We recommend working with your certified Sage consultant or Sage Expert Services to post entries to two years ago.

When posting the entries to the fiscal year that ended two years ago in General Ledger (Tasks, Post Entries):

• Balance sheet account entries post correctly.
• Income statement account entries reject with the message "REJECTED Entry for a period before the prior fiscal year [date]."

Options for entry corrections:

• To reverse the entries from the fiscal year ended two years ago and close them to retained earnings in the fiscal year ended one year ago (your prior fiscal year), choose Option 1.
• If you prepare comparative financial statements or when you must correct the balances for all periods, choose Option 2.

Option 1: Reclassify the entry from the fiscal year ended two years ago to the fiscal year ended one year ago

Note: This method results in the correct current and future balance for only the retained earnings account. Because this method shifts the timing of the entry, other retained earnings balance fields are unmodified. When comparative financial statements are prepared, choose Option 2.

1. Determine the General Ledger account numbers for the rejected entries:
   1. From Tasks, select Post Entries. Print the report.
   2. From Reports, select Entries, Entries by Account.
   3. Select GL Transaction (new). Click OK. Print the report.
2. Use the same accounting date to reverse the entries:
   1. From Tasks, select Record Entries.
   2. Record reversals to offset the transactions for the fiscal year ended two years ago.
   3. Post the entries (Tasks, Post Entries).
3. Record the entries with an accounting date in the fiscal year ended one year ago (Tasks, Record Entries).
4. Post the entries (Tasks, Post Entries).
5. Close the fiscal year:
   1. Verify you have a current backup.
   2. From Tasks, select Close Fiscal Year.
   3. Click Yes.
   4. Select the correct prefix. Click OK.
   5. Accept the distribution and click Start.
6. Remove the rejected entries that will not post. For information about removing entries that will not post in General Ledger see:
   1. How do I move unposted and unwanted transactions out of my General Ledger new file using the Move option?
   2. How do I remove unposted and unwanted transactions from the General Ledger new file using File Tools?

Option 2: Manually close the fiscal year ended two years ago (requires assistance from your Sage Consultant or Sage Expert Services)

IMPORTANT: Because some account balances must be manually changed, you can have an out of balance issue if done incorrectly. Contact your Sage Consultant for assistance or Sage Expert Services to schedule an appointment. This is a paid service. Sage Expert Services will contact you with a quote before scheduling. You may contact Customer Support to submit a request.

WARNING: The period the entries are posting to must be available in Tasks, Open/Close Posting Period to open the period. Otherwise, none of the entries to balance sheet or income statement accounts will post. If the period needed is before the dates available in Open/Close Posting Period, you won’t be able to use this option. Use Option 1 instead.

1. Determine the General Ledger account numbers for the rejected entries:
   1. From Tasks, select Post Entries, and print the posting journal.
   2. From Reports, select Entries, Entries by Account.
   3. Select GL Transaction (new) and click OK. Print the report.
2. Print an inquiry to record the current account type and General Ledger account balances:
   1. From Inquiry, select Account, click New and OK.
   2. Click Conditions.
   3. In the Field section, select Account.
   4. In the Operator section, select Equal to.
   5. In the Value section, type one of the account numbers with rejected entries.
   6. Click OK.
   7. Click Add, select OR.
   8. Repeat steps 2.c through 2.g for each account number with rejected entries.
   9. Click OK when finished.
   10. Click Select.
   11. Select Add column after this column and click OK.
   12. Select Account Type and click OK.
   13. Repeat steps 2.j through 2.l to add columns. Select Account Type, End Balance 1 Year Ago, and Balance one year ago.
       Note: If you're using the Cash accounting method, add columns for:
       • CCurrent Balance.
       • CFuture Balance.
       • CBalance one year ago.
       • CEnd Balance 1 Year Ago.
   14. From File, select Print.
   15. Select Print all visible rows and Print all columns.
   16. Click Start to print the inquiry information. Verify that all the info for each account printed successfully.
3. Change income, cost, expense, and other income account types to allow the entries to post:
   1. From Setup, select Accounts.
   2. Click List, select an income statement account from the inquiry printed earlier. Click OK.
   3. Press Enter twice. Change the account type to Current Asset.
   4. Select the Balances (Accrual) or Balances (Cash) tab. If you didn’t get the information from step 2, write down the balances for Current balance, Future balance, Balance one year ago and Year End 1 year ago.
   5. Click Save.
   6. Repeat for each account with rejected entries until you change them all to an account type of Current Asset.
   7. Click Close.
4. Post the rejected transactions again (Tasks, Post Entries):
   1. If you have entries that are rejecting due to an out of balance batch, see How do I post an out of balance batch in General Ledger?
5. Correct the retained earnings account balances:
   1. Turn on Audit setup activity. See How do I use Audit setup activity?
   2. From Setup, select Accounts. If prompted, click Start to print the audit journal.
   3. Click List, select the retained earnings account. Press Enter twice.
   4. Select the Balances (Accrual) or Balances (Cash) tab depending on the accounting method used.
   5. Increase or decrease the following by the adjustments net total (Review posting journal from step 4):
      • Current balance
      • Future balance
      • Year End 1 year ago
        Note: On the Balances tab, a credit balance has a minus sign.
   6. Click Save and Close.
6. Correct the income statement balances and account type:
   1. From Setup, select Accounts. Click Start.
   2. Refer to the inquiry printed earlier. Select one of the income statement accounts.
   3. Change the account type to the original type.
   4. Select the Balances (Accrual) or Balances (Cash) tab.
   5. Adjust the following fields to the amounts they were before the entry for two years ago posted in step 4. These should be the same amounts from step 3.d
      • Current balance
      • Future balance
      • Balance 1 year ago
      • Year End 1 year ago
        Note: On the account Balances tab, a credit balance has a minus sign.
   6. Click Save after you edit each account.
   7. After you edit all accounts, click Save and Close.
7. Turn off Audit setup activity. See How do I use Audit setup activity?
8. Print your normal month end reports to verify that you are in balance.