This article explains how to map the financial accounts structure used throughout ScaleXP reporting (reports, dashboards, and presentations).  

This covers:

• How to rename financial categories;
• How to create groups and subgroups of accounts;
• How to move accounts between groupings.

Note: To post group-level adjustments such as goodwill or intercompany equity into your consolidated reporting, see How to add consolidation adjustments.

Part 1 — set up your consolidated P&L and balance sheet

1. Navigate to the group or consolidated company

Select the consolidated parent in the dropdown menu at the top right of the screen.

2. Configure your P&L and balance sheet

Go to the Load Data tab (top bar), then Configure P&L, BS (left sidebar) to access the mapping screens. From there, select Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet from the dropdown menu at the top.

Category names, groups, and subgroups set up here will be visible throughout the system. They will be instantly available to use in reports, graphs and charts, and presentations.

See the instructions in Part 2 for how to move, group, and rename accounts.

Note: This feature can also be accessed via reports, in the edit menus. However accessed, changes made on the configuration screen impact all reports and graphs, not just one.

3. Cascade your configuration to the subsidiaries

Once you are happy with your setup, copy the settings to all subsidiaries using the button at the top of the page.

Upon cascading, any renaming, moving, or re-ordering that you do here will transfer instantly to reports and graphs for that entity.

You can make changes at the subsidiary if desired, but these cannot be transferred to the parent.

Important: Grouping for consolidated companies is not automatically replicated from child to parent. This is to enable different groupings at each subsidiary and at parent level, as they may be for different audiences.

Part 2 — manage categories, groups, and subgroups

1. Move accounts between financial categories, groups, and subgroups

1. Click Expand all to see all accounts in any financial category.
2. Tick the box to the left of the account or accounts you wish to move.
3. Click Move to (top of page).
4. Select the financial category, group, and subgroup to which you want to move the account and click on it.

Note that accounts are color coded such that revenue and cost are each assigned a different color. This makes it easy to ensure each account stays in the correct category type.

Ensure color coding is consistent with your setup

Be sure that all income (yellow) is in either Revenue or Non Operating Income. Similarly, check that all assets are the same color (blue) and that all liability and equity accounts are gray. If not, move the accounts to ensure consistency. This is very important for ensuring the ScaleXP automations work as expected.

You can change these groupings in your reports, but it is essential that the account type is consistent between ScaleXP and your accounting system.

If the account type is not colored as expected, change the account type in your accounting system or contact support@scalexp.com for help.

2. Rename financial categories

To rename any financial category, click on the pencil to the right of the name, next to the expansion arrow.

3. Create a new group of accounts

Tick the boxes at the left of the account or accounts you wish to group, then select Create Group, enter a name for the group, and save it.

Tip for marketing metrics: Set up a group or subgroup for sales & marketing costs, then use this to automate SaaS metrics such as CAC (customer acquisition costs). See How to review and change the way a metric is calculated; how to edit a formula and How to set up CAC (customer acquisition costs).

4. Create a new subgroup (2 levels)

Select accounts already in a group and choose Create Sub Group at the top of the page.

To create a second level of subgroup, select accounts already in a subgroup and click Create Sub Group.

5. Move groups and subgroups

To move a group or subgroup within a category, click the six dots just to the left of the group name, then drag the group to the new location and drop.

To move a group or subgroup to a new category, it is necessary to re-create the group: click on the box to the left of the group to select all the accounts, then click Move to (top of page) and select the new location. Create the new group and delete the old one.

6. Delete groups and subgroups

To delete an existing group or subgroup, click the bin icon at the right of the group name, then select Delete.

When a group is deleted, all accounts in the group will automatically be moved to sit directly under the main category heading. Accounts can never be added or removed from the P&L — deleting a group just moves the accounts out of the group and into the main category.

7. Ungroup an account

To remove an account from a group or subgroup, use the ungroup account arrow button next to the account.

Note: All changes are automatically saved and flow through the entire ScaleXP entity instantly.

Part 3 — additional settings

1. Hide unused accounts

The configuration page will always include all active and archived accounts found in your accounting system. This is intentional, to ensure no financial data is lost (for example, if miscoded).

However, you can use organization settings to ensure that accounts with nil values never appear in your reports.

Go to the Settings cog (top bar, right side), then Organization settings (left sidebar), then turn on the toggle for hide accounts with 0 values.

To eliminate accounts from consolidation, see How to eliminate intercompany accounts; How to add or remove accounts to be eliminated.

2. Review and change exchange rates used in consolidation

For more information about foreign exchange rates (FX rates) used in consolidation and how to adjust them for your requirements, see these articles:

• FX Rates: What foreign exchange rate is being used?
• How to change historic FX rates and input custom foreign exchange rates
• How to adjust foreign exchange rates: consolidated balance sheets

Related articles

• How to add consolidation adjustments
• How to eliminate intercompany accounts; How to add or remove accounts to be eliminated
• How to add a budget to a consolidated company
• How to set up CAC (customer acquisition costs)