Posting to General Ledger - Actual Costing

This topic describes in detail the posting of inventory transactions to the General Ledger (GL) module. All transactions processed in the Customer, Material, Vendor, and Production modules that affect the value of inventory are posted to the appropriate inventory distribution journal (CO Dist, IC Dist, PO Dist, and SF Dist, respectively) using account numbers that can be found in the Product Codes, Departments, Purchasing Parameters, and Distribution Accounts forms.

Because the costs and account numbers used for the journal posting are quite different if using standard costing or one of the four actual cost flow methods, the transactions generated are explained for both standard and actual. If the system should not automatically generate these transactions, clear the General Parameters form's Post to Journal check box.

Actual Costing - Post to Journals

The system uses the same GL account numbers when posting to the appropriate inventory distribution journal, no matter which of the four actual cost flow methods is in use (Average, LIFO, FIFO, Specific). For this reason, the transactions outlined below are for actual costing in general.

The phrase issue cost is used several times in this topic to refer to the cost at which an item is being issued from inventory. The issue cost value varies depending on the cost flow method in use.

General Ledger Account Numbers Used

Before processing any transactions in the manufacturing modules, the GL account numbers which are used for posting to the GL inventory distribution journals must be set up. The key accounts are stored at the Product Code level, so that different account numbers may be assigned to different classifications of items and also allow for the tracking of cost details of a unit cost.

Maintaining individual accounts for the various cost details allows visibility of these costs through work in process, inventory and cost of goods sold and more accurately determines the exposure relating to material, labor, fixed overhead, variable overhead and outside service costs. It is also possible to use one account number for all the cost detail components of an item if this cost detail visibility is not desired.

Example - Maintaining Individual Account Numbers for Each Cost Detail Component

A finished goods inventory account number and a raw materials inventory account number may be used rather than having all items posted to the same inventory account.

Finished Goods Account Account Number
FG INV Material Cost 1001
FG INV Labor Cost 1002
FG INV Fixed Overhead Cost 1003
FG INV Variable Overhead Cost 1004
FG INV Outside Service Cost 1005
Raw Materials Account Account Number
RM INV Material Cost 2001
RM INV Labor Cost 2002
RM INV Fixed Overhead Cost 2003
RM INV Variable Overhead Cost 2004
RM INV Outside Service Cost 2005

These accounts may be used rather than having all items posted to the same inventory account.

Example - Maintaining One Account Number for All Cost Detail Components of Finished Goods Inventory and Raw Materials Inventory

Finished Goods Inventory Account Account Number
FG INV Material Cost 1001
Labor Fixed Overhead Cost 1001
Variable FG INV Outside Service Cost 1001
Raw Materials Inventory Account Account Number
RM INV Material Cost 2001
Labor Cost 2001
Fixed Overhead Cost 2001
Variable RM INV Outside Service Cost 2001

Accounts List

The following lists identify the accounts found in the Product Codes, Departments, Purchasing Parameters, Work Centers, and Distribution Accounts forms.

Product Codes

Inventory Adjustment

Material Fixed Overhead Applied

Material Variable Overhead Applied

Note:  The Material Fixed Overhead Applied and the Material Variable Overhead Applied accounts are required only when basing overhead on job material issues.

Purchasing Parameters

Vouchers Payable Account

Department

Direct Labor Applied Account

Fixed Overhead Applied Account

Variable Overhead Applied Account

Although these rates default from this location, they are also maintainable on the Current Operations, Job Operations, and Estimate Operations forms.

Work Center - Costing

Fixed Machine Overhead Applied Account

Variable Machine Overhead Applied Account

Although these rates default from this location, they are also maintainable at the Current Operations, Job Operations, and Estimate Operation forms.

Distribution Accounts - Inventory

Inventory Material

Inventory Labor

Inventory Fixed Overhead

Inventory Variable Overhead

Inventory Outside

Distribution Accounts - Sales/Cost of Goods Sold

COGS Material

COGS Labor

COGS Fixed Overhead

COGS Variable Overhead

COGS Outside

Distribution Accounts - In-Transit

In-Transit Material

In-Transit Labor

In-Transit Fixed Overhead

In-Transit Variable Overhead

In-Transit Outside

Note:  You can delete any distribution account record, including the default distribution account, with a blank warehouse and blank product code.

The inventory account numbers used for journal transactions do not come directly from the Product Codes form. Rather, the inventory accounts used come from the stock location being accessed when the transaction is performed. (When a stock location is added for an item in the Inventory module, inventory accounts are entered for the location, using the Item Stockroom Locations form.) The default for this field is the inventory account numbers in the Distribution Account file to which the item belongs.

To locate the inventory account numbers:

  • The system searches for an exact match for both the warehouse and the product code.
  • If that fails, the system searches for a match for the product code and a blank warehouse.
  • If that fails, the system searches for a match for the warehouse and a blank product code.

If any of the account numbers the system is attempting to use have not been set up, the system does not post to the GL inventory distribution journals.

Transaction Posting to the Inventory Distribution Journals

The following sections outline every transaction that is posted to the inventory distribution journals when some method of actual costing is being used.

Purchasing Transactions

These transactions are posted to the inventory distribution journal named PO Dist.

  • Purchase Order Receipt:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Vouchers Payable   xxxx

    Because this item is purchased, only one posting (Inventory Material Cost) is applicable. All accounts for each cost details component would have the same account number, therefore only one posting entry is made.

    The cost used is the quantity received multiplied by the purchase order line item unit cost. (This is the default cost. At the time of receipt, it is possible for you to update the receipt cost to anything.)

    CU = (RQ * POUC), where:

    • CU = Cost Used
    • RQ = Receipt Quantity
    • POUC = PO Unit Cost
  • Purchase Order Return:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Vouchers Payable   xxxx
    Inventory   xxxx
    Inventory Adjustment xxxx   or xxxx

    The cost used is the quantity returned multiplied by the item's issue cost:

    CU = (QR * IIC), where:

    • CU = Cost Used
    • QR = Quantity Returned
    • IIC = Item's Issue Cost
  • Voucher Generation:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    a. If vouchered cost > receipt cost:    
    Vouchers Payable xxxx  
    Accounts Payable xxxx xxxx
    b. If vouchered cost < receipt cost:    
    Vouchers Payable xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx
    Accounts Payable   xxxx

    The previous transaction is created only if any line items were vouchered at a different cost than the cost at which they were received into inventory. (The cost at which the items were received into inventory is the line item unit cost field at the time of the receipt.)

    xxxx = (quantity received * (vouchered cost - receipt cost))

    xxxx = (cost of receipt - cost of voucher) - adjustment

    POVC = QR * (VC - RC), where:

    • POVC = Purchase Order Variance Cost
    • QR = Quantity Received
    • VC = Voucher Cost
    • RC = Receipt Cost

Production Transactions

The following transactions are posted to the inventory distribution journal named SF Dist.

  • Job Material Issue:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    WIP Material Costs xxxx  
    WIP Labor Costs xxxx  
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Outside Costs xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx
    Fixed Material Overhead Applied   xxxx
    Variable Material Overhead Applied   xxxx

    The inventory accounts used are those of the item being issued to the job, not the item being manufactured. The inventory credit amount is the quantity issued from inventory multiplied by the issue cost of the item.

    ICA = QIFI * IC, where:

    • ICA = Inventory Credit Amount
    • QIFI = Quantity Issued from Inventory
    • IC = Issue Cost

    The credits to the overhead accounts are calculated by multiplying the actual material cost by the fixed and variable overhead rates in the Product Codes form.

    COA = MC * (FO + VOR), where:

    • COA = Credits to the Overhead Account
    • MC = Material Cost
    • FO = Fixed Overhead
    • VOR = Variable Overhead Rate

    The debit to WIP is the sum of the direct material, fixed overhead, and variable overhead amounts.

    DTWIP = DM + FO + VOA, where:

    • DTWIP = Debit to WIP
    • DM = Direct Material
    • FO = Fixed Overhead
    • VOA = Variable Overhead Amounts
  • Job Material Withdrawal:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    WIP Material Costs   xxxx
    WIP Labor Costs   xxxx
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Outside Costs   xxxx
    Fixed Material Overhead Applied xxxx  
    Variable Material Overhead Applied xxxx  

    The debit to inventory is the quantity of the item withdrawn from the job multiplied by a unit cost figure which varies depending on the costing method in use.

    DTI = QIWJ * VUCF, where:

    • DTI = Debit to Inventory
    • QIWJ = Quantity of the Item Withdrawn from the Job
    • UCF = Unit Cost Figure

    The debits to the overhead accounts are calculated by multiplying the average cost of all items issued. The job material total actual cost/job material quantity issued.

    DOA = MT / JI, where:

    • DOA = Debits to the Overhead Account
    • MT = Job Material Total actual cost
    • JI = Job material quantity issued

    The credit to WIP is the sum of direct material, fixed overhead, and variable overhead amounts.

    CTWIP = DM + FO + VOA, where:

    • CTWIP = Credit to WIP
    • DM = Direct Material
    • FO = Fixed Overhead
    • VOA = Variable Overhead Amounts
  • Post Job Transaction Labor:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    WIP Labor Costs xxxx  
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs xxxx  
    Direct Labor Applied   xxxx
    Fixed Labor Overhead Applied   xxxx
    Variable Labor Overhead Applied   xxxx

    The credit to labor is the actual hours in the transaction multiplied by the specified manufacturing rate of the employee who reported the transaction.

    CTL = AH * SMR, where:

    • CTL = Credit To Labor
    • AH = Actual Hours
    • SMR = Specified Manufacturing Rate

    The credits to the overhead accounts are calculated by multiplying the actual labor hours by the fixed and variable overhead rates in the Departments form.

    COA = LH * (FO + VOR), where:

    • COA = Credits to the Overhead Account
    • LH = Labor Hours
    • FO = Fixed Overhead
    • VOR = Variable Overhead Rate

    The debit amount to WIP is the sum of direct labor, fixed overhead, and variable overhead amounts.

    • WIP Amount = (actual hours * employee manufacturing rate) + (actual hours * department fixed overhead rate) + (actual hours * department variable overhead rate)
    • Direct Labor = (actual hours * employee manufacturing rate)
    • Fixed Labor Overhead = (actual hours * department fixed overhead rate)
    • Variable Labor Overhead = (actual hours * department variable overhead rate)
    • Post Job Transactions: Machine transactions

    Machine costs apply machine overhead charges to a job operation for the hours a machine was run, along with the quantity of goods completed, scrapped, and moved to the next operation. If the work center for the operation is machine scheduled, the remaining scheduling time for the operation will be reduced by the total hours posted.

    The additional posting described below for the "Move" transaction is also performed for all "Run" transactions.

  • Job Finish (Put to Stock):
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    WIP Material Costs   xxxx
    WIP Labor Costs   xxxx
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Outside Costs   xxxx

    When inventory is received from a job, the receipt cost used is determined by:

    • The status of the job.
    • The Complete flag on the job's operations.

    If the receipt is being performed using a labor transaction on the last operation, you have the option of closing the job order. If the job is closed when the transaction is entered, the receipt cost used is always the actual unit cost of the job. If the job is not closed and the Costs Based on Complete parameter is set to Jobs, the receipt cost used is the planned unit cost of the job.

    The planned unit cost is based on the setup, run-times, run rates, and labor overhead rates in the Job Operations form as well as the unit costs and the material overhead rates in the Job Materials form.

    If the job is not closed and the Costs Based on Complete parameter is set to Operations, the receipt cost used is determined by the Complete flag of the job's operations. Actual costs from complete operations are accumulated while planned costs from incomplete operations are accumulated to determine the final receipt cost.

  • Job Closed Manually:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    a. If actual cost > planned cost:    
    Inventory Adjustment xxxx  
    WIP Material Costs   xxxx
    WIP Labor Costs   xxxx
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Outside Costs   xxxx
    b. If actual cost < planned cost:    
    WIP Material Costs xxxx  
    WIP Labor Costs xxxx  
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Outside Costs xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx

    If the job is being closed manually by changing the status from Released to Complete an adjustment needs to be made since the job's planned cost would have been used for the transaction that put the item to stock.

    The amount used is the difference between the total planned and actual cost of the job:

    AU = TPC - AC, where:

    • AU = Amount Used
    • TPC = Total Planned Cost
    • AC = Actual Cost

Inventory Control Transactions

The following transactions (unless otherwise specified) are posted to the inventory distribution journal named IC Dist.

  • Inventory Adjustment:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    a. Increase quantity:    
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx
    b. Decrease quantity:    
    Inventory Adjustment xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx

    The amount used for an inventory adjustment transaction varies depending on the cost flow method in use. If you are using:

    • Average costing, the system uses the Items form's unit cost.
    • Specific, the system uses the cost tied to the location that is being adjusted.
    • LIFO or FIFO and increasing the quantity, the cost used is the cost tied to the last item LIFO record on file for the item.
    • LIFO or FIFO and decreasing the quantity, the system consumes records from the item LIFO stack until the adjustment quantity is satisfied.

    Cycle counting and physical inventory posting create transactions like the ones described above. Either transaction a or b is created, depending on whether the count quantity is greater than or less than the original quantity.

  • Inventory Move:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx
    Inventory Adjustment    

    This transaction is posted only if the From and To locations have different inventory accounts tied to them or if specific costing is being used and the From and To locations have different unit costs tied to them.

    The inventory account debited is the account tied to the To location. The credited inventory account is the account tied to the From location. The inventory adjustment account is used only for specific costing when the From and To accounts have different costs assigned to them.

  • Location Update:

    A transaction is created if you change the inventory account tied to the location:

    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory (New Accounts):    
    Inventory Material Cost xxxx  
    Inventory Labor Cost xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead Cost xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead Cost xxxx  
    Inventory Outside Cost xxxx  
    Inventory (Old Accounts):    
    Inventory Material Cost   xxxx
    Inventory Labor Cost   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead Cost   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead Cost   xxxx
    Inventory Outside Cost   xxxx

    A transaction is also created if specific costing is in use and you change the unit cost tied to the location.

    (This example assumes that all cost detail values are changed.)

    Transaction Debit Credit
    a. Increase cost:    
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx
    b. Decrease cost:    
    Inventory Adjustment xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx
  • Location Insertion:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx

    This transaction is only posted if a quantity is entered for the location at the same time it is added.

  • Miscellaneous Receipt:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Inventory Adjustment   xxxx

    The debit amount used is the quantity received extended by the unit cost you entered.

    DAU = QR * UCEBU, where:

    • DAU = Debit Amount Used
    • QR = Quantity Received
    • UCEBU = Unit Cost Entered by you

    The unit cost defaults to the value in the Items form's Unit Cost field at the time the transaction is entered.

    The credit account is the GL account number you entered. The account defaults to the item's Inventory Adjustment account.

  • Miscellaneous Issue:
    Transaction Debit Credit
    Account Entered xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx

    The debit account is the GL account number you entered. The account defaults to the item's Inventory Adjustment account.

    The credit amount used is the quantity issued multiplied by the issue cost of the item:

    CA = QI * IC, where:

    • CA = Credit Amount
    • QI = Quantity Issued
    • IC = Issue Cost
  • Job Material Issue:

    The following transactions are posted to the inventory distribution journal named SF Dist.

    Transaction Debit Credit
    WIP Material Costs xxxx  
    WIP Labor Costs xxxx  
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs xxxx  
    WIP Outside Costs xxxx  
    Inventory Material   xxxx
    Inventory Labor   xxxx
    Inventory Fixed Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Variable Overhead   xxxx
    Inventory Outside   xxxx
    Fixed Material Overhead Applied   xxxx
    Variable Material Overhead Applied   xxxx
  • Job Receipt:

    The following transaction(s) are posted to the inventory distribution journal named SF Dist.

    Transaction Debit Credit
    Inventory Material xxxx  
    Inventory Labor xxxx  
    Inventory Fixed Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Variable Overhead xxxx  
    Inventory Outside xxxx  
    Fixed Material Overhead Applied xxxx  
    Variable Material Overhead Applied xxxx  
    WIP Material Costs   xxxx
    WIP Labor Costs   xxxx
    WIP Fixed Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Variable Overhead Costs   xxxx
    WIP Outside Costs   xxxx