Can an account be forced to require a project?

1

I’m a newby here so this may already have been answered, but is there a way to tag an account (or several) to make a project mandatory? I am a farmer and income and expenses need to be tracked across several years, and its hard for a bookkeeper to remember which accounts I want tracked.

2

Hello @RandiB,

It’s tempting to dismiss your case as being unsupported, but actually, depending on the nature of your projects, there could be solutions other than the Projects tab: possibly using Divisions, Inventory Items, Non-inventory Items or maybe Special Accounts.

Please tell us more about the nature of your projects:

  • whether or not they have a defined life
  • are they numerous or are they few
  • are they stable or more like R&D projects that can be scrapped midway
  • any other defining characteristics of these said projects
3

To you specific questions:

  • whether or not they have a defined life - not defined

  • are they numerous or are they few - less than ten per year, then inactive after the last sale

  • are they stable or more like R&D projects that can be scrapped midway - stable

  • any other defining characteristics of these said projects - I like to see the P&L for each project

I like to track the major inputs that go into a crop like seed, fertilizer, lime, pesticides, and maybe a few more accounts each year. For example some projects could be 25 corn, 25 wheat, and 26 corn. Typically inputs could be purchased a year or more before planting and running through harvest and storage. Sales could start at harvest and usually continue for a year or more.

I have not looked at Inventory Items because in the past I have found inventory to be too much of hassle to deal with and I just have an Inventory account that I update when I need it (usually at year end). We never know (accurately) how much of a crop we produce in any year until the last load crosses the buyers scale after which we (hopefully) get a weight ticket and a check that we then deposit. We never count our chicken before they are hatched - no accounts receivable. Or accounts payable - when were get a bill we pay it. A crazy way to run a business I know.

My concern is the slippage that occurs when a bookkeeper doesn’t know whether or not to open the projects (optional) list or not. For example an amount could be added to a project that should not be or another left out by mistake. Probably wishful thinking, but I was looking for a check box for each post-able account that would require a project to be chosen for those transactions.

Thank you for answering my question.

4

You cannot tag accounts to force transactions allocated to them to include a project. The following actions may help to avoid or detect transactions not allocated to a project:

  1. Use advanced queries.
  2. Expand the account name to indicate it requires a project name allocate to it.
  3. Use Edit Columns and select Project to facilitate scrolling for transactions without a project allocated to them.

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5

@RandiB,

Now I understand a little bit more about your business, but still not enough to see if, say, Divisions better suits your needs. That’s because I still don’t know what you consider to be a Project: Is it live stock? Is it crops? Or maybe the inputs themselves?

Please share a screenshot of your Projects tab to help us understand your situation a bit more.

6

Actually, only MANAGER have the perfect solution for CRAZY business like yours.

For AGRO Industry, I have Architected even CRAZIER workflow than yours.

Are you using CLOUD Edition?

I am an Advisor.

So, I also need to know about sharing/helping policy here.