Ledger settlements

Article
10/28/2023

Important

Some or all of the functionality noted in this article is available as part of a preview release. The content and the functionality are subject to change. For more information about preview releases, see Service update availability.

Ledger settlement is the process of matching debit and credit transactions in the general ledger. The settlement of the debit and credit amounts is used to reconcile the balance of the ledger account with the detailed transactions that make up that balance.

Settled transactions can be excluded from inquiries and reports. In this way, it's easier to analyze the open ledger transactions that make up the balance of the ledger account.

Important

The Accounts payable (AP) and Accounts receivable (AR) modules also have settlement of invoices and payments. When settlement occurs in the AR and AP subledgers, the corresponding ledger entries aren't automatically settled.

Ledger settlement features

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance version 10.0.21, the Enable advanced ledger settlement option was removed from the General ledger parameters page. Advanced ledger settlement is now always enabled. In Finance version 10.0.25, the Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close feature was introduced. This feature changes the fundamental functionality in both ledger settlement and General ledger year-end close. Before you enable this feature in the Feature management workspace, see Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close.

Set up ledger settlement

You must select the main accounts that you want to do ledger settlement for. There are two ways to select these main accounts.

Go to General ledger > Ledger setup > General ledger parameters.
On the Ledger settlements tab, select the charts of accounts that you want to select the main accounts from.
Select the main accounts to do ledger settlement for. Because charts of accounts are global, all companies that the selected charts of accounts are assigned to will have the same main accounts selected for ledger settlement.

–or–

Go to General ledger > Periodic tasks > Ledger settlements.
Select Ledger settlement accounts.
In the dialog box, select the charts of accounts and main accounts to do ledger settlement for. This dialog box is a shortcut. Any main accounts that you add here will also be reflected on the General ledger parameters page.

You can use the same basic procedures to remove main accounts from ledger settlement at any time. Removal of a main account has no effect on previous ledger settlements. However, the main account and transactions will no longer appear on the Ledger settlement page.

Settle transactions

To settle ledger transactions, follow these steps.

Go to General ledger > Periodic tasks > Ledger settlements.
Set the filters at the top of the page:
- Select a date range. Alternatively, select a date interval code to automatically fill in the date range. We don't recommend that you do ledger settlement for transactions that cross fiscal years. When the Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close feature is enabled, ledger settlement must be completed within a fiscal year.
- When the Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close feature is enabled, ledger settlement must be done for transactions in a single main account and the main account is a required filter.
- Change the posting layer as required. You can't settle transactions that are in different posting layers.
- To show the main account and dimensions separately, select a financial dimension set.
Select Display transactions to show all the transactions that match the filters that you set and the list of accounts that you specified when you set up the chart of accounts list in the previous section.
- If you change any of the filters or the dimension sets, you must select Display transactions again.
- To filter the transactions to an individual main account, use the filter on the Ledger account field. We don't recommend that you do ledger settlement for transactions that are posted to different main accounts.
Select lines for settlement. The value in the Selected amount field at the top of the page increases or decreases to reflect the total amount on the selected lines.
When you've finished selecting transactions, select Mark selected. For each selected transaction, a check mark appears in the Marked column. Additionally, the value in the Marked amount field above the grid increases or decreases to reflect the total amount on the marked lines.
When the value in the Marked amount field is 0 (zero), select Settle marked transactions. The status of the marked transactions is updated to Settled.

Important

All transactions that you've marked for settlement for the active legal entity will be settled, even if they aren't currently shown on the Ledger settlement page because you applied a filter.

Make transactions easier to find

The Ledger settlements page includes capabilities that make it easier to view the transactions that you require for settlement.

Use the Marked filter to filter transactions based on whether the Marked checkbox is selected for them.
Use the Status filter to filter transactions based on their status.
Select Sort by absolute amount to sort the amounts by absolute value. In this way, you can group debits and credits that have the same amount.

Reverse a settlement

You can reverse a settlement that was made by mistake. When the Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close feature is enabled, ledger settlement and the reversal can’t be done for transactions that are posted within a closed fiscal year (in other words, the year-end close has been run).

Follow steps 1 through 3 in the Settle transactions section to show the transactions that you're interested in.
In the Status filter, select Settled.
Select lines for reversal.
Select Reverse marked transactions. The status of all transactions that have the same settlement ID is updated to Not settled.

Important

All transactions that have the same settlement ID will be reversed, even if they aren't marked. For example, four lines were marked and settled. All four lines have the same settlement ID. If you mark one of those four lines and then select Reverse marked transactions, all four lines will be reversed.

Unmark for selected users

Select Unmark for selected users to unmark ledger settled transactions for all legal entities by user ID. For example, an accounting manager can unmark transactions for a user who left for vacation before they finished the settlement, or for a user who has left the organization. The action enables those transactions to be marked for settlement by another user.

Unmark all transactions

Select Unmark all transactions to unmark all ledger settled transactions for all users and all legal entities. This action is available for the Administrator role.

Review cross-year settlements

As of Finance release 10.0.29, you can identify vouchers that were ledger settled across fiscal years. The Review cross-year settlements page lets you view and unsettle ledger transactions. On the Ledger settlements page, select Review cross-year settlement. The Inquiry page shows all transactions from other fiscal years that are settled against transactions that were posted in the fiscal year that's specified in the Fiscal year field.

It's important that you export the data to Excel before you unsettle records. When you select the Unsettle marked records action, two warning messages are shown to ensure that the transaction details are exported to Excel before the transactions are unsettled. If you accidentally unsettle ledger transactions before you send the details to Excel, there's no way to reverse the unsettlement.

For more information about how to use the Review cross-year settlements page to help you with year-end close processes, see Awareness between ledger settlement feature before year-end close using the inquiry page and Awareness between ledger settlement feature after year-end close using the inquiry page.

Post foreign currency realized gains/losses for ledger settlements

In Finance version 10.0.36, the Post foreign currency realized gains/losses for ledger settlements feature is available in the Feature management workspace. This feature calculates and posts foreign currency realized gains and losses for settlements from the Ledger settlements page when the reporting currency values of the debits and credits differ. In Finance version 10.0.38, support has been added for calculating and posting foreign currency realized gains and losses for settlement when the accounting currency values of the debits and credits differ. Before you can enable the Post foreign currency realized gains/losses for ledger settlements feature, the Awareness between ledger settlement and year-end close feature must be enabled.

The feature also improves the usability of the ledger settlement process by simplifying the marking process. You no longer have to select and mark vouchers for ledger settlement in two steps. Instead, you can mark the voucher in the grid on the Ledger settlements page. The Marked debits, Marked credits, and Difference fields are shown to provide a clear indication of the totals for your work in progress. You must complete your work by settling the marked vouchers before you close the Ledger settlements page. Starting in version 10.0.38, the Marked debits, Marked credits and Difference fields in both the accounting and reporting currencies can be viewed from the Ledger settlements page.

Set up realized gain and realized loss account information

After you enable the feature, you must specify which ledger settlement accounts process realized gains and losses during settlement. The Calculate realized gains and losses option is set for each main account that's ledger settled.

Go to General ledger > Ledger setup > General ledger parameters.
On the Ledger settlements tab, select Ledger settlement accounts.

–or–

Go to General ledger > Periodic tasks > Ledger settlements.
Select Ledger settlement accounts.

By default, the Calculate realized gains and losses option is set to No. When it's set to Yes, the foreign currency exchange rate realized gains and losses are posted during the ledger settlement process. Foreign currency exchange rate realized gains and losses are generated when the debit and credit amounts in the reporting or accounting currency don't match. When the option is set to No, realized gains and losses aren't generated by the ledger settlement process. We recommend that you leave the option set to No for your AR and AP summary accounts, because foreign currency exchange rate gains and losses are typically realized in the subledgers. Additional consideration should be given to your Cash accounts that might be revalued in the Cash and bank management module.

The posting accounts for the realized gains and losses can be set up on the General ledger tab of the Currency revaluation posting profile page. If these accounts aren't defined in the currency revaluation posting profile, the accounts that are selected on the Account for currency revaluation FastTab of the Ledger page are used.

Before a realized gain or loss can be posted, the number sequence information for the Ledger settlements type must be specified on the Number sequences tab of the General ledger parameters page (General ledger > Ledger setup > General ledger parameters).

Post a realized gain or loss

During the ledger settlement process, realized gains and losses are posted when the reporting or accounting currency amounts of the marked debits and the marked credits differ. If the same transaction currency is used on the marked entries, the system will sum the Amount in transaction currency values. If the Amount in transaction currency summed debit and summed credit values net to zero, settlement will be allowed. If the marked entries have differing transactional currencies, the system will sum the Amount in accounting currency values. If the Amount in accounting currency summed debit and summed credit values net to zero, settlement will be allowed. To determine whether there's a gain or a loss, the system consider the account type and the direction of the change. The adjustment amount is calculated by using the formula Adjustment amount = 0 – (Debits – Credits). The calculated amount represents the adjustment that's required to balance the debits and credits to 0 (zero). A gain or loss is determined based on the Main account type value of the account that's being settled:

For accounts of the Balance sheet, Asset, Liability, Equity or CA Common type, a gain is posted when the adjustment value is more than 0 (zero), and a loss is posted when the adjustment value is less than or equal to 0 (zero).
For accounts of the Profit and loss, Revenue or Expense type, a loss is posted when the adjustment value is greater more 0 (zero), and a gain is posted when the adjustment value is less than or equal to 0 (zero).

A voucher that contains the accounting for the realized gain or loss information is created as of the settlement date. The financial dimensions for the accounting entries are based on the voucher that's being settled. The Settlement typical balance setting is used to determine which voucher the default dimensions are retrieved from. If multiple vouchers are being settled, the calculated realized gain or loss amount is prorated to the financial dimensions of the voucher, based on the transaction currency values. The transaction type for the posted voucher will be Ledger settlement.

Reverse a settlement that contains a realized gain or loss

When a ledger settlement is reversed, any realized gain or loss vouchers that were recognized at the time of settlement are fully reversed. The transaction type for the posted reversal voucher will be Ledger settlement reversal. You can't reverse a reversed ledger settlement. Instead, you can resettle the vouchers.

Unrealized gains and losses

The foreign currency revaluation process in General ledger creates unrealized gain and loss transactions. If unrealized gains and losses exist for transactions that are ledger settled, they will be resolved the next time that the foreign currency process is run. We recommend that unrealized gain and loss transactions from previous foreign currency revaluation runs aren't marked for ledger settlement. Instead, you should you perform foreign currency revaluations in General ledger after ledger settlement. The foreign currency revaluation routine resolves the unrealized gain or loss.