Peachtree - Maintain Charts of Accounts

General Ledger

Now you have setup your company in Peachtree, it is recommended to establish Chart of accounts, General Ledger Defaults and Beginning Balance if any.

To establish the charts of accounts click the Maintains menu and select “Chart of Accounts...” 

The following window will displayed

Here you have to type Account ID, Description and the most Important Account Type.

Enter an account ID and description for the account. The account ID determines how the account is identified and sorted in the chart of accounts list and the General ledger account is displayed as typed in description. Most charts of accounts are set up with specific account types grouped together.

Account Types

Account types define how the account will be grouped in reports and financial statements. They also control what happens during fiscal year-end.

General Ledger accounts are assigned types on the General tab of the Maintain Chart of Accounts window. Select an account type from the drop-down list and select Save to save the account. The account type should be selected carefully. If you are entering a Revenue account then its type will be Income so on. A simplified chart of account with Account ID, Description and Account Type is given at the end of the chapter.

You can enter the Beginning Balances on the General tab. Select the Beginning Balances button. Peachtree displays the Select Period window.

Select the period in which you want to enter beginning balances. You can select from previous, current, or future periods.

Select OK. Peachtree displays the Chart of Accounts Beginning Balances window.

Click or tab to any of the white cells in the grid to add an amount. (The gray cells are for viewing purposes only.)

Enter all the beginning balances for the accounts. Scroll the list box to make sure the account amounts are correct.

If you are out of balance in the Beginning Balances for General Ledger Accounts window, Peachtree displays a warning message indicating that an equity account will be created (or updated) to contain the difference or out-of-balance amount.

This account will be named Beginning Balance Equity, and its type is Equity-Doesn't Close. This account does not appear in the Beginning Balances window, but it will appear in the list of accounts and on financial statements and general ledger reports.

Try to find the reason for the out-of-balance situation, and correct it if possible. (Select Cancel when Peachtree displays the warning message.) If you are entering beginning balances from financial statements supplied by your previous accounting system or by your accountant, you most likely made an error in data entry. Make sure you didn't leave out an account or balance and that you entered all amounts correctly.

When done close the window.

Add a New Account in G/L Beginning Balances

In the Beginning Balances window accessed from the Maintain Chart of Accounts window, select the New button. Peachtree displays the Enter New Account window.

Enter an account ID and description for the account and also chose the appropriate account type and select OK.

Delete an Account from the Chart of Accounts

In order to delete an account from the chart of accounts, there must be no transactions posted to the general ledger that reference the account ID. If an account has a nonzero balance, you must delete or remove transactions associated with it. These can include beginning-balance entries.

If an account has a nonzero balance, you can enter an adjusting G/L transaction in the General Journal to bring the account's balance to zero. Then, after two year-end closings, you can purge or delete the account.

To make the account inactive

You can make the account inactive to ensure that no further transactions are associated with it. Then after two year-end closings, you can purge the account.

From the Maintain menu, select Chart of Accounts. Peachtree displays the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.

Select the account you want to make inactive. To display a list of existing accounts, type ? in the G/L Account ID field, or select the Lookup button.

Select the Inactive check box to the right of the account ID. (There is an mark in the check box when it is selected.)