About Optional Fields in General Ledger

Note: You can set up and use optional fields only if you have purchased and activated Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator.

In General Ledger, you can assign an unlimited number of optional fields to an account to store additional information that your company wants to track for the account.

Account Optional Fields. Account optional fields provide a convenient means to customize your General Ledger system by letting you store an unlimited number of additional pieces of information with account records.
Transaction Optional Fields. General Ledger also retains optional field information for transactions (including those created in other Sage 300 modules and sent to General Ledger) if the optional fields used in the transaction details match those used in General Ledger. More...

General Ledger includes transaction optional fields assigned to an account, and their default values, when you use the account in a journal entry detail.

You can edit or delete optional fields in journal entry details, whether the entries are added manually in Journal Entry or generated automatically in General Ledger (using Create Allocation Batch, Create Revaluation Batch, or Create Recurring Entries Batch) or in a Sage 300 subledger.

Note: Transaction optional fields are maintained at the detail level. If you consolidate posted transactions, any optional field information stored for the transactions is deleted.

In General Ledger, setting up optional fields is a three-step process. You must:

Set up system-wide optional fields in Common Services. More...
Before you can use optional fields in General Ledger, you must define optional fields for your Sage 300 system using the Optional Fields screen in Common Services. (For more information about setting up optional fields in Common Services, see the System Manager help.)
Set up optional fields for use with General Ledger accounts and transactions. More...

You use the Optional Fields screen in the G/L Setup folder to set up the optional fields you want to use with account records and transaction details.
Assign both types of optional fields to specific accounts using the Accounts screen.

Setting Up Optional Fields for Use in General Ledger

You can set up an unlimited number of optional fields for General Ledger, provided they are first set up in Common Services for system-wide use.

After you set up optional fields for your Sage 300 system, you use the G/L Optional Fields screen to define the optional fields you will use to customize your chart of accounts and to store additional information with general ledger transaction details. (See G/L Optional Fields Screen

Note: If the G/L Optional Fields screen is open, other users cannot run any processes in General Ledger. Also, you can modify optional field records only when all other users have left General Ledger, and all other General Ledger screens are closed.

Assigning Optional Fields to Accounts

When you have defined optional fields for use in General Ledger, you can assign the optional fields to particular accounts.

You use the Optional Fields tab on the Accounts screen to assign optional account fields. You can include optional account fields on your printed chart of accounts, and when you print the Chart of Accounts Detail - Long Form report, you can choose whether to include the optional account and transaction details fields (and their values) that are defined for each account. You can also use optional account fields as selection criteria when printing other types of reports.
You use the Transaction Details Optional Fields tab on the Accounts screen to assign optional transaction fields. If an account to which you have assigned optional transaction fields is used in a transaction detail, you can edit the optional field information for the detail.
Create Accounts. The Create Accounts Preview screen lets you specify optional field information for the accounts you are creating.
The program assigns to the new accounts the optional accounts fields and optional transaction details fields set for the "model" accounts using the segment specified in the Default Options From field.

Note: If an optional field has been set up as a required field, the optional field must be entered or the account cannot be added or saved.

Including Optional Fields in G/L Transactions

You can use optional fields in transaction details if any optional fields are assigned to the account used in the detail. Note the particular behavior of optional fields in each transaction screen, as follows:

Journal Entry. The Optional Fields check box on the Journal Entry detail table and on the G/L Journal Detail screen shows whether a detail account uses optional transaction fields.
Note:
The program sets this optional fields indicator. You cannot change the entry in the check box, but if the field is selected, you can click the zoom button beside the check box, and then edit or delete optional fields used for the detail. You cannot add transaction optional fields that are not assigned to the account.
Journal Entry accepts optional field information from transactions you create in Sage 300 subledgers, provided they match the transaction optional fields specified for the account. (The information is transferred to General Ledger when you create a batch of general ledger transactions in a subledger.)
When you post the journal entry, the program saves the optional field information. (Note that the Post To Account option for the account must be set to Detail to save the optional field information.)
Create Allocation Batch. The Optional Fields check box on this screen indicates whether your accounts use one or more optional transaction fields, and whether they are set up for automatic insertion in transactions.
Note:
You cannot change the entry in the check box, but if the field is selected, you can edit or delete the optional fields used with the transaction. You can also add any optional fields that are defined for transaction details on the G/L Optional Fields screen.
The fields you specify are used for all the accounts included in the allocation.
When you process the allocation, if the specified optional fields match the transaction optional fields defined for the accounts used in the allocation, the optional field information is included in the journal entry for the accounts.
Create Revaluation Batch. The Optional Fields column on this screen indicates whether optional transaction details fields have been defined for the exchange gain account or the exchange loss account for a selected revaluation code. If at least one optional transaction field is defined, you can add or delete optional fields for a revaluation batch.
Note: You can add only optional transaction fields that are defined for the exchange gain and exchange loss accounts assigned to the revaluation code.
Optional field information specified for the revaluation is included in the journal entry details generated for an account only if the optional fields in the revaluation match the optional transaction fields defined for the exchange gain or exchange loss accounts.
Recurring Entries (Setup screen). The Optional Fields check box on this screen indicates whether transaction optional fields are defined for the account used in a recurring entry detail. You can add or delete optional fields for the recurring entry.
Note: You can add only transaction optional fields that are defined for the account.
Create Recurring Entries Batch. Recurring entries use the optional transaction details fields and values specified for the recurring entry code. You can edit the default fields and values in Journal Entry, as for any other journal entry.

Validating Optional Field Values

The program displays the default value associated with each optional field used. You can accept or change the value, as you require.

If an optional field is validated, you must specify an optional field value that has been defined in Common Services. If the Optional Field is validated and 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 defined in Common Services, or can enter any value providing you do not exceed the length specified for the optional field.

Deleting Optional Fields

You can delete General Ledger optional fields only if they are not used by any accounts or in any unposted transactions.

You must remove the optional fields from the accounts and transactions where they are used before you can delete them using the G/L Optional Fields screen.