Add an account to your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online
SOLVED•by QuickBooks•2793•Updated 2 weeks ago
Learn how to set up and add accounts to your chart of accounts.
The chart of accounts is a list of all of your accounts in QuickBooks. When you create your company file, QuickBooks automatically customizes your chart of accounts based on your business entity. Keeping your chart of accounts organized helps you when it’s time to file your taxes.
You can add more accounts anytime you need to track other types of transactions. Here's how to add more accounts to your chart of accounts.
Note: For some QuickBooks accounts in business view, you can’t add parent accounts to your chart of accounts, but you can create new subaccounts instead. This is by design to help you stay tax compliant. But, if you still need to add a new parent account, you can do so by switching to accountant view first.
To watch more how-to videos, visit our video section.
Add a new account
Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of accounts.
Select New. Depending on your account view, you’ll either see a panel labeled New account or New category. Select the option you see below for next steps.
Select the Save account under ▼ dropdown to choose an account type. To narrow the scope of account types, you can select one of the account type buttons above the dropdown. Note: Subaccounts appear indented in this dropdown menu, while parent accounts aren't. Learn more about parent accounts and subaccounts.
In the Tax form section ▼ dropdown, select the detail type that best fits the transactions you want to track. Learn more about detail types.
Enter a name in the Account name field. Tip: Use the detail type description to create a name that describes what you're tracking.
Optionally, enter a description in the Description field.
If you choose a Bank, Asset, Credit card, Liabilities, or Equity account, make sure your account in QuickBooks matches your actual bank or credit card account. In the Starting date and opening balance section, use the dropdown to choose a date to start tracking this account in QuickBooks.
Enter an opening balance in the Account balance field.
In the Category name field, enter a name for the category (subaccount).
Select the Select category link. This is where you will choose the parent account that this category (subaccount) belongs to.
Select the type of account that you’re creating the subaccount under. For example, if it’s money that your business earns, select Income, or if it’s a bank account, select Bank & credit cards.
Select Next.
Select the account that the new subaccount fits under. Your options will vary depending on what you selected in step 3.
If you selected Bank & credit cards, select the ▼ dropdown in the Account type field and select the account type. Then enter the date you want to start tracking the account in QuickBooks and enter the opening balance as of that date.
If you selected any other category,you’ll see several options for adding more detail about the type of account. If you see an arrow > next to a category, select itto see even more detailed categories.
Select Save to save a bank or credit card account, or Select for all other account types.
Learn about chart of accounts usage limits
If you see a message about usage limits, you've reached the maximum number of accounts allowed for your current QuickBooks plan. If you have accounts you no longer use, make them inactive so you can add new ones. Learn more about usage limits.
