The chart of accounts is the list of "buckets" your bookkeeping sorts money into — cash, sales, rent, inventory, and so on. Every sale, expense, and payment your store records lands in one of these accounts, and every financial report (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow) is built from them. You don't need an accountant to set one up: the wizard does it in under a minute.
The Setup Wizard
If your chart is empty, opening Accounting → Chart of Accounts starts the setup wizard automatically. It asks a few plain questions:
- What kind of business do you run? Retail, food & restaurant, services, delivery & fleet, or something else. This pre-selects sensible defaults — you can change everything on the next step.
- Which of these apply to you? Toggle the parts of the chart you need: bank accounts & loans, inventory & cost of goods, employees & payroll (SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG accounts), equipment, VAT registration, consignment sales, delivery operations, and packages/advance payments. The essential accounts — cash, sales, receivables, everyday expenses — are always included.
- Where do you keep your money? Pick the banks and e-wallets you actually use (GCash, Maya, BDO, BPI, and more, or type your own). Each becomes its own account under Cash in Bank, so your books can tell your GCash balance apart from your BDO account. No account numbers are asked — just names. This step is optional.
Review the resulting list and press Create. If you'd rather build everything by hand, use the "start from scratch" link instead — or press Use complete standard chart to take everything.
How the numbering works
Accounts follow standard bookkeeping numbering: 1000s are assets (things you own), 2000s liabilities (things you owe), 3000s equity, 4000s revenue, and 5000s and up expenses. Your named bank and e-wallet accounts get codes 1011–1019 under 1010 Cash in Bank.
Changing things later
- Add an account anytime with the Add Account button — pick a code in the right number range and, for a bank or e-wallet, set 1010 Cash in Bank as the parent.
- Accounts with a lock icon are system accounts the platform posts to automatically (sales, tax, payroll journals). You can rename or deactivate them, but their codes and types are fixed so automatic bookkeeping keeps working.
- Bank accounts you named in the wizard are fully yours — rename or delete them freely.
- Deactivate (pause icon) hides an account from pickers without touching its history. Deleting is only possible for accounts that have never been used.
Why the named bank accounts matter
When you record an expense, you choose which account it was paid from — with your real banks listed, that choice matches real life. When you record a daily cash deposit from Shift Reconciliation, you pick the exact bank it went to. Your Balance Sheet then shows what's in GCash vs. BDO vs. the register, not one lump sum.
Common questions
- "I skipped the wizard — can I run it again?" The wizard only appears while the chart is empty. If you've added accounts by hand, keep going manually, or delete the unused accounts to bring it back.
- "I didn't include payroll/VAT at setup — am I stuck?" No. Add the accounts manually anytime, and the platform also fills in accounts it needs automatically when the related feature is first used.
- "Do I need this to use the POS?" No — selling works without it. The chart powers the accounting module: journals, P&L, Balance Sheet, and expense tracking.