Understand Core and Custom COAs

When you use the ledger functionality available with Eagle's accounting solution, you use a core Chart of Accounts (COA) along with one or more custom COAs. You can customize a custom COA to add new accounts for ledger reporting purposes. For example, you can add new accounts for expenses, income, and unrealized gains.

About the Core COA

The core COA is the default COA that is installed with Eagle Accounting. The core COA contains more than 500 default account names and descriptions that you can use for your accounting system. Eagle Accounting always performs queries and processes reports against the core COA. You cannot delete accounts from the core COA.

Each account has a description (for example, Cash) and a number (for example, 1001000100). The system uses Eagle Accounting's core accounts for posting purposes, because its Post Matrix references the core COA.

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About Custom COAs

You can use a custom Chart of Accounts (COA) for reporting purposes. The custom COA can include client-specific account descriptions and numbers. You map the custom accounts to the accounts in the core COA. Reports that you generate can display the custom accounts.

For example, if your legacy accounting system uses a different account numbering scheme than Eagle Accounting, you can add the legacy accounts to a custom COA using the original account numbers. When you add a new account to a custom COA, you must map that account to an account that exists in the core COA. Custom account numbers are displayed for reporting purposes only. Transactions processed on an entity that uses a custom COA always post to the mapped core COA.

You can use one or more of the custom COAs that Eagle provides, and then customize that COA.

About the STAR COA

Eagle's accounting solution provides a custom COA called STAR that is loaded during installation. The STAR COA contains all accounts in the core COA. Eagle recommends that you use STAR as your custom COA, because scripts for upgrades and fixes from Eagle automatically apply to the STAR COA. If you use a different custom COA, you can modify these scripts yourself, or can engage a consultant to make the modifications.

This user documentation in this wiki assumes that you use STAR as your custom COA.

About IFRS and Custom COAs

Eagle's accounting solution supports use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS is a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable, and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles. If you use Eagle Accounting with IFRS, custom chart of accounts are available for each of the IFRS regulatory categories. Scripts for upgrades and fixes from Eagle automatically apply to these COAs available for use with IFRS. If you use a different custom COA, you can modify these scripts yourself, or can engage a consultant to make the modifications.

Eagle Accounting supports the IFRS requirements for accounting for investments based on regulatory categories. Ledger postings support the unique ledger entries by regulatory category for acquisitions, valuations, dispositions, income, principal repayments, impairments, interportfolio transfers from held-for trading category, monetary and non-monetary investments, and year-end closing entries. A custom chart of account is available for each regulatory category and the chart of accounts is available at the accounting basis level. This allows for ledger reporting that is different across accounting bases. The year- end close-out process allows you to close out different accounts across entities or basis levels.

About Custom Accounts and Ledger Profiles

A ledger profile is a report profile used to collect and group ledger activity into defined line items such as income, expenses, and distributions. All custom GL accounts added to a custom COA must also be added to the ledger profiles of associated reports, if you want the reports to use these accounts in calculations. For information about maintaining ledger profiles, see Manage Ledger Profiles.