Ledger Account Sub-Groups - Use the "General Ledger -> View Ledger Account Sub Group Screen" to enter the sub-accounts
The Chart of Accounts is the
heart
of any accounting system. It is a list of all the accounts that a company uses to record the transactions within their accounting system.
Integral Accounting Enterprise comes shipped with a default Chart of Accounts suitable for most companies. This default Chart of Accounts can and should be customized to meet your company's needs by adding or removing accounts during the initial setup process.
The Chart of Accounts in Integral Accounting Enterprise is broken down into six categories. Each category is assigned a number which indicates the "type" of category.
Account Type
|
Number
|
Example
|
Assets
|
1
|
Cash, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Current Assets, Fixed Assets, Other Assets
|
Liabilities
|
2
|
Accounts Payable, Taxes Payable Current Liabilities, Long Term Liabilities
|
Equity
|
3
|
Owners Equity, Retained Earnings, Capital Stock
|
Income, Revenue or Sales
|
4
|
Income or Sales
|
Cost of Goods Sold
|
5
|
Cost of Goods Sold, Sales Discounts
|
Expenses
|
6 - 9
|
Operating Expenses, Administrative Expenses, Utilities, Advertising, Depreciation.
|
In the Chart of Accounts that ships with the Integral Accounting Enterprise the category numbers are 6-digit numbers with the first digit being the category number. You can customize the account numbers in the Chart of Accounts to use up to 36 digits with the restriction that accounts must begin with the specific category digit as detailed in the table above. This is extremely important to remember when adding new accounts to the Chart of Accounts. For new accounts, the account number must begin with the corresponding digit for that category, but the remaining numbers can be any number you specify.
Adding a New Account
To add a new account to the Chart of Accounts, click the New button at the top of the screen. This will bring up a blank account setup form with four sections. Click on a link for the details about that section.
Main - Used for setting up a new account
Current - automatically populated by the system, used to view the current balances on this account.
Budget - used to enter budget information about this account
History - automatically populated by the system, used to view the history on this account.
Main Section
When setting up a new account, enter the information in the fields as follows.
GL Account Number: Enter the account number for this General Ledger account. Keep in mind that the account number must start with the category number corresponding to the type of account being set up.
GL Account Name: Enter the account name for this GL Account.
GL Account Description: Enter a brief description for this GL Account.
GL Account Use: Enter the specific use for this account if necessary. For example, if an account is going to be a contra-asset account for depreciation, that can be noted in this field. Otherwise, this field can be left blank.
GL Account Type: Select from the drop down list the type of account this is.
GL Balance Type: Select from the drop down list the normal balance type (account type) for this account. This selection must correspond with the first digit of the account number entered in the GL Account Number Field.
GL Other Notes: Enter any notes about this GL Account in this field.
Current
The fields on the Current screen are populated automatically by the system. They display the balances in the account according to each period. The screen can be reviewed for informational purposes, but the fields should not be edited.
Budget
If the company is following a budget for this account, the budget amounts by period can be entered in the fields on this screen. This is an optional screen that does not need to be completed if a budget is not being used.
History
The fields on the History screen are automatically populated by the system. They display the balances in the account in prior periods. The prior period balances for the GL Account can be entered during the initial set up, if the information is available. Otherwise, the fields can be left blank.