Every transaction in Zoho Books is posted to at least one account in the Chart of Accounts. It acts as the backbone of your accounting system, defining where income lands, where costs are tracked, and how the Balance Sheet is built. Zoho Books ships with a default chart that covers common categories for Indian businesses, including separate accounts for GST payable, TDS receivable, and multiple bank accounts.
Accounts are organised into five top-level types: Assets (what you own), Liabilities (what you owe), Equity (owner’s stake), Income (revenue earned), and Expenses (costs incurred). Each type feeds a different financial report.
You can create sub-accounts under any parent account. For example, under “Sales” you might have “Domestic Sales” and “Export Sales” as children. Under “Bank Accounts” you might have “HDFC Current Account” and “SBI Savings Account.” This keeps transaction detail without cluttering top-level reports. Zoho Books allows up to five levels of hierarchy.
When creating accounts, use clear, consistent naming. Avoid abbreviations that only one person understands. Your chartered accountant and auditor will read these names in every report and journal entry.
For GST-registered businesses, Zoho Books automatically creates accounts for CGST Payable, SGST Payable, IGST Payable, and their corresponding input tax credit accounts. These feed directly into GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B reports. Do not rename or delete these system accounts as it will break tax reporting.
The Chart of Accounts in Zoho Books is a complete, organised list of every financial account your business uses to categorise and record transactions, grouped into assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses.
Yes. You can add, edit, and deactivate accounts at any time. You can also create sub-accounts under parent accounts to reflect your specific business structure.
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