Entering Customer Information When you create a customer record, all you need is a name. Of course, you will probably want to add more contact information and default options when it is convenient for you to do so. You can enter customers and opening balances in the Customer Ledger or in the Setup Guide.

1. Enter the customer’s name or other unique identifier.
2. Add in other details about the customer.

Tip

Are you converting from QuickBooks®, Quicken®, or MYOB®? Run the Import Wizard to import your current customer information. For more information search for “How do I import records” in the Help.

Entering Customer Balances

If you have been in business for a while, some customers may owe you money as of the earliest transaction date you entered during the company setup process. You need to bring each customer record up-to-date.

For each customer, determine the total outstanding amount owed as of the earliest transaction date, and then enter a historical invoice for this amount. If you want to record every transaction with this customer to date, enter individual historical invoices and payments.

1. In the record, on the Historical Invoices tab, click Invoices to record unpaid invoices as of the earliest transaction date.
2. In the Historical Invoices dialog box, enter invoice information.
   

Tip

Are you converting from QuickBooks®, Quicken®, or MYOB®? Run the Import Wizard to import your current vendor information.

Entering Vendor Information

When you create a vendor record, all you need is a name. Of course, you will probably want to add more contact information and default options when it is convenient for you to do so. You can enter vendors and opening balances in the Vendor Ledger or in the Setup Guide. To learn more, watch the Vendor Setup video tutorial in the Learning Centre, or search for “Add or modify a vendor” and “Setup Guide” in the Help.

1. Enter the vendor’s name or other unique identifier.
2. Add in other details about the vendor.

Entering Vendor Balances

If you have been in business for a while, you may owe money to vend ors as of the earliest transaction date you entered during the company setup process. You need to bring each vendor record up-to-date.

For each vendor, determine the total amount owed, and then enter a historical invoice for this amount. If you want to record every transaction with this vendor to date, enter individual historical invoices and payments.

1. In the record, on the Historical Invoices tab, click Invoices to record unpaid invoices as of the earliest transaction date.
2. In the Historical Invoices dialog box, enter invoice information.

Tip

The total of all unpaid historical vendor invoices must equal the opening balance of the Accounts Payable account in your account list.

Entering Item Information

You can create two types of items in Sage 50 Accounting:

1. Inventory. These are physical or tangible items. Sage 50 Accounting keeps track of the quantity on hand, the quantity on order for customers, and the quantity on order with suppliers. When you create an inventory item, you must define an Asset account to track the value of your inventory, and a Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) account to track your cost. In Sage 50 Quantum Accounting, you can enter and track serialized inventory items. For more information, search for “serialized inventory” in the Help.

2. Services. These are either intangible items, such as a consulting fee, or items for which you do not track the quantity purchased or sold.

When you create an item, define a revenue or expense account to simplify data entry. Set a Variance account if you allow inventory levels to go below zero.

Tip

If your business is based solely on selling services, or you do not need to track inventory in Sage 50 Accounting, you should still set up service items for easier and more consistent data entry in the Sales window.

Entering Opening Quantity and Value

To enter opening balances for your inventory items:

1. Open the Inventory & Services page in the Home window. In the Tasks pane, right-click the Inventory & Services icon and then select Add Inventory & Services from the menu.
2. For each inventory item and service, on the History tab, enter the opening quantity and value for this item. On the Statistics tab, you may also want to enter information about the item as of last year and up to the date when you started using Sage 50 Accounting.


3. Print a trial balance (Historical Opening Balances), and then print inventory summary reports for each asset account. If you have four asset accounts, then you will print four reports.
4. Compare the total of each inventory summary report with the appropriate asset account. If they are not the same, check your entries.
5. In Sage 50 Quantum Accounting, for each serialized item, enter serial numbers for all opening quantity on hand.

Tip

The total of the opening balances of a group of inventory items must equal the opening balance of the corresponding inventory asset linked account in the account list.

Setting Up Payroll Defaults
When Sage 50 Accounting builds your account list, all required payroll accounts are created for you. Before you add your employee records, set up:

• Incomes and deductions you'll use in your business
• Entitlements you provide, and how they are calculated
• Tax rates for unemployment, worker’s compensation, and other employer expenses
• Employer-paid expenses specific to your business (user-defined expenses)
• Starting balances for amounts you owe payroll authorities

You should also review the accounts you will use to track payroll advances, payroll liabilities, wage expenses, and other payroll expenses. All payroll settings are conveniently located within the Payroll group in the Settings window. To learn more, select an item in the Payroll group, and then click the Help button.
Tip

To display the payroll tutorial, open the Learning Centre, and then select the Payroll tutorial from the list.

Entering Employee Information

1. You can enter basic employee information (contact information, birth date, SIN, hire date) in:
   • Employee Ledger: Open the Employees & Payroll page in the Home window. In the Tasks pane, right-click the Employee’s icon and then select Add Employee from the menu.
   • Setup Guide: From the Setup menu, select Setup Guide, and then choose the Employee option.

For each employee, enter the following additional information:

• Taxes. Add tax information, such as the province of employment, and the employee’s federal and provincial claim amounts.
• Income. Select the applicable incomes, enter pay rates and vacation calculations, and the number of pay periods per year.
• Deductions. Select the applicable source deductions and enter pay period amounts.
• WCB & Other Expenses. Enter the Worker’s Compensation rate, and pay period contributions for additional employer-paid expenses.
• Entitlements. Record how entitlements, such as sick days, are calculated.
• T4 and RL-1 Information. Enter and review T4 and RL-1 slip information, such as pensionable and insurable earnings.
• Additional Information. You can create up to 5 user-defined fields in which to store additional employee information. If you set up these fields in the Payroll group in the Settings window, then you can enter employee information here.
• Memos. Add reminders and notes.
• Direct Deposit. If you offer direct deposit, turn on the option on the employee’s record and then specifythe bank accounts to which their pay is deposited.

Tip

To properly print T4 and RL-1 slips for your employees, enter the employee’s name in this format: Last, First or First Last.

If you have already processed payroll for the year, you will need to record historical information to print the correct amounts on employee T4 and RL-1 slips at the end of the year. For each employee, enter:

• Taxes paid
• Advances paid
• Taxable benefits to date
• Vacation owed and paid
• Wages paid
• Deductions taken
• User-defined employer expenses to date
• Year-to-date pensionable earnings, EI premiums, and for Quebec employees, QPIP premiums

Tip

• Check federal and provincial employment standards to learn more about worker’s compensation, vacation pay requirements, and year end reporting.
• Make sure you update the opening balance in each linked payroll account.
• Open the Report and Form Options window from the Setup menu, and then review your payroll form settings.

Entering Project Information

Project records are used to keep track of costs and/or expenses incurred during a contract or job that your company performs for customers.

Projects enable you to keep detailed information about the revenues and expenses associated with the work your company does. You can then review this information in a number of project reports to ensure that work is being done on time and on budget.

To set up projects, open the Projects page in the Home window, and then in the Tasks pane, right-click the Projects icon and select Add Project from the menu.

Enter the total revenue received and expenses incurred as of the earliest transaction date you entered when you set up your company.

Tip

You can rename the Projects module in the Settings window. In Sage 50 Premium and Quantum Accounting, “Projects” may initially be named something else, depending on the industry type you selected when you created your company.

Reviewing and Modifying Project Settings

If you create budgets for your projects, open the Settings window from the Setup menu. Click Project and then Budget. Check the Budget Project box and then select the budget period. When these options are turned on, a new Budget tab will appear in each project record so that you can budget individual projects.

You record a project’s revenue and expenses by allocating transaction amounts to the project. These amounts can be viewed on various project reports. Click the Help button to learn more about allocation settings.

On the Names page, you can rename the projects module by entering a term that is more commonly used in your industry or business, and add up to 5 user-defined fields to store information about your projects.