Transfer to a new Chart of Accounts

Hereunder we explain how to proceed when:

• passing to a chart of accounts with a different numbering,
• retrieve and convert the data of an existing accounting, including the transactions into the new Chart of Accounts.

Converting to the new year

There are two possibilities if you wish to start a new year with a new chart of accounts,

• Convert the previous year (2022) and then create the new year (2023).
  There will be two files for 2022 (the one containing the Accounts column with the old account numbers and the Accounts_1 column with the new account numbers) and the file for 2023 with only the new chart of accounts.
  This approach is ideal for having the two-year charts of accounts aligned.
  This way you can also continue to make changes in the year 2022 and then resume the initial balances in the year 2023.
• Create the new year (2023) and then convert the year 2023 file with the balances carried forward.
  The 2022 year file will remain the same. For 2023 there will be an intermediate file, with the old chart of accounts, but the opening balances carried forward.
  The conversion of the year 2023 file can be performed immediately or even after transactions have been entered.
  Having the old account numbers in the year 2022 file, you will not be able to resume any further changes made in 2022 in 2023.

Step 1: Creating a new accounting file

1. Create a new file:
   • menu File → New → select predefined accounting file template.
2. Adapt the chart of accounting to your own needs.

Step 2: Adding the matching accounts

1. In the Accounts table:
   • menu Data → Columns setup
   • click the Add button 
   • insert Account_1 description .
2. For each new account, enter the corresponding account in the Account_1 column of the old chart of accounts.
   Should the account remain the same, you may also choose not to indicate it.
3. In case where several accounts need to be grouped in one, enter the separated accounts with a semi-colon "1000;1001".
4. If one account needs to be subdivided into several accounts, you need to proceed manually, see below.

Step 3: Starting the import operation

• Via Actions →Import to Accounting → Import File.
• Using the Browse button, select the file of your old accounting plan

• Confirm by clicking the OK button and proceed to the next window
• Define the import options
• Enable the Convert account numbers option, indicating that the matches are in the target file.

Repeat the import

If errors are reported, and it is necessary to repeat the import, it is necessary to cancel the import operation, so that the starting file is empty, otherwise the balance amounts will be duplicated, both in the opening balances and in the transactions table.

Subdivision of one account into several accounts

When one transfers to a more detailed chart of accounts, it is probably necessary to subdivide one account into several accounts.
After the import operation, proceed manually in the following way:

• In the Chart of accounts, subdivide the opening amounts, budget amounts and previous amounts of one account into several accounts.
• Go over the transactions, one by one, of the account that needs to be subdivided and assign them to the more specific account, or create extra transactions if it is necessary to subdivide one amount into more detailed amounts.
• Proceed in the same way for the transactions of the Budget table.

Results and possible errors

If the program reports mistakes (absence of accounts or others), the import operation probably needs to be canceled, complete the pairing and then repeat the import operation.

The program, confronted with different charts of accounts, cannot automatically do extensive verifications and guarantee that all the data have been imported and grouped correctly.

It is therefore strongly advised to manually check the result, making sure that the totals of the Balance Sheet and the Profit & Loss Statement are correct.