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The
general ledger in Clients & Profits manages twenty-four user-defined
accounting periods
Your fiscal year can start at the beginning of any
month, for flexibility. Your fiscal year is set by entering the names
of your monthly periods in the Accounting Periods preferences window.
Accounting periods are not especially related to any range of dates;
this means your periods don’t have to literally start on the first
day of each month. When a period begins and ends is based on how you
work—and especially on when you close the month.
Accounting transactions (i.e., payables, checks, billings, etc.) post
to the general ledger by accounting period, not the date. So the accounting
period is impor-tant for accurate matching up your costs and billings.
 The current
accounting period is copied to new work automatically whenever you add
a cost, billing, etc. To change the current period at the end of the
month, simply enter a new period number.
Accounting periods can be selectively locked. A period is locked when
you don’t want more work posted into it. Locking a period isn’t
automatic; instead, it’s a management function that someone chooses
to do.
The first
day of your fiscal year is used by Clients & Profits to exclude
work from previous years on reports like the Client Budget Recap.
To set your accounting periods
A calendar-year based accounting system starts in
January and ends in December. However, your fiscal year can begin at
any month.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
2 Choose Accounting Periods from the Preferences pop-up menu.
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Setting the current period. Your current
accounting period is not based on the date, so you’ll need
to change it at the start of every month. It’s best to change
it after the bulk of last month’s work is posted.
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3 Enter the names of your accounting periods.
4 Click Save.
Be sure to enter the first day of your fiscal year, too.
To lock a period
Locking a period prevents accounting work from being
added into a period that is closed. If a user tries to select a locked
period, a warning message appears and the current period is chosen instead.
Locked periods apply to payables, checks, time sheets, receivables,
client payments, and general ledger journal entries. Jobs are unaffected
by the accounting period.
Periods can be locked and unlocked by managers, as needed.
Remember,
if you unlock a locked period then post some work, you’re affecting
your financial statements. You should re-print any month-end reports,
such as the income
statement and balance
sheet, after making any adjustments to prior periods.
Customizing account classes
The names of the six G/L account classifications are
customizable without programming. These settings let you tailor the
terminology that appears on your printed financial statements to your
accountant’s needs.
The terms
“Assets and “Liabilities” are reserved and can’t
be customized.
1 Choose Setup > Preferences.
2 Choose G/L Account Classes from the Preferences pop-up menu.
3 Enter the names of your account classes.
4 Click Save.
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