Setting Up IDs and Codes

You must assign an ID to each vendor you do business with. Most functions require that you specify a vendor ID. For information about defining a vendor, see the Vendors function.

You use distribution codes to allocate general ledger accounts for payables, sales tax, freight, and miscellaneous charges. For information about defining distribution codes, see the Distribution Codes function.

Terms codes define the discount percentage and the number of days in which you must pay the vendor to receive a discount. For information about defining terms codes, see the Terms Code function.

When you assign batch codes to transactions, transactions can be entered into one batch at the same time that another batch is being posted. For information about defining batch codes, see the Transaction Batch Codes function and the Change Batches function.

You can assign class codes, division codes, and priority codes as additional sort criteria for reports. These codes are arbitrary attributes. The information is stored only with the vendor record. For information about defining class codes, division codes, and priority codes, see the Vendors function, the Division Codes function, and the Priority Codes function.

If you define recurring entries, you must assign a run code to each entry. Run codes group recurring entries for creating transactions. You might want to set up run codes that reflect the frequency for creating transactions. For example, you might assign run code 01 to entries used to create transactions on the first of each month and 15 to those used to create transactions on the fifteenth of each month. The system creates transactions for recurring entries with a particular run code when you use the Copy Recurring Entries function.

IDs and codes tell the system how to identify each item on file. The system uses these identifiers to organize information.

When you assigned IDs and codes. establish a format that makes sense for your business and use it consistently. The following suggestions may help you to establish a useful format:

• Do not use these characters in an ID or a code: | : ; & # @
• To prevent organization problems, use zeros to make all IDs the same length. If IDs are divided into more than one part, the parts should be the same length in every ID. Do not use spaces to divide IDs into more than one part. For example, use ACE-01 and ACE-11 instead of ACE-1 and ACE-11 or ACE 01 and ACE 11.
• If you use letters in IDs, use either all uppercase or all lowercase letters so that the IDs can be sorted correctly.
• Use descriptive IDs. For example, WIN001 and WIN002 are more descriptive than 000001 and 000002.
• If you want to sort items by a particular attribute - name or group - put the attribute in the ID. For example, to organize vendors by name, put the first characters of the vendor name in the vendor ID.
• To ensure that new items can be inserted into a sequence, use a combination of letters and numbers that leaves room in the sequence for later additions. For example, WIN001 and WIN005 leave room for three IDs in between.