Overview: Active Workpapers have been designed to allow for multiple approaches to processing adjustments when completing a year end job, including processing journals directly in the clients live accounting file or processing journals into Active Workpapers and exporting it back to the client file, if desired.
Please refer to the Glossary for definitions of key terms used in this article.
Processing a journal in Active Workpapers
Once you are at the point of needing to make an adjustment to the client’s trial balance, i.e. for depreciation, trust distribution, accruals, etc., you can perform a journal in the Workpapers.
Hint: Where you are also using Active Ledger & Reporting, you will now be able to perform journals in Active Workpapers, and it will sync across the journals to the associated Active Ledger file as well and vice versa.
From your Workpaper binder index, navigate to the Journals screen.
In the Journals tab, click + New Journal.
Fill out the particulars within the journal screen, such as memo, account number/name/class and populate with the required figure.
If you need to post a journal entry to an account that does not yet exist, simply enter the details of the new account while creating the journal. A 'NEW' tag will appear next to the account. Once the journal is posted, the system will automatically create the account and add it to your binder's Accounts and Trial Balance screens.
Hint: If you want to send the journal back to the client as a balancing journal, make sure 'Flag as Pending Export to Client File' checkbox remains ticked.
Click Add and Close.
Hint: Double-clicking on a blank journal line will balance the journal.
Your journal has now been posted to the Active Workpapers trial balance.
Exporting a balancing journal back to the client's live accounting file
Where you have posted journals into Active Workpapers directly, you would use the balancing journal feature to push any adjustment journals made in Active Workpapers back to the client's accounting file. You would do this either directly or manually, depending on whether you are connected to a cloud or non-cloud accounting file.
Navigate to the Journals screen. All journals selected to 'Flag as Pending Export to Client File' will be sitting under the 'Pending Export' tag.
To start, click Prepare a Balancing Journal.
This will consolidate all individually flagged balancing journal adjustments posted within the binder into a single balancing journal, ready for export.
If connected to cloud accounting file
If you are connected to a cloud accounting file, click Export Balancing Journal to trigger the export of the balancing journal back to the client's accounting file.
Edit the default memo if required, and click Export.
You will receive the below message once the journal has posted successfully.
If connected to non-cloud accounting file
If you are connected to a non-cloud accounting file, you are able to export a CSV or Excel copy of the journal for the client to post in the accounting file.
Right click anywhere on the journal and hover over Export. Select the appropriate export format and send off to the client for them to post in their accounting file.
Once this has been actioned, click Tag as Exported. This will mark the individual journals as exported and create a balancing journal in the Journals screen, but it will not actually export it back to your accounting file.
Edit the default memo if required, and click Export.
You will receive the below message once the journal has 'posted' successfully.
Undoing a balancing journal
If you need to undo a previously processed balancing journal, simply navigate to the Journals screen and select the relevant journal.
Click Undo Balancing Journal.
This will remove the balancing journal in Active Workpapers, and if you have exported it to a cloud accounting file, it will also remove it from there. Additionally, the journals included in the balancing journal will revert to a 'Pending Export' status.
Processing a journal in the live accounting file
If your Workpaper binder is connected to a cloud accounting file and you are allowed to post journals directly, this method can also be used.
Navigate to your cloud accounting file, for example, Xero.
Post a journal using the + New Journal function.
Once the journal has been posted, return to your Active Workpapers binder index screen.
Select the Reimport button. Assuming you have made changes to the current year dataset, select Primary Column. This will refresh your current year trial balance information from the cloud accounting file, taking up the changes from any journals posted.
Comparing & reinstating import runs
If you have clicked the Reimport button while completing the job at any stage and wish to compare or reinstate previous data imports, navigate to the Journals screen. Click on the Import Runs tab to view all import runs.
To compare a previous dataset with the current dataset, click Compare.
This will display the current balances, prior import run balances and the difference between them. After reviewing this, if you wish to reinstate the prior import run, click Reinstate.
If you wish to reinstate a dataset without comparing, select Reinstate from the Import Runs tab.
Once this is selected, a confirmation message will pop up.
Select Yes to confirm, and this will reinstate the previous dataset.
