Divisional accounting can be used to hold the data for separate divisions in a common Nominal Ledger company file to avoid unnecessary consolidation of multiple data files.
If this feature is used, the system automatically produces Inter-divisional journals (IDJs) to allow for cross charging a sale from one division into a balance sheet or expense account of another division. i.e. a movement between divisions will result in an IDJ being created and processed in order to redress the imbalance between divisions.
For single company systems, a single division of ' 00 ' will be set up to make this feature transparent. For multi-divisional set-ups, one record must exist in this file for each separate division to be controlled.
To access the option:
1. From the Autoline master menu select the Nominal Ledger option and the company you require.
2. Select System Maintenance option.
3. Select the Accounting Divisions option.
The Accounting Divisions grid will be displayed.
BUTTONS AND FIELDS
When the program is selected from the menu, you are presented with the standard Autoline file maintenance menu, allowing the options to Create a new record, or Delete an existing record.
Once a record is accessed, the following data should be entered :
Description: Up to 20 characters of narrative can be entered here to describe the division. There are nine language descriptions available.
B/S cost centre: In order to control separate balance sheets for each division, it is essential that the balance sheet is cost centre controlled. The cost centre code for this division's balance sheet should be entered here.
The Current period, Current year, Start of current period and End of current period fields are not activated in the standard system unless the Period-end system parameter, Close divisional companies separately, is set to Yes. If this parameter is unset for No, all divisions operate on the same Company period-end cycle, and these fields should be left blank.
The Quick Cash Suspense field is used by business cultures whereby different bank accounts have different Journal types, hence there needs to be a transfer between one bank account and the other, and the suspense is consequently required for the accounting entries. Hence this field is not mandatory for the majority of Autoline users.
OTHER BUTTONS
Exit: Returns the user to the Miscellaneous menu.
Help:Displays online help in the default browser.
Ad-hoc: Allows the user to perform an ad-hoc report enquiry in the settlement terms file.
Grid: Allows the user to display the form in a grid style, for editing purposes.
Sort: This sorts the records in the file either in ascending or reverse [by ticking the check box] order , and can be used in conjunction with the Start at and Finish at fields. to further narrow down the search criteria.
Next and Previous: These buttons allow the user to advance and retreat through the records in the file in order to view them/edit them more easily.
For a more detailed explanation on the functionality of divisional accounting, please see the topic Inter division journal control.
