Chart of Accounts
The classification system that makes every report accurate — built once, used everywhere.
The Chart of Accounts (COA) is the classification system for every financial transaction. Every debit and every credit lands in an account. The account's element determines which financial statement it appears on. Get the COA right and every report is automatically right.
The Chart of Accounts Page
Navigate to: Finance → Chart of Accounts
The page gives you every account in the business — system-created and user-created — with filtering, search, and direct ledger access from any row.
| Control | Detail |
|---|---|
| Element tabs | All | Assets | Liabilities | Equities | Income | Expenses |
| Search | "Search accounts…" — matches the account name and code |
| Filter | Facets for Element, Type, Center (when center filtering is on), Source (System / Custom) and Status (Active / Disabled). Disabled accounts are only fetched when you ask for them. |
| Export | CSV or PDF of the filtered list |
| Columns | Show or hide columns |
| Import | Bulk upload of accounts from .csv, .xlsx or .xls — see Importing Accounts |
| New | Opens the New Account modal |
Table Columns
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Code | Account code in monospace |
| Account | Account name |
| Element | Badge: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense |
| Type | Account type (e.g. Cash, Accounts receivable, Fixed assets) |
| Center | Only when center filtering is on: "Shared" or the centers the account is assigned to |
| Source | "System" or "Custom" badge |
| Status | "Disabled" badge, otherwise Active |
Click any row to open the account ledger for the current calendar year.
Selection Actions
Tick one or more rows and an action bar appears:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Enable | Restores disabled accounts to the pickers |
| Disable | Removes the accounts from document and journal pickers. Nothing already posted changes — every report, the Trial Balance and the General Ledger stay exactly as they are. |
| Delete | Soft-deletes custom accounts with no posted entries and no balance. System accounts in the selection are skipped; an account with posted entries is refused with its reason. |
Every refused account is named with the server's reason, for example: "Account has 12 posted ledger entries. Reclassify or reverse them before deleting." — or, for system accounts, "System account cannot be deleted."
Account Elements & Hierarchy
Account Elements
Trabalance uses five account elements. They appear as the list's tabs and as pill buttons at the top of the New Account modal.
| Element | Normal Balance | Statement | What It Represents | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Debit | Balance Sheet | Things the business OWNS or is OWED | Cash, Bank, AR, Inventory, Equipment |
| Liability | Credit | Balance Sheet | Things the business OWES to others | AP, Tax Payable, Salary Payable, Loans |
| Equity | Credit | Balance Sheet | The owner's stake in the business | Owner's Equity, Retained Earnings |
| Income | Credit | P&L | Money earned from business activity | Sales, Service Income |
| Expense | Debit | P&L | Costs incurred to run the business | Salaries, Rent, Utilities, Cost of Sales |
In the Trabalance UI, revenue accounts are labeled "Income" as the element. This is the same as "Revenue" in traditional accounting terminology.
Account Hierarchy
Every account sits at the bottom of this hierarchy and inherits its reporting position from the levels above it.
| Level | What It Is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Element | Five top-level categories — the broadest classification | Asset / Liability / Equity / Income / Expense |
| Statement Group | One of 41 IFRS-aligned sections that place the account on the Balance Sheet or P&L | Current Assets → Cash & Cash Equivalents; Operating Expenses → Administrative Expenses |
| Type | The account type within the element | Cash, Accounts receivable, Fixed assets, Operating Expenses |
| Sub Type | Optional narrower grouping within a Type | Cash in Hand, Bank Account - Current, Petty Cash |
| Account | The specific GL account where transactions post | "Example Bank — Operating", "Sales" |
Element (Asset)
→ Statement group (Current Assets → Cash & Cash Equivalents)
→ Type (Cash)
→ Sub Type (Bank Account - Current)
→ Account (Example Bank — Operating)
The full type and sub-type list is on Account Types & Hierarchy; the 41 statement groups are on IFRS Account Groups.
System Accounts
Accounts the app itself posts to are created for you when your subscription includes the relevant bundle — Accounts Receivable and Sales with invoicing, Accounts Payable and Purchases with expenses, Salaries & Wages with payroll, and so on. They carry a "System" badge in the list, cannot be deleted or disabled, and their classification is locked. The full list is on System Accounts.
Creating a Custom Account
Click New on the Chart of Accounts page. The New Account modal walks you through the classification in sequence — each choice filters the next.
Five pill buttons: Asset | Liability | Equity | Income | Expense. This is the most consequential choice — it determines which financial statement the account appears on and which statement groups and types are offered.
A scrollable list of the sections valid for the chosen element, indented as they nest. Contra groups (Accumulated Depreciation, Drawings) carry a Contra badge. Choosing a group pre-selects a matching Type.
| Field | Required? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Yes | Filtered to the element. Sets how the account groups within reports. |
| Sub Type | No | Filtered by Type. The field reads "Optional", or "No subtypes" when the type has none. |
| Field | Required? | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Account Name | Yes | Placeholder: "e.g. Main Operating Account". The name that appears on every report. |
| Code | No (auto) | The next number after the highest code in the chosen type is suggested. Tick "Custom" to type your own: 4–6 digits, unique across the chart. |
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Description (optional) | Placeholder: "Brief description of this account's purpose". |
| Locations | Multi-select, placeholder "All (optional)". Shown when your business has centers. Restricts the account to those centers; leave empty for all. |
| Parent Account (optional) | Placeholder "None". Nests this account under another for hierarchical reporting. |
The account is immediately available across all modules — invoicing, bills, journals, payroll, and reports — and appears in the list with a "Custom" badge.
A custom account's element, statement group, type and sub type can be edited later; only system accounts have their classification locked. Changing the classification of an account that already has entries moves that history to a new section of every report, so do it deliberately.
The Account Ledger
Click any account in the list to open its ledger — the complete transaction history for that account with a running balance, period and center filters, and selection actions (Hide, Unhide, Move to). See Account Ledger.
COA Import
Click Import on the Chart of Accounts page to bulk-load accounts from a spreadsheet. Accepted formats are .csv, .xlsx and .xls; the file carries Account Name, Type, Description and Sub Account columns, and the modal offers a downloadable template. See Importing Accounts.
Location-Based Accounts
For businesses with multiple branches or departments, accounts can be assigned to centers so that per-location reporting works without a separate company entity.
| Setup | Effect |
|---|---|
| Account with no locations | Shared — any center can post to it. The Center column reads "Shared". |
| Account with locations = [London, Singapore] | Only the London and Singapore centers can post to it. Posting from another center is refused ("Center access validation failed"). |
| Journal line with center = London | The entry belongs to London's P&L and Balance Sheet for reporting purposes. |
| Report filtered by center = London | Shows only London entries across all shared and London-own accounts. |
| Report with no center filter | Consolidated company-wide view across all centers. |
When center filtering is on, the list gains a Center column and a Center facet in the filter, so you can see shared accounts and each center's own accounts side by side.
Three Approaches to Center-Based Account Management
| Approach | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Center-tagged entries (most common) | One shared account (e.g. "Rent Expense"). Each journal line is tagged with a center. Reports filter by center tag. | Most businesses. Maximum flexibility with minimum account proliferation. |
| Separate accounts per location | Create "Rent Expense — London" and "Rent Expense — Singapore" with locations set on each. | When you want the chart itself to reflect the location split and strict posting control matters. |
| Hybrid | System accounts shared. Expense and income accounts center-tagged. Bank accounts per location. | Multi-location businesses that want clean bank account separation but shared P&L accounts. |
The center tag on a journal line is independent of the account's location restriction. If an account is shared, any center can tag entries to it and each center's view still shows only its own entries.
Related
- Account types & hierarchy — the five elements and what sits beneath them
- System accounts — the accounts the app posts to on your behalf
- Custom accounts — creating, editing and disabling your own accounts
- Account ledger — one account’s full history with a running balance
- Importing accounts — bulk-load a chart from a spreadsheet