M4 Advanced General Ledger. User Guide

Transcription

1 M4 Advanced General Ledger User Guide Version 8.47 Last Updated: October 2010

2 Table of Contents Overview 4 Benefits of Advanced General Ledger 4 Key Concepts 4 Sample Data 5 Example Company 5 Account Framework and Best Practice Notes 6 Installation and Setup 8 User Access Control 8 Installation 8 Create / Upgrade Tables 9 AGL Registration 10 Setting User Access 11 Upgrade/Uninstall 14 Manually Removal 15 About Account Format Setup 16 Description Setup 17 Creating Full Descriptions for the first time 17 Segment Setup 20 View Segments 20 Account Segment Category 21 Export Utility 22 Manual Creation or Using Template 22 Deleting All Segments 24 Update Segment Tables 25 Budgets 25 Budget Setup 26 Budget Maintenance 26 Segment Budget v Actual 27 Attributes 28 Attributes Label Setup 28 Approvals 29 Approver Maintenance 30 Chart of Accounts Setup 31 Chart of Accounts Creation Important Points 31 Create Accounts Ad-hoc 31 Page 2 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

3 Account Creation using Rules 32 Create Accounts from Group 34 Copy Group 35 Exclude 36 Final Step - Update Accounts Categories to GP 36 Reviewing the Chart of Accounts 37 Segment Lookup 37 Installing onto an Existing Company 38 Updating Full Descriptions 39 Amending or Updating Segments 39 Amending an Existing Chart of Accounts 39 Adding New Accounts to an Existing Chart 39 View Newly Created Accounts 40 Import Accounts 41 Increasing your Full Account length 42 Intercompany Accounts 43 Contact 44 Page 3 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

4 Overview Benefits of Advanced General Ledger M4 Systems Advanced General Ledger enables complex multisegmented charts of accounts to be created very quickly and easily - dramatically reducing the time as compared to using a tool such as excel for the same job. Also it enhances the GL code lookup throughout the system to enable complex multi-segment codes to be looked up in seconds very easily - enabling documents to be easily coded in a multi-faceted way. Advanced GL makes it practical to store multi-dimensional analysis for any or all transactions within the general ledger. Providing a coherent, structured, periodically summarised, data-warehouse for your financial information - which is very easy to report on, in summary or in detail and to compare with prior periods or unlimited budgets or forecasts using reporting tools such as Frx or Vision. Advanced GL can be used to quickly create an ideal new chart of accounts from scratch or it can be used to improve an existing chart of accounts. For an existing chart of accounts you can use Advanced GL to increase the number of segments (without losing existing data or history) and to improve your full descriptions based upon your segment descriptions and to build the fast look-up tables from any existing segment descriptions you may have in the system. If you want to mix product and customer related analysis then we have a companion product called Advanced SOP GL defaulter, with this product you can automatically post such analysis from Sales Invoices i.e. with Zero coding effort into your General Ledger. Works with 2 9 segments New Powerful Feature Rules and Templates Improved security can be set on all areas Key Concepts M4 Advanced General Ledger has 3 sets of SQL Server tables which do not interfere with the standard operation of Great Plains in any way. Segment tables containing segment codes, short and long descriptions plus other miscellaneous details required by Great Plains. Preliminary Range tables Contains relevant segment range combinations that will be used to add to the chart of accounts and populate the standard Great Plains GL tables, these tables are cleared every time you update the chart of accounts ready for new combinations to be created. Page 4 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

5 Lookup tables these tables mirror the chart of accounts but they are used instead of Great Plains Tables to provide much faster lookups. When relevant segment combinations have been created using Advanced GL and the user has checked them, the user can update the Great Plains Account Master and Segment Master tables. For an existing company it is more complicated because initially the M4 tables have to be populated with data to reflect what is already in the Great Plains Account Master and Segment Master tables. M4 Advanced GL contains utilities to easily achieve this. Often in practice we find the Segment Master tables in Great Plains do not have any descriptions in or the description does not reflect what is in the Great Plains Account Master tables, using Advanced GL ensure that these two sets of tables with Great Plains are kept in synch enabling more reliable and consistent reporting. Once both sets of tables are in synch it is easy because Advanced General Ledger will automatically keep both sets of tables in synch provided new codes are added using Adv GL windows. The M4 tables do not in any way interfere with the normal operation of Great Plains since all they do is add extra functionality and look-up capability. Sample Data Example Company The sample company which ships with GP is not ideal for demonstrating AGL since it does not have a coherent GL Segment structure. AGL can be added to existing companies therefore it could be used to restructure the sample company and to add segments to it - for a proper assessment of AGL's capabilities however it is probably easier to create a new company from scratch, we have include some example data to make this process easier for you. The same principals should be used to set up a live company naturally this would then be using your own data and probably a different segment set-up. Example Files Provided M4 Example Segments.csv M4 IFRS Cats.csv For Company database to be configured Clear data on Segment and Account category files the use Table import to import from these files Use SQL Tools to run following queries to clear data delete GL00102 (required even for new database) Then set up table import to import from M4 IFRS Cats.csv Use SQL Tools to run following queries to clear data delete M4Seg1L (if new database not required) Page 5 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

6 Then set up table import to import from M4 Example Segments.csv. Account Framework and Best Practice Notes M4 AGL Example Group Wide - Chart of Accounts Structure Segment Short ID Name Code Code no Description mask characters Max length 1 Main Account XXXXX Cost / Profit Centre XXX Location XXX Product Group XXX Customer Sector XXX 2 7 Total Lengths Maximum Lengths Full Account Mask XXXXX-XXX-XXX-XXX-XXX General Chart of Accounts Notes 1 Separate Segments should only be used for unique identifiers across all nominal code. For example, a Project can have a unique code which is applicable to multiple types of Income and Expenditure. In contrast, for subanalysis of telephones, such as mobile call costs, it is much better to extend the main account by 1 or 2 characters then use this element of the code for sub-analysis, please do not use a separate segment Be consistent across companies with codes and structures, this will enable much easier cross-company reporting and consolidated group reporting. Use a consistent related company code within a separate segment to identify related company transactions. Use ranges of codes to group similar items this makes it much faster to create reports, leave gaps to enable new codes to be added. Always use AGL to create codes from segments, do not use, Account Maintenance to create codes - control access to this window to prevent users from creating strange non consistent codes and segments. From Segments the Long Description appears in FRx Management reports. AGL uses the short description to build the Full Account description by concatenation - this is used within GP for Audit Trails and Trial Balance Reports. Max length for Segment Long Description is 30, max for full Account Description is 50 - hence Segment Short Description lengths need to be controlled since they cannot add up to more than 50 including separator. Page 6 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

7 5 FRx is the main tool used for Financial Reporting - with FRx Reporting it is much easier and much more powerful to only link report definitions to segment codes, i.e. to ignore the full account codes. GP also has Category Codes but these are not really used by FRx, albeit they may be used by some reports generated from within GP. Segment Notes / Reasons 1 Main Account Traditional Nominal Code is used to identify types of Income and Expenditure. You can include within this code detailed sub-analysis, but keep similar types within the same range of code and leave gaps between ranges to enable new codes to be added. 2 Cost / Profit Centre This enables income and expense to be allocated accordingly and allows for reporting by group, such as departments, which may not naturally be deduced from ranges of Nominal Codes. 3 Location Allocate income and expenditure to regions = use SOP>GL Defaulter to relate to customer. 4 Product Group Tracks Profit Contribution by Product group - forces consistency with financial reporting > use advanced SOP>GL Defaulter to relate to Item card codes. 5 Customer Sector Tracks Profit Contribution by Customer type - forces consistency with Financial reporting > use advanced SOP>GL Defaulter to relate to Customer card codes. 6 Further Segment Options Such as Entity To identify transactions to or from legal entities, such as companies, sole traders, partnerships or agents. Especially useful for Inter-Company transactions within a Group. It allows much easier consolidation and eliminations of group transactions. It keeps similar types of entities within the same range of codes, e.g. Related Companies 100 to 300, Agents 500 to 600. Page 7 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

8 Installation and Setup Program is designed for Dynamics Great Plains version 8 For starting a brand new chart of accounts, go into Great Plains utilities and create a new blank company. For installing onto an Existing Company see link Existing Company For Amending an Existing Chart of Accounts refer to Amending User Access Control The installer is designed to be run as user with administrator s rights. If UAC is enabled on the Windows Server 2008 server, Windows 7 or on Vista, admin approval message will appear. For non-admin users installer will prompt for Administrator password: For Windows 7 if UAC is not on, warning message will appear for user without administrator s rights: Installation Note: Installer file needs to be placed locally on computer running GP (i.e. cannot run from network shared location). Note: If using OS with User Access Control, click on allow. Double click Advanced General Ledger exe file to start the installer wizzard. Page 8 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

9 Click on Next, check GP installation folder, select Install to begin the installation. Click on Finish. Create / Upgrade Tables 1. Launch Dynamics GP and select Yes to include new code. 2. Log in as sa and select any company. 3. Once logged into Dynamics GP, the Create/Upgrade Tables Window will appear. 4. Select the companies you wish to install this product for and click on process. Click on the Tick box on the Select column to select all companies at once. 5. When the process finishes, you will see the message Finished successfully on the Create/Upgrade Tables screen (shown below). Note: If you are upgrading AGL to a newer version, please notice the Product Version and Build fields will be set to the new release version. 6. Close the window. Page 9 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

10 Close the window. AGL product can be found under GP Tools Menu: AGL Registration Refer to: Tools >> Advanced GL >> Registration Verify that correct version is displayed in the bottom of the screen should be Page 10 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

11 Enter the registration key to activate the product. Temporary keys are available for trialling a test installation. A permanent key must be purchased for use with any live systems. On the Registration window verify that the correct version has been installed, this can be seen on the Version No and Build No fields. For the purpose of this guide Version No should be 8.4 and Build No should be 7 (shown below). Note: If Upgrading AGL, the previous key entered will still be valid, however the registration key field on the above window will be empty. Should any issues arise regarding Registration keys or product version installed please contact our support helpdesk at the following e- mail support@m4systems.com or call Setting User Access 1. Security can be defined on user and on class level: (>>Setup>>System>>Security) or User Classes (>>Setup>>System>>User Classes) Select appropriate companies, Product: M4 Advanced General Ledger, Type: Windows: Series: Financial, Click on Select All and OK to set security. Page 11 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

12 Product: M4 Advanced General Ledger Type: Windows Series: Financial Click on Select All Product: M4 Advanced General Ledger Type: Windows Series: Purchasing Mark All. Next select Alternate GP Windows: Product: M4 Advanced General Ledger Type: Alternate Dynamics GP Windows Series: Financial Click on Select All and OK to set security. Page 12 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

13 If you prefer Advanced Security, expand by Dictionary: Forms >> Accounts Also for Intercompany Accounts select Advanced General Ledger Page 13 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

14 Advanced Security can be set on each AGL window separately, Selecting Advanced General Ledger Dictionary: Upgrade/Uninstall For upgrading from AGL previous versions follow these steps: Page 14 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

15 Use new installer file and select option: Start GP, accept new code. Proceed to Create/Upgrade Tables section. Important: For upgrading from old versions of AGL (8.01 for example) - M4GLACM table needs to be recreated manually, i.e. from the SQL Maintenance window. After recreating this table manually, go to Create/Upgrade tables window and run process again. If AGL product is upgraded, check inside previous Security and verify Access List. Manually Removal Make a copy of Dynamics.set file and then manually edit as follows: Remove lines: 3517 Advanced General Ledger :C:Program Files/Microsoft Dynamics/GP/ M43517.DIC :C:Program Files/Microsoft Dynamics/GP/ M43517F.DIC :C:Program Files/Microsoft Dynamics/GP/ M43517R.DIC Decrease the number of installed applications by one. Remove M43517.dic from GP directory Run installer and launch Dynamics GP and accept new code. Page 15 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

16 About Account Format Setup To create a format appropriate to the sample data, enter details as per screenshot below otherwise setup in accordance with the structure you wish to create, we recommend using Segment 1 for your main Nominal or Account Code, use other segments for all dimensions by which you will wish to create reports such as division, cost centre, location, product group etc. We do not recommend using a separate segment for sub-account type of analysis for this we recommend that you lengthen your main account segment by 1 or 2 characters and then use these last characters to provide this analysis. For example if your main account was 3 characters long and telecoms charges was nominal code 410 you could extend it to 4 characters and then make: 4101 Tel Land 4102 Tel Mobile 4103 Tel Fax 4104 Tel Data Instead of 410 Telecoms To access Account Format Setup Window use: Tools >>Setup>>Company>>Account Format For the demo sample data - Account Format is displayed below: With a reporting tool such as Frx it is very easy to summarise several codes within a range into a single report line getting the detailed analysis when required, would be more difficult if it had to come from a separate segment. To add segments to an existing company you will also need to go here to add description and code lengths. Page 16 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

17 Description Setup As shown in the screenshot below Account Descriptions can be set via: Tools >>Advanced GL >> Description Setup>> Description Setup Creating Full Descriptions for the first time In Great Plains every full account code must have a description with a maximum length of 50 characters. Most financial reporting (such as from Frx) is linked to the segment code and segment description not the full code or full description. Therefore the full description is not as important as the segment description but is used throughout Great Plains for example in audit trail reports. With Advanced GL it is possible to automatically create the full description by concatenating the short segment descriptions. Before doing this you need to setup how many characters are to be taken from each short segment description towards the full account description. Page 17 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

18 Description Lengths: This determines how many characters are taken from each segment description to create the full account description. Separator: can be entered in description setup instead of hard coding to / On the screenshot above, there is no separator, so the account description will look like: Please note that total may not exceed 46 and each segment description should not exceed 15. (For a 6 segment chart of accounts the total must not exceed 45 characters). User Description: Short, Long, Alternate Short or Alternate Long. Blank Desc Value: Default for Blank Description is added to description setup. n/a will be used by the code if the default is not set. BS Description: BS account override added to use only main segment description for full account description if ticked in description setup. If no value entered and option is ticked it will use the Long Desc (like on screen below) If the setup is different - BS accounts use Main segment description is ticked Page 18 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

19 Account Description will show: When changed, run Tools>>Advanced GL >>Description Setup>> Update GP Accounts Descriptions and Update Segment Descriptions AGL > GP to update GP tables based on Description setup option. This will re-create all of your Full Account Descriptions. Naturally before doing so, you should check that your short segment descriptions are all correct. Note 1: Code updated to prevent extra separators appearing if some segment descriptions are intentionally blank (desc1//desc3 will now be desc1/desc3). Note 2: Because of this restriction in the segment creation we have a short and long description. The long description is used for FRx and the short description (which should be abbreviated as much as possible) is concatenated into the long description. FRx reporting will use individual segment long descriptions. Dynamics GP will use the full description in reports such as journal audit trails. Page 19 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

20 Segment Setup AGL switches the emphasis of Dynamics GP towards individual segments instead of the full account, so before the chart of accounts can be created or extended, segment codes and descriptions must have been entered correctly. Segment data can be entered manually or imported; or for existing companies can be updated from the GL40200 table (data entered under >>Setup>>Financial>>Segment). View Segments As a first step, you need to Import segments into AGL Tools>>Advanced GL >>Segment Setup>>Update Segment Tables GP -> AGL To amend or delete segments that you have created or imported go to: Tools>>Advanced GL >>Segment Setup>> View Segments List of Existing Segments inside Test Company is similar the one on the next screen. On the top of each column sort button is provided. Find the segment you wish to amend or delete highlight it then click on select or delete. Page 20 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

21 Double click on segment or Select will open Segment Maintenance window: From Segment Maintenance Window: To display first, last, next or previous segment, use the Next/Previous buttons provided in the right down corner. On the same window, click on Attributes button: This will open segment attributes window, add attributes populate fields define inside Attributes Maintenance, click on Save. Account Segment Category Inside Segment Maintenance window, there is a lookup glass for Category use it when amending or creating segments: Important: While using Import / Export Excel functionality no other excel documents should be open. Page 21 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

22 Tip: Use Export functionality to Amend/Update COA. Export your current COA, update in Excel and then import it! Export Utility Use Export to see the full list of segments with all descriptions: Note: For a large number of segments, wait a while for Excel spreadsheet to populate with data. Now, easily update descriptions and import it back. Manual Creation or Using Template Tools>>Advanced GL >>Segment Setup>> Create Segments In Segment Position enter the segment Id corresponding to the segment ID in the Account Format window. Page 22 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

23 Enter the segment code under Segment. THIS MUST be the same number of characters as the length shown in the Account format window. Enter a short and long description. The maximum number of characters for your short description should correspond to the number of characters you have entered in description set-up for that segment. The long description must not exceed 30 characters but we recommend keeping to less than 15 for optimal FRx formatting. Alternative Short and Long Descriptions are added as a new feature in this version. They are also used inside Template (see the following text). For the Main Account Segment only you must also enter a Category, Posting Type and Typical balance. Create TEMPLATE will open an Excel file with defined columns. Use Excel functionality to create a range of accounts. Close and save the Excel file and click on Import: After importing, your results can be viewed by using the lookup button, then sorting with part of the segment code: Page 23 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

24 Note: If the import data is not correct, an M4 AGL Segment Import error report will be created, with an explanation such as: The user should open Import Excel file, correct line 6 (as in report example), and then import again. If there are no errors, Import Complete message will appear. Deleting All Segments Typically this option is only used with a new company when you want to start again. Tools>>Advanced GL >>Segment Setup>> Reset Segments Page 24 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

25 Important: DO NOT USE THIS OPTION unless you want to start again from scratch. Update Segment Tables If you have an existing company you should have entered segment descriptions under: Tools >>Setup>>Financial>>Segment In our experience descriptions are often missing so before extending or updating an existing chart of description you need to ensure that these are complete by carefully and systematically selecting each segment ID first, then the codes and descriptions for ALL Segments. After doing this, please Update AGL Segment Tables from GP Segment Tables. Go to: Tools >> Advanced GL >> Segment Setup >> Update Segment Tables GP > AGL This procedure will update AGL tables Long AND Short Segment description with the description held in the Dynamics GP Segment Master table (GL40200). Ensure that all segments have descriptions entered before running this procedure. Warning message window will ask to confirm: After import, check under Tools>>Setup>>Financial>>Segment or go to View Segments After doing this you may wish to go to manual segment creation (see manual creation) to abbreviate short descriptions before extending your chart of accounts. Budgets Under segment setup Budgets can be defined as extra descriptions on accounts: Page 25 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

26 Budget Setup Selecting Budgets, setup window is displayed, containing Budget ID (unique identifier) and Budget Name. Budget Maintenance Segment Budget Maintenance window is used for setting Segment Position and Segment ID for previously defined Budget ID. Then, define periods for the Budget ID including Budget Amount. Next, click on Save Period button to save. If the data is not correct, delete period button is provided. Page 26 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

27 Segment Budget v Actual Open the Segment Budget v Actual Inquiry window using Enquiry >> Financial >> Segment Budget v Actual Enter or select BudgetID Enter or select a Segment Code Choose Segment Position You can highlight a period and click the Actual link to open the Detail Inquiry window, where you can see all transactions in the period. Viewing Segment budgeted versus actual expenditures window is displayed below: Now you can analyze how closely your actual amounts match the budgeted amounts for the selected BudgetID. Page 27 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

28 Attributes For each segment it is possible to define additional fields of various types: string, date, pick list, number, and currency. This can be done through Attributes Label setup: Attributes Label Setup Use arrow next to Pick List to create Pick List values: Page 28 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

29 Close the Pick List Values window. When finished, click on save button in the top left-hand corner. When each segment is defined attributes can be added: Tools >> Advanced GL>> Segment Setup>> Segment Attributes Tip: Only previously defined Attributes can be added. Use setup to change / define attributes. Approvals Page 29 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

30 From the AGL select Approvals -a setup window to enable approvals will open: When enabled, approvers can be set up and approve groups. It approvals is enabled then groups cannot be used to create accounts unless they have been approved. For more information on the methods of using Approvals see Account Creation using Rules sections of this manual. Approver Maintenance User ID GP User ID with lookup. User Name automatically populated. Add add user to be Approver. Remove - remove user from Approvers. Page 30 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

31 Chart of Accounts Setup Note: Please first populate AGL table using path form the screen above! Chart of Accounts Creation Important Points Once you are happy that all segment codes plus short and long descriptions have been entered, you are ready to create the initial chart of accounts or extend an existing chart of accounts. AGL creates the relevant code combinations you want and holds them in its own range tables - when you are happy with these combinations you can click the import COA button and the Dynamics GP GL Account Master and Segment Master tables will be updated. Before updating the Dynamics GP tables the user should review the combination using the View COA button, or start again by clicking on the Reset COA button. Every time an import is completed these AGL range tables are cleared, this means that the range tables will only ever hold account codes that are ready to be added to the Dynamics GP tables thus preventing the re-import of codes that have already been added. Go to Create Charts of Accounts Window: Create Accounts Ad-hoc Use ad-hoc creation on-the-fly for just a few accounts or up to a 1000 accounts Tools>>Advanced GL >>COA Setup>> Create Accounts adhoc Page 31 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

32 For detailed explanation follow the link Adhoc Creation Account Creation using Rules You can create a chart of accounts by creating and applying rules (or a set of rules). Tools>>Advanced GL >>COA Setup>> Create COA from Rules Important: Selecting Relevant Account Combinations The screenshot above shows this deceptively simple looking, yet very powerful form which enables complex charts of accounts to be rapidly built within minutes (with the equivalent task in Excel taking literally weeks). Be aware that it can take several hours to create ALL 3 Million combinations, therefore be careful to ensure the use of the Rules window to include INC only relevant combinations. Build up your chart of accounts in logical slices so that only relevant combinations are created this will help ensure data accuracy since it will then be impossible to code transactions to a non relevant code. Page 32 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

33 On the screen above, user currently logged is not able to create accounts (Create Account from Group button is greyed out). Users with Approval right can Approve Group Rule. When the rule is approved account can be created. Click on Create Accounts from Rule and confirm. On the bottom of the screen information about newly created accounts is displayed. In this example we have attempted to create 36 accounts but they already exist, so no changes have been made. Now, the rule has been changed by choosing different segments. By running a rule again we have created 15 accounts. Page 33 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

34 Create Accounts from Group Use clear button to add another Rule to group: Click on Create Accounts from Group Page 34 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

35 As a result we have 42 accounts created. Copy Group You can copy a rule by saving an existing one as different name; this is very useful and powerful as it remembers the previous rule selections so you can then just change one of the ranges. Also a group of rules can be copied among companies. Page 35 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

36 Exclude You can also add in Exclude Rules within a rule Group by choosing Type INC or EXC When you have reviewed the rules saved to this group, simply click on create accounts from group Note: This may take several minutes depending how fast the PC is and how many codes are created. Test this before deploying you may want to create two demo companies, one where you have imported many combinations already so that you can effectively demo lookups and enter data for reporting - then a blank company just to show how easy it is to create a few ranges. Final Step - Update Accounts Categories to GP When the user is happy, one mouse click is all that is required to update the Dynamics GP Account Master and Segment Description Master tables. Update Accounts Categories AGL > GP Follow: Tools >> Advanced GL >> COA Setup >> Update Accounts Categories AGL > GP Warning message with explanation will appear: Page 36 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

37 Reviewing the Chart of Accounts To see the results go to: Cards >> Financial >> Account, lookup button next to Account. Use sort to filter by Account Description or by Account Number. As soon as all valid range combinations have been created, the chart of accounts can then be viewed and checked - any non-valid combinations can be deleted at this time. Segment Lookup Use lookup button next to Account Number/Description, this will open Segment Lookup window with filtering to narrow the search: Page 37 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

38 Each column can be sorted or filtered by entering a part of code or description. Installing onto an Existing Company First step is to check existing segment descriptions in the GL40200 and ensure they are ALL completed for ALL segments Tools >>Setup>>Financial>>Segment In our experience, descriptions are often missing so before extending or updating an existing chart of accounts you must check here that all description here are complete You must be very careful to ensure that you systematically select each segment ID first then select the codes and descriptions for ALL Segments. After doing this you need to update AGL Segment Tables from GP Segment Tables: Tools>>Advanced GL>>Segment Setup>>Update Segment Tables GP > AGL This procedure will update AGL tables Long AND Short Segment description with the description held in the Dynamics GP Segment Master table (GL40200). After doing this you may wish to go to manual segment creation (see above) to abbreviate short descriptions before extending your chart of accounts. Next step is to build the AGL Lookup tables: Tools>>Advanced GL>>COA Setup>> Populate AGL Lookup Tables Note: Please wait for the message that populate/repopulate is complete. Now all GP accounts data is inside the AGL tables it is now ready for review and amending. Page 38 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

39 Updating Full Descriptions If you have an existing company you may wish to rationalise and tidy up your full account descriptions based upon your segment descriptions. If you change any segment descriptions or if you are installing Advanced General Ledger into a company that already has a chart of accounts setup, you can use this function to update your whole chart of accounts full description. This full description is not that critical but it is used for Audit Trails for example in Great Plains, the segment descriptions are more important since they are used for code lookups and they should be used in FRx Reporting. The full description is derived by concatenating individual segment descriptions with a / separator. Since the maximum length is 50 characters the maximum characters used from each segment description is determined by setting up maximums in Full Description Setup Tools >>Advanced GL>>Description Setup>> Update GP Account Descriptions This will re-create all of your full account descriptions based upon your short segment descriptions. Naturally before doing this you should check that your short segment descriptions are all correct. Note: Please wait until the process is finished warning message: Update Completed should appear. Amending or Updating Segments The procedure is described inside previous chapter. Follow the links: View Segments Manual Creation or Using Template Amending an Existing Chart of Accounts Advanced GL gives you many options for amending or adding to an existing chart of accounts. You can simply add additional account code combinations quickly and easily in the same manner as a new chart of accounts: Adding New Accounts to an Existing Chart Tools> Advanced GL>>COA Setup There are two possible options. 1. If you need to create many accounts or to copy accounts from another company, we recommend Using Rules described previously inside this user guide. 2. If you need to create only several accounts use: Tools >>Advanced GL>>COA Setup>> Create Account adhoc Page 39 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

40 Inside Create Chart of Accounts Window, select range, click on Create Range: If Clear Fields after creating a range is selected, the screen will be empty just showing Accounts Created number. On the screen below Account Created field is now populated with number 24 new accounts are created. Be aware that this number can be large depending of the selected range. View Newly Created Accounts Before going to next step use View COA button to see accounts. Page 40 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

41 At this point, no accounts are created in GP. If needed, use delete button to delete account, and start over again. Import Accounts Click on import COA to import newly created accounts or use reset button to start again. The number of Imported Accounts will be displayed. Use clear button, to create more accounts. Page 41 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

42 Increasing your Full Account length You can do perform more radical changes such as increasing your Account Code length by adding additional segments. If you wish to add additional segments refer to Account Format setup above to first amend your Company Setup and then go to: Tools>> Advanced GL>>COA Setup>> Extend COA Add the first additional segment by entering the new segment position and the new segment value. We recommend using a value composed of zeroes. For example, if you wish to extend your chart of accounts from 9 characters (3 segments, each containing 3 characters) to 13 characters (4 segments) you would need to open Extend COA window and then enter Segment Position = 4 Value = This would then add an extra 0000 onto the end of all of your existing codes without affecting any history, and then you would go to: Setup>>Company>>Account Format Change the Account length and number of segments to 12 and 4 and then enter a description for your new segment. The ability to extend may be restricted by some parameters entered when your system was installed the absolute Maximum for Great Plains is a 66 Characters full Account Codes incorporating 10 segments. Page 42 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

43 Intercompany Accounts Intercompany Account Lookup is being added. Similar to GL Accounts, accounts can be sorted by account number (lookup glass is provided), or by account description. Also it is possible to use Defaults checkmark or Set Default. Page 43 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010

44 Contact M4 Systems Ltd Tredomen Business and Technology Centre Ystrad Mynach Hengoed CF82 7FN United Kingdom Support Tel: +44 (0) Main Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) web: Page 44 of 44 Version 8.47; Updated: October 2010