General Ledger Process Flow

General Ledger Setup

While setting up General Ledger, you need to consider the company structure and chart of accounts structure that will best meet your processing and reporting needs. Special considerations are required if you operate in multiple currencies or elect to create multiple general ledger companies. During setup, you will also define security and controls that will help you better manage the period and year-end closing processes and ensure that your books remain in balance.

As an option, you might elect to setup and use General Ledger-only activities or attributes in the Attribute Matrix application. Both of these options offer you an additional dimension for your financial reporting.

General Ledger Processing

General Ledger processing primarily consists of defining, editing, releasing, and posting journal entries. Some journal entries will come from Lawson subsystems or from non-Lawson applications; those entries you simply interface and do not need to manually define. You can also define recurring journal entries to automatically recur for transactions that repeat themselves on a regular basis, such as monthly rent or quarterly payroll taxes.

If you elect to use distributed processing, such as operating General Ledger from a remote location or on a different machine, you can consolidate that data together for streamlined processing and reporting.

A vital part of General Ledger processing is performing period close and year-end close processing. This process performs many tasks behind the scenes to keep your records in order, such as changing the status for a closing period and opening up a new period. Each transaction has a date that determines in which accounting period it will be recorded. You can have multiple periods open for posting.

Maintaining General Ledger Information

Maintenance options give you the flexibility to move, unpost, and reverse posted journal entries. You also have the option to backpost, within certain parameters, journal entries to previously closed periods. In addition, you can maintain your company structure and chart of accounts to reflect organizational changes or new ways of doing business.

Accessing General Ledger Information

General Ledger includes online inquiry programs that will allow you to access real-time information about transactions and journal entries. You will use General Ledger to create standard financial reports such as a Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, and Income Statement. You can also create customized reports to list transactions that meet criteria you define.