# Design or clean up a chart of accounts

Produces a structured, right-sized chart of accounts with numbering, mapping from the old one, and rules to keep it from sprawling again.

- Topic: Finance & Accounting
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Finance, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/design-or-clean-up-a-chart-of-accounts

## Prompt

```text
Help me design or clean up a chart of accounts.

**Business and industry:** [WHAT IT DOES, how it makes money]
**Size and complexity:** [revenue range, number of entities, locations, departments]
**Reporting needs:** [e.g. "P&L by location", "gross margin by product line", "grant tracking", "lender covenant reporting"]
**Framework and tax regime:** [US GAAP / IFRS, country, entity type]
**Current chart of accounts:** [PASTE, or "starting from scratch"]
**Accounting software:** [e.g. QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite - and whether it supports classes, tracking categories, or dimensions]

Principles to apply:
- Use accounts for what the transaction is; use classes/departments/locations for where it happened. Don't create "Rent - Store 1", "Rent - Store 2".
- Group accounts so the statements roll up cleanly (assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, COGS, operating expenses, other income/expense).
- Keep enough detail for tax return lines and lender reporting, and no more.
- Leave numbering gaps for future accounts.

Return:
1. The proposed chart: Number | Account name | Type | Detail type/tax line | Notes.
2. Which dimensions (class, department, location, project) to use instead of extra accounts.
3. If I gave a current chart: a mapping table (Old account -> New account | Action: keep / merge / rename / inactivate) and the risks of merging accounts with history.
4. Five rules for adding new accounts in future.

Flag tax-line mapping as [CONFIRM WITH TAX PREPARER].
```

## What to fill in

- WHAT IT DOES, how it makes money
- revenue range, number of entities, locations, departments
- US GAAP / IFRS, country, entity type
- PASTE, or "starting from scratch"
- CONFIRM WITH TAX PREPARER

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.