Year end routines (closing/opening books)

Gil121438

I just purchased "express accounts" and need to know how you close the books at the end of the year and open the accounts for the new year

Gil121438

diquijada

I have the same question, can someone reply please and thank you.

Wayne_McNeil

Gil121438 wrote:

I just purchased "express accounts" and need to know how you close the books at the end of the year and open the accounts for the new year

Gil121438

I think before you can close of any account for year end it should be done through a general journal transaction. Expense accounts will be required a credit amount and then apply the dr amount to balance it to where ever it needs to go.

JaxonBainton

I'm not sure why you do it, but I know that everyone should do something unique at the end of their years. It makes them feel special and different from other people. I've had a few ideas over the years, some successful and some not so much, eg. I got Book Writing Services on the internet that give me best results. For instance, I would like to make a big list of all my accomplishments in life and then write down every single person who helped me achieve these things. Then I would go through each one and thank them personally for their contribution.

n1x1

Hi @[deleted]

Express Accounts runs on a rolling year. That is to say, there is no function in which to end or close a financial year at its conclusion. Unlike some other accounting software products, Express Accounts does not work on current year earnings and retained earnings basis, but rather the retained earnings account is an ongoing account that records any money earned or lost during previous financial years in addition to current year earnings. This means that the retained earnings account in Express Accounts is a record of all the money to date that the company has earned.

Auyuittuq

Not being an accountant, I wanted to know more about the "rolling year" concept. My exposure to bookkeeping software has included year-end roll-overs with income & expense accounts being zeroed out. Here's what I got on the topic from Microsoft's AI Copilot:

From MS AI Copilot:

Explain rolling year concept in financial bookkeeping

Copilot A rolling year in financial bookkeeping is a dynamic 12-month period that moves forward in time, day by day. It's like a conveyor belt of time, constantly updating to include the most recent 12 months. Unlike a calendar year, which is fixed from January to December, a rolling year adjusts to keep the latest data relevant. This helps businesses track performance and trends on a real-time basis, without waiting for year-end reports. Want to delve into how it's applied practically?

You how is rolling year applied practically

Copilot Let's say a company wants to monitor its sales performance continuously. Instead of waiting for a calendar year-end, it uses a rolling year to always keep the last 12 months' data fresh. This helps in spotting trends and making quick decisions. For example, if sales dip in a specific month, they can see it right away and investigate the cause, instead of waiting until the year ends. It’s a bit like having a rolling report card. Companies use this to stay agile and responsive to changes. Cool, right?

You Can previous years reports be generated with rolling year

Copilot Sure thing. You can still generate reports for previous periods using rolling year data; it just involves a bit of data handling. By selecting a specific 12-month range in the past, you can analyze that period as if it were a standalone year. This is useful for comparisons or trend analysis to see how things stack up across different periods. It's like rewinding and pausing your favorite show at any moment to scrutinize the plot twists.

So it would seem that Express Accounts retains all entered transactions forever and generates reports for the time period specified. I just installed Express Accounts this week so haven't much experience. I experimented with income statement which offered time periods of current year (which I believe is determined by the date specified in the Accounts/Options/ section) or the previous year. Don't know how it might work for custom time periods. There doesn't appear to be an option for specifying such. Also don't know how one would get reports for two or more years back when the drop down menu only offers previous year.

I'd appreciate an explanation of how custom time periods or years more than 1 year back could be reported by Express Accounts.

Auyuittuq

NCH tech support gets credit for the answer!

Income statement drop down menu has an option, select period, for custom start and end dates which can be used for earlier years.

I originally thought that the drop down menu adjusted those dates automatically (which it does for listed choices), but they can be changed independently when select period is chosen.