Help Center / Organization Setup

Chart of Accounts Setup

This article explains how to prepare and upload your Chart of Accounts in Light, including how to create accounts, organize them by group, and manage your accounting structure.

What is a Chart of Accounts?

Your Chart of Accounts is the complete list of all accounts available for posting transactions in Light. It defines your GL account structure and determines how financial data flows through your general ledger. Light supports multi-entity, multi-currency accounting with a flexible account structure.

Navigating the Accounts page

The Accounts page is located at Settings (gear icon) → Chart of accounts (under the Records section). The page has three tabs:

  • Chart of accounts: View, search, and manage all GL accounts
  • Account defaults: Configure system account mappings (e.g., Rounding, FX loss, FX gain, Bank fees)
  • Intercompany rules: Set up rules for intercompany transactions

The top-right actions include Build, Upload, and Export buttons, along with + Create account and + Add intercompany rule.

Account fields

Each account in Light has the following properties:

  • Account number: A unique 6-digit numeric identifier (e.g., 100100, 200100)
  • Account name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Cash", "Accounts Receivable")
  • Account status: Active or Disabled
  • Entities: Which company entities this account is available in
  • Currency: The account currency, required for bank and cash & equivalents accounts
  • Account category: The category classification (e.g., Standard)
  • Aggregation rule: Optional rule for how the account aggregates in reporting
  • Account group: The financial grouping (e.g., Other current asset, Accounts receivable, Intangible asset)
  • Revalue open balance for foreign currency transactions: Checkbox to enable FX revaluation for this account
  • Context (optional): A description of the account's purpose

Creating a new account

  1. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Chart of accounts (under the Records section)
  2. Click + Create account
  3. Fill in the account details:
    • Account number: Enter a unique account number
    • Account name: Enter a descriptive name
    • Account status: Select Active or Disabled
    • Entities: Choose which entities this account applies to
    • Currency: For bank and cash & equivalents accounts, select the account currency
    • Account category: Select the appropriate category
    • Aggregation rule: Optionally enter an aggregation rule
    • Account group: Select the account group (e.g., Other current asset, Revenue, Expense)
    • Revalue open balance for foreign currency transactions: Check if this account should be revalued
    • Context (optional): Add a description of the account's purpose
  4. Click Create account

Uploading your Chart of Accounts

To bulk-import accounts:

  1. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Chart of accounts (under the Records section)
  2. Click the Upload button in the top-right actions
  3. Prepare your accounts file in the supported format (CSV or Excel)
  4. Upload your prepared file
  5. Light validates the structure and displays any errors
  6. Review the preview to confirm accounts will be created correctly
  7. Complete the upload to import all accounts

Tip: Start with a clean, validated file to avoid upload errors. Light provides validation feedback to help identify issues before final import.

Editing accounts

  1. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Chart of accounts (under the Records section)
  2. Search for the account you need to modify
  3. Click the account to open its detail view
  4. Click Edit to update the account fields
  5. Make your changes and save

The account number, account group, category, and currency can only be changed while the account has no posted activity. Once the account has been used in transactions or accounting documents, these fields are locked — to renumber a used account, deactivate the old account and create a new one with the correct number.

Account activation and deactivation

Accounts can be set to Active or Disabled using the Account status field:

  • Active: Available for posting new transactions
  • Disabled: Archived accounts retained for historical reference

To deactivate an account, open the account, click Edit, change Account status to Disabled, and save. Disabled accounts retain all historical transaction data but won't appear in transaction posting dropdowns. Accounts that were deactivated in a connected external ERP cannot be manually reactivated in Light.

Account defaults

The Account defaults tab configures which accounts are used for system-level postings:

  • Rounding: Account for rounding gain/loss
  • FX loss / FX gain: Accounts for realized foreign exchange gains and losses
  • FX unrealized: Account for unrealized FX gains and losses
  • Sales discount: Account for sales discounts
  • Bank fees: Account for bank charges
  • Bank clearing: Clearing account for bank transactions
  • Currency translation adjustment: Account for currency translation differences
  • Elimination: System elimination account for consolidation

Exporting your Chart of Accounts

Click the Export button in the top-right actions on the Chart of accounts tab to download your complete account list.

Best practices

  • Use consistent account numbering across your organization (e.g., all assets starting with 1)
  • Create meaningful account names that are clear to users
  • Assign accounts to the correct entities to control where they appear
  • Choose appropriate account groups for accurate financial statement classification
  • Use the Context field to document the purpose of each account
  • Configure account defaults before posting transactions
  • Account numbers must be unique across your company

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