In this article
The Balance column will prove particularly useful for identifying accounting differences.
▶ Watch the video: The new balance column
You can activate the Balance column in the Transactions table, via the Data > Columns setup menu.
Note: in composed transactions, entered on multiple rows, the program will report a difference between debit and credit until the transaction is completed.
How the Balance column can spot differences
The Balance column contains the balance of the amounts recorded on the Debit and Credit account. The value is the accumulated difference, calculated in the sequence of the transactions.
- The balance is blank (zero balance) if the sum of the Debit and Credit amounts offset each other (no difference).
- For entries on several accounts, a balance appears until the entry on all accounts involved is completed. With the last entry, the balance must go to zero.
If, after the last entry on the different accounts, the balance does not go to zero, there is likely an error due to one of the following reasons:
- The Debit or Credit Account was inadvertently left blank or is incorrect (see example on Doc 1 in the above picture).
- For an entry on multiple accounts the totals of the Debit and Credit amounts are not equal (see example on Doc 2 in the above picture).
- In an entry with a VAT code, the VAT breakdown or the VAT account are not correct.
- If the VAT code does not exist, the amounts are registered only in the Debit and Credit account and a difference is not shown.
In the example picture a difference of 150 has been generated:
- In the transaction on the Doc 1 row, the account 4999 has been entered which does not exist in the accounting plan, therefore in the Balance column, on the same row, a difference of 100 has been created.
- In the multiple accounts transactions, on the Doc 2 rows, the total amount paid is 1'000, but the last row does not reset the total amount (1'000) between the Debit and Credit column, because the total amount of the contra-entries is 950; therefore an additional difference of 50 has been created, for a total difference of 150.
Check your accounting
As seen above, the Balance column is particularly useful to identify the rows, from which, accounting differences have been generated between the Debit and the Credit column. If the accounting is correct, when closing an entry on several, the balance should be zero. If not there is a problem that needs to be solved:
- If the Balance column does not go to zero, it is because there is a problem. Look for the first row where the difference between Debit and Credit is generated.
- Scroll down the column to understand on which row the error has been generated and correct it.
- Or use the Recheck Accounting command that indicates where the difference begins.
- The balance of the last row (in the example 150) must correspond to the Debit-Credit difference indicated in the Information window. If these values are not equal it is necessary to issue the Recheck Accounting command.