Orion General Ledger

1. Financial Statements

   This chapter describes the process of designing financial statement formats to match your Chart of Accounts, then using these

2. Account Status

   If you choose to view multiple accounts, you must select a filter set from the drop-down to display data. Filter sets contain a range of account numbers.

3. General Ledger Reports

   In addition to the financial statements and the Transaction Journal, Orion provides several other reports that can be used to display or print

4. Orion End of Year Procedures

   Closing a year (2012) in Orion is a very simple process if you follow the correct procedures. The actual Year End Close is performed through the

5. Unable to Post General Ledger Transactions Due to Another User Posting

   If you are attempting to post transactions in the General Ledger but the system prevents it because it thinks someone else is posting

6. The Orion General Ledger Interface – Cash Accounting

   For a detailed explanation on the Orion Interface for Cash Accounting, download the attached file.

7. How can I change the text title of an account/line item on a financial statement?

   Go to GL Manager.

8. The Purpose of the Dates in Various Posting Routines

   Although the Orion General Ledger is based on the period, the program does use dates in various ways during posting and unposting routines.

9. General Ledger Transactions Created in Incorrect Period

   As long as the General Ledger transactions have not been posted, you may call them up in GL Entry/Edit and change the Period. Save the transaction

10. The Orion General Ledger Interface – Accrual Accounting

    For details on the Orion General Ledger Interface using Accrual Accounting, download the attached file.

11. Balancing Cash at EOP (End of Period)

    All cash accounts should be reconciled to the bank balance. Your ending cash balance in the General Ledger Manager should equal the Reconciled Balance

12. Keeping Track of Firm Holiday Mailing Expenses

    Chances are your firm will be sending out some sort of mailing, either Christmas cards or other holiday gifts. Have you thought about tracking your expenses

13. Changing the Period and Date of a Posted GL Transaction

    Since the transaction has been posted (in GL Manager), no, we cannot just simply dial in and change the date and period.

14. Orion End of Month (“EOM”) Processing

    After you approve and post transactions from the other Orion modules, create and post recurring entries, make any necessary adjusting journal entries, and print

15. Adjusting Journal Entries are not Reflected in my General Ledger Balances

    The first thing you need to do is to make sure the transactions have been posted. If they have been posted, something occurred during the posting

16. Adding a General Ledger Source Code

    GL Transaction Source Codes are used to filter reports and to track the origination of General Ledger transactions. The Source Code file can contain up to

17. Editing or Deleting a General Ledger Source Code

    To edit a GL Transaction Source Code, open GL Manager and access TOOLS, Source Codes. Click the drop down arrow to select the Source Code you want to edit

18. Adding a New General Ledger Account

    The Chart of Accounts forms the underlying framework for any accounting system and is such an integral part of Orion system operations it must be set up

19. Editing a General Ledger Account

    To edit a General Ledger account, open the GL Manager and either locate and double click on the account in the Account grid or choose

20. Deleting a General Ledger Account

    You may not delete a General Ledger Account that has any history attached to it (even if the account balance is $0.00). Instead, you may flag the account

21. General Ledger Account Budgets

    Orion allows you to enter monthly budgets or an annual budget for each General Ledger account. Budgets may be entered/edited for the current GL

22. Editing a Recurring GL Transaction

    To edit/add to a recurring transaction in GL:

23. Link to old G/L database

    If you have upgraded to Pervasive 11 recently and notice that the link you used to use is now popping a “Unable to Run Command,” this is because Pervasive 11

24. Retained Earnings Beginning Account Info

    The retained earnings account is typically only updated during a year end close. The presentation of the net income information on the monthly income statements

25. How can I add a GL Ledger Account Line to My Financial Statement Style

    This article assumes you have some familiarity with Orion’s Financial Statement Editor. Prior to editing a financial statement in Orion you may want to make

26. General Ledger Reports

    The General Ledger reports provide various ways to look at General Ledger balances and activity. These reports are separate from the Balance Sheet

27. Period 12 Closing Month – This activates the Year end Close Process

    No. Closing period 12 will activate the Year End Close process. When the current period in GL is set to period 12 and you choose the End of Period option,

28. How do I Close the Year in the General Ledger

    Year End processing is performed only when Period 12 is shown as the current period in Orion. Be sure you want to close the year (Period 12) before

29. What Files Do We Backup Before Closing the Year in the General Ledger?

    The Orion GL End of Year process does not delete any data so no special backup is required. As long as you perform daily backups on your system, you

30. Unable to Change Fiscal Year on an Unposted General Ledger Transaction

    There is a workaround for this but you must do it quickly and make sure no one is in the General Ledger at the time.

31. Reports Needed for Balancing Unbilled Client Advances

    If you are on a Cash Basis, make sure all transactions for the month have been posted and before entering any new activity for the new

32. Unapproved GL Transactions

    Only Source Codes 1 – 3 should show as “Unapproved” in the GL. Try changing the Source Code from “4” to one of the other Codes (1 – 3).

33. General Ledger Transactions Will Not Approve and Post

    When you go into End of Period Processing, the “For Period” setting always defaults to the current period. This setting is also what Orion looks at when

34. Changing from Cash to Accrual Accounting

    An article provides a brief overview of what may be involved with changing from Cash to Accrual accounting.

35. Net Income Calculation

    The first thing to do is to double check in your financial statement format that all the proper accounts are included in your fee and expense range and

36. Unable to Enter Adjusting Journal Entry to a Previous Year

    The system allows you to post only to the one year previous to the current Fiscal Year. The only option you have within the program is to

37. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting an Invoice (Cash Basis)

    When an invoice for fees ($1,200.00), expenses ($5.00) and Client Advances ($150.00) is created and posted, the following transaction is created:

38. General Ledger Transactions Created when Posting an Invoice on Non-Billable Matter

    When an invoice for fees ($1,200.00), expenses ($5.00) and Client Advances ($150.00) is created and posted on a matter where the Fee

39. General Ledger Transactions Created Upon Posting an Applied Payment (PMT) – Cash Basis

    When a payment ($1,355.00 for Invoice 12345 as shown above) is received, entered, applied and posted, the following transaction is created:

40. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting a RAP – Cash Basis

    When paying an invoice from available “Retainer” funds, a Retainer Applied as Payment (RAP) is entered through the AR Entry Program and the client

41. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting a TAP – Cash Basis

    When paying an invoice from available “Trust” funds, a Trust Applied as Payment (TAP) may be entered through the AR Entry Program and the client Trust

42. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting a CR or WO – Cash Basis

    Credit and Write Off entries are made through the AR Entry Program using a CR (credit) or WO (write off) code. When a Credit or Write Off is

43. General Ledger Transactions Created When Saving a Retainer Deposit (RDP)

    The following General Ledger transaction is created when saving a Retainer Deposit (RDP) through AR Entry:

44. General Ledger Transactions Created When Saving a Trust Deposit (TDP)

    The following General Ledger transaction is created when you save a Trust Deposit (TDP) through AR Entry:

45. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting an Invoice – Accrual Basis

    When an invoice for fees ($1,200.00), expenses ($5.00) and Client Advances ($150.00) is created and posted, the following transaction is created:

46. General Ledger Transaction Created Upon Posting an Applied Payment (PMT) – Accrual Basis

    When a payment ($1,355.00 for Invoice 12345 as shown above) is received, entered, applied and posted, the following transaction is created:

47. How do I tell if a GL Transaction was Created by the Time and Billing Module?

    General Ledger Transactions created by the Orion AR or the Orion Billing modules are assigned a Source Code of 1. Open an individual transaction

48. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting a TAP – Accrual Basis

    The following General Transactions are created when a TAP is posted:

49. General Ledger Transactions Created When Posting a CR or WO – Accrual Basis

    When a Credit or Write Off is entered, applied and posted, the following General Ledger transaction is created:

50. Ending Balance on GL Account History Does Not Match Trial Balance

    By default, the GL Account History includes all transactions for the specified period(s), whether posted or not. The Trial Balance reflects only those transactions

51. Balances on GL Account History and Trial Balance Do Not Agree

    If the balances on your GL Account History and Trial Balance do not agree (comparing same GL Period), you should first make sure that all transactions for

52. Looking Up GL Transactions From Prior Year

    Yes, you can. Since the General Ledger allows transaction numbers to be reused, it is necessary to set a transaction filter in order to view prior years. To view

53. End of Year – Beginning of Year

    It is common practice to enter closing journal entries as of 12/31/13 and post to FY 2013. After they have been entered and posted, you will then need to

54. Separating Out Expense Income (Cash Basis)

    No. Orion will hit only one Expense Income account when expenses are paid by a Client. You will need to make an adjusting journal entry every month

55. Separating Out Expense Income (Accrual Basis)

    No. Orion will hit only one Expense Income account when invoices are posted. You will need to make an adjusting journal entry every month to separate out

56. Editing Text on a a Posted Journal Entry in General Ledger

    You may not edit any portion of a posted General Ledger transaction. Instead you will need to call up the journal entry and use Tools/Reverse

57. Account Status Look-Up Appears to Freeze When I Click on It

    Most likely it is a window that has come up off screen. Next time it happens, try right clicking on the Orion icon in the system tray and choosing Cascade All Forms.

58. General Ledger Transaction Numbers Out of Order

    No. The GL Transaction Numbers are automatically assigned by the system and you cannot change them. However, there is no program requirement that they

59. XX Miscellaneous Cash (MC) Transaction Not Reflected in GL Account Status

    First, make sure the GL transaction has been approved and posted – only posted transactions show in Account Status. You should also verify what

60. Using GL Location Code without Using Location Code on Matters

    Yes – you can use the GL Location Code feature without turning on Location Codes in the Time and Billing module. However, you cannot turn on this GL Location

61. Invalid Year/Period on GL Posting

    Orion will allow you to have only two fiscal years open (accessible for journal entries) at a time – the current and year and the one previous year

62. Payroll Entries – Importing

    There is no standard format at present for importing payroll entries that Orion can match, and Orion doesn’t currently have a standard import utility

63. GL Transactions Created by AR Payments Posted in Wrong Period

    If the GL transactions have already been posted, your only option is to enter 2 adjusting journal entry transactions – one to reverse from period 6

64. Unable to Close Period Due to Unposted Transactions

    Most likely you accidentally clicked the APPROVE ONLY Button instead of the APPROVE AND POST Button when posting Billing and AR or Accounts

65. GL Client Account vs. Voucher Expense Listing

    When sorting the Transactions to view, you will not be able to only choose items from “Source 2 ~ Accounts Payable”. You will need to set a “Custom”

66. Viewing/Deleting Posted GL Transactions

    Yes, you may view transactions that have been posted to the GL in GL Manager. No, you may not delete posted transactions. If an item is posted

67. Unable to See Transaction in GL End of Period

    The entry is unposted (but it has been approved). Click on the unposted “radio” button (see below) and you should see the transaction. To post

68. Posting to Prior Period/Year

    No. We cannot reopen 2012. For steps on how to handle, see the article titled: Unable to Enter Adjusting Journal Entry to a Previous Year.

69. General Ledger/Bank Reconciliation

    Entries entered directly into the GL (journal entries) do not update Bank Reconciliation (manual entries will have to be created in Bank Rec). If you take

70. Paid Vendor Checks not showing in GL

    1. Check to see if there are any unposted items in GL Manager for the account number in question (unposted items will not update Account Status).

71. Transaction Source

    If entered through Bank Rec the General Ledger Transaction will have a Source Code of 2. If entered directly into the GL (as an adjusting entry), the

72. GL Transactions Entered by User with No Rights to GL

    The transactions you are seeing were created by the Orion Interface upon the posting of a payment, writing of a check, etc. General Ledger transactions

73. Transaction Register not matching Deposit Report

    If you are running a Cash-Based system, and you receive a payment in the amount of $1,355.00, the following occurs when a payment is entered,

74. End of Period Already in Process – After Computer Froze

    Double check no one is actually attempting to approve and post GL entries, then do the following:

75. How do I tell Whether a Transaction Was Created by Accounts Payable or Bank Reconciliation?

    General Ledger Transactions created by the Orion Accounts Payable Module or the Bank Reconciliation Program are assigned a Source Code of 2. Open

76. How do I tell if a GL Transaction was Created by the Time and Billing Module?

    General Ledger Transactions created by the Orion AR or the Orion Billing modules are assigned a Source Code of 1. Open an individual transaction and

77. Restricting GL Posting after Period Closed

    As postings are done in the other modules, Billing, AR Manager, and AP Manager, transactions are created in GL Manager. The only way to prevent someone

78. Invalid Integer (Internal)

    Check to see that “comparison year” is a valid year. (Note: you will have to move quickly as the error pops up right away when clicking OK.)

79. GL Live Financial Statements

    The attached document provides an explanation of the GL Live Financials Module.

80. What is the Header Printing option in GL Live Financials?

    The Header Printing option allows you control of how the Column Headings print when the report is sent to the printer. Your options are as follows:

81. Explain the Row Properties Options in GL Live Statements Design Mode

    Hidden – if this option is checked, the group of accounts is excluded from the report. This option is used mainly in the design of income statements

82. Balancing Client Advances

    Make sure all transactions for the month have been posted and before entering any activity for the new month run the following reports:

83. Monthly Fee Income Does Not Equal the Total on the Payment Application Analysis

    1. Assuming you have verified all GL transactions are posted, the first thing you should check is to make sure you included reversals when

84. Trust Cash Balance in the GL Does Not Match Trust and Retainer Balance Report

    If you are attempting to balance to the Trust and Retainer Balance Report, you must have run the report after posting all activity for the month you are

85. Trust Cash Balance in the GL Does Not Match Client-Matter Trust Ledger

    If you are attempting to balance to the Client-Matter Trust Ledger run through the last day of the month, there are several things you can check.

86. Month End Procedures

    Following is a simple list of tasks you need to perform at Month End to make balancing your General Ledger easy.

87. End of Year Procedures – 2014

    The document reviews the General Ledger end of year procedures for 2014.

88. Question on transactions Showing on End of Period Screen

    Yes, the End of Period Screen will display all the transactions that are unpproved if you have clicked on the Radio Button that says Unapproved.

89. GL End of Period – Approve and Post

    NO – the APPROVE AND POST Button will post only those that are in the period shown in the “For Period” field. The system will never post for multiple

90. Date Change on GL Transaction Not Showing in GL Account History

    When you change the date of a GL transaction, you must also change the date on each of the distribution lines – the system does not automatically change

91. Entering GL Budgets for “Next” Year

    The system does not allow entry of “future” year activity. There is a workaround for this but you must be very careful when doing it and you must

92. Changing Fiscal Year in General Ledger

    You can do this but you need to make sure no one is posting GL transactions while you are entering your 2015 budget numbers. Once you are done entering

93. Can I run my Financial Statements by Department Code?

    Assuming your Chart of Accounts is set up to utilize the Department Code AND assuming your financial statement styles do not specifically exclude some

94. I am trying to print my Income Statement but no data is printing.

    Check to make sure that you did not blank out the Department Number field (there should be an asterisk in the from/through fields). If your account number

95. Orion General Ledger Manual

    Download/Open the attached file to review the Orion General Ledger Manual.

96. Running Reports in General Ledger for the New Year

    You must first close the the previous year in Orion prior to running General Ledger Reports and financial statements for the new year. Once the last period

97. Data Files Containing General Ledger Transactions

    There are 3 data files that are related to General Ledger transactions.

98. Revenue on Income Statement Does Not Match Payment Application Analysis

    The most likely cause of this is a reversal of a transaction from a previous period or previous year. To isolate the transaction, run the Application Reversals

99. Recurring GL Transaction Amounts

    “Does the system allow recurring transactions that have different amounts?”

100. General Ledger Department Number by Attorney

     Neither the Group assignment on the Timekeeper record nor the Department assignment on the Matter record have anything to do with the GL. If you are

101. GL Styler

     The setting “Remove $ on currency objects after first line of page” works if there is no break in the accounts’ band. If the account numbers fall within