Our Best Business Strategies to run the Sage 50 Year-End Wizard

This is the process to close Periods 1 -12 , Move existing periods 13-24 to periods 1-12 and open 13-24 for next year.

First, you need to prepare your data.
Review and close unnecessary PO’s for the period you are closing and do the same for Sales orders you will not fulfill
Print any reports for periods 1-12 that you may want to keep.
Print a copy of the current period Trial Balance to verify balances after running the wizard.
Make sure your retained earnings still match your tax return recently filed.
Also, Make sure your bank accounts are still reconciled to zero.
Before starting the Year-End Wizard, print out any unprinted items such as invoices and checks. Also, make sure that there are no purchases that are marked as Waiting on Bill.
Go to Reports > Internal Accounting Review to check your company for common mistakes and transactions/conditions not adhering to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It is recommended to run this, but not required.
Once you have closed periods 1-12 you cannot manually modify the data in these periods, but we do have a way to force entries to these periods of necessary. There is a fee for that service.
Now, in single-user mode, turn back to period 1 . Run both Data verification tests before running the wizard. If you have errors, run it again. If you have more errors than the first time, restore your original backup! You will need data repair. All errors should be repaired before you move to the wizard.
If you want an achieved copy, make it now before you close the year.
Now you may proceed to the year-end wizard to close periods 1-12. Do not print, archive, or run DV in the wizard. You have already completed those steps. Just close the year.
The Year-End Wizard walks you through the process of closing out your first open fiscal year, payroll tax year, or both.
It is recommended to start the process at the end of your business day or on a weekend, making sure you leave the computer running, and that all other applications are closed.
Note: This is a single-user task. If using ANY addon program(s) please close them before attempting to run the wizard, as their connections count as a user and will not allow the Year-End wizard to begin.

BEGIN CLOSING PROCEDURE:

Go to the Tasks Tab on the top menu bar > System >Year-End Wizard, click Next
Select a Years to Close option:
- Fiscal and Payroll Tax Years: Select this option if your fiscal year follows the calendar year
- Fiscal Year: Select this option if your fiscal year does not follow the calendar year, and the next payroll year is already open
- Payroll Tax Year: Select this option if your fiscal year does not follow the calendar year, and you need to enter payroll in the next calendar year, Click Next
- If you have any purchases marked Waiting on Bill, the Cannot Proceed window will appear:
  1. Cancel the Year-End Wizard
  2. Go to Lists, Vendors & Purchases, Purchases
  3. Click the Waiting on Bill column header to sort the list by that column
  4. Open any vendor invoice dated in the year being closed that’s marked Waiting on Bill
  5. Uncheck Waiting on Bill
  6. Enter an Invoice No.
  7. Click Save
  8. Repeat these steps as needed
  9. Note: If the Waiting on Bill checkbox is greyed out, payment may have already been applied to the purchase, which will need to be deleted before the original invoice can be modified. The payment can be rekeyed afterward. Refer to Unable to edit or delete a purchase invoice.
Restart the Year-End Wizard
The Unprinted Items screen lists unprinted transactions. Do not print here. These should have been previously printed. If you need to print them, you may cancel the wizard. and go back to print them at this time. Otherwise, click Next.
Next are reports, these should have been printed. If not, do not print here. Cancel the wizard and go print reports. Otherwise, click Next.
DO NOT check the box for the Internal Accounting Review. This should have been done previously. Click Next
Back up your company:
1. Click Backup
2. Set the backup location as desired, enter the company name, YEW (stands for Year End Wizard) and your initials. This will be the last backup before closing the current periods 1-12. You may wish to save it in several places. Click save
3. Note: Do not interrupt the backup process. When it completes, the window will close and return you to the Year-End Wizard window. Click Next
It is not recommended to change the dates of your new accounting periods. There are rules governing changes to the date range of accounting periods. If in doubt, consult your accountant before making any changes.
Confirm the year or years that you will be closing and click Next.
Verify the Year-End Wizard options, then click Begin Close.
Note: Once you click Begin Close, you cannot cancel the Year-End Wizard and should not interrupt it. If the process is interrupted, do not continue to work in the company. Restore the backup from Step 8.
When the process is complete, click Finish. Verify the balances on the trial balance previously printed for the current period. You are now ready to work in the next fiscal/ calendar year.