Setting Up Statistical Accounts in Dynamics AX 2012

Note: we have a more recently written article How to Set Up Statistical Accounts in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.

If you’ve searched for information on Stats Accounts in Microsoft Dynamics AX, you’ll have realized there’s not a lot of information out there (and that’s probably why you ended up here).

That being said, Stats Accounts can be very helpful for AX users from a reporting standpoint.

Have you ever wanted to track items such as a departmental head count, hours or units produced and use that information within your financial reporting?

Microsoft Dynamics AX users that want to track non-financial information within the GL in AX will need to set up Statistical Accounts in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

After Statistical Accounts have been set up, the information posted can then be used to pull data into AX’s financial reporter Management Reporter.  This can be used to create reports that track performance, measure productivity or other information that you might use for reporting purposes.

Setting Up the Statistical Accounts Structure in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

To get this working, you will need to set up statistical accounts within the Main Accounts structure in Dynamics AX.

• The Microsoft recommended approach is to start the account numbers with a “9” so that it is easier to separate them from the financial accounts. That way you can easily identify the non-financial accounts and to run reports against them using an account range.
• A customer that I worked with chose to end the account number with a 9 so that the statistical account could be grouped with its corresponding financial account within the account listings.

o   This will still allow you to filter the accounts within your reports but makes it a bit harder to do as the accounts will not be numbered sequentially

o   This may increase the number of characters in the main account field as you will also need to identify the financial accounts with a specific character

o   It’s an option, but realize the implications this has on your reporting

How to Setup Statistical Accounts

• You’ll need to set the main account type:

o   Profit and Loss

• If you want to have the amounts reset to zero at the end of the year

o   Balance Sheet

• If you don’t want the amounts reset to zero

o   Offset Account

• Each statistical account will need the offset account filled in with a Statistical Offset account so that when you create a JE and use a Stat account, the entries will automatically balance
• This will also ensure a net 0 impact on the Trial Balance and to Retained Earnings at Year End.

Now make sure the “Main Account Category” is set to “Statistical”.

An example of a journal entry using the Statistical Account;  the offset account is populated automatically:

Microsoft Dynamics GP has a similar functionality called Unit Accounts. The difference between Dynamics GP’s Unit Accounts and Dynamics AX Statistical Accounts is that in GP your Unit Accounts are setup in a different category. In Dynamics AX, Statistical Accounts are just an account type that are selected (a bit easier).

If you have questions, email us.