The default nominal accounts are used to post transactions from all the modules in Sage 200 using the appropriate Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet nominal accounts.
When you first set up Sage 200, you will have created the majority of your nominal accounts and specified the defaults as part of the configuration process. However as your business grows, you may need to change these accounts.
If you don't enter valid nominal accounts for each default, this can result in transactions being posted to the Suspense account.
Before you can set up your default nominal accounts, you must make sure your Report Categories are set up correctly. Report categories are used to create your financial statements. They divide your nominal accounts into groups, which are then used to create the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss.
It is very important that you make sure the categories have the correct Report Type (Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet), and correct Category Type (Asset, Liability, Income or Expense). This is because these determine how the value from your nominal accounts are reported on your financial statements. In addition, the values in all Profit and Loss nominal accounts are set to zero, when you move Sage 200 into a new financial year (Year End).
When you choose your default nominal accounts, the accounts you choose for the Profit and Loss must also have a report category Type of Profit and Loss. In the same way, the Balance sheet accounts must have a report category Type of Balance Sheet.
Changing your default nominal accounts
Once you've set up your default nominal accounts, it's unlikely that you'll need to change them. If you didn't set them up correctly in the configuration then you can make the necessary changes. You can also add defaults if you start using a new process, such as depreciation.
Once you've saved your changes, the next time any transactions are entered they are posted using the new defaults you've specified. Be careful when you change the default nominal accounts as this will change how your transactions are reported on your financial statements.
How default nominal accounts are applied to transactions
These are nominal accounts that are used by default on various record or transactions, or are used by Sage 200 automatically. There are some defaults that you must set and others are optional depending on which processes you're likely to use.
The default nominal accounts are used in the following ways when processing transactions in Sage 200:
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To post transactions automatically for some Sage 200 processes.
You must set defaults for these accounts.
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Are displayed by default when entering some transactions.
Setting defaults for these processes is recommended. This ensures that the correct nominal account is used.
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To specify which account is used by specific customers, suppliers, stock items and bank accounts.
Setting defaults for these accounts is optional. This can be useful if the majority of transactions of the same type are posted to the same nominal account.