Summary account
Note: The system automatically calculates totals for each summary
account, based on the depth of the account.
Summary accounts are used for reporting and inquiry. They also determine the appearance of headings and totals on financial reports. Each summary account has a name, a description, and a depth. Because summary accounts display in headings, it is helpful to give them alpha names. The depth identifies an account's position in the chart of accounts and is used to calculate subtotals and totals. A depth of one is typically used to identify a grand total.
Example
This example shows summary accounts from part of a chart of accounts. The Current Assets total is a summary of account balances for the Cash, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, and Prepaid accounts. The Assets account total is a summary of account balances for Current Assets and Fixed Assets.
| Summary Account | Description | Depth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | Assets | 1 | 10,000 |
| CURASSETS | Current Assets | 2 | 4,000 |
| CASH | Cash | 3 | 1,000 |
| AR | Accounts Receivable | 3 | 1,000 |
| INVENTORY | Inventory | 3 | 1,000 |
| PREPAID | Prepaid | 3 | 1,000 |
| FIXEDASSETS | Fixed Assets | 2 | 6,000 |