The account structure every posting resolves against.
Governed GL accounts — code, name, type, and bank/cash flags — so journals, bills, payments, bank, and reports speak one ledger language. Templates add country and industry packs without overwriting what you already named.
1000 Cash & bank
Asset · Bank/Cash
2100 Trade payables
Liability
4000 Operating revenue
Income
5150 Site electricity
Expense
1200 Trade receivables
Asset
The ledger needs one account identity.
Journals, AP, bank, and reports fail when each invents its own chart language. The CoA is the spine — not a sideline spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet chart
Accounts live in a file controllers edit differently every close. The same expense appears under three codes before auditors ask for the source.
Postings without a home
Bills, payroll, and bank clearings invent free-text accounts. Reports rebuild the structure because operations never shared one chart.
Template overwrite fear
Industry packs that rename what you already fixed — or a one-size seed that fits a trading company and fails a contractor.
Five types. One language.
Every GL account carries a type — Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, or Expense — so postings, mappings, and reports agree before anything hits the ledger.
ASSET
Asset
Cash, receivables, inventory, and other balances the balance sheet owns.
LIABILITY
Liability
Payables, withholdings, and obligations controllers expect on the credit side.
EQUITY
Equity
Capital and retained earnings — the structure statements roll into.
INCOME
Income
Revenue accounts P&L reads — not free-text invoice labels.
EXPENSE
Expense
Operating costs bills, payroll mappings, and journals resolve to.
Code and name are not enough.
Bank/cash, system, and active flags decide which accounts payments, treasury, and templates are allowed to touch.
Bank / cash
Marks accounts treasury, payments, and bank reconciliation can treat as cash — so liquidity views do not invent a second list.
System accounts
Posting profiles resolve against protected accounts. Templates never rename or remove them when you apply an industry pack.
Active / inactive
Retire accounts without deleting history. New postings pick from what is still active — closed codes stay on the trail.
Start from a pack. Keep your edits.
A trading company and a contractor should not share one forced chart. Templates add accounts for country and industry — they do not rename what you already fixed.
- Country and industry presentation packs — not one generic seed for everyone
- Additive only: existing codes are skipped, never overwritten
- System accounts posting profiles need stay untouched
- See what would actually be added before you apply
Example packs
- India · Schedule IIIIN · Construction
- US · GAAP tradingUS · Trading
- UK · FRS 102GB · Services
Payroll and expenses reach the P&L.
Component names are the org’s own — HRA, site allowance, loan recovery. Map them to CoA accounts so the largest cost in most businesses does not stop at the payslip.
Unmapped first — that is the work
| Source | Kind | Side | GL account |
|---|---|---|---|
| HRA | Payroll | Expense | 5200 — Staff benefits |
| Site allowance | Payroll | Expense | 5210 — Site labour |
| PF deduction | Payroll | Liability | 2300 — Statutory dues |
| Travel | Expense category | Expense | 5300 — Travel & lodging |
Everything posts through here.
The CoA is not a settings afterthought. Journals, bills, treasury, bank, and reports all resolve against the same governed accounts.
Govern the accounts every posting shares
Types, flags, templates, and mappings — one chart for journals, bills, bank, and reports.