New Consolidated Organization Wizard - Account Segments Panel

Access this panel with Administrative user rights using File>New Consolidated Organization.

Use this panel to enter your chart of accounts segment structure and to define the properties for each segment or modify these selections. The system automatically displays suggested default segments. You can accept these segments, create your own, or delete all of them, except GL and CO. You will want to carefully consider your segment structure for the rules below. This makes it easier to produce financial statements (Reports>Financial Statements) and the Reports>990 Worksheet.

Note: Please be aware that a segment's properties cannot be added, deleted, or modified after the completion of this wizard. However, the names, function assignments, and the order of the segments can be changed at a later time using the Organization>Organization Information - Segments Tab.

 

To activate each new row, enter information in one of the columns, such as enter "4" in the Seq. column.

Seq.: The number entered here designates the order in which segments appear for transaction entry. The sequence does not affect the order that segments appear on reports; that order is controlled when reports are printed.

To change a sequence number, remove the number that is in the cell, enter a new sequence number for the segment, and click or tab out of the cell. Double-click on the Seq. column heading to reorder the rows according to the new sequence.

Name: Enter a name to identify each account segment. The system has three default segments—GL, Fund, and Organization ID. These names can be changed and additional segment names can be added. If accepting the default segments provided, the segment name should be modified to meet the organization's unique needs. For example, instead of using Sub Acct 1, you might change it to Location.

The names used in the consolidated organization must match the names in the original organizations. If they do not match the segment, the organizations will not be merged. The segment's behavior is determined by its associated Type.

Type: With the exception of CO, all types used in the consolidated organization must match the types in the original organizations.

The following is an explanation of each Segment Type:

• GL (General Ledger) - This segment type is used for classification of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenditures. It is required, and you can only have one GL segment.
• Fund - This segment type is used for recording transactions by fund (where fund is a self-balancing, separate set of books). It is optional, and you can only have one Fund segment in an organization's account structure.
• BAL (Balancing) - This segment type is used for transactions such as departments, functions, grants, and programs, where you want debits to equal credits for each related code.
• NBAL (NonBalancing) - This optional segment type is used for classification of transactions such as departments, functions, and programs, where you do not require that debits equal credits for each related code. NonBalancing segments are used in situations where an organization needs to track revenues and expenditures, but not balance sheet accounts.
• RES (Restrictions) - This optional segment type is used to classify activity according to ASC 958 (FAS 117 superseded) classifications—unrestricted, temporarily restricted, or permanently restricted.
• CO (Consolidate) - This segment type is used for classification of one or more original organizations within a consolidated organization. It is required, and you can only have one CO segment.

Character Type: This defines the character set used when naming account codes for each segment (Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes). Most users set up their segments with a numeric Character Type. However, an alphabetic or alphanumeric Character Type can be specified. The CO segment type must have a character type of AN.

Consider the person entering transactions when assigning segment Character Types—numbers are more easily and quickly entered than alphabetic characters. The table below shows each character type and which characters are valid for that type:

Character Type	Valid Characters
Numeric	Numbers 0-9 only
Alphabetic	Letters A-Z only (upper and lowercase)
Alphanumeric	0-9, A-Z, and punctuation (except the invalid characters: | " / \ : * ? < > [ ] ; ' % #)

Length: Enter a length for each segment. This defines the maximum number of characters allowed when naming account codes for each segment, as well as when naming each segment's report group.

Function: Select a function of N/A (Not Applicable), PGM (Program), FND (Fund), or RES (Restriction) for each segment. Only one segment can be assigned PGM, FND, or RES. All other segments must be assigned N/A. The system automatically assigns the function for the default segments; you can accept the system selections or edit them.

The function is used later when setting up account codes (Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes). Essentially, this code is used to determine the list of designation codes available on the Chart of Accounts Codes form. They are used primarily for 990 reporting.

By flagging a segment with a functional designation, the system will be able to associate that segment with pre-defined sets of grouping categories commonly used in financial and tax reporting. Function codes must be assigned in order to run the system's default financial statements and for reporting form 990.

• If a segment is set up with a function of PGM, it can be assigned a designation of Program Expenses, Fundraising Expenses, or Management & General Expenses. Use Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes>Setup tab to assign one of these designations to an account code, or use Reports>Assign Report Groups to assign multiple account codes to one of these designations.

  The system uses the PGM segment to identify the segment that will be used to group Program Service revenue for 990 Part VIII Line 2 items, as well as the Functional expenses in Part IV.

• If a segment is set up with a function of RES, it can be assigned a designation of FAS 117 (superseded): Unrestricted, Temporarily Restricted, or Permanently Restricted or ASC 958: Unrestricted (funds without donor restrictions) and Restricted (funds with donor restrictions). Use Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes>Setup tab to assign one of these designations to an account code, or use Reports>Assign Report Groups to assign multiple account codes to one of these designations.
• If a segment is set up with a function of FND, it can be assigned a designation of N/A or a fund designation code you created using the Reports>Assign Report Groups. Use Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes>Setup tab to assign one of these designations to an account code, or use Reports>Assign Report Groups to assign multiple account codes to one of these designations.
• The General Ledger segment always has a function of N/A because the system defined GL designations are only applicable to the GL Segment and there can only be one GL segment per organization. It can be assigned any designation available for the N/A Function. (For more information, see Chart of Account Code Designations.) Use Maintain>Chart of Accounts Codes>Setup tab to assign one of the available designations to an account code, or use Reports>Assign Report Groups to assign multiple account codes to one of these designations.