The Ledger : The Ledger

VCO Template Validation Shortcut

Daniel Dalnekoff — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:17:00 GMT

We have all been in this situation before, running a report and all of a sudden the results are not coming out correctly; be it a Balance Sheet out of balance, or an Income Statement missing activity from a certain expense code. Either way, one of the most common culprits of this could be something missing from your Visual Chart Organizer (VCO) template. Of course, it seems like a journey to close the report, navigate away from reports into the VCO section, then open the template, search for the missing accounts, and then run the validation report on the template. I agree, considering the probability of success, this is a journey even Leif Ericson may have thought twice about.

There is a shortcut here. In fact, the chart template of your choice can be validated without even leaving the report setup! From the General tab of your report, there is a small button just to the right of the menu where you can select the chart template being used. The button looks like a folder with a check on top of it - the universal sign for Validate.

From here you can create a new validation or select an existing saved parameter and validate the chart template of your choice. This is a quick and easy way to validate your template right from the report parameter to see if this could be the cause of your report issue. Of course, if a change does need to be made to the template you will need to head over to the VCO section of the software to make your edits, but at least it won't be a wasted voyage.

Improve Your Data's Quality and Consistency

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:30:00 GMT

A list of procedures and rules can improve your data's consistency and quality, and save you time and effort when entering data, preparing reports, and reconciling. I recommend compiling the procedures and rules to create a policies and procedures manual, also known as a data entry guide. The manual should specify how you enter and maintain records, and perform various functions related to your database. By documenting rules and guidelines, you can ensure consistent data entry. Here are some items to consider for your policies and procedures manual.

Soft close all periods except the current period and the next period. Closing previous periods prevents accidental posting to a closed and balanced period. By closing periods in the future, you prevent inadvertently posting transactions to periods that should not yet be affected.
Use journal codes correctly. Journal codes, also known as source codes, tell you the origin of a transaction. The codes specifically assigned to sub-ledgers should never be used in journal entries and vice versa. In GL Journal Entry, you can define which journal codes are allowed to prevent any errors. Check out BB58058 for the steps.
Create recurring journal entries for your regularly occurring journal entries. These templates allow you to define transactions and/or distributions to use over and over again.
Create distribution templates for commonly used distributions so all you have to do is select the template instead of manually typing in each account number, amount, project, or t-code. Using distribution templates not only prevent data entry errors but also save time, especially if you have detailed distributions.
Use business rules to promote accuracy and consistency. There are a variety of business rules that allow you to determine some things that should or should not be allowed in your database. Some examples include not posting zero dollar amounts, excluding inactive records from searches, allowing non-bank transactions to cash accounts, and automatically assigning record IDs. Each sub-ledger has its own business rules to set. Check out these solutions for some business rule tips: General Ledger | Accounts Receivable | Student Billing | Payroll
Configure security groups to restrict user rights. Carefully consider which users need what rights. For example, not all users should have access to voiding, deleting, or purging transactions. Depending on your organization's size and needs, you may be able to set up just one or two security groups or you may need to set up a separate security group for each user.

Talk to you soon!

Newsletter Polls

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:18:00 GMT

We are revamping The Ledger, your newsletter about The Financial Edge, and Payroll Post, your newsletter about Payroll, to make sure we're giving you the information you want and need.

Let us know if you read non-product specific articles by voting in the The Ledger poll and the Payroll Post poll.