---
title: "Free Chart of Accounts Template | Ledgerbrook"
source: https://ledgerbrook.com/templates/chart-of-accounts-template/
description: "Free small business chart of accounts template: numbered accounts with QuickBooks types and Schedule C lines. Excel and QBO import CSV."
---

Free template

# Chart of Accounts Template

A chart of accounts template for a small business: **50 numbered accounts** from checking (1000) to other income (7100), each with its QuickBooks Online type and detail type, the **Schedule C line** it totals into, and a note on what belongs in it. Download it for Excel, or as a CSV that QuickBooks Online imports directly.

[Download Excel (.xlsx)](/downloads/templates/ledgerbrook-small-business-chart-of-accounts.xlsx)[QuickBooks import CSV](/downloads/templates/ledgerbrook-small-business-chart-of-accounts-quickbooks.csv)

No sign-up. Need it for a specific industry? See the [industry versions](#industries).

## Assets

1000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1000 | Business Checking | Bank <br>Checking | | Main operating account. Most deposits and payments run through it. |
| 1010 | Business Savings | Bank <br>Savings | | Tax set-aside and reserve money. |
| 1020 | Petty Cash | Bank <br>Cash on Hand | | Cash kept on the premises. Top it up from checking with a transfer. |
| 1100 | Accounts Receivable | Accounts Receivable (A/R) <br>Accounts Receivable (A/R) | | Invoices sent and not yet paid. |
| 1200 | Inventory | Other Current Assets <br>Inventory | | Goods bought for resale, at cost, until they sell. |
| 1300 | Prepaid Expenses | Other Current Assets <br>Prepaid Expenses | | Annual insurance or software paid up front, expensed month by month. |
| 1500 | Furniture and Equipment | Fixed Assets <br>Machinery & Equipment | | Computers, tools and furniture above your capitalization threshold. |
| 1510 | Vehicles | Fixed Assets <br>Vehicles | | Vehicles owned by the business, at purchase cost. |
| 1590 | Accumulated Depreciation | Fixed Assets <br>Accumulated Depreciation | | Depreciation taken to date on the fixed assets above. Carries a credit balance. |

## Liabilities

2000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2000 | Accounts Payable | Accounts Payable (A/P) <br>Accounts Payable (A/P) | | Vendor bills entered and not yet paid. |
| 2100 | Business Credit Card | Credit Card <br>Credit Card | | One account per card, so each can be reconciled to its statement. |
| 2200 | Sales Tax Payable | Other Current Liabilities <br>Sales Tax Payable | | Sales tax collected from customers and owed to the state. |
| 2300 | Payroll Liabilities | Other Current Liabilities <br>Payroll Tax Payable | | Withheld and employer payroll taxes not yet deposited. |
| 2400 | Customer Deposits | Other Current Liabilities <br>Other Current Liabilities | | Money received before the work is done. Becomes income when you deliver. |
| 2700 | Loan Payable | Long Term Liabilities <br>Notes Payable | | Bank or SBA loan balance. Only the interest is an expense. |

## Equity

3000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3000 | Owner's Equity | Equity <br>Owner's Equity | | What the owner put in to start the business. |
| 3100 | Owner Contributions | Equity <br>Owner's Equity | | Personal money put into the business later. Not income. |
| 3200 | Owner Draws | Equity <br>Owner's Equity | | Money the owner takes out. Not an expense, and not on Schedule C. |
| 3900 | Retained Earnings | Equity <br>Retained Earnings | | Prior years' profit. QuickBooks closes the year into it automatically. |

## Income

4000s and 7000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4000 | Sales | Income <br>Sales of Product Income | 1 | Revenue from products sold. |
| 4100 | Service Income | Income <br>Service/Fee Income | 1 | Revenue from work billed to customers. |
| 4900 | Refunds and Discounts Given | Income <br>Discounts/Refunds Given | 2 | Returns and allowances. Reduces gross receipts on line 2. |
| 7000 | Interest Income | Other Income <br>Interest Earned | | Interest on business bank accounts. Usually reported on Schedule B, not Schedule C. |
| 7100 | Other Income | Other Income <br>Other Miscellaneous Income | 6 | Income outside normal operations, such as a refund of a prior-year expense. |

## Cost of goods sold

5000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 5000 | Cost of Goods Sold | Cost of Goods Sold <br>Supplies & Materials - COGS | 4 | What the products you sold cost you. |
| 5100 | Subcontractors | Cost of Goods Sold <br>Cost of Labor - COS | 4 | 1099 contractors who do the customer work. Track W-9s. |
| 5200 | Shipping and Delivery | Cost of Goods Sold <br>Shipping, Freight & Delivery - COS | 4 | Freight in and shipping to customers. |

## Expenses

6000s

| No. | Account | QuickBooks type / detail | Sch. C | What goes here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 6000 | Advertising and Marketing | Expenses <br>Advertising/Promotional | 8 | Ads, website, printing, sponsorships. |
| 6050 | Bank Fees | Expenses <br>Bank Charges | 27b | Monthly account fees, wire and overdraft fees. |
| 6100 | Car and Truck | Expenses <br>Auto | 9 | Fuel and repairs, or the standard mileage rate. Not both. |
| 6150 | Commissions and Fees | Expenses <br>Other Business Expenses | 10 | Sales commissions, card processing and marketplace fees. |
| 6200 | Contract Labor | Expenses <br>Other Business Expenses | 11 | Contractors for admin or overhead work, not customer jobs. |
| 6250 | Depreciation | Other Expense <br>Depreciation | 13 | Annual depreciation on fixed assets. Usually one entry at year end. |
| 6300 | Dues and Subscriptions | Expenses <br>Dues & Subscriptions | 27b | Software, memberships, trade publications. |
| 6350 | Insurance | Expenses <br>Insurance | 15 | General liability, property, workers comp. Not the owner's health insurance. |
| 6400 | Interest Expense | Expenses <br>Interest Paid | 16c | Interest on business loans and cards. Vehicle loan interest goes on 16b; principal goes to the liability. |
| 6450 | Legal and Professional Fees | Expenses <br>Legal & Professional Fees | 17 | Accountant, bookkeeper, attorney. |
| 6500 | Meals | Expenses <br>Travel Meals | 24b | Business meals. Usually 50% deductible, so keep them apart from travel. |
| 6550 | Office Expenses | Expenses <br>Office/General Administrative Expenses | 18 | Postage, small office items, printer ink. |
| 6600 | Payroll Wages | Expenses <br>Payroll Expenses | 26 | Gross wages paid to employees. Owner draws never go here. |
| 6610 | Payroll Taxes | Expenses <br>Payroll Expenses | 23 | Employer share of Social Security, Medicare and unemployment tax. |
| 6620 | Employee Benefits | Expenses <br>Payroll Expenses | 14 | Employee health insurance and other benefit programs. |
| 6650 | Rent or Lease | Expenses <br>Rent or Lease of Buildings | 20b | Office, shop or storage rent. |
| 6660 | Equipment Rental | Expenses <br>Equipment Rental | 20a | Short-term rental of machinery and equipment. |
| 6700 | Repairs and Maintenance | Expenses <br>Repair & Maintenance | 21 | Keeping property and equipment working. Improvements are fixed assets. |
| 6750 | Supplies | Expenses <br>Supplies & Materials | 22 | Materials used up in the business that aren't part of products sold. |
| 6800 | Taxes and Licenses | Expenses <br>Taxes Paid | 23 | Business licenses, property tax, state fees. Not federal income tax. |
| 6850 | Travel | Expenses <br>Travel | 24a | Airfare, hotels and transport for overnight business trips. |
| 6900 | Utilities | Expenses <br>Utilities | 25 | Electric, water, phone and internet for the business. |
| 6950 | Uncategorized Expense | Expenses <br>Other Miscellaneous Service Cost | 27b | A holding account. Should be empty at month end. |

Ledgerbrook

The books behind these numbers, kept for you.

US small business bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online. Fixed prices, agreed before any work starts.

[Get a free file review](/contact/?from=templates%2Fchart-of-accounts-template)

Bookkeeping or CPA firm? [We work under your name](/for-bookkeeping-firms/).

- [Behind on the booksCleanup and catch-up$99per month of backlog20% off 6+ monthsSee what's included](/quickbooks-cleanup/)
- [Every monthMonthly bookkeeping$149a month and upReconciled and closed every monthSee what's included](/monthly-bookkeeping/)
- [At year endCPA handoff pack$199a client, one-timeA file your CPA can file fromSee what's included](/for-cpas/)

Before you import

## Make it yours in four steps

1. 01
    
    Delete what you won't use
    
    No inventory? Drop 1200 and the cost of goods sold block. No employees? Drop the payroll accounts. An empty account is clutter on every report.
    
2. 02
    
    Add one account per bank account and card
    
    Each needs its own so it can be reconciled to its statement. Number them 1001, 1002 and 2101, 2102.
    
3. 03
    
    Split income the way you want to read it
    
    Add a 4000-series account for each product line or service you want to see on its own row of the profit and loss.
    
4. 04
    
    Keep the type and detail type
    
    Rename freely, but the QuickBooks type decides which report an account lands on. Change it and the balance sheet can come out wrong.
    

By industry

## Industry charts of accounts

Some industries need accounts a general list leaves out: retainage for contractors, trust accounts for law firms and property managers, restricted funds for nonprofits.

- [
    
    Construction chart of accounts
    
    Contractor job-costing and retainage conventions
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/construction/)
- [
    
    Restaurants chart of accounts
    
    Uniform System of Accounts for Restaurants (USAR) layout
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/restaurants/)
- [
    
    Law Firms chart of accounts
    
    ABA Model Rule 1.15 trust accounting rules
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/law-firms/)
- [
    
    Real Estate chart of accounts
    
    IRS Schedule E and repair regulations
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/real-estate/)
- [
    
    Trucking chart of accounts
    
    IRS and IFTA reporting requirements
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/trucking/)
- [
    
    Nonprofit chart of accounts
    
    FASB ASC 958 net asset classes and the Form 990 Part IX expense lines
    
    ](/tools/chart-of-accounts/nonprofits/)

Starting a new file?

## Have the QuickBooks file built for you

Ledgerbrook sets up QuickBooks Online with a chart of accounts fitted to your business, bank feeds connected and opening balances entered, for $199 one-time.

[See QuickBooks setup](/quickbooks-online-setup/)[Monthly bookkeeping](/monthly-bookkeeping/)

Frequently asked

## Chart of accounts template FAQ

### How do I create a chart of accounts for a small business?

Start from a standard list like this one and cut it down. Give each bank account and credit card its own account, add the income lines you want to see separately, and keep expense accounts close to the tax return's lines so year-end totals need no regrouping. Number the accounts in blocks (1000s for assets through 6000s for expenses) so new ones slot in without renumbering.

### How many accounts should a small business chart of accounts have?

Fewer than most people think. Thirty to sixty accounts covers most small businesses. Add one only when you will read it on a report, or when the tax return needs it apart. A separate account for every vendor or every month makes the profit and loss harder to read, not easier.

### What is the best way to number a chart of accounts?

Four digits, in blocks by type: 1000s assets, 2000s liabilities, 3000s equity, 4000s income, 5000s cost of goods sold, 6000s expenses, 7000s other income and expense. Leave gaps of 10 to 50 between accounts so a new one can go where it belongs. In QuickBooks Online, turn on account numbers under Settings, Advanced, Chart of accounts.

### How do I import a chart of accounts into QuickBooks Online?

Download the QuickBooks CSV from this page. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, Import data, Chart of accounts, upload the file and match the four columns: account number, name, type and detail type. Review the preview, then import. Accounts that QuickBooks already created, such as Retained Earnings, may show as duplicates; skip those rows.

### Does this chart of accounts work for an LLC or an S corporation?

Yes. The Schedule C column applies to sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. For an S corporation, rename Owner Contributions and Owner Draws to shareholder contributions and distributions, and pay the owner through Payroll Wages. Partnerships use a capital and a draw account for each partner.

### Can I use this chart of accounts in Excel or Google Sheets instead of QuickBooks?

Yes. The Excel file lists every account with its type, detail type, Schedule C line and what goes in it. To keep books in a spreadsheet, the [small business bookkeeping template](/templates/small-business-bookkeeping-template/) uses the same Schedule C categories.