Troubleshooting GL Balance Issues

Purpose

The Trial Balance Report shows account activity and beginning and ending balances for the accounting period you specify and helps you analyze out-of-balance issues.

Content

For each account included on the report, the report shows:

• account number and description
• beginning balance for the period specified
• total debit transactions during the period
• total credit transactions during the period
• net activity for the period
• ending balance for the period.

In addition, you can include one or more of the following:

• detail for drilldown
• unmerged detail not on hold
• report dialog answers.

If you include drilldown detail, you can also include:

• entry information (batch name, entry number, sequence number)
• detail attributes.

The following totals appear on the report:

• subtotals as specified
• grand totals.

Print the report

1. In the Navigation pane, highlight the General Ledger > Chart of Accounts folder.
2. Start the report set-up wizard.
   • To report on all or a filtered subset of accounts:
     1. Right-click the Chart of Accounts folder and select Select and Report > Trial Balance Report from the shortcut menu.
     2. On the Selection tab, define any filters to apply to the data.

        

   • To report on specifically selected accounts:
     1. In the HD view, select the accounts to include on the report. You can use Ctrl and/or Shift selection to select multiple records.
     2. Click and select Trial Balance Report from the drop-down menu.
   • To report on a particular account from the Account window:
     1. In the HD view, locate and double-click the account to report on. The Account window opens with the account loaded.
     2. Click and select Trial Balance Report from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the Attributes tab.

   

4. Define any filters you want to apply to attributes.
5. Select the Options tab.

   

6. From the Calendar drop-down list, select the calendar to base the report on. If the selected calendar contains today's date, the Year and Period fields default to the calendar period which contains today's date. Otherwise, if the calendar does not contain today's date, the fields default to the last valid period before the current date.

7. To define the reporting period using a relative expression, select or enter the period expression in the Expression field. If you prefer to explicitly enter the year and period, skip to step 8.

   You can select from the following common period expressions:

   • Current
   • Current - 1 period
   • Current - 1 year

   Alternatively, you can type a valid period expression in the field. For help on period expression syntax, click the help button to the right of the field.

   If you select or enter a period expression, ActivityHD adjusts the values in the Year and Period fields accordingly.

   If you enter a period expression, skip to step 10.

8. From the Year drop-down list, select the year of the period to report on.
9. From the Period drop-down list, select the period to report on.
10. Mark the checkbox(es) for the additional information to include:
    • Provide Detail for Drilldown. Mark this checkbox to include transaction detail when you drill down on an account record on the report. If you mark this checkbox, the Entry Information and Detail Attributes checkboxes are enabled.
      • Entry Information. Mark this checkbox to include batch name, entry number, and sequence number for each transaction listed in the detail drilldown.
      • Detail Attributes. Mark this checkbox to include GL attributes for journal detail postings.
    • Unmerged Detail Not on Hold
    • Report Options. To include a section at the end of the report with the report settings used to produce the report, leave the checkbox marked. To produce the report without this information, clear the checkbox.
11. In the No Activity Accounts field, select the option that describes how you want the report to handle accounts with no activity. Your options are:
    • Exclude if Zero Beginning Balance. Exclude accounts with no activity in the specified period only if the balance at the beginning of the period was zero.
    • Exclude. Exclude all accounts with no activity in the specified period.
    • Include. Include all accounts in your selection regardless of posting activity.
12. Select the Grouping tab.

    

13. In the Available Sort Options list box, highlight the segment(s), rollup(s), and/or attribute(s) to sort the report by, then click to move your selection(s) to the Assigned Sort Options list box.
14. If you selected multiple groupings, use and to arrange the groups in the order you want them applied.
15. If you want the report to start a new page for each change in one of the sorting options you specified, select the sorting option to break on from the Page Break Level drop-down list. If you do not want to insert page breaks, accept "(none)".
16. If you want the report to subtotal based on one of the sorting options you specified, select the sorting option to subtotal on from the Subtotal Level drop-down list. If you do not want to show subtotals, accept "(none)".
17. If at least one sort option is assigned, the Show Group Totals Only checkbox is enabled. Mark this checkbox if you want the report to show group totals without the account-level information behind the totals.
18. Select the Output tab.
19. In the Design field, look up and select the report design to use.
In the toolbar, click the icon for the type of output you want:
• - Provides access to two preview options.
  • Preview - Click the icon or click the drop-down arrow and select Preview from the drop-down menu to view the report in the Crystal Reports viewer.
  • Preview to PDF - Click the drop-down arrow next to the icon and select Preview to PDF to view the report in the PDF reader.
• - Opens the Print dialog so that you can select and configure a printer and then print a paper copy of the report.
• - Opens the Report Email dialog so that you can address and compose an email that the report will be attached to. For best results, ensure your email client is running before you attempt to send a report via email.
• - Opens the Export Report dialog so that you can save the report to a file. File types include Crystal Reports (.rpt), PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf), and XML (.xml).

Data extensions

The following data extension is available for the report:

• Accounts

Purpose

The General Ledger Detail Report shows GL detail records by GL account.

Content

For each account included on the report, the report shows:

• description
• net amount
• total debits
• total credits
• account balance.

In addition, you can include one or more of the following:

• unmerged entries not on hold
• closing entries from the current year
• period totals (date range, period net amount, period total debits, period total credits, period account balance)
• detail debits and credits (transaction date, posting description, reference, source, merge number, debit or credit amount).

If you include detail debits and credits, you can also include one or more of the following:

• entry information (entry number, entry date, user who created entry, line number, merge date, user who performed merge, indication of voided and reversal entries with batch and entry number)
• detail attributes
• detail memos
• subsidiary detail (date, posting description, amount).

The following totals appear on the report:

• grand totals
• trial balances
• item grand totals
• item trial balances.

Preinstalled saved answers

For your convenience, ActivityHD includes a preinstalled saved answer for a common reporting scenario:

• "GL Detail Spreadsheet"

Print the report

1. In the Navigation pane, highlight the General Ledger > Chart of Accounts folder.
2. Start the report set-up wizard.
   • To report on all or a filtered subset of accounts:
     1. Right-click the Chart of Accounts folder and select Select and Report > General Ledger Detail Report from the shortcut menu.
     2. On the Selection tab, define any filters to apply to the data.

        

   • To report on specifically selected accounts:
     1. In the HD view, select the accounts to include on the report. You can use Ctrl and/or Shift selection to select multiple records.
     2. Click and select General Ledger Detail Report from the drop-down menu.
   • To report on a particular account from the Account window:
     1. In the HD view, locate and double-click the account to report on. The Account window opens with the account loaded.
     2. Click and select General Ledger Detail Report from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the Detail tab.

   

4. Define any filters you want to apply to the journal detail records.
5. Select the Attributes tab.

   

6. Define any filters you want to apply to attributes.
7. Select the Options tab.

   

8. In the Calendar field, select the calendar for which to run the report.
9. In the Begin Date and End Date fields, enter the range of dates for which to include detail on the report.
10. In the No Activity Accounts field, select the option that describes how you want the report to handle accounts with no activity. Your options are:
    • Exclude Zero Beginning Balance. Exclude accounts with no activity in the specified date range only if the balance on the beginning date was zero.
    • Exclude All. Exclude all accounts with no activity in the specified date range.
    • Include. Include all accounts in your selection regardless of posting activity.
11. Mark the checkbox(es) for the additional information to include:
    • Unmerged Entries Not on Hold
    • Closing Entries from the Current Year
    • Report Options. To include a section at the end of the report with the report settings used to produce the report, leave the checkbox marked. To produce the report without this information, clear the checkbox.
    • Period Totals
    • Detail Debits and Credits. If you mark this checkbox, you can mark one or more of the following checkboxes as well:
      • Entry Information
      • Detail Attributes
      • Detail Memos
      • Subsidiary Detail. Mark this checkbox to include all subsidiary detail. To select the type of subsidiary detail to include, leave this checkbox cleared and mark the checkbox(es) for the type(s) to include in the list box below.
12. Select the Grouping tab.

    

13. In the Available Sort Options list box, highlight the segment(s), rollup(s), and/or attribute(s) to group the report by, then click to move your selection(s) to the Assigned Sort Options list box. If you do not specify a group, the report is sorted by account.
14. If you selected multiple groupings, use and to arrange the groups in the order you want them applied.

Tip

Although the natural behavior of the report is to sort by account code, with the advent of attributes, it can be useful to explicitly include "Account Code" in the sort options followed by at least one attribute. This allows you to break information down by attribute item within accounts.

15. If you select at least one segment, rollup, or attribute, the Include Group Totals checkbox below the list boxes is enabled and marked. The report will show group totals for each unique grouping. If you do not want the report to show group totals, clear the checkbox.
16. If the Include Group Totals checkbox is marked, the Page Break After Grouping checkbox is enabled. Mark this checkbox if you want to start a new report page after each group total.
17. Select the Output tab.
18. In the Design field, look up and select the report design to use.

    There are three built-in report designs for the General Ledger Detail Report:

    • GL Detail Landscape
    • GL Detail Portrait (formerly, General Ledger Detail Report)
    • GL Detail Spreadsheet - This design provides strict column formatting. This is beneficial if you need to export GL detail to an Excel spreadsheet. This design also lays out subsidiary detail in the same columns as the GL detail design, so that credits and debits align.
In the toolbar, click the icon for the type of output you want:
• - Provides access to two preview options.
  • Preview - Click the icon or click the drop-down arrow and select Preview from the drop-down menu to view the report in the Crystal Reports viewer.
  • Preview to PDF - Click the drop-down arrow next to the icon and select Preview to PDF to view the report in the PDF reader.
• - Opens the Print dialog so that you can select and configure a printer and then print a paper copy of the report.
• - Opens the Report Email dialog so that you can address and compose an email that the report will be attached to. For best results, ensure your email client is running before you attempt to send a report via email.
• - Opens the Export Report dialog so that you can save the report to a file. File types include Crystal Reports (.rpt), PDF (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf), and XML (.xml).

Data extensions

The following data extension is available for the report:

• Journal detail