The General Ledger feature allows you to track the financial transactions of your business. These transactions can be rent payments, utility payments, supplier shipments, written checks, and most every other financial transaction that can occur within your business. The General Ledger works very much like an interactive bank account statement. Your software can even calculate the current balance of your account based on what checks have cleared. To reach the General Ledger click the Ledger button, or select Edit General Ledger from the Accounting pull-down menu.
The General Ledger feature also allows you to track multiple bank/credit accounts. This is useful for business owners who have more than one business or would like to track personal and business accounts in one software package. Some of the benefits of using the General Ledger:
Each entry can be categorized into an unlimited number of customized categories
Check printing with automatic check numbering
Automatic stock count update if products are received from a supplier
Automatic retail price changing. If wholesale prices change, a new retail price is suggested based on the previous wholesale/retail ratio
Split entry payments where a single entry can be sub-divided into multiple entries, i.e. a single invoice from a supplier can contain multiple items. This invoice can be entered as a single General Ledger entry using the split feature
Each General Ledger entry contains the following information:
Account: assign this entry to a particular account
Date entered: the date the payment or deposit was entered
Check number: the check number for the payment or deposit
Date cleared: the date the deposit or payment has been cleared through the bank
Date voided: the date the transaction has been voided. Voided transactions do not affect the balance
Supplier: supplier of the product
Supplier invoice number: the invoice number associated with this entry
Description/To: person or company that is receiving payment
Comment: comment about the payment
Authorization code: if relevant, the credit card authorization code
PO #: the purchase order ID number associated with this entry
Category: type of payment or deposit
Type: payment or a deposit
Split: allows two types of payments in one transaction, i.e. one half for non-product items: shipping, credit charges or supplier discounts, and the other half for products
Payment Amount: transaction amount
The General Ledger screen also displays the following information:
Balance (Cleared): total figure after deposits and payments go through
Balance (All): total figure including all pending and cleared deposits and payments
Adding Ledger Accounts
Click the Accounts button.
The Accounts screen will appear.
Click the Add Account button.
Enter the account name and click OK.
Click the mouse in the Starting Balance column and enter the starting balance.
Click the OK button.
Repeat Steps 1-6 for each account you would like to add.
Renaming a Ledger Account
Click the Accounts button.
The Accounts screen will appear.
Click on the account to change and click the Rename Account button.
Enter the new name and click OK.
Click OK to return to the ledger.
Deleting a Ledger Account
Deleting an account will not delete the transactions associated with that account in the general ledger, but it will clear the Account field from those transactions.
Click the Accounts button.
The Accounts screen will appear.
Click on the account to delete and click the Delete Account button.
The Delete General Ledger Account? screen will appear.
Click Yes to delete the account.
Click OK to return to the ledger.
Entering an Account Balance
You can enter your business' initial account balance. The balance is sometimes referred to as the "carry-over" balance. This is the account balance at the time when the first ledger entry is made.
Click the Accounts button.
The Accounts screen will appear.
Click in the Starting Balance column of the appropriate account.
Enter the starting balance.
Click OK to return to the ledger.
Adding or Editing a General Ledger Entry
Your software allows you to enter transactions into the General Ledger. You can enter payments or deposits to keep track of your business' finances and better track profit and loss. You can search for General Ledger entries using the Date Range and Search sections located at the bottom of the General Ledger screen.
Click the Add Entry button, or click the entry to edit and then click the Edit Entry button.
The Add Ledger Entry/Edit Ledger Entry screen will appear.
The Add Ledger Entry/Edit Ledger Entry screen has two tabs:
General: this tab contains all the general information about the ledger entry
Check: this tab lets you print checks directly from the ledger
Once the information is filled out, click Save or Save and Add Another to continue.
Ledger - General Tab: enter the ledger entry information.
Click the General tab.
Select the appropriate Account.
Enter the correct date. The day the entry was added will be the default.
Enter the check number or click the Next Check Number button and the software will automatically insert the next unused check number into the Check number field. If you are making a payment or receiving a deposit by another means besides check, such as automatic withdrawal, leave the Check number field blank.
Select the appropriate supplier from the pull-down list. If it is a new supplier, click the Add New Supplier button and enter in the appropriate information. If it is an existing supplier that requires updating, click on the Edit Supplier button and enter the appropriate information.
Enter the supplier invoice number if applicable.
Enter the description for whom the check is made payable if applicable.
The Comment field is available to note other information that is relevant to the transaction.
Select the Category from the pull-down list. The Category is the type of transaction, payroll, utilities, expenses, etc. Click the Edit button to modify the category information if desired.
Select if the transaction is a Payment or a Deposit from the Type field.
Enter in the appropriate transaction amount. If you would like to split how a transaction is tracked, click the Split button.
The Split Details section will appear. The Split Details section is divided into two areas:
General: all non-product items, shipping charges, etc.
Products: all product items received.
Click the Add Row button next to the General section.
Select the Category.
Enter a Description and Amount.
Click the Add Row button next to the Products section.
Select the Category.
Enter the Product ID.
If the Product ID is already in your database, the Description, Unit Price, and Amount will automatically appear. If the wholesale price has changed, type in the appropriate amount in the Unit Price field. If the Product ID is not in the database, you will be prompted you to add it.
Enter the quantity received.
The software will automatically compare the amount entered in the Split Details section to the amount of the transaction. The difference will appear in the Difference from Payment/Deposit Amount listed above field.
Click the Fix button.
You will be prompted to Change Payment Amount or Add Adjustment to account for the discrepancy.
Click OK after making your selection.
If you check the Update pricing and stock after saving box, the software will automatically perform a pricing check and a stock count update.
The Pricing and Stock Count Update screen will appear.
Your current and new, or suggested wholesale, retail, quantity on order, and stock count will be displayed. When the software "suggests" the new pricing, the ratio of wholesale to retail price for the current prices are used.
Select Update or Don't Update as appropriate. If you follow the General Ledger instructions, there should be no need to update products on the Ordering screen.
Click the Save or Save and Add Another button to save the information.
Ledger - Check Tab: print a check for a ledger entry.
Click the Check tab.
If this is your first time printing checks, click the Check Setup button. If not, skip to Step 3.
The Edit Check Format screen will appear.
You can adjust the format, spacing, and alignment of how each check is printed. It is recommended that while you are adjusting the settings, you use a blank sheet of paper in the printer to practice on. After you print your first test check, you can hold the paper next to the check and adjust the settings accordingly.
Click the OK button after your check settings are correct.
Click Print This Check Now.
The Printing Options screen will appear.
Make your selections and click Print.
Deleting a General Ledger Entry
Click to highlight the entry to be deleted.
Click the Delete Entry button.
The Are You Sure? screen will appear.
Confirm your selection and click the Yes button to permanently delete the ledger entry.
General Ledger Category Search and Replace: you can easily do a general ledger category search and replace, i.e. this would allow you to replace all categories called, "Utilities" with a category called, "Utilities: Location One". The ledger category must be added before it can be used to replace a previous entry.
Select Ledger Category Replace from the Accounting pull-down menu.
The Category Search and Replace screen will appear.
Select the category that you wish to replace from the Search for category called field.
Select the category that you wish to have the item in Step 3 replaced with from the Replace with field.
Click the Replace button.
All ledger entries will be searched and replaced according to your specifications.
Move General Ledger Entries: your software gives users the ability to move ledger entries between accounts quickly and easily.
Click to highlight the entry or entries to be moved.
Click Move Entries.
The Move Entries to Different Account window will appear.
Select the account from the pull-down list to which you would like to move the entry or entries. The account must already exist in the database.
Click OK.
Printing the General Ledger Entry: the information that is displayed on the screen is the information that will print.
Click the Customize View button on the left to add or remove columns as desired.
You can use the Add, Remove, Move Up, and Move Down buttons to customize the information to view.
Click OK to return to the General Ledger screen.
Make the appropriate selections in the Date Range and Search sections to display what you would like printed from the General Ledger screen.
Sort to the desired display by clicking a column heading, such as Account.
Click the Print List button.
The Printing Options screen will appear.
Select the printer and page range options and click Print.