Analytical accounting

Why it matters

The overall result says how much the company earned, not where. Analytical accounting lays a second reading grid over the same entries to answer "which shop, which project, which activity pays off".

Summary

General accounting says how much the company earned. Analytical accounting says where: which shop, which project, which activity. It is a second reading grid laid over the same entries, without ever changing them.

The three ideas

The axis: a way of slicing the business: "Shop", "Project", "Activity", "Site". You can turn on several and cross them.

The section: a possible value on an axis. On the "Shop" axis: Douala, Yaoundé, Bafoussam. On the "Project" axis: Site A, Site B.

The imputation: attaching an entry line to one or more sections. A 300,000 F rent shared between two shops is imputed 150,000 / 150,000. The same expense can be split across several sections of the same axis.

Steps

1. Accounting › Analytical (/accounting/analytical).
2. Turn on the axes you need for your business (Activate analytical accounting creates a Shop axis, already synced with your shops). Do not open more than you will use: each axis is more data entry.
3. Create the sections of each axis (Axes & sections).
4. Impute the entries: line by line, or in batches to handle a whole period at once.
5. Pull the analytical reports (/accounting/analytical/reports, Analytical balance): balance by section, result by section.

Edge cases & common errors

• Too many axes. Three crossed axes multiply the data entry work and end up abandoned. Start with a single one, the one that answers the question you are really asking.
• Unimputed entries. They appear in no section: the analytical total is then lower than the accounting total. This is the check to make before using a report.
• Incomplete splits. Imputing 100,000 F of a 150,000 F expense leaves 50,000 F outside the analysis and distorts profitability by section.
• Waiting to impute. Batch imputation at year-end works, but you have lost the context of each expense. Doing it as you go costs much less.

FAQ

Does analytical accounting change my financial statements? Never. The balance sheet and income statement are unchanged: analytical accounting is an extra reading, not an extra entry.

Do I need to impute revenue too, or only expenses? Both, if you want a result per section. Imputing only expenses gives you a cost, not profitability.

Is it mandatory? No. It is a management tool, not a legal obligation.

See also

• Understanding Genuka accounting
• Generate financial statements
• The chart of accounts