March 25, 2010

GPTip42day - FRx - How do I setup my Balance Sheet to reflect current YTD balances before I've closed the previous fiscal year?


This is a common issue when you leave the previous fiscal year open into the new fiscal year.  Because the new BS balances haven't been rolled forward yet, the balance sheet is inaccurate.  Here's how to resolve it.

1.  In the Row Format, use 3 rows to calculate Retained Earnings.  The first row reflects the prior year RE account balance.  The second row reflects the total of all P&L accounts.  Make these two rows non-printing.  The third row is the total of the first two.  Make this a printing row.  In conjunction with what we're going to do in the Column Layout, Retained Earnings for the current year will be correct.

* click image to enlarge

2.  In the Column Layout, use 3 columns to calculate the current year balances.  The first column reflects the prior fiscal year account balances.  The second column reflects current year activity.  Make these two columns non-printing.  The third column is the total of the first two.  Make this a printing column.

* click image to enlarge

Voila.  A current year balance sheet before the prior year is closed.

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