TidyA chart of accounts
that fits payouts.
A generic chart of accounts has no home for marketplace fees, clearing, reserves or sales tax. Pick your channels and how you want to see them, and get a ready-to-review account list with a QuickBooks Online or Xero CSV, a payout mapping, and the import notes that stop the usual mistakes.
Build the chart
Choose the structure you can actually maintain. Every option changes the list live.
Where do you sell?
Chart options
Your chart
Review the names, types and descriptions before anything is imported.
Map the payout lines
The same shape as the settlement: each family of lines gets one obvious home. If a line has no home, the chart is not finished.
Import notes — read before you upload
QuickBooks Online
Download the sample file from the Import screen and match its headers and valid detail types; the importer accepts CSV, XLS and XLSX. Turn on account numbers first, or the Number column is ignored. Names must be unique and cannot match a customer, vendor or employee. The import adds accounts; it does not replace, merge or deactivate the ones already in the file. Opening balances and tax codes are not included.
Xero
The import requires *Code, *Name and *Type; type codes are the Xero account types shown in the file (for example REVENUE, EXPENSE, CURRENT, CURRLIAB, DIRECTCOSTS, BANK). Tax types are left blank for you to review. Back up the existing chart first, because a Xero import can update existing accounts as well as add new ones.
Both
Import into a copy or a fresh file first. Check every detail type against your plan and region, retire the starter accounts you do not use, and agree the final structure with your bookkeeper before mapping live payouts to it.
A starting structure, not accounting advice. Account types, detail types and importer behaviour vary by platform, plan and region — verify before importing.
A deposit is not
one transaction.
Read the setup guide in The Tidy Ledger
or try the other free tools.
Every line needs one obvious home
A marketplace payout bundles sales, shipping, refunds, several fee families, tax and reserves into one bank credit. Give each family its own account and posting becomes mechanical: the clearing account receives the settlement, the parts move to income, fees and liabilities, and the bank deposit clears the clearing balance to zero.
What the options change
- Separate sales accounts answer “which channel earns?” without classes or a second company. Turn them off if one sales line is enough.
- Fee detail separates selling, fulfillment, storage and advertising, because those costs behave differently and merge badly.
- Clearing keeps net deposits from posting straight to income; without it, someone splits every deposit at the bank feed.
- Sales tax payable keeps collected tax out of income, whether you remit it or the marketplace does.
- Inventory and COGS are separate from the payout. Settlement reports never contain your cost per unit, so the chart must still have a place for it.
Can I import this chart into QuickBooks Online?+
Yes. Download the QuickBooks Online CSV and use the Import option on the Chart of Accounts screen. Match the sample file’s headers and detail types, turn on account numbers first, and import into a copy or a fresh file. The importer adds accounts; it does not replace or merge the ones already there.
Does the Xero file work as downloaded?+
The file has the required *Code, *Name and *Type columns plus a Description, using Xero’s account type codes. Tax types are deliberately blank — set them to match your registrations before import. Back up the existing chart first, because the import can update existing accounts.
Should I use a separate income account for every marketplace?+
Usually yes if you want to compare channel margin, because a single sales account hides which channel earns after its own fees. Classes or tracking categories are an alternative if your bookkeeper prefers them; the account list here is a starting structure, not the only correct one.
Where should refunds go?+
Two conventions are common: contra-revenue, which reduces gross sales, or a separate expense line, which keeps gross sales visible. Both can be right, but pick one and use it everywhere. The generator can produce either; the important part is consistency.
Do I really need a clearing account?+
It is the account that makes marketplace bookkeeping work. The payout posts to clearing, the parts move to their accounts, and the bank deposit clears it to zero. Without it, net deposits tend to land in income and the split happens late, at the bank feed, where it is hardest to review.
Can I use this chart if I am on cash basis?+
Yes. The clearing account, fee accounts and sales tax liability still help; inventory and cost of goods sold may be handled differently under a cash method. Confirm the treatment with your accountant — the chart gives every line a home either way.
Every line,
already has a home.
TidyPayouts maps each payout line to your chart and shows the entry before it posts.
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