Discover Accounting Subledger
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe how Accounting Subledger works.
- Explain how Accounting Subledger can help your institution streamline its accounting processes.
The Bridge to Your Institution’s Accounting Department
Accounting is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when we think about education, but there’s no question that it’s one of the most critical departments in your institution. After all, educational institutions handle huge amounts of financial data.
And in order to function properly, Accounting needs a constant flow of information from every department that spends or receives money. (That’s… like, all of them.) From grants to scholarships, tuition to library fees, food programs, and so much more, you’ve got to account for all of it.
Most of those other departments, though, don’t have a staff that is specially trained in accounting software and practices. Likewise, the accounting department’s staff probably doesn’t use constituent relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce often. While folks in recruitment and admissions, for example, use Salesforce heavily to manage their day, accounting team members spend most of their time in accounting software.
So how do non-accounting departments get all their financial data to Accounting–in the timeline and format in which accounting needs it–for proper recording?
A common solution, manual export to multiple spreadsheets, can require a lot of extra time and effort to ensure the data is complete and accurate. Even after all the extra work, there can still be discrepancies leading to endless back-and-forth between departments.
This is where Accounting Subledger comes in.
Simplifying Data Consolidation
With Accounting Subledger, users already familiar with Salesforce can generate debits and credits directly from their existing CRM records, and create new ones in the format of journal entries that align with your accounting system. You can then smoothly transfer that clean, complete data into your accounting system.
Here’s a high-level overview of how it works.
- As part of implementation, you map your financial data to the Accounting Subledger data model using accounting sets and configure settings to generate transaction journal records.
- Faculty and staff capture financial information like fees, tuition, donations, and more in Salesforce.
- Accounting Subledger creates transaction journal records for all eligible records, either by manual run or based on a schedule your administrator provides.
- You transfer your accounting data to your accounting system via reports, a custom integration, or a middleware solution.
Accounting Subledger also provides detailed allocation to specific funds, and Salesforce flexible reporting options allow various departments to view data in the ways that work best for them.
It’s a win for departments institution-wide. Faculty and staff members can spend more time interacting with students and less time dealing with complex accounting processes. Accounting team members consistently receive the properly formatted financial data they need in order to keep the books accurate and close them on time.
Your institution also benefits from:
- Solid financial reports and visibility to inform decision-making, maximize resources, and address financial challenges
- Streamlined communication and improved partnership with accounting departments
- Built-in compliance measures
Now that you know a little bit about the efficiency and insight Accounting Subledger provides, we hope you’re excited to learn more. The Resources section includes documentation and Trailhead content with the details that you need to gain a deeper understanding.