A summary identity functions like an account with the exception that no postings are ever made manually to them.
In addition to your chart of accounts, you can create sixteen summary identity codes. In your chart of accounts, you can dedicate your accounts to one or many summary identities. The system allows the user to summarise the information in several ways. For example, you may have entries that are recorded on cost centre level, that are also recorded automatically (with the aid of summary identities) on geographic area.
You can use summary identities for further analysis by grouping your accounting information in various ways. This allows you to handle both fiscal and group requirements. You can then report or make enquiries using your structured account codes or the summary identity codes.
Typical usage of summary identity codes are:
| Code | Description | Additional info |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | O/S row number | Useful for producing summarised “P&L and balance sheets” in accordance with statutory accounting rules or GAAP (Generally Agreed Accounting Practices) international standards. |
| 2 | Fiscal code | Used to produce fiscal information in accordance with the “Plan Comptable – Francais” or the “Plan Comptable – Belge” (fiscal coding structures of France and Belgium). |
| 3 | Corporate code | Useful if you want to prepare reports using the corporate coding structure (without needing to consolidate). |
| 4 | Generic code | Used to group items of income or expenditure subjectively for summary reports. |
The DC1 Report Writer, the Balances and budgets enquiry, and DC1 Analyser all let you choose whether you want to select information by your structured account code or by using a summary identity code.
Note: One important benefit is that if you wish to rearrange your summary identity codes you can rebuild all your summary balance history from the base accounting information.
You can use the summary identities to speed up the reporting since summary levels can be defined on a higher level, e.g., per account class. They are also very useful if you have not structured your chart of account, since they can “restructure” it and combine accounts that you want to consolidate, but cannot be summarised on heading account level, because they do not start with the same character. The system stores your balances for the summary identities in the same manner as it does for the balances for account combinations.
You can give an account number with an account part that has a related summary identity a summary identity part from the Summary identity file. The same summary identity can be related to several accounts in the same account part (i.e., one balance will be created for all the accounts).
Enquiries and printouts
- Balances and budgets enquiry
- Summary identities enquiry
- G/L control file enquiry
- Account/summary id enquiry
- Summary identity list
- Account list