The G/L Control Table designates General Ledger accounts for transactions. This controls where the transactions are automatically posted.
There are several locations within inform where the Control Table can be overridden:
-Branch file - any settings under the General Ledger tab will override settings in the Control Table. Additionally, branches using a Branch G/L Suffix will have separate sub-accounts created for transactions. For more information, see the Multi-Branch General Ledger Setup page.
-Customer Tax - Sales Tax codes can be set to post to alternate G/L accounts. For more information, see the Tax page.
-Miscellaneous Charge - Each Miscellaneous Charge must be assigned a General Ledger account. For more information, see the Miscellaneous Charge page.
-Product Line - Product Lines may be posted to separate General Ledger accounts for reporting purposes. For more information, see the Product Line page.
To access the G/L Control Table, select Accounting > General Ledger > G/L Control Table.
Setting up the Control Table requires you to enter the General Ledger account that each transaction should post to, for the main branch. If necessary, you can create additional General Ledger accounts using the G/L Account screen. Transactions will begin posting to these accounts as soon as you have saved them. If you have previous transactions that you want to post to these accounts, you can Re-Index the General Ledger. This will clear out all transactions from the current year and re-post them according to your new Control Table settings.
Any accounts with a number greater than this number will have the balance cleared to begin accumulating for the next year. These should be your revenues, overhead expenses, cost of sales, and miscellaneous discount accounts. Typically, revenue accounts begin with a 4 or 5, overhead expenses begin with a 4 or 5, cost of sales begin with a 4 or 5, and miscellaneous accounts begin with a 6. Generally, everything that would appear on your Income Statement.
The table below displays a widely accepted numbering scheme for your General Ledger accounts. Your accounts may follow a different numbering scheme. However, all accounts numbered less than the P & L Break Account must belong to the Balance Sheet and all accounts numbered greater than the P & L Break Account must belong to the Income Statement.
Account # Begins with... |
Account Type |
Example |
Used on |
1 |
Asset |
A/R Cash Account |
Balance Sheet |
2 |
Liability |
Accounts Payable |
Balance Sheet |
3 |
Equity |
Retained Earnings |
Balance Sheet |
4 |
Revenue |
Sales |
Income Statement |
4 or 5 |
Overhead Expenses |
Handling |
Income Statement |
4 or 5 |
Cost of Sales |
Cost of Goods Sold |
Income Statement |
6 through 9 |
Miscellaneous |
Handling |
Income Statement |
Important Accounts
The A/R Cash Account is used as the default bank account for customer payments, as well as for Cash Disbursements (checks). If necessary, credit cards can be set to post to a separate account in the Branch file.
The Accounts Payable Trade Account is used as the default account for Vendor Invoices and Cash Disbursements.
The Accounts Receivable Account handles Sales and Cash Receipts.
The Inventory Account handles all inventory transactions including Sales, Accounts Payable, and Inventory Control.
The P&L Break Account will be created by your implementation supervisor as a blank account. You should never have any postings to this account. The purpose of the account is to tell the system which account balances to zero out at the Year-End Closing and which account balances to carry over to the next year. Any accounts with a number less than this account will have the balance carried over to the next year. These should be all of your assets, liability, and equity accounts. Typically, all assets begin with a 1, liabilities begin with a 2, and equities begin with a 3. Generally, everything that would appear on your Balance Sheet.
The Inventory Change Account is used to offset the inventory account, and therefore needs to be part of the Income Statement.
The P.O.S. Deposit Account will also be created by your implementation supervisor. The account number should begin with a 2, as this account will be a liability on your Balance Sheet.
The Retained Earnings Account may also need to be created by your implementation supervisor if it does not already exist. This account is only used as part of the End of Year Closing to record the net income or loss for the year.
