How do you add a new account to the chart of accounts?

Hi @velston

Welcome to the Community. I'd be glad to help you with adding a new account to the Chart of Accounts. 

A new account can be added to your Chart of Accounts with just a few clicks. Here's how:

1. Click the Gear icon and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Select New in the top right corner. 
3. Click on the Account Type drop-down to select the account type.
4. Select the Detail Type to specify the type of account that you want to add.
5. Enter the name of the account in the Name field.
6. You have the option of including information in the Description field and an amount in the Balance field. 
7. Click Save and Close.

The following is a brief video to serve as a visual reference:

Additionally, I'm including articles that contain further information on this:

• Edit Your Chart of Accounts
• How to Create a New Parent Account or Sub-Account

Should you have any questions, please post a comment, and I'll be happy to help. Wishing you all the best. 
 

I have added a new account to my chart of accounts and have assigned it an account type, number, name and specified what account it is a subaccount of. 

My problem is that the account shows up in the P&L Overview but not in the P&L budget performance. Any suggestions or insight?

Hi there, @Tcbradbury2.

Thanks for joining us on this thread. I'm here to share some information about the Profit and Loss reports (P&L) in QuickBooks.

Just to clarify, may I know what version of QuickBooks you are using? I can see that this thread is tagged as QuickBooks Online (QBO), but the report you're referring to is for the Desktop version.

The P&L Budget Overview will give you all the accounts that were added in your Chart of Accounts whether or not you allocated a budget for it. While the Budget Performance will only give you the list of accounts you have created and allocated a budget for. That said, the most likely reason why it's only showing up on the P&L overview is that you haven't created or allocated an amount for that account yet.

To check this, try creating a budget for the account you've created. Once done, pull up those reports again and compare. Here's how:

1. Go to Company menu at the top, then pick Planning & Budgeting and Set Up Budgets.
2. Select Create New Budget, then specify the year and choose Profit and Loss.
3. Select whether you want to:
     a. Create budget from scratch: Manually enter amounts for each account that you want to track.
     b. Create budget from the previous year's actual data: Let QBDT automatically enter the monthly totals from last year for each account.
4. Once done, click Save and OK.

For your reference, you can check out this article for further guidance: Create a budget or forecast in QuickBooks Desktop.

That should answer your concern for today. Please let me know how it goes or if you're referring to something else by leaving a comment. I'm always here if you have additional or follow-up questions. Take care and have a great rest of the week.

I now see the online part, I apologize because this is a desktop version, Premier Nonprofit Version 2017. 

I have the account added to the chart of accounts and also added it to the already established Profit and Loss Budget... I included an attachment to show where it is included in the budget. I also have charges in the account already that will show up if I double click on the account in the Charts of Accounts or if I run a Transactions by Account Report. Any ideas?

Greetings, Tcbradbury2.

Let's get this account show up in the Profit & Loss report in QuickBooks Desktop.

You may want to customize the report to show all the accounts.

Here's how:

1. In the report screen, click Customize Report.
2. Go to the Filters tab.
3. Click the drop-down arrow under Account, and choose All income/expense accounts.
4. Click Date.
5. Choose the desired date.
6. Hit OK.

I've attached some screenshots to guide as your reference.

You should be able to see the account in the report.

Let me know how it goes, I'd be happy to help.

It fixed it! I have so much love for you right now! Thank you!!!!

HI, Tcbradbury2.

You're welcome. I've got your back if you ever need help in the future. Don't work too hard. Take care!

When I try to create a new account the only option I am getting is to import a list. I can do that, but it seems like extra steps and I'm not sure if my existing accounts will be replaced. I am so new to this and just learned that a chart of accounts was even a thing. (My accountant was not pleased.) I am now in a position where I have made a mess of 2020 and need to start fresh for 2021. I'm so over my head. Help!

I want to take care of this so you're able to create a new account in Chart of Accounts, GreenFarm.

Just in case you missed the steps above, here's how to add a new account in QuickBooks Online (QBO):

1. In the left pane, click Accounting.
2. Then Chart of Accounts. 
3. Click the New button.
4. Fill in the necessary information. 
5. Hit Save and Close.
   

If you're still not seeing the option, we'll need to perform some basic troubleshooting steps to better isolate this.

Let's start by log into your QBO account using an incognito or private browser. Since this doesn't store data in the cache, it the best place to isolate browser issues.

Kindly use either of the following shortcut keys:

• Google Chrome, press CTRL  + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: press CTRL  + Shift + P
• Safari: press Command + Shift + N 

Try adding a new account to see if it works. If it does, I recommend clearing your browsing history. This will remove previously-stored browsing data that might have caused the issue. Otherwise, you can try using other supported browsers to be thorough.

Here are some resources for more information about managing the Chart of Accounts in QBO: 

• Learn about detail types in chart of accounts 

• Create a new account in your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online 
  
  

I've also added our page about reports and accounting that I'm sure you'll find helpful. It contains related articles related to the accounting process and reports.

I'm just a post away if you have other questions or concerns. We're always here to lend a hand. Thanks for posting and I wish you have a lovely day ahead.

Are there updated instructions for this? It seems with a recent update, things have changed when creating an account.

Hello, Nathan-K. 

Allow me to help share information about the new facing of the chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.

The new update in QuickBooks has made some changes in the Chart of accounts, specifically in selecting the TYPE. However, the steps shared above by my colleagues are still the same in adding a Chart of accounts.  

I'm including an article that contains further information on this: Learn how to set up and add accounts to your chart of accounts. 

For your future reference, here's an article on what you CAN and CAN'T delete an account from your Chart of accounts: How to manage default and special accounts in the Chart of Accounts. 

Keep in touch if there's anything else I can help you with to succeed with QuickBooks. I've always got your back. Have a great day.