Let's explore what a PA code does and how it's used.
Purchase Analysis Codes or PA Codes are used for the stock items you hold. PA Codes are used to create journals and purchase invoice ledger entries to be sent to the accounts package. They are used to set up the nominal coding for various buckets to which stock costs can be allocated.
Getting There
PA codes can be found throughout the system, the easiest way to access them is through your System Defaults.
You can get there from the settings Cog and selecting System settings.
Once you are in the System Settings menu, head to the 4th tab in which is System Defaults.
Then, scroll down to the Stock section to find the Purchase Analysis field.
Using the ellipsis (...), the PA code list is opened.
Creating a Purchase Analysis Code
From here you can edit an existing PA Code or create a new one with the Add button. This will open the PA Code editor.
Here you need to give your PA Code a name and it can be helpful to give it a description too.
Click Save when you are done. This will take you back to the selection window.
You can now find the code you just made in the list.
From the Action Tray, select the Branch Nominal Maintenance (the 3D cube) icon.
In this window, you need to set up the Nominal Codes. If you are linking this to an integration package, like Xero or Sage 50/200, use their specific codes, if not you can use 0 as a placeholder.
Here you need to fill in the Nominal Code column.
When you are happy with the changes, click save which will take you back to the PA code list.
Select the PA Code you just edited to add it to the System Defaults.
You have successfully set up a Purchase Analysis Code!
Using a PA Code
Now that you have set your PA Codes up, you can apply them to a new stock item or any current stock you have in the system.
Head to Stock Records from the Stock menu.
Clicking Add new or editing an existing item will get you to the same editor window.
You can find the PA Code field in the Financial section.
If you need to make any changes, you can also edit the codes from here.
