Create Databases -> Chart of Accounts

Chart of Accounts

An account is the basic unit of storage in an accounting system; with separate accounts for assets, liabilities, and so forth. To find and identify accounts easily, the accounts are numbered. A list of these numbers with the corresponding descriptions is called a chart of accounts.

A standard chart of accounts is provided for location one when you receive Silver Plus eNsite. The accounts you use depend on the needs of your business. However, this standard chart of accounts provides accounts that are common to most businesses, and you may be able to use it with little or no modification.

To start using the Silver Plus General Ledger (G/L) application, you need to create your G/L accounts in the (J) Chart of Accounts Master Screen. You also need to post beginning balances in the (K) General Ledger Posting screen. First, we'll discuss how to create a chart of accounts that is specific to your business.

General Ledger parameters are set in the (L2) G/L Master Numbers screen and the (LJ) General Ledger Parameters screen. For more information on setting G/L parameters, please request the DDMS General Ledger Manual.

To create the chart of accounts, follow the steps below:

1. Start eNsite by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.
   
   
2. In the eNsiteLogin window, the cursor appears in the User ID box. Type 101 and click the OK button. (You do not need a password.)

The number 101 is a salesperson number that we preset when building your system. During the Let's Get Started program, you create a salesperson database. After you do this, each user will have a unique number. You also have the option of assigning passwords for each user. For more information, see Salesperson Database.

3. In the eNsite Master Menu, select the General Ledger database by double-clicking the icon.
   
   
4. In the General Ledger menu, double-click the icon.
   
   
5. The (J) Chart of Accounts Master screen opens. General Ledger screens are text-based, not graphical. Press the Caps Lock key. You always use capital letters in text-based screens. To set up your chart of accounts, type A to add.
   
   
6. The cursor moves to the first field in the Account Number field. Every G/L account is identified by its own unique, seven-digit account number in the form XX-XXX-XX. These numbers consist of four parts—the location, the book, the major, and the minor. The first two-digits of the account number represent the location or profit center. The first number of the middle three digits indicates the book. A book represents an accounting category. The last two numbers of the three middle digits indicate the major. These numbers represent an account within a book. The last two digits of the account number represent the minor. Minor accounts are the accounts to which actual amounts are posted.
   
   
7. After you enter the account number, the cursor moves to the Name field. Enter the account number and press Tab.
   
   
8. Use the Carry Forward field to determine whether the account's ending balance for the year is used as the account's beginning balance for the next year. If an account is marked to carry forward the balance, the ending balance for the previous year is automatically used as the beginning balance for the next year when the year-end procedure for the G/L database is performed.
   
   You should carry forward the balance on accounts such as assets, liabilities, and net worth. You should not carry forward the balance on profit and loss accounts such as sales, cost of sales, expenses, and miscellaneous income.
   
   
9. Use the fields in the Budgeted column to set budgets or projects for each business period. Press Tab to move through the fields.
   
   
10. The 13 fields in the This Year column display the beginning balance and the totals of all G/L postings to an account for each business period of the year. You use the first field in this column to display the beginning balance for the account. The figures in the fields in this column are updated when general ledger batches are released. These fields are cleared when the year-end procedure is performed. The beginning balance for the new year is displayed in the field for period Ø for carry forward accounts.
    
    
11. The 13 fields in the Last Year column display the beginning balance and the totals of all G/L postings to an account for each business period of the previous year. You cannot post to these fields. The figures in the fields in this column are replaced by the figures from the This Year fields each time the year-end procedure is performed.
    
    After creating your chart of accounts, you are ready to post your beginning balances.