Accumulated depreciation switches from negative to positive value following closure of corresponding time period

When the corresponding time period is open, the balance sheet will display the sum of contra account credit entries for that time period as negative when displayed on the balance sheet as these balances are displayed alongside and summed with asset balances. This has the (presumably intended) effect of reducing the overall value of assets.

Once the time period for the contra account credit balance is closed, the contra account balance will then be treated as a positive value on the balance sheet, having the effect of increasing, rather than decreasing, total asset value.

This behaviour can be observed using demo data.

For the demo company, create the following Fiscal Month custom time periods (time values should be 00:00:00):

• 2009-01-01 to 2009-02-01
• 2009-02-01 to 2009-03-01
• 2009-03-01 to 2009-04-01
• 2009-04-01 to 2009-05-01

Access the Balance Sheet report and produce a balance sheet for Thru Date 2009-04-01. This balance sheet will then include the entry for vehicle depreciation with transaction date 2009-03-31 08:00:00.000.

The balance sheet should show this depreciation in the Assets part of the report with a value of -$2500.

Close the first three time periods one-by-one, regenerating the above balance sheet after each closure. You should see that once the March 2009 time period is closed the depreciation balance changes from -$2500 to $2500.

Further, the Total Assets entry at the bottom of the report will have increased to $202,500, misrepresenting the true state by $5000.