Profit Centers are typically used to track profitability (Income Statements) of multiple enterprises within one company. This could be separate Locations in the case of multiple plants or various enterprises at a single Location (i.e. Feed/Grain vs. Fertilizer/Chemical).
The following window can be found by selecting Add or Edit at Accounting / Setup / Profit Centers.
- Profit Center ID – Use up to four characters to define the Profit Center ID. This ID often matches a portion of the General Ledger codes and will be discussed during implementation.
- Description – Describe this Profit Center using up to 30 characters. This will print on some reports like the Income Statement.
- Retained Earnings – This defaults to the account set at Accounting / Setup / Preferences on the G/L tab if it has been previously set up but can be changed by double-clicking in this field and selecting the G/L Account that represents the Retained Earnings account for this Profit Center. The Retained Earning account will often be the same for all Profit Centers.
Note: If setting up multiple companies in the same dataset, consult SSI Support to discuss the advantages/disadvantages before proceeding. - Location ID – Optionally select the Location related to this Profit Center if applicable. The Location can be used to filter G/L Accounts to make it easier to find the Location's instance of a specific account like when adding an AP Bill and looking for the Location's Shop expense.
With Profit Centers established and assigned on the General Ledger Accounts, the Chart of Accounts report can be run to review setup for accuracy, and financial statements can be run for individual or multiple Profit Centers.
Note: In order for the Year to Date Profit or Loss line on the Balance Sheet to calculate for a particular Profit Center, there must be at least one Income GL AND one Expense GL assigned to the Profit Center.