how2gl05.htm

Unable to delete a journal entry - "Posted entries or entries out of the current period cannot be deleted" message appears

First of all, you should know that we generally suggest that journal entries not be deleted. However, situations may arise that suggest that it is an acceptable thing to do. One example is if a payroll was erroneously finished, and the user restored that employee data from a recent backup to allow re-keying the payroll correctly. Finishing the payroll creates "FPR-" type entries in the general journal, and because the erroneous payroll was invalid, so would the journal entries be just as invalid. Therefore, deleting them would be an acceptible action.

The "posted entries or entries out of the current period" message appears when you try to delete an entry that has a "P" in the "N/P" column. "P" means that entry has been "posted" to the general ledger and ledger totals have been updated with the entry. It also will appear if, for example, you are in period 8 and the entry you're trying to delete is in period 7. It's "out of the current period" and the system won't let you delete it.

Here are two simple solutions:

  1. Get to the general journal.
  2. Click the EDIT button.
  3. Change the "P" to an "N" for the offending item(s).
  4. If the period is not in the current period (the menu bar at the top of the G/L screen tells you what period you're currently in), change the period column to be the same as the current period.
  5. Now you may select the items to delete, and finally press DELETE on your keyboard to delete them.
  6. IMPORTANT: REPOST the journal.

Here's an alternate solution that retains the journal entries for better tracking. This is a better solution than deletion because it provides a way to explain what events occurred. It's also fewer editing steps.

  1. Get the the general journal.
  2. Click the EDIT button.
  3. Change the VALUE of the entries to zero dollars.
  4. Change the REASON field to reflect why you're zeroing these entries.
  5. IMPORTANT: Repost the journal.

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