The chart of accounts is the list of ledger accounts your books post to: assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses, organized in a parent/child hierarchy. The setup wizard creates it. On this page you can review it, add or edit accounts, see each account's ledger, enter opening balances and correct posted opening balances.
Where to find it
- Accounts → Chart of Accounts (
/accounts). - Accounts → Add Account (
/accounts/create), or New Account on the Dashboard and in Quick Add. - Opening Balances button on the Chart of Accounts page (
/accounts/opening-balances).
The accounts list
The page title is Accounts, with Chart of Accounts under it.
Views
- List View (the default): the chart as an expandable tree, grouped under Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues and Expenses. Group accounts expand to show their children, with the number of children next to the name. While you search or filter, the list becomes a flat, sortable table of matching accounts (a search always forces the flat table).
- Folder View: a three-pane explorer for browsing. A type rail on the left (Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues, Expenses, each with its colour), a column of the type's top-level headers with a count of their child accounts, and the main pane with the selected header's accounts as compact rows. It has its own search box ("Search accounts..."), New Account and the two view buttons. Folder View has no tick boxes and no bulk bar; use List View to select several accounts. The folder explorer always shows the unfiltered chart, so typing a search, or opening it with any filter (type, subtype, status, nature, postable, balance range) switches you to the flat List View with the results.
Switch with the two icon buttons at the top right of the toolbar: List View (list icon) and Folder View (folder icon). Your last choice is remembered for the session. A small Try Folder View hint ("Switch to folder view for a more hierarchical organization of your accounts.") sits beside the buttons until you dismiss it or open the folder view once.
The folder explorer is responsive: on narrow screens the rail, headers and rows stack so the account code, name, balance and the three-dot menu stay readable; long names wrap instead of widening the page, labels remain legible in dark mode, and the three-dot row menu opens inside the screen in both left-to-right and right-to-left languages.
Columns
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Code | Account code. Shown as the 4-digit short code (e.g. 6001) or the 13-digit full code, depending on General Settings. |
| Account Name | The display name |
| Type | Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues, Expenses |
| Subtype | Detailed classification, for example Bank Accounts or VAT Output Tax |
| Balance | Current posted balance |
| Nature | Debit or Credit, the account's normal side |
| Status | Active / Inactive |
| Actions | A three-dot menu at the end of the row: View, Edit, Activate / Deactivate, Delete. For a protected account the menu shows the protection reason instead of Edit and Delete (it may still offer Activate when the account is inactive). |
In the compact rows of the folder view the same columns are laid out in one line: tree arrow, short code chip, name (with the child count and any VAT role badge), type chip, subtype, balance, nature chip, status chip and the menu.
A lock badge marks protected accounts: System account, Required account, or Used by accounting defaults. Protected accounts can't be modified or deleted ("This account is protected and cannot be modified.").
Filter and search
- Search code or name...
- Type tabs: All, Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues, Expenses.
- Subtype (Any subtype), Status.
- Advanced: Postable (Yes/No/Any), Nature, Balance min / Balance max. Reset clears all filters.
- Customer / Supplier detail switch (hover text: "Show customer/supplier detail under A/R and A/P (display only — does not affect balances or reports)"): adds a customer or supplier breakdown under the receivable and payable control accounts. The switch is remembered per organization and works in right-to-left languages and dark mode.
- Excel downloads the list.
Bulk actions
Tick rows (or Select all) to show the bulk bar with n selected: Activate, Deactivate, Delete, Clear selection. Protected accounts and accounts with transactions are skipped by delete.
Account types and subtypes
| Type | Nature | Common subtypes |
|---|---|---|
| Asset | Debit | Cash, Bank Accounts, Accounts Receivable (AR), Inventory, Prepaid Expenses, Other Current Assets, Fixed Assets (PPE), Accumulated Depreciation, Long-Term Assets, Intangible Assets, VAT Input Tax |
| Liability | Credit | Accounts Payable (AP), Taxes Payable, VAT Output Tax, VAT Control, VAT Suspense, VAT Reverse Charge, Accrued Expenses, Payroll Liabilities, Customer Deposits / Deferred Revenue, Loans (Short-Term), Credit Cards, Long-Term Liabilities, Other Liabilities |
| Equity | Credit | Equity, Retained Earnings, Current Year Earnings, Drawings / Dividends, Equity Adjustments |
| Revenue | Credit | Revenue, Product Sales, Service Income, Other Operating Income, Interest Income |
| Expense | Debit | Expenses, Cost of Goods Sold, Payroll & Wages, Rent & Facilities, Utilities, Marketing & Advertising, Office & Admin, Maintenance & Repairs, Insurance, Depreciation & Amortization, Bank & Payment Fees, Operating Expense, Suspense / Clearing |
A group (header) account only totals its children. It is not Postable. Only postable accounts can be used on documents and journals.
Create an account
- Click Add Account in the Accounts panel, or New Account.
- Under Basic Information, fill in:
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Account Type | Yes | Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues, Expenses |
| Subtype | Yes | "Automatically filtered by account type" |
| Account Name | Yes | Up to 120 characters |
| Make this a child account (nest under a parent) | No | Then pick a Parent Account ("Filtered by the selected subtype"), or — Root Level (No Parent) — |
| Account Code | No | "Generated automatically from type, subtype and parent." Codes are unique. |
| Reference Code | No | "Your own code/reference for this account — it does not affect the system." Up to 50 characters. |
| Description | No | |
| Status | No | Active by default |
| Opening Balance | No | Amount, date and Offset Account (default Opening Balance Equity (default)). See below. |
- Click Create Account. You see a success notice and the account opens.
Edit an account
- Open the account and click Edit, or use Edit in the row menu.
- Change the name, subtype, parent, reference code, description or status.
- If you change the code, confirm Confirm account code change ("Changing the account code affects future references.").
- Click Save.
You can't edit protected accounts. Changing type or subtype on an account with history may be refused.
View an account
The account page shows Details (code, type badge, subtype, nature, status, postable, created/updated), its Hierarchy (parent/children), the current Balance ("All amounts in AED"), and Journal Entries & Balance Changes ("Complete transaction history for this account"). Filter that list by From / To and Apply. The table columns are Entry, Date, Description, Debit, Credit and a running Balance; open an entry to see its source document (the journal pages show the source label in your language, see Journal entries). Export Excel downloads the ledger. For AR/AP control accounts a subledger by customer/supplier is available.
Deactivate or delete
- Deactivate hides the account from new documents and keeps its history. Locked accounts can't be deactivated ("This account is locked and cannot be deactivated.").
- Delete asks Delete? first. You can't delete:
- a locked account ("This account is locked and cannot be deleted."),
- an account used as a default ("This account is used as an accounting default and cannot be deleted. Change the default first."),
- an account with transactions ("Cannot delete: account has journal lines. Consider deactivating instead.").
Accounts used by SolaStock purchasing and stock
The standard chart includes three accounts that exist for stock purchasing. They are required (locked): you cannot delete or deactivate them, and they appear in the lists as protected.
| Code | Account | Type | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1301 | Inventory – Goods | Asset (Inventory) | Value of stock on hand. |
| 1305 | Billed Goods Awaiting Receipt | Asset (Inventory) | Supplier bills posted before the goods arrive. Cleared when each receipt is matched. |
| 2150 | Goods Received Not Invoiced (GRNI) | Liability (Accrued Expenses) | Goods received before the supplier bill. Cleared when the bill is posted or matched. |
| 5104 | Purchase Price Variance | Expense (Cost of Goods Sold) | Rounding differences left after matching a receipt to a bill. |
In an organization connected to SolaStock, the ledger account mapped to SolaStock's inventory role is the inventory control account. Manual and recurring journals cannot use it: "This account is SolaStock's inventory control account. Only SolaStock postings may change it, so manual and recurring journals cannot use it. Record the stock change in SolaStock (opening stock, adjustment or count) instead." Item inventory accounts and code 1301 were already protected this way. Accounts used for acquisition costs on bills (Asset Clearing, Landed Cost Clearing) remain available on bill account lines; see Bills.
Example. Al Noor Trading LLC wants to see why account 1305 has a balance of AED 3,000.00 on 12 October. In Folder View it opens Assets, chooses the Inventory header and opens the 1305 row; the account page lists two debits (AED 1,200.00 and AED 1,800.00) from the supplier bills BL-2051 and BL-2052, and no credits yet. That means both bills were posted but the goods have not been received: ask the warehouse to receive them, or use Receive goods on the bills (Receiving goods on supplier bills). After both receipts are matched the account returns to zero.
Opening balances
Opening balances are the amounts that existed before you started using SolaCount, as at an Opening Date (the cut-off). Enter them once, at setup.
Open the opening balances wizard
Accounts → Chart of Accounts → Opening Balances (/accounts/opening-balances). You need the accounts.add_opening_balance permission.
The How opening balances work box explains: you can fill only the rows you need, and empty rows are ignored. Opening balances are entered and posted only in the base currency ("Opening balances are entered and posted only in the organization base currency (AED). Foreign-currency opening documents are not supported here.").
The five steps (tabs)
| Tab | What you enter | What posting creates |
|---|---|---|
| Account Balances | Debit or credit per ordinary ledger account. Filters: Editable only, Show Revenue & Expense, Show advanced. AR, AP and Inventory accounts are handled in their own tabs (badges Customer AR, Supplier AP, Inventory). | One journal entry. Opening Balance Equity is the automatic offset. |
| Tax & VAT | VAT Input / Output / settlement balances from before the start date. Shows VAT Input total, VAT Output total and Net VAT Receivable/Payable. If VAT accounts are missing: Create default VAT accounts. | VAT opening journal |
| Customer AR | Amount each customer owed (search with "Find by name, email, phone, code, or reference…"), with date, due date and reference | A real unpaid opening invoice per customer |
| Supplier AP | Amount you owed each supplier | A real unpaid opening bill per supplier |
| Inventory Stock | Quantity and Unit Cost per item | Stock-in movement and inventory journal per item |
Only enter VAT here for tax that existed before your system start date. Don't enter it if you will also enter the related old invoices or bills, because those create their own VAT.
Steps
- Set the Opening Date.
- Optional: click Download Template for a workbook that already lists your accounts, customers, suppliers and items. Fill in the amounts, then click Import / Upload. Matched rows fill the wizard and show how many rows were filled or skipped per tab. Nothing is posted yet.
- Work through the tabs with Next / Back.
- Click Save Draft at any time. A draft ("Draft — no accounting entries posted") creates nothing in the ledger and can be reopened.
- On the last tab, click Save & Post and confirm: "Save and post this batch to the ledger? This creates real GL entries, invoices, bills, and inventory movements."
Export Balances downloads the current opening balances at any time.
Posting doesn't move money. Collect opening invoices through Customer Payments and pay opening bills through Supplier Payments, as with any other invoice or bill.
Rules
- A customer or supplier can have only one posted opening balance ("This supplier already has a posted opening balance. Pay or correct the existing opening bill; do not create another opening debt.").
- Opening balances lock once transactions exist on or after the opening date: "Opening balances cannot be changed after transactions exist on or after the opening date. Please use a manual adjustment journal entry instead."
- If your organization uses approval workflows for opening balances, posting waits for approval.
Worked example
Al Noor Trading LLC starts on 1 October 2026 (Opening Date 30 Sep 2026):
| Tab | Entry |
|---|---|
| Account Balances | Bank (Emirates NBD) AED 80,000 Dr; Office equipment AED 25,000 Dr; Bank loan AED 30,000 Cr |
| Customer AR | Gulf Retail LLC AED 12,600 |
| Supplier AP | Emirates Packaging AED 8,400 |
After Save & Post:
| Account | Dr | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| Bank | 80,000 | |
| Office equipment | 25,000 | |
| Accounts Receivable (opening invoice, Gulf Retail) | 12,600 | |
| Bank loan | 30,000 | |
| Accounts Payable (opening bill, Emirates Packaging) | 8,400 | |
| Opening Balance Equity | 79,200 | |
| Total | 117,600 | 117,600 |
Correct a posted opening balance
For a posted customer or supplier opening balance, use Correct opening balance. It is on the opening balances page and on the linked opening invoice or bill. Don't edit the invoice or bill directly ("This is an opening document. Use Correct opening balance so its document, journal, statements, and opening record stay synchronized.").
- Click Correct opening balance on the party's row.
- Review Previous amount, Paid / collected and Current outstanding.
- Enter the Corrected amount, a Correction date (in an open period) and the Reason for correction.
- Click Review correction, check Difference and Proposed outstanding, then Confirm correction.
You see "Opening balance corrected and synchronized." Payments and allocations stay linked. The difference posts as a dated adjustment between the party control account and Opening Balance Equity. On the journal list its source reads Opening Balance Correction, and on the customer statement, supplier statement and Payable Detail (screen, PDF and Excel) the row type reads Opening balance correction. Correction history lists earlier corrections.
Limits:
- The corrected amount must be greater than zero.
- It can't be below the amount already paid or collected ("The corrected amount cannot be below the settled amount of … Reverse or reapply the affected payment first.").
- Base currency only.
For ordinary account and VAT openings, post an adjustment journal entry in an open period. For inventory, use a stock adjustment.
Opening supplier credits
If a supplier owed you money at cutover (an unused credit), it is brought in as an Opening supplier credit — available against supplier bills, usually through the Data Migration Center. It works like a debit note. Use Apply opening supplier credit on the supplier's bills. The supplier statement shows the Remaining opening credit.
Permissions
| Action | Permission |
|---|---|
| View accounts | accounts.view |
| Create | accounts.create |
| Edit, activate/deactivate | accounts.edit |
| Delete | accounts.delete |
| Opening balances and corrections | accounts.add_opening_balance |
Related
- Setup wizard
- Data Migration Center
- Journal entries
- Settings (Account Defaults, account code display)
- Banking
- Reports