I had removed the Owner Equity account on my chart of accounts. I am trying to add it back. How do I do add an account to the chart of accounts?

Hello @daniel-busby-nwl,

You're on the right track, Retained Earnings and Starting Balances are two of the most common account types used for owners' equity account. Let me walk you through the steps on how you can create an account specific to your business needs.

1. Go to Accounting.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Click New.
4. Under Account Type, select Equity.
5. On the Detail Type menu, select Owners Equity.
6. Enter the name of your new account. Say Startup Expenses.
7. Click Save and Close.

However, I'd still recommend contacting your accountant for guidance in handling your accounts and for the accuracy of your accounting books. If you haven't yet, you can use this link to find a bookkeeper near you: Business is better with a ProAdvisor.

Need help performing any tasks related to your business account and company settings, click here to access and browse all articles for QuickBooks products. This reference contains most resources with steps on how you can update your data and security management, to name a few.

Don't hesitate to post again here if you have other questions or concerns with QuickBooks tasks and navigations. I'm always around happy to help. Stay safe and have a good one!

When I click on New on the Chart of Accounts page I don't see any "Account Type" option.  I see a popup about a New Category.  However, if I try to add "Owner Equity" it fails.  I've attached what I see when I press "New".

When I click "New" on the Chart of Accounts Page I don't see any box for "Account Type".  I see options about Categories.  However, if I try to add Owner Equity it fails.  I've attached a pic of what I see when I press "New".

When I click on New on the Chart of Accounts page I don't see any "Account Type" option.  I see a popup about a New Category.  However, if I try to add "Owner Equity" it fails.  What am I missing?

Allow me to step in and help you add a new account in QuickBooks Online (QBO), daniel.

You'll see this window after clicking the New button. Then, you can select the Account Type and Detail Type.

If this isn't the window you're seeing, please attach a screenshot of the page where you're seeing the New Category option. This is to make sure that we're on the right track when adding a new account on the Chart of Accounts.

I also see that you've already added this account before. In QBO, removed accounts are hidden. You'll simply need to click the Gear icon and mark the Include inactive box to see all inactive accounts.

Then, click the Make active to activate the Owner's Equity account. It'll appear now on your bank register.

After activating the account, you don't need to create a new one. Just edit the existing information when needed.

I'm adding this link for a video tutorial: How to add accounts to your chart of accounts.

You can also browse these articles for future references:

• Use account numbers in your chart of accounts
• Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks.
   

Keep me posted if you need more help with adding an account in QBO. I'm always right here to help you.

I still do not see the same window pop up as you when clicking "New" on the Chart of Accounts.  I'm attaching a screenshot of the "New Category" menu I see.  I tried attaching it before but it got eaten by this forum.  It's not possible that I somehow have a different version of QB Online, is there?  It's doubly hard to learn software when everyone else experiences different behaviors than me.

However, your 2nd advice of how to re-activate the accounts was very helpful.

Hello @daniel-busby-nwl,

Thank you for getting back to us and sharing screenshot which is very helpful. Upon checking deep down, I was able to recreate your scenario only to determine you have the latest version of QuickBooks Online. This is the reason why your screenshot is deferent from the steps and references shared above.

Now going back, let's consider creating a new category for you to track your startup expenses since the choices you have is not the right ones. But please do tell and let your accountant know before creating a new category for professional assistance to keep your account away from being messed up.

You can always leave a comment below if you have follow-up questions with this or start a new thread if you have any other concerns. I'll be here to lend a hand. Stay safe!

Wait, let me try and understand...  For some reason I have a different version of Quickbooks Online than everyone else?  And when I click on the Help button in Quickbooks the answers won't always apply to my version?  Where do I go to learn about the version of Quickbooks that I have?  What is my version called?

If I need to need to start a new Account in my Chart of Accounts how do I do it?  None of the tutorials or guides seem to apply to my version?  

My bookkeeper is equally confused by this stuff.  She's been using QB Desktop for years, but it's even harder to learn new software when the instructions don't work for our version.

Thanks for getting back to us, daniel-busby-nwl. I can help share additional insights about your concerns.

To check your QuickBooks Online version, you'll just have to go to the Billing and Subscription page. I'll walk you through how:

1. Click on the Gear icon at the upper right.
2. Select Account and Settings.
3. Choose the Billing and Subscription tab.

Also, about the Chart of accounts, QuickBooks Online introduced the new COA experience to help your clients correctly categorize transactions, and provide guardrails to help eliminate mess up and errors from being created to the account. To learn more details about this, please check this article: Introducing the new Chart of Accounts experience in QuickBooks Online.

If you have any additional questions, please add them in the comment section. I'll be glad to help.

GlinetteC,  I'm using the Essentials version of QB Online, but I don't think that's what Jon means when he says I'm using the "latest version" of QB Online.  

Is there updated help for the "latest version"?  Is there somewhere I can learn about the differences between the older versions and the one I'm using?  I spent hours of frustration trying to apply instructions for the older version to my version because I had no way of knowing that there was a difference.

Thanks for coming back, @daniel-busby-nwl. I'm sharing with you additional insights about the new features in QuickBooks Online.

The newest improved chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online hasn't launched yet. Our Product Developers are still experimenting with this feature before its release to ensure that users can make the most out of it. 

It could be that you're using the Accountant version of QuickBooks Online. Also, based on your screenshot, it says: "Categories are used on your chart of accounts and by accountants for tax purposes."

Here's an article of the introduction of the new chart of accounts experience in QuickBooks Online: How will the new Chart of Accounts experience help accountants and their clients?.

If you have additional concerns with anything else, let me know. We're always around to help you some more. Take care!