Do you want to save time adding Main Accounts in Dynamics AX or Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, or have a need for some consistent setting to be applied across groups of similar Main Accounts? Maybe you just do it so infrequently you’d like that head start in setting one up. How about applying a mass change to a group of Main Accounts? If any of these situations apply to you, try using Main Account Templates.
Where main account templates are located
General Ledger–>Chart of Accounts–>Accounts–>Main Account Templates
As you can see in the example above, you can create multiple templates to suit a variety of setup needs. You could even go as far as indicating a leading digit sequence, also seen in the example above (the “20” in the Main Account field for AP accounts).Applying the main account template
These templates can be assigned either at account creation, or added after the fact. If creating a Main Account from a template, that account is automatically assigned the template at creation. If adding after the fact, here is where you will find the field on the Main Account setup screen.
When applying after the fact, you will be given a dialogue asking if you want to apply the template parameters. Choose as appropriate for your situation. Remember this is only a template. You’re free to make any changes you’d like to make to a Main Account after applying the template. Also, it does not contain every field you would see in the Main Account setup screen, but it does contain most of them. Lastly, you can’t set company specific parameters, those still reside in the Main Account setup screen. All that said, this is still a time saver for Main Account creation.Changing multiple records at once
One handy feature that may be little known is harnessing the template to make mass changes to records. Let’s say, for example, that you want to restrict manual entry to cash accounts. You could go into each cash account and select the appropriate checkbox. A better way would be to make the change on the template, and apply it to any Main Account that has been assigned that template. Here’s how to accomplish this. Make the change in the appropriate template. In this case, we’ll mark the checkbox for this parameter in the Cash template.
Once changed, close or exit out of the form. A dialog box will appear asking if you want to update the Main Accounts with the changes. Selecting yes will apply the changes to all Main Accounts assigned to this template. If you simply want to make the change to apply to future accounts using the template, you would select no. Review the Main Account, and you will see that the change that was made has now been applied. Hopefully these tips will help you save some time in managing your Main Accounts! For more help with some of these parameters, check out our post on Retained Earnings Translation.