Implementation of Project FunctionalityLesson 2

Creating Account Groups

Back to P100: Project Implementation and Processing

Lesson 2: Creating Account Groups

Part 1: Implementation of Project Functionality

This lesson explains how to define account groups and map general ledger accounts to these account groups.

Account Groups: General Information

An account group is an entity in Acumatica ERP that you map to a subset of general ledger accounts and then specify in project-related documents. Because they are mapped to general ledger accounts, account groups facilitate transfer of the project-related financial information between the general ledger transactions and project transactions.

Learning Objectives

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

  • Prepare the system for the creation of account groups
  • Create an account group and map accounts to this group
  • Review the chart of accounts and find the account group associated with a particular GL account

Applicable Scenarios

You may need to create an account group in the following cases:

  • When you are initially configuring project accounting functionality
  • When you are going to track a particular type of expenses or another type of project balances separately

Types of Account Groups

You create account groups on the Account Groups (PM201000) form. An account group can belong to one of the following types: Asset, Liability, Expense, Income, or Off-Balance. An account group may include any number of general ledger accounts of particular types:

  • An account group of the Asset or Liability type may include asset or liability accounts. Transactions posted to these account groups are displayed on the Project Budget (PM309000) form and on the Balances tab of the Projects (PM301000) form, but are not displayed on the Revenue Budget and Cost Budget tabs of the Projects form.
  • An account group of the Income or Expense type may include accounts of any type (income, expense, asset, or liability). Transactions posted to these account groups are displayed on the Project Budget form, on the Balances tab of the Projects form, and on the Revenue Budget and Cost Budget tabs of the Projects form.
  • Account groups of the Off-Balance type are not mapped to any general ledger accounts. You can use account groups of the Off-Balance type to collect and track project statistical and other information that is unrelated to finance. The transactions posted to account groups of this type will not update the general ledger. For example, you might define an off-balance group for unrecognized revenue: You may want to see the amount in your project reporting, but you do not want to post to the general ledger until the actual billing is done and thus the revenue is recognized. As another example, you can create an off-balance group for recording all work hours spent by employees on the project if you want to know the total amount associated with the number of work hours spent, but you do not want to post this amount to the general ledger. In addition, you can select the Expense check box to track the amounts in the off- balance account group as expenses. The system displays the transactions posted to this account group on the Project Budget form and on the Balances and Cost Budget tabs of the Projects form.

Recommendations for Creating Account Groups

Before you define account groups, you should identify the accounts that will be used in project-related transactions. We recommend that you consider the following rules and limitations as you plan the account groups you will create:

  • Each general ledger account can be mapped to only one account group.
  • The following accounts should not be included in account groups:
  • An asset account that you might want to use as a control account for the AR subledger. For such an account, AR is selected in the Control Account Module box on the Chart of Accounts (GL202500) form. This can be, for example, an accounts receivable account that is debited by customer invoices.
  • An asset account that is used as an Inventory account for stock items.
  • A liability account that you might want to use as a control account for the AP subledger. For such an account, AP is selected in the Control Account Module box on the Chart of Accounts form. This can be an accounts payable account that is credited by vendor bills, or a retainage payable account.
  • An account that is linked to a cash account. On the Chart of Accounts form, this account has the Cash Account check box selected.
  • Allocation and billing rules select transactions by account groups. If transactions of two accounts should follow different allocation or billing rules or use different rates, these two accounts should be included in different account groups. If the transactions usually use the same rate, consider including their accounts in one group.

Account Groups: To Create an Expense Account Group

In the following implementation activity, you will learn how to create account groups.

Story

Suppose that you, as an implementation manager, are configuring project accounting for SweetLife Fruits & Jams company. You need to create an account group for advertising expenses and map the general ledger account to which the expenses will be recorded to this group.

Step 1: Creating an Account Group To create an account group, do the following:

  1. On the Account Groups (PM201000) form, create a new record.
  2. In the Account Group ID box, type ADVERTEXP. Notice that the Active check box is selected by default.
  3. In the Type box, select Expense.
  4. In the Description box, type Advertising Expenses.
  5. On the table toolbar of the Accounts tab, click Add Row, and in the row, select the 61000 - Advertising Expense account.
  6. Save the account group.

Step 2: Reviewing the Chart of Accounts To make sure that the account group has been configured correctly, do the following:

  1. Open the Chart of Accounts (GL202500) form.
  2. In the search box on the form, type 61000.
  3. In the Account Group column of the only row, notice that ADVERTEXP is specified (as shown in the following screenshot), which means that the account is mapped to this account group.
       Figure: Account mapped to the account group

    You have created the account group and mapped a general ledger account to this group.