How are Accounts Analyzed?

You can analyze your ledger accounts at two different levels:

  • Account level - to group the accounts in different ways.
  • Transaction level - to group the transactions in different ways.

Account Level Analysis

You can analyze each ledger account in up to 10 different ways, in addition to the account code itself. Using the Global Analysis facilities you can assign up to 10 different analysis dimension codes to a ledger account. You can then use these codes to extract, inquire and report on your accounts in different ways. See What are Analysis Dimensions and Codes? in the Business Unit Administrator Guide / Help.

For example, you might create an analysis dimension for sales territory codes and assign a sales territory code to each debtor/receivables account. You could then quickly identify and report on all of your debtors within a sales territory.

In order to analyze an account, you must first create the analysis dimensions and codes in Analysis Dimensions (AND) and Analysis Codes (ANC). You must also use Analysis Structure (ANS) to identify the analysis dimensions that are to be used to analyze accounts.

When you add a new account, you will be prompted to enter up to ten analysis codes, one for each of the analysis dimensions that have been assigned to the ledger account entity. You do not need to enter an analysis code for every analysis dimension that has been assigned, some may only be relevant to particular types of account.

See also How Does the Analysis Work? in the Business Unit Administrator Guide / Help.

Transaction Level Analysis

You can enter up to 10 different analysis codes on the individual transactions that are posted to ledger accounts. This provides extremely powerful additional analysis facilities. For example, you might enter an employee code on all of the transactions posted to employee related expense accounts. You could then produce an expenses analysis by account, broken down by employee. You could also produce an employee expenses report by extracting all of the expense transactions relating to a particular employee.

In order for this transaction analysis to be accurate, you must ensure the appropriate analysis codes are always entered on all of the relevant transactions.

The analysis dimensions that can be used to analyze ledger transactions are assigned using Analysis Structure (ANS). However, not all of these dimensions may apply to every type of ledger posting or account. So, when you create an account you can specify which of the ten available transaction analysis dimensions are to be mandatory, optional or disallowed on postings to the account.

Note: The Journal Type definition provides additional controls on the transaction analysis codes that are required on particular types of transaction. See Setting Up Journal Types.

If a transaction analysis dimension is set to mandatory for an account, it is prompted for during Ledger Entry (LEN), regardless of the selections made in Journal Types (JNT). This also applies to the validation during Ledger Import (LIM) and when you are amending analysis codes in Account Allocations (ACA).

Similarly, if a transaction analysis dimension is not allowed, it is not allowed during Ledger Entry (LEN).

If you leave the analysis dimension as optional, you can use the analysis code selections made for the journal type.