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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: MLS 2026 Fully Integrated Accounting > General Ledger > General Ledger Troubleshooting Guide |
Even with a highly automated accounting system, situations can arise where the General Ledger requires investigation or correction.
Most General Ledger problems are caused by:
•Incomplete postings
•Incorrect manual entries
•Invalid account numbers
•Missing defaults
•Unbalanced transactions
The good news is that MLS 2026 includes powerful tools designed to help isolate and correct these issues quickly.
Use this guide whenever:
•Totals seem incorrect
•Reports do not balance
•Transactions appear missing
•Financial reports “don’t look right”
•Ledger Analysis reports imbalance
•Trial Balance does not balance
•Debits and Credits are unequal
•Closing will not process
The most common cause is:
👉 one-sided posting.
Example:
•Debit entered without matching Credit
or
•Credit entered without matching Debit
Select:
•Ledger → Analysis
Write down:
•Dates
•Months
•Error messages
reported by the system.
Open:
•Ledger → Transaction Posting
Enter the date identified by the Analysis utility.
Review all transactions carefully.
Look for:
•Missing Debit entries
•Missing Credit entries
•Invalid account numbers
•Suspicious amounts
•Incomplete postings
Correct the issue by:
•Editing the transaction
or
•Adding the missing corresponding entry
Run:
•Ledger → Analysis
again until the ledger reports:
👉 balanced.
•Beginning balances appear incorrect
•Trial Balance totals do not match prior month reports
•Balance Sheet looks wrong after adjustments
Someone manually changed:
•Beginning Balance fields
without performing a proper closing afterward.
•Print the Trial Balance
•Compare Beginning Balances to:
oPrevious Ending Balances
oPrior Balance Sheet totals
•Correct improper Beginning Balance entries
•Run Ledger Analysis again
•Transactions appear in listings
•Account totals seem incorrect
•Reports do not include expected activity
Transactions may reference:
•Deleted accounts
•Invalid account numbers
•Inactive accounts
Run:
•G/L Transactions Listing
using a very wide date range:
01/01/1980 – 12/31/2099
Review:
•Account numbers
•Dates
•Missing references
Correct errors through:
•Ledger → Transaction Posting
•Monthly closing refuses to run
•System requests Analysis first
•Processing stops unexpectedly
The ledger is:
•Out of balance
or
•Analysis has not been run recently
1.Run:
oLedger → Analysis
2.Correct any errors reported
3.Re-run the closing immediately afterward
•Process button will not finalize entries
•System reports imbalance
The transaction set is not balanced.
Total Debits=Total CreditsTotal\ Debits = Total\ CreditsTotal Debits=Total Credits
Review all entries and verify:
•Debit totals equal Credit totals
MLS 2026 will display guidance such as:
To balance:
Add $250.00 to a CREDIT account
•Income totals seem too high or low
•Expense totals are abnormal
•Percentages appear unrealistic
•Wrong default accounts
•Incorrect posting accounts
•Invalid manual entries
•Transactions posted to wrong categories
Review:
•Default G/L Accounts
•Vendor Debit Accounts
•Posting Transactions
•Trial Balance
Verify that transactions are posting into the correct:
•Income accounts
•Expense accounts
•Asset accounts
•Liability accounts
•Department reports appear incomplete
•Department totals seem inconsistent
•Department codes missing during entry
•Department subaccounts not created
•Departments not enabled properly
Verify:
•Departments are enabled
•Department subaccounts exist
•Correct department codes are entered during posting
Remember:
👉 departments affect reporting only, not overall ledger totals.
•Workorders do not post properly
•A/R or A/P transactions fail
•Ledger entries are missing
Missing or invalid:
•Default G/L account numbers
Review:
•Ledger → Defaults
Verify:
•Every default account exists
•All account numbers are active
•Account ranges are correct
•Profit & Loss totals differ from expectations
•Balance Sheet appears inconsistent
•Totals changed unexpectedly after adjustments
•Incorrect manual postings
•Improper Beginning Balance changes
•Unclosed periods
•Duplicate entries
1.Run:
oTrial Balance
oLedger Analysis
2.Review:
oManual postings
oBeginning Balances
oCurrent transaction listings
3.Correct errors and reprocess reports
•Fear of losing data
•Concern about resetting balances
•Uncertainty about timing
Year-End Closing:
•does NOT erase accounting history
•does NOT remove prior-year reports
MLS 2026:
•archives prior-year information
•transfers balances forward properly
•resets only current-year activity totals
Verify:
•All transactions are posted
•All months are closed
•Final reports are printed
•Ledger Analysis shows balanced status
•Totals feel inconsistent
•Reports seem unusual
•Something appears incorrect but no obvious error exists
1.Run Ledger Analysis
2.Run Trial Balance
3.Review Transactions Listing
4.Compare reports to previous periods
5.Verify defaults and account numbers
Very often:
👉 unusual totals are caused by one incorrect posting or missing transaction.
•Run Ledger Analysis regularly
•Perform closings consistently
•Avoid unnecessary manual postings
•Keep default accounts accurate
•Print Trial Balances before closings
•Archive financial reports regularly
•Correct problems immediately when discovered
The General Ledger can seem intimidating at first, but MLS 2026 was designed to automate most accounting activity and provide tools to help isolate problems quickly.
Most issues are:
•localized
•repairable
•easy to identify with proper reports
especially when the system is reviewed regularly.
This troubleshooting guide works especially well when paired with:
•Ledger Analysis
•Posting Transactions
•Trial Balance
•Year-End Closing
•Common General Ledger Questions
Together, these sections provide a complete operational recovery system for General Ledger management.