Chart of Accounts
For: Anyone adding GL accounts, setting opening balances, and reading what posted to an account
The Chart of Accounts is the tree of general-ledger accounts. Invoices, bills, payments, and journals post here. Add Account opens a modal. Bank accounts are created under Banking → Banks, not on this form. The lock icon is a system account from company setup — not a period freeze. Click a row to open that account's statement.
What this module does
1. Creating an account
List header Add Account (Accountant create). Modal title Add Account / Edit Account. Buttons Cancel and Add Account (create) or Save (edit). The same modal can open from Expenses when you add an account there.
Category: Required. Grouped under Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, Expense. You do not create categories — the list is fixed.
Account Name: Required, except when Category is Banking-managed (then the name field is hidden). Duplicate name in the same category (active) is blocked.
Account Code: Optional. Not auto-generated.
Make this a sub-account / Parent Account: See section 3.
Opening Balance, Balance Type, Opening Balance Date: See section 4. Hidden when the category has no CoA OB.
Active: Edit only, non-system accounts.
Note: There is no description, currency, watchlist, or branch on this form. Bank name / IFSC / primary live on Banking.
2. Categories
Five account types. Credit Card is not a live CoA category.
| Type | Categories on the picker |
|---|---|
| Asset | Other Asset, Other Current Asset, Cash, Bank, Fixed Asset, Accounts Receivable, Stock, Payment Clearing Account, Intangible Asset, Non Current Asset, Deferred Tax Asset |
| Liability | Other Current Liability, Non Current Liability, Other Liability, Accounts Payable, Overseas Tax Payable, Deferred Tax Liability |
| Equity | Equity |
| Income | Income, Other Income |
| Expense | Expense, Cost of Goods Sold, Other Expense |
3. Sub-accounts
Tick Make this a sub-account, then Parent Account — same category, active. Hidden if this account already has children.
Cannot be sub-accounts: Bank, Payment Clearing Account, Deferred Tax Asset, Deferred Tax Liability, Overseas Tax Payable.
System accounts as parents: Edit blocks using a system account as parent. Seeded trees can already nest (for example Input Tax Credits → Input CGST).
Balances: List Closing Balance is this account's own net (debit minus credit), not the sum of children.
4. Opening balance
Optional on create/edit when the category allows CoA opening balance. Amount must be greater than zero. You pick Debit or Credit (default Debit) — it is not forced by Asset vs Liability. Date is required with the amount. One row per account, not per branch. No bulk CoA OB.
Note: Income and expense categories have no opening balance on this form. Bank opening balance is on Banking → Add Bank (positive = Debit, negative = Credit).
Save posts (or replaces) a journal against Opening Balance Adjustments, narration Opening balance. Clear by sending no amount. Changing category away from a CoA-OB category requires removing OB first.
5. Banking-managed accounts
Category Bank: banner plus Continue to Banking → /banks/new. Edit of a Bank row goes to /banks/:id/edit.
Cash / Petty Cash: Created on CoA. Company seed includes system Petty Cash. Banking will not create a second Petty Cash.
Payment Clearing Account: Created on CoA. Seed includes Undeposited Funds. Payments Received Deposit To can use Cash, Bank, Payment Clearing, or Credit Card on the chart.
Primary bank: Make this primary is on the Banking form, not CoA. Quotes, Sales Orders, Delivery Challans, and Invoices need one primary bank to create.
6. System accounts and the lock
Company setup seeds a standard set. Rows with isSystemAccount show a lock. Tooltip: you cannot delete, but you can edit account details (name, code, OB where allowed).
Locked examples modules post to: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Sales, Inventory Asset, Cost of Goods Sold, Goods Received Not Invoiced, GST Payable and Input Tax Credits (with output/input CGST SGST IGST children), Petty Cash, Undeposited Funds, Unearned Revenue, Opening Balance Adjustments, Retained Earnings, Exchange Gain or Loss.
Warning: Lock is not a month-end freeze. There is no Unlock. Some seeded names (Rent, Office Supplies, Furniture) are not system-locked and can be deleted if unused.
7. The list and closing balance
Title Chart of Accounts with a count. Tree expand/collapse. Columns: Account Name, Account Code, Closing Balance (amount + Dr/Cr), Account Type (category display name), Parent Account, lock, Action. No search, no export, no category filter on this list.
Action: Edit, Delete (hidden for system and Bank). Delete confirm: Delete Account.
8. Account statement (row click)
Click a row. Header uses the account name. Stats: Closing Balance, Total Debit, Total Credit, Account Type. Columns: Date, Transaction Details, Document No., Type, Debit, Credit.
Warning: This statement is not Accountant → Account Ledger. That sidebar item is a named ledger master (people/GST) used on Expenses. GL movements live here, on the CoA row.
9. Editing, Active, and deleting
Edit: Same modal. System accounts cannot change category, parent, or Active. Bank rows redirect to Banking.
Active: Uncheck to hide from the list. Blocked while active sub-accounts exist.
Delete: Soft-delete. Reparents children. Removes opening balance. Blocked when used in transactions, journals, items, or contacts.
Business rules
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Subscription / permission | Accountant Chart of Accounts create, edit, and delete. Viewing the list and the account statement is view |
| No 4-digit auto code | Account Code is optional free text. Nothing auto-numbers CoA. Seeded system accounts often have no code |
| Bank is not created here | Category Bank is managed in Banking. Add Account shows Continue to Banking and does not save a CoA row. Delete is also refused — delete from Banking → Banks |
| Opening balance only on some categories | Balance-sheet categories with openingBalanceIn CoA: optional amount > 0, Balance Type Debit or Credit, Opening Balance Date. Income, Other Income, Expense, COGS, Other Expense have no CoA OB. Bank OB is on Banking Add Bank |
| OB posts a journal | Saving OB deletes any prior Opening Balance journal and posts against Opening Balance Adjustments. Debit OB: Dr this account / Cr Opening Balance Adjustments. Credit OB is the reverse. Narration: Opening balance. Not per branch. You can change or clear later — it is not locked after other transactions |
| Sub-accounts | Make this a sub-account + Parent Account, same category. Bank, Payment Clearing, Deferred Tax Asset/Liability, and Overseas Tax Payable cannot be sub-accounts. An account that already has children cannot become a sub-account. Closing Balance on the list is this account only — parents do not roll up children |
| Lock means system account | The lock icon is isSystemAccount from company seed. There is no user Lock / Unlock and no period freeze on this screen. You can rename and set code / OB. You cannot delete, change category, parent, or Active |
| Active | Edit only, non-system. Uncheck Active is blocked while the account still has active sub-accounts. The list shows active accounts only |
| Delete | Hidden for system and Banking-managed accounts. Blocked if the account is used on ledger, manual journals, items, or contacts. Soft-deletes (isActive false) and reparents children |
| Account statement is row click | Click a CoA row to open Date, Transaction Details, Document No., Type, Debit, Credit plus Closing Balance / Total Debit / Total Credit. That is not the sidebar Account Ledger module |