Configuring department settings

Australia only

Department settings can be configured for Essentials general ledgers and AccountRight 2013.0 or later files.

Departmental reporting for AccountRight only supports Chart of Accounts. Please define the settings as subcode. After selecting the subcode, add the main account code which defines the department names. The main code should be the header account, which contains all department names defined as the description of the sub accounts.

Department settings let you report on different profit or cost centres within the same organisation. This is useful in situations where combined figures aren’t appropriate – for example, if an entity:

• owns several rental properties, and wants to show income and expenses for each one separately

• operates more than one branch, and wants to report on the performance of each one separately.

• has more than one type of business.

Before you can configure department settings for your ledger, you need to work out whether the account codes use prefixes (leading digits) or suffixes (trailing digits) to indicate departments.

Using account code prefixes for departments

The following example uses a 1-digit prefix (in bold) for each rental property:

• 1000 – Property 1

• 1200 – Rent Received

• 1340 – Rates

• 2000 – Property 2

• 2200 – Rent Received

• 2340 – Rates

This is the approach used by AO general ledger.

To configure practice department settings for prefixes

If your ledger uses prefixes to indicate departments:

1. In the Edit department settings window, select Prefix from the Departments are defined by drop-down.


Additional fields display.

2. If you are using Accounts general ledger, select the Prefix separator option. The separator defaults to ‘.’ – type a different separator if you use something else.


Otherwise, type the number of digits in the account code prefix in the Prefix length field.

3. Specify the account to use as the department name in reports:

• Select Use the name of the first account in the department if the first account in the department has the name that you want to use in reports.

• Select Use the name of a specific account in the department if there is a specific account that has the name you want to use in reports. Type the code for that account in the Main code field.

4. If accounts without a department all have the same prefix, type that prefix in the Prefix of accounts without a department field. This field will have the number of characters you entered in the Prefix length field.

5. Click OK.

You are returned to the Client Configuration window.

Using account code suffixes for departments

The following example uses a 2-digit suffix or subcode (in bold) for each rental property, included after the main account code:

• 200 – Rent Received

• 200/01 – Rent Received property 1

• 200/02 – Rent Received property 2

• 340 – Rates

• 340/01 – Rates Property 1

• 340/02 – Rates Property 2

This is the approach used by MAS and Reporter.

To configure practice department settings for suffixes

If your ledger uses suffixes to indicate departments:

1. In the Edit department settings window, select Suffix from the Departments are defined by drop-down.


Additional fields display.

2. Type the number of account code digits that are used before the suffix in the Number of digits before suffix field.

3. Specify the account to use as the department name in reports:

• Select Use the name of the first account in the department if the first account in the department has the name that you want to use in reports.

• Select Use the name of a specific account in the department if there is a specific account that has the name you want to use in reports. Type the code for that account in the Main code field.

4. Click OK.

You are returned to the Client Configuration window.

Related topics

Configuring an Essentials general ledger as the data source