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# Chart of accounts: add, edit and merge accounts

The Accounting module holds the structure behind your books. Most of the time Tabby keeps it up to date for you. This article introduces the module and covers its first page, the chart of accounts.

## Accounting at a glance

### Where to find it

Open **Accounting** in the left sidebar. The group expands to show four pages.

![The Accounting group in the sidebar.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/01-accounting-menu_1lktij.png)

### What each page is for

| Page | Use it to |
| ---- | ---- |
| Chart of accounts | See and manage every account your transactions are sorted into. |
| Classes | Track profit by client, project or location, across every account. |
| Journal entries | Record adjustments such as accruals, depreciation, reclasses and owner transactions. |
| Bank reconciliation | Check your books against each bank and card statement, month by month. |

### Accounts and classes are different things

An **account** says what a transaction is: rent, travel, sales income. A **class** says who or what it was for: a client, a project, an office. A flight to a client site belongs in the Travel account and can carry the Acme Corp class. Accounts feed your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. Classes feed Profit & Loss by Class.

## Chart of accounts

The chart of accounts is the full list of accounts in your books. The categories you pick in Bank feeds, on invoices and on bills are these accounts.

### Tour of the page

![The Chart of accounts. The numbers match the list below.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/02-chart-of-accounts_m31bcr.png)

1. **Page actions.** Merge, Suggest accounts, Import, Export and Add account.
2. **Tabs.** All, Active and Inactive.
3. **Account type filter.** Show only assets, liabilities, equity, income or expenses. The search box beside it finds accounts by code, name, description or type.
4. **Code and name.** Each account has a code. The line under the name is its description, or the account it rolls up to.
5. **Type.** Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense.
6. **Balance.** The account's current balance. **Opening** shows the balance it started with.
7. **Tax code.** Whether sales and purchases posted to the account are taxable by default.
8. **Lock.** Marks an account Tabby relies on, such as Accounts Receivable or Undeposited Funds.
9. **Row menu.** Every action for one account.

Click a row to open the account and see everything posted to it.

### Account types and codes

Every account has a type, a detail type and a code.

| Type | Codes start at | Detail types |
| ---- | ---- | ---- |
| Asset | 1000 | Bank, Cash, Accounts receivable, Other current asset, Fixed asset |
| Liability | 2000 | Credit card, Accounts payable, Other current liability, Long-term liability |
| Equity | 3000 | Owner's equity, Retained earnings, Owner draws |
| Income | 4000 | Income, Other income |
| Expense | 5000 | Expense, Cost of goods sold, Other expense |

### Add an account

Click **Add account**.

![A new expense account.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/03-add-account_qz9sv7.png)

* **Account type and Detail type.** Choose where the account sits in your books.
* **Account name.** Each name can be used once.
* **Code.** Tabby suggests the next free number for the type. You can change it, but each code can be used once.
* **Description.** What gets recorded here.
* **Tax code.** Taxable or Not taxable. Sales and purchases posted to the account use this unless you change it on a line. Income and expense accounts start as taxable, and most balance-sheet accounts don't.
* **Parent account.** Optional. Choose one to make this a sub-account, so it rolls up under the parent in reports.

Click **Add account** to save.

### Set an opening balance

For asset, liability and equity accounts, the form also asks for an **Opening balance** and an **As of** date. Tabby posts a journal entry against Owner's Equity for the amount.

![An equipment account with a $12,400 opening balance.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/04-opening-balance_19u22fe.png)

Income and expense accounts don't have opening balances, so those fields aren't shown.

### Let Tabby suggest accounts

Click **Suggest accounts**. Tabby looks at your transactions and business type, then lists accounts that would make your books clearer, with the reason for each.

![Each suggestion says why Tabby thinks you need it.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/05-suggested-accounts_lpsjg6.png)

Untick any you don't want and click the **Add** button. You can edit the new accounts afterwards.

### Open an account's ledger

Click any row to open the account.

![Everything posted to Business Checking, newest first.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/06-account-ledger_y8ulkp.png)

1. **Balances and status.** The current balance, the opening balance and whether the account is active.
2. **Tabs.** Ledger, Journal entries and History.
3. **Reconciliation.** For a bank or card account, the date it's reconciled through and how many lines have cleared.
4. **Edit and New journal entry.** Change the account, or start an entry with this account on the first line.

The **Ledger** tab lists every posting from every source: bank feed transactions, invoices, sales receipts, bills, expenses and journal entries. Each line shows the amount, whether it was a debit or a credit, and the running balance. Click a line to open the record behind it.

Each line also carries a small badge. **R** means the line has cleared a reconciled bank statement. **NR** means it hasn't yet. Hover over a badge to see why.

### See an account's history

The **History** tab is a log of changes to the account itself: when it was created, renamed, given a new code, merged or made inactive, and who did it.

![This account was renamed in March.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/07-account-history_1rrioqx.png)

The **Journal entries** tab lists only the journal entries that use the account.

### Edit an account

Open the row menu and choose **Edit**, or click **Edit** in the account panel. You can change the name, code, description, tax code, parent account and status.

Two limits apply:

* An account's type can't change once it has journal entries.
* Accounts Tabby relies on are locked. You can rename them and change the code, but not the type.

![Accounts Receivable is used by Tabby, so its type is fixed.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/08-edit-system-account_vuxy5c.png)

### The account row menu

![The menu for an account you can change freely.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/09-account-row-menu_yt6esj.png)

| Action | What it does |
| ---- | ---- |
| View activity | Opens the account on its Journal entries tab. |
| History | Opens the account on its History tab. |
| Edit | Opens the account's details. |
| Merge into another account | Moves everything in this account to another one. |
| Deactivate or Activate | Hides the account from dropdowns, or brings it back. |
| Delete | Shown only for an account with no transactions and no balance. |

Locked accounts show only the first three.

### Merge two accounts

Merge when two accounts are doing the same job. Click **Merge** at the top of the page, or **Merge into another account** in a row menu.

![Merging Entertainment into Meals.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/10-merge-accounts_svvywq.png)

1. Under **Merge from**, choose the account to empty. It's deactivated afterwards.
2. Under **Merge into**, choose the account to keep. It must be the same type.
3. Check the preview. It shows what moves and the balance the kept account will have.
4. Click **Continue**, then confirm.

||| **Important:** Merging moves every transaction and journal line from one account to the other, then zeroes and deactivates the merged account. It can't be undone.

### Deactivate, activate or delete an account

**Deactivate** hides an account from dropdowns for new entries. Past entries and reports keep it, and you can activate it again at any time.

An account with a balance can't be deactivated directly. Tabby asks you to merge it into another account first, so the money isn't lost from your books.

![Merge the balance into another account, and the account is deactivated for you.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/11-move-the-balance-first_68xtkf.png)

**Delete** appears only for an account that has no transactions and no balance. Locked accounts can't be deactivated or deleted.

### Set tax codes for several accounts

Tick the accounts you want to change. A bar appears at the bottom of the page with **Set tax code**.

![Select accounts with the checkboxes on the left.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/12-select-accounts_dg5fkh.png)

Choose the code and click **Apply**. Every selected account gets the same tax code, and the change is recorded in each account's history.

![One tax code for all the selected accounts.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/13-set-tax-code_1e27w0f.png)

### Import or export your chart of accounts

Click **Import** to upload a CSV with a header row, up to 10 MB. Tabby matches the columns Code, Name, Type, Detail type and Description, and skips accounts you already have.

![Columns are matched by their header names.](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/8/a/f/c/8afcc30bafd4b000/14-import-accounts_1ni1a1r.png)

Click **Export** to download a CSV of the accounts on screen. The export follows your current tab, filter and search.

## Common questions

### Do I need to set up a chart of accounts before I start?

No. Tabby gives you a working chart of accounts and categorizes transactions into it. Add, rename or merge accounts when you want more or less detail, or click **Suggest accounts** to see what Tabby recommends.

### Why can't I change an account's type?

Either the account already has journal entries, or it's an account Tabby relies on, marked with a lock. Create a new account of the right type and use a journal entry to move the balance across. Merging won't work here, because both accounts in a merge must be the same type.

### What's the difference between deactivating and deleting an account?

Deactivating hides an account from dropdowns but keeps its history in your reports. Deleting removes it, and is offered only when the account has no transactions and no balance.