General ledger account codes
You define values for the different components, and link together the component values to create general ledger account codes. You use the general ledger accounts for specific financial tracking purposes. You can also specify dates for general ledger accounts to be active or to expire.
A general ledger account code consists of several components (or segments), that are separated by delimiters, such as 6000-200-350. A component that has not been assigned a value is represented by placeholder characters, such as 6000-???-350.
You define the format of the account code in the following ways:
- You can define the number, length, and data type of components, whether the components are required, and any delimiter, in the Database Configuration application. The account structures defined in Database Configuration are the default, system-level structures.
- You can define the format of the account code to be specific to an organization. You can define the number, length, and data type of components, whether the components are required, and any delimiter, using the Chart of Accounts application.
- You can specify a default placeholder character in the Database Configuration application. You can specify an organization-specific placeholder character in the Organizations application.
- A combination of existing components
- Only component combinations that are specified as general ledger accounts
You also can download account codes from your accounting system. A generic financial application programming interface and several product-specific application programming interfaces are provided. These application programming interfaces let the system interface with financial software, such as Oracle® and SAP®.