Adding a General Ledger Account

In this article:

• Adding a GL Account
• Understanding Actionstep's Account Numbering

A general ledger is a comprehensive record of all the financial transactions of your business. It provides a complete picture of your firm's financial activities by recording debits and credits in various accounts, such as assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses.

All GL accounts must be set up initially as master accounts and can then be installed at a divisional level. 

Adding a GL Account

Before you begin:

• Make sure you are viewing the top-level division for your Actionstep system/account. To do this, click the Organization menu and choose Switch Division. 

To add a general ledger account:

1. In Actionstep, go to Accounting > Accounts > Account List. The Accounts List page appears.
2. Click the Display drop-down list in the group of filtering options and select Master Accounts.
3. Click the plus icon next to the header account where you want to add the new account. The Add Account window appears.
   
   For example, suppose you want to create a new income account called Administration Fees, which is an expense that you want to charge clients and then group the income in a single ledger account. You might consider creating this account in the Income group.
   
   
4. Provide the following details in the Account details section:
   • Structure: Select whether the account is a Header account or Child account. 
     TIP:  Select Header Account if you want to create child accounts under this header account.
   • Account number: Enter the account number for the account. To learn more about account numbering in Actionstep, see Understanding Actionstep's Account Numbering below. 
   • Account name: Enter a unique, easily identifiable name for the account.
   • Parent account: Choose the parent account that this child account will belong to. If you completed step 3 above, the new account will be selected automatically.
5. Provide the following details in the Financial details section:
   • Account type: Click the drop-down list and choose the correct account type. 
   • Tax code: Click the drop-down and choose the tax code associated with the account.
     NOTE: Financial reporting groups accounts by type, so it's important to group account types correctly. For example, don't include different account types under the same parent account. If you are unsure which Account type and Tax code to assign, contact your firm's accountant. Actionstep takes no responsibility for accounts that are set up incorrectly. 
6. Provide the following details in the Additional details section:
   • Cashflow section: Use these options to link through to the cashflow report.
   • Matter restriction: This option allows you to specify if the account should be linked to specific matters (for profitability analysis). This information is reported in the Exception report in Accounting.
7. In the Opt-in divisions section, select the divisions you want the account associated with.
   NOTE: This section applies only if you're working with multiple divisions. Each division can choose to use this GL account, which they can then assign a different name but no other details.
8. Click Save to save your changes. (You may need to refresh your browser to see the new account in the Accounts List.)

Understanding Actionstep's Account Numbering

Actionstep's default account numbering system consists follows the format N-NNNN where the N represents numerals. 

Organizations are encouraged to replace this numbering system with whatever numbering system their team might be used to. Should you choose to preserve the default numbering system it's helpful to understand how it is organized.

Numbering Explained

The first number indicates the account belongs to one of six account types:

1 = Assets

2 = Liabilities

3 = Equity

4 = Income

5 = Cost of Sales

6 = Expenses

The second and third numbers indicate the account sub-type:

1-11 = Bank Accounts and Other Current Assets

1-12 = Other Assets 

1-17 =  Accounts Receivable

1-21 =  Fixed Assets

1-40 =  Other Assets

2-12 =  Accounts Payable

2-11 =  Credit Card

2-13 =  Other Current Liabilities

2-90 =  Other Liabilities 

3-11 =  Equity 

4-11 =  Income

4-81 =  Other Income

5-13 =  Cost of Sales

6-10 =  Expense

6-90 =  Other Expense

6-60 =  Income Tax Expense

The fourth and fifth numbers are used for ordering and identifying specific accounts of a certain type and subtype.

Adding a New Account Number Using This System

To add a new account of an existing subtype, consider using the first through third numbers described above to denote the account/sub-account type, and then assign any unused forth and fifth numbers.

For example, if you want to create an administration fees child account under disbursements, you might assign an account number like 4-1250.

TIP:  When assigning the fourth and fifth numbers to the new accounts you're creating, you might consider using increments of 10 (e.g., 10, 20, 30), rather than using sequential numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3). This way, if you later add another child account that you want to appear in a specific place in the account list, you won't need to change all of the numbering—you can add it between the incrementally numbered accounts (e.g., account 4-1245 between 4-1240 and 4-1250).

Related Articles

• Editing a General Ledger Account
• Deleting or Archiving a General Ledger Account