How Entry And Document Dates Flow Through The Batch Processes

Post date: Apr 01, 2020 3:52:26 PM

This note explains how the entry dates, document dates, and batch dates flow through the system, all the way to the General Ledger, what they affect, and how they are validated.  All of these explanations assume that you are using the SMCP General Ledger - if you are NOT using it, then you can ignore all the notes below that reference the 'GL batch', but the rest remains the same.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE BATCHES:

AP Invoice/Manual Payment/System Generated Payment/Check Reversal Batches:

1) For Invoice batches, the document date is the invoice date; for Manual or System Generated payment batches, the document date is the check date.  For Check Reversal batches, the document date is manually entered by the user.  

2) When the batch, or any entry is SAVED or UPDATED, the batch date or the entry date is checked to make sure it is within the system wide 'Posting Date Range' - if not, you receive an error telling you.

3) When the batch is POSTED, each entry date is checked to make sure it is within the system wide 'Posting Date Range' - if not, you receive an error telling you.

4) When the batch is POSTED, it also creates a GL batch - the entry date and the document (in this case invoice or credit note) date in AP becomes the entry date and document date in the GL batch entry. The fiscal year and fiscal period for each entry in the GL batch is determined using the entry date of the AP batch entry.

5) When the batch is POSTED, and the resulting GL batch is (automatically) SAVED, the fiscal year and period are checked to make sure they are not locked.  If they are, you'll receive an error message and the whole AP posting is rolled back.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE BATCHES:

AR Invoice/Cash/Imported Service Manager Batches:

1) For Invoice batches, the document date is the invoice, credit note, or retainage document date; for cash batches, the document date is entered by the user; for imported Service Manager invoices, the document date is the invoice/credit note date.  NOTE: AR batch entries do not have an 'entry date'.

2) No date checking, either for the posting period range, or for the fiscal period, is done when an AR batch or entry is saved.

3) When an AR batch is POSTED, each entry date is checked to be sure it's in the system wide posting date range, and if not, you'll receive an error, and the posting will be aborted.

4) Also, when the AR batch is POSTED, it will create a GL batch.  For most entries, the entry date and document date will become the GL entry date and document date.  However, the batch posting will try to link any available pre-pays to their appropriate invoices and these pre-pay linkings will appear as entries in the GL batch; the GL batch entry and document date for these pre-pay transactions will use the AR BATCH DATE.

5) When the GL batch is (automatically) created, the AR entry document date becomes the GL batch entry document date, and the AR Batch date becomes the GL batch entry date.

6) When the GL batch is (automatically) created, it uses the entry date to determine the fiscal year and period - if the fiscal period for any GL entry is locked, you'll receive an error message, and the whole AR posting will roll back.

So for any AR batch entry, the AR batch date will be used as the entry date in the GL batch.  NOTE: This means that if the AR batch date is not in an unlocked fiscal period, the AR posting will fail.

INVENTORY BATCHES:

IC Batches:

1) For MANUALLY ENTERED shipment, adjustment batches, receipt, and transfer batch entries, the entry date is entered by the user on each entry.

2) In physical inventory batches, the entry date for each count automatically uses the current system date - the date is not manually entered.

3) When Service Manager invoice batches are imported, the INVOICE DATE becomes the IC batch entry date.

4) When creating an AP batch from PO invoices, the entry date of the invoice becomes the IC batch entry date.  If an IC adjustment batch has to be created (because some invoices didn't match the receipt amount), then the entry date of the PO invoice is used for the entry date of the adjustment batch entry.

5) The 'Create batch from receipts' function will use the each receipt date as the batch entry date.

6) When an IC batch then gets posted, those entry dates get checked to make sure they are in the system wide 'Posting Date Range' - if not, you receive an error advising you, and the post fails.

7) As the IC receipt batch gets posted, it also creates a corresponding GL batch; the entry dates from the IC batch become the GL batch entry dates AND the GL batch entry document dates.

8) When that GL batch gets created, the fiscal year and fiscal period are calculated for each entry from the entry date.

5) The GL batch date and GL 'batch last edited' date simply use the current date - these are not validated and don't affect any processing.

6) When the GL batch is saved, which happens automatically in this process, (OR when a GL batch entry is saved in general, for example when making manual journal entries), the fiscal periods are checked.  If any are locked, then the user receives a warning for each one, and the whole process rolls back to the beginning.

FIXED ASSETS BATCHES:

Period End Processing Batch:

1) When periodic processing is done to create depreciation transactions, the user enters a 'Transaction date' - which is validated against the system's 'Posting date range' - for the process.  That transaction date becomes the entry date AND the document date in the GL batch entries that get created automatically.  The fiscal period is calculated using that date, and if the corresponding fiscal period is locked, the process will fail and the user will be advised.   

GENERAL LEDGER MANUAL (Journal Entry) BATCHES:

Journal Entry (Manual) Batch:

1) When entering MANUAL GL batches ('Journal Entries'), both the entry date AND the document date are entered manually. The fiscal year and period are ALSO entered manually.  Every time the entry is saved/updated, the fiscal period is checked.  If it's currently locked, the user is notified, and the save fails.