Chart of Accounts

Chart of Accounts Grid

This grid displays every account available in your accounting system, detailing the essential attributes for each one: its Account Number (e.g., 1010), its descriptive Name (e.g., Cash - Operating Checking), its overarching Account Type (e.g., Assets), and its Balance Type (Debit or Credit). Crucially, the grid organizes the company's financial life into a hierarchical structure using the Parent column, which shows how detailed accounts roll up into summary totals (like all 1000 accounts rolling up into the main Assets account), and identifies Control Accounts that act as master summaries for subsidiary ledgers. This complete list ensures every financial transaction can be accurately classified, tracked, and automatically aggregated into the final Balance Sheet and Income Statement.

General Information

• Description: A quick and easy short description related to the account number.
• Parent: If this belongs to a group (e.g., Assets) you can choose the parent account for a structural order of accounts.
• Account Type: The Account Typeis the fundamental classification label applied to every account in your Chart of Accounts (COA). It is the highest level of organization and dictates:

  1. Where the account appears on the financial statements.

  2. How the account behaves (its Debit/Credit balance type).

• Balance Type: A Balance Type (also called Normal Balance) defines the side of the ledger—Debit or Credit—where an account's balance is expectedto increase.Every account in your Chart of Accounts must be assigned one of two Balance Types:

  1. Debit Balance Type (Dr.)

  2. Credit Balance Type (Cr.)

• Account Number: The Account Number is the single most important element in the entire Chart of Accounts (COA) structure. It's the engine that drives all financial reporting.
• Active: Whether the account number is active to be used or not.
  • Note: You cannot delete an account number in the system. You are only allowed to inactivate an account.
• Is Parent: If this is a parent account that will have account numbers underneath it then check this option.
• Is Control Account: A Control Account sits in the General Ledger (GL) and acts as the single master balance for a complex group of related, detailed accounts managed in a Subsidiary Ledger (SL).

Description

This is the description for the account number above that of a short description.

Admin

• Regarding: Link to a specific account within your system. If you don't specify a regarding the system defaults to all accounts.
• Regulatory Mapping ID: A Regulatory Mapping ID is essentially a translation code that links an account number in your company's internal accounting system (your custom Chart of Accounts) to a standardized account number required by an external financial reporting body.
  • Most modern accounting systems use this mapping ID to automate the preparation of tax returns and compliance reports. Instead of manually moving numbers from your ledger to a government form, the system knows exactly where each internal balance needs to be reported.
• Currency: This is the default currency for the account number.
• Language: This is the default language for the account number.
• Balance Date: The starting balance date for this account number.
• Starting Balance: This is what the starting balance is for the account number.
• Start Date: This is the date where the account number is available to be used.
• End Date: This is when this account number is no longer available to be used within the system.

Logs

Additionally, you have Logs. Logs are for keeping track of who is viewing and modifying your Chart of Account.