Closing a Fiscal Year in maestro*

Objective

The closing of a fiscal year is quite a bit of work. By preparing in advance and, especially, by doing it correctly, it is possible to reduce the workload. Here is the recommended procedure in order to manage the end of a fiscal year in maestro*.

 

Prerequisites

 

Summary

 

Steps

File Verification (recommended)

This step can determin if a section of the hard drive is corrupted. If files are not verified, information that could have been recovered from the last backup copy could be lost.

 

maestro* > Maintenance > File Maintenance > File > File Verification

 

  1. The File Verification window appears.
  1. Select one of the following fields, under the Settings tab:

Field

Description

Current Company

By selecting this option, only files belonging to the present company will be processed.

NOTE: The present company corresponds to the company currently opened in maestro*.

All

By selecting this option, all files belonging to all companies will be processed.

Selection

By selecting this option, you can determine the companies for which you wish to process files.

NOTE: It is possible to select the different companies in the selection grid, by checking or unchecking the different companies.

  1. In the Verification Mode section, select one of the following modes:

Field

Description

Verify the files structure only

If this verification mode is selected, maestro* will only validate the files' structure, without reading any data.

NOTE: This mode is selected by default.

Records read by batch (Quick Mode)

Allows the reading of various records at once.

NOTES: The number of records read is determined by the table lengths. The shorter the table (length of a record), the more records can be read at once. This process is the fastest.

By using this verification mode, it is not guaranteed that all file errors will be found.

Verify Index 0 Only

Only the files' Index 0 will be verified.

Verify All Index

All file index will be verified.

Check Box

Description

Ignore version warnings

If this box is checked, all warning messages related to the maestro* version will be ignored.

NOTE: This box is checked by default.

  1. If maestro* is in multidimensional mode, check or not the following box:

Field

Description

Verify the general folder files

If this box is checked, maesto* will only verify the files found in the general folder.

  1. If applicable, uncheck the files for which you do not wish a verification to be performed.
  2. Click on Verification.
  3. A report is generated following the file verification.

Click HERE for a File Verification report example.

  1. Make sure there are no file errors in the Verifying indexed files section of the report.

To do so, check if the following message is displayed at the bottom of the report: No maintenance required.

Otherwise, the report will display a message similar to those found in the PDF link above, indicating the file name and error number. It is then necessary to communicate with Maestro's Software Support Department to apply a procedure that will eliminate the error.

  1. Close the File Verification option when the verification is done.

 

Create a Backup Copy (recommended)

It is strongly recommended to perform a security backup of all data.

It is important to copy the file structure in maestro* , aka the Maestro repertory. Furthermore, it is essential to verify the copy has been executed correctly before moving on to the next step.

For more information concerning data backup, please refer to the Backup Recommendations document.

 

Performing End of the Month Tasks

The end of the month corresponds to the time when all monthly transactions are recorded. It is very important to close periods at the end of each month, in order to make sure no transaction has been done for a previous period.

Close a Period - Projects

 

maestro* > Projects > Maintenance > Project > Close a Period

 

  1. In the Close a Period window, select the period which needs to be closed.

 

You can close up to a maximum of 12 periods at a time. To do so, when the time comes to select the periods to close, click on the oldest period to close and drag the cursor towards the bottom of the screen until you reach the most recent period you wish to close.

Furthermore, it is impossible to close all of a year's periods if the next year's periods have not yet been created. To create the periods of a new financial year in maestro*, view the online help (F1) for the Open a Fiscal Year option.
  1. Click on Close a Period.
  2. Then click on Yes to confirm the closing of the said period.
  3. The maestro* Report Viewer will appear and indicate which period has been closed.
  4. Click on Quit.

Trial Balance

 

maestro* > Accounting > General Ledger > Reports > Trial Balance

 

  1. In the Trial Balance window, select the desired period.
  2. Click on the Accept button.
  3. The report appears.
  4. Once you are done, click on Quit.

 

View the How-To - Correcting Irregularities in the maestro* Trial Balance Report if required.

AP Control Report

The goal of this step is to balance this auxiliary with the Trial Balance.

 

maestro* > Accounting > General Ledger > Reports > AP Control Report

 

  1. In the AP Control Report window, choose the desired period in the Date Range section.
  2. Choose the account payable in the Account Payable section.

Field

Description

All

When this box is checked, the report includes all accounts payable.

Number

Allows a user to enter the desired account payable.

  1. Click on the Accept icon.
  2. The report is displayed.
  3. Once verification of the report is done, click on Quit.

 

Attention! If the amounts entered are not balanced, the following procedure must be performed: Reconciling Auxiliaries and the General Ledger.

Note that Maestro offers an accounting analysis service but that it is chargeable.

AR Control Report

The goal of this step is to balance this auxiliary with the Trial Balance.

 

maestro* > Accounting > General Ledger > Reports > AR Control Report

 

  1. In the AR Control Report window, choose the desired period in the Date Range section.
  2. Choose the desired sales department in the Sales Department section.

Field

Description

All

When this box is checked, the report includes all sales departments.

Number

Allows the user to enter the desired sales department number.

  1. Click on the Accept icon.
  2. The report appears.
  3. Once the verification of the report is done, click on Quit.

 

Attention! If the amounts entered are not balanced, the following procedure must be performed: Reconciling Auxiliaries and the General Ledger.

Note that Maestro offers an accounting analysis service but that it is chargeable.

Bank Reconciliation

 

maestro* > Accounting > Financial Management > Bank Reconciliation > Bank Reconciliation

 

The bank reconciliation makes its possible to balance the selected bank account with the data in entered in maestro* and the bank statement. This option, therefore, allows for the reconciliation of circulating cheques, and certain manual adjustments.

  1. Enter the following information:

Field

Description

Bank Account

Allows a user to indicate the bank account for which the bank reconciliation must be made.

Active Period

Allows a user to indicate the period for which the bank reconciliation must be made.

Reconciliation Date

Allows a user to indicate the date the bank reconciliation was made.

  1. Click on Ok.
  2. The Bank Reconciliation window appears.
  3. The amount displayed in the GL Balance field (at the bottom-left of the screen) must correspond to the general ledge balance.
  4. The amount displayed in the Reconciled Balance field (at the bottom-right of the screen) must correspond to the bank statement balance.

 

For more information concerning the Bank Reconciliation, please refer to the maestro* Online help (F1), or click HERE.

Advanced Project-to-Project Transfer

 

maestro* > Projects > Project Costing > Processing > Advanced Project-to-Project Transfer

 

This option allows to record all transactions that were not saved in maestro* such as, for example, bank fees displayed on the bank statement.

  1. Enter the missing transactions in maestro*.
  2. Click on Save.
  3. Click on Quit.

List of Taxes Collected/Paid

 

maestro* > Accounting > General Ledger > Reports > List of Taxes Collected/Paid

 

This report displays the summary of all tax calculated in the different modules.

  1. Select the desired date range for report production.
  2. Check the Detailed Report box, if so desired.
  3. Pick a GL Accounting Group:

Field

Description

All

When this box is checked, the report includes all GL accounting groups.

Code

Allows a user to enter the GL accounting group code.

  1. Click on Accept.
  2. The report appears.
  3. Once the report verification done, click on Quit.

Close a Period - Accounting

 

maestro* > Acounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Close a Period

 

This last step concludes the standard process to close the end of the month period.

 

If there are any imbalances, an additional step is required. The imbalance procedure must be used in order to identify which transaction has been entered with the wrong information. For more information concerning this procedure, please refer to Reconciling Auxiliaries and the General Ledger.
  1. If so desired, check the Verify the Trial Balance before closing each period box. When checked, maestro* will stop the closing of a period at the slightest difference detected.
  2. Choose the period(s) to close.

 

It is possible to choose up to 12 periods at once. Furthermore, it is impossible to close all of a year's periods if the next year's periods have not yet been created. To create the periods of a new financial year in maestro*, view the online help (F1) for the Open a Fiscal Year option.
  1. Click on Close a Period.
  2. The Confirmation window appears. Click Yes to procede to the closing of the period.

 

If some transactions have not been transferred, a confirmation window appears. Once the period closed, it will be impossible to transfer any of those transactions.

Click Yes to procede to the closing of the period.

  1. The closing of periods report appears.
  2. Once the verification of the report is over, click on Quit.

Deal with Imbalances

Treat any imbalances, if applicable.

Refer to Reconciling Auxiliaries and the General Ledger.

 

Performing End of the Year Tasks

If all above-mentionned steps are completed each month, the end of the year process is a lot simpler to perform.

 

Do not forget to close the period for December before performing the end of year process. Furthermore, remember it is impossible to close all of a year's periods if the next year's periods have not yet been created. To create the periods of a new financial year in maestro*, view the online help (F1) for the Open a Fiscal Year option.

Advanced Project-to-Project Transfer

 

maestro* > Projects > Project Costing > Processing > Advanced Project-to-Project Transfer

 

  1. Perform all adjusting entries, if applicable, as of the last day of the year to close.
  2. Click on Save.
  3. Click on Quit.

 

See Also

 

Last modification: September 19, 2024