The final process for setting up the General Ledger module for a new company is to enter beginning balances for each account to make sure your accounting system is in balance.
Before You Begin
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If you are setting up the General Ledger module at the beginning of a fiscal year, obtain a Trial Balance for the final (closed) accounting period of the previous fiscal year.
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If you are setting up the General Ledger module in mid-fiscal year, obtain a Trial Balance for the most recent (closed) accounting period.
To enter beginning balances
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Select File > Change Date.
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In the Change Accounting Date window, set the accounting date to the ending date of the last period closed and click OK. For more information, see Change Accounting Date - Fields.
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Select General Ledger Setup menu > General Ledger Options.
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On the Main tab, set the Current Period and Current Fiscal Year fields to the last closed period and year. For more information, see General Ledger Options - Fields. Click Accept.
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To enter the beginning balances, select General Ledger Main menu > General Journal Entry and then perform the following:
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In the Source Journal field, select a source journal to record beginning balances.
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Enter the account numbers and ending balances from the Trial Balance.
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In the Journal Comment field, type Beginning Balance and click Accept.
For more information, see General Journal Entry - Fields.
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Print the General Journal, check the entries for accuracy, and perform the General Journal update to post the beginning balances to the general ledger.
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If you are setting up the General Ledger module at the beginning of a fiscal year, perform year-end processing to create the beginning balances. If you are setting up the General Ledger module in mid-fiscal year, perform period-end processing to create the beginning balances.
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After completing this procedure, if you are setting up the General Ledger module in mid-fiscal year and want to record activity for each closed period of the current year, see Enter Data for Each Period.
You are ready to begin routine processing for the current period.
