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AL G/L Scenarios

AL G/L Scenarios - User guide

How to set up and use the app in Business Central.

Overview

AL G/L Scenarios adds parallel, scenario-filtered general ledgers to Business Central. This guide covers setup and daily use for the two scenario types (Simulation and Management), the accrual worksheet and the management deferral.

  • A scenario is a parallel set of ledgers (G/L, VAT, customer and vendor entries) that runs next to the official books.
  • A Simulation scenario posts only into the scenario - a what-if that leaves no trace in the official ledger.
  • A Management scenario mirrors every standard G/L posting and adds its own accruals and deferrals, so its balance is official balance + adjustments.
  • The scenario ledgers are never the item ledger: scenarios carry accounting, not inventory.
  • The chart of accounts shows a second balance (the scenario) next to the standard one.

Prerequisites. Business Central 28.0 or higher (Cloud/SaaS); the dependencies installed (AL License and Trial Management, AL Message Passing, AL Document Template, AL Role Center); the AL G/L Scenarios permission set assigned to users. You reach the app from Tell Me (search "G/L Scenarios", "Scenarios", "Accrual Worksheet"), from the G/L Scenarios group in the Accountant and Accounting Manager role centers, and from the AppLibra role center (Shift+F12, Explore other roles, AppLibra).

Setup

Activate the license

Open G/L Scenarios Setup. The record is created on first open and a trial is registered automatically. Use Add License to enter a license when you have one.

Setup (GLS)

On G/L Scenarios Setup, fill in:

  • Def. Scenario No. - the scenario shown by default in the chart of accounts columns, and proposed to the accrual worksheet and the deferral dialog.
  • Deferral Account No. - a balance sheet account that parks the not-yet-accrued amount of a management deferral (prepaid expenses).
  • Accrual Bal. Account No. - the default balancing account of the accrual worksheet (invoices to be received).

Create scenarios

Open Scenarios and create the scenarios you need, choosing a Type: Simulation for what-if documents, or Management for the accrual-basis management view.

Document templates (for simulation)

To send a document into a simulation scenario, use AL Document Template:

  1. In Document Template Setup, enable templates for the document type.
  2. Create a sales or purchase template with No G/L Ledger Entry = Yes (required) and, in the G/L Scenarios group, Scenario No. set to your simulation scenario.

Note (electronic invoicing). A scenario document still creates the real posted document. On environments with e-invoicing, consider the template's Skip Create Inv. Document option for simulations.

The GLS setup page: configure scenarios and how documents post into them.
GLS setup - scenarios and posting behaviour.
The scenarios list: define Simulation and Management scenarios.
Scenarios list - Simulation and Management.

Scenarios

Simulation: a what-if invoice

  1. Create a new sales or purchase document; the template selector opens - pick the simulation template. The header shows Scenario No. (read-only, highlighted).
  2. Fill in the customer or vendor and the lines as usual.
  3. Preview posting (Ctrl+Alt+F9): the Posting Preview (GLS) opens with the entries that will land in the scenario.
  4. Post. The entries go only into the scenario ledgers; the real posted document is created; the official ledgers stay empty for this document. Open General Ledger Entries (GLS) to see them, with the Scenario No. column.
  5. Chart of accounts: the scenario columns (Net Change (GLS), Balance (GLS)) show the simulated figures next to the standard ones, which stay zero for this document. Use the Scenario Filter (GLS) at the top to switch scenario.

Management: mirror the official books

  1. Create a Management scenario.
  2. Run Initialize Management Scenario (GLS): choose the scenario (optionally a date/account filter) and run it to fill the scenario with a copy of the standard G/L. The report is idempotent - already-reflected entries are skipped, so you can run it again at any time; use Empty Scenario First to restart from a clean copy.
  3. From now on, every standard posting is mirrored into the scenario automatically (entries flagged Mirrored).
  4. Set Def. Scenario No. to the management scenario so the chart of accounts compares the official balance and the management balance by default.
Chart of accounts with a Scenario Filter (GLS): the standard Net Change / Balance columns sit next to the scenario ones (GLS).
Dual balance - standard columns next to the scenario (GLS) columns.
Posting Preview (GLS): the scenario entries a document will generate, shown before posting.
Posting Preview (GLS) - scenario entries before posting.

Accruals

Management deferral: spread a flat cost

When a posted purchase invoice carries a cost whose competence spans several months (for example an annual fee), spread it in the management scenario:

  1. Open the posted purchase invoice and choose Defer in Scenario.
  2. The dialog is prefilled (cost account, amount, date, document; scenario and the deferral account from setup). Set the No. of Periods and confirm.

The fiscal G/L stays as posted; the scenario receives the removal entry and one quota per period (rounding on the last quota), so the management balance shows the competence amount month by month.

Accrual worksheet: a cost without an invoice

For costs or revenues accrued at period end but not yet invoiced:

  1. Open Accrual Worksheet (GLS).
  2. Add a line: scenario, description, the income statement account, the amount, and the Posting Date (typically the last day of the period). The Reversal Date is filled automatically to the first day of the next month; the balancing account comes from setup.
  3. Post. The scenario gets the accrual at the posting date and the automatic reversal at the reversal date, so the competence lands in the right period and reverses in the next. Posted lines are locked against double posting.

Generate lines from a schedule instead of typing them: Suggest Lines creates several accrual lines at once, in two modes:

  • Recurring - the same amount every period, each reversed the following period (a monthly estimate you re-invoice each period).
  • Spread - a total split into quotas that accumulate, all reversed once at a maturity date (an annual cost accrued monthly until the year-end invoice arrives).

Reading the results

  • Chart of accounts: statutory balance and scenario balance side by side; the drill-down on the scenario side separates the Mirrored entries (the reflected official G/L) from the adjustments (accruals, deferral quotas).
  • Find Entries on a document number lists the scenario entries as well.
  • General Ledger Entries (GLS) and the other GLS ledger pages carry the Scenario No. column.
The accrual worksheet: post accrued costs or revenues into a scenario, with an automatic reversal in the next period.
Accrual worksheet - accruals with automatic reversal.
Defer in Scenario: spread a flat cost from a posted purchase invoice over its competence months, inside the scenario.
Defer in Scenario - spread a cost over its months.

Tips and troubleshooting

  • A document must go to both books and scenario. That is what a Management scenario is for (it mirrors the official posting); a template scenario is either/or by design (No G/L Ledger Entry).
  • Duplicates after initialization. The initialize report is idempotent; if you suspect leftovers from an older build, run it with Empty Scenario First.
  • Italian fiscal mechanics in simulations. Legacy non-deductible VAT, multiple installments, withholding and split payment are not replicated inside simulation scenarios; use simple invoices for simulations. Mirroring, accruals and deferrals are localization-neutral.