Create and manage sets of accounts

Sets of accounts are the basic container for the work you’ll be undertaking for your clients. Each set of accounts represents an accounting period and contains the trial balance and the other data necessary to produce final accounts.

If you want to create brought forward figures, create a new set of accounts for the current year, but remember to base it on the previous year’s set of accounts. This will create brought forward figures and establish the comparative balances for you.

To create a set of accounts

Accounting periods are independent from each other. This means that data in one year doesn’t affect data in other years.

  1. From the Client list, click your client.
  2. From the Final Accounts section > Create new set of accounts.
  3. You can base on an existing set of accounts (if available) by choosing from the Period ending drop-down list, or choose Create a new set of accounts.
  4. Enter the Period Start. This will automatically be set to the day following the end of the period used as the base for this set of accounts.

Entering the Period Start will automatically enter a Period End. To change this, click the Period end box and enter the correct date. The Period description works out whether the period represents a year and either displays Year or Period. You can change this.

If your client is a Sage Accounting customer, you’ll have more options:

Update Year End Date in Sage Accounting If this is selected and you make a change to the Period End in Sage Final Accounts, we’ll update the Year End Date in Sage Accounting to match.
Lock Down Transactions in Sage Accounting If your client is an Sage Accounting customer, selecting this option will set the Year End Lockdown date in Financial Settings. This will prevent your client entering transactions prior to the day after the Period End date you’ve entered for this set of accounts.

5. When basing on an existing set of accounts, where you don’t want brought forward balances created, clear the check box. When to base on an existing set of accounts

6. When creating a new set of accounts and this is the first period, select First period (no comparative period). Otherwise, enter the comparative details.

7. Click Next.

8. Choose the Client type for your client: sole trader, or partnership, or limited company. Depending on what client type you choose, you might have additional options to select, like dormant accounts or filleted accounts for limited companies.

9. Click Save.

If you want to select an accountant’s report style, e.g. you want to adopt the ICAEW wording, you do this from the Accounts Preview:

Accounts Preview > Accountant’s Report > from the Report style option, choose one of the report styles.

After entering an accounting period, the Standard Trial Balance page appears. As you’ve just created this accounting period, there are no current balances.

When basing on an existing set of accounts, the comparatives are copied. These comparatives are a copy and are not linked back to the original set of accounts. This means that if you made a change in the previous year’s figures, that change will not be reflected in the new set of accounts.

If when basing on an existing set of accounts, the compliance pack that was being used in the existing set has since been updated, you’ll see a message: Compliance pack updated.

  • Set of Accounts Options > Updates > Review the changes in the Updated section.

If you need to change any of these period details, Set of Accounts Options > Period Options.

To make changes to an existing set of accounts

Set of Accounts Options > Period Options. > make your changes to the period > Save.

It’s possible to change to a different client type. See Change to a different client type for details.

To delete a set of accounts

When you delete a set of accounts, the accounting data for that period is removed and you can’t recover it. Only remove a set of accounts if you’re sure you don’t need it.

If you want to change the dates for set of accounts instead, Set of Accounts Options > Period Options. > make your changes to the period > Save.

1. From the Client list, click your client.

2. From the Final Accounts section > View all sets of accounts.

3. Click the delete button for the accounting period you want to delete.

4. Enter the Period end of the accounting period > Confirm.

Deleting an accounting period, removes the accounting data and you can’t undo this.

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