Account Category Structure

Account categories provide a way to break down costs and revenues in activities. Every activity transaction must contain an account category. Actuals, commitments, and budgets are stored in activities by account category.

An account category structure is a hierarchical organization of all the account categories you use to track costs and revenues for an activity group. It contains summary account categories, such as direct costs or labor, and detail account categories, such as labor, materials, overhead, and equipment.

You can assign the same account category structure to more than one activity group. This is important if you intend to do consolidated reporting for multiple activity groups because it ensures the account category roll-ups are consistent.

You can override account category parameters by posting activity, including making an account category inactive. For example, if you don't have a certain kind of labor, supplies, or subcontract on a project, you can turn off the account category for that activity.