Chart of accounts: structure and account types

Chart of accounts: structure and account types

A chart of accounts (چارت حسابات) is the complete list of all accounts your business uses to record financial transactions. It is the backbone of double-entry bookkeeping, organizing your income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity in a logical hierarchy.

Why it matters

Your chart of accounts defines how money flows through your business. Every transaction is recorded by posting amounts to two accounts—one debited, one credited. A well-organized chart makes it easy to generate accurate reports, track specific business areas, and understand your financial position at a glance.

How accounts are organized in Usystems

Accounts are grouped by type, each serving a specific purpose:

• Assets – what your business owns (cash, inventory, equipment, receivables from customers)
• Liabilities – what your business owes (loans, bills payable, advances from customers)
• Equity – the owner's stake in the business (capital, retained earnings)
• Income – money earned from sales and services
• Expenses – costs of running the business (salaries, rent, materials)

Within each type, accounts may be further organized by category (e.g., "current assets" vs. "fixed assets") and assigned tags for additional classification (e.g., "tax-tracked," "audit-critical").

Account codes and naming

Each account has a unique code (usually a number or alphanumeric identifier) and a name. The code typically reflects the account's position in the hierarchy—for example, asset codes might start with 1, liabilities with 2, equity with 3, income with 4, and expenses with 5. This numbering makes reports consistent and easy to scan.

System requirements

Your Usystems instance comes with a set of required system accounts that handle specific functions: bank accounts, accounts receivable, accounts payable, cost of goods sold, and retained earnings. These accounts cannot be deleted and must remain properly configured for financial transactions to post correctly.

Where you see your chart

• In the Accounts menu: view and manage the complete chart, create new accounts, and archive unused ones
• In transaction forms (invoices, bills, payments): account fields automatically filter to relevant types
• In financial reports: all data flows from your chart into P&L, balance sheets, and detailed ledgers

Your chart is tenant-specific—each constellation has its own complete chart of accounts, and transactions are scoped to that chart only.