QuickBooks chart of accounts template

A starting chart of accounts for a Canadian small business: 34 accounts for a service business, 39 if you also sell products. Each account has its number, account type and detail type, in the layout QuickBooks Online imports. English or French, free, no sign-up.

Import format checked against Intuit's Canadian help on September 25, 2026.

Download the file

Language of your QuickBooks

Your business

34 accounts · quickbooks-chart-of-accounts-services.csv

Intuit's French instructions use a Sous-type column and French account types, so pick the language QuickBooks shows you. The file is built in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

The accounts, one by one

Grouped by account type, in the order of the Balance Sheet and then the Profit and Loss. Rows marked "products" are only in the file for a business that sells goods.

Number	Account	Detail type	What goes in it
Bank
10100	Chequing account	Chequing	The business bank account most money moves through.
10200	Savings account	Savings	Money set aside, such as the tax reserve.
10300	Petty cash	Cash	Cash kept on hand for small purchases.
Other Current Assets
12000	Prepaid expenses	Prepaid Expenses	Insurance or software paid for a period that has not started yet.
Property Plant & Equipment
15000	Computer equipment	Other fixed assets	Computers and devices kept for more than a year.
15100	Furniture and fixtures	Other fixed assets	Desks, shelving, fit-out of the premises.
15200	Vehicles	Other fixed assets	Vehicles the business owns.
15900	Accumulated depreciation	Accumulated Depreciation	Depreciation taken on the equipment so far, usually entered by the accountant at year end.
Credit Card
20100	Business credit card	Credit Card	One account per card, so each one reconciles to its own statement.
Other Current Liabilities
21000	Line of credit	Line of Credit	The balance owed on the bank's line of credit.
21200	Income taxes payable	Current Tax Liability	Corporate income tax owed for the year.
21300	Shareholder loan	Short term borrowings from related parties	Money the owner put in or took out, when it is not salary or dividends.
21400	Customer depositsproducts	Current Liabilities	Payments received before the goods ship.
Long Term Liabilities
25000	Long-term loan	Notes Payable	A bank loan repaid over more than a year.
Income
40100	Discounts and refunds given	Discounts/Refunds Given	Discounts and refunds to customers, kept apart from sales.
Cost of Goods Sold
50100	Materials and supplies for resaleproducts	Supplies and materials	What you buy to make or resell, when you do not track it as inventory.
50200	Freight and duties on purchasesproducts	Supplies and materials	Shipping and customs paid to bring goods in.
50300	Packagingproducts	Supplies and materials	Boxes, labels and wrapping for what you sell.
Expenses
60100	Advertising and marketing	Advertising/Promotional	Ads, sponsorships, promotional material.
60200	Bank charges	Bank charges	Monthly account fees and transaction fees.
60300	Payment processing fees	Bank charges	Stripe, Square, Moneris or QuickBooks Payments fees.
60400	Insurance	Insurance	Liability, property and business insurance.
60500	Interest on loans	Interest paid	Interest on the line of credit, loans and cards.
60600	Accounting and legal fees	Legal and professional fees	Accountant, bookkeeper and lawyer.
60700	Meals and entertainment	Meals and entertainment	Meals with clients. Only half is deductible, so keep them apart.
60800	Office supplies	Office/General Administrative Expenses	Paper, ink, small items used up within the year.
60900	Software and subscriptions	Dues and Subscriptions	QuickBooks, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and the rest.
61000	Rent	Rent or Lease of Buildings	Rent for the office, shop or warehouse.
61100	Telephone and internet	Utilities	Mobile plans, landlines and internet access.
61200	Electricity and heating	Utilities	Hydro, gas and heating for the premises.
61300	Travel	Travel	Transport, hotels and per diems on business trips.
61400	Vehicle expenses	Auto	Fuel, maintenance, parking and registration.
61500	Repairs and maintenance	Repair and maintenance	Repairs to the premises and equipment.
61600	Subcontractors	Cost of Labour	Freelancers and subcontractors who bill you.
61900	Training	Office/General Administrative Expenses	Courses, conferences and professional development.
62000	Licences and permits	Office/General Administrative Expenses	Business licences, permits and professional dues.
62100	Shipping to customersproducts	Shipping, Freight, and Delivery	Postage and couriers for orders you send out.
Other Income
70100	Interest income	Interest Earned	Interest paid by the bank on your balances.
Other Expense
80100	Depreciation	Depreciation	The year's depreciation on equipment and vehicles.

Import the chart of accounts into QuickBooks Online

Intuit's steps, in order. Intuit recommends importing while you first set up the company.

1Turn on account numbers, which are off by default: Settings ⚙, Account and settings, Advanced tab, Chart of accounts section, Enable account numbers.
2Go to Settings ⚙, Import data, then Chart of Accounts. Select Browse, pick the CSV, then Next.
3In the Your Field dropdowns, match each column to its QuickBooks field: Account number, Account Name, Type and Detail Type.
4Read through the list. A cell in red holds a value QuickBooks will not take: hover over it to see why, then pick the right type or detail type from its list. If every Type cell is red, the file is in the other language, because QuickBooks matches the language of its own screens: go back and download the other file. Check the Travel row too: QuickBooks may preselect Travel meals there without marking it red, so switch it to Travel. We ran both files through QuickBooks' import screen on September 25, 2026 and matched every label to its lists.
5Uncheck any account you don't want, such as one your company already has under the same name, then select Import.
6Once every account is in, enter the opening balances with a journal entry.

What the file leaves out

QuickBooks creates these accounts itself, and several of them cannot be made inactive. Importing a second copy would only clutter the list.

→ Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Accounts Payable (A/P).
→ Sales tax: GST/HST Payable, and a payable account for each tax agency you set up.
→ Undeposited Funds, Opening Balance Equity and Retained Earnings.
→ The other equity accounts, which depend on the business type chosen when the company was created.
→ Payroll Expenses and Payroll Liabilities, for payroll.
→ Services, the default income account. Rename it after what you sell rather than adding another one.
→ Inventory Asset, Cost of Goods Sold and Sales of Product Income, which come with inventory tracking.

Sales tax: leave it to QuickBooks

The file has no GST, HST, QST or PST account, on purpose. Set up sales tax in QuickBooks (Sales Tax, then your province or territory) and it adds GST/HST Payable, plus a payable account for each tax agency. Here is what each province charges.

→ Alberta: GST · calculator
→ British Columbia: GST + PST · calculator
→ Manitoba: GST + RST · calculator
→ New Brunswick: HST · calculator
→ Newfoundland and Labrador: HST · calculator
→ Nova Scotia: HST · calculator
→ Northwest Territories: GST · calculator
→ Nunavut: GST · calculator
→ Ontario: HST · calculator
→ Prince Edward Island: HST · calculator
→ Quebec: GST + QST · calculator
→ Saskatchewan: GST + PST · calculator
→ Yukon: GST · calculator

Once the books are set up

A clean chart of accounts only helps if expenses land in the right account. Caribooks connects QuickBooks Online to Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot, so the assistant reads the whole ledger and tells you what is filed in the wrong place. With Autopilot, the "Split the collapsed vendors" loop sends Uber rides to travel and Uber Eats to meals, and the "Month-end close" loop reviews last month and hands you its questions.

How Caribooks works Plans and prices

Common questions

Can QuickBooks Online import a chart of accounts from Excel or CSV?

Yes. Settings ⚙, Import data, Chart of Accounts takes an Excel file, a Google Sheet or a CSV with the columns Account Name, Type, Detail Type and, optionally, the account number. The file on this page is a CSV in that layout.

Should I import GST/HST, QST or PST accounts?

No. QuickBooks creates GST/HST Payable and a payable account for each tax agency when you set up sales tax, and that is where it records the tax on every transaction. An account you import would sit empty beside them.

Do I need account numbers?

No, and the feature stays off until you turn it on under Account and settings, Advanced. The file follows the ranges Intuit suggests: 10000s for assets, 20000s for liabilities, 40000s for income, 50000s for cost of goods sold, 60000s for expenses, 70000s for other income and 80000s for other expenses.

Does the file work in a French QuickBooks?

Take the French version. Intuit's French instructions name the columns Nom du compte, Type and Sous-type and use French account types, which is what that file contains.

How do I add subaccounts?

In the Account Name column, write the parent and the subaccount separated by a colon, for example Utilities:Telephone. The file has none, so you can arrange your own.

How do I handle meals at 50%?

Keep meals in their own account, then follow Intuit's article on a sales tax rate for meals and entertainment: it splits the tax so only the eligible half goes to your input tax credits.

The sources

Intuit's Canadian help, read on September 25, 2026. Intuit does not publish a complete list of Canadian account types and detail types: the labels come from these pages, and QuickBooks' review screen does the final check.

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