Chapter 7. General Ledger; General Ledger Overview - Activant Dimensions Getting Started

Chapter 7. General Ledger

General Ledger Overview

This overview is divided into 3 sections to give you some background information
before you begin using the General Ledger:
Objectives for G/L
G/L Files
Flow of G/L Data
Objectives for G/L
The General Ledger is the central focus of your business. Everything you do in
the course of a business day--from sales to inventory receipts to Accounts Payable-
-is reflected in the financial statements of your business. It indicates how well the
sales department is producing both sales and gross margin. It is also an indicator
of the efficiency of the organization.
In order for financial statements to be meaningful, they must be accurate.
General Ledger is similar to inventory in that if it is accurate only once a year (for
tax purposes), it has very limited value. You need to know on a monthly basis at
least or daily basis at most how the company is doing. The Dimensions G/L
system can help keep up with these demands.
The major tasks to getting G/L started are deciding on the chart of accounts to use
and refining it, adding beginning balances, and printing financial statements.
Each task breaks down into smaller projects. Following is an outline of the tasks.
You will find more detailed instructions later in the section "Getting G/L Started."
1 DECIDING ON THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS
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Helps you understand the objectives of the General
Ledger module and the tasks necessary for accomplishing
those objectives.
Shows you the files used in the G/L module and what
information is stored in each.
Illustrates the flow of data into the G/L module and what
happens to it once there.
Obtain accurate financial statements on a monthly basis.
1 Determine how sales and cost of sales will be posted to the G/L.
2 Review the standard chart of accounts and decide whether to use it or
to design a custom chart of accounts. If you decide not to use the
standard chart of accounts, you must schedule time with an
Implementation Specialist or support rep for additional training.
3 Make minor refinements to the standard chart of accounts by
changing descriptions.
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