Accounting Sources

Sources are a key component for setting up accounting rules. Sources represent transaction and reference information from source systems. Contextual and reference data of transactions that are set up as sources can be used in accounting rules definitions.

When determining what sources should be available, it's helpful to begin the analysis by considering which information from your source system has accounting impact.

Examples of sources that are accounting in nature include:

  • Transaction date

  • Entered currency

  • Transaction amounts

In addition to sources required for accounting, there may be other sources used for reporting purposes.

Examples of information that may be useful as supporting attributes for subledger journal entries are:

  • Transaction identification numbers such as:

    • Loan number

    • Customer number

    • Billing account number

  • Counterparty information

  • Transaction dates

Provide a rich library of sources from your source systems for maximum flexibility when creating definitions for subledger journal entries.

A distinct difference exists between sources and source values:

  • Source is the metadata, or name of the transaction attribute, used to create accounting rules.

    • For example: Transaction Date

  • Source values are the value of the attribute, used by the Create Accounting process to create subledger journal entries. These entries are based upon source assignments to accounting rules.

    • For example: Aug 01, 2017

Sources

Create sources from any of these user interactions:

  • Create initial sources automatically when registering a new source system configuration using the spreadsheet mechanism.

  • Add subsequent sources from the Manage Sources user interface after the initial upload of the source system.

    • This table contains the data types that can be used when adding sources:

      Source Value

      Data Type

      Alphanumeric and fewer than 100 characters

      Alphanumeric

      Alphanumeric and between 100 and 1000 characters

      Long

      Numeric

      Number

      Date

      Date

      Note: After adding new sources from the UI, and before importing any new transactions, you must download the latest transaction template.The display flag in the Manage Sources UI determines whether to display the source in the Subledger Accounting setup UI.

To set up appropriate subledger journal entry rule sets, users and those implementing must understand the origins, meaning, and context of sources.

Use business-oriented names for sources to enable accountants and analysts to effectively create accounting rules.

  • Enables users to easily identify a source.

  • Ensures consistency in nomenclature.