Import your chart of accounts

Summary

How to import your ledger accounts when you first start using Sage Accounting.

Resolution

Import ledger accounts once before creating transactions or records like invoices, expenses, customers, or suppliers.

Apply this when you possess a set of ledger accounts you prefer over the default ones provided.

How it works

To import your ledger accounts, you must:

Have a new Accounting business with no transactions or records
Save your ledger accounts in a spreadsheet as a comma-separated value (CSV) format
Use the template file provided to ensure your document contains accurate column headings and cell formats

Ledger accounts can also go by the names nominal accounts, codes, or entries in your chart of accounts.

The ledger accounts imported from the CSV file will replace all the standard ledger accounts created in Sage Accounting by default.

Import all needed ledger accounts as you can't import them again after manually creating extra ones.

Column headings and required formats

The information in your CSV file must be in the correct format and the file must have the correct headings.

When preparing your spreadsheet, use the table below to ensure that your file format is correct.

Remember that the header row in your CSV file must use the same headings as shown below.

Column	Column Heading	Notes
A	NOMINAL CODE	Can contain up to 8 numbers and each code must be unique.
B	LEDGER NAME	Max length 200 characters.
C	CONTROL ACCOUNT	Ensure a valid control account name; modifying is fine, but avoid deletions. TIP: Selecting control accounts BANK_CURRENT or BANK_CASH with category BANK creates bank account in the Banking section.
D	CATEGORY	Use one of the following categories: SALES OTHER_INCOME DIRECT_EXPENSES OVERHEADS DEPRECIATION CURRENT_ASSETS FIXED_ASSETS BANK CURRENT_LIABILITY FUTURE_LIABILITY EQUITY
E	TAX RATE	Use one of the following tax rates: Standard Lower 1 Lower 2 Zero Exempt No VAT

Control accounts

These are special ledger accounts that we use by default for certain transactions. For example, when you create a sales invoice, we automatically update the ledger accounts for Trade Debtors and VAT.

Ensure your list of ledger accounts includes all control accounts. You can identify control accounts by special text in the CONTROL ACCOUNT column, like 2100 Trade Creditors TRADE_CREDITORS.

There are three ways you can do this:

Let us create them for you using a default Nominal Code and Name. Exclude control accounts from import file; generate ledger accounts using provided codes and names
Use your own control accounts. Include necessary text in Control Account column to indicate ledger accounts for use as control accounts
A mixture of the above. Specify control accounts by adding text in the Control Account column and exclude any unused accounts. We will create the remaining control accounts as long as they’re not duplicate nominal codes

Adjust codes, ledger names as needed, and include correct text in control account column. For example, you use 2000 Creditors Control, instead of 2100 Trade Creditors.

Required control accounts

Default nominal code	Default ledger name	Required Control Account text
1000	Stock	STOCK_RAW
1100	Trade Debtors	TRADE_DEBTORS
1200	Bank	BANK_CURRENT
1210	Cash	BANK_CASH
2100	Trade Creditors	TRADE_CREDITORS
2000	VAT on sales	TAX_ON_SALES
2201	VAT on purchases	TAX_ON_PURCHASES
2202	VAT liability	TAX_LIABILITY
2203	VAT allocations and adjustments	TAX_ALLOCATIONS_AND_ADJUSTMENTS
2204	VAT on sales holdings	TAX_ON_SALES_HOLDING
2205	VAT on purchase holdings	TAX_ON_PURCHASES_HOLDING
2230	Student Loan	STUDENT_LOAN
2240	Attachments	ATTACHMENTS
2250	Net Wages	NET_WAGES
2260	Pension	PENSION
3100	Profit and Loss Account	PROFIT_AND_LOSS
4000	Sales - Products	SALES_PRODUCTS
4010	Sales - Services	SALES_SERVICES
4020	Sales Discounts	SALES_DISCOUNTS
4910	Carriage on Sales	CARRIAGE_ON_SALES
4900	Other income	OTHER_INCOME
5000	Cost of Sales - Goods	COS_GOODS
5010	Purchase Discounts	PURCHASE_DISCOUNTS
7000	Employee Wages and Salaries	EMPLOYEE_COSTS
7020	Employers NI	EMPLOYERS_NIC
7030	Employer's Pension	EMPLOYERS_PENSION
7050	Other Deductions	OTHER_DEDUCTIONS
7060	Statutory Sick Pay	STATUTORY_SICK_PAY
7070	Statutory Maternity Pay	STATUTORY_MATERNITY_PAY
7080	Statutory Paternity Pay	STATUTORY_PATERNITY_PAY
7090	Statutory Adoption Pay	STATUTORY_ADOPTION_PAY
7900	Bank Charges and Interest	BANK_CHARGES_AND_INTEREST
8260	Exchange Rate Gains and Losses	EX_RATE_GAIN_LOSS
9998	Opening Balances	OPENING_BALANCES
9999	Suspense	SUSPENSE_CORRECTIONS

Step 1: Download the CSV template file

Each CSV file contains a standard list of ledger accounts and the required columns for Nominal Code, Ledger name, Control account, Category and Tax rate.

A CSV file is a special excel spreadsheet.

Download the CSV file that is suitable for your business type.

From Settings, then Business Settings, select Chart of Accounts.
From the New Ledger Account dropdown arrow, select Import Accounts.
Select the Templates link and then choose the template that matches for your business type.

Ire - Sole trader.csv

Ire - Partnership.csv

Ire - Limited Co.csv

Step 2: Prepare the CSV file

Add your ledger accounts to the template file you have downloaded or amend an existing file to match the template.

Make sure the column headings match the format used in the template file.
Delete any columns in your CSV file that you’re not using in the template file
Make sure the data format used in each column matches the format used in the template file.
Category - Each ledger account must belong to a one of the categories already set up in Sage Accounting. You cannot used your own categories.
Tax rate - Each ledger account must have a VAT Rate associated with it. This determines the default VAT rate applied when selecting the ledger account on a transaction

The maximum file size you can import is 0.5MB.

Step 3: Import the file

From Settings, then Business Settings, select Chart of Accounts.
From the New Ledger Account dropdown arrow, select Import Accounts.
Choose the Upload Data File link.
Browse to your CSV file and then click Open.
Click OK.

Can't find the Import Accounts option

The Import Accounts option does not show once you have created a record or transaction in Sage Accounting.

To create new ledger accounts, use the New Ledger Account option.

To amend an existing ledger account, select the account from the list and make the required changes.

See how to Create or edit a ledger account

Common errors

If your file has not imported, we'll tell you the problems and specific rows affected.

Not a valid column heading

This indicates that the CSV file contains an invalid column heading.

The column headings must be in the following format:
Column A = NOMINAL CODE
Column B = LEDGER NAME
Column C = CONTROL ACCOUNT
Column D = CATEGORY
Column E = TAX RATE

To resolve this, you must ensure the column headings are correct and try the import again.

NOMINAL CODE must be unique

This indicates there is a duplicated a nominal code within the CSV file.

Check CSV for duplicates, replace code in indicated cell with unique nominal code, then retry import.

Not a number

This indicates that the information requires changing to a number as it's in another format.

To resolve this, you must change the format in the indicated cell and try the import again.

Must be a valid category

This indicates that one more ledger account or do not have a valid category.

The categories must be one of the following:

SALES
OTHER_INCOME
DIRECT_EXPENSES
OVERHEADS
DEPRECIATION
CURRENT_ASSETS
FIXED_ASSETS
BANK
CURRENT_LIABILITY
FUTURE_LIABILITY
EQUITY

The category you choose determines where the ledger account appears in your management reports.

To resolve this, you must use a valid category in the indicated cell and try the import again.

Nominal code already taken

Occurs when nominal code reserved for control account's used without adding required control account text to ledger.

For example, Ledger account "2100 Trade Creditors" lacks "TRADE_CREDITORS" text in Control Account column.

To resolve this, either

Change the nominal code used for this ledger account, or
Complete the Control Account column with the appropriate text

Solution Properties

Solution ID: 222001000100819
Last Modified Date: Thu Jan 09 15:38:44 UTC 2025
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