The Chart of Accounts is the basis for your Accounting system. All transactions in the system flow through to the General Ledger. In this section we learn how to create a new Account.
Control Accounts: Certain accounts in your chart of accounts should be marked as Control Accounts, for instance Trade Debtors, Banks, Suppliers and Stock On Hand. When you designate an account as a Control Account by marking this box, this account will not be available for posting General Journals and dissecting receipts and payments against. This is done to stop the possibility of these accounts becoming "Out of balance" with the subsidiary ledger.
When setting up your system initially you may wish to leave a control account unmarked so you can enter the opening trial balance. You can then return at a later stage and set the account to be a control account once the ledgers are balanced.