The chart of accounts is the structured list of the company's general ledger accounts. The list is used to prepare financial reports for authorities and owners. The accounts are grouped into types of accounts and further aggregated into larger categories. At the most general level, the accounts are grouped as revenues and costs (operating accounts) and assets and liabilities (balance accounts).
The structure of the chart of accounts is unique for each company. You must consider several factors when you make decisions about how to structure the chart of accounts for your organization, including:
-
The reporting requirements of the country/region in which your organization is based
-
The degree of specification is needed, for external bodies and for the organization itself
-
The recommendations of external accountants who specialize in structuring the ledger
Create the chart of accounts in the form. Set up account numbers in each category with gaps between them to enable you to insert new accounts as the need arises. Accounts in the same category have account numbers that are similar to one another; additionally, accounts in the same category often have header and total lines that allow for easier identification and aggregation of the account category.
When you create a new account, fill in two mandatory fields: (the account identifier) and , which by default is set to (an operating account).
For more information about these and other fields, see Chart of accounts (form).
