How to Set Up, Import and Export the Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Desktop

Before you start

• QuickBooks adds some accounts on its own. Accounts Receivable appears with your first invoice, Accounts Payable with your first bill, and Inventory Asset with your first inventory part or assembly.
• Back up the company file before any import. Intuit recommends it for chart of accounts imports and says an import can't be undone.
• QuickBooks doesn't number the accounts you add. If you want account numbers, you assign them.
• A subaccount must have the same account type as its parent.
• Merging accounts, exporting lists to IIF and changing Company Preferences need single-user mode.

If you haven't made a backup lately, see how to back up and restore a QuickBooks Desktop company file.

Step 1: Turn on account numbers (optional)

1. 1Go to Edit > Preferences and select Accounting.
2. 2Open the Company Preferences tab and check Use account numbers.
3. 3If you use subaccounts, also check Show lowest subaccount only. Transactions then show only the lowest subaccount instead of the full parent path.
4. 4Select OK.

Then enter a number each time you create or edit an account.

Step 2: Add accounts and subaccounts

1. 1Go to Lists > Chart of Accounts.
2. 2Open the Account dropdown and select New.
3. 3Choose an account type, then select Continue.
4. 4Enter the account details, including the account number if you turned numbers on.
5. 5For a subaccount, check Subaccount of and choose the parent account.
6. 6Select Save & Close.

Intuit lists two newer options in the Chart of Accounts window. You can search account descriptions by keyword, and you can right-click an account and select Duplicate to copy it.

Step 3: Edit, hide, merge or delete accounts

• Edit: right-click the account and select Edit Account. You can change its type, number, description and tax-line mapping.
• Delete: right-click the account, select Delete Account, then OK. This works only if the account isn't used in any transactions, isn't assigned to any line items, and has no subaccounts.
• Make inactive: if you can't delete it, select Edit Account and check Account is inactive. It's hidden from the list and from transaction forms, but still appears on reports.
• Reactivate: check Include inactive in the Chart of Accounts, edit the account, and clear Account is inactive.
• Merge: in single-user mode, copy the name of the account you're keeping. Edit the other account, paste that name, select Save & Close, then Yes.

Before a merge, Intuit says to back up the file, clear any pending accountant's changes, and make sure multicurrency is off. If QuickBooks says the account has online information associated with it, turn off the online connection for that account first.

Step 4: Import a chart of accounts from Excel

1. 1Back up the company file.
2. 2Go to Lists > Chart of Accounts.
3. 3Open the Account dropdown at the bottom of the window and select Import from Excel.
4. 4Select Browse, choose the Excel file, then Open. Pick the sheet that holds your accounts.
5. 5Set up a mapping: type a mapping name and choose Account as the import type. Match each QuickBooks field to a column heading in your sheet, then select Save.
6. 6Select Import. If it's your first import, select Yes to confirm.

The mapping tells QuickBooks which of your columns holds which field, since your headings may not match QuickBooks' names. For items, see how to import items from Excel.

Step 5: Copy the chart of accounts with an IIF file

Intuit's steps for copying lists, including the chart of accounts, into another company file use an IIF export.

1. 1Sign in as the admin and switch to single-user mode.
2. 2Go to File > Utilities > Export > Lists to IIF Files.
3. 3Select Chart of Accounts, then OK.
4. 4Choose where to save, enter a file name, then select Save.

To bring it into the other file, open that file as the admin in single-user mode. Go to File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files. Intuit says to import the chart of accounts before any other list, and to back up first. Importing damaged lists will damage the new file.

You can clean up the IIF file in Excel first. In Excel's open window, set the file type to All Files and finish the Text Import Wizard. Save your edits, select Yes on the prompt, and select Don't Save when Excel asks again on exit.

Step 6: Export the chart of accounts to Excel

1. 1Go to Reports > List > Account Listing.
2. 2Open the Excel dropdown at the top of the report and select Create New Worksheet.
3. 3In the Send Report to Excel window, choose what to do with the report.
4. 4Select Export. QuickBooks opens the report in Excel.

Intuit says reports can also be exported as CSV files or PDFs. If QuickBooks says the report has too many columns, select Advanced and clear Space between columns. If you're exporting before a move to another system, see how to export your data before a migration.

Common errors

• Can't delete an account: it's used in transactions, assigned to line items, or has subaccounts. Make it inactive, or move its subaccounts to another parent first.
• Subaccount won't save under a parent: the two must be the same account type.
• Can't merge accounts: switch to single-user mode first. Merging isn't possible in multi-user mode.
• Can't edit or delete an existing account: an Accountant's Copy may be pending. Intuit says you can't edit or delete existing accounts while accountant's changes are pending.
• Leading zeros disappear when you edit an IIF file in Excel: format those column cells as Custom.
• A new bank account appears after an IIF transaction import: the file named an account QuickBooks didn't have. QuickBooks created it as a bank account, so add or import your accounts first.

For the Accountant's Copy restrictions, see how to create and send an Accountant's Copy.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• Designing the account structure and numbering. QuickBooks won't number your accounts.
• Mapping spreadsheet columns to QuickBooks fields on each import.
• Finding duplicate accounts and merging them one pair at a time.
• Backing up before every import, since an import can't be undone.
• Checking reports after you hide accounts, since inactive accounts still appear on them.