DBI-UC said:

Could anyone help me understand the difference between the Group Account vs the Sub-group account?

There is no functional difference between Subgroup Account & Subgroup Total. 

They are for Income Statement and Balance Sheet reporting, and were coded into Simply Accounting in a time before laser printers and Microsoft Excel.

Group and Sub-accounts can be posted to, Group and Subgroup Totals are calculated amounts that display on income and balance sheet reports, and of course cannot be posted to.

Subgroup Accounts work the opposite of what might be expected, based on the name.  There is no relationship to a 'Group Account' above them.  More descriptive names might be:

Subgroup Account = 'Subtotalling Account'

Subgroup Total     =  'Subtotal'

Group Account     =  'Account'

In some accounting software packages - i.e.Dac Easy? - (if I recall correctly, it was the mid-1980's), the sub-accounts 'roll-up' into a series of master accounts.  Accounts 12341 and 12345 and 12346 and 12347 'roll-up' to account 1234

Sage 50 doesn't do that:  Everything between a 'Group Heading and a Group total is summed down into the Group Total. 

         Sub-group accounts also display another sum 'down' into sub-group totals.

DBI-UC said:

Do I need account 1520?  Should I re-number?

In your example above:

1520, 1522, and 1524 all sum 'down' into 1590. 

1529 displays a subtotal on reports, and is ignored   (or 1522 and 1524 are ignored and 1529 sums 'down' into account 1590

1522 and 1524 have no effect on 1520, and vice versa, and it's not needed by 1522 and 1524.  You could make it inactive, or if it's never been used simply delete it.

Possibly you ONLY need account 1520 for all the different input materials and a couple of other G/L accounts for finished goods and work-in-progress. 

Rather than using multiple G/L accounts, and depending on your reporting requirements (and your options will depend on the Edition of Sage 50 in use), you might find it easier to use some convention (i.e. starting the item code or item name with the same word 'Plate - ') within Inventory & Service Items to keep track of the value of various types of inventory.

If, for instance, your bank needs to see new, used, and refurbished items separately because they won't allow any operating loan margin for used and refurbished, then you need multiple inventory G/L accounts for the Balance Sheet report.  

Thank you very much for your explanation.  Your way of explaining the accounting names much more sense. 

Everything is much clearer now. I had been told that I could use Sage for tracking inventory and I assumed that meant that I would solely be using Sage to keep track of all inventory.  Instead, as you are pointing out, it looks like I could lump everything in a single Inventory G/L account and use Microsoft Excel to do the nitty-gritty inventory work. 

We are only selling new items as we manufacture overseas and sell directly, so no further division seems necessary.

Thank you again so much for clearing this up!