Overview: By the end of this guide, you will be able to add a client group and clients, create a ledger file and import current and comparative data, map the chart of accounts, add a fixed asset register and create a Workpaper binder for the client (only relevant if your firm uses Active Workpapers as well).
Please refer to the Glossary for definitions of key terms used in this article.
Adding a client group and clients
Log in to the Active Platform at my.businessfitness.com.
Navigate back to the Active homepage and click Clients.
Note: If your firm has Active Sync turned on, clients and groups will be imported from your practice management software automatically so please skip to the next chapter.
Click + New Client, then Client Group and fill out the mandatory details.
Once done, click Add Client Group.
Note: The 'Code' to be entered is the APS Client Code.
This will take you to the client group. Click + Add Client and fill out the mandatory details.
Once done, click Add Client.
Your client will appear in the client group now.
Creating a client ledger file
Within the client group page, search for the client you want to work with if there are multiple clients within the group.
Click on Lr next to the client name.
Click Create File.
Adding a comparative year dataset
Add a new dataset for the prior year comparatives by clicking + New Dataset.
Enter the name of the dataset for the year you are adding data for (eg. 2024 Actual) and set the dates as appropriate for the dataset (eg. for a 2024 dataset, the dates will be 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024).
Note: You can add an 'Applicable Income Tax Rate' so it can be used to display tax percentages and calculate income tax in related note disclosures in the financial statements.
Click Source and Add New Source. Select Excel.
Select the APS number system and name the dataset, then click Add Source.
Click Create Dataset at the bottom left.
Exporting XPA comparative data to Excel
In XPA, open the relevant client and from the Toolbar, run the trial balance for the comparative year (eg. 30 June 2024).
Send to Datasheet by clicking the square grid on the Toolbar.
Export to Excel by clicking the green Excel button.
Save the Excel file to your local drive for easy access in next step.
Importing XPA comparative data to Active Ledger & Reporting
Open the Excel file downloaded from XPA. When you initially open the file you will see the data is highlighted. Click anywhere on the screen to unhighlight.
In the top right corner of your Excel home ribbon, find the Active Ledger add-in and click Import Data.
Login with your Business Fitness credentials.
Select the client you want to import data for and select the dataset you created earlier.
Click on the drop down next to Prepare Journal and select XPA. The journal dialog screen will open.
Ensure the journal type is set to 'Imported Trial Balance'.
Classify account numbers as APS.
Note: Be sure to select the checkbox for 'Override existing classifications' to ensure the classifications are determined by APS.
Confirm that the journal is correct, and it balances. Click Import Journal.
The dataset will now be populated with the comparative year balances.
For more information relating to importing information from Excel, see the support article: How to import a trial balance in a dataset using Excel.
Creating current year dataset and uploading data to Active Ledger & Reporting
Note: Ensure that your client data file has been reconciled to your signed financial statements as at the end of the financial year previous to the one you are currently completing. This will ensure that your clients opening balances for the current year you are working on agree to the closing balances per your dataset.
Navigate to the Datasets screen within the Active Ledger file for your client, add a new dataset for current year data by clicking + New Dataset.
Enter the name of the dataset for the year you are adding data for (eg. 2025 Actual) and set the dates as appropriate for the dataset (eg. for a 2025 dataset, the dates will be 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025).
Click Source and Add New Source.
Select the appropriate source for the client. For this example, we will select Xero as the source.
This will prompt a login to your cloud accounting provider online account. Sign into your account and follow the prompts to select the client file you wish to use as a source.
Once complete, the login screen will close and it will navigate back to the Active Platform where you are able to link the relevant Xero file. Click Connect.
Once connected successfully, as indicated by the green 'Connected' box below, select Add Source.
Click Load Data and Save Dataset at the bottom left.
Note: Where importing data via Excel for clients not using a cloud accounting file, refer to the 'Importing XPA comparative data to Active Ledger & Reporting' section in the article.
Mapping accounts to Active chart
In the Accounts screen, click Auto Allocate.
For accounts that have not mapped automatically (which will stay in the right hand unallocated pane), drag and drop the account from unallocated to their correct positions in the chart of accounts using the three horizontal bars next to each account name.
For more information relating to mapping accounts, see the support article: How to work with accounts.
Combining last years XPA accounts with this years client accounts
Drag and drop the XPA accounts on top of the corresponding client’s accounts (the accounts uploaded from the previous step). For example, if the client calls purchases ‘310 Purchases’ in their accounting file, drag the ‘270 Purchases’ XPA account on top of this account to combine the two. This will mean that for reporting purposes, the current and prior year light and power expense accounts will sit on the one line.
Importing assets to Active Ledger & Reporting
You can quickly import assets from XPA.
Extract your asset schedule from the last finalised year in XPA. For example, if you are completing 2025 year end compliance work, the last year completed in XPA will be the 2024 year. Download the asset schedule at 30 June 2024.
To do this, follow the steps below:
Select the entity
Retrieve the depreciation schedule that runs in the financial statements
Select XCEDE
Select Sheets and insert the 'DEPCNSCHBOOKTAX.XLS'
Select Run
Include the following information and select the relevant set in the dropdown box (this will vary depend on how your firm has set up their reports).
From the Assets screen, click Add Depreciation Year in the clients Active Ledger within the Assets section.
Make the depreciation year the year that you are working on, in our example, that is 30 June 2025. The most current dataset dates should prefill for you when creating the depreciation year.
If your client uses small business depreciation, select this checkbox.
If you wish to post monthly depreciation journals, select this checkbox.
If you wish to link the datasets to use to enable automatic depreciation, click on Add Datasets.
Select the relevant dataset and click Select.
Click Add Depreciation Year.
Click Import from Excel.
Click import template to download the asset import template from Active Ledger. Save the file to a central location and open the file.
Note: If you are prompted to enable macros once Excel opens, close the file, right click on the file in downloads, click properties, unblock macros, then reopen the import template.
On the APS tab of the import template, copy and paste the full asset schedule and click Convert.
This will populate the asset import sheet with the asset data.
Note: Only accounting cost is imported, and where you have a different accounting cost compared to tax cost, the tax cost will have to be entered manually in the import template.
For any pool balances, add a pool balancing asset at the bottom of Sheet1 to include the following:
In asset group column, put pool name
In asset name column, put 30 June of year on the XPA assets schedule balancing asset (for example, '2024 Balancing Asset')
In date column, put 30 June of year on the XPA assets schedule
In the cost column, put 0
In OWDV column, put closing balance of the pool at 30 June of year on the XPA assets schedule
In rate column, put 15%
In method column, put GP for General Pool, LVP for Low Value Pool and SDP for Software Development Pool
In private use column, put private use %
In the accounting columns, replicate the below image.
Close the asset import template once you have finalised the above step.
Find the import template by selecting click here or drag and drop.
Select the depreciation year as the current year you are working on (e.g. 2025).
If your import file does not include accounting depreciation values and you wish for the taxation values to be used for the accounting values, select this checkbox.
For pooled assets, complete the 'Auto Balance General Pool' section accordingly.
Once satisfied, click Prepare Import.
Check the number of assets being imported matches the import template and click Import Assets.
All of your asset groups and individual assets are now within Active Ledger.
To map accumulated depreciation and depreciation accounts for each asset group, select the cog wheel next to an asset group.
Add the Default Asset Tax Type and set up automated depreciation by selecting the source you wish to add depreciation accounts within.
Select the current year source, rather than the XPA comparative source. Click Add.
For this asset group, select the correct accounts or create new accounts if required, as below.
Click Save Asset Group.
Repeat the above three steps for each asset group.
Once complete, your asset register has been imported and set up with automated depreciation, ready for you to start your current year work.
Note: If you have added new accounts during this process as we have here, you will need to navigate back to the Accounts screen and map the new accounts.
Creating a set of financial statements and checking comparatives
Reviewing how your financial statements look at this point can be completed either once you’ve completed your initial comparative balances or after you’ve linked your client data file. Here you can compare to what you have already produced in the comparative financial statements for consistency.
Within the Reports tab, select + New Report.
Click Special Purpose Financial Report.
The below screen will appear. Fill out the details accordingly.
Add report columns. Column 1 being your current year dataset.
To add a prior year column, click + Add Column and link to appropriate dataset.
Click Save and then Generate Report.
For more information in relation to creating a report, see the support article: How to create and manage reports.
Run through the report and identify any formatting changes required. Pay particular attention to your comparative balances, and ensure they are sitting within the same categories as last year. Check that your total current assets, total non-current assets, total current liabilities, total non-current liabilities, total equity, and profit agree to last year.
To make changes, head back to the report builder screen by clicking Close.
To customise different report pages, identify the page requiring changing and click Customise on the right.
Here you can collapse and hide account details, add note references etc..
Save your report regularly to avoid losing any changes made in the report builder screen.
Tip: Do not make any changes within the report output screen, as these won’t be saved.
Note: If you are completing work for a partnership or trust, you may need to post a distribution for the prior year if your profit has not been allocated for partnerships and trust entities.
For more information on how to do this, see the support article: How to use the distributions feature.
For Active Workpaper users ONLY
Once you have set up your Active Ledger file, refer to the Getting started guide for Active Workpapers.
WARNING: At the point of linking your binder to a source, ensure you select to link to your client's Active Ledger file.
Additional resources
If you need help, refer to the following for guidance.
RESOURCE | SUMMARY & LINK |
Quick start video - Active Ledger & Reporting | Click here to discover how to configure an Active Ledger file for a client, including setting up datasets, mapping accounts and preparing financial reports |
Quick start video - Active Platform | Click here to discover how to set up clients/client groups and navigate the Active Platform home screen with ease |
Quick start video - Active Workpapers | Click here to learn how to create a Workpaper binder for a client, link a data source, add standard/custom worksheets, and perform account reconciliations |
Video - How to upload comparative datasets from XPA into Active Ledger & Reporting | Click here to learn the ins and outs of importing your client's comparative year financial data using a seamless process from XPA to Active Ledger & Reporting |
Training Centre | Click here for our training courses on Active products |
Support Centre | Click here for our library of support articles |