QuickBooks Training Post:
Many clients ask me about how to “standardize” a chart of accounts or make the chart if account comply with generally accepted principles… Well here are standard Chart of Accounts number ranges:
1000 – 1999 Assets
2000 – 2999 Liabilities
3000 – 3999 Equity
4000 – 4999 Income or Revenue
5000 – 5999 Job Costs/Cost of Goods Sold
6000 – 6999 Overhead Costs or Expenses
7000 – 7999 Other Income
8000 – 8999 Other Expense
If you want to download a spreadsheet with the entire chart of accounts for all industries created by QuickBooks, see this post
What is the Chart of accounts?
The chart of accounts is a listing of all accounts used in the general ledger of an organization. The chart is used by the accounting software to aggregate information into an entity’s financial statements. The chart is usually sorted in order by account number, to ease the task of locating specific accounts. The accounts are usually numeric, but can also be alphabetic or alphanumeric.
The Chart of Accounts is the backbone of your accounting system. That’s why it is so important to understand how it works. Think of a chart of accounts as a file cabinet, with a file for each type of accounting information you want to track. For example, if you need to know how much money you spend on postage, you can set up a file (an account in the Chart of Accounts) for Postage Expense
Accounts are usually listed in order of their appearance in the financial statements, starting with the balance sheet and continuing with the income statement. Thus, the chart of accounts begins with cash, proceeds through liabilities and shareholders’ equity, and then continues with accounts for revenues and then expenses. Many organizations structure their chart of accounts so that expense information is separately compiled by department; thus, the sales department, engineering department, and accounting department all have the same set of expense accounts.
Account Types
Assets
Assets are things your company owns. They are usually divided into two groups: current assets and fixed assets. Current Assets are assets that you can easily turn into cash, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market and CD accounts, accounts receivable, and inventory. Current assets are normally numbered from 1000 to 1499. So, you might want to use account number 1100 for your company checking account because a checking account is a current asset.
Fixed assets are usually numbered from 1500 to 1999. These are items with a minimum cost (for example, $500) that you would have to sell to generate cash. Automobiles, equipment, and land are examples of fixed assets. For example, suppose last year your company bought a new computer system for $1,100. Since the cost of the system was more than $500, the purchase was entered to an asset account rather than to an expense account. Consult your accountant or tax preparer to determine the actual minimum cost you should use to determine fixed assets.
Liabilities
Liabilities are funds your company owes. For example, say your company borrowed $20,000 from the bank. When the $20,000 loan was deposited to the checking account, the deposit was entered in the liability account Bank Loans, not an income account.
Example, Payroll Liabilities:
The Payroll Liability account is a current liability account that QuickBooks automatically adds to your chart of account when you turn on payroll. The Payroll Liabilities account tracks taxes that you deduct from employee’s paychecks and hold temporarily until you turn them over to the government. These include federal and state income withholding taxes, local taxes, and the employee-paid portion of taxes such as Social Security and Medicare.
Capital/Equity
Your capital account structure depends on whether your company is organized as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation.
If your company is a sole proprietorship, you need a Capital account and an Owner’s Drawing account. Use the Capital account to keep track of the total amount of money you have invested since starting the business, plus or minus the net profit or loss each year since you started the business. Use the Owner’s Drawing account for money you take out of the business for personal use, such as checks to the grocery store or dry cleaners, ATM transactions, your salary, and any money that gets deposited into your personal accounts.
It is important to keep in mind that the owner of a sole proprietorship doesn’t get a regular employee paycheck with money deducted for payroll taxes. Instead you pay quarterly estimated taxes, which you should always allocate to the Owner’s Drawing account.
If your company is a partnership or LLP (Limited Liability Partnership), you need to set up Capital and Drawing accounts for each partner. If your company is an S or C corporation or an LLC corporation, it should have a Common Stock account and sometimes a Preferred Stock account. Common stock and preferred stock represent the total sum of stock the company has issued. An LLC might have Member stock if there is more than one person who owns stock.
Income or Revenue
Income or revenue is the income you get from your normal day-to-day business tasks, such as professional fees, income for services rendered, reimbursable expenses, or products you sell.
Cost of Goods Sold
Cost of Goods Sold includes the cost of raw materials, freight charges for getting raw material to a warehouse, labor for building the finished goods, and freight charges for getting the goods to the customer. For manufacturing businesses, the Cost of Goods Sold includes the costs incurred in producing or building a product. For a wholesale business, Cost of Goods Sold are the costs of the goods you purchase for resale. For a distributor business, Cost of Goods Sold are the costs to purchase and distribute goods to the customer.
Expenses or Overhead Costs
Overhead Costs, or Expenses, are fixed costs you have even if you run out of work. Examples include rent, telephone, insurance, and utilities.
For example. Payroll Expense:
The Payroll Expenses account tracks payroll items that are an expense to your company. These include salaries, wages, bonuses, commissions, company contributions such as a company-paid health plan, and the company-paid portion of taxes such as Social Security and Medicare.
Other Income
Other Income is income you earn outside the normal way you do business, including interest income, gain on the sale of an asset, insurance settlement, a stock sale, or rents from buildings you own.
Other Expense
Other Expense is an expense that is outside of your normal business, such as a loss on the sale of an asset or stockbroker fees.
Here is a SAMPLE chart of accounts for the P&L accounts:
Income
4000
Product Sales Income
4100
Service Sales Income
4700
Shipping Income
4800
Other Income
4990
Sales Returns
4980
Sales Discounts
Cost of Goods Sold
5000
Cost of Goods Sold
5010
Purchases of Product
5210
Freight In Costs
5220
Freight Out / Shipping to Clients
5500
Subcontracted Direct Labor
5600
Commisions & Refferral Fees
5990
Purchase Discounts
Expenses
6000
Officer Salary
6001
Regular Pay
6002
Taxes
6009
Other / Bonus
6010
Employee Salary
6011
Regular Pay
6012
Taxes
6019
Other/ Bonus
6040
Rent/Lease Office
6050
Rent/Lease Equipment (NonVehicle)
6060
Repairs & Maintenance (NonVehicle)
6070
Vehicle Expenses
6071
Gas
6072
Car Payment / Lease
6073
Vehicle Maintenace
6074
Parking & Tools
6075
Vehicle Insurance
6100
Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing
6101
Printed Materials
6102
Web Related
6103
News, Magazine, Radio, TV
6104
Business Gifts
6105
Other Marketing & CRM Expenses
6110
Postage, Shipping, & Printing
6120
Office Supplies
6201
Bad Debt Expense
6220
Charitable Contributions
6230
Software & Small Equipment
6250
Bank Service Charges
6260
Merchant Processing Fees
6270
Janitorial & Cleaning Expense
6280
Training & Continued Education
6300
Insurance for Business
6301
General Liability Insurance
6302
Workmen’s Comp
6303
Malpractice / Erros & Ommission
6304
Other Insurance
6500
Communications
6501
Telephone – Lan
6502
Telephone – Cel
6503
Internet Access
6504
Other Telecomunication Services
6505
TV / Satellite
6510
Utilitties
6511
Water
6512
Electricity
6513
Other Utilities
6601
Licences, Permits, and Local Taxes
6602
Fines & Penalties
6603
Dues & Subscriptions
6700
Travel
6701
Airfare
6702
Hotel & Lodging
6703
Vehicle Rental & Transportation
6704
Meals while Traveling
6705
Misc Travel Entertaiment
6720
Meals & Entertainment
6721
M&E With Clients
6722
M&E Officers Only
6723
M&E for Employees & Meetings
6800
Professional Fees
6801
Bookkeeping & Admin
6802
CPA & Tax Planning
6803
Attorneys & Legal Fees
6804
Business & Management Consultant
6811
Subcontracted Services (Other)
6901
Interest Expense
6902
Depreciation & Amortization
6911
Misc & Other Expenses
6990
Ask My Accountant / To Review
Other Income and Expenses
8010
Interest Income
8020
Other Non-Operating Income
8030
Capital Gains
9020
Other Expenses
9030
Capital Losses
The post Standard Chart of Accounts & Account Types appeared first on QuickBooks Training & QuickBooks Consulting. Best rated in Miami & Broward.