Posting an entry dated before your firm's Legal Accounting start-up date triggers a User authorization required warning. It is a confirmation prompt—not an error—but the consequence it describes is significant, so it is worth understanding before you acknowledge it.
This article explains what the warning means and what happens if you continue.
What the Message Is
The warning message reads:
This entry is dated prior to your system startup date and will have no impact on your general ledger.
I acknowledge that I understand the consequences of continuing and that I may be overriding the firm's policy.
NOTE: If you are trying to post to a closed GL period, you will not get the option to override. All staff can override the warning. The system does not log the override, but in the audit trail for the entry it will show which user did the entry.
What the Message Means
Your start-up date is the point from which Legal Accounting maintains your general ledger. Entries dated before it is accepted, but they sit outside the ledger's scope.
| Where the entry appears | Where it does not appear |
| Client ledger | General Ledger |
| Bank journal | GL balances and any report drawn from them |
Caution: A backdated payment will show on the client ledger and bank journal but will have no effect on the General Ledger. It is not that the payment is missing - it is that the GL will never reflect it.
What to Do Next
| If you want... | Then... |
| The entry recorded but excluded from the GL | Acknowledge the warning and continue. |
| The entry reflected in your GL balances | Cancel, and change the date to fall on or after your start-up date. |
Updated