General Ledger Setup
General Ledger Setup
Table Of Contents
General Ledger Setup ....................................................................... 3
Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 3
General Ledger/Accounting.......................................................................... 4
SuccessWare21 as an Accounting Program ...................................................................... 4
Basic Accounting Terminology ........................................................................................... 4
Accrual vs. Cash Basis Accounting .................................................................................... 4
Types of Accounts .............................................................................................................. 4
Debits & Credits .................................................................................................................. 5
Chart of Accounts ............................................................................................................... 8
Printing the Chart of Accounts ............................................................................................ 8
Reconciliation and Financial Reports ............................................................................... 10
How does SuccessWare21 Know Where to Put "IT" in the General Ledger? ................. 11
General Ledger/Accounting Key Items to Remember ...................................................... 11
General Ledger Setup ................................................................................. 12
Accounts ........................................................................................................................... 12
Adding New Accounts ...................................................................................................... 13
Editing an Account ............................................................................................................ 14
Deleting Accounts ............................................................................................................. 15
Activating and Deactivating Accounts .............................................................................. 16
Sub-Accounts ................................................................................................................... 17
Adding Sub-Accounts ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Default Accounts .............................................................................................................. 19
Defining the Default Types ............................................................................................... 20
Changing a Default Account ............................................................................................. 23
How Does SuccessWare21 Departmentalize? ................................................................ 23
Departments ..................................................................................................................... 24
Deleting a Department ...................................................................................................... 24
Deactivating a Department ............................................................................................... 25
Changing or Editing a Department Description ................................................................ 26
Adding a New Department ............................................................................................... 26
General Ledger Setup Key Items to Remember .............................................................. 27
Fiscal Periods .............................................................................................. 28
Creating a Fiscal Period ................................................................................................... 28
Changing the End Date of a Period .................................................................................. 28
Adding Another Fiscal Year .............................................................................................. 28
Opening a Fiscal Period ................................................................................................... 29
Fiscal Periods Key Items to Remember ........................................................................... 30
General Ledger Activation .......................................................................... 31
Activating the General Ledger .......................................................................................... 31
General Ledger Activation Key Items to Remember ........................................................ 32
Expense Groups .......................................................................................... 33
Defining Expense Groups ................................................................................................. 33
Expense Groups Key Items to Remember ....................................................................... 34
Opening Balances ....................................................................................... 34
Entering Opening Balances .............................................................................................. 34
AR Beginning Balances .................................................................................................... 36
AP Beginning Balances .................................................................................................... 38
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Opening Balances Key Items to Remember .................................................................... 40
Sale & Expense Types ................................................................................ 40
Creating Sale and Expense Types ................................................................................... 41
Sale & Expense Types Key Items to Remember ............................................................. 42
Adjustment Codes ............................................................................................................ 43
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General Ledger Setup
General Ledger Setup
Objectives
After completing this unit, the student will be able to:

Understand the accounting functionality of SuccessWare21.

Understand basic accounting terminology.

Understand how SuccessWare21 posts to the General Ledger.

View and print the SuccessWare21 Chart of Accounts.

Effectively set-up the General Ledger in SuccessWare21.

Enter the beginning balance for General Ledger Accounts.

Enter General Ledger periods and activation dates.

Create and open fiscal periods.

Understand and set up Adjustment Codes.

Create Sale and Expense Types.
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GENERAL LEDGER/ACCOUNTING
SuccessWare21 as an Accounting Program
At its heart, SuccessWare21 is an accounting program, but, one of the strengths of
SuccessWare21 is that it isn't JUST an accounting program. It does the accounting, but as
a result of the normal day-to-day call taking, dispatching completion of work tickets and
purchasing that is carried out by a user. The goal of SuccessWare21 is to make the
complicated process of entering information into a ledger sheet and balancing the books
as effortless and invisible to the end-user as possible. To accomplish this, SuccessWare21
requires that all of your accounting information be properly setup before you begin to
fully use the application.
Accounting entails keeping track of where money is moving in your business. For
example, keeping track of how much is spent on parts, how much is owed in Sales Tax,
and how much money you made for performing an installation are all functions that are
carried out automatically by SuccessWare21, thereby making it easy for you to generate
reports detailing the information you need.
Basic Accounting Terminology
In order to understand the accounting functions of SuccessWare21, it is important that
you understand some basic accounting terminology.
Accrual vs. Cash Basis Accounting
SuccessWare21 operates based upon Accrual Basis Accounting. This means that
revenues are recognized on the books when it is earned, i.e., when you send create and
post the invoice, not when the customer pays the bill. Expenses are recognized when they
are incurred, i.e., when you become liable for a payment, not when you actually pay the
bill.
SuccessWare21 cannot be set up to run as a cash basis accounting system (meaning that
expenses and revenue are recognized when bills are paid or payments from customers are
received).
The Accrual method of accounting is recognized in accordance with Generally Accepted
Accounting Practices (GAAP).
Types of Accounts
One of the most fundamental of accounting terms is what’s referred to as an “account.”
An account is a vehicle used to keep track of the various monetary increases and
decreases to specific assets, liabilities or equity items regarding your business.
There are 9 categories of accounts. They are:
1. Asset Accounts- these accounts represent resources that your business owns such
as computers, inventory and cash.
2. Liability Accounts - these are debts that your business owes, for instance, bank
loans, money owed to vendors or Sales Tax that is due.
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3. Equity Accounts- these accounts are comprised of the difference between your
assets and liabilities. These could include owner’s equity and common stock.
4. Income Accounts - these accounts handle monies received. These could include
merchandise sales, performance of a service or rental of a property. There is a
subclass of accounts within Income called Returns and Allowances which allow
you to identify amounts which reduce sales such as discounts or refunds.
4a. Returns and Allowances- these accounts represent money that is
"given back". This can be through refunds, discounts offered to customers
or chargebacks. These amounts are subtracted from sales to show you your
Net Sales.
5. Cost of Sale Accounts -these accounts accommodate the tracking of costs
relating to the sale of goods. This would include the cost of goods, associated
labor and even sales commissions.
6. Expense Accounts - these include general operating expenses incurred to run
your business such as rent, utilities and interest expenses.
7. Other Income - this is revenue generated outside the normal course of business,
such as from the sale of an asset, or even from a vending machine.
8. Other Expenses - these are costs not directly related to the normal course of
business. An example might be an account for “Flood Loss.”
9. Income Taxes- These account represent the amounts that you owe in Federal and
State Income tax.
Each of these account categories are sub-divided into specialized accounts that
accommodate specific activities relating to your business. The number of individual
accounts that you establish depends on the how you want to track your cash flow.
Debits & Credits
Accounting is based upon the premise that all transactions result in a balance of funds. To
create this balance, transactions entered on the ledger contain positive and negative
entries, meaning, some add to, while others subtract from. These entries are referred to as
debits and credits. All debits and credits must equal each other. If they do not, the
account is out of balance.
Depending on what type of account you are using, a debit or credit will either increase or
decrease the account balance. The example below illustrates how each type of account is
effected based on whether the entry is a debit or a credit.
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Account Types
Debit
Credit
Assets
Increase
Decrease
Cost of Sales
Increase
Decrease
Expenses
Increase
Decrease
Liabilities
Decrease
Increase
Equity
Decrease
Increase
Income
Decrease
Increase
Notice that for every increase in one part of an account, there is an opposite and equal
decrease in another. This is what keeps the entry in balance. Also, notice that debits are
always listed on the left while credits are always listed on the right. As you read this
please keep in mind that the terms debit and credit do not necessarily mean plus and
minus.
The following example shows a sample of a simple debit/credit transaction.
Account
Asset Account
(Inventory)
Debit
Credit
$5
$5
Cash Account
The net sum of the transaction is zero. In this case, our value of assets went up $5 while
the value of our cash account went down $5.
SuccessWare21 uses a system of double-entry debits and credits. This means that
additional accounts are used to “hold” value until the entire transaction is complete. This
allows you to account for payments as a separate transaction.
For example, when buying a part we would get an additional account, such as Accounts
Payable, involved.
Purchase of part
Account
Asset Account
(Inventory)
Accounts Payable
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Debit
Credit
$5
$5
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Payment for part
Account
Debit
Credit
$5
Accounts Payable
$5
Cash Account
After the transaction our net sum is still zero.
The double-entry rule applies generically as follows:
Selling
Accounts
Debit
Credit
X
Sale
Account Receivable
X
When Paid
X
Cash
X
Account Receivable
Buying
Accounts
Assets
Debit
Credit
X
X
Account Payable
When Paid
X
Cash
Account Payable
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Chart of Accounts
The Chart of Accounts is a listing of all accounts that your company chooses to track.
The Chart of Account lists and divides the accounts by account categories. These
categories can be further divided into sub-categories with individual accounts listed under
those sub-categories. SuccessWare21 comes pre-loaded with a sample Chart of Accounts
that you can modify, or use as is, to meet the needs of your company. Accounts listed in
the Chart of Accounts include an account number, a class (this is the category) and a
description.
All of the transactions that you perform in SuccessWare21 will be “pre-connected” to
these accounts so that at the time of entry all of the entries will be made in those accounts
without the user being prompted for additional information.
Printing the Chart of Accounts
In order to compare the SuccessWare21 Chart of Accounts to your company’s Chart of
Accounts it would be easiest to begin by printing the Chart of Accounts that came preinstalled in SuccessWare21.
1. Click on the
icon and then click on the Quick Start button.
2. Click on the General Ledger button and then click Next.
3. To print the Chart of Accounts, click on Print in the ACCOUNTS tab of the
General Ledger setup window. This will bring up the Chart of Accounts print
options box.
4. To print the Chart of Accounts click on the Printer button (looks like a printer).
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5. To preview the Chart of Accounts click on the Preview button (looks like a
monitor).
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Reconciliation and Financial Reports
The RECONCILIATION AND FINANCIAL REPORTS screen allows you to force the Accounts
Receivable and Accounts Payable modules to be in balance and finalized before you can
activate the General Ledger.
When selected, in order to activate the General Ledger you will need to enter and finalize
your Opening General Ledger Balances. Additionally all outstanding AR and AP
invoices will need to be entered and finalized as well. Finalizing your balances prevents
them from being changed at a later time. In order to finalize balances, the total General
Ledger balance of AR or AP must match the total of outstanding customer and vendor
invoices that you have entered through the AR and AP options of Quick Start
Note: If you wish to begin processing General Ledger transactions before you have
completed the entry of opening balances, DO NOT CHECKMARK THESE ITEMS!
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How does SuccessWare21 Know Where to Put "IT" in the General
Ledger?
One of the benefits of SuccessWare21 is that it makes posting to the General Ledger
consistent and easy. As mentioned earlier, one of the goals on SuccessWare21 is to make
the process of posting to the General Ledger as effortless and invisible to the end user as
possible. Once your initial setup is completed, users posting transactions to the General
Ledger will not have to make decisions as to what General Ledger accounts are affected
by the transaction. This allows for entries such a AR and AP invoices to be entered by
users that do not necessarily have bookkeeping experience or and intimate knowledge of
the General Ledger structure. All they really need to know is what was bought or sold
(select the item from the PriceBook) and what department was responsible for the sale or
purchase.
So how does SuccessWare21 know what General Ledger account to post to?

Default Accounts- Default accounts are accounts that the system will post to
automatically when certain transactions are processed. Default accounts are
used to expedite data entry. Some examples of Default Accounts are Accounts
Receivable, Accounts Payable, Sales Tax, AR Invoice Discounts and AP
Discounts.

Sale and Expense Types- These are drop down lists that represent the
different types of things that your company buys and sells. Each is associated
with or "pointed to" a General Ledger account. Sale and Expense types are
attached to the items within your PriceBook. When those items are bought,
sold or costed, the associated General Ledger account is posted to.

Adjustment Codes- Adjustment codes are drop-down lists used to identify
the reason that a change is being made to an operational balance in a module
of SuccessWare21. These drops down lists of reasons are associated with
general ledger accounts. When you need to make a change to a customer's
balance or a vendors balance for example, that is not associated with a new
invoice or payment, an adjustment can be recorded.
General Ledger/Accounting Key Items to Remember

Accounts keep track of monetary increases and decreases to specific assets,
liabilities and equity items.

Accounts can be divided into sub-accounts.

For every change in one account, there is an equal and opposite change in
another.

SuccessWare21 uses a double-entry system that allows it to hold values until
an entire transaction is complete.

The Chart of Accounts lists all the accounts and sub-accounts that your
business uses.
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
SuccessWare21 uses Default Account, Sales and Expense Types and
Adjustment Codes to determine where things should post in the General
Ledger.
GENERAL LEDGER SETUP
General Ledger setup consists of addressing:

Accounts—your Chart of Accounts

Sub-Accounts—break-down of the major General Ledger accounts

Default Accounts—accounts that are posted to automatically during certain
default functions (A/R Trade, A/P Trade, Sales Tax, Warranty Reserve,
Deferred Revenue, etc.)

Departments—your company’s profit centers for all income statement
transactions

Periods/Activation—your company’s fiscal periods and activation dates (the
dates you start posting to the General Ledger in SuccessWare21).

Expense Groups—groups of operating expense accounts that enable you to
see sub-totals on your income statement (advertising, vehicle, etc.)

Opening Balances—your entire list of General Ledger starting balances
(from your trial balance) as of your General Ledger activation date. Make
sure these numbers are accurate before you enter them. You do not have to
have your starting balances entered in order to start posting to the General
Ledger in SuccessWare21.
When you set-up the General Ledger in SuccessWare21 you can perform the setup from
two areas of the application:

Quick Start, or

the Setup button in the Main Menu.
We recommend you set-up the Chart of Accounts using the Quick Start utility.
Accounts
The first step in setting up the General Ledger is to setup your Chart of Accounts.
SuccessWare21 already comes with a standard Chart of Accounts installed. To set a
Chart of Accounts up for your company, compare the installed Chart of Accounts to your
existing accounts and determine what changes need to be made. You will then:
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
Delete unnecessary accounts, and Deactivate accounts

Change accounts, and/or

Add accounts.
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When stepping through Quick Start, the system will go through the Chart of Accounts
based on the account types (i.e. assets – current assets, fixed assets and other assets, then
liabilities, etc.) You will then make the necessary deletions, changes and additions for
each account type.
Click Next and then Previous to move between account types, and press Start to edit the
accounts in that section.
Adding New Accounts
1. In the ACCOUNTS tab of the GENERAL LEDGER SETUP, Click New Account. Each
account type has categories of accounts within it that are grouped by account
number.
2. Click on the drop-down arrow and choose the category of account you want to
create. When you select a category the account number you choose for the
account will be limited to those available for that category.
3. Highlight the account number for the new account and double-click, press Enter,
or right-click and select Add Account.
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4. Enter a name for the new account and click Save.
Editing an Account
If you want to leave an account, but make a change to its name, you can do this by
editing the account. For example, you may wish to change account 1002 – Cash Local
Bank, to a specific bank’s name, i.e., Cash – Bank of America, Checking.
1. To change the description for an account, right-click on the account and select
Edit Account.
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2. Enter the new description and click Save.
NOTE: Select the MUST PRINT checkbox to print the account numbers on financial
reports, even if the balance is zero.
Deleting Accounts
It is recommended that you delete any accounts your company will not be using before
you edit existing accounts or add new ones. Once an account has transaction posted
against it, the account can NEVER be deleted. If you no longer wish to use a GL account
and it has posted transaction history, you can right click on the account and Deactivate it.
1. To delete an account, highlight the account you would like to delete.
2. Right-click and select Delete Account. Make sure to confirm the deletion.
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Activating and Deactivating Accounts
If an account at one time carried a balance and you do not plan to use the account
anymore, you may choose to deactivate the account. Deactivating the account removes it
from the active account list and does not allow any further posted transactions against the
account; however any posted history within the account remains available for reporting
purposes. Accounts can be reactivated if necessary if you need to process additional
transaction using the account in the future.
Generally accounts are deactivated when they will no longer be used. For example, if you
were to change the bank where you keep your checking account, you would not want to
simply change the name of the existing GL account that represents the checking account,
but rather, would deactivate the existing account and create a new GL account to
represent the new checking account.
To Deactivate an Account
1. To deactivate an account, highlight the account you would like to deactivate.
2. Right click on the account and select Deactivate from the right click menu.
The deactivated account will be moved to the lower portion of the Account window.
To reactivate an account, select it in the lower portion of the account window, right click
and select Activate
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Sub-Accounts
Sub-accounts are used to further categorize entries in the General Ledger. For example,
an account called “Loans” may have individual loans listed as sub-accounts. Subaccounts allow you to "roll-up" detailed account balances into a grand total or master
value.
In SuccessWare21, you WILL NOT use sub-accounts to post general ledger transaction
to individual departments, instead, each General Ledger posting has a department field
included in it. For more information see the Department section.

DO NOT add sub-accounts to any account number that is a default account
(an account the system will post to automatically).

DO NOT add sub-accounts to an account that has a balance. Zero out the
balance prior to adding the sub-account. Once an account has been assigned
sub-accounts, the master account will no longer accept direct posting, a subaccount must be selected every time the account is used.
1. In the SUB-ACCOUNTS tab of the GENERAL LEDGER SETUP, select the ACCOUNT
CLASS that contains the account you want to add a sub-account to.
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2. Highlight that account.
3. Click on the New Subaccount button located at the top right side of the form, or
right-click and select New Sub-Account from the drop-down menu.
4. Enter the ID to use for the SUB ACCOUNT and the DESCRIPTION. The ID can be
letters and/or numbers.
5. Click Save to save the sub-account.
To change or delete sub-accounts, highlight the appropriate account and right-click to
select Edit Sub-Account or Delete Sub-Account. There is also a Deactivate option which
can be used to deactivate sub-accounts once they have been established.
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Default Accounts
Default accounts are accounts that the system will post to automatically when certain
transactions are processed. Default accounts are used to expedite data entry. For instance,
by telling SuccessWare21 in advance what accounts you will use for such entries as
Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and Cash, you eliminate the need to enter the
account information when making each transaction. As invoices are processed, the
system automatically posts to the appropriate accounts.
Click on the DEFAULT ACCOUNTS tab in the General Ledger SETUP and then click Start.
SuccessWare21 displays the list of default types in the DEFAULT TYPE window, including
the accounts that are selected for those defaults.
The right side of the form will list all account numbers that can be used for the
highlighted default type. A red arrow will precede the account that has been selected.
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Defining the Default Types
The following list defines the roll played by each of the default types included in the
Default Account Setup.
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
Accounts Payable
Trade- This default points to the account into which postings and adjustments
of AP Invoices, as well as adjustments and payments to a vendor account via
the Payables Manager or Vendor Account History will be made. This default
points to a liability account

Accounts Receivable
Trade- This default points to the account into which postings and
Adjustments of AR Invoices as well as adjustments and payments from
customers recorded via the Receivables Manager or Billing Account History
will be recorded. This default points to an asset account.

Agreement Deferred
Revenue- If you sell an agreement and indicate that you wish to Defer
Revenue, the amount that you defer at the time of activating the agreement as
well as the amount posted on future periodic invoices related to the agreement
will post to this default account. When visits are performed revenue will be
released from this account as current revenue (into the default account for
Agreement Revenue- Maint)

Agreement Reserve- If
you sell an agreement and indicate that you wish to hold Service Reserve, the
amount that you chose to reserve will be placed in the default account
associated with Agreement Reserve. Agreement Reserve is also reduced when
you charge against an Agreement. Increases and decreases of Agreement
Reserve are countered with entries to the default account for Agreement
Expense.

Warranty ReserveInstalls- If you add an in-house warranty to a piece of equipment you may
choose to set aside warranty reserve against that warranty. This default will be
associated with a liability account. This default will be charged against when
you charge items on an AR Invoice against the in-house warranty. Entries
against this account are countered with an entry to the default account
associated with Warranty Expense.

AR Invoice DiscountsThis account is posted to when you apply a discount to an Account Receivable
invoice using the Set Discount button at the bottom of the AR Invoice form

Agreement Expense
Excess- This default is used to identify the account you wish to post against
when charges against an Agreement are in excess of the amount set aside in
Agreement Reserve. This default points to a Direct Cost account. You may
choose to point this default to the same account used for Agreement Expense.
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
Agreement ExpenseThis default is used to identify increases and decreases in agreement related
expense associated with additions to and subtractions from your Agreement
Reserve account. This default points to a Direct Cost account.

Agreement RevenueMaint- This Default is used when revenue is recognized related to
maintenance agreements. Entries are made in this account when payments are
taken against the agreement if deferred revenue is not being used, or when the
agreement visit is included on a posted AR invoice if deferred revenue is
being used. This default account points to a Sale account.

Agreement RevenueService- This default identifies the account into which you will post
agreement revenue related to the service portion of an agreement. This
account points to a Sale account

Finance ChargeFinance charges posted from Accounts Receivable will be posted against this
Default Account.

Inventory- If you have
activated inventory, this account will be used to maintain the asset value of the
stock in your warehouses.

Inventory Adjustment
Overflow- This default is used to identify the account into which balances
will be posted related to Overflow inventory adjustment. You need to make a
value change to a quantity of inventory items, but don’t have that full quantity
available on hand in inventory. In this case the available items will have their
average cost value changed, but the remaining adjustment amount will be
posted to Inventory Adjustment Overflow.

Payables Discounts
Taken- If you apply discountable terms when paying an Accounts Payable
invoice, the amount of the discount will be posted to the default account you
associate with Payables Discounts Taken.

Payables Pending- This
account will be posted to when you post a receipt which contains “valued”
inventory items. It will be countered with a posting to your default Inventory
account. Once the associated AP Invoice is posted, the amount will be
removed from Pending Payables and moved to the default AP Account.

Payroll- Accrued- This
default is used to identify the account where total payroll liability will accrue
once the payroll period is posted. This account will be cleared when payroll is
reconciled. This default is only used if Payroll has been activated.
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
Payroll- Burden
Applied- This default will define the account into which Estimated Labor
Burden will be posted at the time that the payroll period is posted. This default
is only used if Payroll has been activated and you select to post labor burden
to the default ELB account when setting up payroll. This default type points to
a Direct Cost account.

Payroll- Est. Labor
Burden- This default is used to identify the account into which, at the time
that the payroll period is reconciled, the system will post (credit) the total
Estimated Labor. This account is only used if Payroll has been activated and
you have selected post labor burden to G/L as indicated by pay items during
payroll setup. This default type points to an Operating Expense account.

Retainage PayablesThis default identifies where retainage withheld on a posted AP invoice will
be accumulated. This account points to a liability account.

Retainage ReceivablesThis default identifies where retainage withheld on a posted AR invoice will
be accumulated. This account points to an Asset (Receivables) account.

Retained Earnings- This
default identifies the account into which the system will record retained
earnings when a Fiscal Year ends. Retained Earnings are calculated when the
first period of the next fiscal year is compiled.

Returns and
Allowances- This default type is used to identify the account which will be
used when the Adjustment Code “Customer Refunds” is used.

Sales Tax- Sales tax
associated with a line item on an Accounts Receivable invoice is posted to this
account. This default points to a liability account.

Warranty Expense
Excess- Installs- This default is used to identify the account in which
expenses beyond the amount previously set aside for Warranty Reserve will
be posted. You may choose to point this default to the same account used for
Warranty Expense- Installs.

Warranty ExpenseInstalls- This default is used to identify the account in which expenses related
to an in-house warranty will be posted. The default points to a Direct Cost
account. Entries are made to the account when Warranty Reserve is posted or
charges are made against the warranty on an AR Invoice. Entries to this
default are countered with an entry to the account associated with the Default
type Agreement Reserve.
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Changing a Default Account
1. On the Default Account Tab of General Ledger Setup, highlight the default type
you want to change.
2. In the right panel of the form, double-click on the account you want to set as the
default account.
3. The red arrow moves to the newly selected account and the default type will now
include the new account number in parenthesis.
NOTE: It is important that the correct default account has been selected prior to
posting transactions. Once an account carries a balance, it cannot be changed. If
you must make a change to the default once the currently selected account has a
balance, you must, using a journal entry bring the account's balance to zero, then
change the default. Now you must, via journal entry move the original default
accounts balance to the newly selected account.
How Does SuccessWare21 Departmentalize?
Unlike some other accounting software packages, SuccessWare21 DOES NOT use subaccounts to departmentalize income and expenses. Instead, each transaction that posts to
an account in the general ledger contains a debit or a credit as well as a department
number that indicates what department the entry is associated with. This amounts to an
additional column being added to a general ledger account. Instead of just a "Debit" and
"Credit" column, there is also a "Department" column.
Each entry that is made to an account on the income statement must have department
number that identifies which department is responsible for the income or expense.
Each entry that posts to the balance sheet will automatically post to the default
"Administrative" department (department number "00"). This is because the balance
sheet in SuccessWare21 is not departmentalized. The Administrative department is set up
in SuccessWare21 by default and cannot be changed or deleted.
For Example, an Accounts Receivable invoice that is posted which includes a $150 sale
of a repair performed by the Residential Service department (Department 20 in my
example) would result in the following general ledger transaction:
General
Ledger
Account
Department
Debits
1101 (AR)
00
(Administrative)
150
3005 (SalesRepair)
20 (Residential
Service)
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Credits
150
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General Ledger Setup
This method of departmentalization allows for financial reports, such as the Income
Statement to be run separately by department by merely "filtering" the Department
column for occurrence of postings related to a particular department when running the
report.
Departments
SuccessWare21 allows you to use departments to create separate profit and loss
statements for each cost center. All transactions that post to the General Ledger, whether
payables, receivables, or inventory transactions, must have a department assigned to
them.
Use departments to split income and expenses for reporting purposes. A good way to
determine if a group or type of work should be considered a department is to ask if it
could be considered a profit center. Typically, a department is a “profit center” if you are
going to want to print a separate Income Statement for it.
Each transaction that is posted to an account on the income statement must reference a
department (or departments if you are splitting an expense). The Balance sheet is not
departmentalized in SuccessWare21, rather all transactions that post to asset, liability or
equity accounts are posted to the default Administrative department, which is represented
by code 00.
SuccessWare21 comes installed with a standard list of departments. As with establishing
your Chart of Accounts, compare your list of departments to the standard list included in
SuccessWare21. You will then:

Delete departments,

Deactivate Departments

Change department descriptions, and/or

Add departments.
NOTE: If there is an area of your company for which you need to track specific
General Ledger posting it needs to be created as a department.
Deleting a Department
If there are departments listed in the default department list that you do not need, they can
be deleted. Departments, like accounts cannot be deleted if they have posted general
ledger history associated with them. If you no longer need a department that has past
history you can deactivate the department instead
To Delete a Department.
1. Click on the DEPARTMENT tab in the General Ledger section of QUICK START, or
go to Setup in the Main Menu, select General Ledger and then click on the
DEPARTMENT Tab.
2. Click Start to open the DEPARTMENT SETUP window.
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3. Highlight the department.
4. Right-click and select Delete Department.
5. Confirm the deletion.
NOTE: You cannot remove department 00 – Administrative. The system uses 00
as the default department for balance sheet accounts.
Deactivating a Department
Just as with general ledger accounts, if a department has been involved in posted
financial transactions, the department can not be deleted. IF you no longer plan to use a
department and cannot or do not wish to delete the department, you can choose to
deactivate the department instead. A deactivated department can still be included in
reports, but is not available for new posted transactions.
To Deactivate or Reactivate a Department
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General Ledger Setup
1. Click on the DEPARTMENT tab in the General Ledger section of QUICK START, or
go to Setup in the Main Menu, select General Ledger and then click on the
DEPARTMENT Tab.
2. Right click on the Department that you want to deactivate and choose Deactivate
or select the account and select the Deactivate button near the bottom of the
department list. The department will be moved into the Inactive Departments list
at the bottom of the window.
To reactivate a department either right click on it in the INACTIVE DEPARTMENT list and
select Activate or select the department that you want to reactivate and click the Activate
button.
Changing or Editing a Department Description
If you want to simply change the name of an existing department you may choose to edit.
1. Click on the DEPARTMENT tab in the General Ledger section of QUICK START, or
go to Setup in the Main Menu, select General Ledger and then click on the
DEPARTMENT Tab.
2. To change the description of a department, right-click on the department and
select Edit Department.
3. Enter the new description and click Save.
Adding a New Department
New departments added to SuccessWare21 consist of a Department Code and a
Description. The Department code must be two characters and can be any combinations
of letters and numbers.
1. Click on the DEPARTMENT tab in the General Ledger section of QUICK START, or
go to Setup in the Main Menu, select General Ledger and then click on the
DEPARTMENT Tab.
2. To add a department, click New Department or right-click anywhere in the
DEPARTMENT window and select New Department.
3. Enter a 2-digit department number or letters and a description.
4. Click Save.
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General Ledger Setup
General Ledger Setup Key Items to Remember

The first step in setting up the General Ledger is to establish your Chart of
Accounts.

Each account type has categories of accounts.

Sub-accounts are used to further categorize entries in the General Ledger.

You do not need to set up sub-accounts in order for General Ledger
transactions to post to individual departments.

Default accounts are accounts that SuccessWare21 will post to automatically
when certain transactions are processed.

SuccessWare21 allows you to use departments to create separate profit and
loss statements for each cost center.
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General Ledger Setup
FISCAL PERIODS
Before you can start using the accounting modules you need to set-up the financial
periods and activation dates.
Financial periods are nothing more than your fiscal year and the number of periods your
fiscal year is comprised of. Generally, a fiscal year will be divided into 12 periods (one
for each month). Activation dates will be covered in the next lesson.
Creating a Fiscal Period
1. Go to General Ledger Setup either by going to the Main Menu, choosing Setup
and selecting General Ledger Setup or by going through Quick Start.
2. From the PERIODS/ACTIVATION tab of GENERAL LEDGER SETUP, click on the New
Year button located at the bottom of the form.
3. Enter the description you wish to use for the fiscal year and the number of periods
it will consist of. The number of periods can be 12 or 13.
4. Select the first date of the fiscal year on the calendar that is displayed. Use the
arrow buttons located on either side of the month and year to move to the correct
month.
5. Click Save.
6. The system will display all fiscal periods for the year in the panel on the right side
of the form. All periods will be marked as Inactive.
Changing the End Date of a Period
If your fiscal periods have different ending dates you may edit the ending dates of each
period. For instance, if your fiscal periods end on the last Friday of each month rather
than the last day of the month, you will change the ending date to the actual date of the
last Friday.
1. Highlight the period and right-click to select Modify End Date.
2. Select the actual date from the calendar that is displayed. The system will
automatically change the starting date of the next period.
3. Continue to change the end date of each month until all periods are correct.
Adding Another Fiscal Year
1. In the PERIOD/YEARS tab of the GENERAL LEDGER SETUP, Click the New Year
button located at the bottom of the form.
2. Enter the description you wish to use for the new year.
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3. Select whether the year you are adding should be PREVIOUS to the existing year or
a FUTURE year. The NO OF PERIODS will default based on the existing fiscal year.
4. Click Save. The system will create the next or previous year based on the
existing fiscal year.
NOTE: If you are entering beginning balances as of January 1, you must add the
prior year as well as the current year. When entering beginning balances for the
General Ledger, the system will date the transactions 12/31 (ending balances) so
they will post forward as beginning balances.
Opening a Fiscal Period
A fiscal period must be opened in order for you to post transactions with the period.
1. Click on the
icon and in the Main Menu click Setup.
2. Click on the General Ledger button at the right of the window.
3. Choose the PERIOD/YEARS tab.
4. Select the fiscal year that contains the period you want to open.
5. Right-click on the earliest period you wish to open and select Update Period
Status.
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General Ledger Setup
6. From the Period Status drop-down list, choose Open and click Save.
7. The selected period, as well as all of the following periods in the fiscal year, will
be marked as active.
Fiscal Periods Key Items to Remember

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Before you can use the accounting function you must establish your financial
periods and activation dates.
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General Ledger Setup
GENERAL LEDGER ACTIVATION
Activating the General Ledger
The activation dates are when you will begin posting transactions to the General Ledger.
The General Ledger can be activated without activating the Accounts Receivable and
Accounts Payable modules, however, if the other modules are not activated, you will
have to use journal entries to update the General Ledger.
The General Ledger is activated on the Financial tab of Company Setup or through Quick
Start.
We recommend that Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable be activated at the same
time as the General Ledger. This will update the General Ledger as A/R and A/P invoice
payments are processed. This way journal entry will not be required.

If you are unsure of the date you wish to use for activation, leave those fields
blank. You can enter data, including posting invoices and payments, to record
history without posting to the General Ledger. Once there is a date in the
activation field, you can only post items dated after the activation date.

Once you have decided on an activation date, make sure you do not enter data
dated after that date until you have established the activation date in
SuccessWare21. For instance, if you decide to make February 1st your
activation date, but do not enter it as such in the activation fields, and then
later add transactions for February 1st and 2nd, the system will not allow you
to use February 1 as your activation date. It will assign the first date that there
was no activity as the activation date, in this case February 3rd.

You do not have to enter beginning balances in order to have an activation
date. If you wish to start posting live on February 1, but do not have ending
balances for January yet, go ahead and enter February 1 as the activation date
and start processing live. You can enter your General Ledger, Accounts
Receivable, and Accounts Payable starting balances after starting live
processing.
1. Establish activation dates by using the mouse or spacebar to mark the check boxes
to the left of each module. This will activate the corresponding field and allow
you to enter an activation date.
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General Ledger Setup
2. Enter your activation date and click Save.
SuccessWare21 will change the period status on the first active period (and all following
periods) from inactive to open, provided you have not opened the period already.
General Ledger Activation Key Items to Remember
32

The General Ledger can be activated without activating the Accounts
Receivable and Accounts Payable modules, however, if the other modules are
not activated you will have to use journal entries to update the General
Ledger. While it is not required, we suggest that the Accounts Receivable and
Accounts Payable be activated at the same time as the General Ledger.

You do not have to enter beginning balances in order to have an activation
date.

Once you have decided on an activation date, make sure you do not enter data
dated after that date until you have established the activation date in
SuccessWare21.
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General Ledger Setup
EXPENSE GROUPS
Expense Groups are reporting tools that allow you to separate your operating expenses
into groups that will contain subtotals.
Expense Groups are used to define how you group operating expenses on your Income
Statement Report (profit & loss statement).
By default, the system will report income, direct costs, and operating expenses in separate
sections of the report. If you wish to group the operating expenses by Expense Type, you
can define that here. For instance, you may have groups for advertising, employee
related concerns, plant & equipment expenses, etc.
There are two rules for setting up Expense Groups:

All of the accounts in a group must fall in consecutive numeric order in the
Chart of Accounts, and

If any of your operating expense accounts belong to a group, ALL of the
remaining accounts must belong to a group as well.
Defining Expense Groups
1. Enter the Number of Groups that you wish to define.
2. Press Insert, or right-click and select New Group, and enter the first group’s
description.
3. Press Insert again to add the next group description and repeat until all groups
have been defined.
4. Once all groups have been defined, highlight the first group in the panel on the
right.
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General Ledger Setup
5. Use the mouse to select the accounts that belong to that group. You can click on
the first account and drag the mouse to the last account in the group, or click on
the first account then hold down the Shift key while you click on the last account
in the group, to highlight all accounts.
6. Click on the Add to group button located in the middle of the form.
7. Highlight the next group listed in the panel on the right and mark all accounts that
belong to that group. Click Add to group.
8. Continue until all accounts have been added to the appropriate groups.
9. Click Save.
Expense Groups Key Items to Remember

Expense groups are used to define how you group operating expenses on your
income (profit & loss) statement.

All of the accounts in a group must fall in consecutive numeric order in the
Chart of Accounts

If any of your operating expense accounts belong to a group, ALL of the
remaining accounts must belong to that group as well.
OPENING BALANCES
The last major step to setting up the General Ledger in SuccessWare21 is the entry of
opening balances. Opening balances are really your closing balances on the last day you
are using your old financial software. Those numbers are then brought into
SuccessWare21 as the starting numbers where they are then added and subtracted from as
you begin processing financials in SuccessWare21.
Opening balances do not have to be entered before you begin your actual General Ledger
processing, as you often will not have them for a couple of weeks after your GL
activation date, but they must be entered before you can begin to perform any financial
reporting out of SuccessWare21.
Opening balances cannot be entered until the General Ledger has been activated.
Opening balance entries will be dated automatically, the date that immediately precedes
your General Ledger Activation date.
Entering Opening Balances
Opening balances are entered through the Quick Start screen.
1. Press New
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2. From the Account field press the down arrow key to select the account for which
you are entering a balance (If the chosen account has sub accounts, you will be
prompted to choose a sub account).
3. Tab to the Department field and enter the department
4. Tab to the Debit or Credit field and type the account’s credit or debit balance.
5. Press the Save button to save the entry.
6. Press New to add another opening balance
7. Continue to add all balances for your accounts
NOTE: At any time, you can review a list of the accounts you have entered, as
well as a total of all debits and credits, by pressing the review button. In order for
you to post your opening balances to the General Ledger, debits and credits must
balance to zero.
8. Once all of your balances have been entered and reviewed, press the Post button
to post them to the General Ledger.
9. Press the Finalize button to lock the balances from being changed.
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General Ledger Setup
AR Beginning Balances
When entering you General Ledger Opening balances you will enter a total outstanding
Accounts Receivable balance. After entering the total outstanding AR balance you will
need to enter your individual Accounts Receivable beginning balances. This will be an
individual listing of all of the outstanding items owed to you by your customers.
Once all of the outstanding items have been entered and posted you will Finalize the list.
The list of outstanding Receivable items cannot be finalized unless the total of the
outstanding items equals the Accounts Receivable opening balance that you have entered.
Once the outstanding items have been entered, they will be available to process like any
other open Receivables item on customers billing account.
Receivables beginning balances are entered through the SuccessWare21 Quick Start
utility, which will guide you through the necessary setup steps.
1. Click the 21 Icon
to open the Main Menu
2. Select the Setup button
3. Click Quick Start
4. Click the Receivables button and select the Customers Balances tab
5. Select Start, then New to enter the first billing customer.
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6. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter the information. If the customer you
enter is already in the system, it will display in the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS panel
located at the top right corner of the window. To avoid entering duplicate billing
accounts, be sure to watch the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS display. When complete,
select Save.
Note: To search for an existing billing account, enter part of the acount information (such
as ID or name) and press Tab. The results will display in the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS
panel. To search through all Billing Accounts, delete the system-assigned ID number,
and press Tab to search.
7. Select Add Inv to add the first outstanding invoice for the Billing Account. The
invoice date MUST be prior to the activation date.
8. After posting the first invoice, select Add Inv to add another invoice for the same
customer, or New to add (or select) the next billing account.
9. Complete the steps until all billing accounts and invoices have been entered.
10. Use the Show Invoices button to review the invoices that have been entered for
the current Billing Account, and Show All Invoices to review the invoices that
have been entered for all Billing Accounts.
11. If an invoice was entered incorrectly, highlight the invoice in one of the SHOW
INVOICE display grids, and right-click to delete it. Re-enter the invoice correctly.
12. When all Billing Accounts and invoices have been entered, select Summary to
preview and/or print a list of the information that was entered. Verify that all
invoices and accounts are correct AND that the total is the same as the Accounts
Receivable balance in General Ledger.
13. Once all data is correct, select Finalize to post the starting balances. Once you
have Finalized the balances, you will not be able to use Quick Start to enter
outstanding invoices.
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General Ledger Setup
AP Beginning Balances
When entering you General Ledger Opening balances you will enter a total outstanding
Accounts Payable balance. After entering the total outstanding AP balance you will need
to enter your individual Accounts Payable beginning balances. This will be an individual
listing of all of the outstanding items you owe to your vendors.
Once all of the outstanding items have been entered and posted you will Finalize the list.
The list of outstanding Payables items cannot be finalized unless the total of the
outstanding items equals the Accounts Payable opening balance that you have entered.
Once the outstanding items have been entered, they will be available to process like any
other open payables item on vendors account.
Vendor beginning balances are entered through the SuccessWare21 Quick Start utility,
which will guide you through the necessary setup steps.
1. Click the 21 Icon
to open the Main Menu
2. Select the Setup button
3. Click Quick Start
4. Click the Payables button and select the Vendor Balances tab
5. Select Start, then New to enter the first vendor.
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6. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter the information. If the vendor you
enter is already in the system, it will display in the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS panel
located at the top right corner of the window. To avoid entering duplicate
vendors, be sure to watch the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS display. When complete,
select Save.
Note: To search for an existing vendor, enter part of the vendor information (such as ID
or name), and press Tab. The results will display in the AUTO SEARCH RESULTS panel.
To search through all vendors, delete the system-assigned ID number, and press Tab to
search.
7. Select Add Inv to add the first outstanding invoice for the vendor. The invoice
date MUST be prior to the activation date.
8. After posting the first invoice, select Add Inv to add another invoice for the same
vendor, or New to add (or select) the next vendor.
9. Complete the steps until all vendors and invoices have been entered.
10. Use the Show Invoices button to review the invoices that have been entered for
the current vendor, and Show All Invoices to review the invoices that have been
entered for all vendors.
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General Ledger Setup
11. If an invoice was entered incorrectly, highlight the invoice in one of the SHOW
INVOICE display grids, and right-click to delete it. Re-enter the invoice correctly.
12. When all vendors and invoices have been entered, select Summary to preview
and/or print a list of the information that was entered. Verify that all invoices and
vendors are correct AND that the total is the same as the Accounts Payable
balance in General Ledger.
13. Once all data is correct, select Finalize to post the starting balances. Once you
have Finalized the balances, you will not be able to use Quick Start to enter
outstanding invoices.
Opening Balances Key Items to Remember

Opening Balances can be entered after you have begun to post to the General
Ledger.

To enter opening balances a period must be created before your General
Ledger activation date

In order to post your opening balances, all entered debits and credits must
balance out to zero.
SALE & EXPENSE TYPES
Two of the Reference Tables that must be set up in SuccessWare21 are the Sale Type and
Expense Type tables.
Sale Types identify the different types of things that you sell, such as labor, equipment,
parts, and flatrate service. Sale Types are then attached to items in your PriceBook that
could be included on an Accounts Receivable Invoice. Items that are included on AR
Invoices include tasks, parts and labor items as well as coupons and discounts. Therefore,
Sale Types are pointed to Income accounts in the General Ledger as well as Returns and
Allowances accounts.
Expense Types Identify the different types of things you have to pay for. These can be
either Expenses (direct cost or overhead) or can be related to outstanding liabilities such
as a loan. Expense Types are attached to items in your PriceBook that can be included on
AP Invoices, Inventory transactions and even Pay Items such as Commissions and
Hourly Wage items.
Sale and Expense Types in SuccessWare21 serve as "Pointers" to General Ledger
accounts. These pointers are used by SuccessWare21 to determine where to post the
General Ledger entry associated with each line item on a posted transaction.
When the PriceBook items are included in Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable
invoices, or inventory transactions, the appropriate debits and credits will automatically
be applied to the correct accounts based upon the Sales or Expense Type, at the time of
posting .
While the creation of Expense and Sale Types is not actually part of General Ledger setup, we highly recommend that you create them at this time.
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Creating Sale and Expense Types
1. Click on the
icon and in the Main Menu click Setup.
2. Click on the Reference Library button at the right of the window.
3. Click PriceBook in the VOLUMES column.
4. Choose either EXPENSE or SALE TYPES and click Open.
5. Right-click and choose Modify mode, or press Ctrl+Enter. This will open the
table in edit mode.
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6. Press Insert to add a new type.
7. Complete the following fields:
Field
Description
Expense Type/Sale
Type
This is the name you will give to the Expense or Sale
Type. This type name will then be used when
creating PriceBook items.
GL_Account
Enter the General Ledger account number that this
type will represent. You can create multiple types
that point to the same General Ledger account.
SubAccount
If the General Ledger account is a master account
(has sub-accounts), you must choose the sub-account
that the type will represent.
Department
If this type almost always posts to a particular
department you can add the department here. When
the type is used the department will then default, but
can be changed. If you do not include a department
you will be prompted to enter one each time an item
with the Sale or Expense Type is used.
Expense Type Desc.
This allows you to enter a more complete description
of the type.
IsJobCost (Expense
Type Only)
Items marked with an “x” will be listed on job
estimates when using project management.
IsActive
This field will be marked with an “x” by default. If an
item is not marked active, it will not be available to
assign to items created in the PriceBook.
8. Press Enter to save the new Expense or Sale Type.
9. Continue to add additional items, or click Close to leave edit mode.
Sale & Expense Types Key Items to Remember
42

Each item in your PriceBook will be assigned a Sale Type, and Expense Type,
or both.

Sale and expense types allow you to apply transactions to specific accounts
automatically.
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Adjustment Codes
Adjustment codes are drop-down lists used to identify the reason that a change is being
made to an operational balance in a module of SuccessWare21. These drops down lists of
reasons are associated with general ledger accounts. When you need to make a change to
a customer's balance or a vendor’s balance for example, that is not associated with a new
invoice or payment, an adjustment can be recorded. When making an adjustment you will
identify the amount of the adjustment and then choose an adjustment code which will
identify why you are making the change and what general ledger account will be affected
by the transaction.
There are six adjustment codes that are used in SuccessWare21

Accounts Receivable Adjustment Codes- These codes are used to make
adjustments to customer AR balances from within the customer Billing
Account History screen (F4).

Account Payable Adjustment Codes- These adjustment codes are used to
make adjustments to Vendor balances from within the Vendor Account
History screen (F4)

Cash Box or Check Book Adjustment Codes- These adjustment codes are
used within your register accounts to make adjustments to account balances.
Examples include Credit Card fees, bank fees, interest earned and finance
charges.

Inventory Adjustment Codes- These adjustment codes are used to make
changes to the asset value of your inventory to account for such things as
physical counts or product loss.

Receipt Distribution Codes- These adjustment codes are used when
recording Miscellaneous Cash Receipts from the Receivables Manger. They
represent the reasons miscellaneous cash is being received into the system.

Check Distribution Codes- These adjustment codes are used when recording
miscellaneous payments made from one of your register accounts.
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