Financial Reporting for Prior Years
How to create a report that goes back more than 2 years
Some users see it as a drawback that Sage 300 CRE can’t print financials older than two years. In GL > Reports > Financial Statements, users can “rollback” reports like balance sheets, income statements, or trial balances to any period in the current or prior fiscal year. To generate reports for older periods, users must create special designs in the FS (Financial Statement) module. However, if you follow the recommended year-end closing procedures, Sage 300 CRE retains the ability to print prior-year statements for up to ten years.
Back up GL files or the entire data folder
When you run the General Ledger Close Fiscal Year task, Sage 300 CRE asks, “Have you backed up the Master file and the transaction files?” This prompt doesn’t refer to nightly third-party backups. Instead, it refers to using File Tools within Sage 300 CRE to back up either the GL files or the entire data folder. If you create these backups before closing the year, you can later restore the GL files to an archive folder to generate prior year financial statements.
6 steps for creating a GL archive folder:
- Locate the .tsZip or .tsZip2 backup file created just prior to running the Close Fiscal Year task.
- Use Common Tasks > Tools > File Tools to Restore the GL files only to a new folder in the same location on your server as your other Sage 300 CRE data folder(s). To restore prior year data, restore the following files: Master.glm, Current.glt, History.glt, and ts.ctl. You can create the destination folder during the restore process. Choose a clear folder naming convention—such as “GL Archive 2015–2016”. This helps other users easily identify that the folder contains data for printing financial statements for those two years.
- Once the files are restored, use File > Company > Open Company and the Specify Folders button on the Open Company window to navigate to the new folder location and add it to the company list. The GL archive folder and the original live data folder will temporarily have the same company name. So be sure to enter the GL archive folder name in the folder description when prompted to do so. This will help distinguish this folder from the live folder until the next step is completed.
- Select the GL archive folder from the Open Company selection list. With this company open, use Common Tasks > File > Company Settings > General to rename the company to the GL archive folder name. Hint: If you put a “z” or “x” in front of the company name, this will place it at the bottom of the list of companies in the Open Company selection list. Be sure to save the changes.
- You can use the same financial statements that you use in your live data folder. Use File > Company Settings > File Locations to enter the UNC path to your live data folder for the four File Types with the FS designation. Be sure to save the changes.
- Repeat these steps for any .tsZip or .tsZip2 file you have for prior years.
Print Financial Statements
You should now be able to print financial statements for the year just closed and the immediate prior year. You can also print for other prior years also restored to additional archive folders.
Related content: Export Financial Statements to Excel
Submitted by Kyle Zeigler, Sage Senior Certified Consultant