Old Client, following accountants completed records and is their adjustments. Using Quickbooks which doesn't run a Year End as such. Accountant wants first day of new period.

There is no Year end in Quickbooks, or at least on my version.

I have Premier Accountant version and yes the Year end date is in the company settings, so the reports start from the correct date. It automatically switches to the next financial year when you go past the year end date.

For some reason there is no audit trail for that particular year - 14/15

What about individual cost code activity? Look at one that was used last year, but not much, say rent, or stationary. Can you get a report, or just look at the cost code entries in any way.

I have a Donnie's old version of QB, you used to be able to double click on the cost code to get the detail behind it.

I went onto the COA and clicked on Miscellaneous Expenses, as an example, for the report and I can still a report showing transactions from 14/15.

abacus12345 wrote:

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True that - sometimes some things do transfer over to other versions. I'd have thought that somewhere there would be a audit trail. So is the aim to get last years P/L into this years retained?

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 Absolutely, as I said, always worth checking.  

but, no the aim is to do the Accountants adjustments, but before that proving what the system has already done for Sammy.

No I need to journal the adjustments the accountant has sent, but for the Income/Expenses he's just put P&L AC with the adjustment figure, but Quickbooks lists everything individually, so I didn't know how to enter the adjustment. Do I need to set up a sep P&L account on the COA and journal all the Income/Expenses to that so I can make the adjustment ??

Had another ferret round google and is as I expected - QB does its own year end entries. Might be easier to see these in your retained earnings account, so if you can get an activity report on that and post it here (just delete any identifying features)

Just trying to wind up my ancient PC to have a look - but it might be a while as I need to do some other stuff, but I can see you have gone offline anyway just now.

Sammy76 wrote:

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No I need to journal the adjustments the accountant has sent, but for the Income/Expenses he's just put P&L AC with the adjustment figure, but Quickbooks lists everything individually, so I didn't know how to enter the adjustment. Do I need to set up a sep P&L account on the COA and journal all the Income/Expenses to that so I can make the adjustment ??

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You need to allocate it to the same place as the balances have already gone to.  Sounds like your chart of accounts may be corrupted.  so lets try something else - go to chart and look for anything called retained earnings/reserves/even P&L and see if there is a balance in it.  Also - get the report from that misc expenses account and check what was dumped out of it on 1st day of the next financial period.  

Ive just looked at my ancient quick books and the year end clear out was done on the 1st day of the next period.  Weird how quickly you can forget, but it was from the early 2000s.

What date is their actual year end?

Can you please post an activity screen shot of one of the expenses accounts or better still the sales account from the last two weeks of the old year and the first week of the new.

Also a screen shot of the Company information page (excluding their name and address info as mentioned earlier)

I assumed it was a ltd company. Shouldn't have, but such info helps.

So what date was the closing entry done? 1st April? That's your equivalent of the dump to reserves I'm guessing.....double check it with a few more.

Has the accountant asked you to move some out of there in the adjustments he has sent to you?

Another Question - there are adjustments for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable but QBs won't let me do both? How do I get around that?

Sammy76 wrote:

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Another Question - there are adjustments for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable but QBs won't let me do both? How do I get around that?

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 You may recall - this was one of my first questions. Do you have the specific adjustments for each of the customers/suppliers?  Once you have this you can process it, sometimes through a suspense account (software dependent often).  Ive had this before from An Accountant - might be a 'test'!   Sometimes they just forget, or maybe just being unhelpful - only you can know from the relationship you have with them.

Dont forget to back up your data before you try to key anything.

Before you contact him - have a look and consider the following:-

Does the sum of the invoice numbers mentioned total the adjustment? Have these invoice numbers been keyed AFTER the year end and if so - why? Or the other way round? Ie are they being accounted for in the correct period or have you just mis-keyed something re the dates? Do you have them at all? You need to make sure you dont double count them and that they are reflected in the correct period end. Or is he expecting credit notes to be keyed - only you can see which way his adjustments are on the TB.

To be honest I wouldnt email, but do that over the phone so you can then ask any further questions more easily as your discussion progresses. There is bound to be something else cropping up as you go along - just as there has been here. Also you can then ask him if you can be doing anything differently. Its a good way to learn (assuming the Accountant is doing it correctly of course!)

-- Edited by Cheshire on Saturday 11th of June 2016 01:30:14 PM

Right, I'm confused now. You said earlier you only do his accounts once a year, yet now you say you are doing his VAT? Do you actually mean, the customer does his vat manually, from his records and you try to replicate it at the year end on quick books?

If so, do you check the VAT matches his?

You should be doing the VAT dependent on the actual scheme, not on how he presents things to you, so you need written proof of his scheme.

That said the date of the invoices will not affect the cash accounting scheme, but they will the standard scheme, so I'm note sure what you mean there.

You haven't really answered my questions about the dates on the invoices. Sorry but I can't help unless my Qs are answered in full. So should the invoices have been in the previous year end. Eg maybe they are dated April, but for services in March? Is he actually asking you to do the adjustment to the debtors CONTROL account or suggesting these should be showing as an accrual?

Fixed rate? Your fee?

Sorry, I've been awol since you posted last - busy with kids/work etc.

I took on the bookkeeping last year and had to do a years accounts. He is on Flat rate VAT, and because he was calculating the VAT incorrectly (CIS scheme - he was calculating the flat rate after deducting the CIS), he asked me to do his VAT as well. It is done manually as my QB doesn't do Flat rate - I go to his office and do this, and then tell him what needs to go on the return, which he then files. After clarifying things with his accountant last year, I was calculating the VAT on what money he receives in the period not the date of the invoices - this was agreed last year, and is how I've been doing it since. Then once a year he is giving me his Year's paperwork for me to record for the accountant.

As far as I was aware, there should be no debtors/creditors as of the year end, but his accountant has given me a list now, which is why it has thrown me. All the invoices on the list are ones that the client had given me as Year 15/16, which I have allocated to 15/16 - It took two months to get the TB adjustments so I carried on with what I had otherwise he'd still be waiting for his paperwork back.

Hope that makes more sense now.

Did you sort it Sammy?

So Im assuming you have sorted the year end adjustments, as you dont actually say.

Even if you do his work at his place, you surely could then take the work back with you to input there and then whilst its fresh in the mind and not have such a big job once a year, but that part is obviously up to you.

I dont understand why you cant change your VAT to flat rate in an Accountants version of Quick books, unless you dont have administrator access, so assuming this is your own software, then you should have this access.

If not then you can still run the flat rate scheme (in any accounting software) by doing various journals.

But im still at a loss as to what it is you are running through quickbooks - whether you are running his data quarterly or annually if you are not doing the VAT scheme in some way via the software - otherwise your quickbooks data will be wrong as it is not taking into account any VAT.

But I fear we are going round in circles - as long as you understand now what it is the Accountant is asking that is that sorted.

Hike your fees for doing it annually - tell him it cost more to touch everything twice!

Oh and always ask the questions - you dont ask then you dont get the information you required. Go armed with a FULL list of questions, whether it is to the Accountant or the client. Im assuming the client told the Accountant you were taking over? Which might explain the lack of detail in the handover - some are like that. But you show professionalism by asking the right sorts of questions and this is one of those Qs. I have a set list I take out to every new client, but also by asking open questions I glean a lot in one go. Also - never ever believe a client 100% at face value. If they are on the flat rate cash based they will have it in writing from HMRC in a letter, or via their online account - ask to see that AND their VAT certificate.