Using long ledger numbers

System Five normally creates a default General Ledger with 4 digit ledger numbers. There is a maximum of 9000 ledger numbers allowed in total and 1000 ledger numbers allowed for each of group of Asset, Liability, Owner Equity, Income and Cost of Sales accounts. Optionally System Five can create a hierarchy of long ledger numbers of up to 20 characters each allowing you to set up sub ledgers and run reports based on these groupings.

A Long Ledger Number can be either a General (Header) Ledger Number or a Detail Ledger Number.

Normally the ledger numbers are set up in a numbering sequence that defines each grouping, however this is not enforced as System Five offers a great deal of flexibility.

Example (General numbers are in Bold)

1000 Assets
1000-10 Banks
1000-10-1 Royal Bank
1000-10-2 CIBC Bank
1000-20 Tax Credits
1000-20-1 GST Input Tax Credit
1000-30 Fixed Assets
1000-30-1 Furniture
1000-30-2 Computer Equipment
1000-30-3 Automobiles
1000-40 Accounts Receivable
2000 Liabilities
2000-10 Credit Cards
2000-10-1 Visa
2000-10-2 MasterCard
2000-20 Tax Payable
2000-20-1 GST Payable
2000-20-1 PST Payable

An example of the use of long ledger numbers could be in Accounts Payable, or Accounts Receivable. This is where GL accounts are created for each customer or supplier using the customer or supplier account number as the sub-ledger. An example of this is 1000-40-0001 where 0001 is the customer account number.

Setting up Long Ledgers

Long Ledger Numbers can be setup in the Setup Wizard > General Accounting > Main Ledger Series as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Main ledger series in Setup Wizard

Each Long Ledger Number represents a specific 4 digit traditional ledger number and the use of Long Ledger Numbers can be switched on or off at will. It is advisable, however, not to switch back and forth because if you have already created Long Ledger Numbers and switch back to regular ledger numbers and then create a new ledger account, System Five will not automatically create a corresponding Long Ledger Number for the new account when Long Ledger Numbers are turned back on, and the new account

would be missing. Select the option '20 Digit Ledger Numbers and Sub Ledgers' as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Ledger Number Length option

Creating Chart of Accounts

When you first open the chart of accounts after switching to Long Ledger Numbers you will see a list of 4 digit ledger numbers, since the long ledger numbers have not yet been defined. This is shown in Figure 3. You can create the long ledger numbers manually, or press [Convert Old] to have System Five convert them for you. The [Convert Old] button will group 'like' accounts under General (Header) Ledger Numbers i.e. Asset, Liability, Owners Equity, etc. as shown in Figure 4. Further categorization into sub ledger accounts is optional after converting.

Figure 3: Available ledger numbers

Figure 4: General (Header) Ledger Numbers after conversion

Creating a General (Header) Account

To create a General(Header)Account complete the following steps:

Select the parent General(Header)Account(if there is one)
Right-click or click the [New] button. The popup menu shown below in Figure 5 appears:

Figure 5: Popup menu

Menu selections:

New General - creates a first level General (Header)Account.
New Sub General - creates a new second level General(Header)Account under the current selected
first level General(Header)Account.
New Detail - creates a new Detail Account under the selected General(Header)Account.

Select New General or New Sub General with the corresponding G/L account type e.g. Assets, Liabilities, Owners Equity, Income, Cost and Expenses shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: General Ledger Account

Enter the account description.
Drag and drop a Detail Account or other General (Header)Account under the General(Header)Account you just created.

Creating a Detail Account

To create a Detail Ledger Account, complete the following steps:

Select the General(Header)Account you want the Detail Ledger Account to be under and right-click or click New.
Select New Detail from the popup menu as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Popup menu

Complete the new long ledger account by filling in the description, as shown in Figure 8.

You will notice the Real Ledger number that is created for you automatically.

Figure 8: Account Details

Repeat these steps to add all the required long ledger numbers.

Errors and Warnings

If you see any caution signs . They mean that there is a problem with the setup.

Click on the problem account number to view a description of the problem in red type as shown in the Figure 9.

Figure 9: General Ledger Account Example

In the example in Figure 9, the parent ledger account is an asset, but 1001 is a Liability. To fix this kind of problem turn on Supervisor Mode and change the G/L type back to Asset.

List of orphaned Detail Accounts

If any 4 digit ledger numbers exist but are not assigned to General Accounts, they will appear on the 'None' tab. Drag and drop them on the corresponding General Account on the left side as shown in the example in Figure 10.

Figure 10: Available ledger numbers - none tab

Percentage Distribution to Child Ledger Numbers

An added feature of System Five is the ability to allow you to assign percentage distribution values to the child ledger numbers in a long ledger configuration. Usage of these parent ledger numbers on an A/P bill will result in the associated child ledgers being substituted in place of the parent on the bill. The dollar amount provided will be distributed by the predefined percentages. You can specify the percentage in the "Distribution %" field when you create a child ledger number as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11: Percentage Distribution

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