Set up Books

The setup creates your chart of accounts and tax codes from your organisation's country and saves the details Books prints on documents. Each step saves on its own, so you can stop and come back later.

Before you start

• Switch on Books for your organisation: see Pick your apps.
• You need to be the owner, or a manager who has the Books right Set up Books and lock periods. Only the owner can change the tax identity and invite an accountant.

Steps

1. Open Books → Set up Books. The steps are listed at the top: Business settings, Tax identity, Cash and bank accounts, Opening balances and Accountant access.
2. In Business settings, choose the Business type and the month in Financial year starts (month-day).
3. Set the Books opening date: the first day you want Books to cover.
4. Enter the Default payment term (days) for new invoices.
5. Tick Prices include VAT if you usually type prices with VAT included. This is only the default for new sales drafts.
6. Type the Payment instructions printed on documents (for example your bank details) and an optional Document footer.
7. Select Save and create the chart. Books creates the accounts and tax codes for your country. If the chart was not created, select Create accounts.
8. In Tax identity, pick a Branch, select Show, then fill in the Tax registration number, Address and Phone. Select Save and continue.
9. In Cash and bank accounts, add the bank name, Account number and IBAN for each bank account and select Save. Use Add account to create another bank or cash account.
10. In Opening balances, select Opening balances and enter your starting figures: see Enter opening balances.
11. In Accountant access, type your accountant's Name and Email and select Send accountant invitation.

Good to know

• The country chart has 60 accounts in two languages. Egypt and the UAE have their own chart; every other country (International) gets a generic chart, with tax codes that assume no country's VAT. The base currency comes from your country, or from the currency chosen at sign-up; the owner can change it once, while Books has no entry, document or bill yet: see Books base currency.
• A tax registration number does not decide the tax on a line. You choose the tax code on each invoice or bill line.
• Books has six rights: View Books and reports, Manage sales documents and payments, Manage purchases and payments, Manage banking, Post and reverse journals and Set up Books and lock periods. The owner has all of them. Nobody else has any until the owner grants them, managers included. See Roles and rights.
• Users limited to some branches cannot open the money screens of Books. Give Books users access to every branch.
• The accountant invitation grants all six Books rights. Review or change them later under Manage users and rights, or see Invite your team.
• A read-only organisation can view the setup, but every change and invitation is switched off.