer to the sample chart of accounts in this manual. A Chart of Accounts is a list of General Ledger account numbers assigned to all aspects of your business. These numbers will be used in the system to categorize and track financial information by processing the appropriate transactions in the proper accounts. Each number has a corresponding description.
This sample is to be used as a example to show what a Chart of Accounts looks like. We recommend letting your accountant determine what Chart of Accounts your company should use or set one up for you. If you do not have an accountant, you may use this sample as a basis for your Chart of Accounts. You will need to add or subtract some of these accounts from the list to customize it to your needs. This process should really be done by a person with accounting background. ECS is not responsible for setting up a Chart of Accounts for your company nor will we teach accounting principles.
To setup Chart of Accounts, select Company Setup & Year End from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Setup Chart of Accounts option. The following is an example of this screen.
Once you have the Chart of Accounts you will be using, follow the instructions below on how to enter the information.
The chart of accounts uses two codes for Balance or Income. The Balance sheet (B) accounts will have last year's ending balance assigned as this years beginning balance. Income accounts (I) are reset to zero at year-end. If you are using a chart of accounts from your accountant, they should provide this information to you.
The Detail or Totals code is used in the General Ledger report. That report will show all transactions for the account for the period with summary totals by journal. If you indicate total for a given account only the journal total will print.
Some companies prefer to run an equity account showing net income/loss separate from retained earnings. This will show the retained earnings as a beginning year figure with net income as the retained earnings for this year. If this option is used net income (loss) is a balance sheet account. When starting a new year, the year ending net income will have to be combined with the opening balance for this years retained earnings.
When posting opening balances, credit amounts are posted with a minus sign (-250.00). You do not need to enter an opening balance. Only enter balances if you know they are accurate. The system will not allow duplicate account numbers. When entering numbers the system will verify the existence of an account number.
If you are starting in the middle of a year, enter the account numbers here and make journal entries to establish opening balances. Top.
To input last year's figures, select Company Setup & Year End from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Input Last Years Totals option. The following is an example of how to input these figures.
| G/L#
BRANCH DEPT DESCRIPTION
BALANCE OR INCOME (B or I) DETAIL OR TOTALS (D or T) |
||
| Lst Open | ||
| Ending | ||
Last year's totals are only required if comparative balance sheets or income statements are needed. Once the first year has been completed these totals will be updated when the year end is run.
Remember to enter credit amounts as (-50.00) negative numbers. Remember to enter credit amounts as (-50.00) negative numbers. Top.
To input budget amounts, select Company Setup & Year End from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Input Budget Amounts option. The following is an example of this screen.
The account number must exist to enter balances. If it does not exist, enter the account in the Setup Chart of Accounts program.
Enter the total for the year and the system will calculate the amount for each period. If these figures are correct, press <F10> to save and continue with the next account. If different periods require different amounts leave the total blank and fill in the periods.
After keying in the amount, the total is recomputed. When entering the total, the recomputed total will change slightly. The system truncates after the pennies position and then re-adds. You may have to change one of the periods to get back to the original budget amount.
Credit amounts are entered as (-76.23) negative numbers. Top.
This program will make the journal entry as soon as it is entered. It is on-line so once the entry is made it cannot be edited. If you wish more control over the entries, you may use the Batch Journal Entry program.
To access the on-line journal entry program, select General Ledger Journals from the General Ledger menu). Then select the Online Journal Entry Menu option. From this menu, select Enter Online Journal Entries. The following is an example of this menu.
|
Online Journal Entries |
| Enter Online Journal Entries |
| Check Register & Journal Entry |
| New Journal Audit List |
The following screen is an example of entering online journal entries.
Enter the source journal. A source journal can be CD for cash disbursements, CR for cash receipts, etc.. The following is an example of the selection of source journals.
| AP - Accounts Payable |
| AR - Accounts Receivable |
| CD - Cash Disbursements |
| CR - Cash Receipts |
| GJ - General Ledger |
| PR - Payroll |
| SJ - Sales Journal |
Next enter the starting date. The starting date is the first day of the month you are making entries. So if you enter 07/01/99 for the start date, you can then put "03" for the date and the transaction will be recorded for July 3. Enter your transaction date. Next the cursor will go to first general ledger number. Select a ledger number or <F5> to popup for a list.
Enter the rest of the information on each line item that follows. Next is the description, amount (always positive), whether the transaction is a debit or credit, and reference #1 and #2 (this could be a check number). Each line entry will create a journal entry unless no amount is entered on that line. The journal transaction is saved after pressing the enter key at the end of the line. If a mistake is made, enter a reversing entry on the next line. You will notice that the system keeps track at the bottom of the screen whether you are in balance or not. When you enter the last transaction, press <Esc> to exit the program.
Every line creates a journal transaction and once created can not be changed. This program will allow you to enter a one-sided journal entry. It will not give you a message if you are out of balance before saving these transactions.
The system will ask you if you want to print the journal audit report. If you chose not to run the new journal audit list after you entered online journal entries, you can run it by selecting that option from the menu. The report will print immediately.
To add comments to a journal transaction press the <F8> key after pressing the enter key at the end of the line. There is a limit of 99 comment lines for a single transaction. Press the Enter at the end of each line. If no data is entered, the Enter to continue return to continue processing. To clear the running balance at the bottom of the screen press <F6> to delete.
To get back to the beginning of the screen, press <F9> to clear. The General Ledger number must exist and is verified. The General Ledger Master file is updated as new transactions are entered. Top.
Check Register & Journal Entry
This program will allow you to make an entry to the check register and make the corresponding journal entry at the same time. To access the Check Register & Journal Entry program, select General Ledger Journals from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Online Journal Entry Menu option. From this menu, select Check Register & Journal Entry. The following is an example the screen.
This program allows you to make entries into the check register that did not go through the system. These entries may be a balance forward for a new bank account, a check that was never used but you need to track it or another similar situation. Once you have entered the check register information, the program will then allow you to make the corresponding journal entries.
Once in the screen, you must first select your bank account. Your cursor will then be on the reference number section. Enter the reference number, which would be the check number or some other reference like a date. This number must be entered and it must be unique. Enter the date of the transaction and a description, maybe it was a voided check or a deposit. The type would be a minus for a check or deduction, a plus for a deposit, or a balance forward. Then enter the amount of your transaction.
The system will then take you into the journal entry screen.
Enter the source journal code for this entry. Refer to the list of journal codes. Next enter the starting date. The starting date is the first day of the month you are making entries. So if you enter 07/01/99 for the start date, you can then put "03" for the date and the transaction will be recorded for July 3. Enter your transaction date. Next the cursor will go to first general ledger number. Select a ledger number or <F5> to popup for a list.
Enter the rest of the information on each line item that follows. Next is the description, amount (always positive), whether the transaction is a debit or credit, and reference #1 and #2 (this could be a check number). Each line entry will create a journal entry unless no amount is entered on that line. You will notice that the system keeps track at the bottom of the screen whether you are in balance or not. It also shows what the Check Register Distribution was so you can reference it when making your entry. When you enter the last transaction, press <F9> to save this transaction and move on to the next one.
When you press <F9> to save the transaction, the check register box will pop back up. Here it will ask you if you want to save - Y or N. Answer Y to save. The system will then allow you to enter another transaction. If you are finished entering transactions, escape will allow you to exit. Top.
This program allows entry of temporary journal entries which can then be edited and posted into the permanent General Ledger files. To access the journal entry program, select General Ledger Journals from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Batch Journal Entry Menu option. From this menu, select Enter Temporary Batch JE's. The following is an example of this menu.
|
Temporary Journal Entries |
| Enter Temporary Batch JE's |
| Print Temporary Batch Report |
| Edit Temporary Journal Entries |
| Post Temporary Journal Entries |
The following screen is an example of how to enter Temporary Batch Journal Entries.
Enter the source journal. A source journal can be CD for cash disbursements, CR for cash receipts, etc.. The following screen shows all of the journal codes that may be selected when entering journal entries.
|
Journal Codes: |
| AP - Accounts Payable |
| AR – Accounts Receivable |
| CD - Cash Disbursements |
| CR - Cash Receipts |
| GJ - General Ledger |
| PR – Payroll |
| SJ - Sales Journal |
Next enter the starting date. The starting date is the first day of the month you are making entries. So if you enter 07/01/99 for the start date, you can then put "03" for the date and the transaction will be recorded for July 3. Enter your transaction date. Next the cursor will go to first general ledger number. Select a ledger number or <F5> to popup for a list.
Enter the rest of the information on each line item that follows. Next is the description, amount (always positive), whether the transaction is a debit or credit, and reference #1 and #2 (this could be a check number). Each line entry will create a journal entry unless no amount is entered on that line. You will notice that the system keeps track at the bottom of the screen whether you are in balance or not. When you enter the last transaction, press <Esc> to exit the program.
When exiting the program, the system will let you know if your entries are not in balance. A message box will popup telling you that you are not in balance and to use the edit program before posting to make any corrections.
There are a few helpful function keys available from this program. By pressing <F7> you can duplicate information from the prior transaction. Pressing <F8> will give you another line of description for this specific entry.
Once you have entered all of your transactions, the system will then ask if you want to print the Temporary Journal Entry Edit report. This will show all of the transactions that were entered. It will also list transactions entered previously if they were not posted. You should print this report to review. If you have entries to be edited you must then use the Edit Batch Journal Entries program.
This program is like the Online Journal Entry program. The only exception is that you can edit these journal entries once you have entered them. This will allow you to correct any mistakes that may have been made. You must remember to run the post program or the entries that have been made will not show in the general ledger.
The Edit Batch Journal Entries program is accessible off the Batch Journal Entries menu. Only transactions entered in batch journal entry program and are unposted can be edited. If you have entered a transaction in the on-line journal entry program, it cannot be edited. The following screen is a sample of this program.
From this screen, bring up the journal to be edited. You can do this by typing in the transaction number and pressing <tab>. This number can be found on the report that printed. You may also use page up or down to scroll through the entries until you have found the one you want.
This screen example shows the program used to post the temporary journal entry transactions that have been entered and edited.
Once this program is run, the transactions are posted to the Master files and only be edited in the Correct Posted Journal Entries program. Top.
Correct Posted Journal Entries
This program will allow you to correct posted journal entries. The corrections can be made to transactions that were done automatically through the system or entries you may have made through the journal entry programs. To access the Correct Posted Journal Entries program, select General Ledger Journals from the General Ledger menu. Then select the Correct Posted Journal Entries option. The following is an example of this screen.
This is the journal correction program. If you have made an error in any journal entry, you can correct it with this program. Most of the reports will give the record number of the journals. Enter the record number of the journal you wish to correct and press <tab>. The journal entry and its information entry will display on the current side of the screen.
Pressing enter will select this transaction. The original information will now display in the corrected section. Press Enter to get to the line you wish to correct. Type in your change and enter through the screen. This will save the information and clear the screen for another correction. It is recommended that no change in dollar amounts be done in this screen. The program was designed to allow changing journals from one account to another, changing description or any of the reference numbers. There is no audit trail of the changes made here.
If notes were created at the time of the journal entry, up to the first six lines of notes will display. To erase a line press the backspace key in the line to be deleted. This will remove all of the information and delete note line upon pressing the Enter key. Any note information may be edited, but you cannot add additional notes here.
USE EXTREME CAUTION USE EXTREME CAUTION in using the journal correction program. It us recommended that only personnel skilled in accounting techniques be allowed to use this program. It does not check data entered and if amounts are changed, the journals and ledger can be out of balance. This option can be removed from the menu or can be password protected if desired. Top.
This program will print a list of the checks done within the selected general ledger period. To access the GL Check Register program, select General Ledger Journals from the General Ledger menu. Then select the GL Check Register option. The following is an example of this screen.
Once in this program you must select the general ledger periods you want to print. For example, if you want January and February - select 01 as your starting date. The system will fill in January 1 of whatever year it is as the starting date. Then select 02 as your ending date and the system will fill in February 28 of whatever year as the ending date.
Then you select source journal code you want to print. You can then choose to include blank reference numbers and branches/departments if applicable.
A report will then print with the information as it was selected. Make sure your printer is setup and ready. Top.
This report will print all transactions posted to the specified journal during the specified period range. The report will print detailed information about all the transactions for that journal during that period. This is a very useful report to use when your general ledger is out of balance or to spot check transactions. To access this report, select the General Ledger Journals option from the main menu in General Ledger. From here select Journal Report. The following is a sample of this screen.
Once in this program you must select the general ledger periods you want to print. For example, if you want January and February - select 01 as your starting date. The system will fill in January 1 of whatever year it is as the starting date. Then select 02 as your ending date and the system will fill in February 28 of whatever year as the ending date.
Then you select source journal code you want to print. You can choose a range of journals to print on the same report. If you want to print all journals, use AA as your first journal and ZZ as your last. Then select branches/departments if applicable. You may also choose to print the daily totals for your date range and any journal notes that may have been entered.
A report will then print with the information as it was selected. Make sure your printer is setup and ready. Top.
Account Maintenance
This program will print a report of all transactions posted to the selected general ledger accounts during the selected periods. You can choose to print this report for a specific general ledger account or for a range of accounts up to 20 on one report. To access this program, select the General Ledger Journals option from the main menu in General Ledger. From here select Query Selected Accounts. The following is a sample of this screen.
First select the accounts you want to print. If you are unsure of the account numbers, press <F7> for a popup list of your Chart of Accounts. Once you have entered the last account, press enter and the cursor will go to the period field.
You must now select the period range you want to print. For example, if you want January and February - select 01 as your starting date. The system will fill in January 1 of whatever year it is as the starting date. Then select 02 as your ending date and the system will fill in February 28 of whatever year as the ending date.
You may then choose to have the report print just debits or credits or both. You must also select whether you want to see just totals or the detail of all transactions. Once you have made your selections, the program allows you to print this report to the screen or to the printer. If you are printing to the printer, make sure it is ready as the report will print right away.
The following is a sample of this report
04/01/99 thru 04/30/99 ACTIVITY OF SELECTED ACCOUNTS PAGE 1
=====================================================================
REC DATE DESCRIPTION JR REF1 REF2
4400 PURCHASES BEGINNING BALANCE 0.00
922 04/29/99 ABC VENDOR AP 2356 ABC 557.27
926 04/30/99 WORLD COMPANY AP J6596 WORLDC 342.66
929 04/30/99 BEST VENDOR AP 96620 BEST 923.01
4400 TRANSACTION TOTAL 1822.94 ACCOUNT TOTAL 1822.94 *
DEPRESS ENTER (RETURN) TO CONTINUE.
Enter will bring you back to the menu. Top.
The General Ledger Master record contains the summary totals for each account number in the chart of accounts for the current year, last year and budgets for this year. To access this program, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select General Ledger Master File. The following is an example of this screen.
No posting or changes should be made to this record. The screen should be used for reference only. No posting or changes should be made to this record. The screen should be used for reference only. You can add to the chart of accounts with this screen if necessary, but no deletions are allowed.
All financial reporting is based on the information contained here. The year-to-date total is usually not used as the report writer will report on any period. Therefore, year-to-date amounts are recomputed during financial reporting. Top.
This program will delete the selected general ledger account number and transfer entries and balances from the deleted account to another selected account. The program can only delete accounts on an individual basis. It will not delete your entire Chart of Accounts at one time. To access this program, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Delete Chart Of Accounts. The following is an example of this screen.
Type in the account number to be deleted and press enter. The system will bring up that account and fill in all appropriate information. You will then be asked if this is the account you want deleted. After answering that question, the system will ask for the account number to which you want the information transferred. Type in that account number and enter. The system will then ask you if this is the right account where to transfer the information. Once you have answered yes, the system will ask if you want to combine those accounts.
Once you have answered yes, the system will find all journal entries for the account to be deleted and change them to the new account number. Be careful that the proper account is being deleted and the proper new account being transferred to. The system requires that both accounts exist. If the transfer is to a new account, you will have to set up the new account first.
The system will not print a report but all reference to the deleted account will now be gone. Top.
This program will print the Chart of Accounts as per what has been entered in the Setup Chart of Accounts program. To access this program, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Print Chart Of Accounts. The Chart of Accounts will print immediately, so make sure your printer is ready. Top.
This program will update in the total the General Ledger. This should only be run if you have redefined your accounting periods or errors have occurred. By running this program, you will repost all journal transactions to the proper General Ledger Master records. To access this program, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select (Update) General Ledger. The following is an example of this screen.
The process could take some time, so make sure you allow for that. It will not print a report for this program. Top.
This program will print a detailed general ledger for the selected period. This means that every general ledger account will print on this report with all transactions that occurred during the selected period. To access this account, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Print Detailed General Ledger. The following is an example of this screen.
Once in this program you must select the general ledger periods you want to print. For example, if you want January and February - select 01 as your starting date. The system will fill in January 1 of whatever year it is as the starting date. Then select 02 as your ending date and the system will fill in February 28 of whatever year as the ending date.
Select the branches and departments if applicable. You may then choose to include inactive accounts and journal notes.
The report will print immediately and will probably be long. Make sure your printer is ready. Top.
This program will print a trial balance through the selected period. To access this account, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Print Trial Balance. The following is an example of this screen.
This report will give you the trial balance through the selected final period. You can select by branch and department if applicable. This report can be run to the screen or printer. Use <F5>
to run the report the screen after selecting your period. If you choose to run the report to the printer, if will print immediately so make sure your printer is ready. Top.
Processing
The year end closing for General Ledger is a multi-step process. This process should be done by a manager or under a manager's supervision. The first step is to Back Up to an Alternate Area before doing anything. Choose the Backup to Alternate Area selection found on the General Ledger main menu. It is the last selection. The subsequent steps are as follows:
1) Journal Entries that have to be made should be done and posted. You can go back into the previous year once you have closed but you should try to make all entries prior to closing the year. Refer to Last Years Data Menus section for details.
2) Year End process in Accounts Receivable should be done. This means all Sales Postings, Cash Receipts, Late Charges, etc should be done prior to closing the general ledger for the year. Refer to the Accounts Receivable manual on how to close in the Accounts Receivable program.
3) Accounts Payable entries should be made prior to closing. Again, you can go back into the previous year once you have closed but you should try to make all entries prior to closing. If you are not using Accounts Payable disregard this step. Refer to the Accounts Payable manual on how to access the previous year's information.
4) Print G/L Worksheet should be printed if you are having problems balancing your General Ledger. You do not have to use this worksheet. If you choose not to, continue to the next step.
5) Setup New Year's Journal Files is the last step in closing the General Ledger. Top.
This program will print a general ledger worksheet. To access this account, select the General Ledger option from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Print G/L General Ledger. The following is an example of this screen.
These worksheets are used during the year-end process. The worksheet lists columns for last year ending debits and credits, unadjusted trial balance debits and credits, adjustments debits and credits, and adjusted trial balance debits and credits by general ledger number. This is a tool to help you during your year-end process. Top.
Setup New Year's Journal Files
This program is used to setup the new fiscal year's General Ledger data files. The system will setup the new data files and store the previous year's data files. This will allow you to continue to enter any information in the previous year while working in the current one. This process has to be done no matter if you are planning on making entries into the past year files. To access them, select Company Setup and Year End from the main menu in General Ledger. From there select Year End Processing. This will bring up the following menu.
| Last Year's Data Menus |
| Setup New Year's Journal Files |
From this menu, select Setup New Year's Journal Files. The following is a sample screen for this program.
The program will forward the balances for "B" general ledger accounts and make an entry into retained earnings. Once this portion of the program is finished, a second screen will appear. In this screen, you setup the new year's fiscal periods. The following is a sample of this screen.
|
Company Master File |
||||||
| START
OF FISCAL YEAR 01/01/99 END OF FISCAL YEAR 12/31/99
UP TO 55 PERIODS MAY BE DEFINED. HOW MANY DAYS IS EACH PERIOD If days is 31 the period will be a month. |
||||||
| Start with date | ||||||
|
End of Period Dates |
||||||
|
01/31/99 |
02/28/99 |
03/31/99 |
04/30/99 |
05/31/99 |
||
|
06/30/99 |
07/31/99 |
08/31/99 |
09/30/99 |
10/31/99 |
||
|
11/30/99 |
12/31/99 |
|
|
|||
|
To prevent posting to a given period, enter a "L" after that period. |
||||||
Enter the starting and ending dates for your new fiscal year. If you are using months as a fiscal period, answer 31 to the days in each period question. If you are using a different period, enter the appropriate length for that period. The start date would be the starting date for that fiscal year. Once you have entered the start date, the system will calculate your new fiscal periods as you have defined them.
Keep in mind, that your fiscal year may not follow the calendar year. Check with your accountant or a manager for this information. If you are using a fiscal year that is not a calendar year, you may still choose to keep a calendar year in your Accounts Receivable. This means that when you close your year in general ledger, you would not be closing your year in accounts receivable. It does not mean you cannot have your Accounts Receivable follow your General Ledger fiscal year, you can. Again, check with your accountant or manager to find out how your company wants to handle this situation.
Once these processes are complete you will be able to start posting to the new year's journal files. This program will not print a report. Top.
Once you have year-ended in general ledger and started your new fiscal year, you may need to access last year's information. These programs can be found in the General Ledger system. To access them, select Company Setup and Year End from the main menu in General Ledger. From there select Year End Processing. This will bring up the following menu.
| Last Year's Data Menus |
| Setup New Year's Journal Files |
We will address the Setup New Year's Journal Files program at a later point. At this time, select Last Year's Data Menus. The following menu will appear.
| Last Year's Data Menus |
| General Ledger Master File |
| Print Last Year's General Led. |
| Print Last Year's Trial Bal. |
| Print Last Year's GL Worksheet |
| Income Statement Last Year |
| Balance Sheet Last Year |
| Query Selected Accounts |
| Journal Entry Menu for Last Yr |
| Close Last Yr/Update This Year |
| Journal Entry Menu for Last Yr |
| Online Journal Entries |
| Journal Audit Report |
| Batch Journal Entries |
| Print Batch JE Report |
| Edit Batch Journal Entries |
| Post Batch Journal Entries |
These programs are the same as the ones previously discussed in this manual. The only difference is they contain last year's information. The programs all look and function the same way as the original current year programs.
The only program on this menu that is different is the Close Last Yr/Update This Year program. The program should be run after you have made all your changes to the last year's general ledger and wish to update the current year's information. The following is an example of this screen.
It is recommeded that you run a Trial Balance for last year before running this program. This is so you have a reference of last year's general ledger before you the changes are posted.
This program will not print a report. Top.
Financial Reporting
The Report Writer Setup program allows you to customize your financial reports for your individual company. Although the program is very powerful, it is not easy to use. This section will attempt to walk you through the steps as clearly as possible.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Report Writer Setup. The following is a sample the Report Writer screen.
This program is referred to as the report control file. It where you determine what information you will include in different reports. A report control file must be completed for any report before you can print that financial report. You cannot print an income statement, balance sheet, budget or other analysis report without setting up this file.
The first step in setting up a control file for a specific report is that you must assign it a report number. This number is used in the Financial Reporting section of General Ledger. This is where you will print the reports for which you have setup a control file. The financial reports will print by report number in sequence number order. You can use the same report number on any financial report. However, you will not get proper results if for example, you use a balance sheet report to run an income statement.
Indicate the report number to be used and return through the next two fields. The next step is to enter the first sequence number. A sequence number is .
The next step is to enter the optional account number, the control type, the sign control for printing, and if an alternate description is wanted (Y/N).
You may use this program to edit an existing report. Determine the range of sequence numbers that leave enough room to add either additional accounts or control type codes. If editing an existing SEQ press <Esc>ape and return to the line to edit.
The control types are entered in the CT column and are outlined in the following pages.
S COLUMN IS SIGN CONTROL and is a 1, 0, or -1. Using a -1 will reverse the sign for
printing only. If using any printing command that prints numbers, a 1 or -1 is required or the printed answer will be 0.00. On Current Balance Sheet the sign control will position the dashes. -1 is left column, 0 is center column and the 1 is right column.
A IS ALTERNATE DESCRIPTION. If the control type is a printing control such as PN an alternate description from that used in the general ledger files may be printed. Headers and totals need the alternate description if a description is desired.
Pressing the <Esc> key will take you to the bottom to edit, delete, add etc. To exit, press the clear screen key and then the <Esc> key.
The A option will take you to the bottom of the screen where the beginning and ending set of general ledger numbers can be entered. This is used where you need to enter a large number of accounts to be printed or accumulated. The only three options available are PN, AC and PA.
Sequence numbers control the order in which the report will be printed. Leave enough room during the initial setup to add accounts or codes later. A spacing of at least 10 is recommended. If continuing from a partial report enter the next sequence number wanted.
If using the A option to combine only selected branches together, multiple runs of the A option can be used. For example, say you want to combine branches 2 & 3 together. Select branch 2 on the first pass with a sequence starting number of 100 and spacing of 30. When you completed this process for branch 2, select branch 3 with a starting number of 110 and spacing of 30. This will put the accounts in the right overall sequence. If you select AC, to accumulate the account, and create a third run starting at sequence number 120 and spacing of 30 using PA, to print the accumulated account, you will get a printing of the combined accounts with the description of either branch 2 or branch 3 embedded depending on which was selected for the third run. These descriptions can be edited by selecting line number to edit.
Press <F9>, the clear key, to return you to the top of the screen. To keep the list that you are working with small, press the <F9> key and change the beginning and ending sequence numbers.
This will keep the on screen portion of the report small enough for you to work with but will not change the size of the report. Your report will still include the original range of sequence numbers plus any that are added.
Review the sample income statement and balance sheet on the following pages to assist you in starting.
The special report Fix Retained Earnings uses only the PN, print account, and NI, net income (loss), controls. This report will transfer net income to the proper assigned account for all of the periods of the year. Normally this is only needed when starting in the middle of a year and doing back posting for the complete year.
The control types are entered in the CT column and are as follows:
PH PRINT PAGE HEADER. Alternate description might be Income Statement Ending.
AH ALTERNATE PAGE HEADER. If this option is used the system will print the alternate page header based on a assigned number for a branch location. This is useful if printing branch income statements and the branch name and address is desired. These numbers are setup in the Setup Alternate Page Header program. This is found on the menu after Report Writer Setup. A sample of this screen can be found on page 44.
GH GROUP HEADING. This prints a heading such as CURRENT ASSETS. Use Alternate description for title.
BL PRINT A BLANK LINE. This will insert a blank line where you want one.
AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT. This will accumulate the running totals from the selected account numbers. A common place where this is used is on the income statement to accumulate without printing the income accounts. In this case the next command would be GI. If you are combining accounts, the next command would be PA (Accumulates to level one.)
GI GROSS INCOME. This command will move level one total to a special accumulator. All printing commands are compared to this total to compute ratios. This is normally used after computing gross income using option AC. Sets level one to zero.
PA PRINT ACCUMULATED ACCOUNTS. If you have been using the Accumulate Account selection and now want to print the answer use this option. This is used where you are combining accounts on financial statements. Sets level one to zero. Accumulates to level two.
AA ACCUMULATE ACCUMULATOR. This option functions the same as PA but without printing the answer.
PN PRINT ACCOUNT. Will print a single account. Make sure you have assigned a general ledger number. This will print the information immediately. If the "Y" option is used for print alternate account, the alternate description will print, rather than the description from the chart of accounts. Accumulates to level two.
ST PRINT SUB-TOTAL. This will print the total from options PN and PA. It will use the Alternate Description. It will also set level two accumulators to zero. Accumulates to level three.
AS ACCUMULATE SUB-TOTAL. This option does the same as ST but without printing.
TT PRINT TOTAL SUB-TOTALS. This prints the level three totals. It will use the Alternate Description. Sets level three accumulators to zero. Accumulates to level four.
AT ACCUMULATES TOTALS. This option does the same as TT but without printing.
GT PRINT GRAND TOTAL. This prints the level four totals. It will use the alternate description. It will also set level four accumulators to zero. Accumulates to level five.
AG ACCUMULATE GRAND TOTAL. This option does the same as GT but without printing.
NI NET INCOME (LOSS). This special control moves the net income (loss) to retained earnings. This control needs a defined account to transfer to. It will not zero level five. This means that multiple NI can be used on an income statement. Be sure to use the same account on all occurances of NI so that the only saved retained earnings is from the final place this account was used.
PC PRINT COMMENT. This will print the comment line from the company master record at the bottom of the page. The second line will contain the name from the datafile.
PD PRINT DASHES. This is used if you want single underlining on your report.
PE PRINT EQUAL SIGNS. This is used if you want double underlining on your report.
CL CLEAR ALL TOTALS. This will set all accumulators to zero including the special GI accumulator.
NP NEW PAGE. This option will insert a page break in your report.
NT NOTES. This will print notes in the financial statements. This notes need to be created prior to insertion in the statements. Use the Setup Financial Statement Notes program. This can be found on the menu after the Setup Alternate Headers program. A sample of this screen can be found on page 51. Make sure you enter the note number in the general ledger column of the note you want displayed.
RE REPORT END. This option is required at the end of each report group, otherwise the report will keep on running to the end of the file. This option can be left out on purpose to print multiple reports for branches, departments or subsidiary schedules using the same format.
Accumulators levels are as follows:
LEVEL 1 AC
LEVEL 2 PN, PA, AA
LEVEL 3 ST, AS
LEVEL 4 TT, AT
LEVEL 5 GT, AG
LEVEL 6 NI
Top.
This program is used to setup alternate page headers to be used in the Report Writer program. Once setup, you can then include these page headers in a financial report.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Setup Alternate Page Headers. The following is a sample the Page Header setup screen.
Each page header must have a description number assigned to it. Then enter the information for this page header. The page header information is usually branch information. You may setup as many as you need. Top.
Setup Financial Statement Notes
This program will allow you to setup the financial statement notes that are to be used in the Report Writer program. These notes may be used to include a disclaimer in a financial report or some other type of statement.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Setup Financial Statement Notes. The following is a sample of the Financial Statement Notes screen.
You may use this program to setup as many notes as you need. Each note will have an individual number you assign to it. You will then use this number in the Report Writer program to include that particular note in your financial report. Each note contains 4 lines of 64 characters. The reports will ignore empty lines. If more information is needed, create multiple notes and define one after the other in the Report Writer. Top.
This program can be used to print the control list setup to run a specific report or to delete a report control lists that is no longer needed. When you print the control list setup, you can use it to review what you have included in a report or to find what has been left out. It can then be used to edit or revise the report in the Report Writer Setup program.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Report Writer Control Lists. The following is a sample of the Report Writer Control Lists screen.
First select whether or not you wish to print a control list file. The following question will ask whether or not you wish to delete a selected file. Answer these questions appropriately. You must then select the report number you wish to work with. Choose "C" to continue or "A" to abort the program before printing or deleting the selected report.
If you have chosen to print the report, be advised it will print automatically. Make sure your printer is on-line and ready. Top.
This program will take the chosen report, which was previously setup for a specific branch and department, and duplicate it for a different branch and department. This means your original report will still be intact but now you will have that same report for a new branch and department.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Duplicate Report. The following is a sample of the Duplicate Report.
First enter the number of the report you wish to duplicate. Then select a report number for the report you will create. Specify the new branch and department for this report. You can then choose to renumber the sequence. If you do, choose a beginning sequence number and the amount by which you want to increment for each line in the report. It is recommend that you increment by 10. This will allow several lines to add in forgotten items. Top.
This program is used to update the net income (loss) accounts.
To access this program, select Financial Setup and Specials from the main menu in General Ledger. From this menu, select Fix Net Income (Loss). The following is a sample of this screen.
This program will update the net income(loss) accounts. Two codes are used in this program. The first, NI, is net income (loss). This special control moves the net income (loss) to retained earnings. The second, RE, stands for report end. This option is required at the end of each report group, otherwise the report will keep on running to the end of the file.
The program will ask for the report number of the report you want to run. Make sure you report contains the two codes required for this program. Press C to continue or A to abort when you are ready.
The system will
run through the select report and will update at the NI, net income, code and
stop the report at the RE code. Top.
The following is an example of the Income Statement Control File
06/27/99 REPORT WRITER CONTROL LIST FOR REPORT 1 PAGE 1
ABC RESALE & PARCEL EXPRESS
=====================================================================
SEQ GL# BR DP SIGN CNT ACTION PRINTED DESCRIPTION
1 0000 0 0 0 PH PAGE HEADER INCOME STATEMENT ENDING
2 0000 0 0 0 BL BLANK LINE
10 0000 0 0 0 GH GROUP HEADER SALES
15 0000 0 0 0 BL BLANK LINE
20 4110 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT CASH SALES CLOTHING
30 4120 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT TRADE SALES CLOTHING
40 0000 0 0 1 GI GROSS INCOME
Look at the income statement following this report sample. The first item printed is the page header (SEQ 1). The name and address came from the company file.
If an AH code had been used, the page header would come from the alternate header file and the header number inserted in branch.
Next blank line (SEQ 2) is inserted between the page header and the group and the group header (SEQ 10).
In order to do ratio's on the income statements, it must be determined what constitutes the total against which all the following printing lines are to be compared. In this case the total of accounts 4110 and 4112 or SEQ 20 and SEQ 30 are the account numbers that make up the comparative total for cost of goods sold. The GI (SEQ 40) moves the total of these accounts to special accumulators and sets the level one accumulators to zero.
50 4110 0 0 -1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT CASH SALES CLOTHING
60 4120 0 0 -1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT TRADE SALES CLOTHING
Notice the sign control for these accounts is -1. This reverses the normal sign on printing only.
70 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
80 0000 0 0 -1 ST PRINT SUB-TOTAL SALES - SIR RESALE
90 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
120 5120 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT CLOTHING PURCHASED
130 5130 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT DRY CLEANING
140 5140 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT (INCR.) DECREASE INVT.
150 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
160 0000 0 0 1 ST PRINT SUB-TOTAL COST OF SALES
170 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
190 0000 0 0 -1 TT PRINT TOTAL OF SUB-TOTALS GRS PROFIT-ABC RESALE
200 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
230 4130 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT PARCEL EXPRESS SALES
240 0000 0 0 1 GI GROSS INCOME
SEQ 230 and 240 are examples of multiple ratios for cost of goods sold in the income statement.
250 4130 0 0 -1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT PARCEL EXPRESS SALES
260 5110 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT UPS CHARGES
270 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
280 0000 0 0 -1 ST PRINT SUB-TOTAL GRS PROFIT-PARCEL EXP
285 0000 0 0 -1 AT ACCUMULATE SUB-TOTALS
290 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
300 4110 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT CASH SALES CLOTHING
310 4120 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT TRADE SALES CLOTHING
320 4130 0 0 1 AC ACCUMULATE ACCOUNT PARCEL EXPRESS SALES
330 0000 0 0 1 GI GROSS INCOME
SEQ 300 through SEQ 330 make up the total that all other items on the income statement will be compared to for comparative percents.
340 0000 0 0 -1 GT GRAND TOTAL TOTAL GROSS PROFIT
350 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
355 0000 0 0 0 BL BLANK LINE
360 0000 0 0 0 GH GROUP HEADER EXPENSE
370 0000 0 0 0 BL BLANK LINE
380 6110 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT SALES COMMISSIONS
390 6120 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT ADVERTISING
400 6130 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT ADVERTISING SUPPLIES
410 6140 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT DISPLAY SUPPLIES
420 6210 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT RENT
430 6220 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT TELEPHONE
440 6230 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT UTILITIES
450 6240 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE
460 6250 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT DEPRECIATION
470 6310 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT SUPPLIES
480 6320 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT BANK CHARGES
490 6330 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT INTEREST
500 6340 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSE
510 6410 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT TAXES & LICENSES
515 6420 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT PROFESSIONAL FEES
520 7010 0 0 1 PN PRINT ACCOUNT INTEREST EARNED
530 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
540 0000 0 0 1 ST PRINT SUB-TOTAL TOTAL EXPENSE
550 0000 0 0 1 AT ACCUMULATE SUB-TOTALS
560 0000 0 0 1 AG ACCUM. GRAND TOTALS
570 0000 0 0 0 PD PRINT DASHES
580 3110 0 0 -1 NI NET INCOME (LOSS) NET INCOME (LOSS)
590 0000 0 0 0 PE PRINT EQUALS
600 0000 0 0 0 NP NEW PAGE (FORMFEED)
610 0000 0 0 0 RE REPORT END
SEQ 550 and SEQ 560 are required to move the totals to level five so that NI (SEQ 580) can use the total. SEQ 580 will transfer the total to account 3110. If you are printing a preliminary statement, the statement can be rerun after any adjustments to update the account.
The following a sample income statement report printed based on the sample control file.
ABC RESALE & PARCEL EXPRESS
99999 S.W. GRANT
PORTLAND, OR 97222
INCOME STATEMENT ENDING 05/31/89
05/31/99 YEAR TO DATE
AMOUNT RATIO AMOUNT RATIO
SALES
<