Manage the chart of accounts

The chart of accounts is the tree every amount in your books is posted to. It has five levels: levels 1 to 4 group accounts together, and level 5 holds the accounts that actually receive postings. Use this screen to find an account and its balance, add the accounts your business needs, and correct an account's name or classification.

How the chart is organised

• One chart per branch. Each branch keeps its own copy of the chart, and each copy's account numbers start with the branch number. A Master template sits above the branch copies. It is the pattern new accounts are copied from, and it never receives postings.

• Codes are generated for you. A new account takes the next free number under its parent. Levels 1 to 3 hold up to 9 accounts under one parent, level 4 up to 99, and level 5 up to 9,999.

• Nature and direction. Nature shows whether the account is Dr (assets and expenses) or Cr (liabilities, equity and revenue). Account direction places it on the Balance sheet or the Income statement.

Browse the chart

1. Open Accounting › Accounts › Chart of Accounts. The screen opens in Tree view on your branch's chart.

2. Use Scope to switch to another branch or to the Master template.

3. Type in Search by code or name… to find an account. The tree keeps the parents of every match, so you can see where the account sits.

4. Turn on Postable accounts only to hide the branches of the tree that contain no level-5 account.

5. Use Expand all and Collapse all to open or close the whole tree.

The tiles above the tree count the Accounts, the Postable accounts, the number of Levels and the Inactive accounts in the chosen scope. Each line shows the account number, its name, a Dr or Cr badge and its balance. Balances below zero show in red.

Select Table to see the same chart as a list with the columns Account no., Name, Level, Parent account, Balance, Nature, Direction, Status and Postable. The table adds filters for level, direction, nature and status, and Export saves the list to Excel or PDF.

Open an account

Select an account's name in the tree, or a row in the table. The account page shows Account details, the Opening balances (Opening debit and Opening credit) and the Sub-accounts under it with their balances. Select a sub-account to move down the tree.

Add an account

1. Select Add account.

2. In Parent account, choose the account the new one belongs under. To create an account you can post to, choose a level-4 parent: the new account becomes level 5.

3. Enter the Account name.

4. Choose the Account direction: Balance sheet or Income statement.

5. Optional: add a Note.

6. Select Save.

The system gives the account its number, copies its nature from the parent, and adds it to the master template and to every branch's chart at the same time. All branches therefore keep the same structure.

Edit an account

1. Open the account and select Edit account.

2. Change the Account name, the Description, the Nature or the Account direction. Only these fields can be edited.

3. Select Save.

The change applies to the account you opened, in that branch's chart. The parent cannot change, because the account number depends on it. The nature cannot change once the account has a balance or postings, because that would reverse the meaning of every amount already posted.

Common questions

Can I delete an account? No. The chart has no delete. Rename an account you no longer need so that nobody picks it by mistake.

Why can I not post to an account I can see? It is a grouping account on levels 1 to 4, or a master template account. See Which accounts accept postings.

Where do I see an account's movements? Run the detailed account statement, or check all accounts at once in the trial balance.