Financial Information Quick Start

After entering basic company information in Business Central, one of the next steps is completing the financial section. You do this not only to receive or make payments, but also to properly manage and report your business' numbers.

The chart of accounts

The chart of accounts (COA) offers an overview of the company's finances, listing accounts in structured groups such as assets, liabilities, income, cost of goods sold, and expenses. Business Central includes a standard chart of accounts you can customize to your business' accounting practices.

Set up the chart of accounts

The following video shows how to set up the chart of accounts in Business Central.



Add an account to the chart of accounts

To add an account not included by default in Business Central—for example, gardening services—just follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature 1. icon, enter Chart of Accounts, then choose the related link.

  2. Choose the New action to open the G/L Account Card page.

  3. Enter the following data in the corresponding fields on the General FastTab. Hover over a field to read a short description.

    Field Data
    No. 61250
    Name Gardening services
    Income/Balance Income Statement
    Account Category Expense
    Account Subcategory Repairs and Maintenance Expense
    Debit/Credit Both
    Account Type Posting
  4. On the Posting FastTab, enter the following data:

    Field Data
    Gen. Posting Type Purchase
    Gen. Bus. Posting Group Domestic
    Gen. Prod. Posting Group Services
  5. Fill in the remaining fields on the G/L Account Card page as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.

Get an overview of the chart of accounts

If you need a more compact view of the chart of accounts, without columns for posting groups, posting type, or cost type, for example, the Chart of Accounts Overview lists the main information for each account in a smaller table. Additionally, you can collapse or expand groups to hide the accounts inside them.

To display the overview, choose the Chart of Accounts Overview action on the Chart of Accounts page, or search for the feature using Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature 1..

Learn more about the chart of accounts and the general ledger at Understanding the General Ledger and the Chart of Accounts.

Set up bank accounts

Bank accounts in Business Central register banking transactions and are associated with entries in the chart of accounts. The following video shows how to set up bank accounts.



  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature 1. icon, enter Bank Accounts, then choose the related link.

  2. On the Bank Accounts page, choose the New action.

  3. In the No. field, an identifier such as B010 will be entered automatically if there's a numbered series list set for bank accounts. If not, enter a unique combination.

    The field is different from the Bank Account No. field also available in the General FastTab.

  4. Fill in the fields on the Bank Account Card page as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.

See also

Set Up the Chart of Accounts
Set Up Bank Accounts
Run and Print Reports
Business Central Quick Starts

Find free e-learning modules for Business Central here