Accounts

Use the Accounts command to maintain details of your nominal chart of accounts. The structure of your nominal ledger, including classifications such as types, subtypes and cost centres is important. It affects:

Before you start creating the nominal ledger accounts, you should carefully consider the following:

Prerequisites

Some prerequisites are optional, but if you want to complete the corresponding boxes on the Nominal Accounts and the associated Budget form, you must first create the record(s) on which your selections will be based.

Box	Prerequisite
Cost Centre	At least one cost centre must be created using the Cost Centres command on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal ledger. You can only do this if the Cost Centres in Nominal option is selected on the Options tab of the Company Profiles form in the System module.
Type/Sub-type	At least one type and sub-type must be created using the Types and Sub-Types commands on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal module. For each account created, you must identify the account type and sub-type. This information is used to identify whether the account is a profit and loss or balance sheet type account.
Report Codes	At least one report code must be created using the Reporting Codes command on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal module.
Factor	At least one budget factor must be created using the Budget Factors command on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal module.
Advanced Nominal Dimension Defaults	At least one 'project' or 'department' record must be created using the corresponding command on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal module before you can select a default setting.

Nominal Account Coding

Nominal ledger accounts are identified by references of your choice, comprising between one and eight characters. In most reports, accounts are printed in the order of their account codes so if you want accounts organised in a certain order, use account codes that create an alphabetical or numerical hierarchy. Note that codes beginning with numbers are sorted before those beginning with letters. See also the paragraphs below about cost centres.

Cost Centres

If you have selected the Cost Centres in Nominal option on the Options tab of the Company Profiles form in the System module, you can create accounts with cost centres. Any one or more accounts may be created with many cost centres attached and this may have an impact on the way in which you design your chart of accounts.

If you create account records with one or more cost centres, you select the appropriate account and cost centre code combination when you post journals. You can also control distribution of journal values according to percentages associated with cost centre accounts. This applies to accounts for which the Distribution Account option is selected on the General tab of the Nominal Accounts form. You can only select this option for accounts that do not have a cost centre already assigned.

If you select the Distribution Account option, the Modify Distribution Account command becomes available on the Action menu. When you select the command, the Distribution form appears listing all nominal accounts with the same account code but different cost centres assigned.

For each cost centre account in the list, you can enter a percentage for allocation of journal entries. The percentages must total 100%. When the distribution account is included in a transaction posting, the value entered for the account will be distributed among the cost centre accounts according to the allocation percentages; no postings are actually made to the main distribution account itself.

Example:
You set up four cost centres on each of your nominal expense accounts to provide cost centre accounting. Your heating costs are posted to one main heating account, but you want to distribute the cost equally between each of the four cost centres in your organization. On the main nominal account, you select the Distribution Account option and use the Modify Distribution Account command on the Action menu to break down the expenses by entering 25% in the Percent box for each of the four cost centres. When you subsequently enter a journal for heating costs, the expense is distributed equally between the four cost centre accounts.

Balances

The nominal account details form displays fields to show the debit or credit account balances for the current period to-date, the current year to-date, and for the previous year. If you use the Open Period Accounting feature and have posted transactions in later periods in the Nominal Ledger, the status bar on the Accounts form displays the future postings icon. You can double-click the icon to display the Account Snapshot form.

Notes

You can create notes associated with nominal account records. These can be used to record and monitor actions or tasks to be carried out by someone else. Information is provided in the separate Notes topic. You can maintain these notes when the Account or View forms are open.

Account Entries

General

Box	Description
Account	A unique reference to identify the nominal account. You cannot alter a reference for an existing record. You can use up to eight characters.
Cost Centre	If the Cost Centres in Nominal option is selected on the Options tab of the Company Profiles form in the System Manager, you can add a cost centre code using up to four characters.
Description	The description or name of the account that identifies it on reports and views. If you are creating a record for a VAT input or output account associated with a VAT code, the description must contain the word VAT.
Type/Sub-type	A reference that identifies the account type and sub-type combination. You can select from a list.
Report Codes	References that identify up to five reporting codes for analysis and selection purposes. You can select from a list. These can be used for selection of records in conjunction with the Matrix Reports command.
Advanced Nominal Dimensions	These additional analysis dimensions are only available if you have the Advanced Nominal Ledger feature activated and you have selected the corresponding option on the Company Profiles form in the System module. The name for these dimensions may be different to 'Project' and 'Department'. You can specify the names in the Dimension 1 and Dimension 2 boxes in the Advanced Nominal group on the System Preferences form in the System module. For each dimension activated on the Company Profiles form, you can choose one of the following settings: Do Not Use means that no corresponding dimension can be assigned to this nominal account. If you select this option, you will not be able to analyse any transaction to an advanced nominal dimension for this account. Optional means that you can choose whether to analyse transactions to an advanced nominal dimension for this account at the time of posting the transaction. If you specify a default code, that will be automatically presented for the transaction, but you can choose to omit a code so the transaction is not analysed to any additional dimension. Mandatory means you must assign a corresponding dimension to this nominal account. If you select this option, you will not be able to save a transaction associated with this nominal account unless a corresponding dimension is also specified. You do not have to set a default, but you will have to choose a dimension when creating an original transaction posting. If you choose either the Optional or Mandatory options described above, you can enter in the Default box a reference that identifies the default dimension code. You can select from a list. Project and department codes are defined using the Project and Department commands respectively on the Maintenance submenu of the Nominal module. Refer to the section Advanced Nominal Ledger for information.
Open Item	An option that determines whether the detail of outstanding transactions is retained for previous periods. If the option is cleared, outstanding transactions are accumulated into a period total when the Period End command is used. If the option is selected, the detail of outstanding transactions is retained, regardless of whether the Period command is used.
Forced Comment	An option that determines whether a journal line comment must be entered when you use the Journals command.
Summary Transfer	An option that determines whether transaction details from the Sales Ledger and Purchase Ledger are consolidated into one transaction when they are transferred to the Nominal Ledger. If the option is not ticked, transaction details are posted to the Nominal Ledger separately. This option only applies if the Sales Ledger and Purchase Ledger are linked to the Nominal Ledger on the System Manager - Maintenance - Company Profiles form. This affects transactions transferred to the Nominal Ledger using either of these methods: The batch method using the Nominal Ledger - Utilities - S/L Transfer and the Nominal Ledger - Utilities - P/L Transfer commands. The Real Time Update method (switched on from the System Manager - Maintenance - Company Profiles form).
Private Account	An option that controls whether the Nominal account can be seen on this form. If this box is ticked, only users who have the Access Private Details box ticked on the System - Maintenance - User Profiles form can see the account and its related information. These accounts are also excluded from the Nominal Ledger reports so they may appear to be out of balance. A note to this effect is shown on the reports' titles. Private accounts can still be used for journal postings for those users who do not have the Access Private Details box ticked on the System - Maintenance - User Profiles form. If you choose to use this option to protect details of certain Nominal accounts and you want all journals posted to the account to remain hidden, make sure that all the accounts on the journal are marked as private when the journals are posted. If some of the accounts are not private, it will be possible to view transactions associated with a non-private account using the View command on the Nominal - Maintenance - Accounts form.
Distribution Account	An option that determines whether the account is a distribution account. This only applies if the Cost Centres in Nominal option is selected on the Options tab of the System - Maintenance - Company Profiles form. You can only select this option for accounts that do not have a cost centre. If the option is selected, the Modify Distribution Account command becomes available on the Action menu. When you select the command, the Distribution form is displayed listing all nominal accounts with the same account code but different cost centres. For each cost centre account in the list, you can enter a percentage for allocation of journal entries. The percentages must total 100%. When the distribution account is included in a transaction posting, the value entered for the account will be distributed among the cost centre accounts according to the allocation percentages; no postings are actually made to the main distribution account itself. You cannot make an account a distribution account if it does not balance in the current year; that is the debit and credit year-to-date balances are different.