The information in this article applies to:
This article includes the following:
Year-End Procedures
Frequently Asked Questions
Backup
Checks
Void Posted Checks
Reports
1099s
Clear Vendor Analysis Totals
Purging Invoices
The following procedures should be performed at the end of each year.
Is your backup routine adequate?
Even if your firm is making regular backups, we recommend that you occasionally restore
the data from one of your backups to a directory other than the program working directory
to check the integrity of the data. Also make sure that you rotate your backup media
so that you always have more than one backup. It is important that the Data File
Integrity Check program be run before making backups and particularly important that it be
run before making a year-end backup. The purpose of running the Data File Integrity
Check program is to verify that there are no errors in the data files before making a
backup. Make sure that the year-end backup is performed before closing out the
year. Many firms save their year-end backup as a permanent historical record.
Can I enter invoices and manual checks or print checks dated for the new year if I have
not closed out the current year?
Yes.
Can I post checks dated for the new year if I have not closed out the current year?
Possibly. It depends on whether you are integrating with Tabs3's General Ledger
Software (GLS). If you are integrating with GLS and the Posting Cut-Off Date used is later
than the current reporting month and year in GLS, you will be prevented from running the
Post Checks program. You must either select an earlier Posting Cut-Off Date or close out
the year in GLS before you will be allowed to post checks. If you are not
integrating with GLS, you can post checks for the new year without closing for the current
year, but it will affect the MTD, YTD and TD Vendor Totals for the Vendor Analysis Report.
Can I post unpaid invoices for the new year if I have not closed out the current
year?
You will not be able to post unpaid invoices for the new year if the Unpaid Posting Date
found in the Post Unpaid Invoices program or the Invoice Date you are trying to post has a
date later than the current reporting month and year in GLS. APS determines the GLS
journal entry date based on whether the Posting of Unpaid Invoices option in APS
Customization is set to Detail or Summary and whether the Accounting Method is set to Cash
or Accrual. Detail posting uses the Unpaid Posting Date if configured for a Cash Method of
accounting but uses the Invoice Date if configured for an Accrual Method of accounting.
Summary posting uses the Unpaid Posting Date.
What happens when a posted check is voided?
The Void Posted Checks program will back out a paid invoice from the vendor totals.
If the Delete invoices paid by the check check box is cleared, the original
invoice(s) will be retained as an unpaid invoice and a voided check record will be
created. If the Delete invoice paid by check check box is
checked, the invoice(s) paid by this check will be deleted and a voided check record will
be created. The voided check records are used by APS reports. This allows a complete Check
Register to be printed with all check numbers accounted for.
If you are integrating with GLS, reversing journal entries are automatically created and posted to GLS.
If you are integrating with Tabs3, cost entries made for that invoice or manual check will not be affected. Therefore, you may want to edit the cost entries in Tabs3.
Tabs3 Version 11 Note: If the cost transaction has not been final billed and updated when the Void Posted Checks program is run and the Delete invoices paid by check check box is selected, the cost transaction will also be removed.
If I void a check posted last year, what Void Date should I specify? I do not
want to change the balances of last year's reports. Will specifying a Void Date
dated this year affect GLS check reconciliation?
The Void Date you specify depends on your company's and accountant's procedures. If
you specify a Void Date of a prior year, the journal entries posted will
affect the prior year's balances. If you specify a Void Date of the current year,
the journal entries will affect only the current year's balances. Specifying a Void
Date of the current year will not throw off your current month's GLS check reconciliation
because the original check entry is included in the Outstanding Checks amount. When
you void the check, the voided check entry will also be included in the Outstanding Checks
amount, thereby netting an amount of zero.
Will voiding a check from a prior year have any effect on YTD totals for a vendor?
When a check is voided, you will be asked if you want to change Vendor Analysis
Totals. The three options are as follows:
Select the TD Only option if the check was dated in a prior year.
Which reports should I run at year-end?
Run the same reports that you would normally run at the end of each month. Some firms will
run their regular month-end reports and then rerun certain reports for year-end. Consider
including the following reports for your year-end close-out: Vendor Analysis Report,
Voided Check List, Check Register, Paid Invoices by Vendor Report, 1099 Report (and/or
Forms), Invoice by Vendor Report and Invoice by Voucher Report. Keep in mind that the MTD
and YTD totals on the Vendor Analysis Report will not be available once the Clear Vendor
Analysis Totals program has been run with the clear YTD option. It is important to note
that certain information will not be available if you elect to purge
invoices.
I am trying to print 1099 Forms, but nothing is printing? Why?
You can use the following steps to troubleshoot why this is occurring:
Where can I order 1099 Forms?
Continuous 1099 Forms can be ordered directly from the IRS. 1099 Forms for laser printers
can be ordered from most business form printing companies, such as Deluxe or purchased at
your local office supply store.
Where does the 1099 Form get the firm's name and Federal ID # from?
The firm's name and Federal ID # are retrieved from the Firm Information in System
Configuration.
What do I do if I cleared Vendor Analysis Totals for the year and now I need to
print 1099 Forms for the prior year?
This is not a problem. When printing the 1099 Forms, select a Data Source of Paid and
Posted Invoices. If you select the option for Paid and Posted Invoices,
the source for 1099 amounts will be from the paid and posted invoices in the invoice file
for the Tax Year entered. Clearing vendor analysis totals does not affect the information
in the invoice file. For example, if your Tax Year is 2003, then APS will use all
paid and posted invoices that have a paid date of 2003 that have not been purged. However,
in the event that Vendor Analysis Totals have been cleared and invoices purged for the
specified Tax Year, you will need to restore from a backup prior to clearing totals and/or
purging the invoices.
Will posting checks for a future year affect the 1099 Forms totals?
If you choose "Paid and Posted Invoices" as the Data Source when running the
1099 Forms, posting checks for a future year will not affect your 1099 Form
totals. If you choose "YTD Vendor Totals" as the Data Source,
posting checks for a future year will affect the 1099 totals.
I have several of the same vendors in APS that I have as payees in our Trust
Accounting Software (TAS). Is there a way to automatically combine those two totals so
that I can print just one 1099 Form for each vendor?
Yes! In TAS, run the Create APS 1099 Merge File program. This program creates a file
containing the 1099 information for trust accounts that are set up to use the firm as the
payer. Once this program has been run, the APS 1099 Report, 1099 Forms and 1099 Disk File
will include the information from TAS. The information for common entities (i.e., an APS
vendor with the same Federal ID # as a TAS payee) will be combined.
I have Vendor Totals from last year's 1099 showing on this year's 1099 Forms. Why is
this occurring? How do I fix this?
Use the following steps to troubleshoot this problem:
After running the 1099 Report, I realized we had the same vendor entered under two
different vendor numbers. What is the easiest way to correct this so I can print a single
1099 Form with combined amounts from both vendor numbers?
Transfer all of the invoices from one of the duplicate numbers to the other using the
Transfer Invoices Between Vendors program (making sure to select the Transfer Posted
Checks check box). The MTD, YTD and TD Vendor Analysis Totals for each vendor will
automatically be updated for posted checks accordingly. Delete the now-empty
duplicate vendor number.
We file our 1099-MISC forms electronically with the IRS. Does APS support electronic
filing?
Yes. APS Version 10.7 or higher includes the new filing format changes recently
implemented by the IRS. If you file electronically, you must be using at least APS Version
10.7 or else the IRS will return your electronic file.
When creating a 1099 Disk File for electronic filing with the IRS, what should I enter
for the Payer Name Control and Transmitter Control Code?
Both the Payer Name Control and the Transmitter Control Code fields are assigned by the
IRS. The Payer Name Control (a 4-digit code) can be obtained from the mailing label on the
1099 Package that is mailed to most payers on record each December. If you have not
received a Package 1099 or you do not know your Payer Name Control, this field can be left
blank. However, the Transmitter Control Code is required by the IRS and can be obtained by
filing IRS Form 4419. This form is an application for permission to file IRS forms
electronically.
In 1998, a new tax law was put into effect for filing 1099s. If a 1099 is for "gross proceeds paid to an attorney in connection with legal services" and the attorney will not be keeping the entire amount as income, the amount paid should be placed in Box 13 with the letter "A" written next to it. In all other cases, the amount paid would be placed in Box 7 - Nonemployee compensation. In 2001, the IRS changed their form to include a Box 14 for "gross proceeds paid to an attorney". The 1998 tax law change also introduced a new threshold limit. In the past, 1099s only had to be filed if the payer paid out more than $600. Now, if the payee is an attorney, there is no threshold. 1099s need to be filed for any amount paid to an attorney.
Version 10.2 or later contains all above changes to the 1099 Tax Law. For more specifics on the tax law, contact your accountant and/or the Internal Revenue Service.
What does the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program do? Do I even have to
clear these totals?
The purpose of the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program is to reset the Month-to-Date
and/or Year-to-Date accumulated paid figures for each vendor to zero. These figures are
used for the Vendor Analysis Report and optionally for 1099 information. If you do not
clear each month, the paid figures will be the same in both the Month-to-Date column and
the Year-to-Date column. If you do not use the Vendor Analysis Report, then there is no
need to even run the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program. This is because you can use a Data
Source of Paid and Posted Invoices when running 1099 information instead of the
YTD Vendor Totals.
What can we do if we forget to run the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program at the
end of the year?
You can still run the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals for last year without any problem if
you haven’t posted checks yet for the current year. The Clear Date that is entered
when running this program does not affect which information is cleared; it is merely used
as a reference for the next time vendor totals are cleared. However, if you have already
posted any checks for the current year, those amounts will be included in the
Month-to-Date and Year-To-Date figures along with last month’s and year's information
and will also be cleared when you run the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program.
What happens if I accidentally run the Clear Vendor Analysis Totals program before I
run my Year-End Reports and 1099 Forms? Can these totals be recovered?
The only thing that happens is that the MTD and/or YTD Vendor totals are changed to 0.00.
If you clear the totals for MTD, then only MTD totals are cleared. If you clear the totals
for YTD, then both YTD and MTD totals are cleared. Once the vendor totals have been
cleared, the only way to recover the totals would be to manually enter the totals for each
vendor using the Vendor program or to restore from a backup that was made prior to
clearing. Since 1099 information can still be retrieved using a Data Source of Paid and
Posted Invoices, the only report affected is the Vendor Analysis Report.
How do I purge Invoices?
Purging invoices is optionally performed when the Purge Checks program is
run. If you elect to purge, you will be allowed to enter a Purge Date. The only invoices
that are purged are paid and posted invoices that have had their Save/Purge field set to
Purge and the Date Paid falls on or before the Purge Date entered when the program is run.
Additionally, records in the voided check file that are dated on or before the Purge Date
are also purged.
How do I mark Invoices to be purged?
By using the Select Invoices to Save/Purge program, you can change the Save/Purge field to
Purge or Save for groups of selected invoices. You can also change individual invoices by
using the Invoice/Manual Check data entry program. Paid invoices and manual checks that
have been posted and have their Save/Purge field set to Purge will be physically removed
from the hard disk when the Purge Checks program is run.
If I decide to purge, what are the consequences of doing so?
Purging removes actual records from the system. You will lose historical data
normally included on the Check Register and Paid Invoices by Vendor Report. Most
firms retain their data for as long as possible, with purging invoices done annually or
even less often. Factors to weigh when deciding if invoices should be purged
include: need for historical detail, disk space available, time required to back up files
and security.
I would like to delete old vendors. What are the consequences of doing so?
Besides deleting the vendor record, deleting a vendor also deletes all paid, unpaid and
voided invoices, all recurring entries and all manual checks for the vendor. You may not
be able to print complete and accurate reports (including 1099 Forms) if you delete a
vendor. Vendors with posted unpaid invoices cannot be deleted until the unpaid invoices
have been unposted.
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