Unlock Date
Unlock Date helps you protect Locked periods in System Prefs from Unlock Periods.
Unlock Periods is a Special Access setting for an Employee to change locked periods. By setting an Unlock Date you limit changes to on or after the Unlock Date you set.
Pictured, the system is Locked through May 2025, Invoices are locked through 6/30/25 and only an Employee with Unlocked Periods is unlocked back to and including 1/1/25.
Chapter 109 Accounting Admin
Accounting Administration lets you make careful changes to your accounting practices.
This chapter covers Account Types, Inactive Accounts, new Reports, and Auto Help.
Account Types
Big Business 14 adds requested Account Types for Other Assets and Other Liabilities.
Account Types are Other Asset and Other Liability and expected from other systems. If you do not need or use these there is no change needed to any accounting procedure.
To use new Account Types, you must use the Balance Sheet, New to report correctly. Auto Help will show the pictured warning if you run the old Balance Sheet with these.
Other Assets
Other Liabilities is a new Account Type, by request, to go on the Balance Sheet, New.
If you do not use new Account Types, there is no change needed to your accounting. If you do use Other Asset or Other Liability, you do need to use Balance Sheet, New.
In the Report Prefs, you can review or edit the Labels used by Balance Sheet reports.
Other Liabilities
Other Liabilities is a new Account Type, by request, to go on the Balance Sheet, New.
If you do not use new Account Types, there is no change needed to your accounting. If you do use Other Asset or Other Liability, you do need to use Balance Sheet, New.
In the Report Prefs, you can review or edit the Labels used by Balance Sheet reports.
Balance Sheet, New
Balance Sheet, New aims to provide a more dynamic financial report to make it easier to add new Account Types or suppress unused or Inactive accounts as you prefer.
Balance Sheet, Omit Zeroes, New
Balance Sheet, New aims to provide a more dynamic financial report to make it easier to add new Account Types or suppress unused or Inactive accounts as you prefer.
Auto Help
Auto Help reminds you of uses or settings that may affect your operating procedures. If you use new Account Types you want to use new financial reports that show them. Auto Help can check your data and let you know if a selected report might not work. This makes the system more flexible without needing to switch settings or keep SOPs, although you should always have standard operating procedures documented for others to use in your absence.
Auto Help is added in Big Business 13.67 and Big Business 14.24 to let you know when you have used new Account Types and need to use a newer report to show these results.
Use Retained Earnings as a Category
Big Business includes the option to use Retained Earnings as a Category. This settings allows posting directly to the Retained Earnings to make accounting adjustments and corrections with a General Journal Entry or other transaction. (5636)
Big Business Accounts include:
• Categories which can be designated for use on transactions
• Bank Accounts which can only be accessed with the Banking tools
• Special Status Accounts (SSAs) which are handled automatically:
Accounts Receivable Account(s), Accounts Payable Account(s), Inventory Accounts, Current Year Earnings, and Retained Earnings
Your accountant may recommend entries to Retained Earnings in special circumstances, such as correcting beginning balances, or clearing owner's draws. You should not post to Retained Earnings without an account's advice. Access to use Retained Earnings as a Category is restricted by default and can only be enabled by setting Special Access on the Access tab of an Employee Card.
To Enable Access to Retained Earnings as a Category:
1. Go to Employee to the Access tab
2. Click the Unlock Retained Earnings checkbox
3. Save the Employee
When this Employee signs in, Retained Earnings will appear in the listing of Categories and can be selected on a transaction.
Postings created for Retained Earnings can be viewed on the Category Card, which also displays a Total for these postings (only). Other entries which comprise Retained Earnings are not displayed. The Balance in the Retained Earnings Account can only be viewed by running a report, such as the Balance Sheet, for a specific As Of Date.
Report Options
Reports Prefs include Accounting Labels for financial reports and Report Options for turning on custom features, like:
• A/R Custom Fields
This Solution lists new options. (6871)
To change Report Options:
1. Go to Reporting toolbar to Report Prefs
2. For Report Options choose the settings you want
3. Click OK to save Report Prefs