Chart of Accounts

Open Chart of Accounts

Overview

The Chart of Accounts (CoA) is the master list of all financial accounts used in a client’s double-entry ledger. Every transaction, bank import, invoice, and bill maps to one or more accounts here. Accounts are grouped into six top-level types — Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, Cost of Goods Sold, and Expenses — and each account carries a sub-type that drives its placement on the financial statements. Accounts can be nested as parent and sub-accounts (a sub-account must share its parent’s type). Account numbers can be assigned to match the client’s existing numbering convention. Each account can also carry a GIFI code so the books map cleanly to the client’s T2 / T2125 tax return. A new client file can be seeded with a standard set of accounts (each with GIFI codes already assigned); accounts can be added, edited, or deactivated at any time.

What is a GIFI code?

The General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) is the CRA’s standardised chart of accounts (publication RC4088). Every line on a corporate (T2) or self-employment (T2125) return maps to a 4-digit GIFI code (1000–9999). Assigning a GIFI code to each account lets tax software import the trial balance and place each balance on the correct return line automatically — no manual remapping at year-end. Template and industry-seeded accounts come with sensible GIFI codes already; you only need to map accounts you add yourself.

The Chart of Accounts with type groupings, account numbers, balances, and sub-account indentation.

1. (1) Type sections — Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, COGS, Expenses collapsible groups
2. (2) Account number column — optional numbering for account identification
3. (3) Sub-account indentation — child accounts are visually nested under parents
4. (4) Balance column — current balance for each account
5. (5) Add Account button — add a new account to the hierarchy

Screen Layout

Header (top): The Tree View / List View toggle, the Add Account button, and a ⋮ actions menu (Import, Export, Copy from…).

Search & filters: A search field, plus a Filters button that reveals the Account Type filter, a Show inactive accounts checkbox, and a Missing GIFI only checkbox.

Account tree / list (centre): In Tree View, accounts are grouped into collapsible type sections with sub-accounts indented under their parents. In List View, all accounts appear in a single sortable table. When a client file has no accounts yet, the page shows an Initialize Default Accounts prompt instead.

Account Types

Type	Normal Balance	Purpose
Asset	Debit	Resources owned by the business (cash, receivables, inventory, equipment)
Liability	Credit	Amounts owed to others (payables, credit cards, loans, HST payable)
Equity	Credit	Owner’s interest in the business (retained earnings, owner’s capital)
Income	Credit	Revenue from business activities (sales, service income)
Cost of Goods Sold	Debit	Direct costs of the goods and services sold
Expense	Debit	Operating costs incurred to generate income

UI Elements

Header & Toolbar

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Tree / List View

Switches between the grouped, indented Tree View and a flat List View table. Both show the same accounts.

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Add Account

Opens the Add Account panel.

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Actions menu

Import — bring a chart of accounts in from a file. Export — download the current chart of accounts. Copy from… — copy the chart of accounts from another client in your workspace.

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Search

Searches by account name, account number, or description. In Tree View, parents of a matching account stay visible so the hierarchy doesn’t collapse.

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Filters

Reveals the filter row: an Account Type dropdown (All Types, Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, Cost of Goods Sold, Expense), a Show inactive accounts checkbox, and a Missing GIFI only checkbox.

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Missing GIFI only

When ticked, the list shows only accounts that do not yet have a GIFI code mapped. Use it as a pre-flight check before exporting the trial balance to tax software — a clean list means every account will land on a return line.

Account Columns (List View)

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Account #

Optional numeric identifier (e.g., 1100 for Cash, 4000 for Sales), shown in a monospace font. The numbering scheme is free-form — use whatever convention matches the client’s prior chart of accounts.

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Name

The account name as it appears in reports and transaction entry. A short description, if set, appears beneath it.

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Type

The account type (Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, COGS, Expense). Set at creation and cannot be changed once transactions exist.

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Subtype

A more granular classification within the type — for example Bank, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Asset, Credit Card, Long-term Liability, Retained Earnings, Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, or Meals & Entertainment. Drives placement on the financial statements.

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GIFI

The 4-digit CRA GIFI code mapped to this account (monospace). A dash is shown if no code is mapped yet. Drives the GIFI Summary report and the trial-balance export consumed by T2 / T2125 tax software.

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Balance

The account’s current balance in CAD.

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Status

Active (green) or Inactive (grey). Inactive accounts are hidden unless Show inactive accounts is ticked.

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Actions

Two per-row icons: Edit (pencil) and Deactivate (archive). System accounts and already-inactive accounts cannot be deactivated.

Actions

Create an Account

1. Click Add Account. The Add Account panel opens.
2. Select the Account Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, Cost of Goods Sold, or Expense.
3. Select the Subtype appropriate for this account (the choices change with the type).
4. Enter the Account Number. A suggested next number for the chosen type is pre-filled — accept it or overwrite it.
5. Enter the Account Name, and an optional Description.
6. To make this a sub-account, select a Parent Account (only accounts of the same type appear). Leave it as None for a top-level account.
7. Optionally tick Tax-related account so the account is flagged in tax reports.
8. For Expense accounts, optionally set an ITC Restriction (%) — leave blank for full input tax credit, enter 50 for meals & entertainment, or 0 for no ITC.
9. Optionally set the GIFI Code. Start typing a code or a description to search the bundled CRA RC4088 list, then pick the matching line — the picker is pre-biased toward the GIFI section that fits the account type you chose. Codes must be 4 digits (1000–9999); leaving it blank simply means “no GIFI mapped”.
10. Click Add Account. The account appears in the tree immediately and is available in all transaction entry screens.

Edit an Account

1. Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the account row. The Edit Account panel opens.
2. The account number, type, and subtype are read-only and cannot be changed after creation — the panel shows them for reference along with the current balance.
3. Update the Name, Description, Parent Account, the Tax-related account flag, or the Active checkbox.
4. For Income, COGS, and Expense accounts you can also set Tax exempt (no HST/GST applies) or choose a Default Tax Rate that is applied automatically when the account is used during categorization. Expense accounts additionally expose the ITC Restriction (%) field.
5. Update the GIFI Code if needed. If you enter a code that is not in the bundled CRA list, the field accepts it but flags it — verify it against RC4088 before relying on it for a tax export.
6. Click Save.

Deactivate (and Reactivate) an Account

Deactivating hides an account from all transaction-entry dropdowns without deleting historical balances. The account still appears in reports for periods when it had activity.

1. Click the Deactivate (archive) icon on the account row and confirm. The account moves to Inactive status and is removed from transaction-entry pickers.
2. System accounts cannot be deactivated — the icon is disabled for them.
3. To bring an account back, tick Show inactive accounts in the filters, open the account with Edit, tick Active, and click Save.

Related

• Bank Transactions — Assign transactions to chart-of-accounts categories
• Journal Entries — Post manual debits and credits to any account
• Reconciliation — Match bank accounts to ledger balances
• Reports — General Ledger and Trial Balance reports use this hierarchy