Hi MichelleH ,

Thanks for reaching out! A couple of things worth checking here:

1. How the accounts are categorized in your Chart of Accounts

In Sage Accounting, whether an account carries its balance forward across fiscal years isn't driven by the GIFI code — it's the Group and Category assigned to the account that determines reporting behaviour. If the equipment cost accounts were set up under an Expenditure group (rather than Asset → Fixed Assets), their balances would have closed out to retained earnings at year-end, which would explain the "0" you're seeing in year two.

To check and correct this:

• Go to Settings, Business settings, Chart of Accounts
• Open one of the equipment cost accounts
• Confirm the Group is Asset and the Category is Fixed Assets, then Save

Full walkthrough here: How to edit account categories

2. Trial Balance vs. Balance Sheet

The Trial Balance shows the movement for the date range you select — so if you're running it for the second fiscal year only with no activity in those accounts, a "0" for the period is actually expected. The Balance Sheet, by contrast, is cumulative from your business start date through to the end date you choose, and is the better report for confirming that the equipment values are still on the books.

How to generate it: How to create the Balance Sheet report

If after checking the category and pulling the Balance Sheet the equipment values still aren't where you expect, please reach out to our support team via Help → Chat in your product, or through sage.com/resources — they can review the file directly with you.

Best regards,
Erzsi

Hi MichelleH ,

Thanks for reaching out! A couple of things worth checking here:

1. How the accounts are categorized in your Chart of Accounts

In Sage Accounting, whether an account carries its balance forward across fiscal years isn't driven by the GIFI code — it's the Group and Category assigned to the account that determines reporting behaviour. If the equipment cost accounts were set up under an Expenditure group (rather than Asset → Fixed Assets), their balances would have closed out to retained earnings at year-end, which would explain the "0" you're seeing in year two.

To check and correct this:

• Go to Settings, Business settings, Chart of Accounts
• Open one of the equipment cost accounts
• Confirm the Group is Asset and the Category is Fixed Assets, then Save

Full walkthrough here: How to edit account categories

2. Trial Balance vs. Balance Sheet

The Trial Balance shows the movement for the date range you select — so if you're running it for the second fiscal year only with no activity in those accounts, a "0" for the period is actually expected. The Balance Sheet, by contrast, is cumulative from your business start date through to the end date you choose, and is the better report for confirming that the equipment values are still on the books.

How to generate it: How to create the Balance Sheet report

If after checking the category and pulling the Balance Sheet the equipment values still aren't where you expect, please reach out to our support team via Help → Chat in your product, or through sage.com/resources — they can review the file directly with you.

Best regards,
Erzsi