Introduction

The layout and completeness of your reports, such as Income and Expenditure Statements, Trial Balance, and Balance Sheet depend on how the General Ledger Coding is structured. In the coding structure, each General Ledger Code is attached to a higher-level Sub-Category which in turn is attached to a higher-level General Ledger Category. 

The General Ledger coding structure affects the layout of a report as follows:  

• General Ledger Categories become the main row headings, such as Income, Revenue, Direct Costs, Overhead Costs, and Expenses, while columns are user-defined during report creation.  
• General Ledger Sub-Categories become the sub-headings within each category, such as “Home Sales”, “Exports”, and “Spares” within the “Income” Category and, “Rent & Rates”, “Computer Costs”, Finance Costs” within the “Overhead Costs” Category.  
• General Ledger Codes become the lowest level of analysis on reports. It is not possible to accidentally leave out a General Ledger Code from any of the reports. GL Codes are automatically included in the reports by virtue of their Category and Sub-Category.

Choosing a Coding System

The system comes with a comprehensive set of General Ledger Codes which most users find meets the need of their business. However, you can choose to:

• Use your own General Ledger coding system.
• Use the default coding system but add or remove codes, or change their descriptions, to meet your requirements.  

We recommend removing unnecessary Codes and adding only the General Ledger Codes which your business requires. Removal of unnecessary codes makes for a better user experience. If necessary, you can add Codes back later.  

See:

Commonly used reports (11.2) - AIQ Academy

 How do I Implement Extended Business Analysis?

‍How do I Implement Job or Project Analysis using Extended Business Analysis?‍ 

 How do I Set up and Maintain General Ledger Accounts?‍ 

 How do I use Code Maintenance to Control the Behaviour of the System?‍ 

Report Manager‍ 

Maintaining GL Categories, Sub-Categories, and Category Types

GL Categories and Sub-Categories

1. Go to Setup > Codes Maintenance > GL Categories or GL Sub-Categories.
2. You can:
   • Add or delete Categories and Sub-Categories.
   • Edit their P&L Sort Order or the sequence in which they appear in your Profit & Loss Reports. 
   • Edit their Descriptions. 
   • In the case of Categories, you can change their Category Type. 

Category Types

Sub-Categories and GL Codes inherit their Type from their Category. Types can be one of the following:

• R for Revenue
• X for Expense
• A for Asset
• L for Liability
• E for Equity

Some reports will only work with certain Category Types:

• The P & L Reports work with Revenue and Expense General Ledger Codes only,
• The Balance Sheet reports on Assets, Liabilities, and Equity type General Ledger Codes.

To view or edit Category Types:

• Go to Setup > Codes Maintenance > GL Categories. The Category Type column displays the relevant category. 
  

Create the P & L Report Layout

The P & L Report Layout

The sequence of the lines on the report are:

• General Ledger Category: In ascending order of Profit & Loss Sort Order, starting with 1. 
• General Ledger Sub-Category: In ascending order, using the Profit & Loss Sort Order assigned to that Sub-Category. 
• General Ledger Code: In ascending order.

For example, if the Category “Operating Income” has a Profit & Loss Sort Order of 1, it will appear as the first line of the Profit & Loss Report, with all its Sub-Categories appearing in sequence beneath it. If the Category “Non-Operating Income has a P & L Sort Order of 2, it will appear next, with all its Sub-Categories in sequence beneath it, and so on.

Summary Profit & Loss Reports will only report on Category and Sub-Category totals, whereas Profit & Loss Detailed Reports will report on individual GL Codes within the Sub-Categories.  

In the following example, we will demonstrate how to set up a Summary Profit & Loss Report based on this sequence:
 

Step One: Set up GL Categories

1. Go to Setup > Code Maintenance > GL Categories. 
2. Tick Re-sort sort order to re-sequence any changes.
3. Add a Description.
4. Click Save.
5. Add as many Categories as needed.

In the example below, we set up the following Category Types:

• GL Category Code 01 (Operating Income) with a Sort Order of 1. 
• Non-Operating Income (02) with a Profit & Loss Sort Order Code of 2.
• Direct Costs (03) with a Profit & Loss Sort Order Code of 3.  
• Overhead Costs (04) with a Profit & Loss Sort Order Code of 4.  
  
  

Step Two: Set up Sub-Categories

1. Go to Setup > Code Maintenance > GL Sub-Categories.
2. Enter the relevant P&L /Balance Sheet Sort Order number.
3. Tick Re-sort sort order to re-sequence any changes.
4. Click Save.
5. Add as many Sub-Categories as needed.
   
   

Step Three: Assign GL Codes to Categories and Sub-Categories

1. Go to General > General Ledger Accounts and open a relevant GL Code. 
   
   
    
2. Ensure the GL Code is assigned correctly in the Category and Sub-Category dropdowns. 
3. Click Process.
4. Repeat the process with all relevant GL Codes.
   
   

Step Four: Review your Report Layout

When you have finished setting up your Report Layout:

1. Go to Reports > Report Manager > GL Reports > Chart of Accounts Layout.
2.  Click View and check that everything is as required.
   
   

Calculated Contribution and Gross Profit

In Profit & Loss Reports, you can include auto-calculated Contribution and Gross Profit lines. 

• Contribution is Sales Revenues less Direct Costs. It is the amount available to cover Indirect Costs. 
• Gross Profit is Sales Revenues less the Cost of Goods Sold. 

In this case, the presentation of General Ledger Categories is pre-determined rather than user-defined as described earlier. 

To select which General Ledger Category Reporting Format you wish to present:

1. Go to Reports > Report Manager > GL Reports > Profit and Loss Vs Budget Summary.
2. Select Yes in the Show Contribution dropdown.
3. Click View.
   
   

The following Report uses the General Ledger Category and Sub-Category sequencing described earlier: