Accounts¶

Overview¶

Accounts are the Chart of Accounts lines Credence uses to classify ledger activity. Each property is assigned a Chart of Accounts. Operational posting—rent charges, payables, bank activity, journal bundles, and related workflows—posts to accounts on that property's chart.

Credence also maintains a shared Credence Chart of Accounts. Mapping each property account to a Credence account lets reports and budgets roll activity up across properties that use different local charts.

Posting setup controls how Credence books activity. Reporting setup controls how that activity is presented and measured. Mapping connects the two.

Correct chart setup matters because:

• Ledger entries always post to a property account, never directly to a Credence account.
• Automated posting depends on default types (for example Accounts Receivable or Cash) being assigned on the property's chart.
• Unmapped accounts are omitted when you report or budget on the Credence Chart of Accounts.

Definitions¶

Rules and Behavior¶

Property charts¶

• Each property can be assigned one Chart of Accounts. That assignment controls which accounts are valid for that property's ledger activity.
• When you choose an expense, income, or cash account on a payable, receivable, vendor charge, bank account, or similar object, the account must belong to the selected property's chart.
• A chart cannot be deactivated while it is still assigned to an unsold (active) property. Reassign or clear those properties first.

Account fields¶

Each account has:

• Account Number — Identifier within the chart (often a GL number such as 1000 or 6100).
• Account Name — Description shown with the number.
• Account Type — Required financial statement classification (asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense). Accounts created before types were required may not have one set yet; they appear in the chart's No Account Type section until a type is assigned.
• Chart of Accounts — The chart that owns the account.
• Mapped Account — Optional Credence account for cross-chart reporting.
• Default Type — Optional posting role; leave blank when the account is not a system default.

Account numbers must be unique within a chart (matching is case-insensitive). You cannot move an account to a different chart after ledger entries already exist for that account. You also cannot delete an account that has ledger entries.

Default types¶

Default types tell Credence which account to use when workflows create ledger entries automatically. Each default type may be assigned to only one account on a given chart.

Available default types:

• Cash
• Security Deposit Liability
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Sales Tax Payable
• Sales Tax Receivable
• Prepaid Rent
• Prepaid Expenses
• Rental Revenue
• Free Rent
• Absorption
• Interest Expense
• Amortization
• Tenant Improvements
• Lease Commissions
• CAM Revenue
• Write Off
• Intercompany
• Foreign Exchange Gain/(Loss)

If a required default type is missing (or more than one account carries the same type), Credence blocks the posting that needs that account and reports the chart that needs attention.

You cannot deactivate an account that still has a default type. Reassign the default type to another account first, then deactivate.

Mapping and Credence reporting¶

• Mapping a property account to a Credence account does not change where entries post. It only controls how activity rolls up on Credence Chart of Accounts views.
• Mapping does not assign a default role, capability, or account type to the posting account.
• On financial reports and budgets that use the Credence COA, Credence groups amounts by mapped Credence accounts. Two property accounts that map to the same Credence account appear as one row. Unmapped accounts are omitted from those views.
• When you report on a specific external chart, only entries on that chart are included. If your property selection spans charts, Credence warns that some activity may be omitted. See Financial Reports and Budgets.

On the chart detail page, accounts are grouped under Assets, Liabilities, Revenue, Expenses, and Equity using each account's own Account Type, whether or not the account is mapped to a Credence account. Accounts with no Account Type appear in a separate No Account Type section.

Posting setup and reporting setup¶

Default roles and capabilities belong to posting setup. Report sections and report classifications belong to reporting setup. Account type is shared financial configuration: it determines normal balance. Assets and expenses are debit-normal; liabilities, equity, and revenue are credit-normal. Numbers and names do not determine reporting meaning.

Capabilities include cash-like, escrow, tax, intercompany, construction in progress, accrual, and fixed asset. A capability does not select the default account: several accounts may be cash-like, but only one can fill the default Cash role. The Cash role requires a cash-like account.

For example, an operating bank account and a reserve bank account can each use a different cash-like posting GL. Only one GL has the default Cash role. Both GLs can map to reporting accounts classified as Cash; that shared reporting meaning does not merge their bank relationships or change where transactions post. Accounts classified as Escrow remain distinct from Cash in specialized calculations.

Similarly, several mortgage reporting accounts may share Debt. Their balances contribute to the debt calculation while their statement lines remain separate. A posting GL's default role or capability does not turn it into a Debt reporting account.

Credence is currently the only reporting target. Its report sections and classifications are maintained by Credence, not edited in customer chart setup. Selecting a local chart changes which posting accounts and labels a report displays; it does not make that chart a customer-defined reporting target.

Reporting configuration and coverage¶

Credence maintains the predefined report classifications on its reporting accounts. Calculations select activity by those classifications rather than guessing financial meaning from account names.

A classification with no matching ledger activity contributes zero. For example, Debt-classified accounts define how debt is measured even when the selected properties have no debt activity. The chart defines how a category is reported, not whether a property currently has activity in that category.

Reporting configuration and mapping coverage are separate. A fully configured Credence chart does not mean every posting account is mapped. Current Credence views continue to omit unmapped activity; there is no new Unmapped reporting section in this release.

Property chart assignment is another separate requirement. Assigning a chart does not link a bank account to its GL, select a lease charge's revenue account, or configure other operational account relationships. Maintain those links and required default roles as part of posting setup, even after mapping is complete.

Active and inactive status¶

• Deactivating an account marks it inactive. Historical ledger entries remain.
• Reactivating restores the account for use.
• The same activate/deactivate pattern applies to charts, subject to the active-property rule above.

Permissions and management¶

Users with Chart of Accounts view access can browse accounts and charts. Creating or editing charts and accounts, and activating or deactivating them, requires Chart of Accounts add or change access (typically Admin-level bookkeeping permissions).

From Manage Accounts you can filter by chart, mapped Credence account, default type, and active status; search by account number or name; and download the filtered list. Opening Manage Accounts with no filter applied defaults to the Chart of Accounts on the first property in your current property selection, when one is available.

Account detail also shows a balance for the account across your currently selected properties: the sum of debits minus credits from posted ledger entries on that account. Related ledger activity is sampled on the account and chart views for context.

Calculation Details¶

Account balance (account detail)¶

For the properties currently selected:

Account balance = sum of (Debit − Credit)
  for posted ledger entries on this account

Only posted, active bundles that have an accounting period contribute to the balance.

Credence COA rollup (reports and budgets)¶

Credence account total = sum of amounts from property accounts
  that map to that Credence account

Property accounts with no Credence mapping contribute nothing to Credence COA views.

Common Scenarios¶

• New property onboarding: Assign the property a Chart of Accounts, confirm required default types (especially Cash, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and any tax or prepaid accounts you use), and map accounts needed for Credence-level reporting before going live.
• After an import creates new accounts: New lines appear unmapped. Map them to Credence accounts so Budget vs Actuals and other Credence COA reports include the activity. Unmapped counts appear on account management screens as a reminder.
• Shared portfolio reporting: Two assets use different local charts but both map Rental Income and Repairs lines to the same Credence accounts. Selecting the Credence COA on a report consolidates those lines; selecting one local chart shows only that chart's accounts.
• Retiring an unused GL line: Clear any default type on the account, then deactivate it. Do not deactivate a chart still assigned to active properties; reassign those properties first.
• Wrong chart on an account with history: Once ledger entries exist, Credence locks the account to its current chart. Create the correct account on the intended chart and use reclass or future posting to that account instead of moving the original line.