Accounts List window

The Accounts List window allows you to set up and maintain the accounts that you use in your business.

This window contains a list of your accounts, displayed in a way that looks like file folder tabs. Each tab allows you to view a list of accounts for one of eight account classifications. To view the accounts assigned to a specific account classification, click on the relevant tab.

Header and detail accounts

Your accounts list consists of detail accounts (the accounts to which you allocate transactions) and header accounts. Header accounts group related detail accounts to help you organize your accounts list.

For example, you could group your telephone, electricity and gas expense accounts using a Utilities header account. This makes it easier for you to locate the utility expense accounts in the accounts list and to see your combined utility expenses.

Tab and Field Descriptions

All Accounts tab

All the accounts that appear in the other eight tabs are listed in this tab, in the same order, top to bottom, as the tabs appear, left to right.

Asset tab

Asset accounts track things a business owns, such as the money in a chequing account, computers and office buildings. Money owed to a business is also considered an asset.

Current assets can be converted into cash within a relatively short period of time (usually less than a year). Current assets include cash itself.

Fixed assets usually take more than a year to convert into cash. An office building can be considered a fixed asset.

Asset accounts are assigned the prefix 1, and normally have a debit balance.

Liability tab

Liability accounts track things a business owes, such as a working capital loan. Money owed by a business for purchases is also considered a liability.

Current liabilities are due within a relatively short period of time (usually less than a year).

Long-term liabilities usually aren’t due for more than a year.

Liability accounts are assigned the prefix 2, and normally have a credit balance.

Equity tab

Equity accounts track a company’s net worth. A company’s equity, also known as ‘owners’ equity’ or ‘capital’, is calculated by subtracting its liabilities from its assets. Some common equity accounts are current year earnings, retained earnings and shareholders’ equity.

Equity accounts are assigned the prefix 3, and normally have a credit balance.

Income tab

Income accounts, also known as ‘revenue accounts’, track the increase in equity from the sale of items or services.

Income accounts are assigned the prefix 4, and normally have a credit balance.

Cost of Sales tab

Cost of sales accounts track the amount paid to sell an item or service. The amounts tracked by cost of sales accounts are sometimes referred to as ‘cost of goods sold’ amounts.

Cost of sales amounts are subtracted from income amounts to determine gross profit.

Cost of sales accounts are assigned the prefix 5, and normally have a debit balance.

Expense tab

Expense accounts track the cost incurred when a business attempts to create income.

Expense accounts are assigned the prefix 6, and normally have a debit balance.

Other Income tab

Other income accounts track the income that isn’t directly related to a company’s operations, such as interest income.

Other income accounts are assigned the prefix 8, and normally have a credit balance.

Other Expense tab

Other expense accounts track the expenses that aren’t directly related to a company’s operations, such as loan interest and fines.

Other expense accounts are assigned the prefix 9, and normally have a debit balance.

Account Name column

This column displays the accounts in the category you selected at the top of the window. If you want to view more detail about a specific account, click the zoom arrow next to the account’s name.

There is a hierarchical structure to the list of names, with header accounts and details accounts appearing in bold above groups of detail accounts.

Type column

This column displays the type of each account in the list. The type is assigned to each account in the Profile view of the Edit Accounts window.

There are eight types you can assign to a header account, which correspond to the eight tabs in this window:

■

Asset

■

Liability

■

Equity

■

Income

■	Cost of sales

■

Expense

■	Other income

■	Other expense

For detail accounts, there are multiple types instead of the single asset type or liability type:

■	Asset Account Types:

■

Bank

■	Accounts Receivable

■	Other Current Asset

■	Fixed Asset

■	Other Asset

■	Liability Account Types:

■	Credit Card

■	Accounts Payable

■	Other Current Liability

■	Long Term Liability

■	Other Liability

Linked column

This column displays a checkmark next to each account in the list that’s linked to a transaction type. For example, an asset account may be linked to all sales that result in money owed to you; each time you enter a sale that’s not fully paid, the amount you’re owed will automatically be added to this account’s balance.

To view the types of transactions an account is linked to, click the zoom arrow next to the account’s name in the Account Name column. In the Profile view of the Edit Accounts window, the Linked Account for field describes what the account is linked to.

Balance column

This column displays the current balance of each account. For header accounts, the column displays the sum of all the detail accounts assigned to the header accounts.

For asset, liability or equity accounts, the amount shown here is the value of the account. For income, expense, cost of sales, other income or other expense accounts, the amount shown here is the total of all activity with the account since the beginning of the current fiscal year.

note : If you’re viewing the equity account named Current Year Earnings, the current balance displayed is your company’s year-to-date profit or loss amount.

 

Up

Click to move the selected account up one level.

Down

Click to move the selected account down one level.

Combine Accounts

For a variety of reasons, you may have two accounts that would be better treated as one account. Click Combine Accounts to open the Combine Accounts window, where you can combine one detail account with another.

Print

Click to print the Accounts List [Summary] report.

New

Click to open the Profile view of the Edit Accounts window, where you can create a new account.

Budgets

Click to open the Prepare Budgets window where you can create monthly budgets for all detail accounts.

Edit

Select an account in the list and click Edit to open the Profile view of the Edit Accounts window.

Close

Click to close this window.

Tips for this window

Related Topics

■	Set up accounts

■	Combining accounts

■	Enter account opening balances

■	Financial control