How to run the Year-End Wizard

Need assistance completing your Year-End? Prefer to have someone complete the process with you to reduce downtime? Refer to SES - Sage Expert Services for Sage 50—U.S. Edition Year-End Wizard Walkthrough Services for help.
For free training on year-end procedures, see https://sageu.com/en-us/training/Sage50/year-end

1. Begin the year-end process at day's end, if possible, so you can leave your computer running.
   • Year-End Wizard is a single-user task: have all other users exit the company
   • Close any programs that may have an open database connection, such as ShipGear or Paya Connect Desktop
   • If you’re on a network, run Year-End Wizard on the server for faster processing and no connection issues
2. From the Tasks menu, select System, then Year-End Wizard.
3. Click Next.
4. Select a Years to Close option.
   • If your fiscal year is the same as the calendar year, select Fiscal and Payroll Tax Years
   • If your fiscal year is different than the calendar year, select one of the below options:
     • If you need to enter the payroll in the next calendar year, select Payroll Tax Year
     • If you don’t need to enter payroll in the next calendar year, select Fiscal Year
5. Click Next.
   • If you have any purchases marked Waiting on Bill, the Cannot Proceed window will appear:
   1. Click Cancel to exit the Year-End Wizard.
   2. Go to the Lists menu, select Vendors & Purchases then Purchases.
   3. Click the Waiting on Bill column header to sort the list for items marked Waiting on Bill.
   4. Open any vendor invoice dated in the year you’re closing marked Waiting on Bill.
   5. Uncheck Waiting on Bill.
   6. Enter an Invoice No.
   7. Click Save.
   8. Repeat these steps with any other invoice marked Waiting on Bill.
   9. Restart the Year-End Wizard.
      If the Waiting on Bill checkbox is grayed out, a payment may have already been applied to the purchase. You’ll need to delete this payment before you modify the original invoice. You can rekey the payment afterward. Refer to Unable to edit or delete a purchase invoice.
6. The Unprinted Items screen lists unprinted transactions.
   • If you don’t wish to print them, click Next
   • If you do wish to print them:
   1. Cancel the Year-End Wizard.
   2. Follow the steps in Error: "Unprinted Items. The following unprinted items exist for the company you are closing." when closing a year.
   3. Restart the Year-End Wizard.
7. We strongly recommend that you print all fiscal year-end reports if you haven't done so already.
   • If you don’t wish to print any of these reports or have already printed them, click Next
   • If you do wish to print, check the Print box for the desired reports, then click Next
   • If printing the reports closes the Year End Wizard or Sage 50, try one of the following:
     • Print the reports one group at a time
     • Click Cancel to exit the Year-End Wizard. Print the desired reports, then restart the Year End Wizard
8. The Internal Accounting Review checks your company for common mistakes or deviations from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. We recommend running this, but not it’s required.
   Running the Internal Accounting Review will close out of the Year-End Wizard. You’ll need to restart the Year-End Wizard after the review is complete.
9. Click Next.
10. Back up your company.
    1. Click Backup.
    2. Set the backup options you want, then click Backup.
    3. Choose a backup location, then click Save.
       Don’t interrupt the backup process. When it completes, the window will close and return you to the Year-End Wizard.
11. Click Next.
12. If you’re using Sage 50 Premium or Quantum, you may choose to archive a copy of your company:
    • If you wish to archive your company, check Archive Company
    • Enter an Archive name
    • Click Next
13. We recommend you keep the dates of your new accounting periods the same. If you don’t need to change period start or end dates, simply click Next.
    • Changing these dates won’t change the fiscal year structure. To change your fiscal year structure, see How to change Fiscal Year or Accounting Method
    • There are rules governing changes to the date range of accounting periods. If in doubt, consult your accountant before making any changes
14. Confirm the year that you’ll be closing and click Next.
15. Verify the Year-End Wizard options, then click Begin Close.
    • Once you click Begin Close, you can’t cancel the Year-End Wizard and shouldn’t interrupt it
    • If the process is interrupted, don’t continue to work in the company. Restore the backup from Step 10. Refer to How to restore a backup
16. When the process completes, click Finish. You’re now ready to work in the next fiscal and/or payroll year.

One or more purchases are waiting on a bill from this vendor
Error: "Year End Wizard is only available for the first company you open in Sage 50..."
SES - Sage Expert Services for Sage 50—U.S. Edition Year-End Wizard Walkthrough Service