This document outlines steps to take for the initial setup and month end closing processes for the general ledger.
Initial setup:
The first step is to set up the chart of accounts. Go to Utilities – Routines – Accounting Setup - General Ledger Account Maintenance. Click the Add GL Account button which will open the General Ledger Account Maintenance window. Enter the Account Number and Account Description which are required as well as any additional information needed for the account. The additional information needed will vary depending on the account and system setup. Once all of the information has been entered click the Save button then OK to the message. Repeat this process until all of the General Ledger accounts have been added and then click Close to exit the routine.
The next step is to link system functions to general ledger accounts. See the Linking functions to G/L accounts document. The routine is accessed by going to Utilities – Routines – Accounting Setup – Assign General Ledger Account Numbers to System Functions.
The final initial setup step is to setup the Accounting Calendar. See the Accounting Calendar – setup and usage document. The accounting calendar can be accessed from Utilities – Routines - Accounting Setup – Update Accounting Calendar or Select Current Periods. Set Journal Entries to the oldest open month.
Month End Closing:
Make sure that all users have entered all transactions for the month. Also be sure that all manual journal entries have been entered for the month. To enter a manual journal entry go to Utilities – Routines - General Ledger Journal Entries - Journal Entries Add/Edit.
When all of the transactions for the month have been entered into the system you can proceed to creating the journal entries for the month. The routine to do this can be launched from Utilities – Routines - General Ledger Journal Entries - Journal Entries Create Automatic. You can review the transactions within the routine or click Save to save the transactions. Once the journal transactions have been saved they can be reviewed by running Utilities – Reports – General Ledger Journal Entries – General Ledger Activity or Journal Entries Report. If when reviewing the transactions you find an issue, make the needed changes in the system and run the Journal Entries Create Automatic routine again.
The next step is to export the journal entries to your outside accounting package which is done using Utilities – Routines - General Ledger Journal Entries - Journal Entries Export.
Then Import the file just created into your outside accounting package. If at this point you notice any problems you can go back to Association Manager, make the needed adjustments, then run Journal Entries Create Automatic, Journal Entries Export, and import the file again. Note: some accounting packages only allow for one import per period.
The next step is to flag the month as being closed. Do this by going to Utilities – Routines - General Ledger Journal Entries - Flag Journal Entries as Posted to the General Ledger. Note: that this is the final step and once posted you have closed the period and can’t go back to it.
The final step is to move the accounting calendar ahead. Go to Utilities - Routines - Accounting Setup - Update Accounting Calendar or Select Current Periods and move Journal Entries ahead to next month.