Ledger and periods

Finance Manager prepares a journal for the approved client document and assigns it to an accounting period. Journal lines identify the ledger account and debit or credit amount. The journal retains the document reference, posting date and operation reference so the team can explain the posted result from its original fee evidence.

Ledger accounts carry a code, name and account type within the practice organization. Periods have start and end dates and move through Open, Review and Closed. These records give Finance Manager the context for deciding where a document belongs and whether the period is ready for posting or closure.

• Prepare the journal. Finance Manager checks the source document, selected accounts and period dates. Compare total debits and credits before requesting approval. Keep the source line and dimension information useful for tracing the amount.
• Approve and post. Finance Manager approves the balanced journal under the practice’s agreed review policy. Post the approved work and retain the posting time with the resulting journal and document. Investigate a failed or uncertain result before making another posting attempt.
• Reconcile the period. Compare the posted document values with journal balances and cash applications. Review exceptions before moving the accounting period to Closed. Record the closure date once the Finance Manager accepts the reconciled position.

Bring the chart of accounts, period calendar and an example journal for a design fee. Agree how invoice, credit, expense and adjustment documents map to accounts. Decide which account dimensions matter to the practice and how the source line is identified. Establish the reviewer arrangement for a journal prepared by Finance Manager.

Confirm whether these records are the operating ledger or part of a connection to another accounting platform. Set up that connection explicitly and agree how posting outcomes are reconciled. Use the same USD basis when comparing document and journal amounts. Establish how a late document is handled after its intended period has closed.

For a rehearsal, Finance Manager prepares a USD 8,000 design-fee journal with equal debit and credit totals. The posting date falls inside an Open period and the document has been approved. Check the journal, document and operation outcome after posting. The posted fee should appear under the selected period and its account references should explain the amount.

Change one journal line to USD 7,500 while leaving the other at USD 8,000. Resolve the difference before approving the journal. Then repeat the original balanced case against a Closed period and apply the practice’s late-posting policy rather than changing a historical period silently.

For a posted correction, retain the original journal and link the reversal to it. Review the correction with Finance Manager and compare the resulting balances. Count the original posting and the posted reversal once each, using their recorded debit and credit amounts. Exclude Draft and Approved journals from posted totals. Marking the original Reversed must preserve its contribution alongside the reversing entry so the combined movement can be explained.

• Journals awaiting approval — Draft journals with their source document, period and posting date.
• Accounting period schedule — Period boundaries and the current Open, Review or Closed status.
• Posted fee documents — Posted documents with dates and types for financial reconciliation.

Use journal review to posting, then verified cash to reconciliation. Compare the posted source with the cash applied to it.