How To Set Up A Chart Of Accounts For Your Small Business

There are some things in life that haunt your nightmares forever. For me, it’s that dang bear scene in the movie Revenant. For many business owners, it’s knowing how to set up a chart of accounts.

At first glance, a chart of accounts can be one of the scariest concepts in accounting. Faced with hoards of seemingly random numbers, it’s no wonder many new business owners become confused. But a chart of accounts is necessary for any small business, and fortunately, there’s a method to the madness. In this post, we’re going to help you better understand the chart of accounts and how to set up yours. We’re going to break down what a chart of accounts is, what it should include, and step-by-step instructions for getting started. We’ll also include expert tips from CPAs and an example of a chart of accounts to help you through the process.

What Is A Chart Of Accounts?

A chart of accounts provides a way to organize financial information. It is a list of all financial accounts found in a company’s general ledger. A chart of accounts is usually divided into five categories: assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses. Each category is then divided into sub-categories or “accounts” (hence the name). The chart of accounts is useful in giving an overview of where a business earns and spends its money through its day-to-day operations.

Chart Of Accounts Example

A chart of accounts holds a vast amount of important information yet is surprisingly simple. Here’s an example of a chart of accounts. Please note that yours may look different based on the accounts that are used by your business and the accounting software you use.

Why Do I Need A Chart Of Accounts For My Small Business?

Believe it or not, a chart of accounts isn’t just an accountant’s idea of a practical joke: It is an incredibly important tool for the financial health of your small business.

A proper chart of accounts lets you track specific business information. Your company probably spends money on multiple expenses (rent, license fees, office supplies, advertising, and so on). A chart of accounts can give you a clear picture of where your money is going and provide you with the necessary information to make informed business decisions in the future.

The chart of accounts is also the basis for all accounting reports. CPA and Fit Small Business writer  Crystalynn Shelton explains:

“The accounts that fall into the assets, liabilities and owner’s equity will appear on your balance sheet report and the accounts that fall into the income or expense type will appear on your profit and loss statement (or your income statement).”

Furthermore, the information saved in a chart of accounts is imperative for filling out small business tax forms like the Schedule C.

Categories On Charts Of Accounts

Every business will personalize its own chart of accounts. However, there are a few main categories that should be included in every chart of accounts. Those categories are:

• Assets: An asset is something that is owned by the business that has value. Common examples of assets include cash, commercial real estate, land, inventory, supplies, equipment, commercial vehicles, and accounts receivable.
• Liabilities: A liability is something that is owed. This may include loans, mortgages, and accounts payable.
• Equity: Equity accounts reflect owner contributions to the business, as well as shares of ownership. Equity accounts include capital, common stock, and retained earnings.
• Revenue: Revenue is the income that your business makes through the sale of products or services.
• Expenses: Expenses include money that is paid in order to keep your business in operations and to allow you to create, perform, and sell your products or services. Examples of expenses include utilities, rent, and payroll.

How Should I Structure My Chart Of Accounts?

A chart of accounts is based on a four-digit numbering system. This is the general template to follow when creating and numbering your accounts:

• Assets – 1,000 – 1,999
• Liabilities – 2,000 – 2,999
• Equity – 3,000 – 3,999
• Income – 4,000 – 4,999
• COGs – 5,000 – 5,999
• Expenses – 6,000 – 6,999

You want each account to be a few numbers apart from each other (ex. 1010 cash, 1020 petty cash, 1030 checkings, 1040 savings). This way, you can go back and add more accounts as your company grows without losing the effective organization of preexisting accounts.

Which Accounts Do I Need To Include?

When deciding which accounts to include, think carefully about the type of business you run and the common assets and expenses you have. Keep your chart of accounts as simple as you can. Only include information you actually need and account names that make sense to you (you can always add more accounts down the road).

The specific accounts you include will vary depending on the type of business you run; however, here is a template of the few basic accounts you’ll need to get started:

Assets

1010 Checkings

1020 Savings

1030 Cash

1040 Accounts Receivable

1050 Inventory

1060 Property

1070 Equipment

Liabilities

2010 Accounts Payable

2020 Sales Tax Payable

2030 Income Tax Payable

2040 Mortgage Loan

2050 Other Loans

Equity

3010 Owner’s Contributions

3020 Retained Earnings

Income

4010 Sales From Products

4020 Sales From Services

COGs

5010 Materials and Supplies

5020 Labor Costs

Expenses

6010 Advertising

6020 Car and Truck Expenses

6030 Contract Labor

6040 Office Supplies

6050 Rent for Property

6060 Rent for Equipment

6070 Travel, Meals, and Entertainment

6080 Wages

6090 Utilities

Note: Although these are must-have accounts for most small businesses, the template above will still need to be adjusted to fit your needs.

A completed chart of accounts will look something like this:

Luckily, most small business owners will never have to create a chart of accounts from scratch. If you are using accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks, the software will generate a chart of accounts for you based on your industry and business type. In this case, you’ll want to follow these three steps:

1. Delete any accounts you don’t need
2. Rename any confusing accounts into something you’ll understand and remember
3. Add opening balances to each account

Need accounting software? Check out our top picks for easy accounting software that can help you get your chart of accounts ready in just minutes!

How to Use Your Chart Of Accounts

You’ve set up all of your accounts, now what?

There are a couple of ways you can successfully use your chart of accounts.

1. Stay On Top Of Your Money

One of the main purposes of a chart of accounts is to break down where your money is coming from. Take the Sales Account for example.

Your chart of accounts will show you the current balance of your sales. If you’re using software like Xero, you can click on the balance for more detail. The software will then show you every transaction goes into the total balance.

2. Know What You Owe

In the same way that you can view sales details, you can also understand how much you owe and why.

When you select the accounts payable balance, you can see the outstanding invoices you have received from vendors, but have not yet paid. This level of detail will help you stay on top of bills and expenses.

3. Track Assets

A good chart of accounts will help you keep all of your assets together. This is important because assets are key in creating the balance sheet, which is critical to keeping the books balanced. (See our Quick Guide to Accounting Terms and Concepts for more information).

In this account, Computer Equipment is a fixed asset. When the balance is expanded in accounting software, you can see all of the bills attached to that asset and the corresponding payments. With some software, like QuickBooks, you can create a subaccount under each asset to track the asset depreciation.

4. Fill Out Your Tax Forms

A proper, up-to-date chart of accounts is an efficient lifesaver come tax season. Many small business owners are required to file a Schedule C.

If you set up your chart of accounts correctly, the information the IRS requires about expenses should match your chart of account categories. Simply take the total balances below and match them to the corresponding Schedule C lines.

FAQs

Bonus: Expert Tips From CPAs

No one knows a chart of accounts better than certified accountants and bookkeeping experts. That’s why we’ve had these CPAs share some of their top setup tips. These nuggets of wisdom are incredibly helpful for getting your business started on the right track.

Don’t Make the Accounts Too Specific

“Never set up an account to track a specific vendor or customer. You want to be able to use an account across multiple vendors and customers. For example, if you purchase office supplies for your business you don’t want to set up accounts for each vendor that you purchase them from (Staples, Target, Costco). Instead, you set up an account called office supplies and that way all office supplies (regardless of the merchant you purchased them from) will be categorized to the office supplies account. To find out how much you’ve spent with Staples, Target, Costco you can run vendor reports that are available in both QuickBooks and Xero to obtain this level of detail.” – Crystalynn Shelton, Fit Small Business

Use the Schedule C as a Template for Your Expense Accounts

“On tax return Form 1120 (if you are a corporation) or Schedule C (if you are a sole-proprietor or single-member LLC), there is a list of income categories and expense categories that the government specifically wants you to track. That list will be your basic chart of accounts also with your bank account, accounts receivable, accounts payable, credit accounts, and your equity in the company. Some of the income and expense categories on the tax forms will not apply to your particular business; don’t worry about having them or using them; the government understands that not everything is for everyone.” – Sally Balson, Balson Bookkeeping 

If You Can’t Track Locations With Your Accounting Software, Try This…

“Some business may have various locations that they want to track separately.  In this case a location identifier could be such as 1100.01 and 1100.02.  This way they could track accounts receivable for location 1 and 2 separately.” – Joe Sterf, CPA

As one final tip, I recommend you spend some time looking at existing templates and examples of a good chart of accounts. Google will be your best friend in this case. Plenty of other beneficial sources, including Xero, QuickBooks, Accounting Verse, and Double Entry Bookkeeping, can help give you an idea of what a good chart of accounts looks like.

We hope that these tips will give you the knowledge and confidence to successfully tackle your chart of accounts and conquer one of the most difficult accounting concepts with ease.