Main accounts are used as the basis for creating a chart of accounts. The combination of a main account and subaccounts creates a general ledger account. Use these procedures to create a main account in Main Account Maintenance or to create a main account on the fly in General Ledger data entry windows.
Before You Begin
Before creating main accounts, make sure your account structure is set up in Account Structure Maintenance.
To create a main account on the fly from an Account No. field in a General Ledger data entry window, the Add Main Accounts in General Ledger check box must be selected on the General Ledger Options Main tab.
Use one, all, or a combination of the following methods to create a main account:
Enter the description and short description. The short description is used when building the description of a general ledger account. If the Short Description field is blank, the description in the Description field is used.
Enter the account group. The account group initially defaults based on the value of the main account entered but can be changed.
Note If the account group entered has an account category of Non-Financial, the Clear Balances check box appears. Select this check box to clear balances for accounts based on this main account.
In the Account Type field, select an account type, and in the Cash Flow Type field, select a cash flow type. The account type and cash flow type initially default based on the account group but can be changed.
In the Status field, select a status for the main account.
To define when postings to accounts based on this main account can occur, enter the Start Date and End Date fields.
If rollup types are defined, in the Rollup Types field select a rollup code for each rollup type and click Accept.
The main account is created.
To create a main account on the fly
In a General Ledger data entry window, in the Account No. field, enter a new main account and press ENTER.
In the Account Entry window, select the main account Value field and click the Add button. For more information, see Account Entry - Fields.
Enter the description and short description. The short description is used when building the description of a general ledger account. If the Short Description field is blank, the Description field is used.
Enter the account group. The account group initially defaults based on the value of the main account entered but can be changed.
Note If the account group entered has an account category of Non-Financial, the Clear Balances check box appears. Select this check box to clear balances for accounts based on this main account.
In the Account Type field, select an account type, and in the Cash Flow Type field, select a cash flow type. The account type and cash flow type initially default based on the account group but can be changed.
In the Status field, select a status for the main account.
To define when postings to accounts based on this main account can occur, enter the Start Date and End Date fields.
If rollup types are defined, in the Rollup Types field select a rollup code for each rollup type and click Accept.
The main account is created on the fly.
Example - Account Number Structure
This example account number structure consists of 5 segments. The account number separator defined is the dash (-). The main account description separator defined is the colon (:). The subaccount descriptions separator defined is the dash (-). The account description of up to 50 characters is created by combining the main account's short description along with the short descriptions for each remaining account segment.
Account Number
Account Description
40000-01-000-010-100
Desk Sales: Irvine-Main-Steelcase-Sales
40000-01-000-010-200
Desk Sales: Irvine-Main-Steelcase-Marketing
40200-01-000-020-100
Chair Sales: Irvine-Main-Miller-Sales
The first segment designates the main account, and segments 2 through 5 represent subaccounts that identify the detail accounts.
Segment 1 is five positions
Segment 2 is two positions
Segment 3 is three positions
Segment 4 is three positions
Segment 5 is three positions
Segment Description
MAIN
CITY
LOCATION
PRODUCT LINE
DEPARTMENT
Account Description & Values
Desk Sales = 40000
Chair Sales = 40200
Lighting Sales = 40300
Irvine = 01
Atlanta = 02
New York = 03
Houston = 04
Main St. = 000
Peach Ave = 001
Broadway = 002
Clay St = 003
Steelcase = 010
Miller = 020
Geiger = 030
Kimball = 040
Sales = 100
Marketing = 200
Receiving = 300
Shipping = 400
Warehouse = 500
Accounting = 600
Payroll = 700
Human Res = 800
Admin = 900
The account structure applies to all accounts for the same company. If a particular account does not require subaccounts, you only need to enter the significant digits. The remainder of the account number will either be zero-filled or contain blanks (if the account segments left unfilled are truly alpha).
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