Sage 50: Period end and Purchase Ledger

As far as I know it's no on both counts.

I thought the month end procedure locked the period - I don't use this feature so wasn't sure, so I've just tried it on dummy data set but it doesn't lock it and can't see anything in the help sections that suggests you can.

As for the duplicate transactions - have never found a way round this, other than debtor/creditor monthly reconciliations and nominal ledger account reviews when I do month end figs.

1. Period End

Once you have run Year End, the program will warn if a date in the prior year is entered. This should be the flag to prevent something being entered.

2.  Purchase Ledger

No the program does not check for duplicates if input via the Batch Entry window (nor do I know of any bookkeeping software that does this). However, if you used the Purchase Order Processing system this would prevent duplicates being entered as , once a purchase order has been 'completed', it will be locked and cannot be duplicated.

Alternativly, under Financials, there is a 'Verify' button. There are several options here and one is that the system will scan for duplicates, but only after they have been entered.

The simplest method I have found for preventing this from happening, in any part of the program, is that once entered, the hard copy gets filed away. If it is filed away, it's on the system. If it's not filed, it's not on the system. Any documents (eg. copy invoices which suppliers sometimes send with a statement) which are dated more than a month old, get checked on the supplier/customer/bank account before they are entered.

If you have these senarios happening on a regular basis, then in my opinion, it sounds like either you have too many people doing the entering, none of whom know what the others have already done and who are not filing the hard copies which are then being picked up by the next person, or your bookkeeper is disorganised and not doing their job properly.

-- Witch-Queen

Yet another thing that our previous sytems, whisper it....quickbooks.... did that our "better" sage system doesn't.

Bizarely, Sage 2010 allows users to turn off the wrong year date warning!!

because it's annoying when posting into a new year when the prior year not yet closed down.

I know.  I used to hurry along with the end of year routine, partly because of the annoying reminder, but now it doesn't bother me!!

This can only work if you have full control over what is posted.

the malevolent user can just press "OK" to it anyway.

Integrity Evolution software (specifically for the construction industry) always flags up duplicated invoice entries on both purchase and sales (where invoices are "posted" rather than created - it saves so much hassle and it has long been a bugbear of mine that Sage doesn't do this.

With regard to the comments re filing the hard copy - that's great but I am always receiving duplicated invoices in the post from several different suppliers - that is what causes the problem not sloppy filing.  Goodness only knows why they do it but I find it a common occurence.  In addition, it may not be the bookkeeper but perhaps the manager signing off the invoices where perhaps it gets passed around the office and photocopied too many times. 

-- Accounts Administrator

Geoff

As there is no period end in Sage 50 this can cause problems as late dated documents are posted at the doc date and therefore back to prior periods that figures have ben established and 'lock down' for. I agree with you it is really anoying and the next Sage package that does employee Period End closing is over £6K+ so it quite a leap for an SME

The only method I know to aid this is

a) change the doc date to period you want it in, though not strictly correct this is a commonly used method

 b) if someone is posting for you you can design a report to show documents entered for a certain date range on the doc entered date that shows where they have been posted to an earlier prior by assessing the  doc date

Hope that makes sense