About accounting dates

The accounting date is the date that determines the period in which an entry appears on a financial statement.

In Ajera, you can do one of the following:

Enter the accounting date yourself	Select the Enter Accounting Dates check box in Company > Preferences
Allow Ajera to enter the accounting date for you

Enter the accounting date for each task.

For this option, select the Enter Accounting Dates check box in Company > Preferences. When you perform tasks that require an accounting date, Ajera enters the earliest valid date, which you can change.

Allow Ajera to enter the accounting date for you.

For this option, clear the Enter Accounting Dates check box in Company > Preferences. When you perform tasks that require an accounting date, Ajera enters the earliest valid date, which you can change.

To determine valid dates and assign accounting dates, Ajera uses the dates you enter in these fields:

Multi-company only. The Don't Allow Entries Prior To date must fall after the last beginning balance date of all your companies to prevent invalid general ledger entries.

Example

You have three companies with beginning balance dates of May 31, 2012; June 30, 2012; and July 31; 2012. Enter August 1, 2012, in the Don't Allow Entries Prior To field.

Ajera determines accounting dates differently depending on the task:

When you enter a new transaction

When you enter transactions for tasks from the Manage menu, Ajera makes the necessary debit and credit entries for financial reporting. It uses the date of the transaction as the accounting date. For example, when you enter a vendor invoice, Ajera uses the accounting date for the debit and credit entries.

The date you enter must not be earlier than the Don't Allow Entries Prior To date in Company > Preferences. If the Don't Allow Entries Prior To date is blank, the date you enter must be later than the Beginning Balances date in Company > Preferences.

Multi-company only. The Beginning Balances date for individual companies in your organization is found in Company > Companies. If the Don't Allow Entries Prior To date in Company > Preferences is before a company's beginning balance date, a warning message appears. Enter a date after the last beginning balance date of all your companies to prevent invalid general ledger entries.

Example

You have three companies with beginning balance dates of May 31, 2012; June 30, 2012; and July 31; 2012. Enter August 1, 2012, in the Don't Allow Entries Prior To field.

When you change a transaction

Certain changes to a transaction affect financial reporting. For example, when you change the account, department, or amount on a vendor invoice distribution, Ajera makes debit and credit entries to reverse the original entries. It also creates new entries to reflect your change.

When you change the date on an existing transaction

When you change a date on an existing transaction, Ajera creates financial entries to move the transaction to the new date. It creates debit and credit entries to reverse the original entries using the original date and creates new entries using the date that you entered.

When you delete a transaction

When you delete a transaction, Ajera creates reversing debit and credit entries.

Deciding the accounting date

If you want to choose the accounting date, select the Enter accounting dates check box in Company > Preferences. When you perform transactions that require an accounting date, Ajera then displays the earliest valid date, which you can confirm or replace with a later date if needed.

If you want Ajera to automatically use the earliest valid date, clear the Enter accounting dates check box in Company > Preferences. When you perform transactions that require an accounting date, Ajera uses the earliest valid date as the accounting date.

Note:

When performing Beginning Balance tasks, you must use accounting dates earlier than the Beginning Balances date in Company > Preferences. If you use multi-company, the Beginning Balances date may be in Company > Companies.