Considerations for assigning account categories

Start the process of assigning account categories by building a library of all the account categories that you want to use in Project Accounting. The account categories are organized into account category structures. Once you have defined the account category structures, you must assign them to activity groups.

Once an activity group has an assigned account category structure, transaction processing can begin. You can assign specific account categories to an activity, if needed. For example, if an activity requires billing parameters that are different than those defined for the account category structure, then you can assign an account category with the necessary parameters to the activity. If you require special account category parameters for a posting activity within an activity group, then you can override the parameters for the account category structure for that activity. The account category/activity assignment will override the account category structure/activity group assignment when processing transactions.

Example: assigning account categories to individual activities

In this example, LGE Corporation has assigned account categories that apply to specific activities in the drug study. They have created several account categories to identify different types of labor. Labor account categories for administrative, management, and RN labor were assigned to administrative-related activities. Labor account categories for RNs and physicians were assigned to exam-related activities. The Lab and Hematology activities were assigned account categories to track technician labor, supplies, and costs for outsourcing lab tests. The imaging-related activities were assigned account categories to track technician labor and supplies.

Illustration: assigning account categories to individual activities