Auto Reversing Journals in Strata Master
These journal entries are used to reflect Balance Day or End of Financial Year Adjustments.
Can these journals be used for purposes other than end of financial year adjustments ? Similar journals can be created to move a transaction to a prior period, however you would be selecting a linking account which will show a balance in reports between the two dates selected.
We would suggest you seek advice from a suitably qualified Accountant, regarding any diversion from this article, as Strata Master Support staff are essentially software support and can only make suggestions of accounts to use.
The Purpose of Auto Reversing Journals
The purpose of these entries is to bring to account Expense and Revenue items that should be included and/or excluded from the financial year under review such as:
- Money that is due but not received e.g. Insurance Claim proceeds.
- Invoices received after the close of the year that should have been paid in the previous financial year.
- Invoices that have been entered for expenses such as Insurance but relate to the next financial year.
- To adjust the accounts for cancellations made after the end of the financial year.
Identifying Transactions Requiring Adjustment
To assist to identify any transactions that may need adjustments it is suggested to review the following reports:
- Non Levy Income Report
- Outstanding Invoices Report
Navigating to the Auto Reversing Journal
Navigate to Accounting > Adjustments > Journal Entry > select the button for GL with auto reversal
Dating Your Journal
When the GL with auto reversal button is selected a reversal date is displayed at the bottom of the form. By default the date is the first day of the month following the
date of the journal entry.
If a date is selected that is in the same month as the original journal the following error message will appear and the user will not be able to save the journal.
Care should be taken with these journal entries particular where the plan is registered for GST.
How an Auto Reversal Journal Works
When the entry is saved, two journals entries are automatically created.
There will be a journal that creates the entry in the required period for $x and a journal that reverses the entry in another period for $x. $x can be a portion of the original transaction (as often occurs in balance day adjustments) or for the whole amount of the original transaction.
An Example
An entry was made in previous period for expected hail damage funds (debit account 142000 and credit account 126000), and that transaction needs to be moved to the next period.
Always create a backup prior to processing any adjustments or corrections or unfamiliar transactions.
1. Navigate to Accounting > Adjustments > journal Entry
2. Select GL with auto entry
3. Enter Plan number, debit and credit accounts as below for this example
4. Dates will be last day of the prior period (usually financial year end for the Plan) and reversal date as the first day of the next period.
5. Enter the Amount to be adjusted, which in this case is the whole of the claim funds received.
6. Provide a suitable description which will show the reason for the journal entries.
7. Click Save, depending on the journals being created and the current date, you may receive a message. Click ok if satisfied that your selections are correct.
8. A message shows
Accounts You Could Use to Move Transactions to Prior or Next Year
Check your Chart of Accounts for suitable accounts such as Prepaid Expenses, Suspense, Accrued Expenses.
So if you are moving a portion of an Insurance Premium to the next financial year of the Plan, it would appear as
Seek advice from an Accountant or BAS Agent if you need assistance to decide on an account to use. You may need to create a suitable account for period end transfers.
Useful Links
https://kb.rockend.com/help/how-to-create-or-enter-a-journal
https://kb.rockend.com/help/understanding-double-entry-accounting
https://kb.rockend.com/help/change-an-account-code