Year End with Visual ERP

It’s that time of year again.  You may be thinking Thanksgiving, Black Friday or time to start Christmas shopping? Is it time to write your letters to Santa? Were you naughty or nice?

Or maybe we you have thoughts of Dec. 31.  You may be thinking about New Year’s Eve plans. This is definitely (or at least was) a fun thing to plan. This year will be entirely different. However, I am an accountant, so I am thinking about Dec. 31 in terms of company year-ends.  It is time to get your financial records in shape for year-end.

Did you know that 65% of companies have a December 31 year-end?  That is a lot of businesses, so this might just apply to you. 

Now year-end is a lot like month-end but there are a few more things you need to do as the results will be reviewed by your auditors and taxes will be paid on the profit.  You don’t want to pay too much or too little.  

The year-end activities fall into the following main categories:

1. Reconcile all your subledger accounts. Just like any month-end but you might want to be extra precise.
2. Review key accounts to ensure correct reporting.
3. Reset – Get your standard costs updated prior to doing your inventory count.
4. Rite-off (okay, not the correct spelling but I was on the roll with R’s).

I have taken the wisdom from the great philosopher, Marie Kondo “DISCARD EVERYTHING THAT DOES NOT SPARK JOY”.  What does this mean with Visual ERP (or any company’s books for that matter)? 

1. Do you have uncollectible customer invoices? Well then write them off or at least set up a bad debt allowance.
2. How about your bank accounts? Any stale-dated cheques?  Void them or create a bank adjustment to offset.  Then clear then to get rid of them.  Wow I am starting to feel lighter already.
3. What about your inventory?  Can you scrap any old unusable inventory?  If not include them in your inventory reserve.
4. Do you have any old receivers that are not vouchered on your PO accrual list?  Use the list from Costing Tools to show anything receivers over 2 months old. Then figure out what you need to do?  Should you be following up with the vendor?  Or did someone record the AP invoice directly to the expense account and now you have double counted the expense.  Well that’s not good accounting.
5. Have your operation’s folks closed work orders without receiving anything?  If so, the work orders will show up on the WIP Balance report with closed status and zero received.  These need to be written off or received.

That Marie Kondo is really onto something. Who knew you could Declutter your accounting records in Visual ERP?

I have to admit that I am a bit obsessed with getting the books straight.  And I don’t want to forget all the things as well, so we have created a 33-step checklist for year-end.  If you would like to get it click on the LINK. 

As Robert Tew say “START WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW. DO WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW. DROP ALL EXCUSES AND START DOING”.  I know this can apply to anywhere in your life, but I think he was talking about year-end in Visual ERP.