Month end

Sage 200 does not have a official month end process that you must follow. You can close your accounting periods whenever you want to prevent transactions being posted to that period.

Sage 200 won't allow you to close a period until all your standing orders and direct debits have been processed for the period. Apart from that, you can decide with your accountant or auditor which reports, checks and tasks you want to perform prior to closing a period.

Things to consider for a month end process

You can adapt the following to make a period end check list for your own business requirements, adding your own items if required.

1. Post all day to day transactions and allocate as much as possible.

   You don't have to allocate everything before the end of the year, although it is good practice. You can still allocate transactions even when they're posted in different periods.

2. Remember to post any transactions that you normally enter at the end of a period such as prepayments and accruals.

3. Process your standing orders and direct debits up to the end of the period.

   You can't close a period until you've done this.

4. If you use foreign currencies, revalue your bank accounts. This makes sure that your balance sheet reflects the correct bank balances and that any gains or losses due to currency fluctuations are reported on your profit and loss.

5. Enter any correction journals that your accountant has given you. Don't forget you must do this before you close the relevant period.
6. Reconcile your bank accounts. Although this is not essential, it is good practice.
7. Enter your opening and closing stock transactions.
8. Print your reports. Your accountant or auditor will usually let you know which report you require. We recommend you print and check:
   • Your Trial Balance.
   • Your Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet.
   • Your Aged Debt and Aged Credit reports and reconcile them with your Debtors Control and Creditors Control accounts.
   • Any reports that you want to keep for your records. You may want to check with your accountant or auditor which reports are required.

What happens when the period is closed

Note: Before closing a period, it is essential that you back up your database. Do not carry out a close period procedure if any other user is logged on to Sage 200.

• Once the period is closed, nominal transactions can't be posted to that period.

• If you post a transaction with a date in a closed period, that transaction is automatically posted to the next open period. This means that the value of transaction with a date in one period may be reported in a different period.

  For example, you have closed period 1 (January) for sales transactions, but period 2 (February) is still open. You enter a transaction dated 20th January. The transaction is posted to period 2 (February), because it is the next open period.

• You can only close a period, if the previous period for that module is Closed.
• You can't change the dates of a period if any of the modules are Closed for that period.
• If the next period if Future, it is changed to Open.
• You must close all your periods before you move into the next financial year.

There may be occasions when you want to post a transaction to a closed period, when you're posting a reverse transaction for example. In these cases you can re-open the period, post the transaction and close the period again.

How to close a period

Open: Settings > Organisation and Financial > Accounting Periods.

1. Chose a module.
2. Click Change period status.
3. Repeat for module. You must close the Nominal adjustments period last.

Once the period is closed, Sage 200:

• Prints a summary report detailing the number of transactions, the turnover, credit limit and balance of each account. All values are printed in the base currency.
• Opens the next period if it is marked as Future.

• Updates the turnover values for each customer and supplier account. The next period value is moved to the current period, the current period value is moved to the previous period, and so on.

  If the period being closed is the last one in the financial year, the year to-date turnover figures are reset. Period 1 of the new financial year now reflects the turnover in the current period.