Castaway is designed to enable your Chart of Accounts to be as flexible as you require.
Elements are the building blocks of Castaway that make up your Chart of Accounts.
Elements are the foundations with which you create and report your Forecast.
You can set Elements up manually or map them to Castaway via an integration with your accounting system general ledger.
The benefit of using Integrations to map your CoA when you set up your file is that you get to fill two needs with one deed - you'll be building your CoA in Castaway AND you'll be setting up your file so that you can easily import your Actuals to check performance to forecast. You can also reforecast from that for an up-to-date view of the business.
You will have the ability to create as many or as few elements as you like to forecast with confidence. Castaway will also auto-create all the additional accounts you might need for a true 3-way forecast. Some will be pre-made for you when you start such as Trade Debtors or the Main Bank Account. Then, as you add elements, the system will auto-create more to match your project.
For example, when you set up a Fix Asset element, Castaway will automatically create a corresponding Depreciation expense and Accumulated Depreciation account for you. Allow it to be sold or revalued, and a Profit from the Sale or a Gain on Revaluation account will be created for you.
There are a variety of element types that you can choose from when you are creating a CoA. Most will be self-explanatory but understanding them and the automatic accounts they create will help you make the correct decisions setting up your CoA. To better understand each of the Available Elements check out Element Types.
Each Element created will have its own settings and will allow you to control the forecast method applied. Castaway offers a number of ways to do this which you can learn more about in Element Settings.
You can customize how your Castaway CoA is presented by using Sections and Sub-totals, and this will flow through to your Reports in Reporting.
Ready to give it a go? Explore more of the articles in this section to get started.