Overview of Reporting Future Periods:

The month end Preliminary/Final GL Report (GL81), which prepares the period end balance for each GL Account for reporting purposes, can only be run for the current period open. If, at any time, financial reports are required for a future period, a different suite of programs is used. This scenario is very typical at year end, when period 12 is often left open for several months awaiting year end auditor's adjustments, but in the meantime you require up-to-date financial reports.

The programs within the 'Reporting Future Periods' suite of programs use their own special files to produce future financials. The key program is Prepare Work Files (GL72). This program makes a copy of the Live GL files and then simulates doing month end closings. GL72 starts with the balance of the last closed period and works through the GL Collector file picking up all transactions up to the desired reporting period. The resulting Work (Copied) files are then used by all other Future Reporting programs.

• If the future period being reported crosses over a year-end, then GL72 will also simulate closing the year. For example, period 12 is the current period open and you wish to report period 02. GL72 simulates closing Period 12, year-end will be performed (including entries to close Income and Expenses to Retained Earnings being written into the Work GL Collector File) and then period 01 and 02 will be closed.

• If Accrual entries (from Enter Journal Vouchers (GL30)) exist in the GL Collector File, GL72 will simulate posting the reversing entry into the Work GL Collector File; the reversing entries will be reflected in the future financials but not in the Live balance of the account (in GL45 or GL50).

• If Standard Journal entries (from Post Standard Journals (GL80)) have been posted into future periods, they exist in the Live GL Collector File and will, therefore, automatically be included in the Work GL Collector File and on the future financials.

• You cannot post Standard Allocations (from Post Standard Allocations (GL82)) into a future period; they will not exist in the Live GL Collector File. GL72 does not simulate composing Standard Allocation entries into the Work GL Collector File and, therefore, are not reflected in the future financials.

• The Work files can be re-generated at any time to include any new postings entered into the Live GL Collector File or changes to the Live report parameters. Reports can be re-run accordingly.

• You can generate future reports up to period 12 of the Next fiscal year.

• Any future reports produced using the Future Reporting suite of programs are for preview purposes only. They do not preclude you from officially closing a fiscal period and printing final copies of the financials from the Live files once year end has been performed.

Click on the links above for more details on the programs in this section.