Accounting unit

An accounting unit represents a location or business center in a general ledger company, such as a division, department, region, or store.

Your company can include up to five levels of accounting units. A level represents a layer in a company's hierarchy. For example, a company might include three levels: region, division, and department. Each level is part of, or reports to, the level above it. Each accounting unit must have a unique name, which is up to 15 characters long. You cannot change an accounting unit name after you define it.

How are accounting units used?

You use accounting units to further define your company. By defining accounting units at different levels, you build a company that resembles your organizational chart. You define two types of accounting units:

  • Posting accounting units are used to post journal entries. These accounting units are the lowest level of organization in a general ledger company.

  • Summary accounting units are used to summarize the activity of lower level accounting units for consolidation and reporting.

For more information, see the General Ledger User Guide.