Expenses Beginning Balance Group or Detail????

[Shelley]

Hello everyone. I am NOT an accountant, so bear with me and I apologize for my ignorance. We have not been using the accounting portion of PowerChurch Plus. I have a very generalized chart of accounts to work from. We need something much more detailed. Based on spending records (statements, receipts etc...), I am pretty sure I can set-up a decent chart of accounts to better enable us to see exactly where money is going. I am using PCP v11. Our fiscal year begins in April. I want to set it up now with year-to-10/31/2010 beginning balances and begin entering detail for November. We want to practice and work out some bugs before the next fiscal year starts.

Ultimately my question is what are the cons, if any, to making a level 4 group account a level 4 detail account so I can enter the beginning balance at that level? Advertising is a good example. Right now I just have an expense account called advertising with a ytd balance of $5000. We want to set-up more detail so we can see where our advertising $$ are being spent and budget accordingly. My mind wants to make the level 4 group called "Advertising" a detail account so I can put the beginning balance there with all those level 5s we want to use added. If I don't do it that way, do I just create a level 5 under the level 4 group account and call it something like "Beginning Balance?" I just don't understand enough about accounting and the program to see how this will impact life down the road. We do spend on advertising and I know where. I just don't know the best way to enter the general figure that is our starting point and begin detail after that.

I hope I am making some sort of sense and not wasting anyone's time.

Blessings,
Shelley

[JohnDMeyers]

I would suggest you use the default chart of accounts that is already setup when you install PowerChurch.

If you haven't used the Accounting module yet, it should all be there.

In PowerChurch ver 11, for example, 01-5410-000 is a level 4 GROUP account for ADVERTISING, and 01-5420-000 is a detail, level 4 account for Bank Charges.

Everything in-between is a detail, level 5 account. The rule is that everything under a level 4 GROUP account that is a 5 or 6 will sub-total to the GROUP account as soon as another level 4 account is encountered, regardless if it is a GROUP or detail account.

Since the Bank Charges account is a level 4, detail account, it will "end" the level 4 GROUP account that started with ADVERTISING. Here's another way to look at it:

01-5410-000 ADVERTISING (GROUP, level 4)
01-5412-000 Yellow Pages (Detail, level 5)
01-5413-000 Newspaper (Detail, level 5)
01-5414-000 Other Advertising (Detail, level 5)
01-5420-000 Bank Charges (Detail, level 4)

5412, 5413, and 5414 will sub-total under the GROUP account 5410 because 5420, level 4 is encountered.

You can either change the descriptions of 5412, 5413, 5414, and use them, or you can add your own, 01-5415-000 Radio Ads (detail, level 5) for example. It will work automatically.

[Shelley]

Thank you. Your post helped tremendously. I think I will just create level 5 detail accounts under the 4 groups called "uncatagorized prior to 11/1" or something like that to handle the beginning balances and enter the detail we want from here on out. I appreciate your time.

Blessings,
Shelley