Chart of Accounts

Overview

Use Chart of Accounts to enter and maintain the elements of the chart of accounts structure that is defined in Chart of Accounts Policies, except for the Company values which are maintained in Internal Company.

Chart of Accounts lets you add or edit the Category  and Account/Code. Categories are the general groups used for arranging the elements of your account group segments. For example, you might set up the account category "Miscellaneous Expenses" under the “Expense” category so that you could group all miscellaneous expense accounts together. Or you might set up the category "Accounting" and then put the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable departments under this category.  

About the Accounts Tab

The following breakdown is used to determine the account type of an account code and will be the basis for determining whether debit or credit balances will be shown as positive (Debit – Assets, Expense; Credit – Liabilities, Owners Equity, Revenue) and whether the Month To Date (MTD) amount is cumulative (Assets, Liabilities, Owners Equity) or Month To Date (MTD) Activity only (Revenue and Expense). The software includes the following top level Account categories out of the box. Additional categories can only be added at levels beneath this predefined set.

Assets

Liabilities

Owners Equity

Revenue

Expense

About the Dimensions Tab

On the Dimensions tab, the top level hierarchy is:

Department

Territory

Product

Dimension 4

Dimension 5

Dimension 6

Dimension 7

Dimension 8

The value displayed for each top-level Dimension node is defined in the Field Name set for each dimension in the Chart of Accounts Policies screen.

Use the Expand All  and Collapse All buttons to view different levels of Categories, Account/Codes, and Dimensions.

Setting Up Chart of Accounts

Adding a Category to the Chart of Accounts

Select Financials | Setup | Chart of Accounts. The Accounts tab defaults.

Expand Accounts by clicking Expand All.

To expand an individual account in the tree, click the Plus sign to the left of the item.  The category may have subcategories. Therefore, you may have to continue expanding until you have expanded the list to the point where you want to insert the category.

Note: Depending on the field names that are defined in Chart of Accounts Policies for your organization, the descriptions in Chart of Accounts Policies may be something other than "Account".

Click and hold and drag the pointer to the location in the list where you want to insert the category. For example, to add a new subcategory to Current Assets, drag the pointer over the account category description, of "Current Assets", on the list.

Release the pointer button. This opens the Account Category screen.

Note: If the pointer is displayed as a black circle with a diagonal line through the circle, you cannot insert the new category at this location in the chart of account hierarchy.  New categories can only be added to existing categories; not to Account/Code values.

In Description, specify a description for the category.

Adding Account/Code to the Chart of Accounts Definition

Click on the Dimensions tab.

Expand Dimensions by clicking Expand All.  Expand the chart of accounts definition list. You will have to expand the list down to the account number or item code level, indicated by the account/code  icon, instead of the account group category  icon.

Click and hold  and drag the pointer to the chart of accounts category in the list where you want to insert the item. For example, to add a new Territory item, drag the pointer over the Territory category description.

Note:  Depending on the kind of item that you are adding, one of the following screens:

Account

Department

Territory

Product

Dimensions

In Account, Department, Territory, or Product, specify the account number or item code.

In Description, specify a description.

Click to select the Active check box if this account or item code will be active in the grid line.

Project Account (Not Currently Used)

In the Applies To area, specify the Internal Company to which this account or item code applies. You can specify multiple companies.

Click Save to exit the Account, Department, Territory, or Product.

The new account or item code appears in the account group hierarchy.

Moving Departments, Territories, or Product Lines

Within most of the major categories in Chart of Accounts - Department, Product, and Territory - you can rearrange the items that they contain. This includes subcategories, by using the drag-and-drop capability. For example, you have several territory codes that are listed under the Territory category. Later you set up the subcategories East, Central, and West under Territory. To move the existing territory codes into these subcategories, click-and-hold the pointer on each code and then drag the code to the desired subcategory name (for example, East). When you release the pointer, the code is moved to that subcategory.

You can also drag categories into other categories. This makes these subcategories of the categories to which they are moved. When you move a category, any subcategories, accounts, or item codes that the category contains move with the category, and the hierarchy within the category is retained at its new location.

If a category accidentally ends up as a subcategory of a category to which it is hierarchically equal, you can move the category to its correct level by dragging the category to the next highest level in the hierarchy. To explain, suppose that the East subcategory ended up as a subcategory to the Central subcategory. To move East so that it is hierarchically equal to Central, drag East to Territory, the next-highest category in the hierarchy. This moves East up so that it is now a subcategory of Territory, equal in level to Central.