Balancing AR to GL

Use this checklist to ensure that your Accounts Receivable accounts balance to your general ledger.

1. Check for out-of-balance conditions on the Customer Trial Balance Report:
   1. Check to see if the Customer Trial Balance Report was run during business hours.
   2. Use GL Account Inquiry to check if suspense accounts contain balances.
   3. Verify that no GL journals are open (especially with a date prior to the current day or the day the report was run).
   4. Check for any out-of-balance customers. These are shown at the end of the Customer Trial Balance Report.
   5. Check to see if the AR Control account is out of balance.
      Note: This can occur when the GL Account Setup period balance does not match the sum of its GL Transaction Entry activity for the period in question. When this occurs, the GL Transaction Entry transaction file is updated with the posted amount, while the GL Account Setup record is not updated. Run GL Activity Report for the period in question. This report can be run with the Totals Only option set to Yes. The last page will show the out of balance condition.
   6. Determine if GL postings were made to the AR Control account. Run GL Activity Report and check for postings from functions other than AR or OE. For example, GL Transaction Entry transactions.
   7. Check for forced postings to the AR Control account. These can occur in Customer Transaction Entry.
      Note: Normally, the AR Control account is credited for a transaction, but the offsetting debit entry may vary, depending upon the type of transaction. If a clerk manually posts a transaction to the AR Control account in error, this may show as a $0 net entry. This could cause an out-of-balance condition between the AR subsidiary account and the AR Control account. Run Customer Entry Journal Print Report for the period in question, setting the Print GL Distribution with Detail Lines option to Yes. You can see the GL transaction associated with each journal transaction. Make sure that only one AR Control account posting is made for each transaction. Research any entries where more than one AR Control account posting is recorded to ensure they are correct.
2. Compare the AR subsidiary transactions to the AR Control account transactions. Run the Customer Transaction Activity Report and review transactions associated with a specific journal. Then run GL Transaction Activity Report for the AR Control account, using the same journal number. Compare the two reports to see where updates do not match. Scan for posting amounts by which you are out of balance. You may be able to isolate one transaction that caused your out-of-balance condition. Otherwise, compare the reports transaction by transaction.
3. Review the Customer Transaction Activity Report for any out-of-balance customers.
4. Run the Customer Balancing Audit Report and check for any out-of-balance customers.
5. Set up Customer Trial Balance Report to run daily as a stored report and keep indefinitely. When an out-of-balance situation occurs, you have the details in this report.