Peachtree Accounting

Setting up a new company:

After running the Peachtree program, we will get a new small window mentioning you few options like the following picture.

After having the above options we can find the option of set up a new company, click on it and you will get a new window giving you the instructions for creating a new company.

When you set up your company, you provide Peachtree with basic information such as name and address. In addition, you select your chart of accounts, choose your accounting and posting methods, and specify how your accounting periods are set up.

You use the company information window to enter basic information about your company such as mentioned in the following picture.

After putting the information in the above window, click next and you will get the window for choosing or creating your own charts of accounts.

Set up a new Retail, Service, Construction, Manufacturing, or Distribution company, using a simplified chart of accounts: Select this option to copy basic setup information from a sample retail, service, construction, manufacturing, or distribution company. The sample chart of accounts provided for each of these five business types contains only the basic accounts you need to get started. You can modify the accounts later, according to your needs.

Set up a new company using an extensive chart of accounts from one of many sample companies: Select this option to copy basic setup information from one of over 75 sample businesses that Peachtree provides. If you are new to Peachtree, this is a useful shortcut to set up your company. Later, you can change certain settings to meet your company's specific business needs.

Copy settings from an existing Peachtree company: Select this option if you want to copy setup information from another Peachtree company or you are rebuilding a Peachtree company.

Convert a company from another accounting program: Select this option if you want to import company data from Peachtree Complete Accounting for DOS or Peachtree Classic (PCA), Quicken, or some other program.

Build your own company: Select this option if you want to create a company from scratch. This option is only recommended for experienced users who are comfortable setting up accounting information.

For example: If you want to develop your own chart of accounts then choose it and click next. You will find the following window.

The accounting method determines how Peachtree handles General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, and Accounts Payable transactions.

Accrual Accounting: Income is recorded as you invoice customers, and expenses are recorded when you receive bills from vendors, regardless of when cash is actually exchanged. This presents a truer picture of income and expenses. Most companies use this method.

Cash-Basis Accounting: Income is recorded when cash (checks, money orders, or currency) is received, and expenses are recorded when paid. However, unpaid credit sales and purchases do not show on ledgers, which can present a misleading picture of income and expenses.

After choosing the accounting method, you will have the option of choosing the posting method like the following one.

The posting method determines how Peachtree processes transactions to journals and the general ledger. There are two methods to process the transactions:

Real-Time Posting: Transactions are posted to the journals and the general ledger as they are entered and saved.

Batch Posting: Transactions are saved by the program and then posted in a group.

After you have chosen the posting method, you will have to set an accounting period. Accounting period is the twelve month duration.

You can find in the above window, there are two options either to select the 12 month accounting period or the period that do not match with the calendar months.

12 monthly accounting periods: Each accounting period's starting and ending dates match those of the 12 calendar months. You can choose to start your fiscal year in January or any other month of the year.

Accounting periods that do not match the calendar months: Choose this option if you want to set up a custom fiscal year structure. For example, you may want four accounting periods per year or possibly 13 four-week accounting periods per year.

After selecting the accounting period you will get the options when do you want to start your fiscal year, first month you will be entering the data and the year for entering payroll.

After completing the information for the accounting period, you will get the congratulation window and here the process will be finished by clicking on the finish tab.

After the whole process, which you have completed before will provide you the following welcome page that shows your company has been successfully created and now you can manage your company’s charts of accounts.

Maintaining Charts of Accounts

A chart of Accounts is one of the most important aspects of this software and through this you do the whole accounting. In this topic you will how to create/build your own chart of accounts. For this you have to follow the following steps:

Step 1: After the Welcoming window click on the Maintain in the file menu like the following.

Step 2: Once you click on Maintain in the file menu, you will get several options, click on the chart of accounts as shown in the following picture.

Step 3: Once you click on the char of accounts you will have the window like the following.

Account header fields are located above the folder tabs of the Maintain Chart of Accounts window. This is where you enter lookup information about the account such as the account ID, account description, and status.

Account ID:

This identifies the account in the chart of accounts, lookup lists, transactions, and reports. Enter up to 15 alphanumeric characters to name the account. Once you enter an ID and select the Save button, you can't change or edit the ID, however, you can change the description.

Description:

In the description tab you enter the account name e.g. Account Receivable and Bank Account etc.

Account Type:

Account type is very important while creating the chart of accounts; Account types define how the account will be grouped in reports and financial statements. They also control what happens during fiscal year-end.

Step 4: After entering the account id, description and choosing the account type press (Alt+S) will save the account you’ve typed.

Entering Beginning Balances for Accounts

In this topic you will learn how to enter the beginning balances of the accounts and for this you have to follow the following steps:

Step 1: Go to the menu bar and select the maintain tab and click on the chart of accounts, you will find the following window.

Select the Beginning Balances button on the General tab of the Maintain Chart of Accounts window to enter beginning balances for general ledger accounts. You use this to enter the beginning balance for the account or to adjust the balance for an account in a previous period.

Step 2: once you click on the beginning balance button, you will get a small window to select the period for which you are going to enter the balances.

Step 3: After selecting the period, you will find the following where you have to enter the balances for the accounts you have created before.

The columns where you enter amounts for accounts on these two windows are set up to give you a better feel for how the different accounts in your chart of accounts affect the balance of your finances. When you finish entering balances for all of your accounts, the total of the amounts in the Assets, Expenses column must equal the total of the amounts in the Liabilities, Equity, and Income column. If not then Peachtree will automatically adjust your trial balance by creating an account that is beginning balance equity account.

Note: If you have not created the Retained Earning account, your balances will not be saved, however you can make the account on the same window by clicking on the tab NEW but the effect of the account will be after you re-open the same window.

Maintaining the Customer List

In this topic we are going to discuss how to make your customers list.

Step 1: In the menu bar, go to the maintain bar and click on the Customers/Prospects.

Step 2: after clicking the Customers/Prospects in maintain bar you will get the window like following:

Use the Maintain Customers/Prospects window to enter, change, and store information about companies and people to whom you sell goods and services. You can also enter information about companies and people with whom you would like to do business (prospects).

General Tab:

In this tab, we basically enter the information about the customer such as Name, Address, Country, type of Customer, Telephone, Email and Beginning balances etc.

Sales Defaults Tab:

To set up unique sales transaction defaults for each customer record, You can change this information at the transaction level, if necessary.

In Sales Representative field, we can enter the sales representative that has contact with the customer and for this purpose we must have entered in the Maintain Employees/Sales Reps window.

In G/L Sales Account, we select the general ledger sales account for the customer and without selecting this will not effect the sales transaction to general sales ledger account which is an income account.

Maintaining Customer Defaults Info.

For the purpose of setting customer defaults information, we have to follow the following steps:

Go to the maintain menu and from in select the default info and click on customers, you will get a new window like the below one:

In this picture you can see the 5 tabs, Payment terms, Account Aging, Custom Fields, Finance Charges and Pay Methods.

Payment Terms:

In standard terms, there are five options which include C.O.D, Prepaid, and Due in number of days, due on day of month, due at end of month: Select one of these to tell you the type of payment your customers make.

G/L Link Accounts:

The defaults are used to link sales income and sales discount G/L accounts to most of your customers. You change individual customer setup, if necessary.

Account Aging:

To set up how sales invoices are aged and what aging brackets will be used for accounts receivable, select the Account Aging tab in the Customer Defaults window.

In this window, there are two options:

1- Age Invoices by2- Aging Categories

Age Invoices by:

In this option, there are two methods either to select the invoice date or due date. If you select the invoice date, this will show you how old are the customer invoice and balance. If you select the method Due date, this will shoe you how much overdue is customer invoice.

Aging Categories:

In this option, you can make your own criteria to filter the receivables according to the time period criteria you made.

Custom Fields:

To set up custom field names for your customer records, select the Custom Fields tab in the Customer Defaults window.

Custom fields let you use your imagination. What do I really need to know about my customers? Select the Enabled check box to enter or change the field label. If you decide not to use a field, clear the Enabled check box.

Finance Charges:

In order to apply the finance charges, you have to check the

Pay Methods:

This field header is used to set up payment methods for your customers