Many of the processes or functions used in the Micronet sub-ledgers (Distribution system and Creditors Ledger) and in the Job Costing subsidiary ledger, are repetitive and tend to be allocated to the General ledger in the same way each time they occur. For example, customer sales invoices always transfer to the same account in the General Ledger.
GL interface records (or "integration tables") provide a way of automating these repetitive processes so that they happen behind the scenes and are invisible to users. They isolate various processes within the sub-ledger and attribute a GL account from the General Ledger Chart of Accounts to each, allowing data to be automatically allocated and transferred between the ledgers.
The benefits of GL interface records are:
GL interface records reside in the Micronet sub-ledgers (Distribution system and Creditors Ledger) and in the Job Costing subsidiary ledger.
The Distribution system generally uses GL interface records to allocate and transfer all data from its ledgers. These interface records are secondary to the primary integration you setup for the Distribution system on the Config GL Interface (Distribution) screen, where you can choose whether financial data should be dissected (i.e. reported by category) and how (e.g. by item or warehouse). You can use a single GL interface record for the whole Distribution system or multiple interface records for selected areas or functions. This means you can design very unique ways of transferring information to the General Ledger in any format you choose. The integration and Chart of Accounts rely heavily on each other for transfer of data. You need to consider both when designing your Chart of Accounts.
The Creditors Ledger only uses GL interface records for certain financial transactions. For example, every supplier/creditor payment needs to be transferred to the bank account in the General Ledger system. Rather than asking the user to choose the appropriate GL account number for every payment processed, the GL interface record within the Creditors Ledger supplies the appropriate GL account numbers and transfers the financial data to the General Ledger in the correct format. However, while the majority of creditors may be suppliers of stock, you may have other suppliers who provide goods or services relating to the operation of your business. For these types of diverse transactions, users need access to the Chart of Accounts so they can individually allocate expenses to the General Ledger.
The Job Costing Ledger works in much the same way as the Distribution system and relies solely upon GL interface records for allocation and transfer of financial data to the General Ledger.
So how do these considerations affect the implementation and design of your Chart of Accounts in the General Ledger? The following example demonstrates the dynamics.
A business generates sales in the Distribution system. It would like sales reported in its Profit & Loss by product categories rather than as a single sales amount each month. When designing its Chart of Accounts, the business would need to review the Distribution system ledger and consider the following:
This specialised configuration between the Distribution system and the General Ledger ensures that financial information relating to sales is transferred to the General Ledger in the way that meets the business's information and reporting requirements. While this particular example uses sales as a point of customisation, you can use integration techniques to transfer many diverse types of data to the General Ledger in a customised or dissected format.
Detailed instructions on setting up GL interface records are provided under "Setting up Micronet Integration".