Yearend Transactions

[Luke <..hidden..>]

Does LSMB handle Yearend transactions the same way that SL did a few years 
ago?

There is even less in the LSMB manual about yearends (year-end) than there 
is in the SL manual from a few years ago, although they include slightly 
different information.

I have googled up multiple posts to SL and LSMB lists asking for advice 
and howtos on Yearend processing, and the various aspects thereof, but for 
the most part those messages have gone unanswered.

I found a message from Dieter as follows:

" A yearend may be run at any time, it does not affect any transactions 
nor does it remove transactions. A special GL Journal entry is generated 
offsetting income and expense accounts to zero. The difference is posted 
to a retained earnings account of your choice. You will also have to edit 
this GL Journal entry to record dividends, tax payments and adjust 
retained earnings accordingly."
(http://www.ledger123.com/archives//msg00503.html)

The LSMB 1.2 manual says:

"Equity drawing/dividend accounts are also moved, but the investment 
accounts are not."
Further down the page it says:
"It does not move the drawing account, and this must be done manually, nor 
does it automate the process of making adjustments."

Is this talking about two separate types of drawing account?
(I'm using the US Service COA here--what does it consider the "drawing 
account" and "drawing accounts" in these two statements to be?)

My question is: what else do I have to do, other than running the yearend?

The case is a service company, which does cash based accounting.

When Dieter says to edit it to record dividends, I assume he's talking 
about disbursements to owners from some drawing account as discussed 
above?  If so, that is n/a this year, although I'd still like to know how 
it is intended to be done.

He also says to edit it to record tax payments.  I am less clear on what 
is intended with this step.
First, is he talking about tax payments made in the year being ended? 
Which were presumably made via a GL entry/transfer?
Some jurisdictions handle this by quarterly estimated deposits; 
others handle taxes with annual payments, etc..

Second, sales taxes are directly collected and paid, so where do they fall 
in this?  I have always considered them to be 0-sum income/expense 
transactions, with rare exceptions.

Given that I want to use cash basis for these, do I understand correctly 
(again from the SL manual not the LSMB one), that I need to post full 
payment/receipt to any open transactions, and post new versions of those 
with the outstanding amounts, awaiting payment/receipt in the new year?
That is PITA-central, and error-prone.

Luke