Prior Year BS changed

[Auto]

Anyone know an easy way to adjust a BS? A Quickbooks client retained earnings have changed after the 06 return was done. I found out about it while doing this year's return. It's a small adjustment, only $760. Is it acceptable to just change the prior years BS? Or can I just put an adjustment to Shareholder's Equity?

I'm sure other's run into this problem. I password protect the prior year after the return is done but low and behold, they change things anyway.

Help!

[veritas]

This is so common

How they changed it when you had it password protected is beyond me. We have done the same and told the bookkeeper over and over again about not changing prior period balances and they still call in and whine about not being able to change something.

It commonly occurs when the client voids a check from a prior peroid. Or changes an invoice in accounts receivables\payables.

I would not change the balance sheet unless you plan on amending the prior year. How I handle it depends on the circumstances.

[Auto]

took the time

It took a ridiculos amount of time to find the changes that were done. I finally did. I wish these clients would realize how much work is involved when their bookkeeper changes things after the return is done. Gee, can you charge $2000 for a S Corp return?

Thanks for your response.

[geekgirldany]

I made a post today regarding QBs also. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I had a customer call yesterday wanting to know where to put money he loaned the company. I told him I setup an account for it last year (I was looking at his prior QB file). He said it wasn't there. I told him to look up some transactions and for whatever reason he did not restore the corrected backup file. Continued using the other one. So this year I will have to do 2006 adjustments again.

I had a accountant tell me she used Peachtree accounting because it wasn't as easy to change as QBs. This was about five years ago. Does anyone use it or know if that is true?

[S T]

Peachtree

I think Bees and a few others use Peachtree. I found it was not easy to change anything , either for the client or the accountant.

My experience was awful, as I hate journal entries, or at least probably more than 25 in a years period. The client I had on Peachtree, I would have had to make probably 100 journal entries for any type of audit trail or make any sense, and on top of that they were running inventory, that never balanced and always doing an adjustment which never made any sense to me.

fortunately for me, I no longer have the client on Peachtree.

It is a love/hate relationship with any accounting package, particularly when the client is trying to do his/her own entries and we come in behind and have to clean up.

All of my clients are on QB, and gradually setting up clients so that I am accessing remote, so I can spot check and correct on their computer, no more accountant's backup. So as the test cases are moving forward, it looks like a very positive approach to keeping QB up to date.

Sandy

[geekgirldany]

Well that is interesting to know on Peachtree. I had someone call the other day wanting to talk to me about becoming their accountant unfortunately they were using Peachtree Accounting and I told them I did not know one thing about it. That accountant I talked to five years ago love Peachtree because of the GJ entries

Some people just won't let me do the remote thing with QBs. Paranoid about their computer I guess. I have about 10 customers on a free remote program. Its seems a little quicker than QBs remote access.

[Auto]

peachtree

I made a post today regarding QBs also. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I had a customer call yesterday wanting to know where to put money he loaned the company. I told him I setup an account for it last year (I was looking at his prior QB file). He said it wasn't there. I told him to look up some transactions and for whatever reason he did not restore the corrected backup file. Continued using the other one. So this year I will have to do 2006 adjustments again.

I had a accountant tell me she used Peachtree accounting because it wasn't as easy to change as QBs. This was about five years ago. Does anyone use it or know if that is true?

Peachtree is harder to change a previous period. Everything is attached to specific period and the program will not let you change things unless you first change your accounting period. So it's far from impossible but it at least lets the client know that there is such a thing as an accounting period and what they are about to change is not in the current one.

[Auto]

don't know how to use this thing yet

I posted a message about Peachtree to geekgirldany but ended up doing something like a quote. Sorry. I'm just learning my way around this message board.