One of the challenges when you are first moving to Control's full accounting is deciding how to handle payments (such as checks) written or processed in your old accounting system that are not yet reconciled. Fortunately Control has an easy mechanism for incorporating these.

Warning: This process should be done before the final GL reconcilliation as a part of the steps outlined in guide_to_transitioning_to_full_accounting.

The approach used in this step is to create GL journals and enter all the individual payments as lines in that journal. They will be offset by a miscellaneous expense which will be reversed in the GL reconcilliation stage.

Typically a separate journal entry will be made for the following types of accounts:

  • Payments Made (Vendor Payments)
    • Checks written but not reconciled
    • Credit Card charges recorded but not reconciled
  • Payments Received (Customer Payments)
    • Cash/Check Deposits made but not reconciled
    • Credit Card Deposits made but not reconciled.

Of course all of these could be put into one journal entry, but Cyrious recommends breaking it into smaller tasks that are easier to manage.

  1. Create a new Journal Entry and record checks written but not reconciled.
    • In the main menu, click on Banking and then New Journal Entry.
    • Click on the Date drop-down in the top right and set it to the transition date.
    • In the Description line, enter a meaningful description such as Unreconciled Checks Written in Old Accounting System
    • Type any notes you would like to record in the Journal Notes section.
    • Click in the Account cell in the first row.
    • Enter the name of the GL Bank Account from which the check was written by typing the name until the account is found or choosing it from the drop-down list.
    • Tab to the Credits column. Enter the amount of the check.
    • Tab to the Notes column and Enter the check number, company name, and/or bill number. (For example, Check #1234, Johnson Marine, Ref#4934). Whatever you type here is what you will see in the reconciliation screen.
    • Hit the down-arrow key or click Insert New Line to add a new line.
    • Repeat for all outstanding checks.
    • Add an offsetting line so that the journal is balanced. Use a miscellaneous expense account. (it doesn't matter which account as you'll reverse these in one of the later steps.) The amount entered should be a debit representing the sum of all of the payments entered in that journal.
    • Save the Journal Entry by clicking on the Save button on the Action Toolbar on the right.
  2. Create a new Journal Entry and record credit card charges recorded but not reconciled.
    • If you have the last Journal Entry up, click on the New button on the main toolbar. Otherwise, in the main menu click on Banking and then New Journal Entry.
    • Click on the Date drop-down in the top right and set it to the transition date.
    • In the Description line, enter a meaningful description such as Unreconciled Credit Card Charges Recorded in Old Accounting System
    • Type any notes you would like to record in the Journal Notes section.
    • Click in the Account cell in the first row.
    • Enter the name of the GL Credit Card Account for the credit card by typing the name until the account is found or choosing it from the drop-down list.
    • Tab to the Credits column. Enter the amount of the check.
    • Tab to the Notes column and enter the company name, and a reference as to what was paid. (For example, Ace Hardware - Tools for Installer). Whatever you type here is what you will see in the reconciliation screen.
    • Hit the down-arrow key or click Insert New Line to add a new line.
    • Repeat for all outstanding charges recorded but not reconciled.
    • Add an offsetting line so that the journal is balanced. Use a miscellaneous expense account. (it doesn't matter which account as you'll reverse these in one of the later steps.) The amount entered should be a debit representing the sum of all of the payments entered in that journal.
    • Save the Journal Entry by clicking on the Save button on the Action Toolbar on the right.
  3. Create a new Journal Entry and record deposits made but not reconciled.
    • If you have the last Journal Entry up, click on the New button on the main toolbar. Otherwise, in the main menu click on Banking and then New Journal Entry.
    • Click on the Date drop-down in the top right and set it to the transition date.
    • In the Description line, enter a meaningful description such as Unreconciled Deposits Recorded in Old Accounting System
    • Type any notes you would like to record in the Journal Notes section.
    • Click in the Account cell in the first row.
    • Enter the name of the GL Bank Account in which the deposit was made by typing the name until the account is found or choosing it from the drop-down list.
    • Tab to the Debits column. Enter the amount of the deposit.
    • Tab to the Notes column and Enter the date of the deposit. (For example, Cash/Check 6-12-2008). Whatever you type here is what you will see in the reconciliation screen.
    • Hit the down-arrow key or click Insert New Line to add a new line.
    • Repeat for all unreconciled deposits.
    • Add an offsetting line so that the journal is balanced. Use a miscellaneous expense account. (it doesn't matter which account as you'll reverse these in one of the later steps.) The amount entered should be a credit representing the sum of all of the deposits entered in that journal.
    • Save the Journal Entry by clicking on the Save button on the Action Toolbar on the right.
  4. Create a new Journal Entry and record credit card deposits made but not reconciled.
    • If you have the last Journal Entry up, click on the New button on the main toolbar. Otherwise, in the main menu click on Banking and then New Journal Entry.
    • Click on the Date drop-down in the top right and set it to the transition date.
    • In the Description line, enter a meaningful description such as Unreconciled Credit Card Deposits Recorded in Old Accounting System
    • Type any notes you would like to record in the Journal Notes section.
    • Click in the Account cell in the first row.
    • Enter the name of the GL Bank Account in which the deposit was made by typing the name until the account is found or choosing it from the drop-down list.
    • Tab to the Debits column. Enter the amount of the deposit.
    • Tab to the Notes column and Enter the date of the deposit. (For example, MC/Visa 6-12-2008). Whatever you type here is what you will see in the reconciliation screen.
    • Hit the down-arrow key or click Insert New Line to add a new line.
    • Repeat for all unreconciled deposits.
    • Add an offsetting line so that the journal is balanced. Use a miscellaneous expense account. (it doesn't matter which account as you'll reverse these in one of the later steps.) The amount entered should be a credit representing the sum of all of the deposits entered in that journal.
    • Save the Journal Entry by clicking on the Save button on the Action Toolbar on the right.
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