Tracking funds in a 401k

[Bradford R. Bowman]

I am having trouble figuring out the best way to track the value of a
403(a) (a 401(k)-like account for non-profits).  Perhaps someone can
suggest a simpler method that the one I am thinking of. I have no
accounting knowledge at all, as will be obvious.

The situation is fairly typical: each pay period there is an employee
contribution to the fund that is matched by the employer (up to an
annual cap).  These contributions are divided according to set
percentages and applied to the purchase of shares in four different
funds managed by TIAA-CREF. The per share value of each fund fluctuates
separately, so that even if she splits the contributions across the four
funds evenly for a given pay check, she acquires a different number of
shares in each fund. 

I want to be able to account for the employee contribution that is
deducted from her paycheck, but the nature of the retirement account
makes this complicated, as it appears that I need to reference the
current share prices of each separate fund and then calculate the
increase in shares.

Originally, I just had one account, labeled 401k, which was a "bank"
type account. But that is not accurate.  It seems to me that the only
way I can track the value of this is by making the 401k a "mutual fund"
type account, and then splitting it into four separate accounts -- one
for each of the four funds, like so:

9/16 Teacher Salary 
	Income:Salary				1,000.00
	Investments:401k:fund1		25.00
	Investments:401k:fund2		25.00
	Investments:401k:fund3		25.00
	Investments:401k:fund4		25.00
	Expenses:Taxes:etc...

9/16 Employer 401k contribution
	Equity:Employer match		25.00
	Investments:401k:fund1
	etc...

This just seems crazy though. Is it? Is there an easier or better way?
Any advice would be appreciated.

-- 
Bradford R. Bowman
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