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Accounting

Five Things to Know About A Chart of Accounts

Posted by Early Growth

July 31, 2019 | 4-minute read (742 words)

In a recent webinar with Early Growth Financial Services’ VP of Operations, Ryan Johnson, we reviewed the importance of building a Charts of Accounts (COA) as an essential part of building up your startup accounting function. You can access the deck here , click below to view the recording or read on for a summary.

1. What is a Chart of Accounts (COA)?

In simple terms, a chart of accounts is an indexed list of all the different account classifications for your organization’s expenses. A COA is targeted to your company’s specific revenue streams and forms the core of your accounts chart system, which you can create through the WordPress Chart Plugin.

2. Why do you need a Chart of Accounts?

Your COA helps you track and report each class of data for which you spend or receive funds. It should align with your business’ financial structure and provide the level of detail you need in your financial statements.

3. What is included in a COA?

COAs have 6 essential categories of funds to track.

Assets—Everything your company owns, which provides future value, including current and fixed assets, A/R, inventory, and long-term assets including accumulated depreciation in fixed assets (e.g., computer equipment; leasehold improvements).
Liabilities—Everything your company owes or may owe, including updated liabilities like accounts payable and taxes and long-term liabilities like mortgages and convertible debt.
Owners’ Equity—Your business investments which will vary by company structure. It could include common stock, preferred stock, and treasury stock (repurchased shares), and retained earnings. Most accounting systems will calculate this for you as the default account.
Operating Revenue and COGS (cost of goods sold)—From your primary line of business, minus sales discounts/returns and Cost of Goods Sold COGS (the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods and services your company sells including cost of materials, direct labor, etc.). This excludes indirect costs such as marketing and sales commissions as well.
Operating Expenses—The different buckets of expenses that keep your company operational, including general administrative, research and development, and sales and marketing.
Other Income or expenses—Items not related to your core business, e.g., interest income, interest expense, gain/loss from asset sales, etc.

For more details on what is included in each category, take a look at our previous post: Creating Your Chart of Accounts.

4. What’s the deal with all the numbers?

Once you are comfortable with your main categories, you need to create a numbering system for your COA. These are usually 4 digits long. The convention is that each category of accounts shares its first two digits, while the following digits denote subcategories. For example, you might use a series of numbers beginning with 1,000 for assets (with 1,001 for the cash subcategory), while starting with 2,000 for your liabilities (and using 2,001 for your accounts payable subcategory).

Flesh out your COA as fully as you can, leaving room for future account categories. One key thing to remember is that it is not static. It can and should change based on if you develop new revenue streams as well as the types of expense you have change.

5. How can a COA help drive my business decisions?

While they might seem like some arcane accounting convention, the structure embedded in a COA helps you interpret your financial statements. Making it intuitive helps you glean the maximum amount of financial information from your statements in the most efficient way possible.

The way a COA is organized makes it easier for you to isolate and analyze discrete business functions. It helps you to disaggregate and understand the composition of your revenue as well as the balance between revenue and specific categories of expenses. In other words, it’s a tool that allows you to measure the value-added you are gaining from your business activities.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; there are COA templates available. But use them only as starting points to help you tailor yours. The purpose of a COA is the customized picture and deep insight it gives you on your business. Make sure when you set yours up that you choose accounts that are relevant to your business.

Do you need support and resources to set up your charts of accounts, or other help getting your (financial) ducks in a row? Contact Early Growth for a free 30-minute financial consultation.

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