To define fiscal end-of-month dates:The system allows you to use a default set of fiscal month-end dates for accounting purposes, or to define your own set of dates.
Setting your own month-end dates allows you the flexibility to define fiscal months that reflect how you set up your accounting practices. For example, if your company has four quarters of 13 weeks each (known as 4/4/5 accounting), you can set up your accounting periods so each fiscal quarter has a consistent number of days, regardless of the normal calendar. Because months in the normal calendar have a different number of days, the number of days in each quarter can be different, which makes comparing one quarter to another imprecise.
Any calendar date less than the 15th represents a month-end date that occurs in the following month. For example, if you set the month-end date for February as the 3rd, the end of the accounting period for the month of February occurs on March 3rd.
You can define separate month-end dates for each year, A/R statements and service charges, A/P purposes, and for compiling business summaries. When the system needs to determine the proper month-end date to use for any of these functions, it looks for setups in the following order:
The specific type and fiscal year. For example, Type set to AR and Year set to 2006.
The specific type with no specific year. For example, Type set to AR and Year is blank.
A specific year. For example, Type set to Year and Year set to 2006. Functions that are not specific to accounts receivable, accounts payable, or business summary, such as general ledger, look for this setup first.
The default Type setting. For example, Type is set to Default.
The current actual calendar year month-end dates. If you have not defined month-end dates for any of the scenarios above, the system uses actual calendar month-end dates.
To define fiscal end-of-month dates:
From the System > System Programming > G/L Setup menu, select G/L Month End Days Maintenance to display the Month Ends screen.
In the Type field, press F10 and select one of the following:
AP – Define dates for accounts payable processes.
AR – Define dates for service charges, statements, and the aged current field in A/R Inquiry.
The system uses A/P and A/R dates for calculating discounts. It uses the general ledger fiscal dating, which is specified by year, when you run reports or inquiries.
BSUM – Define dates for compiling business summary inquiries.
Year – Define dates for general ledger accounting processes.
Default – Define a default set of dates the system uses for all areas that require a month-end date. The system uses the settings defined in Default for any type or year that does not have specific dates defined.
For example, your company may define month-end dates for business summaries, but not for A/P processes. In that case, the system uses the month-end dates you define using the BSUM type for business summaries; however, for A/P processes, the system uses the month-end dates defined in the Default type.
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Important: After you define the month-end dates for Default, you cannot delete the settings. If default month-end dates exist, and you decide you want to use actual calendar month-end dates, use the Calendar hot key to update the month-end dates to the calendar end dates for the current calendar year. |
In the Year field, enter or select the year for which you are defining dates.
If you selected Year in the Type field, this field is required. If you selected Default in the Type field, this field is disabled. If you selected any other type, this field is optional. If you use the same month-end dates year after year, and do not need to set specific dates for each year, leave this field blank. The system uses the month-end dates you enter for each month for each year.
In the Date column, enter the day of the month that you consider to be month end. Continue changing dates until you have entered the month-end date for your chosen accounting periods.
Note: If you are defining month-end days for the Default type, or have not indicated a year in the Year field, we recommend that you set the month-end date for February to 29 to accommodate leap years. The system reverts to the 28th if the year is not a leap year.
Use either of the following hot keys, as necessary:
Calendar – Displays the calendar month-end dates. For example, if you are changing the month-end dates for the year 2002, and you realize that you do not want the new dates, use the Cal hot key to change them back. These dates represent the real calendar dates for any given year, for example, in 1996, February had 29 days, because it was a leap year.
Delete – Prompts you to enter Delete to confirm the deletion of the month-end days setup for the type and year combination. You cannot delete the settings for the Default type.
Press Esc to save the information and exit the screen.
Log completely out and back in to the system for the date changes to take effect.