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How do I add an account to my chart of accounts?

Describes how to add or edit an account in your chart of accounts, such as a bank, income, or expense account.

You will need the Accounting Settings permission to perform this action.

Your chart of accounts is the list of accounts your church uses to sort all the money coming in and going out, such as checking, contributions income, salaries, and rent.

One Church Software uses fund accounting. That means one bank account can hold money for several funds, such as a General Fund and a Building Fund, and you can still see how much belongs to each. You don't need a separate bank account per fund. See What is a fund in accounting?.

To manage your chart of accounts, go to Accounting > Settings. The page has four tabs: Chart of Accounts, Funds, Tags, and Options.

Chart of Accounts tab on the Accounting Settings page

Add or edit an account

  1. Go to Accounting > Settings in the left-hand menu. The Chart of Accounts tab opens first.

  2. Click Add New. To change an existing account, click its name, or choose Edit from the 3-dots menu at the start of its row.

  3. On the General tab, fill in the fields described below.

    Add Account window on the General tab
  4. If the account already holds money, open the Starting Balances tab and enter its opening balances. See Starting balances below.

  5. Click Save. To add several accounts in a row, check Keep open to add another first.

Tip: To create a new equity account, add a fund instead. One is created for it automatically. See How do I add or edit a fund?.

General tab fields

  • Number - the account number. This field is required. Use the first digit to show the account type: 1000 to 1999 for assets, 2000 to 2999 for liabilities, 4000 to 4999 for income, and 5000 to 5999 for expenses. Equity accounts in the 3000 range are created for you when you add funds.

  • Name - the name of the account. This field is required.

  • Type - Asset (something you own, such as checking), Liability (something you owe, such as a credit card or loan), Income (money you receive, such as contributions), or Expense (money you spend, such as salaries). This field is required. Equity can't be chosen here. See What are the account types in accounting?.

  • Category - a group within the type, such as Current Assets. This field is required. Use the 3-dots menu next to the field to add a category.

  • Options - checkboxes that mark the account for certain uses, such as Use as register?. The choices depend on the type. See What do the account options mean?.

  • Default Fund - the fund chosen automatically when someone uses this account in data entry. It can always be changed.

  • Sub-Account - check Make this account a sub-account to place it under another account of the same type. A drop-down appears so you can choose the parent account.

  • Active? - shows whether the account is active. To deactivate an account, use the 3-dots menu on the chart of accounts list. See How do I deactivate or delete an account?.

  • Description - click more fields to add an optional description.

Starting balances

The Starting Balances tab is for asset and liability accounts. Click choose funds, check the funds this account holds money for (or check all), then enter an opening balance and date for each fund. See How do I set starting balances?.

Starting Balances tab with an opening balance for each fund

Note: A fund that already has reconciled activity on this account can't be removed from the list.

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