Overview of importing Accounts into QuickBooks Online

You can import Chart of Accounts into QuickBooks Online using Zed Axis lists from text, Excel and IIF files. Whilst this is a built in feature of QuickBooks Online, Zed Axis has some distinct improvements that include:

Import Chart of Accounts List for up to five levels deep (ie Account:Sub Account:Sub Account:Sub Account:Sub Account)
Import a wider range of fields including Active (true of false), Description, Currency and Tax Code

Steps to import chart of accounts lists into QuickBooks Online

To import using Zed Axis please follow these steps:

Once connect click on the Import module
Open the Excel, text or IIF file that contains the Chart of Account details that you want to import into QuickBooks Online.
Next create a map between the columns in your import file and the corresponding fields in QuickBooks, for more information on the fields refer to the table at the end of this article.
Finally click the Import button and Axis will import the Chart of Account details directly into QuickBooks Online

Sample Chart of Account List Template

Excel Template with Drop list selection - upload template

Where the fields appear in QuickBooks Online

import a Chart of Account list into QuickBooks Online

Detailed description of where the fields

QuickBooks Field	Format	Description
Name	Text 100	Name of the Account
Sub Account	Boolean	Whether the account is is a parent (true) or sub account (false)
Parent Ref	Ref	The Parent of the Account
Description	Text 100	Description for the account
Fully Qualified Name	Text	Mandatory Full name of the Account includes parent and subaccounts ie Expenses:Motor:Fuel
Active	Bool	Whether or not the account is active ie visible and useable (true or false)
Classification	Text	The classification for the account, valid values include: Asset, Equity, Expense, Liability, Revenue
Account Type	Enum	Mandatory Detailed classification that specified the use of the account valid values include: Bank, Other Current Asset, Fixed Asset, Other Asset, Accounts Receivable, Equity, Expense, OtherExpense, CostOfGoodsSold, Account Payable, CreditCard, LongTermLiability, OtherCurrentLiability, Income, OtherIncome
Account Sub Type	Enum	Account sub-type classification based on AccountType for a full list click here
Acct Num	Text	Account number for the account (must not contain a colon)
Current Balance	Decimal	Read Only balance
Current Balance With Sub Accounts	Decimal	Read Only cumulative balance
Currency Ref	Text	Currency used for this account possible values (ISO codes) ie USD, AUD, GBP, EUR etc...
Tax Code Ref	Ref Type	Tax Code used for this account. (non US editions only)

Note: For Account Types and Sub types should use the US Spelling for Checking etc... even if importing into Non-US editions of QuickBooks Online

Troubleshooting common errors:

Error - Invalid Enumeration - This error occurs because the value that you have set for the field is not recognized in the enumerated list of values that QuickBooks Online will accept please check the details in the above table for the values that are expected.

Error - The account cannot be made inactive because it has sub accounts - This error occurs because you are trying to mark a Parent Account Inactive when there are active sub accounts please mark the sub account Inactive first

Error - For sub accounts, you must select the same account type as their parent. - This error is because the account type you have specified for the Sub Account is not the same as the account type set on the parent., ie for Sales:Retail both Sales and Retail must have AccountType = Income

Article ID: 295, Created: 5/2/2017 at 6:55 AM, Modified: 10/12/2023 at 10:42 PM

Feedback

What is the 'Import Type' for loading Chart of Account entries?
Matthew Conroy (12/2/2017 at 1:24 AM)

It appears as "Account" in the drop down list of transactions and list types for QuickBooks Online
Steve (8/9/2019 at 5:44 AM)

this is good for online accountants but what about us desktop QB users and or network desktop users
what does our drop down list says
lewis harris (7/15/2020 at 3:23 PM)

Hi Lewis, We have importing the chart of accounts into QuickBooks Desktop in our roadmap. That should be coming in V15 :)
Steve (9/24/2020 at 1:37 AM)

Import Chart of Account lists into QuickBooks Online