In this article
On this page you will find a general checklist for those using Banana Accounting Plus, useful for carrying out all the necessary checks to close the accounting year and start the new one.
We also explain how to proceed if, after closing, differences or missing transactions emerge. More information on the page Changes after closing the accounting year.
Use the Temporary Filter for quick checks and corrections
To perform a quick check, especially at year-end, we recommend using the Temporary row filter function, which shows you all the transactions that match a keyword, phrase, account or a group of elements. You can correct or edit the transactions directly in the rows displayed by the Filter, without having to scroll through the entire Transactions table. When you remove the Temporary Filter, the rows return to their original order. More information on the page:
- Temporary row filter (only with Advanced plan).
Accounting check command
With Banana Accounting you can record quickly, even leaving some operations pending without interrupting your workflow.
The Actions > Check accounting command performs multiple checks, as if re-entering the data from scratch, and immediately reports any detected errors or differences.
Use this command regularly, especially in case of differences or error messages, significant changes (initial balances, VAT codes), and especially before closing the accounting.
Check the opening balances
- In the Accounts table, in the Opening and Balance columns, on the row "Difference must be zero" there must be no amount, otherwise you need to find the error and correct it to balance the opening balance sheet.
Note: in the Transactions view, it's normal to have amounts in the Debit and Credit columns. - Make sure that the accrued and deferred accounts from the previous year have been closed.
- Verify that the opening balances match the final balances from the previous year, already reviewed and declared to the tax office.
- For multi-currency accounting, see the page Opening balances in multi-currency accounting.
Check correspondence of account balances
The first check is undoubtedly to ensure that the account balances match reality. The cash account balance must match the actual cash status. The balance of bank accounts, credit cards, loans or assets must match the statement balance. The same applies to all other accounts with reconciliations, VAT, suppliers, etc.
If there is a difference, you must find the cause and update either the opening balance or the transactions.
Differences in the Transactions table
In the Transactions table (Info panel at the bottom), check that there are no reported differences. In addition to using the Check accounting command, with Banana Accounting Plus you can activate the Balance column in the Transactions table. This column detects all the rows where there are differences. You can then quickly scroll through the column to immediately spot and correct discrepancies, avoiding errors in the new year.
Differences between bank statement balances and accounting balances (CheckBalance function)
The #CheckBalance function checks that accounting balances match the bank statement balances. We recommend running this check not only at the end of the accounting period, but every month, to prevent mismatched balances from carrying over incorrectly month after month.
Information about the verification transactions is available on the page Verification balance transactions.
Multi-currency accounting
If you are using multi-currency accounting, you must also set the closing exchange rates and record the unrealized exchange rate gains and losses. More information on the page:
Checks before closing
To ensure the year’s accounting is complete and consistent, it is important that:
- All transactions of the year have been entered (bank, cash, customers, suppliers).
- There are no unbalanced or inconsistent rows.
- VAT transactions are consistent (if applicable).
- The multi-currency accounting includes all currency movements.
- The exchange rate differences in multi-currency accounting have been calculated.
- The Check accounting command has been run and no errors were found.
Year-end operations
- Record depreciations.
- Enter accruals and deferrals.
- Verify cost and revenue allocation.
- Reconcile bank accounts and customer and supplier balances.
More information on the page: Closing accounting transactions.
Exchange rate differences (if multi-currency)
- Update the exchange rate on 12/31 in the Exchange rates table (use the official rate from the Federal Tax Administration).
- Run the command Create exchange rate difference transactions.
Create a custom checklist
Every year, there are many review and closing operations, and from one fiscal year to another, it’s not always easy to remember everything. To avoid omissions, with Banana Accounting Plus you can create a simple table directly in your accounting file to note:
- All information related to the checks.
- The comments and corrections made by the auditor in the previous year, so as not to repeat the same mistakes.
- The list of documents to print.
- The documents to send to the auditor.
- Links to pages or resources you find useful.
More information on the following pages: