The list of kinds of account: Cash Account, Bank Account, Bank Overdraft, Sundry Debtor and so on. Every account in your chart of accounts is tagged with one of these, and each kind is tied to one of the five natures.
When to use it
Rarely. The standard list comes with the product. You come here when you need a kind of account the standard list does not cover, or to check which nature a kind belongs to.
Before you start
You need an admin role. Know which of Assets, Equity, Liabilities, Income or Expenses the new kind belongs to. That list is kept on Accounts Group Type.
Where to find it
Setup > Accounts Setup > Accounts Ledger Type Setup.
The fields on this screen
| Field (on screen) | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger Type | Name of a kind of account, such as Cash Account or Bank Account. Every ledger is tagged with one. | No |
| Account Group | Which of Assets, Equity, Liabilities, Income or Expenses this kind of account belongs to. | No |
How it works
A new entry appears straight away in the Ledger Type list on the Ledger master, and in the Ledger Type list on Transaction Nature. That is the visible effect.
Less visibly, parts of the product find accounts by their kind, not by name:
- The cheque registers use this tag to decide which accounts are cash or bank accounts, and show only those. An account tagged with the wrong kind, or with none, does not appear as a bank account when you go to issue or clear a cheque.
- The inter-organization posting looks for the kind named exactly Inter-Org Suspense, and through it for the account tagged with it. Rename that entry and the suspense account can no longer be found, so the inter-organization draft is skipped without any message.
Changing the Account Group on an existing kind does not re-tag anything by itself. It does change what the reports that group by nature make of every account already carrying that kind.
Tips and common mistakes
- Do not rename the standard entries. Cash Account, Bank Account, Bank Overdraft and Inter-Org Suspense are looked for by name.
- Tag every bank and cash account with the right kind. That is what makes them available on the cheque screens.
- A kind that no account uses is harmless. Renaming a kind while accounts still carry it is not.
Related guides
See also Ledger, Accounts Group Type, Cheque Issuance and Cheque Clearance.