Chart of Accounts

The chart of accounts (COA) is the foundation of your general ledger. It defines every account where financial transactions are recorded. Books comes with a pre-configured COA optimized for MSP businesses, and you can customize it to match your needs.

Account Types

Every account belongs to one of these types:

Type	Normal Balance	Description
Asset	Debit	Things you own (cash, receivables, equipment)
Liability	Credit	Things you owe (payables, loans, deferred revenue)
Equity	Credit	Owner's investment and retained earnings
Revenue	Credit	Income from services and products
Expense	Debit	Costs of running the business
COGS	Debit	Direct costs of service delivery
Other Income	Credit	Non-operating income (interest, gains)
Other Expense	Debit	Non-operating expenses (interest, losses)

Account Subtypes

Each account type has more specific subtypes for detailed classification:

Type	Subtypes
Asset	Bank, Cash, Accounts Receivable, Other Current Asset, Fixed Asset, Accumulated Depreciation, Other Asset
Liability	Accounts Payable, Credit Card, Current Liability, Long-Term Liability, Other Liability
Equity	Equity, Retained Earnings, Owner's Equity, Common Stock, Paid-in Capital
Revenue	Revenue, Sales Revenue, Service Revenue, Other Revenue
Expense	Operating Expense, Payroll Expense, Depreciation Expense, Other Expense
COGS	Cost of Goods Sold

Default MSP Chart of Accounts

Books pre-configures these accounts for MSP businesses:

Assets (1000-1999)

• 1000 — Cash (bank)
• 1010 — Operating Checking (bank)
• 1020 — Savings (bank)
• 1100 — Accounts Receivable
• 1200 — Undeposited Funds
• 1300 — Prepaid Expenses
• 1500 — Computer Equipment (fixed asset)
• 1510 — Office Equipment (fixed asset)
• 1600 — Accumulated Depreciation

Liabilities (2000-2999)

• 2000 — Accounts Payable
• 2100 — Credit Card
• 2200 — Sales Tax Payable
• 2300 — Payroll Liabilities
• 2400 — Deferred Revenue
• 2500 — Line of Credit

Equity (3000-3999)

• 3000 — Owner's Equity
• 3100 — Retained Earnings
• 3200 — Owner's Draw

Revenue (4000-4999)

• 4000 — Managed Services Revenue
• 4100 — Project Revenue
• 4200 — Product Sales
• 4300 — Consulting Revenue
• 4400 — Cloud Services Revenue
• 4900 — Other Income

COGS (5000-5999)

• 5000 — Cost of Goods Sold
• 5100 — Software Licenses
• 5200 — Hardware Costs
• 5300 — Subcontractor Costs
• 5400 — Cloud Infrastructure Costs

Expenses (6000-6999)

• 6000 — Operating Expenses
• 6100 — Payroll Expense
• 6200 — Rent
• 6300 — Utilities
• 6400 — Insurance
• 6500 — Marketing & Advertising
• 6600 — Professional Services
• 6700 — Travel & Entertainment
• 6800 — Office Supplies
• 6900 — Depreciation Expense

Adding Custom Accounts

1. Navigate to Chart of Accounts
2. Click New Account
3. Select the account type and subtype
4. Enter an account number following the numbering convention (see below)
5. Enter a name and optional description
6. Set the normal balance (auto-populated based on type)
7. Optionally link it as a bank account
8. Click Save

Account Numbering Conventions

Books follows standard accounting numbering:

Range	Type
1000-1999	Assets
2000-2999	Liabilities
3000-3999	Equity
4000-4999	Revenue
5000-5999	COGS
6000-6999	Expenses
7000-7999	Other Income
8000-8999	Other Expense

💡Leave gaps between account numbers (e.g., 1000, 1010, 1020) so you can insert new accounts later without renumbering.

Hierarchical Accounts

Accounts can have a parent account for grouping. For example:

• 6700 — Travel & Entertainment (parent)
  • 6710 — Airfare
  • 6720 — Hotels
  • 6730 — Meals

Set the parent_id when creating a sub-account. Reports will show both the detail and rolled-up parent totals.

Archiving Accounts

You cannot delete an account that has posted transactions. Instead, archive it:

1. Open the account
2. Click Archive
3. The account no longer appears in dropdowns but its historical data is preserved

Importing from QuickBooks or Xero

To migrate your existing chart of accounts:

1. Export your COA from QuickBooks or Xero as CSV
2. Navigate to Data Import
3. Select Chart of Accounts as the import type
4. Upload the CSV file
5. Map columns to Books fields (account number, name, type, subtype)
6. Review the preview and click Import

⚠️Import creates new accounts — it does not merge with existing ones. Review the preview carefully to avoid duplicates. You can archive any duplicates after import.

System Accounts

Some accounts are marked as system accounts and cannot be edited or archived. These are required for Books to function:

• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Undeposited Funds
• Retained Earnings

Next Steps

• GL Entries — Understand how journal entries work
• Invoicing — Create invoices that post to revenue accounts
• Financial Reports — See your COA in action on reports