Using Optional Fields in General Ledger

Sage ERP Accpac Transaction Analysis and Optional Field Creator is a product that you purchase and activate separately for use with General Ledger and other Sage ERP Accpac programs.

You use General Ledger optional fields to:

• Customize your G/L accounts.

  Optional fields provide a convenient means of customizing your General Ledger system by letting you store an unlimited number of additional pieces of information with account records.

• Add custom information to be stored with transaction details.

  You use optional transaction fields to customize the information that is posted with General Ledger transaction details.

  General Ledger also retains optional field information for transactions created in other Sage ERP Accpac applications and sent to General Ledger, if the optional transaction fields in the application match those used in General Ledger. Note that optional transaction fields are maintained at the detail level. If you consolidate transactions, the optional transaction information is removed.

Before you can use optional fields in General Ledger, you must define optional fields for your Sage ERP Accpac system using the Optional Fields form in Common Services. (For more information about setting up optional fields in Common Services, see the System Manager help.)

You can then assign the optional fields to specific accounts, using the Accounts form.

General Ledger includes the optional transaction fields assigned to an account, and their default values, when you use the account in a transaction detail. You can edit or delete optional fields in transactions details in Journal Entry, whether the transactions are entered manually in Journal Entry or generated automatically in General Ledger (using Create Allocation Batch, Create Revaluation Batch, or Create Recurring Entries Batch) or in another Sage ERP Accpac subledger.

Note: If you consolidate posted transactions for which details were accumulated, any optional field information stored for the transactions is deleted.

Setting Up Optional Fields for Use in General Ledger

Once you have set up optional fields for your system, you use the G/L Optional Fields form to define the optional fields you will use to customize your chart of accounts and to store additional information with general ledger transaction details. You can define an unlimited number of optional fields for General Ledger, as long as you first set them up in Common Services for use in your system.

Note that while the G/L Optional Fields form is open, users cannot run other processes in General Ledger. Also, you can modify optional fields records only when all other users have left General Ledger, and all other General Ledger forms are closed.

Assigning Optional Fields to Accounts

When you have defined optional fields for use in General Ledger, you can assign the optional fields to particular accounts.

• You use the Optional Fields tab on the Accounts form to assign optional account fields. You can include optional account fields on your printed chart of accounts, and when you print the Chart of Accounts Detail - Long Form report, you can choose whether to include the optional account and transaction details fields (and their values) that are defined for each account. You can also use optional account fields as selection criteria when printing other types of reports.

• You use the Transaction Details Optional Fields tab on the Accounts form to assign optional transaction fields. If an account to which you have assigned optional transaction fields is used in a transaction detail, you can edit the optional field information for the detail.

Including Optional Fields in G/L Transactions

Journal Entry

If the account specified for a transaction detail uses optional transaction fields, you can use optional transaction fields for the detail.

Journal Entry accepts optional field information from transactions you create in Sage ERP Accpac subledgers provided they match the optional transaction fields specified for the account. (The information is transferred to General Ledger when you create a batch of general ledger transactions in a subledger.)

The Optional Fields check box on the Journal Entry detail grid and on the Journal Detail form shows whether the detail account uses optional transaction fields. (Note that the program sets this optional fields indicator. If no optional transaction fields are set up for the account, you cannot add them to the detail.)

If optional fields are used in the detail, you can add or delete optional fields.

When you post the journal entry, the program saves the optional field information. (Note that the Post To Account option for the account must be set to Detail to save the optional field information.)

Create Allocation Batch

The Optional Fields check box on the Create Allocation Batch form indicates whether your accounts use one or more optional transaction fields, and whether they are set up for automatic insertion in transactions.

Note that you cannot change the entry in the check box, but if the field is selected, you can edit the optional fields used with the transaction.

When you process the allocation, if the specified optional fields match the optional transaction fields defined for the accounts involved in the allocation, the optional field information will be included in the journal entry for the accounts.

Create Revaluation Batch

The Optional Fields column on the Create Revaluation Batch form indicates whether optional transaction details fields have been defined for either the exchange gain account or the exchange loss account for a selected revaluation code. If at least one optional transaction field is defined, Yes appears in the field.

You cannot change the entry for this field, but, if the Optional Fields indicator field shows Yes, you can add or delete optional fields for a revaluation batch.

Optional field information specified for the revaluation is included in the journal entry details generated for an account only if the optional fields in the revaluation match the optional transaction fields defined for the exchange gain or exchange loss accounts.

Recurring Entries (Setup Form)

On the Recurring Entries form, the Optional Fields check box indicates whether transaction optional fields are defined for the account used in a recurring entry detail.

If the Optional Fields field is set to Yes on the detail entry grid, or is selected on the detail entry form, you can use the Recurring Entry Optional Fields form to view or change the optional fields for the detail.

If you have Transaction Optional Fields security access, you can add or delete optional fields for the recurring entry. Note that you can add only transaction optional fields that are defined for the account.

Create Recurring Entries Batch

Recurring entries use the optional transaction details fields and values specified for the recurring entry code. You can edit the default fields and values in Journal Entry, as for any other journal entry.

Create Accounts

The Create Accounts Preview form lets you specify optional field information for the accounts to be created.

The program assigns to the new accounts the optional accounts fields and optional transaction details fields set for the "model" accounts using the segment specified in the Default Options From field.