Default Accounts: POs to Payables
In our last journal, we looked at default accounts in Vendors and Vendor Categories. Those are just the tip of the iceberg—there are several other spots in SyteLine® where defaults quietly steer your purchasing and payables process. Knowing where they live (and how and when they're applied) can save time, prevent errors, and unlock a few powerful extras.
Purchase Order Lines
For purchases not assigned a Product Code (aka not defined on the Items or Non-Inventory Items forms), the account number defaults in the following order:
- Vendor form – Purchases account defined here takes top priority.
- Vendor Category – If defined on the vendor, SyteLine® looks here.
- A/P Parameters – If both are blank, the Purchases account is taken from this form.
For these items, you can also see the account information on the Generate A/P Transactions form.
A/P Vouchers and Adjustments
Each amount "bucket" found on the A/P Vouchers and Adjustments form has its own default account defined on the Accounts Payable Parameters form. As described previously, the purchases bucket default can be overridden using either Vendor Categories or the Purchases account on the Vendors form.
Time Saver: For non-PO vouchers, click Distribution Generation to let SyteLine® create the records for you, then review/edit before posting.
You can skip the distribution generation and go straight to Voucher Posting. The system will behave the same as if you had activated the Distribution Generation button.
Voucher vs. Adjustment
- Both a voucher and an adjustment can be either positive or negative.
- Adjustments are typically used to offset or change an existing voucher.
- Vouchers appear on your vendor's remittance advice, but adjustments do not.
Allocation Accounts
During distribution generation, instead of the purchases bucket going to a single account, you can post to multiple accounts and/or unit code combinations via an Allocation account.
- Create an allocation Account Type on the Chart of Accounts form.
- Set up rules on the Chart of Account Allocations form.
You can even nest allocation accounts inside each other.
Need more flexibility? Allocate with variable percentages based on YTD amounts by creating and maintaining one or more Statistical account types.
Recurring Vouchers
Recurring vouchers are basically a template for repeatable payments. You create the template in the Recurring Vouchers and Recurring Voucher Distribution forms. To process a recurring voucher, the A/P Recurring Voucher Generation form is used.
In practice, recurring vouchers are best when the distribution is too unique to automate with the options above.
Companies often hope recurring vouchers will act as a “control” to track which templates were applied each period. However, even Infor's Online Help states:
Caution: Your company must develop procedures to prevent multiple generations for the same month.
If you're not using default accounts as previously described, this feature could be the right solution for your team. Just be sure you have those processes well defined to ensure you're not missing, or duplicating, entries.
If you know where default accounts are set and how they’re applied, you can decide whether to let SyteLine® do the work for you—or step in and redirect when needed. Whether it’s vendor-level control, category-based overrides, allocations, or recurring vouchers, these settings aren’t just “background” setup. They’re tools that can make purchasing and payables smoother, faster, and a lot less error-prone.
This entry is posted. See you in the next journal.
