or ) is one of the most important financial statements. It typically shows your gross revenues, the direct costs of the goods or services you sold to get such revenues, your other operating expenses, your costs, and your net income.
The is another important financial statement. Simply stated, your balance sheet shows your assets and liabilities at a particular point in time, and therefore shows your net worth at that time.
With a little help from your accountant, you can tell a lot about the financial condition of your company from your current financial statements.
**Integrated**\\
When a set of accounting packages is , any information generated in one area that is needed in another area is automatically supplied to that other area.
You do not have to enter the information twice.
OpenPro.com accounting software is fully integrated (with the exception of Check Reconciliation, or C/R). When G/L is used with other OpenPro.com packages, any information recorded in those other packages that G/L should know about can be automatically transferred to G/L.
**Data Organization**\\
The information you enter into your computer is stored on your disk. In order for computer programs to be able to locate specific pieces of data (within large masses of data), and to be able to process data logically, data must be organized in some predictable way. OpenPro.com accounting software organizes your data for you automatically as it stores it on your disk.
There are //five// terms you should understand about the way the data is organized:
- **Character:** A is any letter, number, or other symbol you can type on your computer keyboard.
- **Field:** A is one or more characters representing a single piece of data. For example, an account number, a date, and a dollar amount are all fields.
- **Record:** A is a group of one or more related fields. For example, the fields representing the account number, the amount, and the distribution date might be grouped together into a record called the .
- **Entry:** A record in a data file is often referred to as an .
- **Data File:** A is a group of one or more related records. A data file is often referred to simply as a .
The General Journal File in General Ledger is an example of a data file. Such a file is made up of several records, each of which contains the account number, amount, etc. for one entry.
Each file is kept separate from other files on the disk.
There are other types of files in addition to data files. For example, programs are stored on the disk as . However, references to in this User Guide mean unless specifically stated otherwise.
**Post**\\
To means to take entries from a temporary file and move them to a permanent file (where other entries probably already exist). For example, in G/L, entries are initially entered into the temporary General Journal File. After entries have been entered and verified as correct, they are posted to the more permanent General Ledger File.
Often, during entry posting, information in other data files is also updated. For example, when sales from Accounts Receivable are posted, the account balance and historical sales figures in the Customer File are also updated.
**Alphanumeric**\\
When the manual refers to , it means letters of the alphabet, numerals (numbers), special symbols (*, &, $, etc.) or any combination of all three kinds. In contrast, (or ), means only numbers.
**Multi-Company**\\
refers to the capability to do accounting functions for multiple companies with the same set of software. A user wanting to do accounting functions for more than one company on OpenPro.com packages can use the Define Multiple Companies selection.
**Company Consolidation**\\
is the action of summarizing the accounting activity of several companies into a whole, as though they were one company. For example, the entries from companies A, B, and C could be summarized into company X, and an overall set of financial statements produced for (the consolidation company).
**Help**\\
refers to descriptions of functions that appear on your screen by pressing a designated key. The text gives you a quick reference to the highlights of functions while you are running them. Not all functions have on-line help available. In these cases, you will need to refer to the user guide.
**Spool**\\
SPOOL is a computer word meaning . Spooling is a technique that allows a report to be printed at a later time. Instead of reports going directly to a printer, they are saved as a disk file (which is usually a lot faster). When a printer is available, all or some saved reports can be printed in one long run (for example, overnight).
**Accounting Periods**\\
Using the selection, you can define a fiscal year containing from one to thirteen accounting periods. You can also define a separate period for use in reporting purposes.
**G/L Account Number Format**\\
Companies with multiple sales departments or branches often require separate Operating Statements for each .
Refer to the Installation and System Guide for detailed information.
**Chart of Accounts**\\
In addition to the G/L account number and account description, the Chart of Accounts record contains various codes that govern the handling of the account throughout the system.
You can print the Chart of Accounts List at any time.
**Budgets**\\
For each account entered in the Chart of Accounts you may create multiple budget entries for multiple years. There is no limit to the numbers of budget types.
You may print the budget entries at any time.
**Comparatives**\\
Comparatives refer to financial data from prior years. You may have an unlimited number of years of historical data stored.
You may print the comparative entries at any time.
**General Journal Entries**\\
In the general journal, you can make new entries (enter transactions), change or delete existing entries, and post entries to the General Ledger Transaction File. General journal entries can be made in such a way that they will be automatically reversed next period (for accrual purposes).
As an aid in the entry process, each entry is handled so that its balance is known as you insert, edit and delete lines in the locations you desire. You can print the General Journal Entry Edit List before posting.
When general journal entries are posted to the General Ledger Transaction File, the General Journal Entry Register is automatically printed.
**Distributions Journal Entries**\\
In the distributions journal, you can make new entries (enter transactions), change or delete existing entries, and post entries to the General Ledger Transaction File.
Distributions journal entries can be made in such a way that they will be automatically reversed next period (for accrual purposes).
As an aid in the editing process, you can print the Distributions Edit List before posting. It can be printed in order by account number or in the order the entries were made.
When distributions journal entries are posted to the General Ledger Transaction File, the Distributions Register is automatically printed.
**Recurring Journal Entries**\\
This selection is similar to standard journal entries, but more flexible, since it allows you to set up journal entries that recur weekly, quarterly, etc., instead of just once per accounting period.
It also saves you time because if you want to do an allocation to a set of accounts, you can distribute by percentage. (In the standard journal, you must distribute one transaction at a time.)
You can set a time limit on a recurring entry. You can also limit recurring entries in terms of the number of times used.
**View Accounts**\\
The selection allows all entries for a selected account and within a specified date range to be displayed on the computer monitor.
**Source Cross Reference**\\
The Report shows all entries for any time period, for one or more sources and/or one or more journal numbers. This report prints detail (individual) entries in order by source or by journal number, whichever you select.
You can always associate a journal number with a printed, physical document,and (provided you have not compressed the General Ledger) you can reconstruct a lost journal printout by using this selection. To reconstruct, specify all sources and dates for a particular journal number.
Since you select the ranges of starting and ending source codes, starting and ending journal numbers, and starting and ending dates, this report is a very powerful tool for identifying unusual transactions and their origins.
As in nearly all OpenPro.com reports, you can display this report on your screen.
This allows you to rapidly review large numbers of entries within a selected range to isolate any problems.
**Financial Statement Formats**\\
With OpenPro.com General Ledger, you can design your own financial statements.
Layout functions allow you to format financial statements by entering the relative position of titles, headings, accounts, text lines, sub-totals, totals, etc. The userdefined formats are saved on disk and can be easily added to, changed, or deleted whenever necessary. and account ranges are allowed in financial statement layouts.
A Financial Statement Specifications List and sample financial statements (showing statements as they will print, but without real dollar amounts) may be printed.
**Financial Statement Printing**\\
OpenPro.com General Ledger prints the user-formatted financial statements on request. These include the Operating Statement, Balance Sheet, Supporting Schedules, Expanded Cash Flow Statement (FASB 95 Cash Flow Statement), and the Source and Application of Funds (SAF) Reports: Statement of Cash Flow, Components of Working Capital, and Changes in Financial Position.
Financial statements may be printed at any time, for any accounting period that you define, and for a set of cost centers that you define.
Budget and/or comparative figures may be shown on selected financial statements along with budget or comparative . A is the difference between the current amount and the budgeted amount (budget variance), or the difference between the current amount and last year’s amount (comparative variance).
User-defined notes, disclaimers, etc., may also be printed on any of the financial statements.
**Accounting Ratios**\\
User-defined accounting ratios can be set up and calculated. These can be standard ratios or customized to meet specific business needs.
**Year-To-Date Entries**\\
If your system has sufficient disk storage capacity, all detail entries (transactions) for the year may be retained. When detail is stored for the entire year, the Trial Balance Report may be printed showing all such detail.
However, if disk space is not available, detail may be compressed (summarized) on request. The Summarize selection totals and compresses entries, either by date or by accounting period, at the user’s option.
Date sensitivity is always maintained during a compression, allowing reports (without detail) and financial statements to be re-run for prior periods, even after compression.
**Year End Procedure**\\
The Close a Year selection automatically clears all operating statement account activity and consolidates balance sheet entries into one beginning balance entry for the New Year. This procedure also rolls the year-ending account totals over into the last-year comparative figures.
**Interface to Other OpenPro.com Systems**\\
OpenPro.com’s Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Check Reconciliation, Inventory Control, and/or Job Cost systems may be interfaced to the General Ledger, provided each package interfaced is the same version number, running on the same machine (computer).
**Password Protection**\\
You have the option to specify that passwords are required. A password is a unique code you assign to each individual using your OpenPro.com software.
When passwords are required, each potential user must first enter a valid password before he or she will be enabled to use a protected selection.
**Data Integrity Checks**\\
A data integrity check compares the actual numbers in the system to the calculated or projected numbers. If these numbers do not match, you are warned that information might have been lost due to a machine or power failure. By running this function at the start or end of the day, you can detect several possible types of data file corruption (sometimes due to hardware or operating system errors).
**File Recovery Procedure**\\
This selection provides the capacity to recover corrupted data files. You can also use it to convert important data files to a format that can be easily interfaced to common database and word processing packages.
**Printers**\\
You can easily configure your OpenPro.com software to work with any of the most popular printers. Additionally, instructions are given to allow you to configure the software to use virtually on any other printer.
**Loan Payment Calculation**\\
This general-purpose program is useful to accountants and is included for your convenience, although it is not an integral part of General Ledger. The program is described in the “Calculate Loan Payments” chapter.
You do not need any Chart of Accounts information or Financial Statement Layouts to calculate loans, but you are required to have entered the Company File information.
**Upgrading from Earlier Versions**\\
The necessary functions and instructions to enable you to upgrade from an earlier version of this same OpenPro.com package are described in the Installation and System Guide.
**Features of OpenPro.com General Ledger**\\
The General Ledger package provides the following features:
* User-defined accounting ratios can be set up and calculated on financial statements. These can be standard accounting ratios or customized to meet specific business needs.
* More flexible copying of Chart of Accounts between companies is provided.
* The Valid G/L Accounts File can be automatically re-initialized prior to copying the Chart of Accounts File to the Valid G/L Account File (and vice versa).
* Unlimited date and time stamped notes can be attached to Chart of Account records.
* A new screen for Correcting Entries has been added.
* For general journal and standard journal entry, echoing of the source, reference and document number of the previous entry can be controlled; i.e., the user can specify for each field whether it is to be redisplayed.
* Up to ten lines of notes can be entered for a general journal entry. These notes will be printed on the register.
* Recurring General Ledger transactions are now included. These allow for allocations to accounts on a dollar or percentage basis.
* Layouts can be copied from other companies.
* The date, time and/or report number may optionally be printed on financial statements.
* Multiple separate ratios can be printed on financial statements.
* Financial statements can be printed for a set of sub-accounts.
* For rounded financial statements, the user may the rounding error at any specified point in the statement.
* Account ranges are allowed in financial statement layouts.
* Literals and text for financial statements can be automatically centered.
* Financial statement layout verification is provided to ensure that the accounts on a layout are correct for the type of layout. It also ensures that all accounts in the Chart of Accounts that should appear on the balance sheet or cost and loss layouts do actually appear on these layouts. This ensures that when you select to print a financial report, all accounts related to your selection, e.g., cost and loss and/or balance sheet, will be printed.
* Handles up to thirteen accounting periods.
* Supports multiple cost centers.
* Supports multiple companies.
* Produces an overall set of financial statements from a consolidation of multiple companies.
* Allows reports to be stored on disk to save computer time, then printed later at your convenience.
* Allows use of multiple printers.
* Provides maintenance and a listing of the Chart of Accounts File.
* Allows general journal entering, editing, and posting, with edit list and journal.
* Allows standard journal entering, editing, and posting, with edit list and journal.
* Recurring general journal entries allow for automatic distribution by percentage or allocation.
* Prints the Working Trial Balance and Trial Balance Reports.
* Allows on-line G/L account detail inquiry.
* Prints the Source Cross Reference (for audit trails).
* Prints the financial statements in flexible formats that you design.
* Financial statements can be printed for a set of cost centers.
* and account ranges are allowed in financial statement layouts.
* Key accounting ratios can be calculated (such as ). Userdefined accounting ratios can also be set up.
* Allows you to keep entry detail for the year if disk space is available, and has
* flexible year-end closing procedure.
* Contains a loan amortization program that gives you information about fixed rate loans.
* Includes password protection and data-integrity checks.
* May be used either independently or interfaced to the OpenPro.com Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Inventory Control, and/or Job Cost systems.
* Has (highlights of functions) built into the software.
====Chapter 2 Close a Year, Year End Processing Details====
===Introduction===
The Close a Year selection enables you to view your total debits and credits for a certain year and zero your balances at the end of your accounting year as part of the closing procedure. It consists of //two// functions:
- **Print closing report** – This function is used to print the Year End Closing Report, which shows the net profit/loss entries that will be made by Post closing entries when it is run. This report may be printed to verify the net profit for the year prior to closing G/L so that any final corrections can be made.
- **Post closing entries** – This function is used to close the year. It performs the actions needed to close the fiscal year. These actions are described in detail later in this chapter.
OpenPro can run financial reports for all prior years; we process the year end transactions differently than many other systems.
The way OpenPro processes the year end closing transactions is as follows:
- For the year you are closing, no changes will be made and no transactions are being processed.
- For the new year, we process a beginning balance for the Balance Sheet accounts.
- In addition, for the new year, we process a beginning balance transaction for the Profit and Loss accounts, but the first day of the new year we offset that beginning balance. So the net effect is zeroed out for the new year.
OpenPro also allows the capability to make adjustments for prior years and recalculate the new beginning balance for the new year.
**If you are not ready to close the year**\\
It often occurs that you must start your new fiscal year before the old fiscal year is closed. This occurs, for example, if your fiscal year ends on June 30th of the year, but the final adjusting entries are not made available to you until August. In this case, you must start your new fiscal year before closing the previous year.
If you are not ready to close your General Ledger at fiscal year end, you can take the following steps so that you can process information for the new year.
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-001.png}}
**Actions performed by Post closing entries**\\
The following is a list of the actions performed by Post closing entries:
- The periods shown on the right hand side of the screen in Accounting Periods are moved to the left hand side of the screen. Accounting periods are generated for the new fiscal year and are shown on the right hand side of the screen. The fiscal year is set to be the one shown on the left hand side of the screen. The entry period and reporting period both are set to be the first period.
- It sets the for each G/L account. After Post closing entries is run, the comparatives for an account will contain the balances for that account for each period of the fiscal year just closed. When comparative financial statements are run in the new year, you will then be able to compare new year balances against comparatives from the fiscal year just closed. The stored by Post closing entries are called the throughout this chapter. They are the new comparatives that are set up for use in the new fiscal year, although their amounts correspond to the account balances from the prior year.
- It creates balance forward entries for all balance sheet accounts. The date for these entries is the first day of the new fiscal year. It also creates balance forward entries for all the Profit and Loss Accounts with beginning balance entries.
- It automatically posts the net profit/loss to the retained earnings account entered in Rules Setup, Business Rules Account.
- It prints the Year End Closing Register. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, you may print the Year End Closing Report prior to running Post closing entries in order to see the information that will be printed on the Year End Closing Register when Post closing entries is actually run.
===Before You Begin===
OpenPro.com recommends that before you select this function, you:
//BACKUP THE SYSTEM BEFORE RUNNING YEAR END.//
- Proceed with the recalculation process for the summary transactions. (see Chapter 4)
- Print all closing financial statements, Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss, including a detailed year-end Trial Balance. Verify that the balances are what you expected.
- Create the new fiscal period record for the new year. Verify the year you want to close has all the periods checked off and closed.
- Make backup copies of all G/L data files.
You will then have a permanent record of the activity for the fiscal year.
===To Begin===
Select GL Reports from the G/L menu, and then select To close a year:
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-002.png}}
From this screen, choose the fiscal year that you wish to close. You may also wish to select a location, but this is optional.
This will give you readout of your fiscal activity that you can print before closing the year completely.
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-003.png}}
===Print Closing Report===
This selection prints the Year End Closing Report, which shows what net profit /loss entries Post closing entries will make. Print closing report does not perform any other function except showing what will occur when Post closing entries is run. Close a year can be run many times after the initial process, the difference is the second time you can only recalculate the beginning balances for the new year.
You will not be able to continue if:
* Any entries exist in the G/L Integrated File (which means they have not yet been posted to the General Ledger Postings), or the new year has not been created, or all the monthly buckets are not closed for the year you are closing.
The report is printed in two sections. The first section is titled and will show all Operating Statement accounts with the amount totals to be posted.
===Processing Results===
The following are the results of running Post closing entries:
- The Accounting Period File has been updated for the new year. (You may need to update the current period and reporting period at this point, by using Accounting periods, if there were delays in closing your fiscal year.)
- The comparative amounts for each account in the Chart of Accounts are updated to be the ending balances for the periods of the fiscal year just closed.
- All entries from the fiscal year just closed have been cleared from the General Ledger Transaction File. (Entries made for the new year are left unchanged.)
- Balance forward entries for all balance sheet accounts have been created. The date for these entries is the last day of the fiscal year just closed.
- A net profit (loss) entry has been made to the retained earnings account entered in Control information. If was entered for the retained earnings account, then individual entries have been made for each of the cost centers of the retained earnings account.
The Working Trial Balance selection enables you to print the Working Trial Balance, which is used in closing procedures for an accounting period.
When the Year End closing is complete and all the financial statements look good for the prior year, a G/L entry transaction must be entered to move the Current Retained earning balance to a Prior Years Retained earnings account. If this is not done, your balance sheet for the new year will be off by the amount in Retained Earnings.
====Chapter 3 Year End Back Out====
===Introduction===
The Year End back out procedure allows you to redo a year end. Prior to using this feature, you should first redo the journal entry for retained earnings. The back out process will recalculate the year, zero the beginning balance, and create a reversing entry.
===To Begin===
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Under the General Ledger, select the year you wish to back out then click **Enter**.
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Once the process is complete, a status of what has been completed will be displayed.
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-006.png}}
As stated, the year end back out will zero the beginning balance for the year after which the back out has been done.
====Chapter 4 Recalculate Summary Balance====
===Introduction===
The Summarize General Ledger selection enables you to summarize the entries in the General Ledger Transaction file, either by date or by period (depending on which method you specified in Chart of Accounts).
This function should be run before running your year end processing, but if you are just starting out and loading data, you may need to run this to summarize the detail entries loaded into the summary tables. These tables are used for reporting. This procedure can run as many times are you want.
===To Begin===
Select under reports **GL Summary RESET** from the G/L main menu. The following screen appears:
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-007.png}}
From here you are able to view all of the accounts with just a summary instead of with full detail. You can print a summary of accounts by clicking the print button located at the top option bar of the screen.
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-008.png}}
You should only select the Year and not run it for a specific period or location.
When completed, the number of records updated will display. After running this you may also need to run the Recalculate beginning balance process for this year.
To do this just rerun the year end close process. The software will warn you that the year end process has already been complete and it will only recalculate the beginning balances for the new year.
{{products:financial:gl-yearend:image-009.png}}
Here is an example for running the close a year process to recalculate the beginning balances.
[Last Review Date January 2018]
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~~socialite~~