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The Assignments spreadsheet gives your organization (and your accountant!) control over where financial activity is tracked in the general ledger. Here`s how:
Create additional ledger account types in the Chart of accounts (such as accounts receivable, discounts, deferred discounts, and deferred revenue).
Use the Assignments spreadsheet to map your ledger accounts so that when an item is sold, SmartRec posts transactions to the assigned accounts when creating journal entries (based on the item`s revenue ledger account).
💱 Ideal for tracking finances by department, branch, or program
When you sell a swim program, post the revenue to Deferred Revenue – Aquatics, so each future swim lesson is tracked properly.
When you sell a discounted gymnastics program, post the discount portion to Deferred Discount – Gymnastics, so the discount for each upcoming class is recorded in the assigned place.
Good to know before you start
Admins need the Billing and sales permission to view, create, and edit in the Chart of accounts. Click here to read more about permissions.
The Chart of accounts should already include your custom revenue ledger accounts—the same ones linked to the ledger codes assigned to your store items. Assignments let you tell SmartRec which other accounts should be used alongside each item’s revenue account in journal entries.
1. How to use each ledger account type
With Assignments enabled, you can create more custom ledger account types in the Chart of accounts. These additional types are available when you create a new ledger account.
To map your assignments, you must first create the ledger account types you'll need.
Config form in Chart of accounts 
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👇 Click on each ledger account below to learn more about its purpose 👇 |
Revenue - Revenue
Revenue - Revenue
Every item set up for sale in SmartRec requires a revenue ledger account. Their ledger codes appear in all your financial reports and are used in cash and accrual journal entries to recognize revenue.
When revenue is recognized, it's posted to the item's revenue account.
Example of a revenue ledger account
Say you create a revenue account with the code MEMB and assign it to one or more memberships. In your financial reports, the ledger code appears on any line item that involves a transaction related to the membership(s).
❗ If a ledger code isn't assigned to an item, SmartRec automatically assigns the 0000 - Default ledger code to track its revenue.
Revenue - Discount revenue
Revenue - Discount revenue
A discount (contra-revenue) ledger account appears in journal entries only. The balance of a contra-revenue account must be deducted from your gross sales in order to report your net sales. Click here for more on contra-revenue accounts.
Tracks the value of each discount line found on invoices.
Shows how much sales revenue is reduced because of discounts.
When assigned to a revenue account, any discount applied to items using that revenue account will post to the discount revenue account.
Example of a discount revenue ledger account
You offer swim lessons with the revenue ledger code 1-01-SW-2025.
You assign a discount revenue account with the code 1-03-SW-0005.
A client buys a $20 drop-in swim class that occurs the same day with a $5 discount applied. The discount posts a debit to the 1-03-SW-0005 Discount revenue account.
❗If no discount revenue account is linked to the revenue account, the discount is posted to the system-generated Default-Discounts account.
Liability - Deferred revenue
Liability - Deferred revenue
A deferred revenue ledger account appears in journal entries only.
Tracks revenue for services that haven't started of haven't fully been delivered yet, such as:
An event scheduled in a future month
Future classes in a multi-occurrence activity
Fixed or ongoing memberships
Click here for more on how revenue is deferred and recognized in SmartRec
When assigned to a revenue ledger account, the proportional amounts of revenue for any upcoming events (for items with that revenue account) will post to the deferred revenue account.
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, a proportional amount of revenue is recognized in the 1-01-SW-2025-Swim program 2025 revenue account.
❗If no deferred revenue account is assigned to an item's revenue account, the deferred revenue is posted to the system-generated Default-Deferred revenue account.
Liability - Deferred discount
Liability - Deferred discount
A deferred discount ledger account appears in journal entries only.
Tracks sales value reduced from each discount line found on invoices for services that haven't occurred yet, such as (but not limited to):
Future activity occurrences
Events scheduled in advance
Fixed or ongoing memberships
When assigned to a revenue ledger account, any discount applied to an item with occurrences that haven’t happened yet posts to the 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.
Asset - Accounts Receivable
Asset - Accounts Receivable
An accounts receivable ledger account appears in journal entries only.
Tracks amounts owed and reconciled on invoice items.
When an amount is owed (i.e., when no payment is reconciled) it posts a debit to the accounts receivable ledger account. This account always posts a debit immediately after a sale is made.
When a payment is reconciled to an invoice, it posts a credit to the accounts receivable ledger account.
When assigned to a revenue ledger account, any amounts owing or received for that item will post in the accounts receivable ledger account.
Example of an accounts receivable ledger account
You offer swim lessons with revenue code 1-01-SW-2025.
You assign an accounts receivable code 1-03-SW-0012.
A client buys a $10 drop-in swim lesson occurring that day and pays in full at checkout.
1- When a sale is made, a debit is always posted in accounts receivable.
2- When a payment is reconciled to an invoice item, it posts a credit to accounts receivable.
❗ When no custom accounts receivable ledger account is assigned, SmartRec uses the default 0002-Accounts receivable account.
2. Map your ledger accounts on the Assignments sheet
Assignments are the instructions you give SmartRec that say, “When I sell an item with this ledger code, post the transaction to these accounts.”
👌 It takes 3 steps to edit ledger assignments in SmartRec
Step 1 - Export your current assignments
Current assignments refer to the ledger assignments being used right now. When you export the Assignments spreadsheet, update it, and then import it back into SmartRec, it becomes your new list of current assignments.
Until you import an updated spreadsheet, SmartRec refers to the 'Last modified' assignments spreadsheet to determine which accounts to use in journal entries.
Steps to follow
1. Navigate to the Accounting and finance > General ledger setup subtab.
2. Select the Assignments subtab.
3. With your cursor, select 'Export your current assignments'.
4. The file will appear in your latest downloads. Select it to open in Excel.
Step 2 - Map your accounts on the Assignments sheet
Once you’ve exported your current assignments and opened the file, you’re ready to map your ledger accounts on the Assignments spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet contains 3 separate sheets:
Revenue to DR & AR: Each line shows a revenue account and its assigned Deferred Revenue and Accounts Receivable accounts. Use this sheet to determine which account should track deferred revenue and which should track amounts owed, per revenue account in the Chart of accounts.
Revenue to Discounts: Each line shows a revenue account and its assigned Discount and Deferred Discount accounts. Use this sheet to determine which account tracks discounts applied to revenue and which tracks discounts for occurrences that haven’t happened yet.
Chart of accounts: This sheet is read only. It lists every account available in the Chart of accounts, by sub-type.
👇 Here’s how to assign ledger accounts on the Assignments spreadsheet 👇 |
Steps to assign Revenue to DR & AR (click to expand)
Steps to assign Revenue to DR & AR (click to expand)
By default, SmartRec uses system-generated ledger accounts to track deferred revenue and accounts receivable for all items (i.e., all revenue accounts).
If you want to use different accounts for a specific revenue ledger code, go to the Chart of accounts in SmartRec and create custom deferred revenue and/or accounts receivable accounts, then assign them to the appropriate revenue accounts on the Assignments spreadsheet.
Steps to follow
1. Find your revenue ledger accounts you want to update on the Revenue to DR & AR sheet.
In the example below, Family membership and regular Membership use the same deferred revenue and accounts receivable ledger accounts.
2. Select the cell in column B or column C you want to edit.
Click the cell under Deferred revenue (column B) or Accounts receivable (column C) for the revenue account you want to modify.
3. Choose the correct ledger account from the dropdown.
Each dropdown shows the available ledger accounts of the same type from your Chart of accounts.
Select one deferred revenue and/or one AR account for SmartRec to use when referencing a specific revenue ledger code.
This tells SmartRec which accounts to post to whenever an item assigned with this revenue code is purchased!
4. Repeat step 3 for each revenue ledger account on the list (as you need).
After updating the assignments above, Family Membership now posts to different deferred revenue and AR accounts than Regular Membership.
5. Save the file on your computer!
You need to save your updated spreadsheet before you import it back into SmartRec.
If you need, you can update the Discount or Deferred discount assignments in the same file and save before importing.
Steps to assign Revenue to Discounts (click to expand)
Steps to assign Revenue to Discounts (click to expand)
By default, SmartRec posts discount amounts from all items to system-generated discount and deferred discount accounts.
If you want one or more revenue ledger accounts to use different discount or deferred discount accounts, you must first create those custom ledger accounts in your Chart of Accounts. Then, assign them to the appropriate revenue accounts on the Assignments spreadsheet.
If you prefer to track discounts as sales debits directly against a revenue account instead of using discount or deferred discount accounts, you can choose to use a Sales Debit account. See FAQ #5 for more details.
Steps to follow
1. Find your revenue ledger accounts that you want to update on the Revenue to Discounts sheet.
In the example below, discounts for Family Memberships and regular Membership both use the same discount accounts by default.
2. Select the cell in column B or column C you want to edit.
Click the cell under Discount revenue (column B) or Deferred discount (column C) for the revenue account you want to modify.
3. Choose the correct ledger account from the dropdown.
Each dropdown shows the available ledger accounts of that type from your Chart of accounts.
Select the discount and/or deferred discount account you want SmartRec to use.
This tells SmartRec where to post the discount amount (or its deferred portion) whenever a discounted item assigned to that revenue code is purchased.
4. Repeat for each revenue ledger account (as necessary)
Go line by line and link each revenue account to the discount and deferred discount accounts you want SmartRec to use in journal entries.
After updating the assignments above, Family Membership now posts to different discount and deferred discount accounts than regular Membership.
5. Save your file on your computer!
Make sure to save your updated spreadsheet before importing it back into SmartRec.
If you also need to update the Deferred revenue or Accounts Receivable assignments, you can do that in the same file before importing.
Step 3 - Save and Import your current assignments into SmartRec
Once you finish mapping your assignments and save your Assignments sheet, you must import it back into SmartRec.
Imported assignments take effect once they're imported, and only impact journal entries moving forward. All prior journal entries from the last time ledger account assignments were modified remain the same.
Steps to follow
1. Before you import your assignments, make sure you follow points 1 through 4 in the 'Import assignments' instructions.
2. When you are certain the assignments sheet is properly updated, select Browse files to find and upload it from your computer files into SmartRec.
3. When the file name appears in the window, select Import to upload the ledger assignments into SmartRec.
4. If successful, you'll see a confirmation message. In addition, the 'Last modified' date will be updated, with the number of line items that were updated.
In this example, two ledger accounts were addressed in the assignments sheet (Family Memberships, and regular Membership). As a result, only 2 of 64 assignments were updated.
If you are having trouble to successfully import your assignments sheet, click here for more information.
5. If ever you're curious what was the last import that took place, simply export your current assignments, which is a reflection of the last ledger account assignments that were imported into SmartRec.
3. FAQ
1. Which permissions are required to manage ledger assignments?
To view the Chart of accounts, and to add or edit ledger accounts, admins require the Billing and sales permission.
🔑 Organization settings |
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To view the Ledger account configurations by item report, admins require the Accounting reports permission.
🔑 Finance and reporting |
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2. 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, 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).
3. 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) if you want amounts from certain revenue accounts to post to their own specific assigned accounts instead of the system-generated defaults.
4) 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, the third tab on the Assignments spreadsheet. All the ledger accounts that exist in your Chart of accounts is there.
Create the ledger account if necessary.
Next, you must export the list of current 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 spreadsheet, contact our support team by chat.
5) 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.
6) 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.
7) 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
8) Why is ledger assignments for accrual journal entries only?
Ledger assignments currently apply only to accrual journal entries. 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.
* Last updated in December 2025