Help: General Ledger (GL)

Welcome to Your General Ledger!

The General Ledger (GL) is the central, master accounting record for your business. Think of it as a giant, organized book where every single financial transaction is recorded. Whether you send an invoice, pay a bill, or record an expense, it all ends up here. A well-maintained GL is the key to accurate financial statements and understanding the health of your business.

This guide will walk you through the core concepts and procedures to use the GL effectively.

Understanding Fiscal Years & Periods

To ensure your books are tidy and accurate, transactions are organized into **Fiscal Periods** (usually months) and **Fiscal Years**. This system provides control over your accounting data, preventing accidental entries into a period that you have already finalized and reported on.

Managing Your Fiscal Calendar

1. Navigate to Settings > GL Default Accounts.
2. Under the "Fiscal Management" section, click on the Manage Fiscal Years & Periods button.
3. Here, you can see a list of all defined Fiscal Years and their status (Open/Closed).
4. To manage the months within a year, click the Manage Periods button for that year.
5. On the "Fiscal Periods" screen, you can open or close individual months or even adjust the start and end dates for each period to support custom calendars like 4-4-5.

Budgets: Planning for Success

A budget is a financial plan for your business. By setting a budget for your income and expense accounts, you can compare your actual performance against your plan, helping you make smarter business decisions.

How to Set Up a Budget

1. Navigate to Settings > GL Default Accounts.
2. Under "Fiscal Management", click Budget Entry.
3. Select a Fiscal Year and GL Account: Choose the year you want to budget for and the specific income or expense account.
4. Enter Monthly Amounts: A grid of 12 months will appear. You can enter a specific budget amount for each month.
5. Use the "Spread" Feature: For a quick start, you can enter an annual total in the "Annual Total Spread" box and click Spread Evenly. The system will automatically divide that amount by 12 and populate the monthly fields.
6. Click Save Budget. The data is now ready for use in reports.

Key Procedures: Closing Your Books

Month-End Close Procedure

Closing the month is a standard accounting practice to ensure the data for that month is final.

• 1. Reconcile Bank Accounts: Use the Reconcile Bank Account module to match your bank statements to the transactions in the system.
• 2. Review Financial Reports: Run the Income Statement and Balance Sheet for the month to ensure everything looks correct. Use the Account Inquiry tool to drill down into any accounts that seem off.
• 3. Make Adjustments: If you find errors, make correcting Journal Entries.
• 4. Close the Period: Once you are confident the month is accurate, navigate to Manage Periods for the year and change the status of the month from "Open" to "Closed".

Year-End Close Procedure

This system uses a "soft close" philosophy, giving you incredible flexibility. You do not need to perform a complex, irreversible "year-end close" procedure. The system dynamically calculates retained earnings and prior-year balances for reports.

Recommended Year-End Workflow (Example: Closing 2025)

1. On January 1st, 2026: Your work doesn't stop!
   • Go to Manage Fiscal Years and ensure 2026 is created and "Open".
   • Go to Manage Periods for 2026 and ensure January is "Open".
   • Continue business as usual, creating invoices and bills with 2026 dates.
2. During January/February 2026: Finalize 2025.
   • Your accountant can continue to make final adjusting journal entries for 2025 because the year is still "Open".
   • You can run final versions of your 2025 financial reports.
3. When 2025 is Truly Final:
   • Navigate to Manage Fiscal Years.
   • Click the Close Year button for 2025. This provides the final lock on your data, ensuring compliance and preventing accidental changes.

Using Your Financial Reports

The enhanced reporting engine gives you powerful new ways to analyze your business.

Filter Types: Date vs. Period

• Date Range: The traditional method. Choose any start and end date for your report (e.g., Jan 1 to Jan 15).
• Fiscal Period: A more powerful, accounting-friendly method. Choose a start period (e.g., "Feb 2025") and an end period (e.g., "Apr 2025"). The system automatically uses the exact start and end dates defined in your fiscal calendar, ensuring 100% accuracy.

Comparative Columns (Income Statement)

• Show Budget: Compares the "Actual" results for the period against the budget you entered. It also calculates the variance. This only works when filtering by "Fiscal Period".
• Show Prior Year: Shows the results from the exact same date range or period(s) from the previous year. Essential for trend analysis.
• Show YTD: Shows the Year-to-Date totals (from the start of the fiscal year to the end date of your selected range).

Example Use Case: "How did we do last month?"

1. Go to the Income Statement.
2. Set "Report Type" to Fiscal Period.
3. Set both "From Period" and "To Period" to last month (e.g., "Nov 2025").
4. Check the boxes for Show Budget and Show Prior Year.
5. Click Update. You will now see a single report showing how last month's performance (Actual) compares to your plan (Budget) and how it compares to the same month last year.