Main Account Maintenance - Fields Home | FAQs & Troubleshooting

 

Main Account Maintenance

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Main Account

Enter the main account to add or maintain. Click the Lookup button to list all main accounts. The size of the main account (3-15 numeric or alphanumeric characters) is defined in Account Structure Maintenance. If the main account's size is 5 characters and you enter 200 for the main account, the main account will be zero-filled at the beginning as 00200. If you enter ABC, it is not zero-filled.

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. For an example of how an account number is constructed, see Account Number Structure Example.

Note: After a main account is used to create an account, the main account cannot be deleted.

 Entry Sample

40000

 

Description

Enter a description of up to 40 characters for the main account.

 Entry Sample

Desk Sales

 

Short Description

Enter a short description of up to 20 characters for the main account. This short description along with the short descriptions of other subaccounts is used to create the account description of up to 50 characters.

Note: If you do not define a short description, the Description field is used to create an account description.

 Example - How an Account Description is Compiled

This is an account description compiled using the short descriptions of the main account and the various subaccounts. The main account description separator is the colon (:), and the subaccount description separator is the dash (-). Separators are defined in Account Structure Maintenance.

• Account Description = Desk Sales: Irvine-Main-Steelcase-Sales

• Account Number = 40000-01-000-010-100

	Segment Description	Value	Short Description
1	Main	40000	Desk Sales
2	City	01	Irvine
3	Location	000	Main
4	Product Line	010	Steelcase
5	Department	100	Sales

 

Account Group

Enter the account group for the main account, or click the Lookup button to list all account groups. The account group defaults based on the value of the main account entered and the structure of the account groups. A numeric account group code applies to all main account numbers between the beginning number of the account group to, but not including, the beginning number of the next account group. The account group is used to group accounts on various reports, such as the Trial Balance and Financial Reports. After accounts have been created using this main account, you can only change the account group to another group that shares the same category.

Note: After main accounts are created and assigned to an account group, the account group cannot be deleted.

 Example - How a Numeric Account Group is Assigned to a Main Account

Consider account group codes:

• 0000 Current Assets

• 2000 Liabilities

Main accounts from 0000 to 1999 will be assigned to account group "0000 Current Assets." Main accounts from 2000 and higher will be assigned to account group "2000 Liabilities."

 

Account Category

This field displays the account group's category and can only be viewed. The account category is defined in Account Group Maintenance.

 

Account Type

Select an account type for the main account. The account type defaults based on the account group entered but can be changed. The account types available for selection are dependent on the account group's account category. The account types are used in the calculation of financial ratios on the General Ledger Analysis and Business Insights Key Ratios Web page.

Note: When a main account's account type is changed, this change is automatically updated to all accounts that contain the main account.

The following account types are available for each account category:

Category	Account Types Available
Assets	Cash Net Accounts Receivable Other Receivable Inventory Prepaid Expenses Other Assets
Liabilities	Current Liabilities Long Term Liabilities
Equity	Stockholder Equity Retained Earnings
Revenue	Net Revenue
Cost of Sales	Cost of Sales
Expenses	Operating Expenses Interest Expense
Other Income & Expense	Other Income & Expense Interest Expense
Income Tax	Income Tax
Non-Financial	Non-Financial

 

Cash Flow Type

Select a cash flow type for the main account. The cash flow type defaults based on the account group entered but can be changed. If you do not select a cash flow type, accounts that contain this main account will not print on the Statement of Cash Flows.

 

Status

Select a status for the main account. Main accounts with an inactive status or deleted status can be changed to active at any time.

When an account is created, if any segment (main account or subaccount) of the general ledger account has a status of inactive, the general ledger account is assigned a status of inactive.

Only accounts with a status of active can receive postings from the General Ledger module or other modules. An account with a status of inactive cannot receive postings. An account with a deleted status indicates that the account may be removed during year-end processing based on activity and the selection in the Years to Retain General Ledger History field in the General Ledger Options window.

 

Start/End Dates

Enter start and end dates for the main account. Start and end dates are used to determine when postings to accounts can occur. No postings can occur outside of the start and end dates entered. If dates are not defined, there are no restrictions on when postings occur.

Note: When an account is created, the start and end dates default to the most restrictive dates entered for the main account or any of the subaccounts.

 Example - How Start/End Dates are Restricted

If the main account start date is 1/1/2010 and the subaccount start date is 2/1/2010, then the account start date will be 2/1/2010.

 

Clear Balances

Select this check box to clear balances of nonfinancial accounts at year end. Clear this check box if you do not want to clear balances of nonfinancial accounts. This field is available only when the account group entered has a category of nonfinancial.

Note: The selection in this field is used as the default setting for accounts based on this main account; this setting does not directly pertain to the main account.

 

Rollup Types

Select a rollup code for each rollup type defined. Rollup codes are defined in Rollup Code Maintenance. For more information, see Create Rollup Codes.

 Entry Sample

Irvine