Set Chart of Accounts
2-3 hoursCreate income, COGS, expense, and liability categories aligned to Schedule C or P&L.
Field context
This workflow is part of 6 niche fields
Free step-by-step bookkeeping for small business owners. Plan bookkeeping with calculators and checklists covering set chart of accounts, record transactions.
Create income, COGS, expense, and liability categories aligned to Schedule C or P&L.
Categorize bank and card feeds; attach receipts; reconcile weekly.
Reconcile all accounts, run P&L, compare to budget variance.
Summarize quarterly P&L, estimate taxes, organize docs for CPA.
Generate monthly profit snapshot from categorized data.
Compare actual vs budget by category.
Estimate quarterly tax from YTD net profit.
Calculate SE tax on net self-employment income.
Match open invoices to AR balance.
Starter categories for service businesses.
| Account | Type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 4000 Sales | Income | Product, service |
| 5000 COGS | Expense | Materials, shipping |
| 6000 OpEx | Expense | Software, rent |
| 7000 Owner Draw | Equity | Transfers to personal |
Single card simplifies categorization and audit defense.
Personal expenses in business books invalidate clean audit trail.
Rules for rent, software, and payroll save hours monthly.