I was hoping someone could help me out with the following. I received the 2015 changes to my Sage accounts from the Accountants in December. I posted all the journals they sent over into the P&L account as my 2015 sage was closed. One of the journals was to write off the bad debts and clean up the creditors. Due to this the Sales/Purchase aged balances disagrees with the control accounts. Could you tell me the best way to write them off in 2016? Im unsure as to whether I should to credit notes in 2016 and post to a different nominal?
Hi Claire
If the Accountant was suggesting changes to the creditors accounts they should not have just given you journals to do, but also advised which of the creditors accounts were impacted with a breakdown of what wanted keying. Ive seen it happen a lot where Accountants provide half the information and forget to include the other half.
So - easiest way is to restore the sage to what it was before the adjustments were completed and go back to the accountant for the detail so that the corrections can all be done at the same time.
A key part of information is to whether the adjustments are to be done on the last working day or the first working day. Im a last working day believer but there are many out there who dont agree - you need to check that with your accountant.
Also - are you VAT registered? Makes a different to the bad debt entries. Are they ALL more than 6months old and less than 4 years old?
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
They said I should post them on the 31st December 2015 which I have done. I do know the breakdown of what is been written off and what nominal they are under. Do I do credit notes on the 01/01/2016 to cancel them out? Also should I post to Bad debts or to the nominal they are currently posted to?
Yes I am VAT registered. 1 is less than 6 months old and 2 are more than 4 years old. The rest are in the period.
Sorry but this forum is actually for Professional bookkeepers and Accountants so all I can suggest is:-
hint - have a look at the VAT rules - you cannot reclaim the VAT on items over a certain period, nor on debts less than 6 months old until it 'comes of age'. You may of course already know this.
For everything else I would refer you back to your Accountant to explain what you need to do - after all you have paid him already for such hand holding and they will tell you the dates to use, plus the relevant nominal codes and the relevant T codes on your entries.
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
The best way to write off/on debtor/creditor balances is to use the Write Offs & Returns functionality under the Customers/Suppliers sections. That way it uses the correct S or P transaction type and doesn't throw the aged balance out from the control account balance. It is generally a bad idea to process journals (JD/JC) to the control accounts (unless the net effect is nil). Maybe reverse them and do it the "recommended" way?
HTH.
Regards,
[Edit] added (unless the net effect is nil) - as would be the case if using the Sage recommended way of recording an Opening TB. -- Edited by Onion4Sage on Thursday 12th of January 2017 02:18:25 PM
-- Edited by Onion4Sage on Thursday 12th of January 2017 02:26:08 PM
I am a Bookkeeper. I have contacted the Accountant for more information, I just wasn't 100% on the information already received.
Kind Regards
C
Hi Claire
Sorry - it was just the way you described the situation it sounded like you were a business owner, and also with having quite a few bad debts.
Perhaps an idea if, whilst youve been on here for a while, that you do a little background info as this helps pitch future answers, although of course you now have Ian's response. eg experience in role/do you or have you worked for an Accountants/do you have your own clients now/what is your background pre bookkeeping/what prof body are you with/exams passed to date/which exams you are studying currently.
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Thank you for your reply. Yes Joanne, I should have said the company is vat registered rather than 'I am'.
I have worked in Accounts for a good few years but haven't got much experience with the year end side of things. I am now in a bookkeeping role which I am responsible for this now. I have received the journals back from the Accountants and am finding the whole situation very stressful. I have asked for more information but the answers arent very helpful.
Hopefully I will figure it out!
Thanks for your help
C
Hi Claire
Ok a few Qs -
Just to clarify - you had already run the year end routine in sage?
What sage - type/year (version)
Is it just the bad debts you are struggling with now or all the year end journals?
If its all - please post a copy of the adjustments received from the Accountant (with identifying features stripped out) OR send me them on a PM (you can message me clicking on my profile name) and I will take a look - if you like
If its just the bad debts - do you understand/have tried what Ian has suggested. (care re your VAT return dates and what you can and cannot claim - let us know if you are unsure). If you are having a go - make sure you take a couple of backups and so you can do a restore if it goes pear shaped.
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
