Quick Start Tutorials > 4. Working with subtype lists (Classes example)

In this topic:

Besides the Chart of Accounts, ManagePLUS maintains a copy other QuickBooks lists such as the Classes, Items, and Customer:Job lists. Altogether, we refer to these as subtype lists. The name "subtype" comes from the idea that, in reports, these lists can be used as subtypes or subdivisions of the chart of accounts. In a report grouped by account, another list is often used to further subdivide the account groupings into finer levels of detail.

This tutorial shows how to work with subtype lists, with examples based on the Classes list. (Working with other lists is much the same.)

The current release of ManagePLUS only supports the Classes list. Support for other subtype lists is planned for future releases.

Opening the Classes window

To open the Classes window or to select it if it's already open:

•	Click the Classes button on the toolbar, or choose Lists > Classes from the main menu.

The Classes window will open in a new tab. Or if it is already open, its tab will be selected.

The first time you open the Classes window, it will be empty. ManagePLUS will ask to refresh the list from QuickBooks, which you must allow if you want to continue with opening the window.

If you aren't yet using classes, see Enabling and using classes in QuickBooks.

Refreshing the Classes list

If you have made any changes in the Classes list in QuickBooks—maybe you renamed or added a class—you should refresh (update) the list in ManagePLUS, especially before preparing reports which include classes. Like every list window, the Classes window has a Refresh button for this purpose:

•	Click the Refresh button.

ManagePLUS will access QuickBooks, retrieve a new copy of the Classes list, and update the window.

To refresh a list ManagePLUS must access QuickBooks, which will be much faster if QuickBooks is already running before you click the Refresh button.

Associating production/use bases with classes

Associating production or use bases with individual classes isn't a necessity for using ManagePLUS—you may bypass it altogether if you want. But it unleashes some of ManagePLUS' most powerful reporting capabilities, so every ManagePLUS user should be aware of this feature and how it works.

Simply by entering levels of production or use associated with some or all of your classes, you can have enhanced management information on your ManagePLUS reports—per-unit-of-production and per-unit-of-usage statistics, and more—with no extra effort on your part. This fragment of a Profit & Loss with Classes report shows the kinds of per-unit information ManagePLUS can supply automatically, when you've entered production/use bases in a subtype list (the Classes list in this case):

The red arrows point to per-unit statistics calculated by ManagePLUS. The
calculations are based on dollar amounts and quantities in a group of
transactions, divided by the number of acres and bushels entered as production/
use bases for the Corn:2007:Jones and Corn:2007:Smith classes.

Production/use bases explained...

QuickBooks lets you use classes for any purpose you choose. But classes are most often used for representing cost centers and profit centers—subunits of the business for which you details on revenue and expenses, to help make management decisions.

Suppose you operate a factory which produces several models of high-end running shoes. And suppose that you apply classes to your QuickBooks transactions wherever appropriate, to associate revenue or expense with the various running shoes models you produce.

QuickBooks can give you a profit and loss report broken down by class, which shows dollars of revenue and expense for each model of running shoe. It can show that labor costs for the High Flyer model were $2750 last quarter, for example. But that doesn't tell you what you most want to know: "What are my revenue and expenses per unit for the High Flyer model?"

That's where the concept of production/use bases comes in. If you associate a production quantity with the High Flyer class, ManagePLUS reports can provide per-unit-of-production information for the High Flyer class.

Let's say you know that 239 hours of direct labor were used in producing 140 units of the High Flyer shoe last quarter. If you associate that information with the High Flyer class, a ManagePLUS report for that quarter can tell you this about the High Flyer class:

•	Direct labor costs were $19.64 per shoe.

•	1.7 hours of labor were used to produce each shoe.

In fact, the report will give you per-shoe-produced and per-labor-hour figures for every revenue and every expense account where the High Flyer class was applied to transactions.

When you enter information in a subtype list, you only need to do it once. ManagePLUS keeps a copy of the information and restores it the next time you start up the program. For production/use bases, ManagePLUS stores a separate copy for each accounting period, because you'll normally want to use different production/use figures for different accounting periods. When you open a different accounting period ManagePLUS restores the production/use bases you've entered for that period.

To enter a production/use basis for a class:

1.	Click in a Basis column where you want to enter information.

The Classes window gives you two Basis columns for entering production/use bases, and two more columns for adding descriptive labels to make reports more readable and interesting.

2.	Type in a production or use quantity.

Only type numbers, not alphabetic characters.

If you're working with a ManagePLUS sample company, the report examples will make more sense if you enter the production or use quantities recommended on the sample file's information page:

www.goflagship.com/products/mpsamples.htm

3.	Move to the adjacent UOM label column.

If you're working with a ManagePLUS sample company, the report examples will make more sense if you enter the UOM labels recommended on the sample file's information page:

www.goflagship.com/products/mpsamples.htm

4.	Type in an appropriate label, or select it from the field's drop-down list.

The UOM fields here work just the same as in the Chart of Accounts lesson.

Notes

•	You aren't required to supply production/use bases for any classes, and should normally only supply them for classes which have a particular amount of production or use.

•	You may fill one or both production/use basis fields for a class. The second field just adds another dimension for analyzing your records on some other per-unit basis.

•	Some examples...

Basis	UOM Label	Description
600	acres	A production basis for the Corn class on a grain farm; will cause reports to show per-acre revenues and costs...fertilizer cost per acre, seed cost per acre, etc.
90,000	bushels	A second production basis for the same Corn class, this one is the actual amount of corn produced; will cause reports to show revenues and costs on a per-bushel basis...fertilizer cost per bushel, seed cost per bushel, etc.
88,000	miles	The use basis for the Truck14 class in a delivery company, this is the number of miles driven by Truck14 during the accounting period; will cause reports to show truck expenses per mile...fuel costs per mile, repair costs per mile, etc.
88	tenant months	The number of tenant months of rent income for the UnitA apartment complex class; will show things like maintenance costs per tenant month, property taxes per tenant month, etc.
$30,800	rent income	A second production basis for the same UnitA class; will cause reports to show maintenance and other costs per dollar of rent income.

Page url: http://www.goflagship.com/help/mp/index.html?qs_subtype_lists.htm