The Accrual option will allow you to raise invoices, or payments, and split their impact on the aged reports across periods. Once the option is enabled, specific analysis records can be set, the use of which, will prompt a recurring journal to be posted for the required number of periods.
Enable Ledger Accrual
Go to System and select Options.
Select either Sales Ledger Options or Purchase Ledger Options.
Under the Transaction section, select either Use Sales Ledger Accrual or Use Purchase Ledger Accrual option.
A new field called Accrual Nominal is now displayed for you.
You can set up a default nominal account to be used for the accrual and this nominal pulls through onto any sales ledger invoice or credit note that you can use accruals for.
You can also leave this blank and manually enter your relevant nominal account on the transactions themselves.
Please note, if the currency of the accrual nominal account specified in the Sales Ledger Options does not match the currency of the transaction, then it will not be pulled through and you must manually enter an appropriate nominal account that matches the currency of your transaction.
This will not update the nominal account you have set in the Sales Ledger Options, and will only save against this transaction.
You will not be able to save any transaction without having an accrual nominal specified.
Click Save.
You now have to set up the analysis record or records that you wish to use with sales ledger invoice or credit note that update you accrual nominal.
You can set up an existing or newly created analysis record to be an accrual analysis by following the steps below.
Specify which analysis records you want to use for accruals
Click Debtors then Settings then click Analysis.
Note: All analysis records are displayed for you. You can narrow down your search by using the advanced filters. You can also search on the columns directly by pointing the mouse to the name of the column and click on the icon and choose from the available filter list, then click OK.
Find the analysis you wish to set up as an accrual analysis, highlight it and click on the Edit button. Alternatively you can create a new analysis record and set it up to be an accrual analysis.
On the Summary section, select the Accrual checkbox.
A new field called Periods is now displayed for you.
You can set up a default number of periods which will be pulled through to all sales transactions and you can manually update it on any sales transactions that you use.
You can also leave this blank and manually enter your number of periods on the transactions themselves.
You can save any transaction with zero period, but you cannot save it with a negative value.
When you are done with the above, click Save.
Your selected analysis record is now ready to be used on sales ledger invoices or credit notes. For more information on how to use an accrual analysis on transactions, please refer to our Posting a sales accrual invoice or credit note article.
Although our example takes you through a sales ledger invoice, posting a purchase ledger accruals follows the same set up and processing as the sales ledger accruals.