This “cheat sheet” should help with remembering what GL account to which you should charge different items. As a starting point here are some high-level categories to consider:
- 1000-1099 Bank accounts
- 3700-3799 Credit card accounts
- 5000-5999 Income accounts. DO NOT post any “expenses” to these.
- 6110-6199 Expense accounts for Advertising and Marketing
- 7010-7099 Expense accounts for Office Administration expenses, etc.
- 8001-8099 Expense accounts for Repairs and Maintenance items/supplies/etc.
- 8101-8199 Capital expense accounts for rehabs (e.g. like last year at SC or this year at NOC)
- 8301-8399 Expense accounts for Contract Services (e.g. pest control service)
- 8401-8499 Capital expense accounts for Contract Services (e.g. remodeling but not make-readies)
- 8501-8599 HR Related expenses
- 8600-9999 Other Operating and Capital Expenses that you shouldn’t need to be entering
Please be careful that you select the correct item especially with some items that may have a similar name. For example, Pest Control Fee, Pest Control Materials, Pest Service.
- 5264 Pest Control Fee is for when we charge a tenant for pest control – it is income.
- 8022 Pest Control Materials is for any materials we buy for use in-house; and
- 8330 Pest Service is when we have a third-party contractor come in and exterminate (e.g. Truly Nolen, etc.).
Also please do not use the “summary” accounts (e.g. 6000, 7000, 8000, etc.) for charging items to. Try to select the most appropriate account below that. For example with misc. supplies purchased from Home Depot if you cannot find a good category to put the expenses into (such as Cleaning Supplies, Pest Control Materials, Lighting, etc.) then consider using 8059 (Materials Used for Repairs) instead. But please avoid using 8000.
I hope this helps with the understanding. I know these things can be a little tricky at first but the more you work with them the easier it becomes.