Chart of Accounts introduction
Description

The Chart of Accounts is a list of all the nominal ledger accounts used by your business. Nominal ledger accounts group transactions. This is so you can see how your business is performing.

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What is a nominal ledger account?

Each ledger account has a unique code to identify the account. You can change them to use your own numbering scheme if required.

When you enter a transaction in Sage Accounting, you assign the relevant code. The code will depend on what you’re recording. For example, a sales invoice or a bank payment.

The Chart of Accounts defines the category of each ledger account. This determines where it appears on management reports.

Use these reports to analyse your:

  • Income
  • Expenditure
  • Assets
  • Liabilities
  • Capital

This means you can see how your business is performing.

About the Chart of Accounts

Sage Accounting uses a standard chart of accounts that includes control accounts. These are dedicated ledger accounts used to record specific transactions correctly, including VAT. You don't normally post to or from control accounts during day-to-day processing. You'd only do this when correcting errors. If you're not sure, check with your accountant first.

The chart of accounts suits most small businesses, but you can customise it to fit yours. You can edit any account except control accounts, which need to stay as they're first set up.

For more information, read our article Review your chart of accounts.

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