G/L Accounts Screen

To use the same optional fields for transaction details as you use for the account, click the Replace Optional Fields button.

Providing you have set up matching optional fields for accounts and transaction details in G/L Optional Fields, the program replaces optional fields on the Transaction Optional Fields tab with optional fields that match those used on the Optional Fields tab.

If an account optional field has no matching transaction optional field in the G/L Optional Fields setup screen, the field is not used for transaction details.

Specify the number of the account to which the detail will be posted.

Choose whether you want to allocate the account based on the account balance or based on the quantity in the account.

• Reallocation by account balance distributes the balance in the account to the target accounts based on the percentages that you specify on the Allocation tab. (For example, you could distribute 25% of the balance to each of four accounts.) This choice distributes balances only, and does not distribute quantities.
• Reallocation by account quantity distributes the net quantity in an account to the target accounts according to the percentages that you specify. It then distributes the account balance to the target accounts based on the quantities that were distributed. All accounts must maintain quantities, and they must use the same unit of measure.

Enter the percentage of the amounts or quantities that should be distributed to this account. The percentage for a single account must be more than 0, and the total percentages of all accounts must add up to 100% (the current total will display in the Total Percent field).

If you are reallocating by account balance, the program distributes this percentage of the balance in the target account. (For example, you could distribute 25% of the balance to this account.)

If you are reallocating by account quantities, the program distributes this percentage of the net quantity to the target account, and then it distributes a portion of the account balance to the target account based on the quantity that it distributed.

You can enter a description of up to 60 characters with each detail line. The description is listed with the detail on batch listings, posting journals, and source journals (if the detail has not been consolidated).

Enter an optional reference of up to 60 characters. The reference can be anything you want to keep with allocation details, and is listed with allocation details on batch listings, posting journals, and the G/L Transactions Listing.

If you do not consolidate details, references are also listed on source journals. If you print source journals by reference, you can use the same reference for all details in an entry so all details from the entry are grouped together.

Use this field to specify the required source code. A source code is a two-part code of four characters that is used in General Ledger to show where a transaction originated. Each journal entry is assigned a source code. For example, GL-CD might identify a cash disbursement entered in a General Ledger batch.

The first two characters, the source code prefix, identify the ledger or subledger where the transaction originated (for example, GL for General Ledger). The final one or two characters, the source code suffix, describe the type of transaction—such as a cash disbursement. Source codes are assigned automatically by subledgers.

Use the G/L Source Codes screen to define the source codes to use for transactions created in General Ledger and in batches imported into General Ledger.

The default currency code appears as the default when you enter transactions for the account, but you can change the currency code when you enter transactions.

Using a default currency helps to speed up data entry.

If you want to post to the account only in currencies assigned to the account, choose Specified Currencies. You must then enter each currency in which you can post to the account. Posting will reject transactions in other currencies, and report them on the posting error report.

If you want to be able to post any currencies defined in the currency tables, choose All Currencies.

Specify whether to revalue the balance of this account for a selected currency when you create a currency revaluation batch. You must then specify a revaluation code for the currency.

Note: If you select No, you can still revalue account balances by forcing revaluation when you run the Create Revaluation Batch program.

A multicurrency General Ledger allows you to record amounts in more than one currency, and automatically converts these amounts to the functional (home) currency of your company during transaction entry and posting.

As currency rates fluctuate, you need to revalue account balances at current rates, particularly at period and year end or before printing financial statements and reports.

Revaluation codes provide General Ledger with:

• The rate type.
• The source code for transactions.
• The exchange gain account.
• The exchange loss account.

You use the Revaluation Codes screen in the G/L Setup folder to define revaluation codes.

The currency in which a transaction is processed.

Use this field to specify an account group.

Account groups are used to organize accounting information on reports by standard classifications (such as Cash and Cash Equivalents, Other Current Assets, or Shareholders' Equity).

Each account in the General Ledger is identified as a balance sheet account (type B), an income statement account (type I), or a retained earnings account (type R).

General Ledger uses account types to compute account balances properly, and automatically transfer the revenue and expense account balances to retained earnings at year end.

You must define at least one account with the retained earnings type, but you can specify a separate retained earnings account for each code for a particular account number segment. (In other words, you can have different retained earnings accounts for each of your departments or regions.)

General Ledger can automatically allocate an account's balance to other accounts according to your specifications.

An allocation account distributes its amounts to other accounts within the company.

You select the Auto Allocation option for an account on the Detail tab of the G/L Accounts screen.

If you designate the account as an allocation account, you must identify the accounts that receive the allocated amounts and the percentage that each account receives. You specify this information on the Allocation tab of the G/L Accounts screen.

You use the Create Allocation Batch screen to generate allocation transactions.

The account-number segment by which you wish to close at year-end. General Ledger lets you define a separate retained earnings account for each segment code that you enter in the Segment Codes table.

For example, if your General Ledger account numbers have two segments, account and department, you can close by department as follows:

1. Mark the department segment as a closing segment on the G/L Options screen.
2. List each of your departments on the Segment Codes screen with the retained earnings account each closes to.
3. For each account, choose the department segment in the (Close To) Segment field of the Accounts screen.

Any accounts for which you do not choose a segment will close to the default retained earnings closing account. G/L will also use the default closing account if you have only one account number segment (the account segment).

You may designate an account as a control account for Sage 300 subledgers. You can then post only transactions created by subledgers to the account.

To further restrict posting, you can specify the subledgers for which the account is a control. Only transactions created by those subledgers may be posted to the account.

General Ledger checks the ledger by looking at the first two characters of the source code included with each subledger transaction. These first two characters must match the subledger codes. For example, all transactions created by Accounts Receivable use source codes that begin with AR.

General Ledger lets you keep statistical information with financial and budget information for accounts.

If you selected the Maintain Quantities option for the General Ledger, you can specify the accounts to which quantity information (such as the number of units purchased or sold) can be posted.

Each account that maintains quantities stores a financial balance and a quantity balance for each fiscal period. You can post a quantity to the quantity fiscal set each time you post a financial transaction to the account.

Quantity information is maintained for as many years as financial information for accounts.

Example: A common use for the quantity fiscal set is to keep a sales quantity with each sales transaction.

Note: Unlike financial information, quantity information has no balancing requirements—that is, credits are not required to equal debits within a journal entry.

This option lets you maintain balances for an account in more than one source currency.

To create multicurrency accounts, you must:

• Have purchased and installed Sage 300 Multicurrency.
• Select the Multicurrency option for the company on the Company Profile screen.
• Select the Multicurrency option for General Ledger on the G/L Options screen.

• Select the Multicurrency option for each account on the Account Detail tab of the G/L Accounts screen.

  To assign currencies to an account, you use the Currency tab of the G/L Accounts screen.

Important! You can switch an account from single currency to multicurrency at any time. However, once you turn on the multicurrency option for an account, you cannot turn it off again.

You can effectively turn off multicurrency for any account by restricting the posting currencies to your functional currency on the Currency tab of the G/L Accounts screen.

This setting lets you specify whether the account balance is usually a debit or a credit amount. For example, most asset and expense accounts normally maintain debit balances, whereas most liability, income, and retained earnings accounts normally maintain credit balances.

The normal balance type can be used on inquiries and reports as selection criteria, and they can help you distinguish between asset and liability accounts (balance sheet accounts) and income and expense accounts (P & L accounts).

You can also make use of the normal balance for two-column accounting in financial statements.

It does not affect account postings.

When you set up an account, you specify whether debit and credit transaction details are posted to the account in detail or consolidated form, or whether posting to the account is prohibited.

• Detail.  All debit and credit details posted to an account are kept and can be listed individually on source journals and the G/L Transactions Listing report. You can also select Detail to save optional field information with transactions.
• Consolidated. If you post consolidated transactions, the optional transaction fields are not saved.

  There are two methods of consolidating posted amounts in General Ledger:

  • During the posting process if you select the Consolidated posting option for the account.
  • After the transactions have been posted using the Consolidate Posted Transactions screen.
• Prohibited.  You cannot post to the account, and you cannot select that account as the exchange account.

Select this option to designate an account as a rollup account. You add rollup account members on the Rollup tab that appears after you select the option.

A rollup account lets you consolidate or "roll up" account balances and quantities (if applicable) to provide a summary balance, and it can be used for classification, budgeting, and reporting.

For more information about rollup accounts, see About Rollup Accounts.

You can assign a status to an account as follows:

• Select Active as the account status for all accounts to which you want to be able to post transactions.

• Select Inactive if you do not want to post to the account at the current time.

  For example, you can use the Inactive status to ensure that no transactions are posted to an account you are planning to delete at the end of the year.

If General Ledger uses more than one segment for account numbers, you must specify the account structure to use when setting up an account. (Account structures determine which segments appear in an account number, and the order in which they appear.)

The structure code you specify for an account identifies the account structure, and therefore the pattern or format that the account number must use.

A description of the selected structure code will display in the adjacent Structure Code Description field.

Use the Optional Field column to specify the codes for the optional fields that you want to add to the selected account. After you select a code, the description for that code appears in the adjacent field.

There is no limit to the number of optional fields you can use with an account. However, you can add only optional fields that you have first specified as account optional fields using the G/L Optional Fields setup screen.

Use this column to enter the value you want to use for each optional field you assign to an account.

If the optional field is validated, you must specify a value that has already been defined for the optional field. If the optional field allows blanks, you can also leave the optional field value blank.

If the optional field is not validated, you can enter any combination of alphanumeric, special characters, and spaces that does not exceed the length specified for the optional field.

If the Value Set field is Yes, you must also enter a Value except in the following instances:

• In a Text optional field or in a Date optional field, where these fields were already set up to be validated and allow blanks.
• When the Text optional field type or the Date optional field type is not validated.

Select View Account to view the child accounts of a selected rollup account from the side column.

To add or delete child accounts from the selected rollup account, click Add Line or Delete Line.

• Clicking Add Line opens the Add Child Accounts screen.
• Clicking Add Lines opens an Add Child Accounts screen with multiple input and range options.

For more information, see Adding a Rollup Account

Control accounts can accept transactions from all subledgers listed on the Control Account Subledgers information tab.

To add more subledgers, click the Add Line button to create a new line and specify subledger codes.

Double-click in the Auto Insert field to change its value, or press the Spacebar.

• Select Yes in this field if you want Sage 300 to display the optional field and its default value in transaction details.
• Select No if you do not want the optional field to appear automatically.

Use this column to enter the default value you want to use for each optional transaction field you assign to an account.

When you use the account in a transaction detail, the optional transaction fields and their default values are used for the detail, unless you change them.

If the optional field is validated, you must specify a value that is pre defined for the optional field. If the optional field allows blanks, you can also leave the optional field value blank.

If the optional field is not validated, you can select an optional field value that has been predefined, or you can enter any combination of alphanumeric, special characters, and spaces that does not exceed the length specified for the optional field.

Use this column to specify the codes for the optional fields you want to use for transaction details that include this account. Later, when you use the account in a transaction detail, the program uses the optional transaction fields and their default values for the detail, unless you change them on the Optional Fields detail screen.

You can assign the codes manually, or you can click the Replace Optional Fields button to use the same optional fields in transactions as you use for the account.

There is no limit to the number of optional transaction fields you can assign to an account, but you can add only optional fields that you have first specified as optional transaction details fields using the General Ledger Optional Fields screen.

Select this option to make this optional field required in transactions that use this account.

Note: When you select Required, Auto Insert is automatically selected. (Required fields are inserted automatically in new transactions.)

If an optional field is a required field, it must contain a value before you can save an entry.

The Value Set field indicates Yes if General Ledger has already set a value—including an acceptable blank—for the field.