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Understand chart of accounts in QuickBooks Desktop

by Intuit•132• Updated 3 weeks ago

Learn more about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks Desktop.

Organize your finances with the chart of accounts for accurate reports, minimize stress in tax preparation, and monitor your profit and loss.

Type of account types

Here are different types of chart of accounts (COA) to categorize your transactions:

Assets: Anything of value that you own, such as buildings, land, vehicles, cash, and more.
Liabilities: Money you or your business owe to others, such as business credit card debt, loans, mortgage on business property and more.
Income: Money you earn or receive after deducting all expenses and costs, such as owner’s salary, business profits, bonuses, dividends and more.
Expenses: Money you spend for your business to generate revenue, such as rent, utilities, payroll, inventory, and more.

QuickBooks Desktop generated accounts

QuickBooks Desktop adds accounts based on your business. If you don't see the account you need, add it manually.

Tip: You can also edit, delete, or hide an account. Learn about accounts in QuickBooks Online as well.

Account	Description	Automatically added when you:
Accounts Payable (A/P)	Tracks your bills and payments. If your business has multiple A/P accounts, QuickBooks lets you select which one to use when you enter and pay bills.	Create a bill for the first time.
Accounts Receivable (A/R)	Tracks your invoices and payments. QuickBooks lets you select one of your A/R accounts when you prepare an invoice or receive payment from customers.	Create an invoice for the first time.
Inventory Asset	Tracks the value of your inventory.	Add an inventory part or assembly for the first time.
Opening Balance Equity	Offsets opening balance transactions to make sure the balance sheet remains balanced.	Enter the opening balance for a balance sheet account.
Payroll Expense	Tracks your company payroll expenses, including salaries, wages, bonuses, and commissions. This also covers company payments for health plans and taxes like Social Security and Medicare.	Turn on payroll for the first time.
Payroll Liabilities	Tracks taxes and deductions from your employees' salary until you send them to the government. This includes federal and state income taxes, local taxes, and employee-paid taxes like Medicare and Social Security.	Turn on payroll for the first time.
Reconciliation Discrepancy	Tracks changes to reconciled transactions since the last reconciliation.	Enter an adjustment to reconcile discrepancies.
Retained Earnings	QuickBooks moves your net income into the retained earnings account at the start of a new fiscal year.	Set up a new company file.
Sales Tax Payable	Tracks all sales tax you collect and pay. These amounts are not yet paid but as a liability payable to the sales tax jurisdictions.	Turn on sales tax.
Uncategorized Expense	Expenses not categorized to a specific expense account like an opening vendor balance.	Enter an opening balance for a vendor.
Undeposited Funds	Tracks customer payments you collect until you deposit them.	-
Uncategorized Income	Income not categorized to a specific income account like an opening customer balance.	Enter an opening balance for a customer.

What’s new in the chart of accounts

Here are new updates to help you manage your chart of accounts more quickly and accurately.

Search within account descriptions

Search for accounts by keywords found within their descriptions for the system to automatically search the most relevant matches. Here’s how:

Go to Lists, Accountant, or Company tab, then select Chart of Accounts.
Input the keyword in the search bar.

Right-click to duplicate accounts and lists

Save time on manual data entry with the new duplicate feature. Here’s how to duplicate accounts:

Go to Lists, Accountant, or Company tab, then select Chart of Accounts.
Right-click on an account or list entry, then select Duplicate.
Edit the necessary details for accounts, customers, vendors, and jobs.
Select Save.

Clearer financial visibility (Profit & Loss vs. Balance Sheet)

New columns show exactly where an account appears in your reports. This makes transaction entry and setup easier. Here’s how you can check the reports on the COA grid:

Go to Lists, Accountant, or Company tab, then select Chart of Accounts.
Select Reports, then select Reports on All Accounts, and select Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet.

Simplified account creation workflow

Setting up a new account is now easier. Here's a guided setup and simple dropdowns to help you prevent mistakes and duplicate entries:

Go to Lists, Accountant, or Company tab, then select Chart of Accounts.
Select Account, then select New.

Note: If you need help with Chart of Accounts management, you can partner with a dedicated Intuit Expert bookkeeper.

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