The Ledger : policies and procedures

Reconciliation Recommendations

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:33:00 GMT

At some point we all need to perform the dreaded reconciliation process. It can go smoothly, especially if you reconcile on a regular basis, or can be a headache if you don't reconcile regularly and have inconsistent data entry. The Transaction Business Rules, implemented in version 7.77, can help with inconsistent data entry, but you still need to get in the habit of reconciling regularly; have you caught my theme yet ?

Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, your subsidiary ledger does not balance to the GL. Here are some of the common causes of balancing issues:

Voided or deleted transactions
Voided checks
Transactions where the transaction date and post date are in different fiscal periods
Remitting Payroll taxes, deductions, or withholdings from the incorrect account
Journal entries made directly to the subledger summary account

You can find these sneaky transactions by creating a query or running additional reports.

I've put together a list of recommendations for reconciling subsidiary ledgers, but they can also help when reconciling balance sheet and income statement line items.

Find a reliable starting point. This may be your annual audit or another period when your subledger and general ledger were in agreement. If you cannot find a period, you may need to make a one-time adjustment at your reconciliation start date. Without a good starting point in the past, none of the subsequent beginning balances will be reliable.
Avoid manual journal entries to the summary accounts (e.g., Accounts Payable Summary, Accounts Receivable Summary, or the Accumulated Depreciation accounts). Make corrections to items such as invoices or checks in the subsidiary ledger, rather than making a manual journal entry to General Ledger. If you must make journal entries, consider creating a separate account for them to simplify subledger reconciliation.
Use journal codes to indicate the source of transactions. When posting journal entries, do not use the journal code used by the subsidiary ledger. Clearly and consistently identifying the journal codes helps you trace a transaction to its origin.
Reconcile monthly . Perform reconciliations at least monthly. Finding and correcting items regularly may prevent additional errors. If you have several periods to reconcile, start with the oldest and reconcile one period at a time.
Be aware of how your organization uses post dates and transaction dates. Items such as invoices may be dated in one fiscal period, posted in another, and paid in yet another fiscal period. When running reports, determine whether you want to see the transaction date or the post date. Ensure you have established guidelines for determining the correct transaction post date. Inconsistency can cause reconciliation issues and possible financial statement misrepresentation.
Ensure transactions have the correct post status.
Update your policies and procedures manual regularly. Include detailed instructions for correcting reconciling issues. Create a reconciliation schedule as part of your policies and procedures manual, detailing which accounts should be reconciled with what frequency, and by whom.

For detailed reconciliation information, check out the Subsidiary Ledger Reconciliation Guide.

Report Madness

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:36:00 GMT

Have you ever looked through the 160 standard reports available in FE? Well even if you haven't the number is quite impressive, but how do you know which report to use ? Here are some tips to help you figure it out:

Determine what information you need.
Ok, so this one sounds silly to start with, but if you don't know exactly what you want, how will you know when you get it? Having a clear picture of what you need from a report helps you find the report category to start looking in and saves time. For example, if you need a financial statement, start with the Financial Statements category or if you need employee information, start in Profile and Statistical reports.
Review the Sample Reports Guide (PDF).
This one also sounds obvious, but how many of you knew such a guide existed?

Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to take a moment to remind you that there are several helpful FE guides. They can be found by selecting Help, User Guides from the FE menu bar, or by selecting User Guides from the Support menu on our website. Now back to your previously scheduled program.

The Sample Reports Guide divides standard reports into broad categories, and, for each report, you'll find:
- A brief overview
- Parameter descriptions
- A preview of what the report looks like
Use a test query.
To quickly see how a report will return your data, run it using a query with a few familiar records or a few records with a variety of transactions so you can see how each is treated. For example, if you're running account reports in General Ledger, select a variety of account types with several different transactions. If you are running reports in Accounts Payable, select a vendor with different invoices, credit memos, voided checks, or partially paid invoices.
Use the Layout button.
Click Layout to quickly preview a report using just a few records. Make sure you experiment with the report parameters, such as limiting the date range, to learn how different parameters impact the report totals.
Save and document your report parameters.
After you go through the process to find the report, make sure you document and save your report parameters. This way when you run the report next week or next month, you can save time and compare apples to apples. Follow these steps to print the report criteria:
1. Open the Report.
2. Select the Format tab and highlight Criteria.
3. Mark the Print Report Criteria on checkbox and select either first page or a separate page.
4. Mark checkboxes for individual criteria or right-click in the box and choose Select All.
5. Click Save and name the parameters.
Document your choices in a policies and procedures manual.
After taking the time to determine which reports to run, create an office policy and document it in your policies and procedure manual.

Happy Reporting. Talk to you soon!

New Year's Resolutions

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:14:00 GMT

We all have a list of things we meant to do last year, but didn't because we were too busy or simply forgot. Start this year off right by making a resolution to take care of your database and utilize Support resources. Here are some ideas for your work resolution list:

Maintain Your Data
- Create a policies and procedures manual to help make data entry more consistent and to train new hires.
- Reconcile subsidiary ledgers monthly. Establish the procedures and add them to your policies and procedures manual.
- Use the Supervisor login only when necessary.
Protect Your Data
- Use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect your database from corruption caused by sudden power outages.
- Back up your database daily and test the backups frequently. Store them in a safe, off-site location .
- Check your database integrity weekly.
Take Advantage of Your Maintenance Benefits
- Review the Customer Support Guide (PDF).
- Visit the Support section of our website for resources to help you make the most of your Blackbaud software and resolve issues. Resources include FAQs, Case Central, downloads, system recommendations, user guides, Forums, and Knowledgebase.
- Visit the Events section of our website for information about Blackbaud conferences, industry conferences, regional conferences, web seminars, and user group meetings.
- Visit the Training section of our website to learn about classroom training, on-site training, distance learning such as the eLearning library, and the Blackbaud Training Pass.
Keep Informed
- Visit Alerts on our website regularly.
- Ensure your users are subscribed to our newsletters. Visit Support Newsletters to learn about available newsletters for your organization's products.
  Note: If your organization uses multiple Blackbaud products, subscribe your system administrator to all applicable newsletters.
- Review the release readme, patch readme, and outstanding issues list.

Happy New Year! Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: Reconcile Your Payroll Taxes Before the End of the Year

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Tax season is never a fun relaxing time whether you are an employer preparing W-2s or an employee filing your taxes. I can't help with filing your individual taxes, but I can help save you a headache or two when preparing your W-2s. My key advice...don't wait until January 26 (the last week in January) to start the process. If you do, good luck with Murphy's Law . Another step you can take is to reconcile your 4th quarter 941 tax report. This can be done before the end of the year and will help ensure smooth W-2 processing in January.

Oh, one quick thing about reconciliation before we get to the good stuff. If you don't reconcile regularly, add this important step to your policies and procedures manual. OK, let's get started.

The first step, of course, is to create a 941 Tax Report. Now that you have the report, refer to the table below to reconcile each line.

941 Line Number	Report Name	Report Options	Reconciliation Process
Line 1	Payroll Register	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report. Mark the Create an output query of checkbox and select Employees.	In Query, open the query created from the Payroll Register. Select the Results tab to view the number of employees.
Line 2	Adjusted Gross Wage Report	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report.	Verify the Federal Withholding (Federal W/H) Grand Total.
Line 3	Payroll Register	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report. Under Include calculation detail for, unmark all checkboxes except Taxes. In the Print a field, select Summary. Mark the Summarize activity by: checkbox and select Pay stub ID. On the Filters tab, select to filter Taxes by Federal tax.	Verify the Federal amount under Total Deductions/Employee Taxes.
Line 5a	Adjusted Gross Wage Report	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report.	Verify the Social Security (Soc. Sec.) Grand Total.
Line 5c	Adjusted Gross Wage Report	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report.	Verify the Medicare Grand Total.
Line 8	Payroll Register	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report. Under Include calculation detail for, unmark all checkboxes except Taxes. In the Print a field, select Summary. Mark the Summarize activity by: checkbox and select Pay stub ID.	Using the amounts under Total Deductions/Employee Taxes, calculate: Federal W/H column + [(Soc Sec + Medicare columns) * 2].
Line 9	Payroll Register	On the General tab, select to include paid calculations. Select <Specific date> for Payment date and enter the date range used on the 941 report. Under Include calculation detail for, unmark all checkboxes except Taxes. In the Print a field, select Summary. Mark the Summarize activity by: checkbox and select Pay stub ID. On the Filters tab, select to filter Taxes by Advanced EIC.	Verify the Advanced EIC amount under Total Deductions/Employee Taxes.

Want more Payroll end-of-year information? Take a look at the Payroll Post special edition: Payroll 7 End-of-Year Process. Talk to you soon!