Chart of Accounts Example Guide and Key

1. Account Name: The name of the account in the general

ledger
2. Section: The Financial Statement in which the account
appears
3. BS: Balance Sheet
4. IS: Income Statement (Profit and Loss Account):
5. Group: The type of account.
6. Code: A suggested Account code for the account (chart of
accounts numbers)

Account Name Section Group Co

Freehold property BS Fixed Assets 10
Leasehold property BS Fixed Assets 11
Plant & Machinery BS Fixed Assets 20
Plant & m/cy depreciation BS Fixed Assets 21
Office equipment BS Fixed Assets 30
Office equipt depreciation BS Fixed Assets 31
Furniture & fixtures BS Fixed Assets 40
Furniture & fxts depreciation BS Fixed Assets 41
Motor Vehicles BS Fixed Assets 50
Motor vehicles depreciation BS Fixed Assets 51
Inventory BS Inventory 100
Work in progress BS Inventory 100
Finished goods BS Inventory 100
Accounts Receivable Control BS Debtors 110
Sundry debtors BS Debtors 110
Other debtors BS Debtors 110
Prepayments BS Debtors 110
Bank current account BS Bank and Cash 120
Bank deposit account BS Bank and Cash 121
Building society account BS Bank and Cash 122
Petty cash BS Bank and Cash 123
Cash receipts BS Bank and Cash 123
Company credit card BS Bank and Cash 124
Credit card receipts BS Bank and Cash 125
Accounts Payable Control BS Liabilities 210
Sundry creditors BS Liabilities 210
Other creditors BS Liabilities 210
Accruals BS Liabilities 210
Sales Tax Control BS Liabilities 220
Purchase Tax Control BS Liabilities 220
VAT liability BS Liabilities 220
PAYE BS Liabilities 221
National Insurance BS Liabilities 221
Net wages control BS Liabilities 222
Pension fund BS Liabilities 223
Loans BS Liabilities 230
Hire purchase BS Liabilities 231
Corporation tax BS Liabilities 232
Mortgages BS Liabilities 233
Preference shares BS Capital 301
Retained earnings BS Reserves 310
Profit & Loss Account BS Reserves 320
Sales type A IS Sales 400
Sales type B IS Sales 400
Sales type C IS Sales 400
Discounts allowed IS Sales 400
Sales type D IS Sales 410
Sales type E IS Sales 410
Sale of Assets IS Other Income 420
Credit charges IS Other Income 440
Miscellaneous income IS Other Income 490
Royalties received IS Other Income 490
Commissions received IS Other Income 490
Insurance claims IS Other Income 490
Rent income IS Other Income 490
Distribution & carriage IS Other Income 490
Materials purchased IS Purchases 500
Materials imported IS Purchases 500
Miscellaneous purchases IS Purchases 500
Packaging IS Purchases 500
Discounts taken IS Purchases 500
Carriage IS Purchases 510
Import duty IS Purchases 510
Transport insurance IS Purchases 510
Opening stock IS Purchases 520
Closing stock IS Purchases 520
Productive Labour IS Direct labour 600
Cost of sales labour IS Direct labour 600
Sub-contractors IS Direct costs 600
Sales commissions IS Marketing 610
Sales promotion IS Marketing 620
Advertising IS Marketing 620
Gifts & samples IS Marketing 620
PR IS Marketing 620
Miscellaneous expenses IS Miscellaneous 690
Gross wages IS Overheads 700
Directors salaries IS Overheads 700
Directors remuneration IS Overheads 700
Staff salaries IS Overheads 700
Wages regular IS Overheads 700
Wages casual IS Overheads 700
Employers NI IS Overheads 700
Employers pensions IS Overheads 700
Recruitment expenses IS Overheads 700
Adjustments IS Overheads 700
SSP reclaimed IS Overheads 701
SMP reclaimed IS Overheads 701
Rent IS Overheads 710
Water rates IS Overheads 710
General rates IS Overheads 710
Premises insurance IS Overheads 710
Electricity IS Overheads 720
Gas IS Overheads 720
Oil IS Overheads 720
Other heating costs IS Overheads 720
Motor fuel IS Overheads 730
Motor repairs IS Overheads 730
Licenses IS Overheads 730
Vehicle insurance IS Overheads 730
Miscellaneous motor IS Overheads 730
Scale charges IS Overheads 735
Travelling IS Overheads 740
Car hire IS Overheads 740
Hotels IS Overheads 740
UK Entertainment IS Overheads 740
Overseas Entertainment IS Overheads 740
Overseas travelling IS Overheads 740
Subsistence IS Overheads 740
Printing IS Overheads 750
Postage & carriage IS Overheads 750
Telephone IS Overheads 750
Telex/telegram/fax IS Overheads 750
Office stationery IS Overheads 750
Books etc IS Overheads 750
Legal fees IS Overheads 760
Audit & accountancy fees IS Overheads 760
Consultancy fees IS Overheads 760
Professional fees IS Overheads 760
Equipment hire IS Overheads 770
Office m/c maintenance IS Overheads 770
Repairs & renewals IS Overheads 780
Cleaning IS Overheads 780
Laundry IS Overheads 780
Premises expenses IS Overheads 780
Bank interest paid IS Overheads 790
Bank charges IS Overheads 790
Currency charges IS Overheads 790
Loan interest paid IS Overheads 790
HP interest IS Overheads 790
Credit charges IS Overheads 790
Exchange rate variance IS Overheads 790
Depreciation IS Depreciation 800
Plant & m/cy depreciation IS Depreciation 800
Furniture/fit. depreciation IS Depreciation 800
Vehicle depreciation IS Depreciation 800
Office equip. depreciation IS Depreciation 800
Bad debt write off IS Bad debts 810
Bad debt provision IS Bad debts 810
Donations IS Sundry expenses 820
Subscriptions IS Sundry expenses 820
Clothing costs IS Sundry expenses 820
Training costs IS Sundry expenses 820
Insurance IS Sundry expenses 820
Refreshments IS Sundry expenses 820
Suspense account IS Suspense 999
Mispostings account IS Mispostings 999
Chart of Accounts Example

Notice how each account is classified as balance sheet or income statement

and then further classified into a group such as for example accounts
receivable. The account names will depend on your type of business, but the
classification and grouping should be similar to the table above.
When allocating account codes (chart of accounts numbers) don’t forget to
leave space for additional accounts and codes to be inserted in a group at a
later stage. For example the sales codes run from 4000 to 4199 so there is
plenty of room to incorporate new categories of sales if needed.