Chart of accounts

What this does

Accounting → Ledger → Chart of Accounts is the list of accounts every transaction posts to. A new shop's chart is empty; seeding fills it with about 75 accounts in the standard numbering. Accounts are also created on demand as things post (Undeposited Funds, for example), but seed first so the ledger is ready before the first invoice.

Before you start

chart_of_accounts.edit: Owner, General Manager. Accountants can view.

Steps

1. On an empty shop, run the seed. You get the standard layout: 1000s assets (1100 Accounts Receivable, 1499 Undeposited Funds, bank and card accounts), 2000s liabilities (Accounts Payable, Sales Tax Payable), 3000s equity, 4000s revenue (4000 Labor, 4100 Parts, and the rest), 5000s cost of goods, 6000s+ expenses.
2. Add an account: Account Code, Account Name, Type (asset, liability, equity, revenue, expense), optional Subtype, optional Parent Account for a sub-account, optional Description.
3. Edit a name or description any time. Changing a code or type on an account that has postings is refused; create the right account and use it going forward.
4. Delete only an account with no postings.

Numbering matters

The app looks up some accounts by code: 1100 as receivables on a default chart, 1499 (or the next free code in 1480–1498) as Undeposited Funds, 4000 as the fallback revenue. If you renumber those, set the corresponding settings under Accounting → Settings so the engine can find them.

Common problems

The seed option isn't there. The chart already has accounts. Add what's missing by hand.

Two accounts named Undeposited Funds. One was seeded, one was created on demand before the seed. Merge by re-pointing postings with journal entries, then delete the empty one; or ask support.