This article applies as follows:
To the Suppliers and Customers modules.
If you use the Period-Based Attaché accounting method. It is important to only use this article if you use the Period-Based method. If you are unsure which method you use in the above modules (they can use different methods), refer to Date or Period Based accounting in Attaché.
When a document arrives, or a transaction needs to be recorded that is late:
A document is late when it is dated in a prior reporting period or prior year.
And the transaction needs to be reported in that prior period for Accounting, Audit or GST purposes and so cannot be recorded in the current period/month/year.
Late transactions occur when:
the documentation for them is delayed which prevents them from being entered in Access Attaché.
an error is made, such as a procedure being missed, the document being misplaced or delayed internally, etc.
Restrictions in Period Based
When using Period-Based Suppliers in Attaché late arriving invoices must be entered in the current period and are aged accordingly. There is no way to enter a transaction to a prior sub-module (Customers or Suppliers) period once Period End is run in that module.
It is always recommended to have all Supplier records reconcile for a period. These records include the GL control accounts, Supplier Aged Trial Balance, Period End Report, Trial Balance, Financial Reports and the BAS / GST Return. This is accomplished by strictly posting transactions to the current GL period and BAS / GST Return.
Holding a period/year open in Period Based
For any business, it is important to record all transactions for a reporting period / GL Period / set of Financial Reports in the correct period.
With Period-Based, this is done by delaying the End of Period / End of Year procedure until all transactions for the period have been entered. For Customers this may mean a few days. For Suppliers perhaps a few weeks.
The point to note is that we try to avoid late arriving transactions by allowing time for all transactions for a period to be picked up.
Where to enter late transactions from prior years
All transactions entered to modules, such as Customers and Suppliers, must ALWAYS be entered in your LIVE company. NOT your History Company. This is because your Live Company should always be the company you are paying your Suppliers from, managing your Debtors in, receiving your customer payments in, doing your Bank Reconciliations in, etc.
In your history company, you should only enter GL entries and in certain situations Asset Management transactions such as:
General Journals.
Receipts and Payments Journals.
Journals From Other Modules.
Any Asset Management transaction.
GL entries will update closing GL balances in your history Company, which are then imported into your Live Company (see section below). However, anything entered in a sub-module in your History Company will NOT carry forward to the sub-module in your live company. Hence the above note. Asset Management is the exception to this but only in certain situations.
📌Note: the above rule also applies to Products. All Product transactions must only be entered in the Live company.
Dealing with late transactions in Period Based
While in the sub-module you can only enter transactions in the current period, posting to the GL and to the BAS / GST Return is not restricted to the current period or year. So, it therefore becomes possible to post late arriving invoices/transactions to an earlier period or year in both the GL and/or BAS / GST Return and as such take up the late transaction in the correct reporting period.
The consequence of doing this is that the printed Aged Trial Balance and other period-based reports for the sub-module will not balance with the GL or with the BAS in the earlier period. However, if appropriate workpapers are kept, the imbalance can be noted and will right itself in a subsequent period.
Mostly you would consider posting to an earlier GL period or BAS or GST Return if the invoice was material in value and as such could significantly impact your financial reports and/or tax liability. Otherwise, it is recommended to post correctly and maintain reconciled period records.
How to enter late arriving transactions (within a GL year live company)
To post late arriving invoices to a prior GL, BAS or GST Return period:
Run a General Ledger Postings report or BAS Allocations Report or GST Return Allocations Report as appropriate with a date range to ensure that only the transactions you want to post to the prior period are listed in the report.
If more transactions list in the report than you want to post to the prior period then adjust the ranges for the report, or corrections may be necessary to the transactions/invoices.
Print the above report to pdf as a record for your month end reports. It will explain any variance caused by posting to an earlier period.
Use either Post from Other Modules or BAS Update or GST Return Update as appropriate. Select the required period and ensure a date range similar to the report at Step 1 is entered so that only the required transactions are posted.
How to enter late arriving transactions (for a prior GL year history company)
In Period-Based, late arriving transactions must be entered in the current period in the Live Company and will affect totals for that period. However, the GL entries for these transactions can be picked up in a prior period with the resulting effect of the period reports for that prior period no longer balancing with the GL. So long as the cause of this imbalance is recorded, understanding that the transaction needs to be recognised in that prior period, the temporary imbalance is acceptable. The imbalance will correct itself in the current period.
For example, a late arriving Supplier Invoice:
Enter the supplier invoice in your LIVE company, as you normally would.
Ensure you enter the date as it appears on the document, ie: dated in the last financial year.
Go to General Ledger, Reports, Transactions, Other Modules Posting Rpt.
Print the report to screen for a Date Range of Last Financial Year for the Suppliers module (in our example).
Check that only transactions that should be posted to the Last Year company have displayed in the report.
Output the report to pdf and file with you End of Year workpapers.
Open your History Company.
Go to General Ledger, Transactions, Other Modules, Post from Other Modules.
The Period Number would generally be left as the last period, typically 12.
Tick From Other Company.
Select your Live company in Other Company.
Select the Module you wish to post (Suppliers in this example).
Select Adjust Supplier Settings (or the module you need).
Fill in the lower section, most importantly the Date Range, so that only Last Year transactions will be posted.
Accept F9 to Post.
Update Opening GL Balances in your live company, see: Import opening balances after entering last year adjustments.