Defining Organization Unit New General Ledger Accounts

A General Ledger (GL) is defined by an organization and shared across organization units within that organization. Some characteristics (e.g., account length and format, close date, etc.) are at the organization level. Each GL account number is identified with a financial company. An account number must be unique within the organization. One way to achieve a parallel account structure is to use the leading segment in the account number to refer to the financial company. The remaining characters can then be identical to accounts in other companies. For each company, a due from (debit) and due to (credit) account must be set up with every other company within the organization. 

A financial company can only be assigned to one organization unit, but multiple financial companies can be assigned to a single organization unit.

When revenue for a product is shared between companies, the company of the receivable account is the owner of the order line. For example, revenue is shared between company 1 and company 2. The receivable account belongs to company 1. In this case, there will be a due from (debit) created for company 2 (from company 1) and a due to (credit) for company 1 (to company 2). The due to/due from is created based on the company of the AR or PPL account being different from the company of the (deferred) revenue account.

 

When one receipt is applied to multiple order lines, each of which are in different companies, the company of the cash account is the owner of the receipt. For example, one receipt is applied to both order line 1 in company 1 and order line 2 in company 2.  The cash account is received into company 1. In this case, there will be a due from (debit) created for company 2 (from company 1) and a due to (credit) for company 1 (to company 2). The due to/due from is created based on the company of the cash account being different from the company of the AR or PPL account. This has implications for all financial transactions that affect order lines in multiple companies.

 

The GL definition applies to all financial companies within the organization, and therefore, to all organization units as well. In this screen, you can add new GL accounts or modify existing accounts, or define accounts by masked copy.

You must have permissions to view the organization in order to view the GL accounts on this screen. If you cannot view this screen, you can either change the organization you are logged in to, log in as another user, or contact your system administrator to change your permissions.

This screen changes if account segments need to be defined.

Please refer to Uploading GL Accounts for more information on uploading the GL accounts.

To add new GL accounts:

1.    From the toolbar, select System Admin > Organization Structure > Organization Unit Definition.

2.    Search for an organization unit and select it.
The General System Parameters screen in Organizational Unit Maintenance displays.

3.    From the Default GL Accounts task category, click Define New GL Accounts.

4.    Search for an organization or organization unit and select it.
The GL Accounts Maintenance screen displays.

5.    If necessary, you can filter the accounts that are displayed. Enter information in any of the following filter fields and click Search:

·           GL Account

·           Description

·           Classification

·           Account Function

6.    Click Add GL Account.
The GL Account Detail fields are enabled. Please note that you cannot delete a GL account if the account is currently being used in Personify.

7.    In the GL Account Detail section, enter the Account Number
The segment length and separator format displays next to the Account Number caption.

GL account numbers may contain the following characters: ".", "+", and "-".

8.    Enter the Account Description.

9.    Select the Account Class from the drop-down.

10.  Select the Account Function from the drop-down.

11.  If necessary, check the Active checkbox.

12.  Click Save.

Screen Element

Description

Filter

GL Account

Text box. The account number of the GL account for which you want to search.

Description

Text box. The description of the GL account for which you want to search.

Classification

Drop-down. The class of the GL account for which you want to search. For example, Asset or Liability.

Account Function

Drop-down. The function of the GL account. Used to identify the kind of account referenced when setting up products and other account search functions. This is set so users do not inadvertently use the incorrect account. For example, Credit Balance or Accounts Receivable. Accounts are only searchable on the Product Maintenance screen if the Account Functions are defined properly here. Values in the drop-down are populated based on the fixed codes defined for the APP "ACCOUNT_FUNCTION" system type. See Account Function Code Descriptions for more information about the available options.

Search

Button. Click this button to search for GL accounts based on the filter information added.

Add GL Account

Button. When clicked, a row is added to the table and the corresponding fields are enabled to add a GL account.

GL Account Detail

Account Number

Text box. The account number of the GL account. This must be unique within the organization unit. It also must be the specified segment length and use the segment separator. All accounts should exist here that are used throughout the system. Account lookups use the accounts defined here. The account segment length and separator are defined on the Organization Maintenance screen.

GL account numbers may contain the following characters: ".", "+", and "-".

If  there are no segments defined (and enforced) and the Fixed GL Account Length checkbox is not checked on the Organization and GL Structure screen, the GL account number can be of any length. Here is the simple RegEx that validates the characters when the Fixed GL Account Length checkbox is not checked and no segments are defined: "$[a-zA-Z0-9+-. ]+".

Account Description

Text box. The description of the GL account.

Account Class

Drop-down. This is used as a filter for account selection to enforce the appropriate use of accounts as per the functionality. For example, the lookup for a Revenue account should use “Revenue” as a filter so that no other types of accounts are made available for revenue account selection. Values in the drop-down are populated based on the fixed codes defined for the FGL "ACCOUNT_CLASS" system type.

Account Function

Drop-down. The function of the GL account. Used to identify the kind of account referenced when setting up products and other account search functions. This is set so users do not inadvertently use the incorrect account. For example, Credit Balance or Accounts Receivable. Accounts are only searchable on the Product Maintenance screen if the Account Functions are defined properly here. See Account Function Code Descriptions for more information on the available options.

Active

Checkbox. When checked, indicates the account is active. Only active accounts display in the lookup and can be used for product setup or in transactions.

If you inactivate a GL account, the system will NOT warn you about products that may currently use that account.  It is your responsibility to ensure that all products where the account is being used are updated with a different account.

Delete GL Account

Button. When clicked, the highlighted row from the table is deleted.

You cannot delete an account if it has transactions associated with it.