Can the chart of accounts be imported from an Excel file?

No, the system doesn’t support importing the chart of accounts from an Excel file, and there’s usually no need for that, since the system comes with a ready-made chart of accounts from the moment it’s created.

The chart of accounts is pre-built with a complete accounting structure based on the five main account types — Assets, Liabilities, Owner’s Equity, Revenue, and Expenses — with common classifications and sub-accounts under them. This structure covers most businesses without any additional setup, and you can start working on it right away.

What the user needs is to add to this structure, not build it from scratch: you can create new sub-accounts under any existing classification, add classifications that fit your business’s nature, and edit account names and codes to match your accounting system.

As for journal entries on sub-accounts, these can be imported from an Excel file once the accounts are complete. Importing here records movements on accounts that already exist and doesn’t create new accounts, so the account must already be defined in the chart of accounts before importing any entry on it.

The workflow is therefore:

1. Review the ready-made chart of accounts in your account and identify what’s missing.
2. Manually add the accounts and classifications your business needs from the chart of accounts tree.
3. Import journal entries from an Excel file onto those accounts.

You can later distinguish imported entries from manual ones via the activity log, where they appear as “[User] imported journal entry #JRNxxx” instead of “added.”

Note: if you’re migrating your accounts from another system, don’t create a parallel tree alongside the ready-made one. Review the existing accounts first and add what’s missing underneath them, and check the codes carefully, since they’re what the entry import files will rely on to match each movement to its account.