This is a good overall reference article to reference when getting first set up in SoftLedger to better understand resources available, setting up list data like entities and chart of accounts, configuration for settings and automation, and the beginning balances/historical data if coming from another system.

Learn the basics and configuration of SoftLedger to have a better understanding of considerations through setup by reading and viewing content below:

Create your multi-entity structure by creating SoftLedger Locations. Learn more about the association between Locations and Ledger Accounts, as well as the components of creating a Location.

Create Ledger Accounts through a Dimension Upload template, and learn about the required fields for Ledger Accounts to be included in your upload, such as the Number, Name, Type, SubType, and controls around the Account itself. See a default version of the SoftLedger Ledger Accounts attached at bottom of this article.

Optionally create other dimensions such as the below to be able to add contextual data (e.g. departments as Cost Centers), as well as create your extensive Customer or Vendor lists through the same Dimension Upload process.

To be able to add any transactions into the system, a fiscal year is required for the posted date of the transaction you are creating. This means that a 12 month fiscal period must be created for the current period, as well as any historical period the system will cover with historical data. For example, for a calendar year fiscal year system with data going back toJanuary of 2018, fiscal periods for 2018, 2019, 2020, etc. must be created before adding activity. Learn more about the accounting periods section, as well as the How do I close the month and fiscal years?

With the Ledger Accounts in place, be sure to set automations and required Ledger Accounts under the Settings>Accounts section to maximize efficiency and controls. Review the System Settings to adjust displays such as date format, currency as code or symbol, tax amount options, etc.

To be able to maximize the coverage from connected bank accounts through Plaid, connect the account as soon as possible so historical data dates back as far as possible. Bank regulations can restrict how far back Plaid is able to retrieve data from the individual banking APIs, so customers generally connect their Bank Accounts immediately. Note: A Bank Connection through Plaid will only bring bank transactions in as a view only table UNTIL a user takes action on the data to create Journal Entries. Before that action, connecting the Bank Account will have no impact on the GL.

Customize and adjust your Financial Statements to match your jurisdiction's reporting requirements (e.g. IFRS, GAAP, etc.). You can customize multiple versions of the financial statements directly in the Reporting module by clicking Edit Layout and adjusting before saving. See the Customized Report Layout article for more details

Adjust the Roles and Permissions available for each users, by assigning full access, preparer and approver level Roles, or removing Modules that are not relevant for your operations under the Admin>Users section. This section is also where new users can be added, multi factor authentication can be enabled/disabled, and details around what each Role can do are provided.

With your system set up with necessary list data (e.g. Location, Accounts, etc.), along with the correct configurations, users can now bring in transactional activity through beginning balances or historical data uploads.

Contact your SoftLedger support team through the in app chat in lower left of you application, or at support@softledger.com via email.