Override the GL account in AR transactions

Configure Accounts Receivable to override a default AR GL account for invoice or adjustment. Specifically, you can select an alternative GL account as an override for the following:

  • For an entire transaction
  • At the line-item level
  • For all transactions involving a specific customer

Currently, this feature applies to invoices and adjustments only. It doesn't apply to recurring invoices, manual deposits, or advances.

When you enter invoice or adjustment, you can select an alternative AR account from a predefined list of accounts.

About account override

By default, transactions entered in Accounts Receivable are posted to the GL account selected in the Configure Accounts Receivable page.

Administrators can configure Intacct to allow users to select different GL accounts when entering invoices or adjustments. To configure this option, follow the instructions in Set up GL Account override.

After the override accounts are set up, they are available for selection on invoices and adjustments. Additionally, transactions posted to these GL accounts will be automatically included in aging and ledger reports.

If you post unpaid bills or open invoices to an alternative account and then deactivate that account, you must reactivate it to post transactions against the bills or invoices.

There are several reasons that you might want to override General Ledger accounts. Some examples are:

  • To separate out certain types of receivables or payables, for example regular customers and advances made to employees.
  • To differentiate by business type, such as retail and wholesale.
  • To differentiate by product lines, such as hardware and software.
  • To separate purchase types such as capital purchase or trade purchase.
  • To track inventory and non-inventory items separately.

Override the default GL account

If your company has override enabled, you can override the default GL account for an invoice or adjustment for every line item, or just at the line-item level.

To override the GL account for every line item in an AR transaction:

  1. In the invoice or adjustment page, in the Entries section select Show defaults.

  2. In the Entries default section in AR account, select the account that you want to override the default GL account.

The account you select is populated to all the line items in the transaction. Intacct overrides the default GL account for the entire transaction.

To override the GL account for a specific line item in an AR transaction:

  1. In the invoice or adjustment page, scroll down to the specific line item in the Entries section.
  2. In AR account, select the account that you want to override the configured GL account.

Intacct overrides the default GL account for just this line item.

Overriding a GL account in AR affects the Aging Report. When you include overriding GL accounts in the configuration and select the AR GL Accounts to override, any transactions created after the change are picked up in the Aging Report. Previous transactions are not changed.

Set up GL Account override

To set up override capability in AR, enable the override option and select one or more GL accounts as alternative GL accounts. Then, provide permissions to individual users to select alternative accounts to override the default GL account in transactions.

You can also set up an alternative GL account per customer.

1. Enable GL account override

2. Set up an alternative GL account list

After you enable override in AR, you can tag a GL account for use as an alternative receivables account.

  1. Go to General Ledger > All > General Ledger accounts.

  2. Select Edit beside the account that you want to use as an alternative GL account in transactions.

  3. In GL account alternative, select the Receivables account as the type of transaction account that this account can override.

  4. Select Save.

This account now appears in dropdown lists of alternative GL accounts in invoice, invoice adjustment, and customer pages:

3. Enable user permissions for override

You can change permissions to enable individual users to override the default GL account with an alternative account.

  1. Go to Company > Admin > Users, roles, and groups > Users.

  2. Find the appropriate user.

  3. Select Edit at the end of the row.

  4. In the User configuration section, select Subscriptions.

    The User application subscriptions page for that user appears.

  5. Next to Accounts Receivable, select Permissions.

  6. On the permissions page, find Invoices or Adjustments, and select Override AR account.

  7. Select Save.

  1. Go to Company > Admin > Users, roles, and groups > Users.

  2. Find the appropriate user, and in the same row select Subscriptions.

    The User application subscriptions page for that user appears.

  3. Find Accounts Receivable, and select Permissions.
  4. On the permissions page, find Invoices or Adjustments, and select Override AR account.
  5. Select Save.

This user now has permission to override the default GL account for the selected transactions with an alternative GL account.

Set an alternative GL account per customer

If you want to use a GL account for overriding all transactions involving a specific customer, you can select that GL account in the Customer information page.

  1. Go to Accounts Receivable > All > Customers.

  2. Find the customer that you want to update.

  3. Select Edit at the end of the row.

    To see the Edit option for a vendor, you need the following:

    • Access to the entity where the vendor was originally created.

      For example, if the vendor was created at the top-level, you need to slide into the top level to edit it. If you do not have access to that level, you cannot edit the vendor record.

    • Access to entities where the vendor is restricted.

      For example, say you are a restricted user with top-level access. If a top-level vendor is restricted to the West entity, and you do not have access to that entity, you cannot edit the vendor record at the top level.

    • Permission to edit vendors.

  4. In the Additional Information tab, under Invoicing details, select the account you want to use as the override.

  5. Select Save.

  1. Go to Accounts Receivable > All > Customers.

  2. Select Edit beside the appropriate customer.

  3. In the Additional Information tab, under Invoicing details, select the account you want to use as the override.

  4. Select Save.

Moving forward, whenever you create a transaction involving this customer, Intacct automatically defaults the GL account to the alternative account selected here.

Order of precedence in a transaction with multiple alternative accounts

Intacct follows a set order of precedence for use of Accounts Receivable GL alternative accounts in transactions. The following table provides examples of the order of precedence:

Examples AR setting Alternative GL account choices Account used
  Transaction choice Line-level choice Customer choice  

1

1500 - AR

      

1500 - AR: configured AR setting

2

1500 - AR

1502 - AR Trade Receivables

    

1502 - AR Trade Receivables: alternative transaction choice

3

1500 - AR

  

1503 - AR Exp

  
  • 1503 - AR Exp: alternative for specific line-level item
  • 1500 - AR: for remaining line items

4

1500 - AR

    

1501 - AR Other

1501 - AR Other: alternative vendor choice

5

1500 - AR

1502 - AR Trade Receivables

  

1501 - AR Other

1502 - AR Trade Receivables: Transaction choice

6

1500 - AR

  

1503 - AR Exp

1501 - AR Other
  • 1503 - AR Exp: alternative for specific line-level item
  • 1501 - AR Other: Vendor alternative for remaining line items

7

1500 - AR

1502 - AR Trade Receivables

1503 - AR Exp

1501 - AR Other

1502 - AR Trade Receivables: alternative transaction choice