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Analytic Configuration

This guide explains how to set up the foundation of your management accounting: Analytic Plans and Analytic Accounts.

While financial accounting (General Ledger) is legally required and standardized, analytic accounting is flexible and designed for internal decision-making. It answers the "Why?" and "For Whom?" questions about your income and expenses.

What are Analytic Dimensions?

To use analytic accounting effectively, you need to understand two key concepts:

1. Analytic Plans (The Dimension)

Think of an Analytic Plan as a dimension or an "axis" of analysis. It groups related analytic accounts together.

  • Examples: "Projects", "Departments", "Vehicles", "Cost Centers".
  • Purpose: You can analyze your business from multiple angles at once. For example, a flight ticket cost can be tagged to a specific Project AND a specific Department simultaneously.

2. Analytic Accounts (The Bucket)

Think of an Analytic Account as the specific bucket where costs and revenues are recorded. Every analytic account belongs to a specific Plan.

  • Examples (under "Projects" Plan): "Project Alpha", "Project Beta".
  • Examples (under "Departments" Plan): "HR", "Sales", "IT".

Where to Find It

Navigate to:

  • Accounting → Configuration → Analytic Accounting → Analytic Plans
  • Accounting → Configuration → Analytic Accounting → Analytic Accounts

Setting Up Analytic Plans

Before creating accounts, you usually define your plans.

  1. Navigate to Analytic Plans.
  2. Click Create Analytic Plan.
  3. Name: Give it a clear name (e.g., "Projects").
  4. Company: Select your company.
  5. Click Create & Create Another if you need more (e.g., "Departments").

Setting Up Analytic Accounts

Once you have your plans, you can create the specific accounts.

Step-by-Step

  1. Navigate to Analytic Accounts.
  2. Click Create Analytic Account.
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Name: Describing the account (e.g., "Project X - Website Redesign").
    • Plan: Select the Plan this belongs to (e.g., "Projects").
    • Reference: Optional code for easy searching (e.g., "PRJ-001").
    • Customer: Optional. Link this account to a specific customer if it's a client project.
    • Currency: The currency used for tracking this account's performance.
  4. Click Create.

How It Works in Practice

When you record a Vendor Bill or issuing a Customer Invoice, you will see an Analytic field on the invoice lines.

Example Scenario

You are paying for a software license costing $100.

  1. You select the Chart of Account: "610000 - Software Expenses". (This satisfies the legal requirement).
  2. You select the Analytic Account: "Marketing Dept". (This tells management who used it).

The Result:

  • General Ledger: Shows $100 expense in "Software Expenses".
  • Analytic Report: Shows $100 specific cost for "Marketing Dept".

[!TIP] You can enforce analytic tags on certain expense accounts to ensure your team never forgets to tag costs!

Best Practices

1. Keep it Simple

Don't create too many Plans. Start with the most important dimensions for your business, usually Departments and Projects.

2. Standard Naming

Use a consistent naming convention.

  • Good: "Dept - Sales", "Dept - IT"
  • Bad: "Sales", "The IT Guys"

3. Archive Old Accounts

When a project is finished, Archive the analytic account. This keeps your list clean but preserves the historical data for reporting.