--- id: CON-ACC-BKS-002 name: Chart of Accounts feature: FEAT-ACC-BKS-02 product_area: accounting module: books revision: 1 status: draft product_intent: confirmed implementation_evidence: observed source_sha: services-accounting: f47cb263875bbc0c5640fba7dae6785ec32695f8 react-console: baf6dae382d6f41dce976c7f848667ccc37e076f definition: >- A chart of accounts describes one unit’s financial destinations, default purposes, receiving accounts and reporting dimensions. owned_by: MOD-ACC-BKS synonyms: - GL accounts - general ledger accounts - chart not_to_be_confused_with: - Posted ledger history owned by batch processing. - Receipt methods describing how money arrives. facets: - name: GL destinations meaning: >- Stable unit-specific codes identify classified accounts, with optional descriptive names. used_for: Classifying posted financial amounts. - name: Fallback purposes meaning: Standard purposes select a unit account for posting to use when needed. used_for: Supplying default destinations. - name: Bank destinations meaning: >- A bank record links limited descriptive account information to a unit’s cash destination. used_for: Identifying deposits and reconciliation accounts. - name: Processor clearing destinations meaning: >- Merchant configuration identifies the processor account and the GL destination used for its receipts. used_for: Handling processor receipts and payouts. - name: Reporting dimensions meaning: Departments and projects classify the unit’s activity using stable codes. used_for: Grouping financial results. - name: Collected-tax destinations meaning: Rate mappings identify each unit’s tax liability account. used_for: Directing tax at posting. relationships: - to: CON-ACC-BKS-001 statement: >- Financial destinations and reporting dimensions remain attached to their original unit. provenance: test source: >- services-accounting:modules/books/tests/e2e/gl-accounts.e2e.spec.js#answers 409 to a change of business unit, naming the column - to: CON-ACC-BKS-006 statement: Tax payable choices connect workspace tax setup to unit accounts. provenance: test source: >- react-console:acceptance/accounting/playwright/journeys/configuration/ACT-ACC-0022.spec.ts#ACT-ACC-0022 lifecycle: - state: active meaning: Eligible for active choices and new use. how_it_changes: >- An administrator deactivates eligible configuration; defaults are protected. - state: inactive meaning: Retained for existing references rather than new picker choices. how_it_changes: Authorized staff restore its active standing. acted_on_by: - CAP-ACC-BKS-005 - CAP-ACC-BKS-006 - CAP-ACC-BKS-007 - CAP-ACC-BKS-008 - CAP-ACC-BKS-013 visible_to: - ACT-ACC-001 - ACT-ACC-002 - ACT-ACC-004 evidence: - >- Verified source file: react-console:acceptance/accounting/playwright/journeys/configuration/ACT-ACC-0022.spec.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/accounting-projects.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/bank-accounts.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/business-unit-default-gl-accounts.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/default-gl-account-purposes.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/departments.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/gl-accounts.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/merchant-accounts.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/payment-processors.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/tax-classes.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/tax-zone-rates.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/db/tax-zones.table.ts - >- Verified source file: services-accounting:modules/books/tests/e2e/gl-accounts.e2e.spec.js supersedes: [] --- # Chart of Accounts ## What It Is A chart of accounts organizes the destinations used to record one business unit’s money. Its GL accounts identify cash, liabilities, income, expenses and other accounting categories with codes familiar to the finance team. Each account belongs to the unit and has its own currency and type. A descriptive name helps staff recognize it, while the stable code supports later references and accounting exports. The concept also includes the configuration that directs financial work into those accounts. Standard posting purposes can select default accounts. Bank and merchant accounts point to the chart so deposits and processor receipts have destinations. Departments and projects supply reporting dimensions beneath the unit. Together these facets explain where the money is recorded and how it can be grouped without requiring a separate conceptual explanation for every configuration table. ## What It Is Not The chart describes available destinations; it does not contain the posted ledger entries themselves. Batch posting owns those entries and resolves the destinations it needs. A payment method describes how money arrives, while a receiving account describes its financial destination. A department or project classifies activity within a set of books and does not create a separate accounting entity. ## How It Is Used An accountant selects a unit and enters the accounts used by the organization’s financial system. The controller reviews default purposes from the chart page, then configures bank and merchant destinations and any reporting dimensions. Other staff mostly encounter these records through selectors. Descriptive corrections are possible, but stable identities and dependency refusals prevent an account from disappearing underneath configuration or financial history that still needs it. Missing setup can be addressed before posting without stopping staff from issuing invoices. The chart page’s notice provides an early prompt for important defaults. It is still the posting workflow that must resolve the account required for a particular document. ## Its Facets **GL accounts.** Codes and types distinguish the available financial destinations. Names supply readable labels without replacing account identity. **Standard purposes.** Default assignments provide unit-level fallback choices. Expected types communicate a purpose’s usual treatment, although the service and console currently apply those expectations differently. **Bank destinations.** A bank record links a recognizable deposit account to the chart. Its descriptive number information is limited to the last four digits. **Merchant destinations.** A merchant record identifies processor-related receipts and their clearing account. Processor selection and connection are distinct; the configuration’s status does not establish live processing. **Reporting dimensions.** Departments and accounting projects give product accounting a way to classify financial activity more finely. Their current labels follow name corrections while their codes remain stable. **Tax liabilities.** Rate-to-account mapping directs collected tax to a unit’s payable destination. The mapping has a financial purpose even as tax determination moves to Commerce. ## How It Relates The business unit supplies the owning context. Product accounting selects destinations and dimensions from the chart, and posting uses explicit choices and defaults when it processes financial documents. Reconciliation owns settlement behaviour associated with merchant records. Tax setup currently carries payable mappings alongside its rates, leaving a boundary to resolve during the ownership transfer. ## What It Could Become The product should publish required default purposes in a shared service contract so different clients can explain missing setup consistently. It should also settle whether account-type guidance is advisory or restrictive in every client. A separate payable-mapping record could preserve Accounting’s financial responsibility while Commerce owns the tax configuration.