User Roles AdminStaff contributor ✗External contributor ✗Pulse user 

The Flip codes template scans the trial balance for accounts sitting on the wrong side of the balance sheet, such as an asset account showing a credit balance or a liability account showing a debit balance. It proposes reclassifying journals to correct the presentation, without ever posting anything back into the underlying bookkeeping system.

Table of contents 

When should I use this template?

Add this template to a workflow whenever you want an automatic check for nominal accounts that have flipped from their expected debit or credit position. For example, a debtor account that has ended the period in credit because of an overpayment or refund, or a creditor account that has ended up in debit. Left unflagged, these accounts would distort how current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities and non-current liabilities are presented on the balance sheet.

Before you start

There is no setup required. Once the template is part of the workflow, it checks every period automatically against the standard UK nominal code ranges for current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities and non-current liabilities.

Background

Balance sheet classification depends on accounts being in their expected position: assets in debit, liabilities in credit. When an account flips, it needs to be reclassified to the equivalent account on the other side of the balance sheet so the year-end figures present correctly. This template automates identifying which accounts have flipped and proposing the reclassification, but never posts anything automatically. A user always has to review and confirm it.

Steps

  1. If nothing has flipped in the period, the template simply shows a note that there are no assets in a credit position or liabilities in a debit position.
  2. If any accounts have flipped, a table is shown for each affected category (current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities, non-current liabilities) listing the account number, name and value.
  3. Each flagged account has a tick box, ticked by default, letting you choose whether that account should be included in the reclassification. Untick any account you do not want to move.
  4. For each category, the template works out a contra ("swap") account to move the balance to. It first looks for the natural equivalent account (for example, trade debtors reclassify to trade creditors), and if that account does not exist on the trial balance it falls back to a general other-debtors or other-creditors account for that category.
  5. Click Post adjustments to open the standard adjustments screen with the reclassifying entries pre-filled. You can edit the proposed contra account here if the suggestion is not the right one, before confirming.

What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?

Once posted, the reclassified balances sit in the corrected balance sheet category (current or non-current assets or liabilities) used throughout the rest of accounts production, so the balance sheet presentation and any templates that rely on those nominal ranges reflect the corrected position.

What rolls forward next year?

Nothing carries forward automatically. Each period the template re-scans that period's trial balance from scratch, and any tick-box selections only apply to the period they were made in. If the same or other accounts have flipped again next year, you will need to review and select them again.

Where the data comes from

The trial balance accounts for the period, grouped by nominal code range into current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities and non-current liabilities.

Frequently asked questions

Will this post anything to my bookkeeping system?

No. Adjustments only affect the accounts production file. If the flip needs correcting at source too, that has to be done separately in the bookkeeping system.

What if I don't want a flagged account reclassified?

Untick it before clicking Post adjustments. Only ticked accounts are included.

What if the suggested contra account isn't the right one?

You can edit it on the standard adjustments screen before confirming the post.