Module(s) Affected: All Modules

DESCRIPTION

It is possible that when performing your year-end closing process you will stumble upon a few system-generated errors. These errors, no matter how trivial, can stand in the way of an efficient and effective year-end closing. This document aims to assist you in evaluating and resolving some of the errors that you may encounter when closing the period, transferring data to GL, generating the GL Transfer Report, or closing the fiscal year. It helps identify which setup needs to be corrected, or which record must be verified for missing or erroneous values in order to resolve the error.

Note: Use the Table Browser and Exporter function in the Utilities menu to browse the tables. This document does NOT include a discussion on how to use Visual FoxPro (VFP) or SQL to fix the data.

SOLUTION

This section discusses the most common errors that may be encountered when closing the period or fiscal year, when transferring data to GL, or running the GL Transfer Report. The possible causes are identified and solutions are proposed for each error listed.

Error: Account ID has not been entered.
Cause: The Retained Earnings Account field in GL Module Setup is empty.
Solution: Enter a valid and active GL Account ID in the Retained Earnings Account field.

Error: Retained Earnings Account has not been entered.
Cause: No GL Account ID is assigned to the Retained Earnings Account field of the GL Module Setup function. This is a variation of the previous error message.
Solution: Enter in the Retained Earnings Account field a valid and active GL Account ID.

Error: Retained Earnings Account [xxx] is Inactive.
Cause: The designated Retained Earnings GL Account ID has an inactive status.
Solution: Verify that the status of the GL Account ID assigned to the Retained Earnings Account field in GL Module Setup is set to Active in Chart of Accounts Maintenance. If the currently assigned Retained Earnings Account is outdated, replace it with a valid and active GL Account ID.

Error: Account ID does not exist / Invalid Account ID.
Cause: The Account Balances (GLABAL) table contains a GL Account ID (cAcctID) that does not exist in the Chart of Accounts Maintenance file (GLACCT).
Solution: Assign a valid GL Account ID to all records in GLABAL. Verify that the cAcctID field in GLABAL is not empty and that all the GL Account IDs assigned to the records in GLABAL exist in GLACCT. If they do not exist in GLACCT but they are valid accounts, add them back using the Chart of Accounts Maintenance function.

Error: Account ID is inactive / Invalid Account ID
Cause: The Account Balances (GLABAL) table contains an inactive GL Account ID.
Solution: Verify that all GL Account IDs assigned to the records in GLABAL are set to ‘Active’ in the Chart of Accounts Maintenance file (GLACCT).

Error: Unposted Batch for prior year exists.
Cause: There are un-posted journal entries for the prior fiscal year.
Solution: Generate the Unposted Journal Entries Report and review the un-posted journal entries; then, post all unposted journal entry batches using the Post JE Batch to GL function.

Error: Cannot close year [xxx]. [Module] is behind.
Cause: The current period of the subsidiary module mentioned in the error is in the fiscal year that is about to be closed.
Solution: Close all the periods of the subsidiary modules until they advance to the first period of the next fiscal year. Verify that the next fiscal year is shown in the Current Period field of the Module Setup’s General (1) tab.

Error: Posting period is closed for Invoice date xx/xx/xx.
Cause: The period to which you are attempting to post the invoice is restricted for posting.
Solution: Access the Posting Period Restrictions function in the Housekeeping menu of the GL module. Unmark the checkboxes for the modules and periods to which you want to post invoice transactions.

Error: Transfer Date is not defined.
Cause: There are transactions that either have no post dates or their post dates do not belong to any of the supported fiscal periods and years.
Solution: In the tables that store the transaction records, verify that all records are assigned valid transaction dates.

Error: Bank ID [xxx] Check Disbursements/Deposits/Transfers are out of balance.
Cause: The bank account specified in the error has incomplete bank reconciliation such that the information from bank does not match the information from system. This validation is only done in AccountMate 6.5 for SQL, MSDE and LAN.
Solution: Complete the reconciliation for all bank accounts.

Error: Fund ID [xxx] is out of balance by [xxx].
Cause: The debits and credits of the fund specified in the error are out of balance.
Solution: Verify that the Enable Automatic Interfund Balancing feature is activated in GL Module Setup’s Fund Accounting Setup tab.

Error: Total is out of balance by [xxx]. Do you want to print the out of balance report?
Cause: Debits and credits in the journal entry batch that will be created by the period-end closing or transfer process are out of balance.
Solution: Click “Yes” when asked to generate the transfer error report and use the report to fix the data.

Error: Cannot continue with this function. Year/Period-End closing function is in process.
Cause: Either period-end/fiscal year-end closing is still in progress or it failed due to errors causing AccountMate to lock the functions.
Solution: Release the Period-End Closing Lock using the Data Manager function in the Utilities menu. Be sure to restore the backup before resuming year/period-end closing or data entry.

The little things you do throughout the year could affect your period-end and year-end closing process. Even the environmental factors could have an impact on your ability to close the period or year successfully. Sometimes, no matter how careful or cautious you are, there may be circumstances beyond your control that could cause errors during the closing. This article will help get you through the little bumps in the road if and when they do occur.

If you need more information or if you have any questions, please contact us.

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