Guides › Finance & Accounting
Set up a clear chart of accounts for clients
Get a tidy, sensible list of accounts tailored to a client's business, with a short note on what goes where, ready to load into their software.
When to use it
When onboarding a new client or cleaning up an old set-up
Step by step
Describe the business
Note what the client does, how they earn money, their main costs, whether they're VAT registered, and what reports they or their lender want.
Draft the list
Paste your notes into your AI assistant with this prompt, adding their current account list if they have one.
Prompt to copyDraft a chart of accounts for a [type of business] in [country], using [Xero / QuickBooks / other software]. Business details: [paste notes]. Their current accounts (if any): [paste]. Give me a table: Account number | Account name | Type (asset, liability, equity, income, expense) | What goes here | Keep, merge or new. Keep it lean, around [40 to 60] accounts. Group income and costs so they match the reports they need. List any current accounts you'd suggest merging and why.Review against your standards
Check the list against your firm's standard set-up and local reporting and tax requirements. Adjust names and numbers to suit your judgement.
Load and explain it
Import the approved list into the client's software and send them the 'what goes here' column as a one-page guide.
What you get
4000 | Sales - Café | Income | Food and drink sold in the café | New. 4010 | Sales - Catering | Income | Event and office catering | New. 5000 | Food stock purchases | Expense | Ingredients and drinks | Keep. Merge: 'Sundries' and 'General' into 7990 Other admin.
Tips
- Ask the AI which accounts tend to get misused in this kind of business, and add a warning line to the client guide.
- This is a draft to save time; the final set-up is your professional call.