Chart of accounts and departments

Chart of accounts

Overview

During installation, Ajera also installs a predefined chart of accounts based on what you select as your type of firm:

  • Architectural
  • Engineering
  • Neither

Start with a predefined chart of accounts rather than starting from scratch.

The chart of accounts is a list of accounts grouped into assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses; it determines how account information appears in financial reports.

While setting up your chart of accounts, you select the following for each account:

  • Account group: You use account groups to summarize or subtotal information on reports for a group of accounts. For example, you want to subtotal all your cash accounts (Petty Cash, Checking, and Savings) on your financial reports. You create an account group called Cash and select it as the account group for the Petty Cash, Checking, and Savings accounts.
  • Account type: You use account types to group information on balance sheets and profit and loss statements by financial category (for example, Current Asset, Current Liability, Expense, and Income).

Follow a work plan

When installing Ajera, you select a chart of accounts targeting an architectural or an engineering firm or neither type of firm.

For the neither type, Ajera creates a chart of accounts with only the accounts required in > Setup > Company > Preferences. You can change the account descriptions and IDs.

  1. Make a list of your account numbers and descriptions.
  2. Review the predefined settings for the chart of accounts you selected during installation.
  3. Make changes to the chart of accounts so it works for your firm, as needed ( > Setup > Company > Financials > Chart of Accounts).
  4. Enter any additional accounts needed by your company.

Departments

Overview

If you select the Use Departments check box on the > Setup > Company > Preferences > General tab, you must set up your departments.

Note:

If you decide not to use departments, you can always choose to use them later.

Follow a work plan

  1. Make a list of your departments, including a description for each department that you want to print on reports.

Note:

If you decide to include direct personnel expense (DPE) and overhead in your project cost ( > Setup > Company > Preferences > Payroll tab > DPE % field and Overhead % field), you can specify different percentages by department.
  1. Enter your department information ( > Setup > Company > Financials > Departments). The first department automatically contains a description of Department. Change this description to reflect the name of one of your departments.
  2. Verify your information by clicking (Reports) and selecting Department List.

Learn the details

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Setting up departments