Creating Your Company
Once you have become familiar with the software and are ready to create your own company, the first thing you will need to do is plan the company according to your specific business needs. Because the setup can greatly impact how effective and useful the software will be for you, we recommend taking the time to consider all the options and all your needs before you set up your company. We strongly recommend consulting an accountant to aid you in this process.
Planning Your Company
There are many elements of planning. This software is designed to facilitate your accounting needs regardless of your business or your business organization.
If you are upgrading from a previous version of Cougar Mountain Software, make sure you refer to the Installation and Conversion Guide to properly convert and upgrade your data.
Using Multiple Companies
In some cases, creating multiple companies within the software can work well for some companies and allow greater flexibility.
For example, if you have several departments or divisions in your company, you may choose to create a GL Chart of Accounts which contains a segment that defines the department or division affected by a particular transaction. One example of this might be accounts 1000.01 and 1000.02, where the .01 and .02 define the different departments or divisions that are affected by this entry.
Another method of tracking multiple facets of a business would be to actually set up separate companies for each department or division. When it comes time to run financial statements, you can use the Consolidate Ledgers feature in your reports to combine the financial information from the various companies into one set of financial reports. Keep in mind that the Consolidate Ledgers feature exists only in the General Ledger. No other modules contain this ability.