The General Posting Setup is a matrix that tells Business Central which G/L accounts to use for sales revenue, cost of goods sold, purchase costs, and related accounts. It works by combining two types of posting groups: General Business Posting Groups (assigned to customers and vendors) and General Product Posting Groups (assigned to items, G/L accounts, and resources).
Every combination of these two groups that appears on a posted transaction must have a corresponding line in the General Posting Setup. If a combination is missing, Business Central will stop the posting with an error.
General Business Posting Groups
General Business Posting Groups classify the business entity in a transaction, typically the customer or vendor.
- Search for Gen. Business Posting Groups using
Alt + Q. - Select New.
- Enter a Code (e.g.
DOMESTIC,EU,EXPORT) and a Description. - Optionally set a Default VAT Bus. Posting Group if this group always maps to a specific VAT setup.
General Product Posting Groups
General Product Posting Groups classify what is being sold or purchased, typically the item type or cost category.
- Search for Gen. Product Posting Groups using
Alt + Q. - Select New.
- Enter a Code (e.g.
RETAIL,SERVICE,RAW-MAT) and a Description. - Optionally set a Default VAT Prod. Posting Group.
Open and Configure General Posting Setup
- Search for General Posting Setup using
Alt + Q. - The page displays a matrix with Gen. Bus. Posting Group rows and Gen. Prod. Posting Group columns.
- Select an existing line or choose New to create a combination.
- Fill in the accounts for the combination.
Key Accounts to Fill In
Each line in the General Posting Setup requires accounts for the transaction types that combination will generate. The most commonly required fields are:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Sales Account | Revenue account for sales to this business/product type |
| Sales Credit Memo Account | Account for sales credit memo lines |
| Purch. Account | Expense or asset account for purchases |
| Purch. Credit Memo Account | Account for purchase credit memo lines |
| COGS Account | Cost of goods sold when items are shipped |
| Inventory Adjmt. Account | Used when inventory value is adjusted |
| Sales Pmt. Disc. Debit Acc. | Payment discounts given on sales |
| Purch. Pmt. Disc. Credit Acc. | Payment discounts received on purchases |
Not all fields need to be filled, only those relevant to the transaction types you expect this combination to generate.
Practical Example
A company sells retail goods domestically and provides services to EU customers. This requires at least two lines in the General Posting Setup:
| Gen. Bus. Posting Group | Gen. Prod. Posting Group | Sales Account | COGS Account | Purch. Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOMESTIC | RETAIL | 40100 | 50100 | 60100 |
| EU | SERVICE | 40200 | , | 60200 |
If a domestic customer is later invoiced for a service item (tagged as SERVICE), Business Central will look for the DOMESTIC + SERVICE combination. If that line does not exist, the posting will fail. Every combination that appears in real transactions needs a line.
Assigning General Posting Groups
- On the Customer Card, the Gen. Bus. Posting Group field is on the Invoicing tab.
- On the Vendor Card, the same field appears on the Invoicing tab.
- On the Item Card, the Gen. Prod. Posting Group field is on the General tab.
- On the Chart of Accounts, each G/L account has a Gen. Prod. Posting Group field for when it is used as a line account on documents.
If you also need to configure the balance sheet side, receivables and payables accounts, see How to Set Up Posting Groups in Business Central.