What is a chart of accounts?

A chart of accounts is the list of every account your business records transactions against, organised by type — revenue, direct costs, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity. It is the structure underneath every report you produce. A profit and loss statement is just your revenue and expense accounts grouped up; a balance sheet is the rest.

How many accounts should I have?

Fewer than you think. Most small businesses run well on 40 to 60 accounts, and the ones with 200 usually have them because nobody ever deleted anything. The test is decision-usefulness: if separating two accounts would never change what you do, merge them.

Why do the codes jump in fours and fives?

So you can insert a new account in the right place later. If advertising is 400 and bank fees are 404, a new account belongs at 401 or 402 without renumbering anything. A chart numbered 1, 2, 3 forces you to either renumber or put new accounts in the wrong place.

What do the GST codes mean?

GST for taxable supplies and purchases. FRE for GST-free items such as most basic food, most health and medical, and most education. INP for input taxed items such as residential rent and most financial supplies. N-T for anything not reported on a BAS at all, like a transfer between your own bank accounts. Setting the default on the account is what keeps coding consistent.

Why are capital purchases reported at G10 and not G11?

Because the BAS separates capital purchases from everything else. G10 is capital purchases, G11 is non-capital purchases, and the GST credit on both flows through to 1B. Coding a piece of equipment to G11 does not usually change the GST you claim, but it does misreport the BAS. It is the most common classification error in small business files, which is why the plant and equipment account in this chart is labelled explicitly.

Why is interest coded INP?

Financial supplies are input taxed, so there is no GST on interest and no GST credit to claim. Coding it GST would overstate your credits at 1B. Bank fees are a related trap — most carry no GST, which is why account 404 defaults to FRE.

Can I import this into Xero or MYOB?

Yes. Codes, names and types are in separate columns, which is the shape both expect. Check the import format your software wants and map the columns to it. Review the GST codes after import — the default tax rate names differ between packages even where the treatment is identical.

Should I use this with the general ledger template?

Yes — the general ledger template has a chart of accounts sheet built in, and its ledger dropdowns read from it. Use this standalone version when you are setting up software rather than working in a spreadsheet, or when you want the full 52-account version with BAS labels.

Do I need a separate account for every employee or supplier?

No. Employees and suppliers are tracked as contacts or subaccounts, not as accounts in the chart. One wages account plus a payroll register gives you per-employee detail without polluting the chart.

FREE EXCEL TEMPLATE Last updated 28 August 2026

Chart of accounts template for Australian businesses

Fifty-two accounts across revenue, direct costs, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity — each with a code, a default GST code and the BAS label it feeds. A starting point to cut down, not a standard to follow.

Chart of accounts template

Excel (.xlsx) · 52 accounts · no signup

52 accounts with Australian GST codes

BAS label mapped to every account

Numbered code ranges with room to insert

Notes explaining the awkward ones

General information only, not tax or accounting advice.

This template is general information for Australian businesses. GST treatment, account coding, reporting obligations and deduction eligibility depend on your circumstances — confirm them with your accountant, a registered BAS agent or the ATO. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.

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What's in the chart of accounts

One sheet you can cut down, extend and import.

52 starting accounts

Enough to run a small Australian business, arranged so you can delete rather than invent.

Numbered code ranges

200s revenue, 300s direct costs, 400–500s expenses, 600–700s assets, 800s liabilities, 900s equity.

Default GST code per account

GST, FRE, INP or N-T set on every line, so coding is consistent from the first transaction.

BAS label mapping

Which label each account feeds — G1, G10, G11, 1A, 1B, W1, W2 — so the BAS falls out of the ledger.

Notes on the tricky ones

Why rates are FRE, why interest is INP, why the car limit matters, why wages carry no GST.

Import ready

Codes, names and types in separate columns so it maps cleanly into Xero, MYOB or a spreadsheet ledger.

The awkward accounts

Most of a chart of accounts is obvious. These are the lines people code wrong.

Code	Account	Default GST	BAS label	Why
404	Bank fees	FRE	G11	Most bank fees carry no GST credit
437	Interest expense	INP	—	Input taxed — no GST credit
465	Rates	FRE	G11	Council rates carry no GST
477	Wages & salaries	FRE	W1	Wages are not subject to GST
630	Plant & equipment	GST	G10 / 1B	Capital — reported at G10, not G11

Coding a capital purchase to G11 instead of G10 is the single most common BAS classification error in small business files.

How to structure a chart of accounts

Two decisions do most of the work: how many accounts, and how you number them.

Leave gaps in the numbering

Codes jump in fours and fives deliberately. When you need a new expense account between two existing ones, you drop it in rather than renumbering the chart.

Fewer accounts, not more

If you would not make a different decision because two accounts are separate, make them one. A 200-account chart nobody codes consistently is worse than a 40-account chart everybody does.

Set the GST code once

A default GST code on the account is what stops the same expense being coded GST one month and FRE the next.

Match the industry, not the textbook

A café needs food and beverage split out. A trades business needs subcontractors and materials. Delete what you will never use.

The one account to keep small

Every chart has a General expenses account, and in most files it quietly becomes the largest expense line because it is the path of least resistance. If it is above a few percent of total expenses, something in there deserves its own account.

Who uses a chart of accounts template

New businesses setting up

A starting structure on day one, rather than accounts invented one transaction at a time.

Bookkeepers standardising clients

A consistent base chart across a client book makes review, handover and reporting faster.

Anyone rebuilding a messy file

Where accounts have accumulated for years and the P&L has stopped being readable.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Do you standardise charts across a client book?

A consistent chart is easier to review, hand over and report on — and the wages line is where shift-based clients get expensive. Advisors who bring those clients onto RosterElf earn recurring monthly income for every employee managed.

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Definitions

Plain-English explanations of the terms used on this page.

FAQ

Chart of accounts questions

A chart of accounts is the list of every account your business records transactions against, organised by type — revenue, direct costs, expenses, assets, liabilities and equity.

It is the structure underneath every report you produce. A profit and loss statement is just your revenue and expense accounts grouped up; a balance sheet is the rest.
Fewer than you think. Most small businesses run well on 40 to 60 accounts, and the ones with 200 usually have them because nobody ever deleted anything.

The test is decision-usefulness: if separating two accounts would never change what you do, merge them.
So you can insert a new account in the right place later. If advertising is 400 and bank fees are 404, a new account belongs at 401 or 402 without renumbering anything.

A chart numbered 1, 2, 3 forces you to either renumber or put new accounts in the wrong place.

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