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Wildwood Canada
BusinessVision
FAQ
How to make an Unbalanced
Journal Entry
Sometimes due to system problems (network or computer problems)
you may find that your General Ledger has gotten out of balance.
This page will take you through the steps to rectify the
situation.
There are four parts to this process:
- Reorganize the General Ledger files
- Create a new user called "UNBALANCED"
- Print the "Unbalanced G/L transactions" Report
- Make an unbalanced entry to bring the General Ledger back
into balance.
Depending on the exact situation, you may be able to skip one or
more of these steps. For example, if you know that your out of
balance situation is caused by an out of balance journal entry, then
you can go straight to steps 2 and 4.
1. Reorganize the General Ledger files
The first step is to Reorganize the General Ledger data files.
An out of balance G/L can arise in two ways. One is if there is
an incomplete (unbalanced) journal entry. The second is if not all
journal entries got completely posted.
The Reorganize function can ensure that all journal entries are
completely posted.
Select File, Reorganize Files:
The following warning will come up. It is indeed a good idea to
have a current backup of your files before doing this!
Check the box beside the G/L Transactions file:
Note the option available to the right: "Reallocate transaction
data to new fiscal periods". What this is really saying is, "Repost
all the journal entries". Check the box. This is particularly
important within this context of an unbalanced G/L, as it ensures
that all journal entries have been posted to the General Ledger
chart of accounts.
Click the Reorganize icon:
When complete the following message will appear:
Now you should reprint your Trial Balance to see if your General
Ledger is now in balance. If it is, then the out of balance problem
has been solved! Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
2. Create a new User called "UNBALANCED"
If you don't already have an "UNBALANCED" user you will need to
create one.
The quickest way to accomplish this is to copy an existing user.
Make sure you copy a user with rights to the General Ledger. You do
this in Utilities, System Manager, User Details:
Select a suitable existing user to copy From, and click the Copy
button:
The new user you are to create must have a User ID of
UNBALANCED and Initials of *** (3 stars). Give the new user a password
that you will remember, as you are not likely to use this User ID
very often.
Click Ok when you have filled in all the fields.
Stay in User Details for the new user UNBALANCED. Go to General
Ledger, Reports, and make sure the new user has permission to run the "Unbalanced
G/L Transactions" report.
Save the changes for the UNBALANCED user.
3. Print the "Unbalanced G/L Transactions" Report
Log in as the UNBALANCED user.
If you don't know where the imbalance is in the General Ledger,
it may help to run the "Unbalanced G/L Transactions" report. This
report can take quite a while to run, so be patient.
PLEASE NOTE: This report is only available to the UNBALANCED User.
Examine the output of the report to determine what correction you
need to make in the G/L.
4. Make an unbalanced entry to bring the
General Ledger back into balance
The UNBALANCED user is allowed to make unbalanced journal
entries.
Start a journal entry as usual. Typically the journal entries
made to correct out-of-balance situations are one-line journal
entries.
Make the entry to correct the out of balance situation.
Notice that the "Post" icon is now available even though the
journal entry is not balanced.
Click "Post" when your entry is complete and the
following warning will come up:
Click Yes and your unbalanced journal entry will be posted.
As a final step print and check the Trial Balance again to ensure
your General Ledger is now in balance.
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