Class question ....

Deadwood Al · ‎August 05, 2024

Here is my assumption of the meaning of what I've read about using Classes for expense and income. Please let me know if I am correct or if I've misunderstood something. If I misunderstood, please explain to correct my understanding.

Example: If we have a master account and sub-accounts that roll-up into the master (example)

6100-00 Advertising

6100-01 Print Advertising

6100-02 Radio Advertising

6100-03 TV Advertising

AND if we have "Classes" to identify various events that we hold throughout the year, (example)

MGR - Madri Gras

STP - St. Patricks Day

4th - Fourth of July

Each "event" will have multiple advertising expenses, each of the categories listed above. I assume that we could identify invoices for Radio Advertising sometimes with MGR, some with STP, and some with 4th. So we could report on the total Radio expense for each event (class) OR we could report on the total Radio Advertising expense by not asking for a "class" report. Correct??

Would all the advertising sub-accounts, regardless of the class assigned, roll-up into the Master Advertising account even though the master GL account (6100-00 in this example) has no class assigned?

If we ran a report for all the expense of a specific class, would the master account in that case include only the accumulated total of the expenses for that class?

To see the Income Statements by Class, do we need to run a separate report for each class, or will the system print a report with each class separately, one after the other?

Classes are allowed for all income and expense GL accounts, yes?

Can a "class" be assigned as a default class to a GL account so that all transactions to that particular GL are assigned to that class>?

There is probably more questions I haven't thought of yet, so if anyone has any "watch-outs" in working with classes, I would appreciate your input. Thank you very much for your assistance.

Sherrie_F · ‎August 06, 2024

Hello there, Deadwood. Thanks for getting back to this thread and clarifying your concern about class tracking in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

Let me clear some things and allow me to get this into detail.

Class tracking assigns specific classes to transactions, enabling a more comprehensive breakdown of business transactions. This feature allows a deeper understanding of your financial data by categorizing transactions based on different criteria. Even if transactions posted into the sub-accounts don't have an assigned class, the amounts will still be included and consolidated into the Master Advertising account when generating reports that do not display the sub-accounts.

Moreover, this enables a holistic view of your financial data and ensures that all relevant information is accurately captured and reflected.

On the other hand, if you run reports that display the sub-accounts, you'll be able to see exactly which sub-account each transaction is posted to, providing a more detailed breakdown of your data.

With this, I'd recommend generating a Transaction List by Vendor report. This will ensure that expenses are still associated with the main account that has no class, giving you a comprehensive view of your expenses while maintaining accurate tracking of your financial data.

On top of that, I'd also suggest memorizing this report to save its customization settings in QBDT. This way, we can have a seamless process when accessing your reports.

I'd be happy to help you again if you need more help handling classes in QuickBooks Desktop. Wishing you continued success in your future endeavors.

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RoseJillB · ‎August 05, 2024

I appreciate all the details you've shared and elaborating on your concern about classes in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), Deadwood. I'll address each of them so we can get things clarified about how it displays transactions assigned to them.

When running income and expense reports, transactions are displayed based on their assigned categories and classes in total amounts. To see each transaction associated with it, we can tap the amount to route us to the transaction detail, which displays the individual entry assigned to the particular class and category.

Also, each category has a designated row under the master accounts where accumulated amounts are displayed by class in columns. Moreover, when you run expense transactions, the report shows each entry assigned to that class.

If you prefer to have a copy of the income statement report in each class, you'll need to run this separately and filter every class. However, having them on one page is also possible depending on your customization. Concerning classes on income and expenses on GL accounts, classes will depend on the selection available on every transaction type. It's a yes if that transaction type has a class tracking option and you've assigned an income or expense account.

For assigning classes as default to GL accounts, it's not possible. Classes can only be linked to a GL account while assigning it to every created transaction.

Keep me posted if you have additional questions about classes or anything that confuses you about reporting. I'm just a post away. Have a good one!

Deadwood Al · ‎August 06, 2024

Perhaps I didn't understand some of what you said, but I didn't see an answer to

Would all the advertising sub-accounts, regardless of the class assigned, roll-up into the Master Advertising account even though the master GL account (6100-00 in this example) has no class assigned?

This would allow us to know the total amount of the expense incurred by the organization regardless of class assignment. Additionally, if we ran a report that didn't display the sub-accounts, it would present the overall picture of the organization.

I'd really like to hear something from real-world users of QB with Class activated to get first hand experience with it. Anyone??

Sherrie_F · ‎August 06, 2024