{"id":1349,"date":"2023-04-14T15:17:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T12:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/docs\/double-entry-accounting\/creating-a-chart-of-accounts\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T10:38:50","slug":"creating-a-chart-of-accounts","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/docs\/double-entry-accounting\/creating-a-chart-of-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Chart of Accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>List all your business accounts used to record financial transactions and manage them effectively. Standardize accounting procedures, generate financial reports, and support your budgeting and forecasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need to <code><a href=\"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/docs\/apps-and-integrations\/installing-an-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Install<\/a><\/code> or <code><a href=\"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/docs\/apps-and-integrations\/purchasing-an-app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Purchase<\/a><\/code> the <a href=\"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/apps\/double-entry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Double Entry App<\/a> to use the <strong>Chart of Accounts<\/strong> feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creating a Chart of Accounts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Double-Entry<\/strong> on the Navigation menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Chart of Accounts<\/strong> from the expanded menu options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the Chart of Accounts page, click <strong>New Chart of Account.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/assets.akaunting.com\/hc\/2023\/04\/24092216\/chart-of-accounts.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter the <strong>Name<\/strong> and <strong>Code.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select a <strong>Type <\/strong>&#8211; <strong>Assets<\/strong>, <strong>Equity<\/strong>, <strong>Expenses<\/strong>, <strong>Income,<\/strong> or <strong>Liabilities<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select a <strong>Parent Account<\/strong> and write a <strong>Description,<\/strong> if applicable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then, <strong>Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You can also Import a Chart of Accounts into Akaunting.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Akaunting makes importing your Chart of Accounts easy, seeing all business accounts in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To import Chart of Accounts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1440\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 2710 \/ 1440;\" width=\"2710\" controls src=\"https:\/\/assets.akaunting.com\/hc\/2023\/04\/03171716\/COA-Import-UHD-First-Part.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/23032d26-dfd4-43f5-908e-e7e153082007\/COA%20Import%20Video%20for%20HC.mp4?view=open\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to <strong>Double-Entry<\/strong> on the <strong>Navigation menu<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Chart of Accounts<\/strong> from the expanded options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the Chart of Accounts page, click the ellipses menu icon <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"24.264705882352942\" width=\"33\" src=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/e2b6309f-8d48-4e22-977b-ceaeb30e2efe\/image.png\"> at the top left corner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Import<\/strong> from the dropdown options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the Import Chart of Accounts page, click <strong>Download<\/strong> to Save the sample file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open the Sample file on Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel or an of your preferred document viewer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the downloaded sample file, there are four sheets &#8212; <strong>chart_of_accounts, items, item_taxes <\/strong>and <strong>taxes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the<strong> Chart_of_Accounts <\/strong>sheet<strong>,<\/strong> you&#8217;ll find the following fields:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/de9dec96-ab4b-4e8a-8b71-5aada1fd991b\/image.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Options are <strong>Bank &amp; Cash, Current Asset, Depreciation, Fixed Asset, Inventory, Non-current Asset, Prepayment, Equity, Direct Costs, Expense, Other Income, Revenue, Sales, Current Liability, Liabilit<\/strong>y or <strong>Non-current Liability.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Class<\/strong>: Options are <strong>Assets, Liabilities, Expenses, Income<\/strong> or <strong>Equity.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Code<\/strong>: Enter the chart of accounts code. You can edit codes to suit your businesses preferences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Name: <\/strong>Define a name for the Account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Description: <\/strong>A brief explanation of the account\u2019s purpose or usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enabled<\/strong>: TRUE means the account is valid and available for use in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Parent: <\/strong>You can define the Parent account if the account is a sub-account<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balance: <\/strong>Enter a balance value for the account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_from<\/strong>: Shows the origin of this account in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_by<\/strong>: Records the creator of the account for audit and tracking purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the<strong> Items <\/strong>sheet<strong>,<\/strong> you&#8217;ll find the following fields:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/c9e5e6ae-0143-4342-b15c-62968d7422bf\/image.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Name: <\/strong>Same as the Account name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Type: <\/strong>This can either be a <strong>Product <\/strong>or <strong>Service.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Description<\/strong>: A brief explanation of the account\u2019s purpose or usage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sale_Price<\/strong>: The standard price at which the product or service is sold to customers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Purchase_Price<\/strong>: What you paid vendors for the item.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Income_account_code: <\/strong>Revenue account code the sales are posted to. Enter the same code as those in the chart_of_accounts sheet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expense_account_code: <\/strong>Expense account code purchases are posted to. Enter the same code as those in the chart_of_accounts sheet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_from<\/strong>: Shows the origin of this account in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_by<\/strong>: Records the creator of the account for audit and tracking purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the<strong> item_taxes <\/strong>sheet<strong>,<\/strong> you&#8217;ll find the following fields:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/9cd04e2c-0f94-4080-be01-1fad67093655\/image.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>item_name<\/strong>: Same as the Account name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>tax_name: <\/strong>name of the tax rule (<strong>VAT, Sales Tax, GST, Withholding, Excise Duty<\/strong>, and more.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>tax_rate: <\/strong>The percentage of tax applied to the item or transaction (e.g., 18% VAT, 10% withholding).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_from<\/strong>: Shows the origin of this account in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_by<\/strong>: Records the creator of the account for audit and tracking purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On the<strong> taxes <\/strong>sheet<strong>,<\/strong> you&#8217;ll find the following fields:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/t4755221.p.clickup-attachments.com\/t4755221\/3e5a23ac-81ca-4cbe-82cd-4546ce64d911\/image.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>name<\/strong>: name of the tax rule (<strong>VAT, Sales Tax, GST, Withholding, Excise Duty<\/strong>, and more.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>type: <\/strong>defines the type of tax (<strong>normal, fixed, inclusive, withholding, compound<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>tax_rate: <\/strong>The percentage of tax applied to the item or transaction (e.g., 18% VAT, 10% withholding).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>account_code<\/strong>: Enter the same code as those in the chart_of_accounts sheet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>enabled<\/strong>: TRUE means the account is valid and available for use in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_from<\/strong>: Shows the origin of this account in the Chart of Accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Created_by<\/strong>: Records the creator of the account for audit and tracking purposes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter COA detials in all necessary fields.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Save<\/strong> and <strong>Download <\/strong>the file as <strong>XLS<\/strong> or <strong>XLSX<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Upload your file to Akaunting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Import <\/strong>and wait for a few seconds. This may vary depending on the size of the data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll get a notification on the sidebar. Also, a confirmation will be sent to your email once the upload is completed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>List all your business accounts used to record financial transactions and manage them effectively. Standardize accounting procedures, generate financial reports, and support your budgeting and forecasting. You need to Install or Purchase the Double Entry App to use the Chart of Accounts feature. Creating a Chart of Accounts: You can also Import a Chart of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1345,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1349","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/1349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1349"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/1349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3564,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/1349\/revisions\/3564"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/1345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akaunting.com\/hc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=1349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}