Creating Beginning Balance Journal Entries (Subsidiary Ledger)
This topic shows you how to take the system account detail from your previous agency management system, and enter that same level of detail into your new AMS360 system. The accounts that have supporting detail are called subsidiary ledgers: the sum of their individual totals must match the total of one general ledger account.
In other words, some account totals in a general ledger need to be backed up by a detailed ledger (subsidiary ledger) that divides the account into manageable pieces by customer/policy/invoice.
From your prior management system, be sure to run the subsidiary ledger reports (in bullets below) and your general ledger report as of the last day of the prior month before your AMS360 "Live" date.
Before you begin data entry, be sure that all of your subsidiary ledgers are in balance with their specific accounts in the general ledger. Any discrepancies should be resolved prior to entering the subsidiary beginning balances and the general ledger beginning balances. Please work with your agency's bookkeeper, accountant, system administrator or prior system support department to achieve balanced reports.
- Customer Accounts Receivables
- Broker Accounts Receivables
- Finance Company Receivables
- Broker Commission Payables
- Insurance Company Net Payables
- Brokerage Company Net Payables
- Fee Company Net Payables (tax and fee agencies)
- Employee Commission Payables
However, if your "old"management system does not have this level of detail for the above accounts OR if you do not want to re-enter this level of detail into AMS360, you can re-enter the totals to the appropriate conversion accounts, or just by Customer, by Customer/Policy, or by the full detail of Customer/Policy/Invoice. However, AMS360 does recommend that at the very least, you re-enter your receivables to the Customer level. Please read this entire topic to make this procedure a successful one.
The date of your journal entry should equal the last day of the prior month before your AMS360 "Live" date. Entering this date, rather than the first day of the "Live" month, allows you to reprint financial reports at any time isolating the conversion data from the new system data.
- Be sure to activate the Conversion Accounts you need in the GL Chart of Accounts before you begin adding balances.
- Consult this help topic for all beginning balances except General Ledger Beginning Balances.
The following Beginning Balance Journal Entry types are entered from the same form. By selecting the various types listed below, the form title changes as well as some fields to accommodate the selected beginning balance journal entry.
The form is accessed from the Financial Center.
Form Name | Description |
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Customer Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Customer. All of the beginning balance types can be entered on this form.
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Broker Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Broker. |
Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Company > Brokerage. |
Fee Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Company > Fee. |
Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Company > Insurance. |
Employee Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry |
On the Actions menu, click Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Employee. |
The General Ledger Beginning Balances are entered on a different form. |
When you open the Customer Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
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Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's customer balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering customer balances, the division cannot be changed.
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Customer Beginning Balance JE". |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
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Every entry to the Customer Receivables require an invoice number. The Customer Beginning Balance Journal Entry creates a separately numbered invoice every time you click the Add... button in the Customer Accounts Receivable section, or Add... on the section title bar.
Using the Customer Accounts Receivable section, you can enter Customer, Broker, and Finance Company receivable beginning balance journal entries.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||||
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GL Number |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Inv Amount |
Enter the balance, excluding late charges. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want on AMS360, you can:
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Late Charge Amt |
Enter the late charge amount accumulated to date on the Inv Amount entered above. If a late charge is entered, the next late charge is assessed during Daily Process, based on the posting date of the beginning balance journal entry. If a late charge is not entered, and your agency assesses late charges, the next late charge is assessed during Daily Process, based on the invoice effective date referenced in the JE Description field. |
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date. |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL# Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field.
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To add beginning balances to the Customer, Broker, and Finance Company accounts receivables, follow the steps below.
You may find that entering and posting Customer Accounts Receivables, Broker Accounts Receivables and Finance Company Receivables as separate journal entries makes it easier to locate and resolve data entry errors.
- Click New, from the Customer Accounts Receivable section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL #11211000, if entering balances from your prior system for agency customers. Select GL #11221000, if entering balances from your prior system for receivables for customers brought to your agency by an outside broker. Select GL #11231000, if entering balances from your prior system for receivables due the agency from premium finance companies.
- If you charged late charges on your 'old' agency management system, be sure to separate the principle balance from the late charge balance for all types of receivables at the level you are posting (Customer - Customer/Policy - Customer/Policy/Invoice). This prevents AMS360 from charging late charges on late charges.
Keep track of these late charges and total them, because you will be entering the total late charges as a reciprocal (opposite) balance to account #11290000. (Explanation below.) - If cash receipts from premium finance companies are posted directly to a customer's account, you may not have beginning finance company receivable balances.
- Complete the fields for the first customer on your source report. See the Customer Beginning Balance Form section of this topic for help with these fields.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer balances until all items are entered and the Total Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL number 11290000 - Conversion Receivables Differences.
Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total receivables, less late charges, in the Inv Amount field. If the receivables total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total late charges, which you calculated earlier, into the Late Charge Amt field.
For agencies set up on a Cash accounting basis, this late charge amount designated for account #11290000 does not post there, but automatically posts to the deferred late charge accounts by business type. When the invoice is actually paid, only then does the system move the late charge from the deferred account to the late charge expense account.
Account Number | Type of Business |
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21480000 Deferred Late Charge Income - Agency Bus |
Agency Business |
21490000 Deferred Late Charge Income - Broker Bus |
Broker Business |
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Total Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
When you open the Broker Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's broker payable balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering broker payable balances, the division cannot be changed. If the wrong division is selected, just close the journal entry without saving, and begin again, selecting the correct division. |
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Broker Payable Beginning Balance JE". |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
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If you want to enter only summary balances vs full detail, use account #21138000 and enter amounts by broker. For more information see the Creating a GL Beginning Balance JE topic.
If you want to enter invoice detail for your broker commission payables, follow the instructions below:
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
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GL Number |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Inv Amount |
Enter the appropriate balance. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want on AMS360, you can:
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date). |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL# Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field.
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To add beginning balances to the Broker accounts payable, follow the steps below.
- Click New, from the Broker Payable section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL # 21135000 Commissions Payable - Broker Business, if entering balances from your prior system for broker payables by broker.
- Complete the fields for the first broker's customer on your source report. See the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Broker Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Broker Payables section of this topic for help with these fields. Be sure to enter these payable beginning balance journal entries by broker.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer/policy record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer/policy balances by broker until all items are entered and the Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL #21138000 Conv Commissions Payable - Broker Bus. Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total payables for the selected broker in the Inv Amount field. If the payable total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
When you open the Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's brokerage company payable balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering brokerage company payable balances, the division cannot be changed. If the wrong division is selected, just close the journal entry without saving, and begin again, selecting the correct division. |
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
|
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Brokerage Company Beginning Balance JE". |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
|
If you want to enter only summary balances vs full detail, use account #21114000 and enter amounts by brokerage company. For more information see the Creating a GL Beginning Balance JE topic.
If you want to enter invoice detail for your brokerage company payables, follow the instructions below:
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||||
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GL Number |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Inv Amount |
Enter the appropriate balance. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want on AMS360, you can:
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date). |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL# Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field. If the general ledger number is #21112000, then enable the Insured, Policy # and Brokerage Co fields and select the appropriate information.
If the general ledger number is #21114000, then enable the Brokerage Co field and select the appropriate brokerage company. Enter the total reciprocal (opposite) amount for all of this brokerage company's detail.
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To add beginning balances to the Brokerage Company accounts payable, follow the steps below.
- Click New, from the Brokerage Company Payables section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL # 21112000 Accounts Payable to Brokerage Companies, if entering balances from your prior system for brokerage company payables by brokerage company.
- Complete the fields for the first brokerage company customer on your source report. See the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Brokerage Company Payables section of this topic for help with these fields. Be sure to enter these payable beginning balance journal entries by brokerage company.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer/policy record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer/policy balances by brokerage company until all items are entered and the Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL #21114000 Conv Accounts Payable to Brokerage Co. Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total payables for the selected brokerage company in the Inv Amount field. If the payable total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
When you open the Fee Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's fee company payable balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering fee company payable balances, the division cannot be changed. If the wrong division is selected, just close the journal entry without saving, and begin again, selecting the correct division. |
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
|
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Fee Company Beginning Balance JE." |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
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If you want to enter only summary balances vs full detail, use account #21118 and enter amounts by fee company. For more information see the Creating a GL Beginning Balance JE topic.
If you want to enter invoice detail for your fee company payables, follow the instructions below:
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GL Number |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Inv Amount |
Enter the appropriate balance. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want on AMS360, you can:
|
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date). |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL# Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field.
If the general ledger number is #21118000, then enable the Fee Co field and select the appropriate fee company. Enter the total reciprocal (opposite) amount for all of this fee company's detail.
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To add beginning balances to the Fee Company accounts payable, follow the steps below.
- Click New, from the Fee Company Payables section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL # 21119000 Accounts Payable to Fee Companies, if entering balances from your prior system for fee company payables by fee company.
- Complete the fields for the first fee company customer on your source report. See the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Fee Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Fee Company Payables section of this topic for help with these fields. Be sure to enter these payable beginning balance journal entries by fee company.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer/policy record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer/policy balances by fee company until all items are entered and the Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL #21118000 Conv Accounts Payable to Fee Co. Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total payables for the selected fee company in the Inv Amount field. If the payable total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
When you open the Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's insurance company payable balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering insurance payable balances, the division cannot be changed. If the wrong division is selected, just close the journal entry without saving, and begin again, selecting the correct division. |
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
|
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Insurance Company Beginning Balance JE." |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
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If you want to enter only summary balances versus full detail, use account #21113 and enter amounts by insurance company. For more information see the Creating a GL Beginning Balance JE topic.
If you want to enter invoice detail for your insurance company payables, follow the instructions below:
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
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GL Division |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Invoice Amount |
Enter the appropriate balance. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want in AMS360, you can:
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date). |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field. If the general ledger number is #21111000, then enable the Insured, Policy #, and Insurance Co fields and select the appropriate information. Continue entering detail until you have entered everything for the selected insurance company. If the general ledger number is #21113000, then enable the Insurance CO field and select the appropriate insurance company. Enter the total reciprocal (opposite) amount for all of this insurance company's detail.
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To add beginning balances to the Insurance Company accounts payable, follow the steps below.
- Click New, from the Insurance Company Payables section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL # 21111000 Accounts Payable to Insurance Companies, if entering balances from your prior system for insurance company payables by insurance company.
- Complete the fields for the first insurance company customer on your source report. See the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Insurance Company Payables section of this topic for help with these fields. Be sure to enter these payable beginning balance journal entries by insurance company.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer/policy record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer/policy balances by insurance company until all items are entered and the Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL #21113000 Conv Accounts Payable to Insurance Co. Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total payables for the selected insurance company in the Inv Amount field. If the payable total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
When you open the Employee Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry form, the General Information section is expanded.
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business Unit/Division |
Select the appropriate division from the list. Separate journal entries must be created for each division's employee payable balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering employee payable balances, the division cannot be changed. If the wrong division is selected, just close the journal entry without saving, and begin again, selecting the correct division. |
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Journal Date |
Enter the date you want the journal entry to post to the general ledger. The date defaults to the current system date but can be changed. This date is generally the last day of the month prior to your "Live" month on AMS360. Why? This allows you to print financials on AMS360 for...
|
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Journal Memo |
Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Employee Payable Beginning Balance JE." |
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Totals |
These fields are dynamic and update as you add voucher lines to your journal entry. Before you can post the journal entry the following must be true:
|
If you want to enter only summary balances vs full detail, use account #21134000 and enter amounts by employee. For more information see the Creating a GL Beginning Balance JE topic.
If you want to enter invoice detail for your employee commission payables, follow the instructions below:
Field Name/ Group | What is this? | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GL Number |
Choose one of the following:
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Business Unit |
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Inv Amount |
Enter the appropriate balance. Based on how much source detail you have available, and how much detail you want on AMS360, you can:
|
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Days Old |
Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date). |
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JE Description |
The JE Description defaults as "[Invoice Effective Date] Prior Balance". The invoice effective date is calculated by taking the current system date minus the number of days entered in the Days Old field. |
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GL# Required Fields |
GL # Required Fields are based on the general ledger number selected in the GL Number field. If the general ledger number is #21131000 or #21135000, then enable the Insured, Policy # and Comm Pers (commission person) fields and select the appropriate information. The Comm Pers field includes employees and brokers. Be sure to select the correct employee for your journal entry.
If the general ledger number is #21134000 or #21138000, then enable the Comm Pers field and select the appropriate Employee. Enter the total reciprocal (opposite) amount for all of this employee's detail.
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To add beginning balances to the Employee accounts payable, follow the steps below.
- Click New, from the Employee Payable section. This opens the data entry fields.
- Select GL #21131000 or #21135000 Commissions Payable - Agency/Broker Business, if entering balances from your prior system for employee payables by employee.
- Complete the fields for the first employee's customer on your source report. See the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Employee Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry > Employee Payables section of this topic for help with these fields. Be sure to enter these payable beginning balance journal entries by employee.
- Click the Add... button. This adds the current record and returns focus to the GL Number field, ready for the next customer/policy record to be entered.
- Continue adding customer/policy balances by employee until all items are entered and the Balance field, in the General Information section, agrees with your source report.
- For the final entry, select GL #21134000 or #21138000 Conv Commission Payable - Agency/Broker Bus. Enter the reciprocal (opposite) of the total payables for the selected employee in the Inv Amount field. If the payable total is a positive amount, enter a negative amount (minus sign in front of the dollar amount) and vice versa.
- Click Add on the section menu bar. This adds the last record and closes the data entry fields. The Balance of your journal entry should be $0.00.
- When you are satisfied with your journal entry, click Post.
Once the General Ledger Beginning Balances and all other Beginning Balance Journal Entries (subsidiary ledgers) are entered, run a report to verify that there is a zero balance in general ledger accounts #11290000, #21113000, #21114000, #21118000, #21134000, and #21138000. Several reports are available to check these amounts: