how2gl02.htm
General Ledger End-of-Year FAQ
Q. Can I enter future months' data into the system while waiting to close the current year?
A. Yes. The system uses "accounting periods" to keep track of data, and the current year comprises periods 1-12. Period 13 is the first period of next year; period 14 is the second period of next year, etc. all the way up to period 24. You cannot go to period 25. So when you make journal entries, be sure to apply them to the correct period. When you finally do close the year, period 13 entries will become period 1, 14 become period 2, etc.
Q. While waiting to close the current year, can I print financial statements for the next year?
A. No. Financial statements/P&L, etc. apply only to periods 1-12, the current year. However, you can normally print lists of journal entries, etc. by setting the period in G/L Configuration to the period you're working on. Just be sure to change it back when you're done. Another tricky way to get data out of the system is to change the date on your computer, but this only applies in rare cases and isn't really a good practice to use.
Q. Should all other users be off line during the yearly close procedure?
A. Yes. It's a good idea to perform the yearly G/L close with only one user logged into the system. The close process actually archives data, replicates various databases and moves a lot of budget data around. If someone else is in part of the system during this process the results may be unpredictable. Be safe. Make a full backup first, then proceed with the yearly close.
Q. What does closing the year actually do?
A. First, the current general ledger is replicated. This gives Club Office the opportunity to "get" a complete prior fiscal year. This feature isn't implemented yet (as of this writing, 1-30-2001) but look for it soon. A final P/L figure is created and posted to the "current earnings" account. Balance sheet items from period 12 are transferred to "balance forwards" with the "current earnings" value being posted to the "prior year's earnings" account. All non-balance sheet items are zeroed as are all the monthly totals for every account. Budgets are moved around -- the "next year" budget becomes the "current year" budget, and the former "current" budget becomes "last year." Journal entries for periods 13 and greater are adjusted to their respective periods (13 becomes 1, 14 becomes 2, etc.) and the "status" in the G/L configuration is advanced to the next year. The "current period" value is also set to period 1, regardless of what period of the new year you may actually be in. You must change is manually if you are further into the year than period 1.
Q. Once I close the year, can I return to it at some later time for corrections?
A. No and yes. Once closed, you cannot make changes to the prior year unless you restore the system from a backup, make the changes and then re-close the year. However, this is quite drastic and is not advised unless a hardware failure or some other malady occurs. Note that restoring the system will overwrite all existing data and any current business will be lost.