General Ledger - Accelerate Your Accounting and Bookkeeping

General Ledger Overview

In accounting, the General Ledger is synonymous with accounting and bookkeeping. The General Ledger can also be referred to as the GL, the Ledger and Nominal Ledger. The transaction types that commonly update the Ledger are General Ledger Journals, and sub-ledgers such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets, Inventory, Job Projects and PayRoll/HR.

A Ledger account is created for each account in the Chart of Accounts, and are classified into account categories such as Income, Expenses, Assets, Liabilities and Equity, and the collection of these accounts is referred to as the General Ledger. An organisations Income Statement (Profit and Loss P&L) and Balance Sheet are both derived from income and expense account categories in the General Ledger.

SapphireOne Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software will update sub-ledgers and the General Ledger, with entries drawn from the SapphireOne data file that is shared with other processes managed through the SapphireOne ERP.

This is the same General Ledger Inquiry screen that is available within SapphireOne Accounts mode. Please navigate to General Ledger Inquiry for full details on this Inquiry screen.

General Ledger Chart of Accounts details are entered into your SapphireOne Payroll/HR here. This is the same General Ledger Inquiry screen that is available within SapphireOne Accounts mode. Please navigate to General Ledger Inquiry for full details on General Ledger functionality. The purpose of this PayRoll/HR General Ledger Inquiry screen is so that all users who only have access to the PayRoll/HR mode will be able to view all General Ledger accounts and investigate all related PayRoll/HR General Ledger information.

The General Ledger Account ID is used for collating Pay Run figures for period-to-date and year-to-date data. You may take the totals directly into your General Ledger to accrue Payroll/HR for the respective periods. There must be a General Ledger Account ID created for Allowances & Deductions and other Payroll/HR information in the appropriate areas of your General Ledger accounts. 

If there are no Payroll/HR General Ledger accounts to view, or you wish to add in a new General Ledger account, you may create new General Ledger Accounts by selecting the New icon. 

Please navigate to General Ledger Inquiry for full details on General Ledger functionality.

Dictation and Speech to Text Overview

SapphireOne’s implementation of both Dictation (MacOS) and Speech to Text (Windows) is a game changer for data entry. Any data entry field you can type into using a keyboard can use this feature.

You can also use this functionality on all inquiry screens within SapphireOne. For example, the user is in a Contact within a Client. They may have made a phone call to that particular client using the Softphone technology. Consequently, this will automatically date and time stamp both the contact and the phone number you called.

As soon as the call is completed, the user has the ability to use Speech to Text (Windows) or Dictation (MacOS). They can dictate into the memo field of the CRM contact, adding as much description as they require.

Dictation and Speech to Text Procedure

This functionality applies across every single Data Entry screen. For example, the SapphireOne user is entering a Vendor Invoice (VI). Additionally, you may want to add a memo within the Vendor Invoice (VI). The user can utilise the tool and simply dictate the memo.

Another example is if the user wants to add additional lines to the General Ledger account, within each General Ledger account. When the user is completing data entry using a General Ledger, there’s always a unique memo field for each GL account line.

The user can then utilise this feature to quickly add the information they need to add. Alternatively, you may have an interview with an employee. After the interview process is completed, the user can then make notes about the employee.

Speech to Text or Dictation is an extremely powerful tool. It is something that we at SapphireOne, as well as our clients, utilise daily. It is a massive time saver.

In SapphireOne, all inquiry screens provide the option for customisation of the displayed item list. The feature, called Custom Inquiry, lets users choose the data fields to be shown and the sequence of data columns across the screen. The user can save infinite custom views. While a client list is used as an example to follow, any inquiry type can be customised in SapphireOne.

The Standard Inquiry Screen

The Standard Inquiry Screen in SapphireOne provides a foundational view of data, presenting a set of column fields for each record. This screen is designed to offer a straightforward and efficient way to access and review essential information.

The list above represents the standard inquiry list, displaying a fundamental set of data fields for each client record and includes two buttons as follows:

  • Swap to Custom Inquiry – When the user selects the ‘Swap to Custom Inquiry’ button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, SapphireOne will display the default Custom Inquiry Screen, which is documented below.
  • Show/Hide Audit Lines – Toggle the Audit lines panel open. This panel will display at the bottom of the Inquiry screen, benefiting workflow by providing an immediate view of the critical details for a selected line.

The Custom Inquiry Screen

When the user selects the ‘Swap to Custom Inquiry’ button from the Standard Inquiry, SapphireOne will display the default Custom Inquiry Screen, as shown below. This screen provides the user with a customisable view of the data set, which is maintained per user and for each particular inquiry.

The options available from the Custom Inquiry Screen are as follows:

  • Swap to Standard Inquiry – Return the view to a standard Inquiry.
  • Method List Box – This list box, in conjunction with the adjacent operator list box, allows for calculations to be performed across all rows of the displayed data. The results are displayed adjacent to the operator list box.
  • Operator List Box – Select an operator to apply to the method selected using the method list box.
  • Setup Button – The Setup button will open a modal screen with functionality to customise the Custom Inquiry, as documented in the following section.
  • Export Button – Open the data set in CSV format in the devices default spreadsheet application.

The Custom Inquiry Setup Screen

The Custom Inquiry setup screen allows for the customisation of the data view, which is maintained per user and for each particular inquiry. Once the user has customised the Custom Inquiry screen, the screen view will be maintained in subsequent sessions and is unique to the current user account. This screen also provides the option to select and save an unlimited number of custom views per user.

The Custom Inquiry setup screen provides the following functionality:

  • Favourite Sets – This option enables the user to save a custom-created screen for future use. For instance, the user can have a simple Inquiry screen for general use and a more complex screen view when auditing specific information.
  • Row Height – Adjust the table row height to the users preference.
  • Show Related Record – This option allows the user to add related fields from other tables. By ticking the Show Related checkbox at the top of the screen, the user can select a related record, and a view of that related record for the chosen entry will be displayed for that currently selected record. The user will need to select the fields to be displayed.
  • Reset to Default – Reset the display to the default view configuration as established by SapphireOne.

The Custom Inquiry setup screen provides the user with two main options for organising the data displayed:

  • To remove or relocate a column – Right-click on the column lines and choose from Delete, Move Left, or Move Right.
  • To add a column – Locate the desired data set in the list and double-click on it to add it to the custom view as a new column. Edit the location as described above if required. Almost every field within the SapphireOne data tables can be included in the Custom List screen, provided the user has the necessary authorisation.

Customising inquiry screens in SapphireOne allows for a tailored data view that meets the users specific needs. By leveraging the Custom Inquiry feature, the user can enhance their workflow efficiency and ensure that critical information is readily accessible.


You can review our Blog and YouTube channel for additional information and resources on SapphireOne ERP, CRM and Business Accounting software.

Was this helpful?

Previous Article

Super Vendor

Next Article

Job Project