If you did NOT purchase the SchoolLeader Accounting Package or if you will NOT be using the SchoolLeader General Ledger, then you can bypass this chapter.
The G/L Rules you need to define consist of the G/L Chart of Accounts and the G/L Account Categories. You may have already completed this process when initially setting up the Chart of Accounts.
Your G/L Chart of Accounts will be used to summarize your A/R, A/P and other accounting data, such as manual journal entries. Every SchoolLeader accounting transaction will be summarized and 'bucketed' into an account based on your G/L Chart of Accounts. Each of these buckets is referred to as a SUBACCOUNT.
The subaccounts do not have specific fees/expenses associated with them. The subaccount is simply a place to accumulate your accounting data into individual categories.
If you have any questions on how to set up your G/L Chart of Accounts, you should consult with your accountant.
Before setting up the G/L Chart of Accounts, you need to define the Account Categories that are going to be accessed in the G/L Chart of Accounts. The Account Categories are used for grouping G/L subaccounts for reporting purposes.
To access the G/L Account Categories, click on Accounting, then General Ledger, then G/L Rules, then G/L Account Categories. The following window will be displayed:
There are 4 columns in which to define data:
Description
Display Order
Account Type
Annual Budget Amount
SchoolLeader contains a sample Account Category table.
To add a new Account Category, type in the next available row designated with an '*'. You MUST complete one row before moving on to the next row.
To change an existing Account Category, type over the selected Account Category.
To delete an Account Category, click in the 'gray area' of the row you want to delete. The row will become 'highlighted'. Now click on the Delete key on your keyboard.
If you accidentally 'blank out' an Account Category and you can't close this window, click on the ESC key on your keyboard.
Once you are done, you can click on the 'X' in the upper right hand corner of the window to close this window.
Several Account Categories are required by SchoolLeader and cannot be deleted:
Enter a description of your account category.
Enter a number representing the order in which to print the Account Categories on G/L reports. If no order is given, SchoolLeader will print the reports in the order of the Account Category table.
Select the Account Type by clicking on the down arrow and then double clicking on the appropriate entry. Your Account Type choices are Assets, Equities, Expenses, Liabilities, and Revenue. The Account Types cannot be modified.
Enter the total amount you have budgeted for each Account Category.
When you have finished updating the G/L Account Categories table, close the window by clicking on the 'X' in the upper right hand corner of the window.
Three are 3 buttons along the top of the window that are used for:
importing a predefined Account Category Table
exporting the existing Account Category Table
printing the Account Category Table (print grid)
The import/export categories are designed specifically for our customers who operate multiple centers, and want all of their centers to use the same Account Categories.
Once your G/L Account Categories table is established, you can define your G/L Chart of Accounts.
To access the G/L Chart of Accounts, click on Accounting, then General Ledger, then G/L Rules, then G/L Chart of Accounts . The following window will be displayed:
There are 3 columns in which to define data:
Account Code
Description
Account Category
The Account Code is a unique identifier for each G/L subaccount. The Account Code must be in the format xxxx.xxxx.xxxx. You determine the naming convention that you want to use.
The first 4 characters are used to group subaccounts within your account categories, such as Cash, Fixed Assets, or Accounts Payable. In the above example, the Fixed Assets subaccounts begin with 1400.
The second and third set of characters in the Account Code are used to define sub-groups within the Account Code. In the above example, 1100.0310.0010 and 1100.0310.0020 are used to define 2 separate checking accounts with the cash account '1100'.
SchoolLeader contains a sample G/L chart of accounts.
To add a new subaccount, type in the next available row designated with an '*'. You MUST complete one row before moving on to the next row.
To change an existing subaccount, type over the selected subaccount.
To delete a subaccount, click in the 'gray area' of the row you want to delete. The row will become 'highlighted'. Now click on the Delete key on your keyboard.
There are several G/L subaccounts that are permanent entries and cannot be deleted:
Cash in Bank
Accounts Receivable
Prepaid Expense
Accounts Payable
Prepaid Revenue
Retained Earnings
Bad Debt
The Account Code can be changed, but the
subaccount cannot be deleted.
If you accidentally 'blank out' a subaccount and you can't close this window, click on the ESC key on your keyboard.
Once you are done, you can click on the 'X' in the upper right hand corner of the window to close this window.
The description column contains a description of the G/L subaccount.
The Account Category column contains the category you want to use for grouping common subaccounts together. This grouping is used when producing the G/L reports. For example, you will want to group all of your Cash accounts together, and all of your A/R accounts together, etc.
To select the Account Category, click on the down arrow next to the category, then double click on the appropriate Account Category.
Three are 3 buttons along the top of the window that are used for:
importing a predefined G/L Chart of Accounts
exporting the existing G/L Chart of Accounts
printing the G/L Chart of Accounts (print grid)
The import/export categories are designed specifically for our customers who operate multiple centers, and want all of their centers to use the same G/L Chart of Accounts.