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.

Accessing 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
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. Customer Accounts Receivable Broker Accounts Receivable Finance Company Accounts Receivable Conversion Receivables Differences
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.

Beginning Balance Journal Entries

Customer Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

When you open the Customer 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 customer balances. Once the journal entry's division selection is made, and you begin entering customer 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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Customer Beginning Balance JE".

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Customer Accounts Receivable Section

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?

GL Number

Choose one of the following:

GL Number	What is this?
11211000000 AR - Agency Business	Use for Customer Accounts Receivable beginning balances.
11221000000 AR - Broker Business	Use for Broker Accounts Receivable beginning balances.
11231000 AR - Finance Companies	Use for Finance Accounts Receivable beginning balances. If your prior system handled finance company receivable activity as part of the client accounts receivable, you should not have a balance to enter to this account Example When a finance company is involved, the customer balance is not transferred to a finance company A/R. Instead, the balance is kept on the customer account and finance company payments are applied to the customer account.
11290000 Conversion Receivables Differences	Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts receivable entries. This balancing entry is treated differently depending on whether your agency is on the Cash or Accrual accounting basis. For instructions, see the How to Add Customer Beginning Balances section in this topic. This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits. When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balances of the Customer, Broker, and Finance Company receivables are posted to the GL #11290000 account. When the Customer Beginning Balance JE's and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #11290000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The Branch, Department and Group fields are not active for GL Number #11211000, #11221000, or #11231000, until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department, and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

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.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date.

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.

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 #11211000, then fill in the Insured and Policy # fields.
If the general ledger number is #11221000, then fill in the Insured, Policy #, and Broker fields.
If the general ledger number is #11231000, then fill in the Insured, Policy #, and Finance Co fields.
If the general ledger number is #11290000, the Required Fields are inactive.

Required Field	What is this?
Insured	If entering Customer (agency business) Accounts Receivable, click Search to find the appropriate customer. If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center.
Policy #	The Policy number list fills with the policies for the selected customer. If you do not wish to attach the balance to a specific policy, select Prior Billing Activity from the list.
Broker	If entering Broker (broker business) Account Receivable select the broker affiliated with the policy.
Finance Co	If entering Finance Company Account Receivable, select the finance company responsible for the receivable balance.

Workflow: Enter Customer/Broker/Finance Company Receivable Beginning Balances

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
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.

Broker Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Broker Payable Beginning Balance JE".

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Broker Payables Section

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?

GL Number

Choose one of the following:

GL Number

What is this?

21135000
Commission Payable - Broker Business

Use to enter detailed Broker Commission Payable beginning balances by Broker. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each broker.

21138000
Conv Commission Payable - Broker Business

Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by broker. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected broker.

This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits.

When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Commission Payable - Broker Business account for each Broker is posted to this account.

When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Commission Payable - Broker Business account for each employee's broker business is posted to this account.

For more information on this bulleted item, see the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Employee Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry section of this topic.

When the Broker Beginning Balance JE's, Employee Beginning Balance JE's, and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21138000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The Branch, Department and Group fields are not active for GL Number #21135000 until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department, and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date).

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.

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 #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 broker for your journal entry.
If the general ledger number is #21138000, then enable the Comm Pers field and select the appropriate Broker.

Required Field

What is this?

Insured

If entering Broker Payable Beginning Balances, click Search to find the appropriate broker's customer.

If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center. Be sure to designate this customer as a broker's customer and attach to the appropriate broker.

Policy #

The Policy number list fills with the policies for the selected broker's customer.

Comm Pers

If entering Broker Payable Beginning Balances, select the appropriate broker from the Comm Pers field.

Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Brokerage Company Beginning Balance JE".

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Brokerage Company Payables Section

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?

GL Number

Choose one of the following:

GL Number

What is this?

21112000
Accounts Payable to Brokerage Companies

Use to enter detailed Brokerage Company Payable beginning balances by Brokerage Company. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each brokerage company.

21114000
Conv Accounts Payable to Brokerage Co

Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by brokerage company. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected brokerage company.

This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits.

When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Accounts Payable to Brokerage Companies account for each Brokerage Company is posted to this account.

When the Brokerage Company Beginning Balance JE's and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21114000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The Branch, Department and Group fields are not active for GL Number #21112000 until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department, and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date).

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.

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.

Continue entering detail until you have entered everything for the selected brokerage company

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.

Required Field

What is this?

Insured

If entering Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balances, click Search to find the appropriate customer.

If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center.

Policy #

The Policy number list fills with the policies for the selected customer.

Brokerage Co

If entering Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balances, select the appropriate brokerage company from the Brokerage Co field.

Workflow: Enter Brokerage Company Payable Beginning Balances

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.

Fee Company Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Fee Company Beginning Balance JE."

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Fee Company Payables Section

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:

GL Number

What is this?

21119000
Accounts Payable to Fee Companies

Use to enter detailed Fee Company Payable beginning balances by Fee Company. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each fee company.

21118000
Conv Accounts Payable to Fee Co

Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by fee company. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected fee company.

This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits.

When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Accounts Payable to Fee Companies account for each Fee Company is posted to this account.

When the Fee Company Beginning Balance JE's and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21118000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The Branch, Department and Group fields are not active for GL Number #21119000 until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department, and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date).

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.

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 #21119000, then enable the Insured, Policy # and Fee Co fields and select the appropriate information.

Continue entering detail until you have entered everything for the selected fee company.

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.

Required Field

What is this?

Insured

If entering Fee Company Payable Beginning Balances, click Search to find the appropriate customer.

If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center.

Policy #

The Policy number list fills with the policies for the selected customer.

Fee Co

If entering Fee Company Payable Beginning Balances, select the appropriate fee company from the Fee Co field.

Insurance Company Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Insurance Company Beginning Balance JE."

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Insurance> Company Payables Section

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?

GL Division

Choose one of the following:

GL Number

What is this?

21111000
Accounts Payable to Insurance Companies

Use to enter detailed Insurance Company Payable beginning balances by Insurance Company. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each insurance company.

21113000
Conv Accounts Payable to Insurance Co

Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by insurance company. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected insurance company.

This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits.

When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Accounts Payable to Insurance Companies account for each Insurance Company is posted to this account.

When the Insurance Company Beginning Balance JE's and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21113000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The branch, department and group fields are not active for GL Number 21111000 until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date).

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.

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.

Required Field

What is this?

Insured

If entering Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balances, click Search to find the appropriate customer.

If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center.

Policy #

The policy number list fills with the policies for the selected customer.

Insurance Co

If entering Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balances, select the appropriate insurance company from the Insurance Co field.

Workflow: Enter Insurance Company Payable Beginning Balances

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.

Employee Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry

General Information Section

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.

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...

a period that includes only the beginning balances from your prior system.
your first month on AMS360 that excludes your beginning balances.

Journal Memo

Enter a description of the purpose of the journal entry. The default is "Employee Payable Beginning Balance JE."

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:

Debits = Credits
Balance = $0.00

Fields	What is this?
Debits	Total debits entered on the journal entry.
Credits	Total credits entered on the journal entry.
Balance	When all balances are entered, the total Debits must equal the total Credits with a Balance of zero in order for the journal entry to post.

Employee Payables Section

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:

GL Number	What is this?
21131000 Commission Payable - Agency Business	Use to enter detail Employee Commission Payable beginning balances by Employee for agency business. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each employee for agency business.
21134000 Conv Commission Payable - Agency Bus	Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by employee for agency business. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected employee for agency business. This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits. When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Commission Payable - Agency Business account for each employee's agency business is posted to this account. When the Employee Beginning Balance JE's for agency business and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21134000 should = $0.00.
21135000 Commission Payable - Broker Business	Use to enter detailed Employee Commission Payable beginning balances by Employee for broker business. This means that you will do a separate journal entry for each employee for broker business.
21138000 Conv Commission Payable - Broker Bus	Use this general ledger number for the final balancing entry by employee for broker business. The amount should be the reciprocal (opposite) of the total amount of the detailed accounts payable entries made for the selected employee for broker business. This entry is necessary to create a legitimate journal entry; total debits equal total credits. When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Commission Payable - Broker Business account for each employee's broker business is posted to this account. When the General Ledger Beginning Balances are posted, the total balance of the Commission Payable - Broker Business account for each broker is posted to this account. For more information on this bulleted item, see the Beginning Balance Journal Entries > Broker Payable Beginning Balance Journal Entry section of this topic. When the Employee Beginning Balance JE's, Broker Beginning Balance JE's, and the GL Beginning Balance JE are successfully posted, GL account #21138000 should = $0.00.

Business Unit

Field

What is this?

Division

The division defaults from the Business Unit/Division entry in the General Information section and cannot be changed.

Branch
Department
Group

The Branch, Department and Group fields are not active for GL Number #21131000 or 21135000 until the customer and/or policy is selected.

The branch, department and group initially default from the customer. If a policy is selected and the business units are different, they take precedence. The fields are updated.

At this point, the branch, department, and group can be changed.

Depending on how your agency is setup in Agency Setup, branch and group may not be available.

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:

Enter an amount for each customer.
Enter an amount for each policy.
Enter an amount for each open invoice posted on the prior system.

Days Old

Enter the number of Days Old for the Inv Amount (the date the invoice amount originated, minus the current system date).

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.

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.

Continue entering detail until you have entered everything for the selected employee.

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.

Required Field

What is this?

Insured

If entering Employee Payable Beginning Balances, click Search to find the appropriate customer.

If the customer is not yet in the system, use Launch New Center on the Toolbox menu, and add the customer through the Customer Center.

Policy #

The Policy number list fills with the policies for the selected customer.

Comm Pers

If entering Employee Payable Beginning Balances, select the appropriate employee from the Comm Pers field.

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:

Balance Sheet

Trial Balance

General Ledger