Chart of Accounts - Setup Tutorials

Overview#

A Chart of Accounts is an organised list of all accounts used by a business to record its financial transactions. It serves as a framework for categorising financial data and typically includes asset, liability, equity, revenue and expense accounts. This structure enables businesses to generate financial statements and maintain accurate records for budgeting, reporting and auditing purposes.

💡These tutorials explain how to create a chart of accounts.

How to Change the View Settings#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Click Menu (button) > Grid View to see a complete list of all the accounts.
3. Click Menu (button) > Tree View to see accounts grouped under their respective sections.
   • Note: You can only add accounts in Tree View.

How to Choose the Correct Statement and Section#

1. A typical Statement of Profit or Loss contains these sections:
   1. Revenue / Sales
      • Enter all Sales accounts here.
   2. Cost of Sales
      • Enter all Cost of Sales, Purchases and Stock Movement accounts here.
   3. Gross Profit (calculation field)
   4. Other Income
      • Enter Discounts Received, Interest Received and other Income accounts here.
   5. Total Income (calculation field)
   6. Expenses
      • Enter all the Expenses including small assets here.
   7. Net Profit (calculation field)
   8. If applicable it can also contain these sections:
      • Abnormal Items (can be an Income or Expense)
        • Note: An Abnormal Item is an item that is not part of the organisation's day-to-day trading (e.g. profit or loss on the sale of an asset).
      • Extraordinary Items (can be an Income or Expense)
        • Note: An Extraordinary Item is an item that is part of the organisation's day-to-day trading but is a stand-out amount that is unlikely to occur again.
      • Net Profit after Abnormal / Extraordinary Items (calculation field)
2. A typical Statement of Financial Position contains these sections:
   1. Assets
      • Bank = Create the bank accounts, including Cash and Short-term Deposit accounts here.
        • Note: If your bank is in overdraft, it is a Current Liability.
      • Current Assets = Create the Receivables Control, Prepaid Expenses and Deposits (e.g. Rent deposits paid) here.
      • Non-Current Assets = Create accounts for Fixed Assets (e.g. Motor Vehicles and Office Equipment) and Long-term Investments (e.g. Shares in a subsidiary, term deposits).
        • Note: You can also create a separate section for Investments (directly after Assets).
      • Inventory = Create all your Inventory accounts here.
   2. Liabilities + Equity
      • Equity = Create accounts for Retained Income and Shares or Owner's Capital Accounts here.
   3. Liabilities
      • Current Liabilities = Create the Payables Control, Credit Cards, Bank Overdrafts and Accruals here.
      • Non-Current Liabilities = Create accounts for Long-term Liabilities here.
      • Taxation = Create accounts for VAT Control and Income Tax here.
   4. Balance (calculation field)

How to Create a New Main or Sub-Account#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Click the arrow key to expand the relevant Statement.
3. Right-click the Main Account (e.g. Staff Expenses) or Section Name (e.g. Expenses) > Add Account:
   1. Enter the Description (name of the account).
   2. Allocate an optional Code (e.g. account number).
   3. Select the Currency the account is in, if applicable.
   4. Select the Report (VAT Reporting) method (normally VAT Exc).
   5. Select VAT Control (that is, whether the account is part of Input (Expense) or Output (Income) VAT).
   6. Select the Defaults (e.g. Bank Account, Receivables).
   7. Select an import method in the Import Column (only applicable to Bank Accounts).
4. Click Save (button).

How to Create a Bank Account#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Expand the Statement of Financial Position.
3. Right-click Bank and select Add Account.
4. Fill in the details on the line that is opened as follows:
   1. Description = Enter the name of the bank account.
   2. Code = Enter a brief description or account number (optional).
   3. Report = Select VAT Inc from the dropdown list.
   4. Right-click the Defaults column and select Set Default > Bank.
      • Note: The local currency is automatically selected in the Currency column.
5. Click Save (button).
6. Close the Accounting setup popup.
7. Re-open Accounting > Accounts (tab) (Main Menu > Setup > Accounting).
8. Change these columns if applicable:
   1. Currency = Select a currency from the dropdown list.
   2. Import = Select an import option from the dropdown list.
9. Click Save (button).

How to Create a New Section under Statement of Profit/Loss#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Right-click Statement of Profit/Loss and select Add Section.
3. Enter a Description (name) for the new section.
4. Add in a Code (if applicable).
5. Add in a Currency (if applicable).
6. Right-click in the Defaults column and select Set Default, then the behaviour:
   • Note: Sum totals the accounts above it in the hierarchy based on the specified Add / Deduct criteria.
   1. Revenue – Default: Add (Cr-Dr)
   2. Cost of Sales – Default: Deduct (Dr-Cr)
   3. Gross Profit – Default: Sum
   4. Other Income – Default: Add (Cr-Dr)
   5. Other Expenses – Default: Deduct (Dr-Cr)
   6. Profit (Loss) before Taxes – Default: Sum
7. Leave the other fields blank (e.g. Report, VAT Control, Import).

How to Create a New Section under Statement of Financial Position#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Right-click Statement of Financial Position and select Add Section.
3. Enter a Description (name) for the new section.
4. Move the new Section up or down:
   1. If the section has a Debit Balance, place it after Assets.
   2. If the section has a Credit Balance, place it after Liabilities + Equity. 

How to Decide the Level of Detail#

1. Choosing how many accounts to create depends on:
   • How much information your tax authorities require.
   • How much information your management team requires.
   • How much information your bookkeeper receives.
2. You should typically only have one main account for each Expense type and create sub-accounts for further detail. For example:
   • Motor Vehicle Expenses as a main account can have sub-accounts for Petrol & Oil, Repairs & Maintenance, Cleaning and Parking, or
   • Motor Vehicle Expenses as a main account can have sub-accounts for Admin Motor Vehicle Expenses, Sales Staff Motor Vehicle Expenses and Delivery Vehicles Motor Vehicle Expenses.

How to Delete an Account#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Right-click an Account and select Delete.
   • Note: An account with linked transactions cannot be deleted.

How to Email the Chart of Accounts#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Click Menu (button) > Email Excel.
3. Fill in the email popup to send the email.

How to Download the Chart of Accounts#

1. Navigate to Accounts (tab).
2. Click Menu (button) > Export Grid.
3. Select a file name and place to save the data.
   • Note: You must have access to your server's desktop to access the file.