When a new chart of accounts (COA) is created, Sage Accounts creates a new file in the relevant company's ACCDATA folder.

The name given to the file depends upon how many charts of accounts have already been created, for example, the default chart of accounts file is called 1.COA and the second and subsequent charts of accounts are incremented accordingly: 2.COA, 3.COA and so on.

When a new chart of accounts is created the accdata\category.dta file is updated. This file holds details about the number of charts of accounts the company has and their names.

NOTE: Any changes to the profit and loss or balance sheet description names don't copy over as part of this process and need to be amended manually. Similarly this process doesn't affect the nominal list which must be edited independently if required.

The option to copy a chart of accounts isn't available in Sage 50 Accounts Essentials.

Copy a COA within the same company

1. On the navigation bar click Nominal codes then click Chart of accounts.
2. Select the relevant chart of accounts, then click Copy.
3. To rename the copied chart, select the chart and click Edit.
4. Amend the title as required, then click Save.

Copy and replace all COA's from one company to another

If you need to change any files in the Accdata folder, first you must ensure that you either stop the Data Service or lock Sage Drive if in use. Read more >

1. Open the company that the COA is to be copied from.
   
   To copy the COA from the demodata, click File, click Open, click Open Demo Data then logon as MANAGER with no password.
   
2. Click Help, then click About.
3. Click on the Data Directory link.
4. Double click the ACCDATA folder.
5. Right-click and copy the following files:
   

   *.COA	Where * is the number of the chart of accounts. For example, if you've two chart of accounts, copy the files 1.COA and 2.COA The numbers may not be in sequence, therefore in the above example, the files may be 1.COA and 3.COA or similar.
   category.dta	This file contains information of how many chart of accounts are listed.

6. Open the company you want to have the new COA and take a backup.
7. Click Help, then click About.
8. Click on the Data Directory link.
9. Right-click and paste the files copied in step 4.
10. If prompted to overwrite the file, click Yes.
11. Open each company and check the Chart of accounts.

Add or replace one COA from one company to another

NOTE: If you need to change any files in the Accdata folder, first you must ensure that you either stop the Data Service or lock Sage Drive if in use. For details of how to do this, please refer to our help guide.

1. Open the company which is to receive the new COA then take a backup.
2. Click Nominal codes then click Chart of accounts.
3. If you want to replace an existing COA, to help identify it later:
   
   • Edit and Save the required COA, then continue to step 4.
     
     
   If you want to create a new COA:
   • Click Add, enter a name, click Add then close the COA windows.
     
     
   When you create a new COA this updates the category.dta file. You don't need to copy the category.dta file from the other company.
   
   
4. On the menu bar click Help, click About then click the link to the Data Directory.
   
   
5. Find the COA file you want to replace and note the number, for example, 3.COA.
   
   TIP: To determine the relevant file, starting with the highest number, right-click each *.COA file in turn, click Properties then check the Modified date and time.
   
   
6. Open the company that the COA is to be copied from.
   
   To copy the COA from the demodata, click File, click Open, click Open Demo Data then logon as MANAGER with no password.
   
   
7. Click Nominal codes, click Chart of accounts, select the required COA then click Edit.
8. In the Edit Chart of Accounts Window click Save then click Close.
9. Click Help, click About then click the link to the Data Directory.
   
   TIP: To determine the relevant file, starting with the highest number, right-click each *.COA file in turn, click Properties then check the Modified date and time.
   
   
10. Right-click and copy the relevant COA file.
11. Paste the COA file to the desktop, right-click the file, click Rename then rename to the file name noted in step 5.
12. Right-click the COA file then click Copy.
13. Browse to the ACCDATA folder of the destination company, click Paste then when prompted to overwrite the file click Yes.
14. Open the Chart of Accounts window in each of the two companies and check they're correct.

Create the same nominal codes and chart of accounts - v26 and below

NOTE: This option is not available in v27 and above. In v27, to copy a chart of accounts please refer to the section above. To copy a nominal list you can export the nominal list from the existing company and import it into the new company. Read more >

You can create a new company with the same nominal codes and chart of accounts as an existing company.

1. In the existing company, on the menu bar click Settings, click Configuration then click Chart of Accounts.
2. Click Save As then browse to the Windows desktop.
3. In File name enter CustomConfig, click Save then click Close.
4. When creating a new company, in the Step 4 - Business type window select I want to use a predefined business type.
   
   Single user version - When creating a new company, in the Step 3 - Business type window select I want to use a predefined business type.
   
   
5. Click Browse, browse to the .xml file created in step 1 then continue to create the company as normal.

All the nominals and the customised default chart of account are then copied into the new company.

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