User of Sage thinking about a cheaper alternative and have downloaded VT.
This relates to creditors.
Getting my knickers in a twist here and trying to keep it simple.
Sage opening balances are simple, post transactions into control account, so creditors can be split out into individual transactions to match the trial balance total, simple.
VT is completly confusing me as it says you can enter individual transactions but have to use the
Creditors contra account and then when post the trial balance figure it cancels it out.
I am getting a debit balance in the Contra account for the individual transactions, so if I post the credit balance from the trial balance that would net to zero!
I have got everything to work now as I have ignored the contra account, very reluctant to go down that route as it no doubts complicates reconcilling it at a later date. I cannot begin to think if it did not reconcille to zero! I entered the o/b through the journal and entered the individual transactions for the creditors and debtors account through the journal as well, setting up the accounts on the fly. All works, done a bank rec as well.
With regard to the comments above
1. Bill still do not understand why the contra account should match to zero as I cannot see the double entry? It has got me thinking about setting up part way through the year without a trial balance to work from as I think this is related, I just cannot see the double entries at present.
Can you please give me the double entry with a working, then I will understand it.
2. Shaun, you post the opening balance seperately, how do you get the journal to post? i.e. if the o/b for creditors is £1000, then the other side will be a debit, but for which debit? i.e. the trial balance gives debits across different nominals, so how can you be sure
I think I could get used to using this software once I have got to grips with it further!
-- Edited by Kentfunny on Wednesday 27th of June 2012 07:21:50 PM
If you have a set of debit and credit balances which form the last trial balance, by definition they balance (don't they?). In other words, the sum of all the credits - the sum of all the debits = zero.
So if you take a new system and add each of those balances in, and the opposite side of those entries are automatically added into a "Contra" account, then once you have entered all the balances which sum to zero, then the Contra account will also sum to zero (i.e. the sum of all the credits which are the opposite side of all the debit balances - the sum of all the debits which are the opposite side of all the credit balances = zero, as before).
So when you enter the (opening) credit balance for the Creditors, the other side is a debit entry to the Contra account.
-- Edited by Rob-f58049 on Wednesday 27th of June 2012 07:28:14 PM
Once you get used to VT you will only reluctantly ever use sage again.
The Opening Balance Contra a/c is similar to the Sage Suspense a/c, insomuch when you enter an opening balance, you post the other entry to contra account. In theory, when all opening balances are entered the contra account should be nill.
I prefer to use the Journal> Trial balance Style option from the toolbar, as you can see what is going on as you enter (you can also add new supplier/ customer accounts on the fly)
As Bill says, once you get used to it you will never go back.
Generally I start with the previous accounts and put all of the opening figures into VT then push through VT Accounts package to ensure that everything comes out as expected.
I journal every opening balance entry seperately even though you could do the whole lot in a single journal as is helps when chasing discrepancies to see the opening information in the transaction list.
On initial setup I also go back one year and the opening balances that I use are from two years back so that I have a full set of figures for the prior year before taking over. You don't need to do that but I find it really helps to ensure that (a) VT comes to exactly the same answer as the existing software, and (b) you really understand the business that you are taking over (and the mind of the previous accountant)... Probably not a viable option though if you have thousands of transactions that need to be reentered but certainly worth the extra time for just a few hundred transactions.
Like yourself it took a little while to get used to VT and the first time that I used it I ended up with the figures totally messed up to the point where I found it better to scrap the data and start again.
I think that I would have found the product a lot more difficult to pick up from just VT Ttransaction+ than by using VT Accounts so that you can see all of the workings.
Even if you do not intend to buy VT Accounts it might be worth it for your first couple of months of getting used to VT Transaction+ to have the sixty day trial in order to help you with your understanding of how the product is using the information that you type in.
If it turns into a horrible mess then just move the VTR file to a backups folder, delete it from the list and start again.
Also worth doing the excercise several times for starters just to really get used to the product.
As I said in my first line and Bill indicated in his post, once you've mastered it you will regard Sage with nothing but contempt for how difficult and user unfreindly it makes the simplest tasks.... And don't even get me onto Sage licencing / client tax.
HTH,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
1. Bill still do not understand why the contra account should match to zero as I cannot see the double entry? It has got me thinking about setting up part way through the year without a trial balance to work from as I think this is related, I just cannot see the double entries at present.
Can you please give me the double entry with a working, then I will understand it.
I'll try but not sure how the formatting will come out.
Just using simple examples but the end result is that the Contra A/c balnces, which will have a net affect of zeroing the a/c
