Dates in Sage Simply Accounting

This is the date that you enter when you open Sage Simply Accounting. This date appears on all transaction for the session unless you make a change to a transaction's date. You can use the calendar in the Daily Business Manager (DBM) to change the session date for tasks that you perform within the DBM.

The session date is also:

• The date used to group transactions into the aging categories you use for Vendor Aged and Customer Aged reports.
• The "As-at" date on reports. It is the date up to which amounts are reported.
• A date stamp that Sage Simply Accounting prints on customer statements.

The date associated with and included on a transaction. Sage Simply Accounting uses the current session date as the transaction date when you process transactions. It is possible, however, to change the date in a transaction window or change the current session date if a you need to record a transaction on a different date.

If you are entering a transaction dated in the previous fiscal year, the date can be anytime between last year's earliest transaction date and last year's fiscal end date. If you are entering a transaction dated in the future, the date can be any date up to the current year's fiscal end date.

The 12-month accounting period that your company uses to record its operations. The fiscal year can begin on any day of the year, but January 1 is commonly used to match the calendar year.

You can change the start and finish dates for your fiscal year at any time. If your company is in it's first year, you can actually change your fiscal start date - as long as the date you choose comes before the date of the first transaction you entered.

After your first fiscal year, you can only change your fiscal finish date. When you change the finish date, Sage Simply Accounting changes the fiscal start date for the next year to the day after the current fiscal year's finish date.

The earliest transaction date is the earliest date on which you can enter a transaction for your company. This is the date for which you have a complete, balanced set of data. You can change the earliest-transaction date as often as you like until you finish entering history.

You enter the earliest-transaction date when you first create your company. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Sage Simply Accounting, the earliest transaction date is carried over.

If you have two years of data, the program stores two earliest-transaction dates: one in the previous fiscal year and one in the current fiscal year.

The program automatically updates the earliest transaction date to the first day of your new fiscal year.

The latest date on which you have processed a transaction in the current fiscal year. To see the latest transaction date, open the Setup menu, select Settings, open Company, and then Information.