01
Account identity and reporting placement
Code, description, account type, normal balance, statement classification, and disclosure mapping — set before anyone posts to it.
Resources · Before your ERP goes live
Build it right. Build it once.
The chart of accounts is a controllership structure, not a list of GL codes. This checklist walks eight design areas to confirm before the build is frozen — so the ERP can explain a balance without a spreadsheet.
2509 KB · PDF · 8 design areas
If the ERP cannot explain the balance without Excel, the account design is not finished.
The go-live principle
Eight design areas
What has to be decided before anyone posts.
Mark done only after designed, configured, tested
02
Currency, valuation, and revaluation
Monetary vs non-monetary, permitted currencies, revaluation flag, historical rate lock, translation treatment, and rate source.
03
Posting controls and subledger governance
Control account flags, required subledger, manual journal permissions, posting source restrictions, approvals, and suspense/clearing rules.
04
Dimensions and statistical drivers
Mandatory dimensions, intercompany partner, validation rules for account-dimension combinations, and the non-financial drivers that explain the why.
05
Evidence, close lock, and audit memory
Audit trail, memo requirements on manual postings, supporting schedules and roll-forwards, and evidence retention.
06
Fixed assets, leases, and gross/contra design
Separate gross cost accounts by class, accumulated depreciation as a contra asset, impairment kept separate, and lease accounts designed for disclosure.
07
Tax, consolidation, and statutory reporting
Tax codes, intercompany elimination, alternate GAAP and ledger mapping, cash flow classification, and regulatory reporting feeds.
08
Account hierarchy, ownership, and lifecycle
Parent-child inheritance, dimension vs child account, named account owners, lifecycle status, change control, and go-live testing.
Red flags
Signs the ERP will go live with hidden manual-work debt.
Resolve these before the chart of accounts is frozen. Every one of them turns into a permanent monthly workaround the moment the system is live.
Manual journals posted directly to control accounts
Subledger and GL reconciliation will break.
Prepaids, fixed assets, or equity flagged as monetary
FX revaluation creates fictitious gains and losses.
Fixed assets posted to one net account
Disclosure, disposals, impairment, and audit trail become manual.
Child accounts used instead of dimensions
The CoA grows too large and governance turns fragile.
Statistical drivers kept outside the ERP
Allocations, KPIs, and audit support stay Excel-dependent.
Intercompany accounts missing partner dimensions
Matching and elimination become manual work forever.
Download the full checklist
Take it into your next ERP design workshop.
The PDF includes every characteristic, the question to confirm, a Done column, and an owner field — plus the red flags to clear before go-live.
Ready when you are
Designing the chart before the build?
We design the CoA, dimensions, and posting rules with your team — then test them through posting, reporting, and audit evidence before go-live.