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Set Up Your Chart of Accounts

Your chart of accounts is the master list of categories — bank, receivables, revenue, rent, inventory, tax payable, and so on — that every transaction gets classified against. It's one of the first things to set up after enabling Accounting.

The three account levels

LevelUse it for
Main accountsTop-level groupings, like Assets or Expenses
Sub accountsReporting roll-ups underneath the main accounts
Transaction accountsThe specific accounts you actually post to on vouchers and documents

You only post to transaction accounts day-to-day — main and sub accounts exist to organize your reports.

The five account types

TypeMeaningExamples
AssetsWhat you own or are owedBank, inventory, equipment, receivables
LiabilitiesWhat you owePayables, loans, tax payable
EquityThe owners' stakeCapital, retained earnings
IncomeWhat you earnSales, service fees
ExpensesWhat you spendRent, wages, cost of goods sold

Create an account

  1. Go to Finance & Accounting → Main accounts (or Sub accounts / Transaction accounts, depending on the level you need).
  2. Click Add new.
  3. Choose the account type and, for sub or transaction accounts, the parent account it rolls up into.
  4. Give it a clear name and code.
  5. Save.

:::tip Good habits Search before creating a new account — duplicates make reports messy. If an account already has history against it, deactivate it instead of deleting it. :::

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