We’ve been discussing the year-end close for Microsoft Dynamics GP lately. Today let’s look at closing the General Ledger. The year-end close for the General Ledger should be done after you have closed all other modules in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
This process will close all Profit and Loss accounts to the Retained Earnings account. All Balance Sheet account balances will be rolled forward to the new year via the creation of Balance Brought Forward entries. All General Ledger open records will be moved to the historical table, and inactive accounts without a balance and with no historical transactions will be removed. The year that you are closing will be marked as historical. If installed and activated, the Analytical Accounting module will be automatically closed along with the General Ledger (GL).
You can get a detailed checklist for the year-end close process, along with a suggested order for closing the modules of Microsoft Dynamics GP, here. Remember to always have a current backup before you close the year. If you receive any errors during the year-end close process, you may need to restore your backup. Also remember that no users should be logged on to Microsoft Dynamics GP during the year-end close.
The most common type of problem Microsoft sees with the year-end close process involves the account posting types, such Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss, not being set correctly before the year-end close takes place. Though time-consuming, it is essential that you review all GL account types beforehand, so as to avoid an unwanted balance being closed or carried forward, or an incorrect Retained Earnings amount being generated.
