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Ledger assignments gives your organization (and your accountant!) control over where financial activity is recorded in the general ledger. You can:
Create different ledger account types in the Chart of accounts (such as accounts receivable, discounts, deferred discounts, deferred revenue, bad debt, and cash).
Map ledger accounts on the assignments workbook so that with each revenue transaction, Amilia posts journal entries to the assigned accounts.
Map cash ledger accounts by payment method, so that cash, credit card, check, and other payment methods each post to their own ledger account. (Open Beta)
💱 Ideal for tracking finances by department, branch, or program
When you sell a summer activity, post the revenue to Deferred Revenue - Summer Programs so each future summer activity is tracked properly.
When you sell a swim program, post the amount owed to Accounts Receivable - Swim Programs so the amount owed for that program is tracked separately.
Otherwise, transactions are posted in system-generated default accounts.
How it works & limitations
The Assignments features allows you to create additional ledger account types and provides a workbook in Excel to map each revenue account to a preferred deferred revenue, A/R, discounts, and deferred discounts, and lets you map each payment method to a cash ledger account. When an item is sold, Amilia will refer to your assignments workbook to post transactions to the right account(s) in journal entries.
Use this feature if you need more than one ledger account to track:
Accounts receivable
Deferred revenue
Discounts and/or deferred discounts
Bad debt, by revenue account (by request)
Cash, by payment method (by request)
If the system-generated default accounts work for you, you don't have to set up assignments at all, and Amilia's default accounts will continue to work as-is.
When to configure or update assignments
You must keep ledger account assignments up to date.
Set up assignments before go-live. Items use the assignment in place at the time of sale, not later changes.
When you create or unassign an archived ledger account, re-export, update, and re-import the assignments workbook.
How to map ledger assignments & permissions
Before you start, make sure the Chart of accounts is up to date and includes all required ledger accounts. There are three steps to mapping ledger assignments. Changes apply to journal entries moving forward. Permissions are needed.
Permission name 🔑 | Why you need it |
Organization settings | Required to view, create, and edit ledger accounts in the Chart of Accounts, including exporting and importing the Assignments spreadsheet. |
Reports | Optional to access all accounting reports including, but not limited to, sales and payments summaries, ledger code reports, and more. |
Limitations⚠️
Ledger assignments apply to accrual journal entries only.
GL/revenue splitting is not supported. Only one revenue account per item.
You can't add or edit ledger accounts directly in the assignments workbook.
Multipasses are tracked in a dedicated default ledger account. You can't map them on the assignments spreadsheet.
If you change your assignments later, it does not retroactively update past journal entries.
If a past transaction is later cancelled or credited, the cancellation or credit uses the assignments that were in effect at the time of the original transaction, not your latest ones.
Payment method to Cash and Bad debt assignments are accessible by starting a chat with our support team.
Each revenue account can only be assigned to one bad debt ledger.
There's no default bad debt ledger. If a bad debt ledger account isn't assigned to a revenue account, a write-off debits the revenue account directly instead.
Bad debt ledger assignments only affect write-offs made after the assignment is in place. Past write-offs aren't reclassified.
Deferred revenue isn't affected by a write-off or by bad debt ledger setup
Ledger accounts available with the Assignments feature
With Assignments, additional ledger account types are available when you create a new ledger account in the Chart of accounts (accrual only). Discount revenue, deferred revenue, deferred discount, and accounts receivable are unlocked with the Assignments feature. Cash and Bad debt are request-only.
If Assignments is not activated, you can only create revenue ledger accounts, and Amilia SmartRec will use system-generated default accounts to post transactions in journal entries.
Account type | What it tracks |
Revenue | Income earned from item sales. Every item in SmartRec requires a revenue account. Available to all by default. |
Revenue | The value of discounts applied to invoices. Appears in journal entries as a contra-revenue (reduces gross sales). |
Liability | Revenue for services not yet delivered, like future class sessions, upcoming events, or active memberships. |
Liability | Discounts on items whose revenue has not yet been recognized (i.e., future occurrences). |
Asset | Track amounts owing on items. |
Asset | Track money received, by payment method. Start a chat with us to request! |
Expense | Tracks invoiced amounts deemed uncollectible and written off. Create and assign your own per revenue account. Start a chat with us to request! |
Step 1 - Export your assignments
Before exporting your assignments, ensure the Chart of accounts is up to date with all the ledger accounts you need (revenue, deferred revenue, accounts receivable, discounts, deferred discounts, and/or cash).
The assignments workbook reflects your latest saved assignments. You must export it, update it, and re-import it the first time you map assignments, and each time you create a ledger account or unassign an archived ledger account from an item.
Steps to follow
- To export your assignments in Excel for the purpose of mapping -
1. Make sure you have the right permissions.
2. Go to Accounting and Finance > General ledger setup.
3. Click on Assignments.
4. Export assignments to download the workbook.
5. The file will appear in the latest downloads. Click to open it in Excel.
6. Save the workbook to your computer with an identifiable name.
Step 2 - Map your assignments on the Excel workbook
❗ Anytime you create a new account in the Chart of accounts, or unassign an archived account, re-export, update, and re-import the assignments.
Assignments are the instructions you give Amilia that say, "When I sell an item with this ledger code, post the transaction to these accounts." They determine which ledger accounts are used when writing journal entries. Mapping only changes where future transactions post, not journal entries already created.
Before you start
Admins need permission to create and map ledger accounts.
Confirm the Chart of accounts is up to date. See FAQ #1 for instructions.
Make sure you're using the latest exported file.
The workbook has 4 sheets. You'll work in up to 3* of them:
Revenue to DR & AR & BD*: maps revenue accounts to Deferred revenue (column B) and Accounts receivable (column C) and Bad debt (column D). More info here.
Revenue to Discounts*: maps revenue accounts to Discount revenue (column B) and Deferred discount (column C). Also where you'd assign Sales debit instead (see FAQ #5). More info here.
Payment method to Cash*: maps payment methods to Cash accounts (column B). More info here.
Chart of accounts: read-only. Lists every ledger account in the Chart of accounts, organized by sub-type. More info here.
Important ⚠️
You don't have to map every sheet or every revenue account — only what you want tracked separately. Unmapped accounts post to the system-generated defaults; for Bad debt, that means write-offs debit the revenue account directly instead of a dedicated bad debt account.
If you type direcly in the cells, it must match what's in the Chart of accounts.
Don't see an account in the dropdown? It likely doesn't exist in the Chart of accounts. Create it first, then re-export a fresh copy of the assignments file.
Steps to follow
- Steps to map ledger accounts are the same on every sheet -
1. Open the latest assignments export in Excel.
2. Find the row for the revenue account you want to map accounts to.
3. Click your cursor in the relevant adjacent cell in the neighboring column(s).
4. Choose the correct ledger account from the dropdown.
Each dropdown only shows ledger accounts of the matching type/subtype from the Chart of accounts.
5. Repeat for each row you want to change.
6. Save the workbook on your computer.
Info about each worksheet (click to expand)
This section provides more context about each sheet in the Assignments workbook. The steps to follow are the same for each sheet (except sheet 4 that is read only).
Sheet for Revenue to DR & AR & BD
Sheet for Revenue to DR & AR & BD
This sheet maps a revenue account to the Deferred revenue (column B), Accounts receivable (column C), and Bad debt (column D) accounts that track it.
Deferred revenue and accounts receivable
Deferred revenue tracks revenue for services that haven't started or haven't been fully delivered yet (future occurrences, upcoming events, ongoing memberships).
Accounts receivable tracks amounts owed and reconciled on invoice items.
By default, Amilia uses the system-generated Default-Deferred revenues and Default-Accounts receivable accounts for each revenue account.
If you want Amilia to use a different deferred revenue or accounts receivable account for a revenue account, select the desired account from the dropdowns.
Below, an admin has changed the default accounts for different custom deferred revenue and accounts receivable accounts.
⚠️ Multipass exception: Even if a revenue account is assigned to a custom deferred revenue account, Multipasses using that revenue account always post to the system-generated Multipass liability account instead. You`ll notice default system-generated ledger accounts are still used to track multipass revenue and deferred multipass revenue in your journal entries, regardless of any assignments.
Bad debt
💬 To activate Bad debt for your organization, start a chat with our support team.
Bad debt invoiced amounts are deemed uncollectible and written off. There's no default bad debt account. You must create at least bad debt ledger account to assign it to a revenue account. When a bad debt ledger account is assigned to a revenue account, the bad debt ledger account is debited. In addition, taxes (if applicable), are tracked in a system-generated ledger account for bad debt tax adjustments.
If no bad debt account is assigned to a revenue account, a write-off on that revenue account debits it directly instead.
By default, the Bad debt column is blank. This means write-offs are treated as a sales debit, debiting the item's revenue account directly.
In the example below, anytime a balance for an item with the 1-03-01-1110 Family Membership ledger account is written off, the transaction will be recorded in the 3478281 - Bad debt ledger account.
Learn more about bad debt ledgers in 'How to set up bad debt ledger accounts'.
Sheet for Revenue to Discounts
Sheet for Revenue to Discounts
This sheet maps a revenue account to the Discount revenue (column B) and Deferred discount (column C) accounts that track it.
Discount revenue is a contra-revenue account. It tracks the value of each discount line on invoices and shows how much sales revenue is reduced by discounts.
Deferred discount tracks the portion of a discount tied to services that haven't occurred yet (future occurrences, upcoming events, ongoing memberships).
By default, Amilia uses the system-generated Default-Discounts and Default-Deferred Discounts accounts for each revenue account.
If you want Amilia to use a different discount revenue or deferred discount account for a revenue account, select the desired account from the dropdowns.
Below, an admin changed the default account for a different custom discount revenue account. The deferred discount still uses the default account.
💡 Prefer to skip discount accounts entirely? You can track discounts as a sales debit directly against the revenue account instead. Assign the Sales debit option in both the Discount revenue and Deferred discount columns for that row. See FAQ # 6 for details.
Sheet for Payment method to Cash
Sheet for Payment method to Cash
This sheet maps a payment method to the Cash (column B) account that tracks it.
Cash accounts track the amount received at the moment of payment, based on the payment method used.
By default, Amilia uses the system-generated Default-Cash account for every payment method.
Online payment methods: Lists those enabled in the Accounting and finance > Payments subtab. If a payment method is missing from the sheet, confirm it's turned on there.
In-person payment methods: Interac is an offline payment method available to Canada only. 'Other' tracks payments recorded in Amilia SmartRec as offline.
If you want Amilia to use a different cash account for a payment method, select the desired account from the dropdown.
Below, an admin changed the default account used when online credit card payments are made. When a payment is made by online credit card, it will post to the custom cash account in journal entries.
Sheet for Chart of accounts (read only)
Sheet for Chart of accounts (read only)
This sheet lists every custom and system-generated ledger account that exists in your Chart of accounts, grouped by type in separate columns.
Use it to confirm an account exists, and to look up its exact name and code, before filling in the dropdowns on the other three sheets.
It's a reference only. You can't map, edit, or select anything on this sheet.
If you don't see a ledger account you expect, it likely hasn't been created yet in the Chart of accounts. Go create it there first, then re-export a fresh copy of the assignments file. The new account will now appear on this sheet and be selectable in the dropdowns on the other sheets.
Step 3 - Save and import your assignments into Amilia
Once you finish mapping your assignments and save the workbook in Excel, you must import it back into Amilia. Imported assignments only impact journal entries moving forward.
Until you import an updated workbook, SmartRec refers to the 'Last modified' assignments to determine which accounts to use in journal entries.
Steps to follow
- To import your updated assignments workbook into Amilia -
1. Make sure you have permission.
2. Before you import your assignments, make sure you followed points 1 through 3 in the platform's own Instructions panel.
Make sure the file is saved as .xlsx (it's the only format accepted).
3. When the assignments are properly updated, select Browse files to locate the file in your computer.
4. When the file name appears in the window, select Import to upload the workbook into Amilia.
5. If successful, you'll see a confirmation message. The Last modified date will update with a timestamp and the number of line items that were updated.
Below, two ledger accounts were changed on the assignments sheet. As a result, only 2 of 64 assignments were updated.
❗ Having issues successfully importing assignments? Click here.
FAQ
How do I check if the Chart of accounts is up to date?
Before mapping assignments, confirm the following in your Chart of accounts:
All required account types exist — revenue, deferred revenue, accounts receivable, discounts, deferred discounts, cash (if using Payment method to Cash), and bad debt (if using Bad Debt assignments). Not all organizations use every type, but make sure you have the ones you'll need.
No active item still references an archived account. If an account is archived, unassign it from any item using it first.
Your Chart of accounts is synced with your external accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks), if applicable, so ledger codes match on both sides.
Keeping these in sync before you export your assignments avoids import errors and mismatched ledger codes later.
What's the difference between revenue, liability and asset-type accounts?
Revenue type accounts track income your business earns.
Revenue, Discounts, and Scholarship ledger accounts fall under this type.
Contra-revenue accounts reduce your income, rather than increase it.
Revenue account balances decrease with debits (less income), and increase with credits (more income).
Liability type accounts track amounts your business owes or will owe, such as sales tax, credits due, etc.
Account deposit, Sales tax, bad debt tax adjustments, Deferred revenue, Multipass, and Gift card ledger accounts fall under this type.
Liability account balances decrease with debits (you owe less), and increase with credits (you owe more).
Asset type accounts track payments received and amounts still owed to you.
Cash, and Accounts receivable ledger accounts fall under this type.
Asset account balances increase with debits (more value), and decrease with credits (less value).
Expense type accounts track the cost of doing business, including amounts you don't expect to collect.
Bad debt ledger accounts fall under this type.
Expense account balances increase with debits (more cost), and decrease with credits (less cost).
Do I have to create custom ledger codes for every account type?
No, you don’t have to. For example, you might want to track deferred revenue in specific accounts based on the revenue account, but prefer to keep all Accounts Receivable in a single place. In that case, you don’t need to create a custom A/R account—SmartRec will continue using the system-generated Default-Accounts receivable account.
You only need to create custom ledger accounts (Deferred Revenue, Discounts, Deferred Discounts, Accounts Receivable, Cash, Bad Debt) if you want amounts from certain revenue accounts to post to their own specific assigned accounts instead of the system-generated defaults. Keep in mind that unlike the other types, there's no system-generated default for Bad debt, so revenue accounts without one assigned post write-offs directly to the revenue account instead.
What if I don't see the ledger account in the dropdown on the Assignments sheet?
If a ledger account isn't visible in the dropdown, likely it hasn't been created.
First, look on the Chart of accounts sheet in the assignments workbook. All the ledger accounts that exist in your Chart of accounts is there.
Create the ledger account if necessary.
Next, you must export the assignments again. Open the file.
The ledger account should now be available for selection. Make sure to work off this document and save before importing!
If you still don't see the ledger account in the workbook, start a chat with us.
How do I get access to bad debt ledger accounts?
If you want to use Bad debt ledger accounts, you need access to Ledger Assignments, and to Bad debt ledgers. Start a chat with our support team to unlock one or both of these, if you don`t have them already.
Three permissions come into play:
Permission name 🔑 | What it does |
Finance and reporting | Required to view, create, and edit ledger accounts — including bad debt ledgers — in the Chart of accounts. |
Finance and reporting | Required to view outstanding receivables in the Action center. |
Finance and reporting | Required to write off invoice items and view Outstanding receivables in the Action center. |
How does a ledger assignment change journal entries?
Instead of posting transactions to system-generated default accounts in journal entries, you can create custom ledger accounts, map them in the assignments workbook, and Amilia will use those custom accounts in journal entries going forward.
In the examples below, a custom deferred revenue and a custom deferred discount ledger account were created to track revenue for a swim program.
Example of a deferred revenue ledger account
You offer swim lessons with the revenue code 1-01-SW-2025.
You assign a deferred revenue account with the code 1-03-SW-0004.
A client buys a 10-week swim program for $500 that starts the following week. When the invoice is created, the portion of revenue for lessons that haven’t happened yet is posted to 1-03-SW-0004-Deferred Swim.
As each lesson occurs, it posts the deferred discount portion to the Discount revenue account. Revenue is also moved from deferred revenue to the item`s revenue account.
❗If no deferred discount account is assigned to a revenue account, unearned discounts post to the system-generated Default – Deferred Discount account.
Example of a deferred discount ledger account
You offer swim lessons with the revenue code 1-01-SW-2025.
You assign a deferred discount account with the code 1-03-SW-0008.
A client buys a 10-week swim program for $500 that starts the following week. A $20 discount is applied. The discount for lessons that haven’t occurred yet is posted to the 1-03-SW-0008 Deferred Discounts Swim.
As each lesson occurs, it posts the deferred discount portion to the Discount revenue account. Revenue is also moved from deferred revenue to the item`s revenue account.
❗If no deferred discount account is assigned to a revenue account, unearned discounts post to the system-generated Default – Deferred Discount account.
How do I track discounts as a sales debit?
When you track discounts as a sales debit, this means that discount amounts are simply deducted from your revenue account balance.
A sales debit does not use a ledger account per say. Rather, you may only track discounts as a sales debit by assigning the 'Sales debit' option on the line item in the
Revenue to Discount sheet on the Assignments spreadsheet.
❗ If you use sales debit, you are forced to assign sales debit on both the discount revenue and deferred discount revenue columns for that line item.
What if the assignments import is unsuccessful?
If an import fails, there will be no updates made to assignments.
An import must pass all error checks to succeed.
If a failure happens, you will see an error report that clearly indicates what went wrong (row and column) and how to fix it.
If you`re still having issues, please contact our support team by chat.
Which report tracks which ledger codes are associated to store items?
The Ledger account configurations by item report provides a reliable way to verify that all store items are mapped to the correct ledger accounts—whether preparing for go-live, launching a new season, or updating items after archiving revenue accounts.
You can access it in the Reports tab, under the 'Other' reports
Why are ledger assignments for accrual journal entries only?
Ledger assignments currently apply only to accrual journal entries, for organizations that need more than one ledger account to track account receivables, deferred revenue, discount and/or deferred discounts. This is because cash-basis journal entries don’t use the account types you can configure through ledger assignments (such as deferred revenue, discounts, or deferred discounts).
Although cash-basis journal entries do record accounts receivable, any custom A/R accounts you create will not appear in cash-basis reports. Cash-basis journal entries display only the system-generated default ledger codes and custom revenue codes that are associated to your store items.
Not all organizations need the Ledger Account Assignments spreadsheet. This tool is for organizations (that use accrual accounting) that need more than one ledger account to track account receivables, deferred revenue, discount and/or deferred discounts.
Can I do GL/revenue splitting?
In accounting, GL splitting (also called revenue splitting) refers to the practice of allocating a single transaction’s amount across multiple General Ledger accounts rather than posting it to just one account.
This implies associating more than one revenue ledger account to an item. This is not possible.
Ledger assignments currently allows you to map which ledger accounts are used to track money from the moment a sale or payment is made, but it does not allow you to assign more than one revenue-revenue ledger account to an item in your store.
What does an error code mean if an import fails?
Error | What It Means | What Caused It | Fix |
[Code - Name] ledger account is missing from file | There are extra OR missing ledger codes when comparing inventories in the Excel file and SmartRec. | Org tried to delete (entire row) or modify a ledger code in Excel OR created a new ledger code in SmartRec without re-exporting. | Restore original ledger codes and/or re-export the file with new ledger codes created in SmartRec first. |
The ledger account doesn’t match any existing record in SmartRec | A ledger code in the Excel file does not exist in SmartRec. | Org tried to create a new ledger code (new row) OR update an existing one directly in Excel. | Revert back to the original ledger code. Adjust in SmartRec and re-export. |
The ledger account isn’t valid or is missing | A cell is empty in the Excel file (usually in the Revenue column). | Org deleted the revenue ledger cell in Excel and left it blank. | Fill in the cell with the existing ledger code as it’s written in SmartRec, re-import. |
Sales debit must be selected in both “Discount” and “Deferred discount” | Sales debit was not selected in BOTH the discount and deferred discount columns. | This one is pretty self-explanatory. | Use “sales debit” for both, or use custom discount and deferred discount GLs. |
The ledger account shows up more than once in the file | The same revenue ledger appears multiple times. | Org duplicated a row in Excel. | Delete extra row and re-import. |
* Last updated in August 2026
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