After defining the account format in Custom Descriptions, and entering the applicable prefixes and base accounts, General Ledger account numbers may be created using the Generate Accounts command from the Setup menu. This command can combine every prefix combination with each of the base accounts to create a complete chart of accounts.

• Unit and Suspense accounts

  If the Account Type is Units or Suspense, no accounts are generated.

• Balance Sheet accounts

  A 'Balance sheet prefix' is a prefix with zeros that fill at all levels lower than the balance sheet level.

  If the General Ledger (GL) account is a balance sheet account (e.g. Current Assets, Noncurrent Assets, Current Liabilities, Noncurrent Liabilities, Equity, Retained Earnings), then GL creates the full account only if you created the appropriate Balance sheet prefix . The prefix must exist prior to running Generate Accounts; prefixes are never created by Generate Accounts. If you did not create the Balance sheet prefix , the following message will display at the end of the task, Generate Accounts.

  Not all balance sheet accounts were generated because of missing prefix records. If you store balance sheet accounts at a higher level than income statement accounts, you need to create the special balance sheet prefix (e.g. 10-00) in order to create the accounts. Set up the prefixes for the balance sheet accounts and run Generate Accounts again.

• Profit and Loss accounts

  If the GL account is a profit/loss account (e.g. Income, Cost, Expense, or Other Income), then GL creates the full account using all existing prefixes, except for the 'Balance sheet prefixes'.

If the balance sheet level is at the lowest level (e.g. data having all three prefixes with balance sheet level at prefix C), then there are no Balance sheet prefixes. All existing prefixes are combined with all base accounts for both balance sheet accounts and profit/loss accounts.

No prefixes are ever created by Generate Accounts.

Example 1:

Account format: (ABC) x-xx-xx-xxxx
Balance sheet level: A
Fiscal Entity Level: A, B, C or Company (all give same results)
Prefix A= 9
Prefix B= 9-10
Balance sheet prefix = 9-00
Prefix C= 9-10-10
Balance Sheet prefix = 9-00-00
Base: 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base: 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-00-00-1111 - Current assets
9-10-10-4444 - Income

If the user had not set up prefix 9-00-00, then account 9-00-00-1111 would not have been created. At the end of the program, an error message would be displayed on the screen and a message would be written to the log file. There is only one message, no matter how many errors.

Example 2:

Account format: (ABC) x-xx-xx-xxxx
Balance sheet level: B
Fiscal Entity Level: A, B, C or Company (all give same results)
Prefix A = 9
Prefix B = 9-10
Prefix C = 9-10-10
Balance Sheet Prefix = 9-10-00
Base = 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base = 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-10-00-1111 - Current Assets
9-10-10-4444 - Income

If the user had not set up prefix 9-10-00, then account 9-10-00-1111 would not have been created. At the end of the program, an error message would be displayed on the screen and a message would be written to the log file. There is only one message, no matter how many errors.

Example 3:

Account format: (ABC) x-xx-xx-xxxx
Balance sheet level: C
Fiscal Entity Level: A, B, C or Company (all give same results)
Prefix A = 9
Prefix B = 9-10
Prefix C = 9-10-10
Base = 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base = 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-10-10-1111 - Current Assets
9-10-10-4444 - Income

Example 4:

Account format:(AB) x-xx-xxxx
Balance sheet level: A
Fiscal Entity Level: A, B or Company (all give same results)
Prefix A = 9
Prefix B = 9-10
Balance Sheet Prefix = 9-00
Base = 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base = 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-00-1111 - Current Assets
9-10-4444 = Income

If the user had not set up prefix 9-00, then account 9-00-1111 would not have been created. At the end of the program, an error message would be displayed on the screen and a message would be written to the log file. There is only one message, no matter how many errors.

Example 5:

Account format: (AB) x-xx-xxxx
Balance sheet level: B
Fiscal Entity Level: A, B or Company (all give same results)
Prefix A = 9
Prefix B = 9-10
Base = 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base = 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-10-1111 - Current Assets
9-10-4444 - Income

Example 6:

Account format: (A) x-xxxx
Balance sheet level: not applicable
Fiscal Entity Level: A or Company (both give same results)
Prefix A = 9
Base = 1111 - Account Type Current assets
Base = 4444 - Account Type Income

Result of Generate Accounts:
9-1111 - Current Assets
9-4444 - Income