Pitney Bowes DM550, DM500 manual Account Structure Hierarchy, Examples

7 • Standard Accounting

Account

Structure and

Hierarchy

You can structure your accounts in single or multiple levels. For example, you can divide a top level department (account) into two or more major sec- tions or subaccounts. You can further divide these subaccounts into two or more sections or subsubaccounts. The following examples demonstrate some of the ways in which you can structure your accounts.

•When you create a top level account, you can charge funds and pieces to that account. This is the working (chargeable) account because at this point it does not have any subordinate accounts:

EXAMPLE:

Account - Engineering

•If you create subaccounts for the original account, they become the end links in the account chain and identify the departments where you dis- perse funds:

EXAMPLE:

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Software

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Industrial Design

•The original Account now serves as an administrative account that owns and contains totals for the lower subaccounts.

•If you create subsubaccounts for subaccounts, the subsubaccounts become the end links and identify the departments that are charged for postage.

EXAMPLES:

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Software,

Subsubaccount - Software Testing

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Software,

Subsubaccount - Software Design

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Industrial Design,

Subsubaccount - Graphics and Layout

Account - Engineering, Subaccount - Industrial Design,

Subsubaccount - User Friendly Testing

When accounts are linked (account/subaccount, or account/subaccount/ subsubaccount) they become a set and are treated as one separate account, with one account number and one password. The existing account number and password are rolled down to the subaccount when the first subaccount is created. When you create another subaccount to this account, you create another linked set of accounts with a different account number and password.

This type of account structure allows you to view accounts and create reports that show total charges for the top level account, or you can view or create reports that show the charges for each of the subaccounts or sub- subaccounts. This is graphically illustrated on the following page using the above examples.

You can have all single top level accounts or you can mix both single and multi-layered accounts. The lowest level in the account structure is where charges are incurred. An account or subaccount, just like the subsubac- count is the chargeable account when it’s the last, or single, link in the

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