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Accounting Profiles

Target Audience: Users, Stakeholders

Introduction

An accounting profile controls how revenue from a specific product type is classified in the bookkeeping system. It determines which revenue account is used, what cost center and project dimensions are applied, and whether revenue is recognised over time or per delivered issue.

Accounting profiles are managed per organisation, typically with a small number of profiles covering the main product types — for example, "Digital", "Print", and "Bundle". For instructions on creating and managing profiles in PAP, see the Accounting Profiles admin guide.

What an Accounting Profile Controls

Each profile contains the following fields:

Field Description Example
Name Human-readable label "Digital", "Print"
Revenue account The account code where domestic revenue is booked 3320
Cost center Bookkeeping dimension for cost reporting "DN", "SVD"
Project Bookkeeping dimension for project reporting "SUBS"
Recognition type How revenue is recognised over time Time-based or Issue-based

Revenue Account

By default, all subscription revenue books to a single revenue account. With accounting profiles, publishers can direct revenue to different accounts based on product type. For example:

  • Digital subscriptions → account 3320
  • Print subscriptions → account 3330
  • Bundle subscriptions → account 3310

These accounts are created automatically in the chart of accounts when a profile is first used.

Cost Center and Project

These are bookkeeping dimensions that tag journal entries for reporting purposes. They do not affect which account revenue is booked to, but they allow publishers to filter and group financial data in their accounting system.

Recognition Type

The recognition type determines how deferred income converts to earned revenue:

  • Time-based (default) — revenue is recognised evenly across calendar days. Suitable for digital subscriptions where access is continuous.
  • Issue-based — revenue is recognised on each distribution date. Suitable for print subscriptions where the obligation is fulfilled per delivered issue.

See Revenue Recognition for details on how each model works.

Assigning Profiles to Packages

An accounting profile is assigned to a package. All subscriptions sold through that package inherit the profile's accounting configuration. Campaigns inherit the profile from their base package — there is no need to assign profiles to individual campaigns.

When a subscription is created, the system reads the profile from the package and uses it to:

  1. Book payment revenue to the correct revenue account
  2. Tag journal entries with the configured cost center and project
  3. Set up performance obligations with the correct recognition type (time-based or issue-based)

Default Behaviour

Accounting profiles are optional. When no profile is assigned to a package:

  • Revenue is booked to the organisation's default revenue account (typically 3001)
  • No cost center or project dimensions are applied
  • Revenue recognition uses the time-based model

This means bookkeeping works out of the box without any profile configuration. Profiles add specificity when publishers need revenue split by product type or need issue-based recognition for print products.

Example: Digital vs Print

A publisher with both digital and print products might set up two profiles:

Digital profile Print profile
Name Digital Print
Revenue account 3320 3330
Cost center — —
Project — —
Recognition type Time-based Issue-based

The "Digital" profile is assigned to all digital packages. The "Print" profile is assigned to all print packages. Revenue from digital subscriptions is recognised daily to account 3320. Revenue from print subscriptions is recognised per published issue to account 3330.

Both profiles can coexist within the same organisation, and the bookkeeping module handles them simultaneously.