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KB Category: Sage 50 Accounts

Sage 50 Accounts

Bank transfers

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

Bank transfers

 

Within Sage Accounts there are some nominal codes that are also used as bank accounts. You can see these accounts in the Bank accounts module. To move money between any of these bank accounts, you can post a manual journal, or use the Bank transfer option. The Bank transfer option post the following journals: Within Sage Accounts there are some nominal codes that are also used as bank accounts. You can see these accounts in the Bank accounts module. To move money between any of these bank accounts, you can post a manual journal, or use the Bank transfer option. The Bank transfer option post the following journals:

 

JC The balance on the bank account you’re moving money from, is decreased by the full amount of the transfer.
JD The balance on the bank account you’re moving money to, is increased by the full amount of the transfer.

 

Post a bank transfer

  1. Click Bank accounts.
  2. Click the account you want to move the money from.
  3. Click Bank transfer.
  4. Complete the boxes as required.
  5. Click Save and then click Close.

 

Contra Entries

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

Contra Entries

If you’ve a customer who’s also a supplier, you may want to offset outstanding customer and supplier invoices. This is known as making a contra entry.

  • Sage 50 Accounts Plus, Sage 50 Accounts Professional or Sage 50cloud Professional on standard VAT scheme – Use automatic contra entries.
  • Sage 50 Accounts, Sage 50 Accounts Essentials, Sage Instant Accounts, Sage 50cloud Standard or Sage 50cloud Essentials on VAT Cash Accounting scheme – Use manual contra entries.
  • To offset outstanding credit notes and payments on account, use manual contra entries.

This article explains how to process automatic and manual contra entries.

 Contra example

If you post a contra entry for an outstanding customer invoice of £/€150, and an outstanding supplier invoice of £/€200. The contra entry amount is £/€150.

After the contra entry is posted:

  • The invoice on the supplier’s account is part paid with an outstanding value of £/€50.
  • The customer’s invoice is fully paid.
  • Neither of the transactions appear on the current bank account.
  • The balance on the contra entry bank account is zero.

If the contra entry includes foreign currency values then a foreign currency bank account should be used for the contra. You can only process foreign bank contras using the manual method. The balance can be zeroed with a transfer between the foreign and base bank accounts.

 

To process automatic contra entries

To manually contra SI, PI, SP or PR transactions

 

Step1: Create a contra entry bank account

To record a contra entry, a sales receipt and a purchase payment must be posted. To prevent these from appearing in the main bank activity, a new bank account should be created which is only used to record contra entries.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts then on the toolbar click New/edit drop-down then click New.

Sage Accounts 2014 (v20) and below – On the navigation bar click Bank then on the toolbar click Bank Record.

2. Enter the relevant details for the new bank account:

A/C Ref* The nominal code you want to use for the new bank account.
Nominal Name Enter a description for the new bank account, for example, Contra Entries bank account.
A/C Type Choose Cheque Account from the drop-down list.
No Bank Reconciliation If you don’t want to run a bank reconciliation for this account, select this check box.

 

3. *This information is mandatory.

4. Click Save then click Close.

 

Step 2: Post a sales receipt using the contra entry bank account

To clear the relevant outstanding sales invoice or sales payment on the customer’s account, post a sales receipt to the customer’s account using the contra entry bank account.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts, select the contra entry bank account then click Customer receipt.

2. Complete the Customer Receipt window as follows:

Account Ref The contra entry bank account appears.
Account Choose the required customer from the drop-down list.
Date Enter the date for the sales receipt. The program date appears automatically but can be overwritten.
Receipt Enter the required value in the Receipt box for the relevant SI or SP. This should be the lower value of the contra entry. For example, if the SI is £200.00 and the PI is £150.00, you should enter £150.00 here.

 

Step 3: Post a purchase payment from the contra entry bank account

To clear the relevant outstanding purchase invoice or purchase receipt on the supplier’s account, post a purchase payment to the supplier’s account using the contra entry bank account.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts, select the contra entry bank account then click Supplier payment.

2. Complete the Supplier Payment window as follows:

Payee Enter the required supplier’s account reference.
Date Enter the date for the purchase payment.
payment To allocate the money paid to the relevant invoice items, enter the required value in the Payment box of the invoice item line. This should be the same value as the sales receipt. For example, enter £150.00 against the relevant outstanding invoice.

 

*This information is mandatory.

3. Click Save then click Close.

The supplier payment posts, and the balance on the contra entry bank account should now be zero

 

To manually contra SA, PA, SC and PC transactions

 

Step1: Create a contra entry bank account

To record a contra entry, a sales payment, SP, and a purchase receipt, PR, must be posted. To prevent these from appearing in the main bank activity, a new bank account should be created which is only used to record contra entries.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts then on the toolbar click New/edit drop-down then click New.

Sage Accounts 2014 (v20) and below – On the navigation bar click Bank then on the toolbar click Bank Record.

2. Enter the relevant details for the new bank account:

A/C Ref* The nominal code you want to use for the new bank account.
Nominal Name Enter a description for the new bank account, for example, Contra Entries bank account.
A/C Type Choose Cheque Account from the drop-down list.
No bank reconciliations If you don’t want to run a bank reconciliation for this account, select this check box.

 

*This information is mandatory.

3. Click Save then click Close.

 

Step 2: Post a sales receipt using the contra entry bank account

To clear the relevant outstanding credit note or payment on account, on the customer’s account, post a sales payment, SP, to the customer’s account using the contra entry bank account.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts, select the contra entry bank account then click Customer refund.

Sage Accounts 2014 (v20) and below – On the navigation bar click Customers then in the Tasks pane click Customer Refund.

2. Complete the Customer Refund window as follows:

Bank A/C Ref The contra entry bank account appears.
Payee Choose the required customer from the drop-down list.
Date Enter the date for the sales payment. The program date appears automatically but can be overwritten.
Amount Enter the required value in the Amount box of the relevant SC or SA. This should be the lower value of the contra entry. For example, if the SC or SA is £200.00 and the PC or PA is £150.00, you should enter £150.00 here.

 

3. Click Save then click Close.

 

Step 3: Post a purchase payment from the contra entry bank account

To clear the relevant outstanding credit note, PC, or payment on account, PA, on the supplier’s account, post a purchase receipt, PR, to the supplier’s account using the contra entry bank account.

1. On the navigation bar click Bank accounts, select the contra entry bank account then click Supplier refund.

Sage Accounts 2014 (v20) and below – On the navigation bar click Suppliers then in the Tasks pane click Supplier Refund.

2. Complete the Supplier Refund window as follows:

Payee Enter the required supplier’s account reference.
Date Enter the date for the purchase payment.
Amount To allocate the money paid to the relevant items, enter the required value in the amount box of the relevant PC or PA. This should be the same value as the sales payment. For example, enter £150.00 against the relevant outstanding PC or PA.

*This information is mandatory.

3. Click Save then click Close.

The purchase receipt, PR, posts, and the balance on the contra entry bank account should now be zero.

 

 

Delete a bank transfer

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

Delete a bank transfer

If you need to undo a bank transfer, depending on your version, you can delete or reverse the transfer and start again.

Delete a bank transfer

Sage Accounts v22 and above

You can delete bank transfers if they were created in Sage Accounts v22 or above. If the transfers are from v21 or below, or involve foreign currencies, please refer to the section: Sage Accounts v21 and below.

  1. Click Transactions.
  2. Click one of the transfer journals that you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete, then click Delete
  4. At the confirmation message, click Yes.
  5. Click Save and click Close.

Sage Accounts v21 and below

In earlier versions, or where foreign currencies are involved, bank transfers can’t be deleted, but you can reverse the original transfer.

Simply post a bank transfer with same details on the same date but swapping the bank account you’re moving the money from and to. Then post a new transfer with the correct details.

 

Sage 50 – Username is already in use

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

‘The username is already in use. Do you want to remove this user from the request list and logon again?’ when you log into Sage Accounts

 

When you log into Sage Accounts, you may receive the following message:

 

 

This happens when you’re already logged into Sage Accounts on another computer, or your software previously unexpectedly closed when you were logged in.

 

If you’re logged in to Sage Accounts on another computer

 

If you’re logged in to Sage Accounts or someone else is using your username on another computer, before continuing, click No then log out on the other computer. You can now try and open Sage and logon again.

If you’re not logged in to Sage Accounts on another computer

 

  • Click Yes, then when prompted to confirm that you want to proceed, click Yes.

Note: If you choose Yes to remove the user from the request list, we recommend that you run a check data. If any errors are reported,

 

Aged Debtors Report and Debtors Control Account do not match (Sage Accounts)

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

Reasons this will happen:

 

  1. A journal has been posted to the Debtors Control Account and this will not wash out so it has to be reversed or highlighted to prove the difference
  2. A Receipt has been allocated to an invoice with a future date.

 

 

To find out if a Journal has been entered, go to Nominal Reports/Day Books and select Day Books: Nominal Ledger.  When the Criteria box appears, put in the dates and select 1100 Debtors Control Account. If the report is blank then proceed to Future Allocations Query.

 

To find out Future Allocations, go to Customer Reports/Aged Debt Rec Reports, if you do not have this selection of reports contact Support.

Run the various reports and it will highlight any transactions that were allocated after the month end/year end date.  You can fix the dates via Transactions by clicking Unallocate and then allocate again with the correct date.

Sage 50 Reports – ‘Generic COM Error’ or ‘Failed to Output’

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

If you’re using Microsoft Outlook, when you try to email documents from Sage Accounts or Sage 50 Payroll one of the following message may appear. These can be due to environmental settings or report specific issues.

‘Unable to send all emails.’

‘ExtendedErrorCode.COMError: “Generic COM Error’

‘Failed to output to email’

Not using Microsoft Outlook? Check your SMTP settings and check that your webmail password is correct. For information about SMTP settings in Sage Accounts, refer to article 12659.

 

Check you use a compatible version of Microsoft Outlook

1. Check your version of Outlook is compatible with your Sage software and you’re using the desktop version and not cloud based.

If you don’t have a compatible version of Outlook, to email from your Sage software use SMTP settings instead.

2. Install all updates for the version of Outlook you’re using. Read more >>

3. Try emailing your document again.

 

Check Run as administrator settings are the same for Outlook and your Sage software

1. Close all software, right-click the Outlook shortcut then click Properties.

2. Click the Compatibility tab, check if the Run this program as an administrator check box is selected or clear, click OK.

3. Right-click the Sage software shortcut then click Properties.

4. Click the Compatibility tab, set Run this program as an administrator to be the same as Outlook, click OK.

5. Try emailing your document again.

 

Check Microsoft Outlook opens correctly

1. Close and reopen Microsoft Outlook and check that it opens correctly.

2. Right-click any file on the computer, for example, a Word document, click Send To then click Mail Recipient.

If nothing happens or an error appears, proceed to the following section.

 

Set Outlook as the default mail provider

1. Press the Windows key + R, type control /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms then click OK.

2. Click Set your default programs, click Outlook (desktop), click Set this program as default then click OK.

3. Right-click any file on the computer, for example, a Word document, click Send To then click Mail Recipient.

If a new Outlook email window appears, Outlook is now set as the default mail provider and you should try emailing your document again. If it doesn’t work, proceed to the following section.

If nothing happens or an error message appears, Outlook is not correctly configured as the default mail provider and you should contact your local IT support to carry out a repair install of Microsoft Outlook

 

Sage 50 (v21 or above) – To stop and restart Data Services

Written by Pimbrook Support on .

Data service was introduced in Sage Accounts v21 or above with

When speaking to Sage Technical Support, there may be occasions where you need to make manual changes to your Sage Accounts data files.

To do this, you must ensure everyone’s out of Sage Accounts and depending on your version, should stop the Sage Data Service, if in use.

Before you can make any changes to your data files, to protect the integrity of your data you must stop the Sage Accounts Data Service on the computer where the data is held, to prevent anyone accessing the data.

1. Log all users out of Sage Accounts. To see who’s currently logged in: View > User List.

2. Stop the Sage Accounts Data Service on the computer where your data is held.

To stop the data service

You can do this using the Data Service Manager:

1. On the computer where your data is held > Start menu > All programs > Sage Accounts > Data Service Manager.

2. Tools > Data Service Manager > OK.

Tip: You can also access the Data Service Manager with Sage Accounts, Tools > Data Service Manager > OK > if required, create a backup > close Sage Accounts.

3. Check that the correct Server name appears in the Server box, you can amend this if required > if you’re unsure of your server name, contact your IT administrator.

4.  Click Connect > make sure all users have logged out of Sage Accounts. A list of users who are still logged in is shown at the bottom of the window.

5. Click Stop Service.

Note: You can also start and stop the service like any Windows service using your operating system. To do this, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard > enter Services.msc > right-click Sage 50 Accounts Service > Start, Stop or Restart as required.

6. Make your required changes.

7. Start the Sage Accounts Data Service on the computer where your data is held.

 

To start the data service

You can do this using the Data Service Manager:

1. On the computer where your data is held > Start menu > All programs > Sage Accounts > Data Service Manager.

2. Tools > Data Service Manager > OK.

Tip: You can also access the Data Service Manager with Sage Accounts, Tools > Data Service Manager > OK > if required, create a backup > close Sage Accounts.

3. Check that the correct Server name appears in the Server box, you can amend this if required > if you’re unsure of your server name, contact your IT administrator.

4. Click Connect > Start Service.

Note: You can also start and stop the service like any Windows service using your operating system. To do this, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard > enter Services.msc > right-click Sage 50 Accounts Service > Start, Stop or Restart as required.