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TASBooks - Check or enter nominal accounts

Nominal accounts are used to breakdown and analyse the transaction information entered into TASBooks. You need one nominal account for each type of expense, asset, liability etc that will be processed. The TASBooks Company Assistant creates a chart of accounts during the setup, based on your type of business. If you have your own nominal account structure, you can edit the default codes or set-up your own accounts.

The following sections explain what nominal accounts are and how to edit or add them in TASBooks.

What are nominal accounts?

Nominal accounts, also referred to as analysis codes, are used to breakdown and analyse the information you enter into TASBooks. Think of them as pots, which hold the various types of entries in your accounts. You need one nominal account for each of type of expense, asset, liability etc, for your business. For example, income from your sales will go in one pot. If you wanted to break this down further, you could have more than one nominal account for different types of sales.

By breaking down your entries into nominal accounts, TASBooks can create an accurate picture of your financial position. Financial reports like the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet, build their information using values of your various nominal accounts.

Nominal accounts are broken down into the following types. Depending on the type, the number of the nominal account needs to fall within a specific range. This enables TASBooks to pick up the correct information on your financial reports.

Fixed asset Assets which your business intends to retain for the coming year rather than convert into cash. Typical fixed assets include property, office equipment and motor vehicles.
Current asset An asset which can be easily realised. It can also be termed a liquid asset; for example, money in the bank or in petty cash, debtors or stock.
Liability Amounts owed by your business to third parties including suppliers, banks, tax authorities and employees.
Income Money that comes into your business, for example, from sales, fees or from donations.
Expense Items that your company buys which do not go to actually create your company's product or service. For example, stationery, petrol, promotional goods.
Cost of sales The direct costs incurred as a result of making sales. For a retail company, this may mean the cost of purchasing goods, net of carriage and purchasing discounts, less the movement in the value of the stock. For a manufacturing company, it may mean the cost of producing the goods sold.

The above types can be broken down further into categories, for example, liabilities can be long term, or current. When you create a new nominal account, you'll be asked to select a category for the account, and from the category, TASBooks will then be able to group the account into the correct analysis type.

To edit or add nominal accounts in TASBooks

  1. Nominal > Nominal Account > Maintain Chart of Accounts (Option 111).
  2. Enter the nominal account number you want to use, or to edit an existing code > press F2 > select the relevant code.
  3. Enter a description for this nominal account, or edit the existing description.
  4. Complete the Maintain Chart of Accounts window as follows:
    5. Account Type Choose the account type.
    Dr or Cr Select whether the account will have a Debit or Credit balance.
    Nominal Group Enter a nominal account group for reporting purposes, or press F2 > select the appropriate group from the available list.
    Analysis Category Choose the Analysis Category which applies to this nominal account.
    Inactive Account If you want to flag this account as inactive, and prevent entries being posted to it, select this check box.
  5. If you deal with subcontractors > CIS tab > choose the appropriate tax liability for CIS.

    6. Note: You can't post subcontractor's invoices to any nominal account set to Exempt.

  6. To enter budgets for this nominal account > Budget tab > for each period, enter the required value.
  7. To save the nominal account > Save > when prompted to accept the changes > Yes.

The following sections explain what nominal accounts are and how to edit or add them in TASBooks.

What are nominal accounts?

Nominal accounts, also referred to as analysis codes, are used to breakdown and analyse the information you enter into TASBooks. Think of them as pots, which hold the various types of entries in your accounts. You need one nominal account for each of type of expense, asset, liability etc, for your business. For example, income from your sales will go in one pot. If you wanted to break this down further, you could have more than one nominal account for different types of sales.

By breaking down your entries into nominal accounts, TASBooks can create an accurate picture of your financial position. Financial reports like the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet, build their information using values of your various nominal accounts.

Nominal accounts are broken down into the following types. Depending on the type, the number of the nominal account needs to fall within a specific range. This enables TASBooks to pick up the correct information on your financial reports.

Fixed asset Assets which your business intends to retain for the coming year rather than convert into cash. Typical fixed assets include property, office equipment and motor vehicles.
Current asset An asset which can be easily realised. It can also be termed a liquid asset; for example, money in the bank or in petty cash, debtors or stock.
Liability Amounts owed by your business to third parties including suppliers, banks, tax authorities and employees.
Income Money that comes into your business, for example, from sales, fees or from donations.
Expense Items that your company buys which do not go to actually create your company's product or service. For example, stationery, petrol, promotional goods.
Cost of sales The direct costs incurred as a result of making sales. For a retail company, this may mean the cost of purchasing goods, net of carriage and purchasing discounts, less the movement in the value of the stock. For a manufacturing company, it may mean the cost of producing the goods sold.

The above types can be broken down further into categories, for example, liabilities can be long term, or current. When you create a new nominal account, you'll be asked to select a category for the account, and from the category, TASBooks will then be able to group the account into the correct analysis type.

To edit or add nominal accounts in TASBooks

  1. Nominal > Nominal Account > Maintain Chart of Accounts (Option 111).
  2. Enter the nominal account number you want to use, or to edit an existing code > press F2 > select the relevant code.
  3. Enter a description for this nominal account, or edit the existing description.
  4. Complete the Maintain Chart of Accounts window as follows:
    5. Account Type

    Choose the account type.
    Dr or Cr Select whether the account will have a Debit or Credit balance.
    Nominal Group Enter a nominal account group for reporting purposes, or press F2 > select the appropriate group from the available list.
    Analysis Category Choose the Analysis Category which applies to this nominal account.
    Inactive Account If you want to flag this account as inactive, and prevent entries being posted to it, select this check box.
  5. If you deal with subcontractors > CIS tab > choose the appropriate tax liability for CIS.

    6. Note: You can't post subcontractor's invoices to any nominal account set to Exempt.

  6. To enter budgets for this nominal account > Budget tab > for each period, enter the required value.
  7. To save the nominal account > Save > when prompted to accept the changes > Yes.