General ledger re-indexing

• Obtain professional guidance. Before performing a re-index, please discuss the changes with the DDI Accounting Support team. There could be changes to financial information and some will be irreversible.
• Document the system setting changes prior to the re-index. If the system has to be restored to its previous settings for any reason, this information will be required.
• Know the current General Ledger Fiscal Year. To view the current fiscal year, go to Accounting > General Ledger > G/L Inquiry. Performing a re-index will affect transactions from the beginning of the current fiscal year per this screen..
• Capture financial data snapshots before and after the reindex. DDI strongly recommends producing monthly G/L balance information immediately before and after a reindex. This data is necessary to determine any account balance changes and whether the expected changes happened. Use Advanced Report Writer to capture monthly G/L account balances for all periods in the year being re-indexed. For more information please refer to Capture GL balances before and after a G/L reindex procedure.
• Allow sufficient time to complete the process. Depending on the volume and scope of information currently stored in your system, this process will take between 1 and 15 minutes. High-volume, multi-branch systems will require 60 minutes or more and are best initiated at the end of the day.
• Avoid re-indexing closed years There could be permanent balance changes. Users of Inform Version 17 and higher must avoid re-indexing a closed year due to G/L Control Table additions

• Clear the system of active users. To prevent internal errors, reindexing should only be done when there are no active users on the system. An active user is someone performing a process that impacts a G/L account balance or product value. Go to Utilities > System Users & Locks to view all active users.
• Run the process at Accounting > General Ledger > Reindex General Ledger. This may take several minutes. Do not interrupt while running.
• Allow users to resume normal activity.
• Compare the balance changes. Run the ARW for GL balances after the re-index and compare it to the ARW report run before the re-index.

A new Freight-Out G/L account is created to separate revenue from cost. Previously, all freight was being recorded in the same Freight-In account.

1. Create a new G/L Account (Accounting > General Ledger > G/L Account : New).
2. Place the account in the G/L Groups “REV” and “IS” to include it on financial statements.
3. Edit the G/L Control Table Freight-Out field (Accounting > General Ledger > G/L Control Table: Edit, Freight Out).
4. Run the ARW report to capture preliminary financial data for all periods in the current fiscal year.
5. Re-index the General Ledger (Accounting > General Ledger >Reindex General Ledger) after all active users are logged out.
6. Capture re-indexed financial data and compare to the original.

Results: There will be no effect on the bottom line because this is a reallocation of existing account balances. The Freight-In account will contain only Purchase Journal Items and carry a debit balance. The Freight-Out account will contain only Sales Journal items and carry a credit balance.

Separation of revenue and costs by Product Line is implemented. Formerly all sales were mapped to a General Sales account. Management wants to separate both Sales and Cost of Sales by individual Product Line to more effectively gauge performance without having to create a separate report.

1. Create the necessary G/L accounts for Revenue and Cost of Sales.
2. Best practice is to align the account numbers so they show up in consistent order on the financial statements, for example Sales is #4000, Cost of Sales is #5000; Sales – Paper is #4100, Cost of Sales – Paper is #5100, and so on.
3. Group the accounts in “REV” and “IS,” or “COS” and “IS” for appearance on financial reports.
4. Edit each Product Line’s G/L destination accounts (File > Product > Product Line : General Ledger).
5. 1. Run the ARW report to capture preliminary financial data for all periods in the current fiscal year.
   2. Re-index the General Ledger (Accounting > General Ledger >Reindex General Ledger) after all active users are logged out.
   3. Capture re-indexed financial data and compare to the original.
6.  

Results: There will be no effect on the bottom line. The “old” default Revenue account credit balance will be exchanged for credit balances in the “new” Revenue accounts. The “old” default Cost of Sales account debit balance will be exchanged for debit balances in the “new” COS accounts.

A second branch is added. The Chart of Accounts will be expanded for Income Statement accounts only.

1. Go to File > Company > Branch to set up the new G/L suffix. If the branch separation will only apply to certain accounts (for example, cash, inventory, sales and cost of sales), set the accounts individually on the G/L tab. If the separation will apply to all Income Statement accounts, set the G/L suffix instead.
2. 1. Run the ARW report to Ccapture preliminary financial data for all periods in the current fiscal year.
   2. Re-index the General Ledger (Accounting > General Ledger >Reindex General Ledger) after all active users are logged out.
   3. Capture re-indexed financial data and compare to the original.
3.  

Results: There will be no effect on the overall bottom line. Branch-specific G/L accounts will be created if there has been any activity entered from the new location.

Management has determined that Inventory should be valued at Average Cost (C2) instead of Manual Cost (C1). Based on a comparison of Inventory Value Reports, it’s estimated that the overall value will decrease slightly when valued at C2. Go to File > Company > Master : Pricing and Costing to view current cost settings.

1. Before making any inventory costing changes, consult with your CPA for tax implications and DDI Support to review the ramifications. in Inform.
2. Capture a current Inventory Value Report at the “old” cost and again at the “new” cost.
3. Perform the cost changes in Company Master.
4. 1. Run the ARW report to Ccapture preliminary financial data for all periods in the current fiscal year.
   2. Re-index the General Ledger (Accounting > General Ledger >Reindex General Ledger) after all active users are logged out.
   3. Capture re-indexed financial data and compare to the original.
5.  

Results: The bottom line will be affected, but it will be difficult to predict until the process is completed because of the individual behavior of each item. For instance, a decrease to overall stock value after changing to C2 does not necessarily mean that Cost of Goods will decrease.
Accounts affected: Inventory, Drop Ship Inventory, Non-Inventory, Cost of Goods and Inventory Change.

A code used on sales orders to give customer refunds is incorrectly linked to a bank account. This is causing the Sales Journal to record erroneous postings to the bank account.

1. If the organization handles point of sale, the bank general ledger accounts will be adversely affected.
2. Go to File > Company > Bank > Ledger to check the current balance. Compare it to the current G/L balance for the same bank. If a discrepancy exists, it is likely that a correction to the Charge Code and re-index will correct the current year posting.
3. Go to File > Company > Miscellaneous Charge Code and make the corrections to the G/L account by using a Balance Sheet Liability called POS Returns & Refunds.
4. 1. Run the ARW report to Ccapture preliminary financial data for all periods in the current fiscal year.
   2. Re-index the General Ledger (Accounting > General Ledger >Reindex General Ledger) after all active users are logged out.
   3. Capture re-indexed financial data and compare to the original.
5.  

Results: The balance in the bank account will be reduced and transferred to the newly created account. Overall there will not be a change to the bottom line.
Accounts affected: Balance sheet asset (bank) and liability (refund suspense).

• Any G/L account appearing on the G/L Control Table
• Any G/L account associated with a Customer Sales Tax Code
• Any G/L account associated with a Miscellaneous Charge Code
• Any G/L account appearing on the Company Branch G/L Tab
• Any G/L account appearing in a Product Line specification
• Any G/L account appearing on the Company Warehouse Master (Inventory and COS Suffixes
• Any G/L account appearing in the inventory adjustment reason code menu.
•  

• Current Fiscal Year transactions
• G/L Control Table mappings retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Product Line G/L mappings retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Miscellaneous Charge Code mappings retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Inventory adjustment reason code mappings retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Customer Tax Code mappings from date of re-index forward
• Company Master Costing specifications retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Inventory Adjustment Cost Column retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year
• Sales Invoice G/L Cost Column retroactively from the beginning of current fiscal year

• Sales Journal
• Inventory Control
• Finance Charge
• Warranty Control

• Converted transactions from previous system
• Sales Tax amounts and percentages prior to the date of re-index
• Prior fiscal year transactions
• Prior bank account transactions
• Accounts Payable transactions prior to date of re-index
• Cash Receipts transactions prior to date of re-index
• Cash Disbursements transactions prior to date of re-index
• Journal Entries
• Vendor Master Expense and Liability G/L changes

• Purchase Journal: expense accounts remain as originally specified
• Cash Receipts Journal: bank accounts cannot be retroactively re-indexed
• Cash Disbursements Journal: bank accounts cannot be retroactively re-indexed
• General Journal: journal entries cannot be edited by a re-index

IMPORTANT NOTE: When closing a fiscal year, the GL will be re-indexed going forward,  Before re-indexing take special care to determine the fiscal year you are in (see the G/L inquiry screen).