Definition: What is it?

OFBiz comes with a master template for a very comprehensive chart of accounts. This can be found in 'Global GL Defaults' under the 'Accounting' tab.

A couple of points to note

  • you do not need to use all the accounts defined in this master template (but it may be simpler to look for the accounts that you can use or rename)
  • you can create your own additional accounts if you dont want to use the ones in the master template

The chart of accounts for the default organisation (Company) is built up by selecting the accounts that you want to use from the global chart of accounts master template. This means that if you want to create a new account then you need to create it first in the Global Chart of Accounts and then link (or assign) it to the chart of accounts for Company.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You need to be careful if you do decide to create your own accounts that they contain all the details required and that they are linked into the relevant configuation for the setup of the GL defaults. This means that if you change an account (eg Inventory) to one of your own - you need to check the GL defaults setup and replace any reference to the Inventory account to the one you have created.

What is it used for?

This Chart of Accounts screen is used to define the list of accounts (or chart) that will be actively used by the company.For example the Global chart of accounts may contain 100 different accounts but only 20 need to be used for your specific business. This means the you need only to create assignments to the accounts that you actively want to use.

The Chart of Accounts is a mixture of business needs (ie being able to track the information you need for your business) and tax requirements (ie legal or government requirements necessary for operating a business).  The type of Chart that you setup will be dependent of your business type.

What's on the screen?

 TO DO

How do I create a Chart of Accounts?

As mentioned above the chart of accounts for the default organisation (Company) is built up by selecting the accounts that you want to use from the global chart of accounts master template. This means that if you want to create a new account then you need to create it first in the Global Chart of Accounts and then link (or assign) it to the chart of accounts for Company.

By creating an assignment to an account it is then added to the Chart of Accounts.

Example: To add an account to the Chart of Accounts

  1. Select the account Gl Account Id that you need from the drop down box
  2. Press the 'Create Assignment' button
  3. The account is added to the Chart of Account

How do I update a Chart of Accounts?

Updating the Chart of Accounts will involve either creating a new assignment or removing an existing one. A new assignment is created using the instructions above. The added complication may be that the account that you need does not exist in the Global Chart of Accounts. As mentioned above it will need to be created and then linked.

See the instructions below to remove an existing account assignment. 

NOTE: If a completely new account is required that does not already exist as part of the Global Chart of Accounts template then it will need to be created as part of the Global template first before it can be used as an assignment in the Organisation Chart of Accounts.

How do I delete a Chart of Accounts?

Accounts are not deleted from the Chart of Accounts - they are simply no longer selected to be used.

It is important that you do not remove accounts that are active and have already been used for transactions. Even if the net balance of the account is zero then from an audit perspective then you should not be removing accounts.

You should only be looking to remove accounts that have not been used. To un-link or un-assign accounts from the default company then use the Entity Data Maintenance from the Webtools menu. Look for the entity 'GlAccountOrganization' and delete the record to remove the link.

How do I update the details for an account in the Chart of Accounts?

Details of the accounts that make up the Chart of Accounts can be accessed from this screen. 

NOTE: There is a bug here related to the 'Posted Balance' because the GL account link takes the user back to the 'Global GL Settings' where all posted balances are zero.  The posted balance for the account is stored in the entity 'GlAccountOrganization' but this is not the detail that is displayed on the screen. The screen details are taken from the  'GlAccount' entity and this always seems to have a posted balance field which is zero.

Example: To view the details of an account

  1. Click on the 'GL Account Id' of the account required
  2. The 'Edit GL Account' screen is displayed showing the details of the account selected (NOTE:This screen is also accessible via 'Global GL Settings / Chart of Account / Navigate Accounts '
  3. Amend the fields required (NOTE: The GL Account Id and Posted Balance fields cannot be amended)
  4. Press the 'Update' button