Record keeping system setup

You want to set up your system so it records the income and expenses specific to your business.

Creating the correct categories to classify your income and expenses is the first step. 

Accounting software has a chart of accounts. A chart of accounts is a document listing the financial accounts that you or your accountant set up for your business. This is used to categorise your business transactions.

Accounts are usually grouped by type, for example:

Chart of accounts

Assets

Liabilities

Equity

Revenue

Cost of sales (trading stock)

Expenses

You can generally add, edit or delete accounts and subcategories to suit your business.

Here are some examples of subcategories that are often found under each account.

Chart of accounts
Assets

Account number

Account description

1000

Cash

1100

Accounts receivable

1200

Prepayments

1300

Inventory

1400

Vehicles

1500

Equipment

Liabilities

Account number

Account description

2000

Accounts payable

2100

Payroll

2200

Loans

2300

Tax

Equity

Account number

Account description

3000

Capital

3100

Drawings

Revenue

Account number

Account description

4000

Everyday income

4100

Other income

Cost of sales (trading stock)

Account number

Account description

5000

Opening stock

5100

Purchases and other costs

5200

Freight inwards

5300

Closing stock

Expenses

Account number

Account description

6000

Motor vehicle

6100

Repairs/maintenance

6200

Rent

6300

Other expenses: workers' salaries and wages, accounting and professional fees, advertising, office supplies, forex losses, loss on the sale of a depreciating asset

6400

Leases

6500

Interest payments

6600

Superannuation contributions

6700

Depreciation

As you manage your record keeping, you assign records of all your business transactions to one of these accounts.