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Tenant File Year End Closing Instructions
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The specific screen
instructions for closing out the year are located in your
manual. This sheet is intended to provide additional
information and tips for closing out the year, so please follow it carefully. This documentation is for
the current version - if you have an older Tenant File
version, you will need to refer to your matching User's
Guide for detailed instructions.
Question: Do you HAVE to close out the year?
Answer: YES, YOU
SHOULD! Follow the instructions below to have last year's
data easily available. If you don't close out the year, the
program will run slower (because of lots of data) and your
database could become less stable and more easily corrupted.
The risk is not worth it.
Before anything,
BACKUP! There is nothing more important to closing out the year than
making sure you have a good backup of your information. Once you have entered all of the information you
can for the previous year, make full backups before
closing out anything! You should use a backup utility
provided by Windows or another third party backup utility.
Make a full backup of your Tenant File folder (or directory)
to a removable media (such as memory stick, flash drive, CD, DVD,
etc) so that you can store a copy of your Tenant File
information 'off premises'. You will find your files in a folder (or directory)
in the path named C:\Tenant File\TF4WIN unless
you changed the default path during installation of the
Tenant File. In
addition to the full backups, copy all files ending with
.MDB (your database files) and the files ending with .DAT
(your settings) to a separate media and label the
disks with the appropriate date period. Note: to see what folder your Tenant File files are in, just right-click the shortcut icon that opens the Tenant File, choose 'Properties', and look at the 'Start in' path (NOT the 'Target').
How
to copy your current TENANT FILE folder to a new folder for
a ‘Previous Year’ backup:
Once you are finished posting for the year, and BEFORE CLOSING, make a copy of your Tenant File folder on your computer’s hard drive. That way, you can access last year’s files without having to restore anything. Be very careful to follow the instructions below. Depending on the version of Windows that you are using, the procedure may be slightly different for your computer.
Note: This assumes your files are in a folder named ‘TF4WIN’. If not, substitute the name you assigned instead.
(To see where your Tenant Files are located, go to the icon
or program shortcut that starts the program, then right-click on that item. Go to 'Properties', and look for the 'Start
in' path of your Tenant File program. The file TF4WIN.EXE is NOT part of
the path or location! (Note: The steps below assume your Tenant File is in the
folder 'c:\Tenant File\TF4WIN' - yours may be different)
Step 1: Click on the 'Computer' (or ‘My Computer’) icon on
your computer desktop or under 'Start'.
Step
2: Double-click on your local computer hard drive letter.
(Such as drive ‘C:’)
Step
3: Find the folder named ‘Tenant File' and double-click to
open it
Step
4: Find the folder named ‘TF4WIN’ and click once on the folder
to highlight the folder. (Don’t open it)
Step
5: Press Ctrl-C (or Control-C) to copy the folder. (You won’t
see any change)
Step
6: Press Ctrl-V (or Control-V) to paste the folder. (You may
not see any change)
Step 7: Find the NEW FOLDER, named ‘TF4WIN -
Copy' (or 'Copy of TF4WIN'). (Probably at the bottom of your current window)
Step 8: Right-Click on the new folder, then select ‘Rename’.
Step 9: Type in ‘TF4WIN2014’, or whatever you want to call your
previous year file folder.
Step 10: Create a shortcut to the new folder: Double-click to open
the folder you just created. Find the program file
TF4WIN.EXE, and RIGHT-CLICK on the file. Select 'Create
Shortcut', which should create a 'shortcut to TF4WIN.EXE'
file in the same folder you are in. Drag that shortcut to
your desktop. You should rename the shortcut something that
is more descriptive, such as 'Tenant File 2014'. To rename
it, simply right-click on the new shortcut on your desktop,
and choose 'Rename'.
What happens during closing...
The
Year End closing procedure is very simple, really. In the Year End Closing Screen, you will specify a
'Starting Close Out Date' and an 'Ending Close Out Date'. The total of all transactions between these two
dates will be carried forward and posted to the 'Starting
Balance' in each Owner Ledger, Property Ledger, Unit Ledger,
and Tenant Ledger. The 'New Period Starting Date' selection
on your screen will be the date of your new 'Starting
Balance'.
NOTE: If you have
not closed out the year for more than one year, BE SURE to
specify the correct 'Starting Close Out Date' to include the
previous years. For example, if you have transactions dating
back to 2012, you must specify the 'Starting Close Out Date'
to be 01/01/2012 to include the 2012 transactions in the
close out.
Next, the Year End closing procedure will delete all of the
transactions in each ledger between the dates you specified.
None of your Owner, Property, Unit, or Tenant information will
change, only the transactions will be affected.
The
Year End Closing Screen allows you a few CARRY FORWARD options:
For your Owners: The Owner accounting is in the
Owner, Property, and Unit Ledgers, so you should either
carry forward all 3, or remove the check marks for all 3. If
you have paid all of your Owners and there are no debit or
credit balances remaining, you can choose NOT to carry
forward the balances by removing the check marks for the
Owner, Property, and Unit. (Some Tenant File users
that have carried forward high balances from previous years
might want to choose not to carry the balances
forward). You can always enter any Starting Balances
manually into any Owner, Property, or Unit Ledger.
For your Tenants: You should always carry forward any
balances from your Tenants, so that any amounts due from the
previous year will carry into the new year. So, leave the
box checked to carry forward the Tenant balances. (You would
only remove the check mark if you wanted to clear out all
Tenant Ledger totals).
Remember, if you want
to retain your current balances in your ledgers, you must keep the checkmarks showing. This is an accounting decision
for which you may need to consult with your accountant.
Reports you need to run…
The most
helpful reports that relate directly to Year End Closing are
the Ledger Balances, Listings, Owner Statements (detailed),
Income/Expense Reports, and the Account Reports. If you are going to delete the old checks (which you
should), be sure to run Check Reports, and Vendor
Reports.
Be sure that you
run the Ledger Balances report before and after closing to see if all of your balances are correct to begin
with, and then if they transferred the way you wanted them
to. If a balance is incorrect, it is most likely because
a particular ledger had an incorrect balance or transaction
before closing. This
can be caused by an electrical surge or by shutting down the
computer without exiting the program correctly. (If a ledger ever shows the wrong current balance,
it can be fixed by simply getting into it again - all
ledgers automatically recalculate the transactions each time
you enter the ledger). If there is an incorrect transfer amount, just make the
appropriate Owner, Property, Unit, or Tenant active, and
then click on the 'Starting Balance' button. The 'Starting Balance' and 'Starting Date' can be
edited just like any other information. (Be sure to use a minus sign if a debit).
Deleting Unused Owner, Properties,
Units, and Tenants…
At
the end of the year is the best time to delete any Owners,
Properties, or Units you
no longer own or manage, along with the associated Tenants
or Vacancies. Do this after you close
out, and after you have run all of the appropriate
information reports, financial reports, and statements that
you need for the Owners and for taxes. Refer to your User's Guide under 'Deleting'.
Remember that deleting something
is much different than making it 'VACANT'. When you make a Unit or Tenant 'VACANT', all of the
Tenant transactions are transferred to the Inactive File. (See 'Common Questions and Answers' and 'Inactive
Files'). All Owner,
Property, and Unit transactions are retained in the Active
File for continued posting. On the other hand, when you delete an Owner,
Property, Unit, or Tenant, no information or transactions
are saved. Even when a property is sold, you should first make
it VACANT to save the Tenant payment history, then run all
Owner and financial reports, and finally delete it at the
end of the year after closing. Be aware that deleting 'cascades', in other words, deleting an owner deletes ALL properties, units, and tenants for that owner.
Deleting Unused Account
Categories…
At
the end of the year is the best time to add new Account
Categories or delete any unused Account Categories. Do
this after you
close out and before you enter any new transactions. The reason for this
is that if you edit or delete any account category, it will
affect all transactions that use that account category throughout the
program.
Deleting Inactive Files…
We strongly suggest
that you also clear your Inactive Files. If you keep your Inactive Files, the file may become too big
in size and increase the risk of database corruption.
These files will be saved with your year-end backup if you
follow the above instructions.
The best way to start off with a new, blank INACTIVE file is
to download one from this website. We have provided a NEW,
BLANK INACTIVE FILE for VERSION 6, 7 and 8 ONLY. If
you have any other older version before 6.0 DO NOT DOWNLOAD
this file. You will need to download this file and copy
it to your current Tenant File folder, overwriting your
existing INACTIVE file of the same name: TFDATAOF.MDB.
Click
here to get the BLANK INACTIVE FILE download.
Deleting Old Printed
Checks and Deposits… don't skip this step!
As
your check files can grow rapidly, and contain a lot of
detailed information, you should definitely erase your
previous year's CLEARED checks and deposits. This will speed up the program and reduce the risk
of database corruption. To erase your printed checks and
deposits, enter 'Check Activities', then 'Check Register',
then display the CLEARED checks and deposits to delete. Be sure to write down the total shown at the bottom of the
screen, because you will need to post that
amount as a starting balance in the new year. Note: You
may want to delete the 'cleared deposits' as a separate step
from deleting the 'cleared printed checks' - then you will
need to post forward 2 separate amounts, a 'cleared
deposits' amount (credit) and a 'cleared checks' amount
(debit).
You
can use the date ranges at the bottom to select specific
dates – but if you change a date range, re-select your
categories at the top left of your screen and be absolutely
sure that you only are viewing the checks or deposits you
want to delete. (Check to be sure you don't
have any checks and deposits prior to the year you are
deleting - use an earlier 'Start' date in that case). Be
sure you do not delete any 'Pending' checks or deposits. When you have displayed the checks to delete, click on the
'Delete All' button. Also delete any 'Voided' checks or deposits, but don't carry anything forward for those. Don't forget to check your other bank accounts if you have
used them. Be sure
that you have run a full set of reports on your printed
checks and have already printed all checks in the 'Entered'
Check File prior to deleting them. Make your backups first.
Database Maintenance…
Any
time you make a lot of changes in a database, as in the Year
End Closing, you should compact the database to 'reclaim'
lost space and speed up the program. Refer to 'Database Maintenance' in your help file or
manual. You would
want to run the REPAIR FILES and then the COMPACT FILES
procedure. (For both
the Active and Inactive Files). Also, click the button to
CHECK FOR LINK PROBLEMS. This will check for link problems that may have
occurred while deleting ledgers. It will also check for invalid transaction dates.
Reminder on restoring your
data …
If
at any time during the year, you need to restore the
previous year’s database to view activities, it is important
to remember that if you RESTORE the .MDB file into your
current TF4WIN folder,
it will overwrite your current data. Never restore data
from within the Tenant File or from another utility without
copying your current data files first. Better yet, restore
it to an installation on a different computer or in a
different folder, as per our instructions above.
Important Settings Reminder…
The Tenant Files uses the current Windows settings for the
date display. You need to make sure that the display shows 4 digits for
the year. This is normally done in the 'Control Panel'
for your computer settings. We suggest the short date style of mm/dd/yyyy.
If you have
any questions not covered in the Year End Closing
guidelines, and if you have available phone support (see top of
screen to purchase) you can call tech support between 10-2
CST Monday-Friday, excluding holidays. You need to have your Customer Phone Support ID# ready. We
are busy at this time of the year answering questions, so
please be patient. We’re sorry but we cannot answer any questions about
backing up your files using your WINDOWS Backup utility or
copying files through WINDOWS – only questions that pertain
to the Tenant File for Windows program. Thank you for your continued support of the Tenant File.
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