This article will help you determine why some or all of your client files did not proforma as expected and resolve the issue. There are a number of reasons why you might not see clients, or some information in the return after attempting to proforma them to the next year. The most common solutions are listed first below.
Before you start:
- If you are receiving a "Failure during Proforma Processing..." or "Failed to Transfer..." error when trying to proforma, see this support article.
Follow these steps to verify you're viewing the correct tax type:
- Click the Client menu, then go to Tax Type.
- Select the correct tax type of the client proforma'd.
Follow these steps to verify the data path:
Make sure the path to which you are proforma'ing the client and the path you are viewing in the later tax year are the same.
For example, if you are transferring your Individual clients from 2022 Lacerte to 2023 Lacerte:
- In the 2022 Lacerte program, go to the Tools menu.
- Then select Transfer Clients (Proforma) and click Next at the Welcome screen.
- Select the Select specific clients from the Individual Tax program option and click Next.
- Select Custom and click Next.
- Select the clients you wish transfer and select Add. This will move the client(s) to the Clients to Transfer pane.
- Select Next.
- Verify the Destination Directory (look for any errors, misspelled words, or extra characters). This directory should be the same as your 2023 Lacerte Individual Data Path.
- Next, open the 2023 Lacerte Tax program.
- Under Settings select Options.
- On the Setup tab, make note of the Data Path.
- If the Data Path isn't the same as the destination directory, re-proforma the client in the prior year and select Browse to transfer the client to the current year's data path.
Follow these steps to verify no Filters have been set:
Filters and pre-filters can sometimes cause clients not to display when they are actually present in the data path.
- On the Clients tab in the later year program, select All Clients and Client Status (both in the left-hand pane) to turn off any filters.
- Select Filters menu and Select Pre-Filter.
- Select Reset and then OK. This will turn off any pre-selected filters.
Follow these steps to review common detail entries that affect proforma:
Check the client input to make sure the following aren't true:
- For Individual returns, check for a Date of Death on Screen 1 - Client Information. Returns that have a deceased taxpayer with filing status of Single, MFS, or HOH will not proforma.
- For Business returns, check to see if the return is marked as a Final Return. Returns marked final will not transfer to the next year. [Partnership - screen 3; Corporate - screen 4; S-Corporation - screen 3; Fiduciary - screen 2]
If one or two client files did not proforma:
Recreate the bridge files
- If all of the clients but one have proforma'd from one year to the next, the problem could be a proforma bridge file that is stuck in the YYTax*DATA folder, where YY refers to the year and * the tax type, such as IDATA, CDATA, PDATA, etc.
- In this instance, navigate to the applicable data directory and look for a file such as:
- In IDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].IP0
- In PDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].PP0
- In CDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].CP0
- In SDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].SP0
- In BDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].BP0
- In FDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].FP0
- In NDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].NP0
- In TDATA - delete all the files with the extension [Client#].TP0
When clients proforma over as they should, these transitional files will no longer appear. If they do after. For example, proforma'ing from the previous year to the next year and opening next year program where the proforma'd clients appear, then one or two files may have been corrupt. They will appear as files such as 500.IP0 which would be client 500 of the Individual module of the TY20 program or ABCCORP.CP0, which would be client ABCCORP in the TY20 Corporate module. In the TY20 IDATA or CDATA folders, locate those files and delete them. This will clear the bridge file, then proforma the client again from TY19 to TY20 which should resolve the issue.
The balance sheet amounts did not proforma:
If the return had an ending balance in the prior year, Lacerte will automatically proforma those amounts to the current year Balance Sheet screen. However, the amounts may not show on the Schedule L until ending year amounts have been entered and requirements for completing the balance sheets are met.
Follow these steps to make sure the amounts are present on the Balance Sheet screen:
- Go to the Balance Sheet screen for your tax type:
- Screen 37, Balance Sheet (Corporate)
- Screen 24, Balance Sheet (Partnership)
- Screen 29, Balance Sheet (S Corporate)
- Make sure that amounts are available under the Beginning column.
- If amounts are available in the Beginning column and appear in a black font (default proforma font), the amounts have proforma'd.
- To verify you can hover your mouse over the amounts to generate the Data source tooltip.
- Make sure the current year's income and ending amounts have been entered.
Forcing the balance sheet when not required
If the corporation or entity isn't required to complete the balance sheet, it'll default to being blank. You can force Lacerte to generate the balance sheet when not required—either on a global level or just for a specific client.
Forcing the balance sheet on a global level
Follow these steps to force the Schedules L, M-1 and M-2 globally for the module:
- From the Settings menu, choose Options.
- Select the Tax Return tab.
- Scroll down to the Federal Tax Options section.
- Locate the Balance Sheet, M-1, M-2 option.
- Select Force from the dropdown menu.
Forcing the balance sheet on a return-by-return basis
Select your tax type below for instructions on forcing the balance sheet on a return-by-return basis.
Corporate
- Go to Screen 38, Balance Sheet Miscellaneous.
- Locate the Other subsection.
- Enter a 1 in Balance Sheet, M-1, M-2: 1=force, 2=when applicable [O].
S-Corporate
- Go to Screen 30, Balance Sheet Miscellaneous.
- Locate the Other subsection.
- Enter a 1 in Schedules L and M-1: 1=force, 2=when applicable [O].
Partnership
- Go to Screen 25, Balance Sheet Miscellaneous.
- Locate the Other subsection.
- Enter a 1 in Schedules L, M-1 and M-2: 1= force, 2= when applicable [O].
Partner is missing after proforma
If a K-1 is marked as final, the partner won't proforma, or transfer, to next year's return. Follow these steps to proforma the return again,:
- Open the prior tax year.
- In the client's Detail screen go to Screen 32: Schedule K-1 Miscellaneous.
- Go to section Partner Schedule K-1 Miscellaneous Information.
- Check for an entry in field Final K-1: 1=yes, 2=no [O] (code 1). Remove the 1.
- Proforma the client.
Note that this will re-proforma the entire return, not just the missing partner. If you already started data entry in the next year's return, we recommend entering the partner's information manually.
Trial Balance information missing after proforma
When a Trial Balance (TB) has been established for a Lacerte tax client (using the Trial Balance Utility), it will proforma to the next tax year with the client file.
This allows account mappings to be retained from year to year. But no aging of data is performed; all account balances will be the same as for the prior year.
If the Trial Balance Does Not Transfer:
- Ensure the Prior Year program is up to date.
- In a pay-per-return account, make sure the client file has obtained Remote Entry Processing (REP) access.
- Make sure the amounts in the Trial Balance (TB) have been Posted to return in the prior year Lacerte client file.
- In the current year proforma'd client file, open the Trial Balance Utility (TBU) and click the Open button in the upper left corner. Verify there is only one TB listed for this file.
To Update the Trial Balance with Current Year Numbers:
- Export the current year accounts from QuickBooks, EasyAcct, or other accounting program or
- Open the Trial Balance Utility (on the Windows menu, select Tools, then Import/Export Data, then Lacerte Trial Balance Utility to manually edit the accounts.
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