Entering Journal entries in previous financial year

How do I enter Journal entries into the previous financial year?

WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU DO NOT MAKE CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS FINANCIAL YEAR WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR ACCOUNTANT FIRST.

You will only be able to enter journal entries in the previous financial year if you are using Cash based accounting.
You cannot enter journals for the previous financial year if you are using Accrual accounting and the account has GST.

Cash accounting is where income is recognised at the point of receipt and expenses are recognised at the point where they are paid. The only transactions entered into the system are payments (cheques, bank fees, etc.) and deposits.
Accrual accounting is where income is recognised when earned and expenses are recognised when they are incurred.

1. You can check this by clicking on the BAS toolbar option then clicking on the Setup tab. In the top-left corner under General is the Return Basis. This will be either Cash or Accural. 

2. If you are on Cash you can go into the Previous Year by either: 

(A) To do this click on the File > Change Accounting Year menu option

Highlight the previous year by clicking on it, then click on the Select button.

(B) Go into previous year by clicking on the drop down arrow on the top right hand side of the screen.

3. You can now enter your journal entry/s. From the main toolbar click on Journal > Add. 

4. Run Profit and Loss report to determine closing balance of that account. Click on Reports > Profit & Loss. Either print off report or make note of the amount. 

5. Once you have done this, go back to the Current Year using the same procedure as above.

6. Click on the Setup > Opening Balances >Assets and Liabilities menu option and change the opening balance of the specified account/s to match the closing balance of the previous year.