One of the first items on the year-end close checklist that might not get enough attention is to print an account list and to verify the posting types of each account. Profit and Loss accounts are closed to the Retained Earnings account you specify, and Balance Sheet accounts are rolled to the New Year with Balance Brought Forward entries. Incorrect account types will be more obvious and are caught when Retained Earnings is off or BBF balances are seen on P&L accounts.
In versions prior to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 R2, if you have the posting types for accounts marked incorrectly, then you have a few options available to correct the accounts and balances:
1. Restore from backup, correct the posting types, and then perform the Year-End Close routine again. Having a good backup before closing any of the modules is critical. If the close process fails, this is your safety net.
2. There are steps that can be taken to correct the posting types of accounts, but they involve changing Posting and General Ledger Setup settings for Posting to History as well as executing a SQL script or two.
3. If you are on Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 R2 or later, the option to Reverse Historical Year has been added. This reverses the close process, allowing you to change the posting types of the accounts, and then the close routine can be ran again.
The Year-End Close process has gotten better. Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 added a progress bar to display the completion process. Prior to this in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and earlier versions, the system would appear to be unresponsive during the close, and users would sometimes force close Microsoft Dynamics GP, resulting in a failed close and necessitating a restore from backup.
There are still a number of organizations that have not upgraded to at least Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 R2. If your organization is one of them, perhaps new features to the Year End Close process such as Reverse Historical Year, Maintain Inactive Accounts, the YEC progress bar, and Clear Balance During Year-End Close would benefit your organization. Contact your Microsoft Dynamics GP partner for assistance with Year-End Close or to schedule an upgrade.