Grain Balancing FAQ
Q: Why don't my reports balance to the Grain General Ledger?
A: Consider these additional questions when approaching balancing.
| 1. Does my starting balance agree with the Data Converted? | ||
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a. Verify that the original data conversion done agrees to your starting GL Trial balance. Take Freight Payables as an example, verify that the Ticket spreadsheets provided to EFC have the correct Freight on them. If not, that is one reason why the GL would not balance to the Merchant Ag report. b. Review how the prior system posted journal entries for grain transactions. For example, did tickets post to Accrued Grain Payables or straight to Grain Payables when applied? If entries were posted differently in the prior system, an entry should be entered to move the balances to the correct GL account for Merchant Ag. |
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| 2. Were any Journal Entries (JE) into these accounts? | ||
| a. If any JE’s were entered to these accounts, the Merchant Ag subledger report will not balance to the General Ledger. Any JE’s to those accounts should net to zero. | ||
| 3. Are there multiple subsidiaries (Grain sub-ledgers) pointing to the same account? | ||
| a. If the answer is yes, multiple reports may need to be summed together. Using Accrued Grain Payables for an example, if the Discounts and Tickets are both pointing to the same GL, both subledger reports will need to be summed to equal the GL. | ||
| 4. Were any GL settings changed in the middle of the month? | ||
| a. If you modified the GL Accounts on the Grain Category, Adjustment, Grade Factor, or in parameters, GL Accounts may need to be combined to match the report for balancing. | ||
Q: When should these reports for balancing be run?
A: These reports should be run and saved as soon as possible after the month has closed.
It's recommended that these reports be saved on the first of the month at the beginning of the day to insure an accurate comparison to the General Ledger. Remember that Merchant Ag allows the user to modify the ticket at any time, entries are posted to the GL in real time and not back dated.