Summary
Learn about the data files and fields required to run a General ledger analysis within MindBridge.
- General ledger (or a Journal Report if the data is being extracted from Quickbooks Desktop or Quickbooks Online)
- Opening balance (i.e., previous year's post-closing balance)
- Closing balance
- Chart of accounts
- MindBridge Account Classification (MAC) code system
- Interim analysis (i.e., a partial general ledger)
MindBridge provides powerful analyses with minimal required data. However, by importing additional data fields, you can access additional features and filtering capabilities (such as searching by company, branch, transaction type, cost center, department, etc.) that allow you to analyze the results more efficiently and effectively.
General ledger data (required)
A GL is a record that contains all the journal entries (e.g., transaction data) for a company to create their financial statements. This is the main file required for any General ledger analysis.
The GL file should be exported from an ERP or accounting system in either .xlsx or .csv format.
Note that when working with Quickbooks Desktop or Quickbooks Online, it is recommended that you export a Journal Report instead of a General Ledger Report.
|
# |
Field name |
Description |
Required? |
Control points in effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Account ID |
The unique identifier for the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: 14028-0 |
Yes |
|
|
2 |
Account Description |
The name of the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: Cash and Cash equivalents |
No |
N/A |
|
3 |
Effective Date |
The date when the journal entry takes effect in the ledger, regardless of when the transaction or entry was posted. This date may also be known as the “accounting date.” Example: 2014-01-01 (YYYY-MM-DD) |
Yes |
|
|
4 |
Debit |
The debit value of the entry. Example: 19,834.22 |
Yes |
|
|
5 |
Credit |
The credit value of the entry. Example: 19,834.22 |
Yes |
|
|
6 |
Amount |
The entry’s value, which may be either positive (i.e., debit) or negative (i.e., credit). Example: 19,834.22 (debit) -19,834.22 (credit)
Note: “Amount” is an alternative field for GLs that don't split entries into separate debit and credit fields. In MindBridge, it is the equivalent to having "Debit" and "Credit" fields.
|
No |
|
|
7 |
Entered Date |
The date the entry or transaction was posted to the GL, regardless of when it takes effect in the accounting cycle. Example: 2014-01-01 (YYYY-MM-DD) |
No |
|
|
8 |
Transaction ID |
The unique code used to group entries within a given transaction. If none is given, the user will have to chose one or more fields to use for transaction grouping. Example: 6524 |
No |
All transaction-level control points |
|
9 |
Type |
The “classification” of the transaction, usually based on a predefined list. Examples: Cash receipts, cash disbursements, general journal, credit memo, purchases, sales.
Note: An alternative field can specified for the affected control points.
|
No |
|
|
10 |
Memo |
A description of the journal entry. It is typically entered manually and provides a description of what occurred. Example: This was paid on Dec 7 from Account XYZ. |
No |
|
|
11 |
Source |
The source of the journal entry. Example: General Ledger (GL) Payroll (PR)
Note: An alternative field can specified for the affected control points.
|
No |
|
|
12 |
User ID |
The name or code of the user responsible for creating the journal entry. Example: Paul Johnson or 10922 |
No |
N/A |
|
13 |
MAC code |
The grouping code set up within the Account Grouping template. Contains the MAC code for the specified Account ID.
Note: The control points listed to the right rely on the accurate mapping of each "Account ID" in the GL to a MAC code. For example, whereas "Duplicates" are identified by matching the "Account ID" column (even if those accounts have a MAC code assigned), when analyzing "Change in Account Trend" only MAC codes are considered.
|
No |
|
Opening balance data (optional)
This document lists the opening balance for all GL accounts. The opening balance file should include the prior year's post-closing entries (e.g., top-side journal entries, revenue and expense close-out entries). It is best practice to ensure the balances agree to the prior year financial statements.
Importing an opening balance file allows MindBridge to produce a Balance Sheet report.
|
# |
Field name |
Description |
Required? |
Control points in effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Account ID |
The unique identifier for the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: 14028-0 |
Yes |
N/A |
|
2 |
Account Description |
The name of the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: Cash and Cash equivalents |
No |
N/A |
|
3 |
Balance |
The most up-to-date balance for each of the accounts (refer to the note below the “closing balance” table for more information). Example: 18,152.16 |
Yes |
N/A |
|
4 |
Debit |
An alternative field to "Balance" where separate "Debit" and "Credit" fields have to be specified. Example: -18,152.16 |
No |
N/A |
|
5 |
Credit |
An alternative field to "Balance" where separate "Debit" and "Credit" fields have to be specified. Example: 18,152.16 |
No |
N/A |
Closing balance data (optional)
This document lists the account identifiers, account descriptions and closing cash balance for each account. The closing balance should reflect the most updated amount in each of the accounts.
Importing an opening and closing balance file allows MindBridge to produce a Pre-Analysis Completeness report and Completeness report. The closing balance is only used in this report and does not take the place of any calculated balances in MindBridge.
|
# |
Field name |
Description |
Required? |
Control points in effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Account ID |
The unique identifier for the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: 14028-0 |
Yes |
N/A |
|
2 |
Account Description |
The name of the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: Cash and Cash equivalents |
No |
N/A |
|
3 |
Balance |
The most up-to-date balance for each of the accounts (refer to the note below). Example: 18,152.16 |
Yes |
N/A |
|
4 |
Debit |
An alternative field to "Balance" where separate "Debit" and "Credit" fields have to be specified. Example: -18,152.16 |
No |
N/A |
|
5 |
Credit |
An alternative field to "Balance" where separate "Debit" and "Credit" fields have to be specified. Example: 18,152.16 |
No |
N/A |
In case the balance is adjusted, the GL data should be consistent with the adjustments, and also include the adjustment entries. For this reason, the closing balance should be created at the same time as the GL data to prevent any differences in transactions as well as in balances.
These formulas demonstrate the concept and the relationship between the closing balances and the general ledger.
- Closing balance = Opening balance + General ledger data activity
-
Closing adjusted balance = Opening balance + General ledger data activity + Adjusting entry activity
Chart of accounts data
This document is an index of the financial accounts present in an organization's GL.
|
# |
Field name |
Description |
Required? |
Control points in effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Account ID |
The unique identifier for the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: 14028-0 |
Yes |
|
|
2 |
Account Description |
The name of the given financial account. This information is also found in the chart of accounts. Example: Cash and Cash equivalents |
Yes |
N/A |
|
3 |
MAC code |
The grouping code set up within the Account Grouping template. Contains the MindBridge MAC code for the specified Account ID. Note: The control points listed to the right rely on the accurate mapping of each "Account ID" in the GL to a MAC code. For example, whereas "Duplicates" are identified by matching the "Account ID" column (even if those accounts have a MAC code assigned), when analyzing "Change in Account Trend" only MAC codes are considered. |
Yes |
|
MindBridge Account Classification (MAC) code system
In order to classify your client’s unique accounts, MindBridge uses the MindBridge Account Classification (MAC) code system to map accounts across a wide and diverse range of industries into a single, consistent classification system.
Find out how MindBridge classifies accounts using MAC codes.
This column can be filtered using advanced filtering.
Interim time frame analysis data
Analyses that use the interim time frame use partial GL data (for example, the analysis may be comprised of the first 9 months of GL activity, instead of 12 months). The main difference between the interim time frame and the full time frame is that the initial analysis does not include data for the full fiscal period. Once an interim analysis has been completed, you can convert it to a full analysis once the complete GL has been received.
For the data fields related to the interim analysis data, refer to the General ledger data section above.
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