Overview of Interactive General Ledger Reporting

Advantage Interactive General Ledger Reporting gives you the power to design and generate customized accounting reports.

You begin with four standard general ledger reports:

•	Balance Sheet

•	Income Statement

•	Profit Planning Monitor

•	Account Analysis (including Trial Balance)

You can display the reports using standard formatting options—so that they are identical to the same reports generated elsewhere in Advantage. Or you can choose from a wide spectrum of formatting options that let you control:

•	How general ledger amounts are sorted and grouped.

•	What columns are included in the report.

•	What accounts are included in the report.

•	What accounting period the report represents.

•	How accounts are subtotaled and rolled up.

•	Whether the report shows cash-basis or accrual-basis balances.

•	How numbers are formatted on the report.

•	The wording used in report labels.

•	The physical appearance of the report, including colors and borders used.

You can drill down on any of these reports, meaning that you can display the supporting detail for account balances and totals, and the posting logs associated with particular transactions.

  Notes

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Accessing Interactive General Ledger Reporting

You can begin using Interactive General Ledger Reporting in any of these ways:

•	From within Deltek Advantage.

•	From the Windows Start menu.

•	From the Deltek Advantage icon on your desktop.

To access Interactive General Ledger Reporting:

1.	Choose a method for starting the Interactive G/L Reporting application:

If you’re starting here:	Then you should do this:
From within the Deltek Advantage system	Select Reporting, Interactive General Ledger Reports from the main menu.
Desktop shortcut icon for Advantage	Double-click on the icon.  Then select Reporting, Interactive General Ledger Reports from the main menu.
Windows Start Menu	Choose Programs, Deltek Advantage 7.0, Interactive General Ledger Reporting.
Deltek Advantage displays the Interactive General Ledger Reporting Login form.

2.	Complete the fields on the Login form.

The system assumes that you want to generate reports for the accounting period that you chose when you logged in. If you don’t, you can choose a new accounting period.

The Select Report dialog displays. You can open a report and choose among your saved formatting options.

3.	Proceed to Help Getting Started.

Help Getting Started

For help getting started, refer to:

•	The Reports

•	Using the Toolbar Buttons

•	Basic Steps for Creating a Report.

•	Selecting (Opening) a Report


Logging in to Interactive General Ledger Reporting

1.	Enter your Advantage username in the Username field.

2.	Enter your password in the Password field.

3.	Click on the drop-down arrow in the Database field and select the database to which to connect. The default is Advantage Database.

4.	Follow special first-time instructions if this is the first time you are logging in.

5.	Click on the OK button. Advantage displays the Select Processing Periods form, which lists all of the processing periods you have had since you began using Advantage.

6.	Click on the processing period for which you plan to generate reports.

7.	Click on the OK button. Advantage displays the Select Report form, which lets you open a report and choose among your saved formatting options.


The Reports

Interactive General Ledger Reporting lets you produce four reports—the four standard general ledger reports that come with Advantage. Typically, all are run at the end of an accounting period. The four reports are:

Balance Sheet

Income Statement

Profit Planning Monitor

Account Analysis (including Trial Balance)

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Using the Toolbar Buttons

When you first open the Interactive General Ledger window, the window is empty.

The buttons in the toolbar, across the top of the window, perform the following functions:

	Open Favorite button, shortcut for File, Favorites—Click on this button to select a report format from a list of favorite reports that you have designed and saved.
	Open button, shortcut for File, Open—Click on this button to select one of the four report types. You can have as many reports open as your system can support. Also lets you create favorite reports.
	Print button, shortcut for File, Print—Click on this button to print the report.
	Report Options button, shortcut for Modify, Options—Click on this button to customize the format of the report. For example, you can change the report’s grouping or sorting, select the columns that appear on the report, or roll up account information.
	Run button, shortcut for File, Run Report—Click on this button to generate report data and display it on the screen.
	Account Selection button, shortcut for Modify, Selection—Click on this button to choose the accounts and/or profit centers that will appear in the report.
	Change Accounting Period button, shortcut for Modify, Change Period—Click on this button to generate reports for a different accounting period.
	Help button, shortcut for Help, Contents—Click on this button to open the Help Contents window.
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Basic Steps for Creating a Report

Follow the steps below to create a report. Keep in mind that you can perform these steps in almost any order.

To create a report:

1.	Select the report that you want to create. You have two options:

•	  Use the Open button to select a report type. Either run the report immediately using saved formatting options, or proceed to step 2 to choose new formatting options.

•	  Optional. Use the Open Favorites button to use a report type and format that you have already saved as a favorite report. Skip to step 5.

2.	  Optional. Choose report options. Report options control the information that appears on the report and how it is displayed. For example, report options control how a report is sorted and grouped, what columns are included, how drill-downs work, and whether you roll up account numbers.

You can save sets of report options for future use.

3.	  Optional. Select the accounts and profit centers to include in the report.

You can save account selection criteria for future use.

4.	  Optional. Change the accounting period on which you are reporting. Advantage lists all of the accounting periods that have occurred since you began using Advantage. Choose the one that you want.

5.	  If necessary, run the report. Running the report retrieves information from your database and displays the completed report on your screen. Once you run the report, you can drill down for detail.

6.	You do not need to run the report if you chose any account selection criteria. If you did, Advantage runs the report automatically.

7.	  Optional. Print the report.

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Security for Interactive General Ledger Reporting

When you use Interactive General Ledger Reporting, your access to accounting data is controlled by your Advantage security settings, entered through Advantage Security Maintenance. Your workgroup’s Security Maintenance form determines:

•	Whether you have general user access or administrator access to Interactive General Ledger Reporting.

•	Whether you can access a particular profit center’s accounting data.

General Users and Administrators

The difference between a general user and an administrator is that an administrator can create and delete global report options, global account selections, and global favorite reports.

Row-level Security for Profit Centers

The only row-level security settings that affect Interactive General Ledger Reporting are those that control your access to profit centers. If your access is restricted to specific profit centers, you will be able to generate general ledger reports for only those profit centers.

  Note


Specifying Report Options

Report options control many aspects of a report, including how information is sorted and grouped, what columns are included, how drill-downs work, and how the report appears when printed.

Each type of report has its own default settings. If you don’t choose any report options, Advantage uses the default settings for the report you are running.

If you think you will use a particular report format again, you can save a set of report settings for future use, or include the report settings in a favorite report.

To specify report options:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], or select Modify/Options.

3.	Click on the appropriate tab:

Options	Determines how information is displayed on the report (for example, whether accounts are rolled up, whether cash-basis balances appear, how categories are labeled, and how color is used on the report).
Sorting and Grouping	Determines the order in which accounts appear on the report, and how they are grouped.
Column Selection	Determines which columns appear on the report and the order in which they appear.
Drill Down Options	Determines what supporting information is displayed when you drill down on an amount.
Print Settings	Determines the report’s margins, orientation, and number of copies printed.
The options available on each tab depend on the report on which you are currently working.

4.	Change options as needed.

5.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings on all tabs.

6.	Optional. Save your new report settings for future use.

7.	Optional. Restore the default values on all of the report options tabs.

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Specifying General Options

The choices on the Options tab determine how information is displayed on the report (for example, whether accounts are rolled up, whether cash-basis balances appear, how categories are labeled, and how color is used on the report).

Options are different for each report type. For a list of each report’s general options, see:

•	Balance Sheet General Options

•	Income Statement General Options

•	Profit Planning Monitor General Options

•	Account Analysis General Options

To specify general options:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], or select Modify/Options.

3.	Click on the Options tab.

4.	Make changes to the fields on the tab.

5.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings on all tabs.

6.	Optional. Save your new report settings for future use.

7.	Optional. Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.

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Balance Sheet General Options

When you generate a Balance Sheet, you can use the Options tab to control formatting in a number of ways:

Option	Purpose
Report Title	Lets you enter a different name for the report.
Base Account	Lets you roll up the accounts shown on the report.
Cash Basis	Lets you generate a cash basis version of the report.
Account Subtotal	Lets you control where subtotals appear on the report. You specify an account digit and a label so that, for example, you can have Advantage provide a subtotal for all accounts that have the same first three digits. The label might be Subtotal on Third Digit.
Number Formats	Lets you control the format of dollar amounts on reports, and the way in which negative amounts are represented.
Account Type Labels	Lets you control whether Advantage uses the standard labels Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth on the report, or uses wording more specific to your firm.
Box Type, Color, Alignment	Let you control the appearance of the account type labels (the labels Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth if you use the standard wording). You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.
Group Table	Lets you choose an account group table to apply to the report. The account group table controls how accounts are grouped together on the report.


Income Statement General Options

When you generate an Income Statement, you can use the Options  tab to control formatting in a number of ways:

Option	Purpose
Report Title	Lets you enter a different name for the report.
Base Account	Lets you roll up the accounts shown on the report.
Cash Basis	Lets you generate a cash basis version of the report.
Account Subtotal	Lets you control where subtotals appear on the report. You specify an account digit and a label so that, for example, you can have Advantage provide a subtotal for all accounts that have the same first three digits. The label might be Subtotal on Third Digit.
Number Formats	Lets you control the format of dollar amounts on reports, and the way in which negative amounts are represented.
Account Type Labels	Lets you control whether Advantage uses the standard labels Revenue, Reimbursables, Directs, Indirects, and Other Charges on the report, or uses wording more specific to your firm.
Box Type, Color, Alignment	Let you control the appearance of the account type labels (the labels Revenue, Reimbursables, Directs, Indirects, and Other Charges if you use the standard wording). You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.
Group Table	Lets you choose an account group table to apply to the report. The account group table controls how accounts are grouped together on the report.
Percentages	Lets you control how Advantage calculates the percentages on the report. Advantage can calculate the amounts in all percentage columns by comparing account balances to Total Revenue, Revenue less Reimbursable Expense, Total Expense, or Total Operating Expense. Make the appropriate choice from the drop-down list.
Budgets for the Current Year	Lets you control the source of any budget amounts on the report. Choose from a list of all of the budgets that you created during the current fiscal year. You create budgets using the Advantage Profit Planning Worksheet.


Profit Planning Monitor General Options

When you generate a Profit Planning Monitor, you can use the Options tab to control formatting in a number of ways:

Option	Purpose
Report Title	Lets you enter a different name for the report.
Base Account	Lets you roll up the accounts shown on the report.
Cash Basis	Lets you generate a cash basis version of the report.
Account Subtotal	Lets you control where subtotals appear on the report. You specify an account digit and a label so that, for example, you can have Advantage provide a subtotal for all accounts that have the same first three digits. The label might be Subtotal on Third Digit.
Number Formats	Lets you control the format of dollar amounts on reports, and the way in which negative amounts are represented.
Account Type Labels	Lets you control whether Advantage uses the standard labels Revenue, Reimbursables, Directs, Indirects, and Other Charges on the report, or uses wording more specific to your firm.
Box Type, Color, Alignment	Let you control the appearance of the account type labels (the labels Revenue, Reimbursables, Directs, Indirects, and Other Charges if you use the standard wording). You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.
Group Table	Lets you choose an account group table to apply to the report. The account group table controls how accounts are grouped together on the report.
Budgets	Lets you control the source of the budget amounts on the report. Choose from a list of all of the corporate budgets that you have ever created, both in the current year and in prior years. You create budgets using the Advantage Profit Planning Worksheet.


Account Analysis General Options

When you generate an Account Analysis, you can use the Options tab to control formatting in a number of ways.

Note that the Account Analysis comes with one set of report options, saved globally, called Trial Balance. When you apply these report options, you generate a standard Trial Balance report. The only effect on the Options tab is to change the Report Title to Trial Balance.

Option	Purpose
Report Title	Lets you enter a different name for the report.
Base Account	Lets you roll up the accounts shown on the report.
Cash Basis	Lets you generate a cash basis version of the report.
Account Subtotal	Lets you control where subtotals appear on the report. You specify an account digit and a label so that, for example, you can have Advantage provide a subtotal for all accounts that have the same first three digits. The label might be Subtotal on Third Digit.
Number Formats	Lets you control the format of dollar amounts on reports, and the way in which negative amounts are represented.
Group Table	Lets you choose an account group table to apply to the report. The account group table controls how accounts are grouped together on the report.
Period Selection	Lets you choose the timeframe for the report.


Establishing Account Groups

Interactive General Ledger Reporting lets you group related accounts together on reports. For example, you can group all of your employee benefit expense accounts together, under the label Employee Benefits. When you generate a report, you can show:

•	Each benefit account separately, under the label Employee Benefits, or

•	A single, consolidated entry for all Employee Benefit accounts.

Note that, even if you use account groups, you can use the Account Number drill-down to see information about individual accounts.

Steps to Establish Account Groups

You establish account groups through Advantage Table Maintenance, not from within Interactive General Ledger Reporting. Establishing groups is a two-step process.

To set up account groups:

1.	Use Account Group Name Maintenance to establish names for the account groups (for example, Employee Benefits).

2.	Use Account Group Table Maintenance to set up as many account group tables as you wish. Each table provides Advantage with one scheme for grouping accounts.

Each table tells Advantage which accounts belong to each of the groups that you established in step 1 (for example, which accounts belong to the Employee Benefits group).

Because you can set up as many tables as you wish, you can group accounts differently on different reports, change the groupings from year to year, and so on.

Mixing Balance Sheet and Income Statement Accounts

Advantage will not let you create an account group table that mixes Balance Sheet accounts (Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth) with Income Statement accounts (Revenue and Reimbursable, Direct, and Indirect Expenses) in the same group. Mixing these accounts would create tolerances on your reports.

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Specifying an Account Group Table

With Interactive General Ledger Reporting, you can group related accounts together on your reports in almost any way you wish. You enter grouping information into account group tables, described in Establishing Account Groups. You can set up as many tables as you wish.

Then you can specify the table that you would like to use each time you generate a report.

To specify an account group table:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image].

3.	On the Options tab, click on the down arrow next to the Group Table field. Advantage lists all of the account group tables that your firm uses.

4.	Select a table.

5.	Click on the OK button. Advantage displays the report using the account group table.


Specifying Sorting and Grouping Options

The Sorting and Grouping Options tab lets you control:

•	How accounts are grouped together on the report.

•	The order in which they appear.

You can, for example, use these options to sort a Profit Planning Monitor by profit center, and show the accounts on the report consolidated by account group.

The tab lists all the sorting and grouping criteria available to you.

•	The Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Profit Planning Monitor use the same criteria.

•	The Account Analysisuses a different set.

For more information about how the criteria work, see Sorting and Grouping Criteria.

Multiple Sorting and Grouping Criteria

You choose the criteria that you want to use and the order in which you want to use them. If, for example, your first choice is Profit Center and your second is Account, Advantage sorts the report by profit center and, for each profit center, shows every account.

Using the Account Type Option

The Account Type option groups accounts using the standard account ranges: Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth, Revenue, and so on. In most cases, you will want to use Account Type as one of your sorting and grouping criteria, so that you see subtotals and totals for the different account ranges.

Moreover, in most cases you will want Account Type to be at the highest level of the sorting and grouping hierarchy. For example, you probably want to sort accounts first by Account Type then, within Account Type, by sort code, instead of vice versa. The one exception to this rule is that you may want to generate separate financial reports by profit center, in which case you would sort reports by Profit Center, then by Account Type.

Special Account Group Instructions

The Account Group option groups and consolidates the accounts on the report according to a plan that you have devised. If you intend to use Account Group as one of your sorting or grouping criteria, you must first:

1.	Create account groups and account group tables. See Establishing Account Groups for more information.

2.	Select an account group table to use with a particular report by entering a table name on the report’s Options tab. Remember, even if you use account groups, you can still use the Account Number drill-down to see information about individual accounts.

Note that any accounts that are not included in the table appear in the "Other " range on the report.

To sort and group a report:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], then select the Sorting and Grouping Options tab.

Two lists appear:

•	Available--Advantage shows all of the criteria available for the report on which you are working.

•	Selected--Advantage shows the criteria currently chosen, or the criteria used by default.

3.	Move and arrange the criteria as needed.

4.	Optional. For each item that you move into the Selected list, specify page breaks, line style, and color.

5.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings on all tabs.

What do you want to do?

Save your new report settings for future use.

Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.


Sorting and Grouping Criteria for Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Profit Planning Monitor

The Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Profit Planning Monitor share the same sorting and grouping criteria. The table below lists the criteria they share.

See Specifying Sorting and Grouping Options for help using these criteria.

Criterion	Purpose
Account Type	Provides information about each account range (for example, Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth). Appears by default in the Selected list.
Account	Provides information about each account. Appears by default in the Selected list.
Account Group	Provides information about each account group. Before using this criterion, you must enter an account group table name on the Options form, so that Advantage knows how to group accounts on the report.
Profit Center	Provides information for each valid combination of profit center subcodes.
Profit Center Levels	Provides information for specific profit center levels. The Available list includes all of the profit center levels your firm uses (for example, Region, Office, Discipline). Advantage can provide information for any of these levels. Example.
Sort/Select Codes	Provides information for accounts associated with specific sort/select codes. The Available list includes all of the sort/select codes that your firm has established for use with accounts. Advantage can sort or select based on any of these codes.
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Sorting and Grouping Criteria for Account Analysis

Use any of the following sorting and grouping criteria when formatting the Account Analysis.

See Specifying Sorting and Grouping Options for help using these criteria.

Note that the Account Analysis comes with one set of report options, saved globally, called Trial Balance. When you apply these report options, you generate a standard Trial Balance report, in which Account is the only sorting and grouping criterion selected for use.

Criterion	Purpose
Account	Provides information about every account that has had activity since you began using Advantage. Appears by default in the Selected list.
Transaction Detail	Provides a line of information for each transaction posted to the account.
Account Group	Provides information about each account group. Before using this criterion, you must enter an account group table name on the Options form, so that Advantage knows how to group accounts on the report.
Profit Center	Provides information for each valid combination of profit center subcodes.
Profit Center Levels	Provides information for specific profit center levels. The Available list includes all of the profit center levels your firm uses (for example, Region, Office, Discipline). Advantage can provide information for any of these levels. Example.
Transaction Type	Provides a single line for each transaction type that contributed to account activity. For example, Advantage shows a single line with a consolidated total for all timesheet postings that affected an account’s balance.
Fiscal Year and Period	Provides a single line for each processing period that contributed to account activity. For example, Advantage shows a single line with a consolidated total for all postings that occurred during accounting period 200101.
Sort/Select Codes	Provides information for accounts associated with specific sort/select codes. The Available list includes all of the sort/select codes that your firm has established for use with accounts. Advantage can sort or select based on any of these codes.
Placing Transaction Detail on the Selected List

One of your options is to include transaction detail on the report, meaning that you see each transaction that was posted to each account. If you choose this option, you must make transaction detail the lowest level of your sorting and grouping criteria.

You cannot, for example, place Account, then Transaction Detail, then Fiscal Year and Period in the Selected list. If you try to, Advantage displays the message:

When displaying transaction detail on the report, the Transaction Detail Sorting and Grouping band must be the last group.

If You Don’t Include Transaction Detail

Many of the column headings on the Account Analysis report (for example, Transaction Type and Reference Number) exist solely to label transaction detail lines. If you choose not to include transaction detail on the report, Advantage does not display these headings.

However, Advantage still considers the column headings present for the purpose of setting margins for the report. This means that the center of the report contains a good deal of white space. To make your report more attractive, we recommend removing these columns from the report. For help, see Selecting and Ordering Columns.

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Selecting and Ordering Columns

Interactive General Ledger Reporting gives you the power to change the columns that appear in a report and the order in which they appear.

Column Descriptions

For descriptions of the columns available for each report, see the following topics:

•	Columns on a Balance Sheet

•	Columns on an Income Statement

•	Columns on an Account Analysis

•	Columns on a Profit Planning Monitor

Column Labels

You can also change the labels that appear above the amount and percentage columns on the reports. (For example, you can change Prior Year Balance to Previous Year’s Balance or 1999 Year-end Balance.)

To select and order columns in the current report:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], then select the Column Selection tab.

Two lists appear:

•	Available--Advantage shows all of the columns available for inclusion on the current report.

•	Selected--Advantage shows the columns already chosen.

If a column name is gray, you do not have the security level required to access information in that column.

3.	Optional. To improve the appearance of the report, consider changing the width or indentation of the columns on the report.

4.	 Optional. If you have the option to change the column name, consider changing the name to one more appropriate to your firm.

5.	Move and arrange the columns as needed.

6.	Optional. Change the labels that appear above the columns.

7.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings on all Report Options tabs.

What do you want to do?

Save your new report settings for future use.

Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.


Columns in a Balance Sheet
Columns on a Balance Sheet

The following columns are available to be included on the Balance Sheet. Refer to Selecting and Ordering Columns for more information.

At the top of the Balance Sheet, Advantage provides the end date for the current accounting period. For example, you might see:  As of 6/30/03.

Columns That Appear By Default	Columns Available for Inclusion
Balance for the Current Year	Current Amount  Prior Period Amount  Prior Period Balance  Prior Year Amount  Prior Year Balance  Sort/Select 1-3  Custom Amount 1-13
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Columns on an Income Statement

The following columns are available to be included on the Income Statement. Refer to Selecting and Ordering Columns for more information.

At the top of the Income Statement, Advantage provides the end date for the current accounting period. For example, you might see:  As of 6/30/03.

Columns That Appear By Default	Columns Available for Inclusion
Current Amount  Year-to-Date Amount  Current Percentage  Year-to-Date Percentage	Current Budget  Current Budget Variance  Current Budget Variance Percentage  Year-to-Date Budget  Year-to-Date Budget Variance  Year-to-Date Budget Variance Percentage  Prior Period Amount  Prior Period Percentage  Prior Period (Year-to-Date) Amount  Prior Period (Year-to-Date) Percentage Prior Year Amount  Prior Year Percentage  Prior Year (Year-to-Date) Amount  Prior Year (Year-to-Date) Percentage  Sort/Select 1-3  Custom  Amounts and Percentages 1-13
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Columns on a Profit Planning Monitor

The following columns are available to be included on the Profit Planning Monitor. Refer to Selecting and Ordering Columns for more information.

Columns That Appear By Default	Columns Available for Inclusion
Current Amount  Current Budget  Current Variance  Current Budget Percentage  Year-to-Date Amount  Year-to-Date Budget  Year-to-Date Variance  Year-to-Date Budget Percent  Annual Budget	Sort/Select 1-3  Custom Amounts, Budgets, Variances and Percentages 1-13
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Columns on an Account Analysis

The following columns are available to be included on the Account Analysis. Refer to Selecting and Ordering Columns for more information.

Note that the Account Analysis comes with one set of report options, saved globally, called Trial Balance. When you apply these report options, you generate a standard Trial Balance report, in which the columns selected are: Opening Balance, Total Debits, Total Credits, and Closing Balance.

Columns That Appear By Default	Columns Available for Inclusion
Transaction Type  Reference Number  Fiscal Year and Period  Posting Sequence  Transaction Date  Description  Project  Task  Opening Balance  Amount  Closing Balance	Total Credits  Total Debits  Account Number  Profit Center  Profit Center Levels  Description 1-2  Sort/Select 1-3
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Overview of Drill Downs

Interactive General Ledger Reporting lets you "drill down" on account balances and totals to learn more about them.

You can drill down on any amount except for budgets and those amounts that combine totals (for example, the Liabilities Plus Net Worth amount on the Balance Sheet, the Tolerance on the Balance Sheet, or any Operating Expense amounts). You can also drill down on the reference numbers and posting sequence numbers of specific transactions, to see the posting logs from which individual transactions originated.

If you can drill down on a number, the column heading above the number appears in blue type on the screen.

You can make a printed copy of any drill down information that you display.

Note that you can drill down on only those reports created using the current selection of accounts.

Up to Six Levels of Information

You can drill down on an amount or number up to six times, each time displaying different information. For example, you might drill down on an account balance:

•	Once, to see all postings to that account.

•	Again, to see the account balance broken out by profit center.

Or you can drill down on a total:

•	Once, to see all of the accounts that contributed to the total.

•	Again, to see all of the transactions that contributed to the total.

Each time you generate a report, you can decide how you want drill downs to work for that report.

For more information about the six types of information you can display, see Drill Down Levels.

Period Range for Drill Downs

By default, all drill downs include information for just the current year. However, you can choose to have drill downs include information for a range of periods, beginning sometime in the past and ending with the current period.

Drill Down Sorting

You can also sort the detail lines that appear in drill down windows by specifying up to four levels of sorting. For example, you can sort the detail lines by profit center then, within profit center, by transaction date. For more information about sorting, see Drill Down Sorting.

What do you want to do?

Specify how drill downs should work on a given report.

Perform drill downs.


Specifying How Drill Downs Work

As part of formatting a report, you can control how drill downs work for that particular report. Advantage lets you choose from six different drill down levels. Each level provides you with a different type of information about your account balances and totals.

You can choose both the drill down levels that you want to use and the order in which you want to use them. For example, if you choose Transaction Type as your first level and Period and Posting Sequence as your second:

•	The first time you drill down on a balance, you’ll open up a drill down window that shows the balance broken out by transaction type.

•	Then you can drill down on the balance again to see the individual transactions, by period and posting sequence, that contributed to the balance.

Besides choosing drill down levels, you can specify how you want the detail lines in the drill down windows to be sorted.

To choose drill down levels:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], then select the Drill Down Options tab.

Two lists appear:

•	Available Levels of Drill Down--Advantage shows all of the drill down levels available.

•	Selected--Advantage shows the levels currently chosen.

3.	Optional. Select a starting period for the information in the drill down window.

4.	Move and arrange the levels as needed.

5.	Optional. Specify how you want to sort the detail lines in drill down windows.

6.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings you chose.

What do you want to do?

Save your new report settings for future use.

Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.

 Related Topics


Drill Down Levels

The drill down levels you can choose from are the same, no matter what report you are running. The list below shows the levels that are selected by default and those that are available for selection.

Levels Selected by Default	Levels Available for Selection
Transaction Type	Account Number
Period and Posting Sequence	Profit Center
Account Detail	Fiscal Year and Period
 Related Topics


Drill Down Sorting

By default, the detail lines that appear in drill down windows are sorted by:

•	profit center, then

•	transaction type, then

•	reference number, then

•	period and posting sequence.

The Sort Account Detail option lets you change how these lines are sorted. You can specify up to four levels of sorting from the options listed below.

Sorting Option	Description
Account Number	Sorts by account number.
Profit Center	Sorts by profit center.
Transaction Type	Sorts by transaction type (timesheets, journal entries, etc.).
Reference Number	Sorts by the reference numbers assigned to transactions.
Period and Posting Sequence	Sorts by the periods in which transactions were posted and the sequence numbers Advantage assigned to the posting runs
Transaction Date	Sorts by the dates associated with transactions.
Description	Sorts based on Description 1, the highest level description for transactions.
Project Number	Sorts by the project numbers associated with transactions.
No Sort	Does not sort the transactions.
To specify a new sort:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Report Options button, [image], then select the Drill Down Options tab.

3.	In the Sort Account Detail area, choose up to four levels of sorting from the drop-down lists provided.

4.	Click on the OK button to accept the settings you chose.


Performing Drill Downs

Drilling Down on Balances and Totals

You can drill down on almost all account balances and totals displayed. If you see a blue column heading, you can drill down on the amounts in that column.

When the pointer rests on one of these amounts, it changes to a magnifying glass. When you click, Advantage displays supporting information about the amount. If you want to, you can print a copy of the supporting information.

Drilling Down on Reference Numbers and Posting Sequence Numbers

You can also drill down on the reference numbers and posting sequence numbers associated with transactions. If you see a blue reference number or posting sequence column heading, you can drill down on the entries in that column.

When the pointer rests on one of these entries, it changes to a green pushpin. When you click, Advantage displays the posting log associated with the entry. You can click on the G/L Summary button on the posting log to display a list of the summary postings made to the general ledger during the posting run. If you want to, you can print a copy of the posting log or the G/L Summary.

Period Dates and Date Ranges on Drilldown Reports

The report headings on drilldown reports available from the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Profit Planning Monitor depend upon the period date or period range of the column on which you are drilling down.

The following examples use the period 06/2003 as the current period:

Report	Column you drill down on	Format of report heading
Balance Sheet	Prior Year Amount	For the period 00/2002 - 12/2002
	Prior Period Amount	For the period 5/2003
	Custom Amount	Depends upon which custom columns you select on the Column Selection tab. For example, you could see: For the period 03/2003 - 06/2003
	Balance	As of 6/30/03
	Prior Period Balance	As of 5/31/03
	Prior Year Balance	As of 6/30/02
Income Statement	Current	For the period 6/2003
	Year-to-Date	For the period 00/20030 - 06/2003
	Prior Period	For the period 5/2003
	Prior Year	For the period 00/2002 - 12/2002
	Custom	Depends upon which custom columns you select on the Column Selection tab.
Profit Planning Monitor	Current	For the period 6/2003
	Year-to-Date	For the period 00/20030 - 06/2003
	Custom	Depends upon which custom columns you select on the Column Selection tab.
Current Selection

Remember that you can drill down on only those reports created using the current selection of accounts.

To perform a drill down:

1.	Specify how you want drill downs to work for the report you are generating. You can choose to display up to six levels of information.

2.	Run the report.

3.	Move the pointer to a balance, total, reference number, or posting sequence number. If you can drill down on the balance or total, the pointer changes to a magnifying glass. If you can drill down on the reference number or posting sequence number, the pointer changes to a pushpin.

4.	Click once. Advantage displays a drill down window showing the first level of drill down information.

5.	Optional. Click on the Print Report button, [image], to print a copy of the drill down window.

6.	Continue to click—either on the original item or on any other item in the drill down window--to see the second or any subsequent level of information. Advantage continues to display drill down windows, each showing a new level of detail.

 Notes

 Related Topics


Saving Report Options

If you think you’ll use a set of report options again, save it. You can use the saved options in the future or include them when you create a favorite report.

When you save a set of options, Advantage saves the settings that you have entered on all Report Options tabs, with two exceptions. Advantage does not save the following two settings because they are settings that would not make sense to save from report to report:

•	The Show detail as of period setting on the Drill Down Options tab.

•	The Period Selection setting on the Options tab for the Account Analysis.

Advantage saves options in your database under your Advantage username, not on your workstation. That means that you can use saved options on any workstation, as long as you log on under your username.

To save report options:

1.	Click on the Save Options button at the bottom of any Report Options tab.

2.	Enter a description or name for the settings. You will choose this description later, when you want to use the saved settings.

If you would like to reuse an existing name, display the drop-down list of saved settings. Select the name you would like to reuse and confirm that you want to use it.

3.	Optional. Select Use as default settings if you want this set of options to be applied to the report automatically whenever you log onto Interactive General Ledger Reporting.

4.	Optional. If you are an Interactive General Ledger Reporting administrator, you have the option of selecting the Save this globally (for all users) option, making the saved settings available to all other users in your firm.

5.	Click on the Save button.

6.	If you are reusing an existing name, confirm that you want to replace the existing settings.

The name you chose now appears on the Saved Options drop-down list for future use.

What do you want to do?

Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.

Use saved options.

Delete saved options.

Create a favorite report using the saved options.

 Tip

  Related Topics


Selecting Accounts to Include in the Report

Interactive General Ledger Reporting gives you the power to select the individual accounts that are included in a report. You may, for example, want to print an Account Analysis that shows all activity in your expense accounts, without including the rest of your general ledger accounts.

You can also generate reports for specific profit centers. For example, you can print an Income Statement for just the Toronto office.

Note that you cannot select specific accounts to appear on the Balance Sheet. Because the Balance Sheet is meaningful only when complete, Advantage automatically includes all accounts. You can, however, generate a Balance Sheet for one or more specific profit centers.

When you print a report that does not include all accounts and profit centers, Advantage displays the message Report Based on Selection Criteria at the top of the report.

Current Selection

The accounts that you choose become your current selection, the accounts that will appear on all of the reports that you generate until you close the Interactive General Ledger Reporting window or select a different set of accounts.

Selection Criteria

You can select accounts in any of the following ways:

By specifying an account number or name	Shows activity for a single account that you identify by number or name.
By specifying a profit center or select code	Shows activity for one or more accounts associated with a specific profit center, profit center level, or sort/select code.
By choosing accounts or groups from a list of your accounts.	Shows activity for all of the accounts or groups that you choose.
Using Multiple Selection Criteria

You choose the account selection criteria that you want to use and the order in which you want to use them. Assume, for example, that your first choice is a specific profit center and your second choice is all accounts with the sort/select code ADMINEXP. First Advantage finds all account activity associated with the profit center. Then Advantage narrows this pool down to only the activity associated with ADMINEXP accounts.

Account Selection Window

The Account Selection window at the bottom of the screen lets you keep track of the accounts you have selected. The window lists all of the standard Advantage account categories. When you click on the right arrow next to a category, you see a list of all of the accounts in that category currently chosen for inclusion.

If you select an account group table from the Group Table drop-down list, Advantage uses the table to group the accounts in the Account Selection window. Any accounts not included in the table appear in the Other Charges category in the window.

You can choose account categories and specific accounts directly from the Account Selection window.

Also, you can select accounts based on Account Status. This selection will only display account statuses that exist in the database (for example, if all accounts were active, only active would be available for selection; if all accounts were either active or inactive, only those two statuses would be available for selection). The three account statuses are Active, Inactive, and Dormant.

To select accounts:

1.	Click on the Account Selection button, [image] . The Account Selection form appears.

2.	Optional. Select an account group table name from the Group Table drop-down list. The purpose of entering a table name here is to organize your accounts for easier selection. The table determines the way in which accounts are listed in the Account Selection pane at the bottom of the form.

3.	Then choose accounts in one or more of the following ways:

•	By account name or number. Use this option to report on a single account. This option overrides any other choices that you make.

•	By profit center or select code.

•	By selecting accounts from an account list.

•	Using saved selection criteria.

4.	Click on the Search button to retrieve all accounts that meet the selection criteria.

5.	Optional. Continue entering selection criteria to further refine the selection you’ve made.

6.	Click on the Accept button to make the accounts you selected the current selection.

What do you want to do?

Save your new account selection criteria for further use.

Clear all selections from the form.

Restore default selections..


Selecting Accounts by Name or Number

Follow these steps to select a single account by name or number. Choosing a single account overrides any other choices that you make.

1.	Double-click in the Account field on the Account Selection form.

Advantage displays the Account Search form, which lets you list all of your accounts by number and name.

2.	Refer to the Using the Search Window help topic for further instructions.

3.	Click on the Search button to retrieve the account.

4.	Optional. Continue entering selection criteria to choose additional accounts.

5.	Click on the Accept button to make the accounts you selected the current selection.

  Related Topics


Selecting Accounts by Profit Center or Select Code

The Account Selection form lets you select accounts based on the following criteria:

Profit Center	Includes account activity associated with one or more specific profit centers.
Profit Center Levels	Includes account activity associated with one or more specific profit center levels (for example, one or more specific offices or disciplines). You can choose from any of the profit center levels that your firm has established.
Sort/Select Codes	Includes accounts associated with one or more sort/select codes. You can choose from any of the sort/select codes that your firm has established for use with accounts.
You choose the selection criteria that you want to use and the order in which you want to use them.

To select accounts by profit center or sort/select code:

1.	Select the first column on which you want to base your account selection. For example, if you want to generate a report for just one profit center, select the Profit Center column.

2.	Choose the values on which you want to base the selection. For example, if you want to generate a report just for profit center DV:AR, select DV:AR.

3.	If you want to add any additional selection criteria, repeat steps 1 and 2.

4.	Click on the Search button to retrieve the accounts.

5.	Optional. Continue entering selection criteria to choose additional accounts.

6.	Click on the Accept button to make the accounts you selected the current selection.

What do you want to do?

Clear the selections for a particular column.

  Related Topics


Selecting Accounts from an Account List

The bottom half of the Account Selection form lists all of the accounts currently chosen for inclusion on the report. If you select an account group table from the Group Table drop-down list, the accounts are grouped according to the table you chose.

If you wish, you can choose accounts or groups directly from this list.

To select entire groups:

1.	Highlight the group names.

2.	Click on the Accept button.

To select individual accounts:

1.	Click on the right arrow next to the group to which the accounts belong. For example, click on the right arrow next to Assets if you want to choose Asset accounts. Advantage displays a list of all accounts in that group.

2.	Highlight the accounts.

3.	Click on the Accept button.

  Related Topics


Saving Account Selection Criteria

If you think you’ll use a set of account selection criteria again, you can save it for future use, or include the criteria in a favorite report.

When you save account selection criteria, Advantage saves all settings on the Account Selection tab, except those on the bottom half of the tab:

•	Any entry in the Group Table field.

•	Any individual accounts chosen from the Accounts Selected pane.

Advantage saves criteria in the database under your Advantage username, not on your workstation. That means that you can use saved criteria on any workstation, as long as you log on under your username.

To save account selection criteria:

1.	Be sure you have clicked on the Search button to retrieve the accounts you want.

2.	Click on the Save button on the Account Selection tab.

3.	Enter a name or description for the selection criteria.

If you would like to reuse an existing name, display the drop-down list of saved criteria. Select the name you would like to reuse and confirm that you want to use it. The new criteria will replace the old criteria stored under that name.

4.	If you are an Interactive General Ledger Reporting administrator, you have the option of selecting the Save this globally (for all users) option, making the selection criteria available to all other users in your firm.

5.	Click on the Save button.

The name you chose now appears on the Saved Selection Criteria drop-down list for future use.

What do you want to do?

Restore the default values on the Account Selection tab.

Use saved criteria.

Delete saved criteria.

Create a favorite report using the saved criteria.

  Related Topics


Changing Accounting Periods

When you first log into Interactive General Ledger Reporting, you select a fiscal period from the Select Processing Period form. All of the reports that you subsequently run are for the period that you selected.

You can select a different period at any time.

To change accounting periods:

1.	Click on the Change Accounting Period button, [image], or select Modify/Change Period.

2.	Select a new accounting period from the Select Processing Period form.

3.	Click on the OK button.

Any reports that you generate will contain information for the newly selected period.


Selecting (Opening) a Report

Before you can work on a new report type, you must select the report and open it for use.

You can have more than one report open at a time. When you open an additional report, it appears in a new window. Opening a new report does not close an existing report. See Having More Than One Report Open at a Time for more information.

To select a report:

1.	Click on the Open button, [image], to display the Select Report form. This form displays automatically when you first enter Interactive General Ledger Reporting.

2.	Highlight the report that you want.

3.	Optional. Choose a saved set of report options from the Saved Report Options drop-down list.

4.	Optional. Choose a saved set of account selection criteria from the Saved Selection Criteria drop-down list.

5.	Optional. Click on the Add to Favorites button if you want to save the choices you made in steps 3 and 4 for future use.

6.	Click on the Select button.

If you have chosen any saved selection criteria, Advantage runs the report automatically. If you haven’t, Advantage displays the headings for the new report, but does not display any account information.

7.	If Advantage doesn’t run the report automatically, run the report yourself.

What do you want to do?

Choose among report options that control the format of the report.

Select the accounts that will be included in the report.

Run the report, so that Advantage retrieves and displays account information.


Creating Favorite Reports

Whenever you design a report format that you may want to use again in the future, consider making it a favorite report. When you create a favorite report, Advantage stores:

•	Any report options that you used.

•	Any account selection criteria that you used.

Interactive General Ledger Reporting comes with one favorite report, saved globally, called Trial Balance, which lets you generate a standard Trial Balance report.

To create a favorite report:

1.	Select a report.

2.	Optional. Specify and save report options.

3.	Optional. Select accounts to be included in the report and save account selection criteria.

4.	When you are satisfied with the report format, click on the Open Report button, [image].

5.	Select the report type.

6.	Select the saved report options and/or select saved selection criteria from the drop-down lists.

7.	Click on the Add to Favorites button.

8.	Enter a name or description for the favorite report.

If you want to reuse an existing name, select the name from the drop-down list. The new options will replace any old options stored under this name.

9.	Optional. If you are an Interactive General Ledger Reporting administrator, you can save the format globally, meaning that it will be available to all users. If you wish to save the format globally, select the Save this globally (for all users) option.

10.	Click on the Save button.

11.	If you are reusing an existing name, confirm that you want to overwrite the existing favorite report.

What do you want to do?

Use a favorite report.

Delete a favorite report.


Using Favorite Reports

Whenever you design a report format that you may want to use again in the future, you can save the report settings as a favorite report.

To use a favorite report:

1.	Click on the Open Favorite button, [image]. Advantage displays the Select Favorite form, which lists all of the favorite reports that you have saved for all of your projects, plus any global favorites that the Interactive General Ledger administrator has saved for you.

2.	Select a report name from the drop-down list at the top of the form. Advantage lists all of the favorite reports available for the report you chose.

3.	Select the format you would like to use, then click on the Select button. Advantage runs the report using the format that you chose.

What do you want to do?

Create a favorite report.

Delete a favorite report.


Running a Report

Before running a report, follow these steps:

1.	Select (open) the report.

2.	(Optional ) Select report options to customize the look and content of the report.

3.	(Optional ) Select a set of accounts and/or profit centers to be included in the report. If you do not select accounts or profit centers, Advantage uses:

•	All accounts.

•	All profit centers to which you have security access.

Note that you cannot select specific accounts to appear on the Balance Sheet. Because the Balance Sheet is meaningful only when complete, Advantage automatically includes all accounts. You can, however, generate a Balance Sheet for one or more specific profit centers.

To run a report:

Click on the Run button, [image] .


Having More Than One Report Open at a Time

You can have as many reports open at a time as your system can support. Options for Displaying Reports on the Screen describes the many ways in which you can display multiple reports on the screen.

The toolbar buttons and menu commands affect only the top-most report.

Current Selection

Before you run reports, you have the option of selecting a set of accounts and/or profit centers that constitute your current selection. If you do not select a set of accounts, your current selection is:

•	All accounts.

•	All profit centers to which you have security access.

You can run as many reports as you wish based on the current selection. For example, if your current selection is your set of expense accounts, you can print both an Account Analysis and a Profit Planning Monitor for just your expense accounts, without having to reselect the expense accounts in-between.

Note that you cannot select specific accounts to appear on the Balance Sheet. Because the Balance Sheet is meaningful only when complete, Advantage automatically includes all accounts. You can, however, generate a Balance Sheet for one or more specific profit centers.

Changing the Current Selection

When you change the current selection, keep in mind that the information changes on only the top-most report. You must rerun any other reports to see the new information. To rerun a report using the current selection, use the report list to make the report the top-most report, then click on the Run button, [image].

  Related Topics


Options for Displaying Reports on the Screen

Because Interactive General Ledger Reporting lets you keep many reports open at the same time, and because it lets you create very large reports, it comes with a set of tools to help you manage the reports on your screen.

Click on Window in the main menu to display the following options:

Option	Purpose
Vertical	If you have more than one report open, displays the reports side by side.
Horizontal	If you have more than one report open, displays the reports one above the next.
Layer	If you have more than one report open, displays the top-most report with all other reports hidden behind it. Use the Windows minimize and maximize buttons to hide and reveal the reports.
Cascade	If you have more than one report open, displays the reports staggered on the screen.
Zoom	Lets you control the size of the reports on the screen. Enter a percentage to expand or shrink the reports. For example, enter 50 to show reports at half their normal size.
Toolbar	Controls whether the toolbar buttons appear on the screen.
Report List	Displays a list of all open reports. By default, a checkmark appears next to the most recently created report, which Advantage places in the top-most or left-most position. You can, however, click on another report to move the checkmark and make that report the top-most or left-most report.
  Related Topics


Closing a Report

When you close a report, you still have access to the current selection. You can select and run another report using the current selection, or specify a new selection for the next report.

To close the current report:

Select File/Close or click on the Windows Close button.


Printing a Report

Before you print a report, you can change the print settings for the margins, orientation, and number and size of copies printed.

To print the current report:

Click on the Print button, [image] .


Print Settings

The print settings determine the margins, orientation, and size of the printed report, and the number of copies printed.

To change print settings for the current report:

1.	Select (open) the report that you plan to generate.

2.	Click on the Options button, [image] , then select the Print Settings tab.

3.	Change the settings as needed:

Margins	Enter the amount of space you want for the top, bottom, left, and right margins.
Orientation	Choose Portrait to print across the width of the page (8-1/2 x 11); choose Landscape to print across the length of the page (11 x 8-1/2).
Copies	Enter the number of copies you want printed.
Zoom	Enter a percentage to change the size of the printed report. For example, enter 75 to shrink the report to 75% of its normal size.
4.	Click on the OK button.

5.	Click on the Print button, [image] to print the report.

What do you want to do?

Save the print settings for future use.

Restore the default values on all of the Report Options tabs.

  Note


Drill-Down

You can "drill down" on almost all account balances and totals displayed on the screen. You can also drill down on reference numbers and posting sequence numbers. If you see a blue column heading, you can drill down on the items in that column.

When the pointer rests on one of these amounts, it changes to a magnifying glass (for a balance or total) or a pushpin (for a reference number or posting sequence number). When you click, Advantage displays supporting information about the item.

You can choose up to six levels of supporting information to see when you drill down.

See Overview of Drill Downs for more information.


Rollup

The Base Account feature lets you summarize, or roll up, account information based on specific digits of the account number. For example, you can choose to roll up based on the first two digits of the account number, meaning that Advantage consolidates information for all accounts that share the same first two digits.

For more information, see Base Account Option.


Cash-Basis Report

If you use the Advantage Cash-Basis Reporting feature, Advantage maintains cash-basis account balances in parallel with accrual-basis balances. On the cash-basis side, Advantage:

•	Recognizes revenue when cash is received.

•	Recognizes expense when cash is disbursed.

If you use this feature, you can generate any general ledger report using cash-basis balances. These reports are especially useful for tax reporting, which many firms perform on a cash basis.


Moving and Arranging Sorting and Grouping Criteria

•	To move an item from one list to the other, click on the item, hold down the mouse button, and drag the item to the other list.

•	To change the order of the items in the Selected list, click on the item that you want to reposition, hold down the mouse button, then drag the item to its new position.

•	As you drag an item, an arrow on the left side of the list shows your current position in the list. When the arrow is pointing to where you want the item to be, release the mouse button.


Valid Profit Center Combinations

You establish valid profit center combinations on the Individual Profit Center Setup form. To display this form, select Utilities from the Advantage Main Menu. Then select Setup Table Maintenance, Profit Centers, Individual Profit Center Setup.


Profit Center Levels

You establish profit center levels on the Profit Center Reporting Setup form. To display this form, select Utilities from the Advantage Main Menu. Then select Setup Table Maintenance, Profit Centers, Profit Center Reporting Setup.


Sort/Select Codes

You establish sort/select codes on the Sort/Select Setup form. To display this form, select Utilities from the Advantage Main Menu. Then select Setup Table Maintenance, Sort/Select Setup.

You assign codes to accounts on the Chart of Accounts Maintenance form. To display this form, select Tables from the Advantage Main Menu. Then select Accounts, Chart of Accounts.

In the past, many firms have used sort/select codes to group accounts into categories. Advantage now has an Account Group feature that performs the same function. For more information, see Establishing Account Groups.


Moving and Arranging Columns

•	To move a column from one list to the other, click on the name, hold down the mouse button, and drag the name to the other list.

•	To change the order of the columns in the Selected list, click on the name of the column that you want to reposition, hold down the mouse button, then drag the name to its new position.

•	As you drag a column name, an arrow on the left side of the list shows your current position in the list. When the arrow is pointing to where you want the column to be, release the mouse button.


Balance Sheet

This report shows the distribution of your firm’s assets, liabilities, and net worth. The Balance Sheet includes totals for assets, liabilities, and net worth, as well as a total for liabilities plus net worth.

Total assets should equal total liabilities plus net worth. If these totals do not agree, the bottom of the report includes a tolerance line, showing the amount of the discrepancy.


Income Statement

This report provides a detailed statement of your revenue and expense account balances for the current period and year-to-date. Advantage uses these balances to calculate the firm’s current period and year-to-date operating profit/loss, which appear at the bottom of the report.


Account Analysis

This report shows the opening and closing balance for each of your general ledger accounts. It also lists all transactions that were posted to each account during a given accounting period. Because this report provides both closing balances and transactional detail, it serves as an audit trail of your general ledger activity.

By choosing certain formatting options, you can turn the Account Analysis into a Trial Balance report.


Profit Planning Monitor

This report compares your firm’s actual financial performance to your corporate budget. For each revenue and expense account, the report shows actual and planned balances, for the current period and year-to-date. The planned balances are those that you entered on the Profit Planning Worksheet.

Use this report to monitor how well you are meeting performance goals.


Base Account Option

The Base Account option lets you summarize account information based on specific digits of the account number. For example, you can consolidate information for all accounts that share the same first two digits or, for that matter, the same final two digits. When you generate a report, asterisks represent the "rolled up"—or consolidated—digits.

Advantage always uses the name of the first account in a range as the name for the entire range, even if no amount is posted to that account. Example.

The Base Account slider box shows the format of your firm’s account numbers (for example 123.45 for a five-digit account number with a decimal between the third and fourth digits). Simply drag the slider(s) to cover the characters that you want to roll up. For example, drag the right slider over the final two digits to roll up those digits.

To roll up account numbers:

1.	Put a checkmark in the Base Account option box. If you don’t put a checkmark in the option box, the slider box will be disabled.

2.	Drag the slider(s) to cover the characters that you want rolled up. You can drag a slider from the left or right or from both sides of the slider box.

If you use both the Account Subtotal and Base Account options

If you use both options together, the effect will be one of the following:

•	If only one line is in a group to be subtotaled, a subtotal line does not display (a blank line follows the "detail" line instead of a subtotal line).  This happens whether or not the accounts are rolled up.

•	If the account is rolled up to the digit being subtotaled, or to a digit less than the digit being subtotaled, no subtotal lines are displayed.  Blank lines appear between each rolled-up transaction detail line.

•	If the roll-up is to a digit greater than the subtotal digit, subtotals appear for each group when there are multiple lines of transaction detail.


Cash Basis option

If you use the Advantage Cash-Basis Reporting feature, Advantage maintains cash-basis account balances in parallel with accrual-basis balances. On the cash-basis side, Advantage:

•	Recognizes revenue when cash is received.

•	Recognizes expense when cash is disbursed.

If you use this feature, you can generate any general ledger report using cash-basis balances. These reports are especially useful for tax reporting, which many firms perform on a cash basis.

To avoid confusion, Advantage clearly labels all cash-basis reports; for example: Balance Sheet (Cash Basis).

To generate a cash-basis report:

•	Be sure that your firm has enabled the Cash-Basis Reporting feature. If it hasn’t, Advantage won’t have the information it needs to generate cash-basis reports.

•	Select the Cash Basis option.


Account Subtotal option

Many firms number their accounts in a fairly elaborate fashion so that, for example, all related accounts share the same first two digits. (In the standard Advantage chart of accounts, all payable accounts begin with 21, all reimbursable consultants begin with 51, and all payroll benefits begin with 72.)

The Account Subtotal option lets you present a subtotal for each group of related accounts, based on the account digits that they share. You provide Advantage with a number of digits and a label. The defaults are two digits and the label Subtotal, meaning that Advantage displays a subtotal, labeled Subtotal, for all accounts that share the same first two digits.

To use the Account Subtotal option:

1.	Select the Account Subtotal option.

2.	Enter a number of digits. For example, enter 3 to subtotal all account numbers that have the same first three digits.

3.	Enter a label. This label will appear beside the subtotal on reports. Most firms simply use the label Subtotal.

If you use both the Account Subtotal and Base Account options

If you use both options together, the effect will be one of the following:

•	If only one line is in a group to be subtotaled, a subtotal line does not display (a blank line follows the "detail" line instead of a subtotal line).  This happens whether or not the accounts are rolled up.

•	If the account is rolled up to the digit being subtotaled, or to a digit less than the digit being subtotaled, no subtotal lines are displayed.  Blank lines appear between each rolled-up transaction detail line.

•	If the roll-up is to a digit greater than the subtotal digit, subtotals appear for each group when there are multiple lines of transaction detail.


Account Type Label option

The Account Type Label option lets you control the names that appear on the report to label account categories.

•	On the Balance Sheet, you can provide substitute names for Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

•	On the Income Statement and Profit Planning Monitor, you can provide substitute names for Revenue, Reimbursable, Direct, Indirect, and Other Charges.

To change an account type label:

1.	Click in the label field that you plan to change.

2.	Delete the old label.

3.	Enter a new label.


Account Type Display options

The Account Type Display options control the appearance of the account type labels on reports:

•	On the Balance Sheet, these labels are Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.

•	On the Income Statement and Profit Planning Monitor, these labels are Revenue, Reimbursable, Direct, Indirect, and Other Charges.

You can control:

•	The alignment of the label on the report.

•	The color of the box that forms the background of the label.

•	The box type.


Using Saved Options -- Report Options Tab
Using Saved Options - Report Options Tabs

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Options box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list. Sets marked <G> were created and saved by your system administrator and are available to all employees using Interactive General Ledger Reporting.

3.	Click on the OK button.

Advantage uses the saved options to update the settings on all Report Options tabs.


Deleting Saved Options - Report Options Tab

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Options box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

3.	Click on the Delete Option button.

4.	Confirm that you want to delete the saved settings.


Restoring Default Values - Report Options Tab
Restoring Default Values - Report Options Tabs

To restore the settings on all Report Options tabs to their original values, click on the Defaults button at the bottom of the form.


Example: Base Account Option
Example

Assume that you are consolidating information for all accounts that share the first two digits, and that you have four accounts that start with the digits 10:

101.00	Checking Account

102.00	Savings Account - GlobalBank

103.00	Savings Account - UniBank

104.00	Payroll Checking Account

On the report, the four accounts will be consolidated under the label Checking Account, because that is the first name in the group. This is true even if the Checking Account has no balance.


Box Color

You can choose from a wide range of colors for the label box. Advantage uses your color choice when you display a report on the screen or print it on a color printer. The default color is gray.

To select a color:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Color field.

2.	Select a color from the drop-down list. Advantage applies the new color immediately.


Box Type

You can choose from a number of styles for the label box. We recommend that you experiment with the different styles and see which one you like best. The default style is 3D Raised.

To change the box type:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Box Type field.

2.	Select a style from the drop-down list. Advantage applies the new style immediately.


Alignment

You can change the alignment of the labels on a report, so that they are centered, left-justified, or right-justified. The default alignment is centered.

To change the label alignment:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Alignment field.

2.	Select Left, Center, or Right from the drop-down list. Advantage changes the alignment immediately.


First-time Instructions

If this is the first time you are using Interactive General Ledger Reporting, you must set up your database. Follow these steps:

1.	Click on the Settings… button. Advantage displays the Database Settings form.

2.	In the Database Description field, enter a name that will be associated with the database link. The default name is Advantage.

For example, enter Chicago if you are setting up a link to the Chicago office’s Advantage database. Then, when you log in, you can choose Chicago from the login form, instead of choosing the more complicated link file name.

3.	In the Link File Name field, enter the name and path of your Database Link File, AdvLink.mdb (for example, C:\Programs\Deltek\Advantage\6.2\AdvLink.mdb).

You can click on the Browse… button to help locate this file.


Account Groups

You establish account groups on the General Ledger Account Groups form. To display this form, select Tables from the Advantage Main Menu. Then select Accounts, Account Groups.


Current Selection

The current selection is the most recently accepted list of accounts.

The current selection remains active until you overwrite it by retrieving and accepting another selection, or until you close the General Ledger Reporting window. You can reuse the current selection as often as needed, for as many different reports as you want.

If you have more than one report open, you can drill down on only those reports created using the current selection.


Choosing the Values to Include

Click on the Search button, [image], to display a list of possible values for the column you have chosen. Then choose the values you want from the list:

•	To select one value, click on that value.

•	To select a range of values, click on the first value, then SHIFT + click on the last value.

•	To select several different values, click on the first value, then CTRL + click on each additional value.

Remember that if you are selecting more than one value for a column, you are establishing an ‘or’ relationship. For example, if you select BOSTON then CHICAGO for the Office column, Advantage selects all account activity associated with the Boston or the Chicago office.


Using Saved Criteria -- Account Selection Form
Using Saved Criteria—Account Selection Form

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Selection Criteria box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

Advantage uses the saved options to update the settings on the Account Selection form.


Example - Sorting by Profit Center Level

If you sort a Balance Sheet by Office, then by Account, the report you generate will have a separate section for each office. Within each section, the report will list each Asset, Liability, and Net Worth account, and the account’s activity.


Clearing Selections

Click on the Clear button to clear all selections from the form.


Clearing the Selections for a Category

To clear all of the selections for a particular column, click on the [image] button.


Deleting Saved Options - Account Selection Tab

1.	Click on the down-arrow next to the Saved Selection Criteria box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

3.	Click on the Delete button.

4.	Confirm that you want to delete the saved criteria.


Top-Most Report

Advantage places the most recently created report in the top-most or left-most position on the screen. Advantage automatically refreshes or reruns this report when you:

•	Change report options.

•	Choose a new set of accounts.

•	Change accounting periods.

You may move another report into the top-most position. Click on Window on the Main Menu. Move the checkmark from the name of the top-most report to the name of the report that you want to make top-most.


Favorites

Interactive General Ledger Reporting lets you design and save favorite reports for each of your general ledger reports. For example, you might save two favorite reports for the Account Analysis: one that shows a very consolidated firmwide view and one that shows maximum detail by profit center. Then you can apply these favorite reports whenever you wish, simply by choosing the format name from the Select Favorites form.

When you create a favorite, Advantage saves:

•	Report Options.

•	Account Selection criteria.

Interactive General Ledger Reporting comes with one favorite format already established and saved globally: Trial Balance, which creates a Trial Balance version of the Account Analysis.

To create a favorite report, see Creating Favorite reports.


Deleting a Favorite Report

1.	Click on the Open Favorite button, [image]. Advantage displays the Select Favorite form.

2.	Select the format that you want to delete.

3.	Click on the Delete button.

4.	Confirm that you want to delete the format.


Restoring Default Selections--Account Selection Tab
Restoring Default Selections—Account Selection Tab

Click on the Restore Default button on the Account Selection form to:

•	Remove all selection criteria from the form.

•	Restore default categories and choices.

When you restore defaults, Advantage does not stop displaying the Accounts Selected information at the bottom of the form. Advantage generates new Accounts Selected information the next time you click on the Search button.


Moving and Arranging Levels

•	To move an item from one list to the other, click the item and drag it to the other list.

•	To change the order of items in the Selected list, click the item that you want to reposition, then drag it to its new position.

•	As you drag an item, an arrow on the left side of the list shows your current position in the list. When the arrow is pointing to where you want the item to be, release the mouse button.


Transaction Type Drill Down

This drill down shows you the amount that each transaction type (for example, cash disbursements, cash receipts, journal entries) contributed to a balance or total. When you click on a balance or total, Advantage shows you:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account group (if any), account number, account name.
Type	Two-character abbreviation for the transaction type.
Description	Name of the transaction type.
Amount	Amount that the transaction type contributed to the balance or total.


Period and Posting Sequence Drill Down

This drill down shows you the individual postings that contributed to a balance or total, sorted by accounting period and posting sequence number. When you click on a balance or total, Advantage shows you:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account group (if any), account number, account name.
Fiscal Period	Accounting period in which the transaction was posted, by year and period number (for example 200104 for the fourth period in the year 2001).
Posting Sequence	The number assigned by Advantage to identify the posting run during which this transaction was posted. Advantage assigns these numbers sequentially, starting with zero at the beginning of a new accounting period. Click on any posting sequence number to see the corresponding posting log.
Post Type	Two-character abbreviation for the transaction type.
Username	Advantage username of the individual who posted the transaction.
Posting Comment	Brief description of the contents of the transaction file. The type of description you see depends on the transaction type.
Date Posted	Day, month, and year in which the transaction was posted.
Amount	Total amount of the transaction.


Account Detail Drill Down

This drill down provides a very complete, detailed view of the transactions that contributed to a balance or total. When you click on a balance or total, Advantage shows you:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account group (if any), account number, account name.
Profit Center	The profit center associated with the transaction.
Type	Two-character abbreviation for the transaction type.
RefNo	Reference number assigned to this transaction during data entry. If the transaction is a credit entry that Advantage created automatically, the word AUTO appears in this column. Click on the reference number to see a listing of all transactions associated with the reference number in the current posting log. Your transaction appears in bold. Click on the word AUTO to see all transactions for the posting run. Note that if you display the transactions associated with a reference number (except AUTO), you cannot display a G/L Summary. The G/L Summary would not be balanced or meaningful.
Fiscal Period	Accounting period in which the transaction was posted, by year and sequence number.
Post Seq	The number assigned by Advantage to identify the posting run during which this transaction was posted. Advantage assigns these numbers sequentially, starting with zero at the beginning of a new accounting period. Click on any posting sequence number to see the corresponding posting log.
Date	Day, month, and year in which the transaction was posted.
Description	The processing routine that generated the transaction. For example, Cash Disbursements / File CD13199.
Project	The project associated with the transaction.
Task	The task, if any, associated with the transaction.
Amount	Total amount of the transaction.


Account Number Drill Down

When you click on a balance or total using the Account Number drill down, Advantage shows you all of the accounts that contributed to the balance or total. For example, you can click on an account group total, and see all of the accounts in the group and their respective totals.

You can also use this drill down with subtotals, to see the accounts that contributed to a subtotal.

The drill down window shows:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account number, account name or account group name.
Account Name	Account name.
Amount	Amount that the account contributed to the balance or total.


Profit Center Drill Down

This drill down shows you the amount that each profit center contributed to a balance or total. When you click on the balance or total, Advantage shows you:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account group (if any), account number, account name.
Profit Center	The profit center whose transactions contributed to the balance or total.
Amount	The amount that the profit center contributed.


Fiscal Year and Period Drill Down

This drill down shows you the amount that each accounting period contributed to a balance or total. When you click on a balance or total, Advantage shows you:

Heading Information	Account type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), account group (if any), account number, account name.
Fiscal Period	Year and period number for the accounting period (for example 200104 for the fourth period in the year 2001).
Amount	Amount posted to the account during the accounting period.


Posting Log Drill Down

When you click on a posting sequence number, Advantage displays the corresponding posting log. The log lists all of the transactions for the posting run.

To see the summary general ledger postings generated by the posting, click on the Display G/L Summary button.


Posting Comments

A short comment describing the source of the transaction.


Balance for the Current Year (Balance Sheet)

The account balance for the current fiscal year.


Current Amount (Balance Sheet)

The amount of account activity during the current period.


Prior Period Amount (Balance Sheet)

The amount of account activity during the previous period.


Prior Year Amount (Balance Sheet)

The amount of account activity during the previous fiscal year.


Prior Year Balance (Balance Sheet)

The account balance at the end of the previous fiscal year.


Sort/Select 1-3 ( Balance Sheet)

The sort/select field, if any, that has been assigned to this account. You can have up to three sort/select fields per account.


Custom Columns (Balance Sheet)

You can include up to 13 custom columns on the Balance Sheet to show account activity for any period or range of periods. For each custom column that you include on the report, you provide Advantage with:

•	A heading of one or two lines that will appear at the top of the column.

•	An accounting period range.

You choose the accounting period range from two drop-down lists, one for the start of the range and one for the end. The lists include all of the accounting periods that your firm has had since you began to use Advantage.

You can choose a beginning period (for example, 199901) and an ending period (199903) to show account activity over a range of periods (in this case, during a fiscal quarter). Or you can choose the same beginning and ending period to show activity for a single period.


Year-to-Date Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the current fiscal year.


Current Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the current period.


Prior Period Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the previous period.


Prior Period (Year-to-Date) Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the current fiscal year, up to the close of the previous period.


Sort/Select 1-3 (Income Statement)

The sort/select field, if any, that has been assigned to this account. You can have up to three sort/select fields per account.


Custom Columns (Income Statement)

You can include up to 26 custom columns on the Income Statement to show account activity for particular periods or ranges of periods. The custom columns work in sets of two:

Custom Amount	The amount of account activity during the period(s) you selected.
Custom Percentage	The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue. Depending on your choice, this column shows the ratio of the account’s custom amount to your firm’s total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses for the same time period.

For each custom column that you include on the report, you provide Advantage with:

•	A heading of one or two lines that will appear at the top of the column.

•	An accounting period range.

Accounting Period Range

You choose the accounting period range from two drop-down lists. The lists include all of the accounting periods that your firm has had since the beginning of the current fiscal year.

You can choose a beginning period (for example, 199901) and an ending period (199903) to show account activity over a range of periods (in this case, during a fiscal quarter). Or you can choose the same beginning and ending period to show activity for a single period.

The custom columns work in pairs: one column for amount and one for percentage. You must use the same range of periods for both columns in the pair. For example, if Custom Amount 1 represents account activity for the first quarter of the current year, Custom Percentage 1 must also represent the first quarter of the current year. You may, however, choose to show an amount without a percentage, or vice versa.


Page Breaks, Line Style, and Color

For each item that you move into the Selected list, you have the option of choosing:

•	Whether the report includes page breaks for that item. For example, if you move Account Group into the Selected list and put a checkmark in the Page Break field, Advantage begins each account group on a new page.

•	The line style used above and below the header for each section. You can choose a solid line or from a variety of broken lines.

•	The accent color that appears on the report when you display it on the screen or print it on a color printer. You can choose from a group of attractive colors.


Changing the Width or Indentation of Columns

If you create a report with a great number of columns, or one with very few columns, or if you use the "in thousands" option, you can make the report more attractive by adjusting the width or indentation of the columns.

Note that these changes do not affect drill down windows.

At the top of the Column Selection tab, you’ll see three fields that control column placement:

Indent first column	Enter a number of inches in this field. Advantage places the first column that number of inches from the left margin of the report. All other columns move left or right accordingly.
Amount column width	Enter a number of inches in this field to control the width of all dollar amount columns. If you choose a size that is too small, your amounts and heading labels will be truncated.
Percent column width	Enter a number of inches in this field to control the width of percentage columns, which are generally much narrower than amount columns. If you choose a size that is too small, your percentages and heading labels will be truncated.


Changing Column Labels

Each of the report columns has a standard label that appears at the top of the column. You can change the label for any numeric column. For example, you might change Prior Period Amount to Previous Period Amount, Amount Last Period, or the actual name of the period—for example, May 2000.

When you select a column to include on a report, Advantage displays two Heading Label fields, one for the top line of the label and one for the bottom line. Enter your new label in these fields. Each field accommodates up to 40 characters.


Prior Period Balance (Balance Sheet)

The account balance at the close of the previous period.


Current Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

Depending on your choice, this column shows the ratio of the account’s current amount to your firm’s total current period revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses.


Year-to-Date Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

Depending on your choice, this column shows the ratio of the account’s activity during the current fiscal year to your firm’s total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses for the current fiscal year.


Current Budget (Income Statement)

The current period budget for this account.

You determine the source of all budgets on the report by selecting a budget name from the list of available budgets on the Income Statement Options tab. You can select from any budget that your firm created for the current fiscal year. If you don’t select a budget, all budget columns on the report will be empty.


Curent Budget Variance (Income Statement)
Current Budget Variance (Income Statement)

The difference between the current amount and the current budget for the account.


Current Budget Variance Percentage (Income Statement)

The current budget variance divided by the current budget for the account.


Year-to-Date Budget (Income Statement)

The budget for this account for the current fiscal year.

You determine the source of all budgets on the report by selecting a budget name from the list of available budgets on the Income Statement Options tab. You can select from any budget that your firm created for the current fiscal year. If you don’t select a budget, all budget accounts on the report will be empty.


Year-to-Date Budget Variance (Income Statement)

The difference between the year-to-date amount and the year-to-date budget for the account.


Year-to-Date Budget Variance Percentage (Income Statement)

The year-to-date budget variance divided by the year-to-date budget for the account.


Prior Period Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

Depending on your choice, this column shows the ratio of the account’s activity during the prior period to your firm’s total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses for the prior period.


Prior Period (Year-to-Date) Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

The percentage in this column is based on the amount of account activity during the prior period's fiscal year, up to the close of the prior period.

Assume, for example, that you generate this report in January of 2001, meaning that the prior period is December of 2000. Your fiscal year begins in July. The column is based on account activity from July 2000 until the end of December 2000. This activity is compared to your firm's total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expense for July to December 2000.


Prior Year Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the period in the previous fiscal year that corresponds to the period in which you are generating the report. For example, if you generate the Income Statement in March of the current year, the column shows account activity for March of the prior year.


Prior Year Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

The percentage in this column is based on the Prior Year Amount: the amount of account activity during the period in the previous fiscal year that corresponds to the period in which you are generating the report. For example, if you generate the Income Statement in March of the current year, this column is based on account activity for March of the prior year.

The column shows the ratio of account activity to your firm’s total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses for the same period.


Prior Year (Year-to-Date) Amount (Income Statement)

The amount of account activity during the previous fiscal year, up to the close of the period that corresponds to the period in which you are generating the report. For example, if you generate the Income Statement in March of the current year, this column shows account activity up to March of the previous year.


Prior Year (Year-to-Date) Percentage (Income Statement)

The amount in this column depends upon the choice you make in the Percentages field on the Income Statement Options tab. You can choose to base percentages on total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The default is total revenue.

Depending on your choice, this column shows the ratio of the account’s activity to your firm’s total revenue, revenue less reimbursables, total expenses, or total operating expenses. The amount shown is for the previous fiscal year, up to the close of the period that corresponds to the period in which you are generating the report. For example, if you generate an Income Statement in March of the current year, this column shows account activity up to March of the previous year.


Current Amount (Profit Planning Monitor)

The amount of account activity during the current period.


Current Budget (Profit Planning Monitor)

The current period budget for this account.

You determine the source of all budgets on the report by selecting a budget year and name from the list of available budgets on the Profit Planning Monitor Options tab. You can select from any budget that your firm has created since you began using Advantage. If you don’t select a budget, all budget columns on the report will be empty.


Current Budget Variance (Profit Planning Monitor)

The difference between the current amount and the current budget for the account.


Current Budget Variance Percentage (Profit Planning Monitor)

The current budget variance divided by the current budget for the account.


Year-to-Date Amount (Profit Planning Monitor)

The amount of account activity during the current fiscal year.


Year-to-Date Budget (Profit Planning Monitor)

The budget for this account for the current fiscal year, up to the close of the current accounting period.

You determine the source of all budgets on the report by selecting a budget year and name from the list of available budgets on the Profit Planning Monitor Options tab. You can select from any budget that your firm created since you began using Advantage. If you don’t select a budget, all budget columns on the report will be empty.


Year-to-Date Budget Variance (Profit Panning Monitor)

The difference between the year-to-date amount and the year-to-date budget for the account.


Year-to-Date Budget Variance Percentage (Profit Planning Monitor)

The year-to-date budget variance divided by the year-to-date budget for the account.


Annual Budget (Profit Planning Monitor)

The total budget for the account for the current fiscal year.


Sort/Select Fields (Profit Planning Monitor)

The sort/select field, if any, that has been assigned to this account. You can have up to three sort/select fields per account.


Custom Columns (Profit Planning Monitor)

You can include many custom columns on the Profit Planning Monitor to show account activity for particular periods or ranges of periods.

The custom columns work in sets of four:

Custom Amount	The amount of account activity during the period(s) you selected.
Custom Budget	The account budget for the period(s) you selected.
Custom Budget Variance	The difference between the custom amount and the custom budget for the period(s) you selected.
Custom Budget Variance Percentage	The custom budget variance divided by the custom budget for the period(s) you selected.

For each custom column that you include on the report, you provide Advantage with:

•	A heading of one or two lines that will appear at the top of the column.

•	An accounting period range.

Accounting Period Range

You choose the accounting period range from two drop-down lists, one for the start of the range and one for the end. The lists include all of the accounting periods that your firm has had since you began to use Advantage.

If you want to show historical information for periods prior to your conversion to Advantage, type pre-installation accounting period names directly into the starting and ending fields.

You can choose a starting period (for example, 199901) and an ending period (199903) to show account activity over a range of periods (in this case, during a fiscal quarter). Or you can choose the same starting and ending period to show activity for a single period.

You must use the same range of periods for all columns in a set. For example, if Custom Amount 1 represents account activity for the first quarter of the current year, Custom Budget 1 must represent the budget for the first quarter of the current year. You do not need to show all four columns on the report, however.


Starting Period for Drill Downs

By default, all drill downs include information for just the current fiscal year. However, you can choose to have drill downs include information for a range of periods, beginning sometime in the past and ending with the current period.

To choose a starting period:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the label Show detail as of period.

Advantage displays a list of all of the accounting periods your firm has had since you began to use Advantage. The periods are listed by year and sequence number (for example, 199905 for the fifth period in 1999).

2.	Select an accounting period.

All drill downs that you perform will show information beginning with the period you chose and ending with the current period. In addition, the drill down window will include a label showing the range of periods represented.

If you want to see historical information for periods prior to your conversion to Advantage, type a pre-installation account period name directly into the Show detail as of period field.

Enter 000000 in the field to see all of the detail in your database, including both historical data and data posted since you installed Advantage.


Selecting an Account Group Table

The Account Group Table drop-down list includes all account group tables that your firm has created. Click on the table you want to apply to the report you are generating.

For more information about account groups, see Establishing Account Groups.


Total Operating Expense

Total Operating Expense is defined as Total Reimbursable, Direct, and Indirect Expenses.


Highlighting Group Names

•	To select one group, click on that group.

•	To select a range of groups, click on the first group, then SHIFT + click on the last group.

•	To select several different groups, click on the first group, then CTRL + click on each additional group.


Highlighting Accounts

•	To select one account, click on that account.

•	To select a range of accounts, click on the first account, then SHIFT + click on the last account.

•	To select several different accounts, click on the first account, then CTRL + click on each additional account.


Choosing Saved Report Options

The Saved Report options drop-down list contains the names of any sets of report options that you have saved, plus any sets of global report options that the Interactive General Ledger Reporting administrator has saved.


Choosing Saved Account Selection Criteria

The Saved Selection Criteria drop-down list contains the names of any sets of account selection criteria that you have saved, plus any sets of global account selection criteria that the Interactive General Ledger Reporting administrator has saved.


Format of Dollar Amounts

The first Number Format drop-down list controls the format of all dollar amounts on the report. It does not affect percentages, nor does it affect the dollar amounts in drill-down windows.

Consider choosing one of the "in thousands" formats if your report contains consistently large numbers. If you use " in thousands," consider making your report columns narrower, to avoid large areas of white space.

Choose one of the following formats from the drop-down list.

Format	Description
9,999,999.00	All digits, including pennies, with commas and a decimal point. This is the default.
9,999,999	Dollars only, no pennies, with commas and no decimal point.
9999999.00	All digits, including pennies, with a decimal point but no commas.
9,999 (Thousands)	Amounts rounded to the nearest thousand, with commas. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9999 (Thousands)	Amounts rounded to the nearest thousand, with no commas. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9,999.9 (Thousands)	Amounts shown in thousands, with commas, with one digit shown after the decimal point. Amounts rounded to the nearest hundred. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9999.9 (Thousands)	Amounts shown in thousands, with no commas, with one digit shown after the decimal point. Amounts rounded to the nearest hundred. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.


Format of Negative Amounts

The second Number Format drop-down list controls how all negative amounts and percentages appear on reports and in drill-down windows.

Keep in mind that the format you choose affects printed reports as well as those displayed on the screen. If you don’t have a color printer, red will appear as gray on your reports.

Choose one of the following formats from the drop-down list.

Format	Description
‘-" + Amount [RED}	Amounts appear in red, with a negative sign to the left. This is the default.
Amount + ‘-‘ [RED]	Amounts appear in red, with a negative sign to the right.
‘-‘ + Amount	Amounts appear with a negative sign to the left. They are not red.
Amount + ‘-‘	Amounts appear with a negative sign to the right. They are not red.
(Amount) [RED]	Amounts appear in red, in parentheses.
(Amount)	Amounts appear in parentheses. They are not red.


Period Selection for Account Analysis

In the Period Selection section of the Options tab, you can choose to show account activity for:

Current period	The period that you chose from the Select Processing Period form. If you want to, you can change to a different period.
Year-to-Date	The beginning of the current fiscal year until today.
Period Range	A range of accounting periods that you choose. Advantage provides two drop-down lists, one for the starting period and one for the ending period. Each list includes all of the accounting periods your firm has had since you began to use Advantage. The periods are listed by year and sequence number (for example, 199905 for the fifth period in 1999). To generate a report for a single period, choose the same starting and ending period. If you want to show historical information for periods prior to your conversion to Advantage, type pre-installation accounting period names directly into the starting and ending fields.


Transaction Detail Line on Account Analysis

Each detail line contains the following information:

Transaction Type	Two-character abbreviation for the transaction type.
Reference Number	Reference number assigned to this transaction during data entry. If this is a credit transaction that Advantage created automatically, the word AUTO appears in this column. Click on the reference number to see a listing of all transactions associated with the reference number, with your transaction in bold. Click on the word AUTO to see all transactions for the posting run.
Period	Period in which the transaction was posted.
Posting Sequence	The number assigned by Advantage to identify the posting run during which this transaction was posted. Advantage assigns these numbers sequentially, starting with zero at the beginning of a new accounting period. Click on any posting sequence number to see the corresponding posting log.
Date	Date on which the transaction as posted.
Description	Description of the transaction.
Project	The project associated with the transaction.
Task	The task, if any, associated with the transaction.
Amount	The dollar amount of the transaction.


Transaction Type (Account Analysis)

The two-character abbreviation for the kind of transaction that generated the posting (for example, JE for Journal Entry).


Reference Number (Account Analysis)

Reference number assigned to a transaction during data entry. If this is a credit entry that Advantage created automatically, the word AUTO appears in this column.

You can drill down on the reference number to see a listing of all transactions associated with the reference number. You can drill down on the word AUTO to see all transactions for the posting run.

Note that if you drill down on a reference number, Advantage does not give you the option of displaying a G/L Summary, because a G/L Summary for a single reference number would not be balanced or meaningful.


Fiscal Year and Period (Account Analysis)

The accounting period and year in which a transaction was posted (for example, 200006 for the sixth accounting period in the year 2000).


Posting Sequence (Account Analysis)

The number assigned by Advantage to identify the posting run during which a transaction was posted. Advantage assigns these numbers sequentially, starting with zero at the beginning of a new accounting period.

You can click on any posting sequence number to see the corresponding posting log. Then you can click on the G/L Summary button to see the summary general ledger postings generated by the posting.


Transaction Date (Account Analysis)

The date associated with a transaction.


Description (Account Analysis)

Shows both Description 1 and Description 2, separated by a slash, for each transaction detail line. If the two descriptions don't fit on a single line, the text will wrap to the next line.

Difference Between Description 1 and Description 2

Advantage stores two types of descriptions for each transaction:

•	Description 1, which is a general description of the transaction (for example, for an accounts payable voucher, the name of the vendor)

•	Description 2, which is more specific (for example, the description entered during data entry for a single line item on a voucher).

You have the option of showing Description 1, Description 2, or both on the Account Analysis.


Project (Account Analysis)

The project number associated with a transaction.


Task (Account Analysis)

The task number, if any, associated with a transaction.


Opening Balance (Account Analysis)

The balance in the account at the beginning of the timeframe that you choose for the report. For example, if you choose to generate a year-to-date Account Analysis, the opening balance is the balance on the first day of the fiscal year.

If you wish to, you can change the "Opening Balance" column heading to a different or more specific heading. Simply click in the first Heading Labels field and enter the first line of the heading, then click in the second field and enter the second line.


Amount (Account Analysis)

The dollar amount of the transaction.

If you wish to, you can change the "Amount" column heading to a different of more specific heading. Simply click in the first Heading Labels field and enter the first line of the heading, then click in the second field and enter the second line.


Closing Balance (Account Analysis)

The balance in an account at the end of the timeframe that you choose for the report. If you choose to generate an Account Analysis for the current period or year-to-date, the closing balance is the balance on the day that you generate the report. If you choose to generate a report for a range of periods in the past, the closing balance is the balance at the end of the final accounting period in the range.

If you wish to, you can change the "Closing Balance" column heading to a different or more specific heading. Simply click in the first Heading Labels field and enter the first line of the heading, then click in the second field and enter the second line.


Total Credits (Account Analysis)

The amount credited to an account by a transaction.

Use this column with the Opening Balance, Closing Balance, and Total Debits columns to generate a Trial Balance report. Use the Trial Balance report to verify that you posted amounts to the correct accounts, and that your total debits equal your total credits.


Total Debits (Account Analysis)

The amount debited to an account by a transaction.

Use this column with the Opening Balance, Closing Balance, and Total Credits columns to generate a Trial Balance report. Use the Trial Balance report to verify that you posted amounts to the correct accounts, and that your total debits equal your total credits.


Account Number (Account Analysis)

The account number associated with the transaction.


Profit Center (Account Analysis)

The profit center associated with a transaction. The profit center is expressed in code form (for example, BO:AR for Boston: Architecture). To see the full names of profit center subcodes, add Profit Center Level columns.


Profit Center Levels (Account Analysis)

In the Available list of the Column Selection tab, Advantage lists each of your profit center levels. For example, if your profit center subcodes represent Division and Office, you will see both Division and Office listed.

If you include these columns on the Account Analysis, the report will include the full names of the profit center subcodes associated with each transaction. For example, if you include Division and Office columns, you will see entries such as West Coast and San Diego for each transaction.


Description 1-2 (Account Analysis)

Shows Description 1 or Description 2 for each transaction detail line. If the descriptions don't fit on a single line, the text will wrap to the next line.

Difference Between Description 1 and Description 2

Advantage stores two types of descriptions for each transaction:

•	Description 1, which is a general description of the transaction (for example, for an accounts payable voucher, the name of the vendor)

•	Description 2, which is more specific (for example, the description entered during data entry for a single line item on a voucher).

You have the option of showing Description 1, Description 2, or both on the Account Analysis.


Sort/Select 1-3 (Account Analysis)

The sort/select field, if any, that has been assigned to an account. You can have up to three sort/select fields per account.


Changing the Column Name

To change a column name, enter a new name using the Heading Label fields. In the first field, enter the part of the name that should appear in the first line of the label. In the second field, enter the part that should appear in the second line.


Select Button--Select Report Screen
Select Button—Select Report Screen

When you highlight a report name, then click the Select button, Advantage opens the report you highlighted. You can then use the options in the menu bar to change the format or content of the report.

If you want to use saved report options or saved selection criteria, choose these first, before you click on the Select button.


Saved Report Options Field--Select Report Screen
Saved Report Options Field—Select Report Screen

Use this field to apply a set of saved report options to the report you are opening. Follow these steps:

1.	Highlight the report name.

2.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Report Options box.

3.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

4.	Optional. Select a set of saved selection criteria.

5.	Click on the Select button.

Advantage uses the saved options to update the settings on all Report Options tabs.


Report Drop-Down List--Select Favorite Screen
Report Drop-Down List—Select Favorite Screen

When you display the Select Favorite form, Advantage lists all of the favorite reports available for all report types. Follow these steps to choose a favorite report for a specific report:

1.	Select a report name from the drop-down list at the top of the form. Advantage lists all of the favorite reports available for that report type.

2.	Highlight a favorite report.

3.	Click on the Select button.


Select Button--Select Favorites Screen
Select Button—Select Favorites Screen

After you choose a favorite report, click on the Select button. Advantage runs the report using the report options and account selection criteria associated with the favorite report.


Delete Button--Select Favorite Screen
Delete Button—Select Favorite Screen

The Delete button deletes a favorite report. Follow these steps:

1.	Select a report name from the drop-down list at the top of the form. Advantage lists all of the favorite reports available for that report type.

2.	Highlight a favorite report.

3.	Click on the Delete button. Advantage asks you to confirm that you want to delete the favorite report.

4.	Click on the OK button to confirm the deletion.


Report Title Field

This field lets you enter a different name for the report.


Group Table Field

This field lets you choose an account group table to apply to the report. The account group table controls how accounts are grouped together on the report.


Base Account Field

This field lets you summarize account information based on specific digits of the account number. For example, you can consolidate information for all accounts that share the same first two digits or, for that matter, the same final two digits. When you generate a report, asterisks represent the "rolled up"—or consolidated—digits.

Advantage always uses the name of the first account in a range as the name for the entire range, even if the account has no activity. Example.

The Base Account slider box shows the format of your firm’s account numbers (for example 123.45 for a five-digit account number with a decimal between the third and fourth digits). Simply drag the slider(s) to cover the characters that you want to roll up. For example, drag the right slider over the final two digits to roll up those digits.

To roll up account numbers:

1.	Put a checkmark in the Base Account option box. If you don’t put a checkmark in the option box, the slider box will be disabled.

2.	Drag the slider(s) to cover the characters that you want rolled up. You can drag a slider from the left or right or from both sides of the slider box.


Cash Basis Field

If you use the Advantage Cash-Basis Reporting feature, Advantage maintains cash-basis account balances in parallel with accrual-basis balances. On the cash-basis side, Advantage:

•	Recognizes revenue when cash is received.

•	Recognizes expense when cash is disbursed.

If you use this feature, you can generate any general ledger report using cash-basis balances. These reports are especially useful for tax reporting, which many firms perform on a cash basis.

To avoid confusion, Advantage clearly labels all cash-basis reports; for example: Balance Sheet (Cash Basis).

To generate a cash-basis report:

•	Be sure that your firm has enabled the Cash-Basis Reporting feature. If it hasn’t, Advantage won’t have the information it needs to generate cash-basis reports.

•	Put a checkmark in the Cash Basis option box.


Account Subtotal Fields

Many firms choose to group their accounts in a fairly elaborate fashion so that, for example, all related accounts share the same first two digits. (In the standard Advantage chart of accounts, all payable accounts begin with 21, all reimbursable consultants begin with 51, and all payroll benefits begin with 72.)

The Account Subtotal option lets you present a subtotal for each group of related accounts, based on the account digits that they share. You provide Advantage with a number of digits and a label. The defaults are two digits and the label Subtotal, meaning that Advantage displays a subtotal, labeled Subtotal, for all accounts that share the same first two digits.

To add subtotals:

1.	Put a checkmark in the Account Subtotal option box.

2.	Enter a number of digits. For example, enter 3 to subtotal all account numbers that have the same first three digits.

3.	Enter a label. This label will appear beside the subtotal on reports. Most firms simply use the label Subtotal.


Number Format Fields

Format of All Dollar Amounts

The first Number Format drop-down list controls the format of all dollar amounts on the report. It does not affect percentages, nor does it affect the dollar amounts in drill-down windows.

Consider choosing one of the "in thousands" formats if your report contains consistently large numbers. If you use " in thousands," consider making your report columns narrower, to avoid large areas of white space.

Choose one of the following formats from the drop-down list.

Format	Description
9,999,999.00	All digits, including pennies, with commas and a decimal point. This is the default.
9,999,999	Dollars only, no pennies, with commas and no decimal point.
9999999.00	All digits, including pennies, with a decimal point but no commas.
9,999 (Thousands)	Amounts rounded to the nearest thousand, with commas. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9999 (Thousands)	Amounts rounded to the nearest thousand, with no commas. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9,999.9 (Thousands)	Amounts shown in thousands, with commas, with one digit shown after the decimal point. Amounts rounded to the nearest hundred. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
9999.9 (Thousands)	Amounts shown in thousands, with no commas, with one digit shown after the decimal point. Amounts rounded to the nearest hundred. The message Reporting in Thousands appears at the top of the report.
Format of Negative Amounts

The second Number Format drop-down list controls how all negative amounts and percentages, appear on reports and in drill-down windows.

Keep in mind that the format you choose affects printed reports as well as those displayed on the screen. Red will appear as gray on your reports.

Choose one of the following formats from the drop-down list.

Format	Description
‘-" + Amount [RED}	Amounts appear in red, with a negative sign to the left. This is the default.
Amount + ‘-‘ [RED]	Amounts appear in red, with a negative sign to the right.
‘-‘ + Amount	Amounts appear with a negative sign to the left. They are not red.
Amount + ‘-‘	Amounts appear with a negative sign to the right. They are not red.
(Amount) [RED]	Amounts appear in red, in parentheses.
(Amount)	Amounts appear in parentheses. They are not red.


Asset Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the asset accounts on the report.


Liabilities Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the liability accounts on the report.


Net Worth Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the net worth accounts on the report.


Box Type Field

The Box Type, Color, and Alignment fields let you control the appearance of the account type labels on the report. You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.

You can choose from a number of styles for the label box. We recommend that you experiment with the different styles and see which one you like best. The default style is 3D Raised.

To change the box type:

1.	Click on the Box Type drop-down list.

2.	Select a style from the list. Advantage applies the new style immediately.


Box Color Field

The Box Type, Color, and Alignment fields let you control the appearance of the account type labels on the report. You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.

You can choose from a wide range of colors for the label box. Advantage uses your color choice when you display a report on the screen or print it on a color printer. The default color is gray.

To select a color:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Color field.

2.	Select a color from the drop-down list. Advantage applies the new color immediately.


Box Alignment Field

The Box Type, Color, and Alignment fields let you control the appearance of the account type labels on the report. You can control the box style the labels appear in, their color, and their alignment on the page.

You can change the alignment of the labels on a report, so that they are centered, left-justified, or right-justified. The default alignment is centered.

To change the label alignment:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Alignment field.

2.	Select Left, Center, or Right from the drop-down list. Advantage changes the alignment immediately.


Saved Options Field

The Saved Options drop-down list shows all of the sets of report options that you have saved for this report. It also shows all of the global options established for this report.

For more information, see Saving Report Options.


Save Options Button

After you select report options, you can click on this button to save the settings on the Report Options tabs for future use.

Advantage saves the settings that you have entered on all Report Options tabs, with two exceptions. Advantage does not save two settings that you probably wouldn't want to save from report to report:

•	The Show detail as of period setting on the Drill Down Options tab.

•	The Period Selection setting on the Options tab for the Account Analysis.

Advantage prompts you to enter a name for the saved options (for example, Consolidated Income Statement).

For more information, see Saving Report Options.


Delete Option Button

Use the Delete Option button to delete a saved set of report options. This button deletes the options saved on all report options tabs. Follow these steps:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Options box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

3.	Click on the Delete Option button.

4.	Confirm that you want to delete the saved settings.


Defaults Button

To restore the settings on all Report Options tabs to their original values, click on the Defaults button at the bottom of the form.


Margins Fields

Enter the amount of space you want for the top, bottom, left, and right margins.


Orientation Fields

Choose Portrait to print across the width of the page (8-1/2 x 11); choose Landscape to print across the length of the page (11 x 8-1/2).


Copies Field

Enter the number of copies you want printed.


Revenue Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the revenue accounts on the report.


Reimbursable Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the reimbursable expense accounts on the report.


Direct Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the direct expense accounts on the report.


Indirect Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the indirect expense accounts on the report.


Other Charges Field

This field lets you change the label that appears above the "other charges" accounts on the report.

These accounts represent revenue earned and expense incurred "below the line," outside of the firm's normal operations (for example, rental income).


Percentages Field

This field lets you control how Advantage calculates the percentages on the report. Advantage can calculate the amounts in all percentage columns by comparing account balances to Total Revenue, Revenue less Reimbursable Expense, Total Expense, or Total Operating Expense. The default is Total Revenue.

To choose an option:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Percentages box.

2.	Select the appropriate total from the drop-down list.


Budgets for the Current Year Field

This field lets you control the source of the budget amounts on the report. You create budgets using the Advantage Profit Planning Worksheet.

Choose from a list of all of the corporate budgets that you created during the current fiscal year. The budgets appear in order, sorted by year, name, and profit center. To reverse the order, click on the Year or Budget Name headings.

To select a budget, simply highlight the budget name.


Budgets Field

This field lets you control the source of the budget amounts on the report. You create budgets using the Advantage Profit Planning Worksheet.

Choose from a list of all of the corporate budgets that you have ever created, both in the current year and in prior years. The budgets appear in order, sorted by year, name, and profit center. To reverse the order, click on the Year or Budget Name headings.

To select a budget, simply highlight the budget name.


Period Selection Options

In the Period Selection section, you can choose to show account activity for:

Current period	The period that you chose from the Select Processing Period form. If you want to, you can change to a different period.
Year-to-Date	The beginning of the current fiscal year until today.
Period Range	A range of accounting periods that you choose. Advantage provides two drop-down lists, one for the starting period and one for the ending period. Each list includes all of the accounting periods your firm has had since you began to use Advantage. The periods are listed by year and sequence number (for example, 199905 for the fifth period in 1999). To generate a report for a single period, choose the same starting and ending period. If you want to show historical information for periods prior to your conversion to Advantage, type pre-installation accounting period names directly into the starting and ending fields.


List of Selection Criteria

In this field, Advantage lists the selection criteria that you choose.

•	Double-click in the field to see the criteria listed vertically.

•	Highlight an item, then press the Delete key, to delete the item.

•	Click on the [image] button to clear all items in the field.

•	Click on the Clear button to clear all selections on the form.


Delete Button

Use the Delete button to delete a saved set of account selection criteria. Follow these steps:

1.	Click on the down arrow next to the Saved Selection Criteria box.

2.	Select the appropriate name from the drop-down list.

3.	Click on the Delete button.

4.	Confirm that you want to delete the saved criteria.


Search Button

Click on the Search button to retrieve all accounts that meet the selection criteria.


Running Reports from the Select Reports Screen

The Select Reports form includes two drop-down lists:

•	Saved Report Options—any sets of report options that you have saved for future use.

•	Saved Selection Criteria—any sets of account selection criteria that you have saved for future use.

You can run a report directly from this form. Just follow these steps:

1.	Highlight the report type.

2.	Optional. Select a set of report options from the drop-down list.

3.	Optional. Select a set of account selection criteria from the drop-down list.

4.	Optional. Click on the Add to Favorites button if you want to save this report format as a favorite report.

5.	Click on the Select button.


Sorting and Grouping by Account Type

The Account Type option groups accounts using the standard account ranges: Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth, Revenue, and so on. In most cases, you will want to use Account Type as one of your sorting and group criteria, so that you see subtotals and totals for the different account ranges.

Moreover, in most cases you will want Account Type to be at the highest level of the sorting and grouping hierarchy. For example, you probably want to sort accounts first by Account Type the, within Account Type, by sort code, instead of vice versa. The one exception to this rule is that you may want to generate separate financial reports by profit center, in which case you would sort reports by Profit Center, then by Account Type.


Choosing Accounts from the Account Selection Window

Follow these rules to select accounts:

•	To select an entire group, highlight the Group Name and Group Type.

•	To see a list of all accounts in the group, click on the right arrow next to the Group Type.

•	To select individual accounts, click on the Group Type to list all accounts in the group, then highlight individual accounts.

•	To make highlighting easier, follow these tips:

−	To select one value, click on that value.

−	To select a range of values, click on the first value, then SHIFT + click on the last value.

−	To select several different values, click on the first value, then CTRL + click on each additional value.

−	To un-select a value, CTRL + click again on the value.


Running the Report from the Select Report Screen

To run the report immediately, using saved formatting options:

1.	Highlight the report that you want.

2.	Optional. Choose a saved set of report options from the Saved Report Options drop-down list.

3.	Optional. Choose a saved set of account selection criteria from the Saved Selection Criteria drop-down list.

4.	Optional. Click on the Add to Favorites button if you want to save the choices you made in steps 2 and 3 for future use.

5.	Click on the Select button.

6.	If you have chosen any saved selection criteria, Advantage runs the report automatically. If you haven’t, Advantage displays the headings for the new report, but does not display any account information.

7.	If Advantage doesn’t run the report automatically, run the report yourself.


Trial Balance Report

Generating a standard Trial Balance report is easy. Interactive General Ledger Reporting comes with the Trial Balance format stored globally in two places:

•	as a favorite report called Trial Balance.

•	as a set of saved report options called Trial Balance.

Apply one of these stored formats to the Account Analysis to generate a Trial Balance Report. The stored formats make the following changes to the default version of the Account Analysis:

Report Title	Changes report title to Trial Balance.
Sorting and Grouping	Uses Account as the only sorting and grouping criterion.
Column Selection	Changes column selections to the following: • Opening Balance • Total Debits • Total Credits • Closing Balance


Heading 1

You can change the standard column heading to one more appropriate to your firm. The heading can be one or two lines long. In this field, enter the first line of the new heading.


Heading 2

You can change the standard column heading to one more appropriate to your firm. In this field, enter the second line of the new heading.


type popup caption here
Start of Accounting Period Range

You can specify a range of accounting periods to be included in this column. You can choose a beginning period (for example, 199901) and an ending period (199903) to show account activity over a range of periods (in this case, during a fiscal quarter). Or you can choose the same beginning and ending period to show activity for a single period.

Choose the starting period for the range from the drop-down list, which includes all accounting periods that your firm has had since you began to use Advantage.


End of Accounting Period Range

You can specify a range of accounting periods to be included in this column. You can choose a beginning period (for example, 199901) and an ending period (199903) to show account activity over a range of periods (in this case, during a fiscal quarter). Or you can choose the same beginning and ending period to show activity for a single period.

Choose the ending period for the range from the drop-down list, which includes all accounting periods that your firm has had since you began to use Advantage.


Saved Selection Criteria Field - Select Report Screen

Use this field to apply a set of saved selection criteria to the report you are opening. Follow these steps:

1.	Highlight the report name.

2.	Click on the Saved Selection Criteria drop-down list. Sets marked <G> were created and saved by your system administrator and are available to all employees using Interactive General Ledger Reporting.

3.	Select the appropriate name from the list.

4.	Optional. Select a set of saved report options.

5.	Click on the Select button.

Advantage uses the saved selection criteria to update the settings on the Account Selection tab.


Zoom Field

Enter a percentage to change the size of the printed report. For example, enter 75 to shrink the report to 75% of its normal size.


Note about the Drill Down Sorting Option

Since Drill Down Sorting is a report option, it applies to all of your labor and expense drill downs for the report. If at any time you want to change the sort order, you must change the report option.


Notes about Interactive General Ledger Reporting

•	To use this application, your firm must have a SQL Server database or an MSDE Database. Interactive General Ledger Reporting does not work with a Jet database.

•	The Privileges screen in Advantage Security Setup controls access to this application. For more information, see Security.


Tip on Using the Toolbar Buttons

You can remove the toolbar by selecting Window/Toolbar. To turn the toolbar display back on, select Window/Toolbar again.


Note about Security

Your profit center security settings affect how the profit center lookup function on the Account Selection tab works.

For example, assume that you have access to only one profit center: BO.AR, the Boston office’s architecture department. In the profit center lookup list on the Account Selection screen, Advantage will list BO.AR as the only profit center you can choose.

Advantage will let you choose a different office or a different department from the Office and Department levels. However, when you run the report, the report will not contain any data for the profit centers to which you do not have access.


Tip on Specifying Report Options

If you are an Interactive General Ledger administrator, you may want to establish and save settings relevant to certain groups of users. You might, for example, set up a new user called London Accountancy Staff and, under this username, establish and save settings specifically for this group of people. All members of the London accountancy staff can log on under this username to generate reports.


Note about Specifying General Options

If you have multiple reports open, and you accept a new set of report options, the new report options affect only the top-most report.


Notes about Drilling Down

•	When you drill down on a reference number to display a specific voucher, you cannot generate a G/L Summary. The summary transactions associated with a single reference number would not be balanced or meaningful.

•	You will see the word AUTO instead of a reference number for any credit entries that Advantage made automatically as part of a posting run. When you drill down on the word AUTO, you see the entire posting log for the posting run.


Tip on Saving Report Options

If you are an Interactive General Ledger administrator, you may want to establish and save settings relevant to certain groups of users. You might, for example, set up a new user called London Accountancy Staff and, under this username, establish and save settings specifically for this group of people. All of the London accountancy staff can log on under this username to generate reports.


Note about Print Settings

These settings override the Windows print settings when you use Interactive General Ledger Reporting, but they do not change the Windows print settings. The print settings that you have for your other Windows applications remain intact.