Ledger Accounts

Overview

This document will cover the structure and configuration of the Ledger Accounts in Savance Enterprise. We’ll go over which ledger accounts are system ledger accounts that must be present at all times. We’ll cover how to create your own ledger accounts and set them up for your customers and vendors. We’ll also detail how these ledger accounts function in Savance Enterprise.

Ledger Account Types

There are a couple of different Ledger Account types that are important to know about. Asset, Dividend, and Expense accounts follow the same set of debit/credit rules. Debits increase assets, dividends, and expenses, while credits decrease these accounts. These accounts normally carry a debit balance. Liability, Equity, and Revenue each follow rules that are opposite of what was just described. Credits increase liabilities, equities, and revenues, while debits decrease these accounts. These accounts normally carry a credit balance

Ledger Account Manager

To view all ledger accounts, go to Accounting > Accounting Manager > Ledger Accounts. This will show you all system accounts and custom accounts, which will be discussed in further detail in later sections. Below is an example of this window.

System Ledger Accounts

The Ledger Account Manager will show you all the ledger accounts that are available by default, which cannot be edited or removed. Below is a list of each of these accounts, including their type, and a description of each.

Credit/Edit Ledger Accounts

To create a new account, click on the Account button on the top-left and select New Ledger Account. This will bring up the following screen to allow you to create a new account.

Give it a Ledger Name and choose one of the Types. The "Ledger tracks current (short-term) assets or liabilities" option is only available if the type is "Asset" or "Liability". Unchecked this would mean "Ledger tracks non-current (long-term) assets or liabilities".

Next, you have the option to choose an existing ledger account for the Parent option if you would like to nest the new account underneath it. You can only select a parent of the same Type as the ledger account that you are creating.

Now you may give it an optional Description, and you may specify an Initial Balance if you would like it to be something other than 0. You can designate the ledger account as a Bank Account and type in a Bank Account Number (only applies to Asset Ledger Accounts). You can optionally type in a Division Number, Account Number, and Sub Account Number as well.

When you are all done, click Save to add the account to the list. An account can be edited later by right-clicking it. However, an account cannot be deleted from the system. If you would like to disable an account, you can edit the account and uncheck the Enabled box at the bottom. Note that you cannot disable a ledger account that has a balance other than $0. The disabled ledger accounts will only be shown when the "Include Inactive Accounts" option is checked in the Accounting Manager (it will be shown with a line going through it). The ledger account can be re-enabled by following the reverse process.

Make a General Ledger Entry

From the Ledger Accounts screen, click on the Accounts button and select Make General Ledger Entry. This will bring up the following window:

First choose the Transaction Date, Transaction Reference number, and an optional Comment. Be sure to Specify the Amount to be made with this entry. Finally, choose the ledger accounts that you are Debiting and Crediting.

When you are ready, you can hit the Add button so that the transaction will be added to the window below. You can make multiple ledger entries from this window, and the transactions will not be processed until you either choose "Save & Close" or "Save & New". Choosing "Cancel" will not save any changes that you have made on this screen.

To view the transaction, simply right-click on the account and select Show Transactions. You will be able to see the date, description, and other details from this window. Remember that this transaction will show up in both the Debit Account and the Credit Account. Details on this will be discussed in the next section.

Manage Ledger Account Transactions

If you'd like to view all the transactions for a specific ledger account, you can do so by right-clicking one of the accounts in the Ledger Account Manager and clicking Show Transactions. Below is an example of the entry that was made manually in the last section.

You can specify a date range if necessary and hit the Filter button to display the appropriate results. You are shown the transaction date, a reference number, the description, the transferee, the deposit, the payment, and the balance for each transaction. The reference number can contain a number for an order, PO, bill, payment, etc. It is a link, so clicking it will open the associated document.

Transactions that increase the ledger balance are shown in the Deposit column. Likewise, transactions that decrease the ledger balance are shown in the Payment column. Negative numbers are represented in parentheses. The ledger starting balance is shown in the lower right corner, which depends on how it was created.

Making changes to the ledger account transactions will not change the corresponding reference (i.e., the invoice, receiver, payment, etc.). However, changing the reference document will update the corresponding ledger account transactions. Keep this in mind if you edit either a document or a ledger transaction entry.

Right-click on a transaction, and you will have the option to Edit, Void, or Delete the transaction. If you Void or Delete, the transaction is voided or deleted in this ledger account and the transferee ledger account. After voiding a transaction, the text is struck out. You can Un-void the transaction by right-clicking and selecting Un-void. However, please note that transactions that are Deleted cannot be undeleted. An example of a voided entry can be seen below.

NOTE: These functions require the appropriate security permissions. There are separate permissions for editing, voiding, and deleting.

Setting Posting Defaults

The Posting Defaults option allows you to use a different ledger account from the system defaults. This is useful for creating and assigning customer-specific ledger accounts. For example, you can create a new accounts receivable ledger account specifically for one customer and then set up a Posting Default rule so any ledger account activity from this customer will post to this ledger account instead. There are a couple of ways to go about this, which will be discussed in the following sections.

From the Ledger Account Manager

In the Ledger Account Manager, go over to the Posting Defaults tab. This will bring up the following screen

To get started, select a Posting Account from the list on the left and click the New button. Now choose the Account, Vendor, and/or Warehouse the rule should apply to. Choose the Ledger Account that should apply, which includes system accounts and any custom accounts that you may have created (or you can also choose ALL). The list will only display existing ledgers of the same type.

The “User cannot change” setting means that the user is forced to use the ledger account specified in the rule where applicable (such as on a PO or an Order) and will not be able to change it manually. The “Show default but do not select it” means that the ledger account specified in the rule will not automatically be selected, where applicable. It will instead show the user that it is the default ledger account for the action.

Finally, you may add an optional comment, and then click Save to put the rule into effect. Once you save, you will see the new rule show up on the list at the top.

NOTE: A user without the appropriate security rights to change the ledger account posting defaults will still be able to see how each rule is configured. However, the New, Edit, and Delete buttons will be disabled to prevent any changes.

From the Account/Vendor Manager

You can determine the default posting account for a specific customer or vendor by opening its account as well. So search for the customer/vendor in the Account Manager or Vendor Manager, and go to the Posting Accounts tab.

This screen will essentially be the same in both managers, except for the defaults. You can create a new ledger account from this screen if it doesn’t exist by hitting the New button. This would take you to the new ledger account creation screen. After Saving, the new account will be available for you to choose. Any changes here will be reflected in the Posting Defaults section of the Ledger Accounts Manager (and vice versa).

Change a Line Item’s Asset Account

If you'd like, you can change the Asset Account for each individual part number on a Quote/Order/ Invoice or RFQ/PO. Simply go to the Asset Account column to view or change the account being used for the corresponding line, as seen below

Each line item defaults to the Inventory asset account, but it can be manually changed to a different Asset ledger account. This is useful if you are ordering regular inventory items as well as office supplies, where you could create an asset ledger account specifically for Office Supplies.

You can also change the default Asset Account from Inventory to something else for each item in the Item Manager.

Additional Places to See Ledger Activity

The History tab of an Order, PO, RMA, and RTV has a Ledger Transactions tab that will show all ledger activity specific to that type of order. You can also find a Ledger Transactions tab on the shipper or receiver. There is also a Ledger Transactions tab on the Edit Bill screen. An example of an Order can be seen below.