This article covers the most common issues encountered when working with Year End Accounts in BrightTax Accounts Production, with step-by-step fixes for each.

Cause: This occurs when BrightTax is being used for a client for the first time and no prior year accounts exist in the system.

Fix:

1. Create a Year End Accounts task for the prior accounting period.
2. From the task Summary tab, assign the correct Accounts Production template.
3. On the top toolbar, click Actions > Complete.
4. Click Yes on the first confirmation prompt.
5. Click Skip on the second prompt.
6. Return to the current year accounts — the prior period column will now be defined.

Cause: A trial balance figure has been entered incorrectly, a journal is unbalanced, or a rounding difference has created a £1 imbalance.

Fix:

1. Open the Extended Trial Balance and review the Closing Balance column for each line.
2. Check the Journals screen to confirm all journals are balanced (debits equal credits).
3. Check the Final Rounded Trial Balance column — a £1 rounding difference is common and can be resolved with a small journal.
4. Re-run Check Accounts & Generate iXBRL Files after making corrections.

Cause: Any edit made after Check and Generate puts the accounts back into uncollapsed state.

Fix: Re-run Check Accounts & Generate iXBRL Files to regenerate the iXBRL files and collapse the accounts again. Do not submit accounts that were generated before subsequent edits were made.

If you have deleted data within a Year End Accounts task:

• If you have not yet saved — close the browser window without saving. BrightTax will revert the task to its last saved state.
• If you have already saved — the deleted data cannot be automatically recovered. You will need to re-enter the figures manually.

If the company's registered office address needs to be updated on an existing Year End Accounts task:

1. Open the Year End Accounts task.
2. Go to Address Detail from the left-hand menu.
3. Locate the Registered Office Address dropdown.
4. Select the updated address if it appears in the dropdown, or click New Address to add it.
5. Click Save.

Common causes and fixes:

• Balance sheet does not balance — review the trial balance and journals. Correct the imbalance and retry.
• Missing required fields — check the error message for the specific field. Common missing fields include signing date, director name, and accounting period dates.
• Prior period not defined — follow the steps in the Prior Period section above to define the prior period before retrying.

Q: I accidentally used an expired template — how do I fix this?

A: Discard and delete the task and recreate it with the correct current template. See Accounts Production Templates: Which One Do I Need for guidance.

Q: The accounts are showing figures I did not enter — where are they coming from?

A: Figures can flow into the accounts from three sources: the Extended Trial Balance, journal entries, and the prior year opening balances. Check all three sources to identify where an unexpected figure has originated.

Q: Can I print the accounts before submitting to check how they look?

A: Yes. Use the Print option from the toolbar or the YEA Summary page to produce a PDF of the accounts at any point. This is useful for client review before submission.