Reclassify transactions from one account to another
Move posted transactions in bulk to the right account without touching taxes, and correct a prior fiscal year without changing the financial statements already produced.
The Reclassify transactions page (Ledger menu) fixes transactions posted to the wrong account, for example loan repayments recorded as bank fees. It plays the role of QuickBooks' “Reclassify transactions” tool.
Reclassify transactions
- 1Choose the account to fix (for example *Bank fees*). The Reclassify link in the General ledger, and the one in an account's detail (trial balance, financial statements), go straight there.
- 2Find the transactions: pick the fiscal year or dates, search by description, contact, reference or exact amount, filter by side (debit or credit) or by origin.
- 3Tick the transactions: the header checkbox ticks them all, Shift + click ticks a range.
- 4Choose the destination account (you can create it on the spot), then click Reclassify….
- 5Review the summary shown, then confirm.
What never changes
Only the line's account changes. Tax codes, tax amounts, the GST/QST detail, the contact, amounts and description stay exactly as they are, and the entry stays balanced. The summary says so and tells you how many taxed transactions are involved. If a transaction moves from a revenue account to an account of another type (or the reverse), TeeBooks warns you that the sales total on the GST/QST return changes; if the tax period has already been filed, the difference goes to the Exceptions of the next return.
Transactions that cannot be reclassified here
- those that come from an invoice, a payment, a tax return or another module: fix them from their document (the Open link takes you there);
- lines reconciled in a completed reconciliation;
- transactions in a locked period: reopen the period (Periods page) to reclassify them;
- bank and card, tax, receivable and payable accounts: their balances are tied to other modules.
Correcting a prior fiscal year
When a transaction belongs to a fiscal year whose financial statements are already produced and the reclassification changes its net income (for example an expense that becomes a loan), editing the original entry would change that year's net income, hence the opening retained earnings, without anyone noticing. TeeBooks then posts an adjustment: the original entry does not move, and an entry is posted in the current fiscal year against the equity account Prior period adjustments (created if needed, presented with retained earnings).
The confirmation window shows, by fiscal year, the effect on net income, the exact adjusting entry and its date (editable within the current year). If the prior year is not locked, you can instead choose to correct the original entries: that year's net income and the opening retained earnings then change, and TeeBooks tells you so before you continue.
Every reclassification is kept in the History tab, with its author and date. Cancel restores the original accounts and deletes the adjusting entry; cancelling is refused, without changing anything, if a transaction was edited or a period was locked since.