Infor General Ledger (GL) stands out as a critical component of the Infor financial suite, designed to streamline and enhance the management of an organization’s financial transactions. It provides a centralized platform for recording, monitoring, and analyzing financial data, ensuring precision and transparency.

This article discusses the key features and advantages of Infor General Ledger, highlighting how it empowers businesses to achieve greater financial control, compliance, and strategic decision-making through advanced ledger management capabilities.

Key Takeaways

  • Infor General Ledger (GL) is an integrated system that ensures precise tracking and categorization of financial transactions, enhancing overall financial management and compliance.
  • Key features of Infor GL include automation of accounting processes, real-time financial data processing, robust budgeting and controlling functionalities, and financial reconciliation tools to improve efficiency and accuracy.
  • Integrating Infor GL with other accounting systems consolidates financial data, enhances scalability, improves security, and streamlines financial processes, ultimately boosting productivity.

What is Infor General Ledger?

A general ledger (GL) is a complete record of a company’s financial transactions, categorized by accounts. General ledgers include each general ledger account, which captures specific types of transactions, such as an asset account, as well as:

  • Liabilities
  • Equity
  • Revenues
  • Expenses
  • Gains
  • Losses

Infor General Ledger builds on this foundational concept by providing a robust, compliant, and integrated system designed to track every financial transaction with precision.

Infor GL offers the following features:

  • Serves as a financial information repository
  • Accumulates data from daily operations
  • Updates distribution journals to guarantee timely and accurate financial statements and reports
  • Connects with other parts of the accounting framework through the Chart of Accounts
  • Allows for seamless financial management and reporting
  • Ensures adherence to global accounting standards and compliance with auditors, investors, and managers
  • Generates detailed financial statements and reports for critical financial data
  • Helps businesses maintain financial integrity and transparency

Key Features of Infor General Ledger

Automation and real-time data processing in Infor General Ledger

Infor General Ledger offers a suite of features designed to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of financial management. One of its standout features is automation, significantly reducing the likelihood of manual accounting errors. By automating core accounting functions, Infor GL enhances accuracy and time efficiency, thereby reducing the need for manual intervention in managing financial data.

Real-time financial data processing ensures financial information is always current, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on the latest data. In addition to real-time processing, Infor GL offers robust budgeting and controlling functionalities, allowing companies to plan and monitor their financial performance effectively.

Infor GL also incorporates financial reconciliation tools, guaranteeing data accuracy and consistency. These tools facilitate the reconciliation of bank statements and other financial records, enhancing the reliability of financial reports. Additional expense allocation capabilities allow businesses to distribute expenses across multiple accounts according to predefined rules.

How Infor General Ledger Enhances Financial Reporting

Integrating tools like Infor F9 in Infor General Ledger enhances financial reporting across the entire enterprise landscape. This Excel add-in dynamically links general ledger data to Excel, reducing the need for manual data entry and enabling the use of advanced Excel formulas for financial analysis. Automating accounting records minimizes errors and discrepancies, resulting in more accurate financial statements.

Another noteworthy feature is the system’s capability to present financial statements in formats tailored to satisfy auditors, investors, and managers. Infor GL supports financial reporting for both past and future periods, allowing for comprehensive budgeting and planning comparisons. This flexibility ensures that stakeholders receive detailed and relevant financial data.

Infor GL enables a deeper understanding of financial performance by promoting intelligent report auditing and permitting users to explore account segments in detail. This detailed analysis is invaluable for making strategic business decisions and maintaining financial health over time.

Integrating Infor General Ledger with Other Accounting Systems

The integration of Infor General Ledger with other accounting systems offers the following benefits:

  • Consolidates financial data for a comprehensive view of organizational finances
  • Reduces the need for manual data entry
  • Facilitates connection between different financial modules
  • Streamlines financial management processes
  • Improves data accuracy and transparency

Scalability is another significant advantage of integrated accounting systems. As a business grows, Infor GL can handle increased data volumes and complex financial transactions without disrupting workflows. This scalability ensures the system evolves alongside the business, maintaining efficiency and accuracy.

Integration also bolsters security, with features like data encryption and access controls protecting sensitive financial information. Additionally, user-friendly Infor GL integrations help ensure smooth employee adoption and use, minimizing complications and maximizing productivity.

The Role of Double-Entry Bookkeeping in Infor General Ledger

Utilizing double-entry bookkeeping in Infor General Ledger

Double-entry bookkeeping, which guarantees the accurate recording of every financial transaction, forms the foundation of Infor’s General Ledger. This method requires that each entry in the general ledger include both a debit and a corresponding credit, with the two amounts always balancing to zero. Based on the accounting equation, this systematic approach maintains financial integrity and provides a clear view of a company’s financial position.

The double-entry accounting method, also known as double-entry bookkeeping, involves at least two accounts for each transaction—a debit in one and a credit in another. This dual recording process aids in efficient error detection and correction and ensures that any discrepancies are quickly identified and resolved, maintaining the accuracy of financial records.

Infor GL’s use of double-entry bookkeeping is fundamental to its ability to provide comprehensive and reliable financial information, supporting better decision-making and financial control.

Creating and Managing General Ledger Accounts in Infor

Establishing a general ledger in Infor requires the definition of a chart of accounts, thereby standardizing financial reporting and ensuring organizational consistency. Each general ledger account must be classified under specific account types, such as:

  • Income
  • Expenses
  • Assets
  • Liabilities

Infor provides the following features for streamlining the creation and tracking of general ledger accounts:

  • Templates to simplify the creation of general ledger accounts
  • User-defined journals to store and track entries specific to the business
  • An interface that supports setting up hierarchy levels for accounts

Real-Time Financial Analysis with Infor General Ledger

Infor General Ledger revolutionizes businesses with real-time financial analysis, which was made possible through its integration with Infor F9. This Excel add-in dynamically links general ledger data to Excel, providing live access to financial information and automating the manual processes of building reports.

With F9, users can leverage Excel’s full functionality, ensuring that financial reports are always up-to-date. This capability facilitates faster and more accurate financial analysis, empowering businesses to make timely and informed decisions.

Examples of General Ledger Transactions in Infor

To illustrate how Infor General Ledger operates, consider the example of receiving a payment from a client. When a company receives a $200 payment for an invoice, this transaction is posted to the Accounts Receivable journal and recorded in the general ledger. Similarly, when a company pays a vendor, the transaction is posted to the Accounts Payable journal.

Another example involves a cash payment from a client account. These transactions are meticulously recorded in the general ledger, ensuring that all financial activities, including credit accounts, are accurately tracked and reported.

Benefits of Using Infor General Ledger for Businesses

Infor General Ledger introduces myriad benefits for businesses, including:

  • Significant reduction in time spent creating financial reports—from days to mere minutes
  • Increased efficiency, allowing finance teams to focus on other critical tasks
  • Improved overall productivity
  • Enhanced financial control through detailed and summarized financial data
  • Precise financial records for better decision-making and financial management

Common Challenges and Solutions in Using Infor General Ledger

Despite its many advantages, users might face some challenges while using Infor General Ledger. Net income discrepancies between the balance sheet and the income statement often arise from inconsistencies in revenue and expense accounts. Ensuring financial statements pick up the correct amounts may require checking date ranges and account headers.

Incorrectly retained earnings can result from improper year-end closing procedures or misclassification of accounts. Addressing these issues involves careful review and adjustment of the affected records. Additionally, running the Rebalance Ledger Period Totals utility can help fix imbalances in the general ledger, ensuring accurate and reliable financial data, which is essential for preparing a correct trial balance.

Best Practices for Maintaining Accurate Infor General Ledger Records

To maintain accurate Infor General Ledger records, accounts must be reconciled periodically, thereby ensuring an accurate reflection of all transactions. Establishing a routine schedule for reviewing and updating general ledger entries helps maintain this accuracy.

Internal controls are also essential to prevent errors and detect discrepancies within financial records. Additionally, using standardized templates and formats for general ledger entries promotes consistency and reliability in financial reporting.

Getting Started with Our Team

Whether you need help implementing new Infor solutions for the first time, additional support navigating complex integrations across financial management systems, or just an extra hand maintaining effective communication across business units, Surety Systems can help.

Our senior-level Infor consultants have the skills and experience to understand your core project needs, create tailored action plans, and prepare your internal teams for long-term success. Contact us today for more information about our Infor/Lawson consulting services or to get started on a project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a General Ledger account entail?

A general ledger account records all transactions for a specific account, including assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses, gains, and losses. It provides a comprehensive view of the financial position of a business.

How does Infor General Ledger enhance financial reporting?

Infor General Ledger enhances financial reporting by automating data entry, integrating with Excel for dynamic reporting, and providing detailed financial statements tailored to various stakeholders. This allows for more efficient and customizable financial reporting.

What are the benefits of integrating Infor GL with other accounting systems?

Integrating Infor GL with other accounting systems offers benefits such as centralizing financial data, streamlining processes, enhancing security, and ensuring scalability and compatibility. These advantages can significantly improve overall financial management.

How does double-entry bookkeeping work in Infor General Ledger?

In the Infor General Ledger, double-entry bookkeeping records each transaction as a debit and a credit in two different accounts, ensuring the total balance is zero and maintaining accurate financial records.

What are some best practices for maintaining accurate general ledger records?

To maintain accurate general ledger records, it is crucial to conduct periodic reconciliation, review, and update entries regularly, implement internal controls, and utilize standardized templates and formats.