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Removing unused Other sub-accounts

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:31 pm
by fletch1027
Is there a way to get rid of old Other sub-accounts? We have several that have built up over the years and it makes things very cluttered.

I have surfed around MLS and if there is a way I did not see it...

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:09 pm
by jbh001
Look at this thread:
http://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.ph ... #post12298

1. Make sure the sub-account in question has a zero balance.
2. Make sure that all transactions (including internal transfers) for that account are marked as "cleared" via the reconcile process.
3. Set the sub-account to inactive.
4. Wait the required 3 to 5 years (depending on your area) from the date of last activity on the sub-account.
5. Delete the sub-account.

Note: Some accounts are hard-coded into MLS and cannot be removed/deleted/modified. These are usually indicated by a red "X" to the left of the account name.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:11 pm
by aebrown
fletch wrote:Is there a way to get rid of old Other sub-accounts? We have several that have built up over the years and it makes things very cluttered.

I have surfed around MLS and if there is a way I did not see it...
If a subcategory has activity, it cannot be completely removed until the record retention period has passed (3 years plus current year in the US). Until then, all you can (and should) do is to make sure the balance is 0, and then inactivate the category. Inactivating the category will cause it to stop showing up in most places in MLS, so it shouldn't be much of a burden.

When the current financial year is closed, all inactive subcategories with zero balances that have passed the retention period will be completely removed.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:08 pm
by fletch1027
Alan_Brown wrote:If a subcategory has activity, it cannot be completely removed until the record retention period has passed (3 years plus current year in the US). Until then, all you can (and should) do is to make sure the balance is 0, and then inactivate the category. Inactivating the category will cause it to stop showing up in most places in MLS, so it shouldn't be much of a burden.

When the current financial year is closed, all inactive subcategories with zero balances will be completely removed.

Inactivating the category so it wont show up as an option in MLS anymore is exactly what I was looking for. If it's still there out of legal nessisity but I can't see it, that's all I am worried about. Thanks for the idea!

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:52 pm
by aebrown
fletch wrote:Inactivating the category so it wont show up as an option in MLS anymore is exactly what I was looking for. If it's still there out of legal nessisity but I can't see it, that's all I am worried about. Thanks for the idea!
As I reread what I wrote, I see I left out an important clause. Sorry about that :o. I went back and edited my original post so that now it says:
When the current financial year is closed, all inactive subcategories with zero balances that have passed the retention period will be completely removed. (emphasis added)
So with this clarification, you can see that if I had activity in 2006 for a subcategory, but nothing since, and it has a zero balance, I could deactivate it. Then when year 2009 ends, that subcategory would be deleted (in the US, which has a 3-year retention period).

To deactivate a category, in MLS go to Finances > Add/Update Categories, select the category from the tree, then uncheck the "Active" box.