Beyond the basic Chart of Accounts, FastFund Online utilizes specific tagging systems to drive advanced reporting and database management. This lesson covers Account Designators, which are essential for generating the Statement of Cash Flow and Indirect Cost Allocations, and Codes, which allow you to classify entities (Vendors, Clients, etc.) for granular reporting and data mining.
Account Designators are special tags assigned to Object Codes (your general ledger accounts) to identify their function in specific financial reports. They are primarily used for two purposes:
1. Statement of Cash Flow: To generate this report correctly using the indirect method, FastFund requires you to map balance sheet accounts and specific expense accounts (like Depreciation) to standard designators (e.g., “Cash,” “Accounts Receivable,” “Fixed Assets”).
2. Indirect Cost Allocations: They identify account types used with “After the Fact” cost allocations. For example, if you allocate fringe benefits based on total salaries, you must tag all salary expense accounts with a specific “Salary” designator so the system knows which accounts to aggregate for the calculation.
To Set Up Account Designators:
1. Navigate to Administration > Account Designations.
2. Click the New (+) icon.
3. Enter a unique name for the designator (e.g., “Salaries for Allocation”) and click Save.
4. Note: FastFund comes with pre-defined designators for the Statement of Cash Flow (e.g., Cash, Net Assets, Depreciation) which you will link to your Object Codes later in the Chart of Accounts setup,.
While Account Designators classify financial accounts, Codes are used to classify people and organizations (Entities) in your database. These user-defined keywords allow you to segregate data for filtering, reporting, and mailing lists.
Key Code Types:
• Industry: Identifies the sector a company belongs to (e.g., “Government,” “Software,” “Foundation”).
• Affiliation: Tracks outside relationships, such as membership in a local Chamber of Commerce or religious group.
• Attribute: Tracks specific characteristics or preferences, such as “Newsletter Recipient” or geographic region.
• Classification: Segregates types of vendors or clients (e.g., “Minority Owned Business,” “Professional Services”).
Best Practices for Codes: Consistency is vital. If one user creates a code called “Newsletter” and another creates “Receives News,” querying your database becomes difficult. Always check existing codes before creating new ones to maintain database integrity.
To Create a New Code:
1. Navigate to Lists > Data > Codes.
2. Select the Code Type from the dropdown menu (e.g., Attribute).
3. Click the New (+) icon.
4. Enter the Code Name (up to 50 characters) and a Description.
5. Click Save