General Ledger

The General Ledger is a financial record of all of your business activity.  It summarize all of the categories which are involved in your financial management.  The accounts are listed on the Ledger - Edit menu option which displays the following screen.

You will use the General Ledger to tie all of your accounting together in one place, and see your complete financial standing.  This system was developed using the principles and practices presented in Small Business Accounting courses typically available in community learning centers ( ie. colleges ).  It has been refined using input from clients for over 30 years, focusing on the specific practices and needs of the independent service centers.

You may create your own General Ledger, use your existing accounts, or utilize an initial setup available from MasterLink Software.  Any setup you choose can be modified to your individual wishes.

The chapter on the Editing Accounts describes how this screen is to be handled.

A Chart of Accounts is provided within the software.  There are also pre-set default account numbers that have been entered.  This permits the user to have a full working General Ledger from the very first day.   This data is  included on the main CD and may be installed to the data Server using the "Content Files" option under "Installing ASW 8."

The provided Chart of Accounts may be used, enhanced, modified, or deleted.  It is a good example to use to study how the accounts are set up initially, but as the documentation shows, there is a considerable amount of flexibility on what a company actually uses for their needs.

Review the materials, and if you want to make changes, bring your Chart of Accounts to your current needs.  This may be done before processing any work, or you may wish to make changes through experience, and clear the data, and use your finished product at a later date.

It is important that the G/L system includes entries for section Titles, Subtotals and Grand Totals.  The General Ledger was designed using basic accounting principles found in all entry level accounting classes.  The section General Ledger 101 describes in detail how this is organized.

It is possible to track sales in various categories  in your accounting through the General Ledger.  The section on Departments details how they are setup and used.  It is suggested this not be performed until you have experience using the General Ledger in its default state.  Departments are used for reports only and do not affect the total ledger balance.

Activity is posted to the General Ledger automatically.  You can view the transactions of any given day, or add manual entries, in the Posting Transactions section.

You will find all of your General Ledger information provided in the Ledger section of Reports.  This will give you a good view of the financial condition of your business.  Please read all of the sections in the manual describing the General Ledger Reports.