Hello,
How do I how I create a sub-expense account? I manage properties and need to keep track of the total utilities with a breakdown of each utility usage. Under this scenario, I need to create an expense account for each property location – for example; 1234 Main Street. Then under each specific property location/address provide for “utilities” expenses, and create sub-expenses with break down of each of the utilities, such as water, gas, electric, etc… In other words, I would like to create a hierarchy within my chart of accounts to list an account as a “child” account of another: Below is an example how it would be mapped out:
1234 Main Street
Utilities
Water
Gas
Internet
Go to Chart of Accounts under Settings and create each property address as a Group then create the outgoings expense categories as Accounts under each group.
This is the relevant guide: Build a chart of accounts | Manager
Look at the very bottom, under the heading Add other desired accounts.
Create each property as a tracking code and then structure the expenses to suit and you can end up with a P&L report like this
Thank you, everyone, for assisting me with my question. I have now set up each of the property addresses as a “New Group” in the chart of accounts, and below each property’s address/New Group, the related child accounts, such as taxes, utilities, commission expenses, etc… so that I can record the expenses specific to each property/Account Group separetly. However when I go to record an expense transaction: Bank Transaction> New Bank Transaction > Spend Money> under the drop down menu in the bank/cash transaction page I only see the child accounts, repeating after another over and over because the property’s address (the group’s name) is not showing in the drop down menu. Any solution, or suggestions why the property group names do not show up in the “Account” drop-down menu from the payment page/spend money?.
Brucanna, I am looking at your awesome suggestion of listing each property as a tracking code and it looks so much better than the way I learned to do this on Quickbooks… :). Would you please detail the steps to your tracking coding in your example above. Thanks much!
Read the Guide: https://www.manager.io/guides/8956.
You might also consider special accounts for some of your needs. See this Guide: https://www.manager.io/guides/10555
Whatever you decide, you’re venturing into fairly complex setup options for the chart of accounts. I urge you to create a test business and enter some sample transactions before firmly committing your formal business records to an approach and possibly having to undo or redo later.
I have very little accounting experiance and still confused because everything is correctly setup in my CHART OF ACCOUNTS. The GROUP names and ACCOUNT names are all in the correct order but when I go to select a GROUP from the drop down menu located in the PAYMENT pages or from the JOURNAL ENTRIES page to recording a paid check/expense to an ACCOUNT, the GROUP names cannot be found. In fact, the only place the GROUP names show up, and it shows up in the correct order and hierarchy above the ACCOUNT names is in the SUMMARY pages. Am I recording my expenses from the wrong tabs? If so, which tab is used to record expenses.
That is just how the programme works, can be somewhat frustrating without making subtle name changes which makes each common named account more identifiable. However in your situation, by having repeating common P&L groups would get to a very long report, 10 properties might be bearable but a 40+ would start to look like a toilet roll - that is why using tracking codes is a better solution.
The first thing to understand is that if you are going to create this business reporting scheme for the rental properties, then you would be reporting them in a separate Manager business from the actual Property Management business - because you can’t report the Property Management business and the rental properties within the same P&L.
Go to Settings - Tracking Codes to create an item for each property.
Go to Settings - Chart of Accounts and create your “master” Income and Expenses including any sub-groups and child accounts as required.
Then when entering any P&L transaction make sure that you complete the Tracking Code field.
Brucanna, how did you structure Utilities to appear as you have it in your example? And how do you create a total for just the Utilities portion/category within the group? In other words, Total-Utilities appears, as you have it with another total to show the entire amount of all the expenses within the GROUP. Thanks!
Under Settings - Chart of Accounts - P&L side - New Group
Then the individual utility accounts are assigned to that new group
That comes automatically with the creation of a “New Group”