Account Simple Online Documentation

Quickstart Guide

Welcome to Account Simple, a lightweight double-entry bookkeeping application built for clarity, control, and speed. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to set up your account and start tracking your finances.

1. Log In

After creating an account, navigate to the login page and enter your credentials. Upon login, you will be taken to the Dashboard.

2. Dashboard Overview

The dashboard includes:

• Status Box: Displays system messages and recent activity.
• Reports: Generate dynamic balance sheets and profit/loss statements.
• Live Financial Snapshot: See your balances, income, and expenses updated in real time.

3. Add Accounts

Navigate to:

Data → Accounts → + Create New Account

Each account must include:

• Name: (e.g., "Chase Checking")
• Type: (Asset, Liability, Revenue, Expense, Equity)
• Sub Type: (Current Asset, Fixed Asset, Operating Expense, Etc...)
• Description: (optional)

Click Create New Account to add it to your data set.

Note: Create all the the accounts you will need for your business. You can always add more later, but it is easier to do it all at once.

Examples include:

• Bank Accounts: Checking, Savings, Credit Card
• Income Accounts: Sales, Service Revenue
• Expense Accounts: Rent, Utilities, Supplies

4. Add Transactions

Navigate to:

Transactions → + Insert Transaction

Each transaction requires:

• Date
• Amount
• Description: (optional)
• Customer: (optional)
• Vendor: (optional)
• Credit Account: (source of funds)
• Debit Account: (destination of funds)
• Optional: Notes, Customer/Vendor, Receipt Upload

Click Insert Transaction to submit the transaction. Account Simple uses the double-entry method, so every transaction affects two accounts.

5. Connect a Bank Account (Premium Users Only)

Navigate to:

Dashboard → Task Pane → + Connect a Bank Account

Follow the prompts to connect your bank account. This feature allows you to import and categorize transactions directly from your bank, making it easier to keep your records up to date.

Once connected, you can view your transactions in the Transactions section. You can also set up rules to automatically categorize imported transactions.

Note: This feature is available for premium users only. If you are not a premium user, you can still manually enter transactions as described in the previous section.

For more information on connecting your bank account, please refer to the Plaid Sync and Transaction Import Rules section.

Note: You can also upload transactions from a CSV file if you prefer not to connect your bank account.

6. View Reports

Navigate to:

Dashboard → Report Balance Sheet, Report Cash Flow, or Report Income Statement

The balance sheet report can be created for any date and can be calculated by Sub Type or Account.

The income statement report can be created for any date range and can be calculated by Sub Type or Account.

Note: The Report Income Statement button uses the start date and end date next to the Go button. See Reports for details.

7. Get Paid with the Point of Sale (optional)

If you sell services or products, set up the Point of Sale so you can build tickets, send estimates and invoices, and record payments. Start with POS Setup; the POS page will warn you if a required setting is missing.

Need additional help?

Contact us by email:

support@accountsimple.online

How Account Simple Records Money

Account Simple uses double-entry bookkeeping, but it shows credits on the left and debits on the right. This is the reverse of most accounting software, and it is deliberate: read every transaction left to right as money flowing from the credit account to the debit account.

For example, buying supplies with your checking account is Checking → Supplies: Checking is credited (left) and Supplies is debited (right).

1. What the Point of Sale Posts

When you sell through the POS, Account Simple creates the transactions for you:

2. System Accounts

• ~SPLIT: Holds one side of a transaction that is divided across several accounts. See split transactions.
• ~NONE: Holds transactions that have not been categorized yet, such as imported bank transactions with no matching rule. The dashboard shows how many are waiting.
• ~INIT: Used for opening balances.

Dashboard Overview

The dashboard is your central hub for managing your finances. It provides a real-time overview of your financial data and quick access to key features. Here's what you can do on the dashboard:

When information is updated in Account Simple, the dashboard will automatically update to reflect the changes. This includes updates to account balances, transactions, and reports.

1. Status Box

The status box displays system messages, profit and loss for the current year, and your balance status. Use this section to stay updated on your account's status and any pending tasks.

The status box will also show if you have any transactions in the ~NONE system account. This is a temporary holding account for transactions that have not been assigned to a specific account. You can view these transactions and assign them to the appropriate accounts by clicking the link.

2. Reports

Generate dynamic reports directly from the dashboard:

• Balance Sheet: View your assets, liabilities, and equity as of a specific date.
• Profit and Loss: Analyze your income and expenses over a selected date range.

Click the respective buttons to generate these reports and download them as PDFs.

The Balance Sheet report requires you to pick a date. The Profit and Loss report requires you to pick a date range(the input boxes to the left of the go button). The reports will be generated based on the selected date range.

3. Live Financial Snapshot

The live financial snapshot provides an at-a-glance view of your current financial position, including:

• Account Balances: See the balances of your bank accounts, credit cards, and other accounts.
• Income: Track your total income for the current period.
• Expenses: Monitor your total expenses for the current period.

4. Task Pane

Click the blue arrow button at the top left corner of the dashboard to open the task pane. The task pane provides quick access to common actions and features:

Alternatively, press CTRL + ALT + T to open the task pane.

The task pane helps you quickly access common actions, such as:

• Connect a Bank Account: Link your bank account with Plaid to import transactions automatically.
• Sync Plaid: Quickly update Account Simple with your latest transactions. This applies to all connected accounts.
• Plaid Consistency Check: Compare a connected bank account's transactions against the transactions recorded in Account Simple to spot anything missing or duplicated.
• Upload Transactions from CSV: Quickly import transactions from a CSV file to update your records.
• Upload receipt/image to Inbox: Send a receipt to your Inbox to attach to a transaction later.

Task pane features are Premium features. See Plans.

The dashboard is designed to provide a streamlined experience, giving you quick access to the tools and information you need to manage your finances effectively.

Transactions Overview

Learn how to add, edit, and manage transactions in Account Simple:

1. Action Panel

The action panel is located at the top of the transactions page. It provides quick access to common actions:

• Insert Transaction: Add a new transaction.
• Insert Account: Add a new account.
• Insert Customer: Add a new customer.
• Insert Vendor: Add a new vendor.

2. Insert Transaction

Navigate to:

Transactions → + Insert Transaction

Each transaction requires:

• Date: The date of the transaction.
• Amount: The transaction amount.
• Description: (optional) A brief description of the transaction.
• Customer: (optional) The customer associated with the transaction.
• Vendor: (optional) The vendor associated with the transaction.
• Credit Account: The account where the funds are coming from.
• Debit Account: The account where the funds are going to.

Click Insert Transaction to save the transaction. Account Simple uses the double-entry method, so every transaction affects two accounts.

Inserting Split Transactions

Split transactions allow you to allocate a single transaction amount across multiple accounts. For example, if you pay a single bill that covers multiple expense categories, you can split the transaction to reflect this.

To insert a split transaction:

• Enter the transaction data like a you would for a normal transaction.
• Assign the credit or debit side of the transaction to the system account ~SPLIT. This is the side of the transaction you will split.
• Two Split rows should drop down below the transaction. If you need more click the Split Transaction button.
• Input the amount and any additional information for the split row then select the account you want to split the transaction to.
• The specified amount will be applied to the selected account. And the opposite side of the transaction will be automatically sent to the ~SPLIT placeholder account
• All credits and debits must be equal to the total amount of the transaction. Journal completeness is tracked just below the Insert Transaction button.
• Click Insert Transaction to save the split transaction.

Note: Split transactions are useful for accurately categorizing expenses or income that span multiple accounts.

3. Insert Account

Navigate to:

Transactions → + Insert Account

Each account requires:

• Name: (e.g., "Chase Checking")
• Type: (Asset, Liability, Revenue, Expense, Equity)
• Sub Type: (e.g., Current Asset, Fixed Asset, Operating Expense)
• Description: (optional)

Click Create New Account to save the account.

4. Insert Customer

Navigate to:

Transactions → + Insert Customer

Each customer requires:

• First Name: The customer's first name.
• Last Name: The customer's last name.
• Company Name: (optional) The customer's company name.
• Email: (optional) The customer's email address.
• Phone: (optional) The customer's phone number.

Click Create New Customer to save the customer.

Note: that if the setting "Require At Least One Form Of Contact For New Customers" is checked then you must enter either a phone number or an email address.

5. Insert Vendor

Navigate to:

Transactions → + Insert Vendor

Each vendor requires the following fields:

• Company Name: The vendor's company name (required).
• Primary Contact: (optional) The name of the vendor's primary contact person.
• Primary Contact Title: (optional) The title or role of the primary contact (e.g., Manager, CEO).
• Phone: (optional) The vendor's phone number (10 digits).
• Email: (optional) The vendor's email address.
• Website: (optional) The vendor's website URL.
• Address: (optional) The vendor's street address.
• City: (optional) The city where the vendor is located.
• State: (optional) The state where the vendor is located.
• Zip Code: (optional) The vendor's postal code.
• Country: (optional) The country where the vendor is located.

Click Create New Vendor to save the vendor. All required fields must be filled out before submission.

6. Search Transactions

Navigate to:

Transactions → Transaction Table

To search for a transaction:

• Select search criteria that matches the transaction or transactions you are looking for.
• You can search for transaction by date, date range, amount, description, customer, vendor, or account.
• you can further filter your search by clicking the filter icon next to the Enable Deletion button

Transactions show 9 columns of information:

• ID: The unique identifier for the transaction.
• Receipt Indicator: Indicates if a receipt is attached to the transaction.
• Date: The date of the transaction.
• Amount: The transaction amount.
• Description: A brief description of the transaction.
• Customer: The customer associated with the transaction.
• Vendor: The vendor associated with the transaction.
• Credit Account: The account where the funds are coming from.
• Debit Account: The account where the funds are going to.

If you need to print the transaction table, you can do so by clicking the Print button at the top right of the table. This will generate a printable version of the transaction table.

7. Edit Transactions

To edit a transaction:

• Select a transaction in the table.
• Click the Edit button to modify the transaction details.
• The edit button will wrap the data in input boxes and allow you to modify it as needed.
• Click Update to apply the changes.

8. Delete Transactions

To delete a transaction:

• Click the Enable Deletion button to enable deletion mode.
• Locate the transaction in the transaction table.
• Click the Delete button next to the transaction.

Deleting a transaction will not remove it permanently from your records. Instead, it will be flagged as deleted and excluded from balance calculations. This allows you to restore it or view its history if needed.

9. Upload Receipts (premium users)

To upload a receipt for a transaction:

• Locate the transaction in the transaction table.
• Click the Upload Receipt button next to the transaction.
• Select the receipt file from your device.
• Click Upload to attach the receipt to the transaction.

Alternatively, drag and drop the receipt file onto the transaction row in the table.

Once uploaded, the receipt will be linked to the transaction and can be viewed or downloaded at any time.

Note: Receipt upload is available for premium users only. If you are not a premium user, you can click the ID of the transaction to copy it and save the receipt file with the ID.

Data Overview

Manage your accounts, customers, vendors, jobs, inventory, point of sale data, and transaction import rules in the Data page. The tabs you see depend on your role:

• Inbox: Uploaded receipts waiting to be attached to a transaction. See Receipts & Inbox.
• Accounts, Customers, Vendors: Described below.
• Jobs: Track work for a customer. See Jobs.
• Inventory: Track stock and its cost. See Inventory.
• POS: Line Items, Categories, Tickets, Invoices, Estimates, Payment Methods, and Settings for the Point of Sale. See POS Setup.
• Transaction Import Rules: Described below.

1. Manage Accounts

Navigate to:

Data → Accounts

To add a new account:

• Click + Create New Account.
• Fill in the required fields:
  • Name: (e.g., "Chase Checking")
  • Type: (Asset, Liability, Revenue, Expense, Equity)
  • Sub Type: (e.g., Current Asset, Fixed Asset, Operating Expense)
  • Description: (optional)
• Click Create New Account to save.

To update an account:

• Locate the account in the list and select it.
• The account details will be displayed in the input boxes.
• Simply make the changes you want to the account and click update.

To delete an account:

• Locate the account in the list.
• Click the Delete button to remove the account.

Note: Deleting an account will set all transactions associated with that account to the ~NONE system account.

2. Manage Customers

Navigate to:

Data → Customers

To add a new customer:

• Click + Create New Customer.
• Fill in the required fields:
  • First Name: The customer's first name.
  • Last Name: The customer's last name.
  • Company Name: (optional) The customer's company name.
  • Email: (optional) The customer's email address.
  • Phone: (optional) The customer's phone number.
• Click Create New Customer to save.

To update a customer:

• Locate the customer in the list and select it.
• The customer details will be displayed in the input boxes.
• Make the necessary changes and click Update.

To delete a customer:

• Locate the customer in the list.
• Click the Delete button to remove the customer.

3. Manage Vendors

Navigate to:

Data → Vendors

To add a new vendor:

• Click + Create New Vendor.
• Fill in the required fields:
  • Company Name: The vendor's company name.
  • Primary Contact: (optional) The vendor's primary contact person.
  • Email: (optional) The vendor's email address.
  • Phone: (optional) The vendor's phone number.
  • Address: (optional) The vendor's address.
• Click Create New Vendor to save.

To update a vendor:

• Locate the vendor in the list and select it.
• The vendor details will be displayed in the input boxes.
• Make the necessary changes and click Update.

To delete a vendor:

• Locate the vendor in the list.
• Click the Delete button to remove the vendor.

4. Manage Transaction Import Rules

Navigate to:

Data → Transaction Import Rules

Transaction import rules allow you to automate the categorization of imported transactions. This helps save time and ensures consistency in your bookkeeping.

Import rules apply to transactions imported via plaid or uploaded via CSV file

Creating a rule is intuitive. Just read the senence and fill in the blanks.

For example: If the transaction is a credit/debit in the selected account and the description contains/matches the phrase (input phrase) then the selected account will be assigned as the credit/debit

To create a new rule:

• Fill in the blanks.
• Check "Omit this transaction" if you would like to remove it from the data set. (This is useful if you are importing transactions from two accounts that interact together. It prevents duplicates.)
• Click Create Rule.

To delete a rule:

• Locate the rule in the list.
• Click the red trash icon to remove the rule.

Using transaction import rules helps you save time by automating transaction categorization and ensuring consistency in your bookkeeping.

Point of Sale Overview

The POS page is where you build a sale and turn it into an estimate or an invoice. Before taking payments, complete POS Setup. If a required setting is missing, a warning at the top of the POS page lists what to fix.

1. Tickets

A ticket is a sale in progress. It has a Title, a Customer, Notes, optional custom fields, and a list of line items.

• Customer: Pick an existing customer, or click New to add one.
• Line Items: Choose an item, adjust the price and quantity, and click Add. The Grand Total updates as you go.
• Quick Items: Items marked as quick items appear as tiles above the ticket. Tap a tile to add it.
• Save New saves the ticket so you can come back to it. Save Changes updates a saved ticket. Clear Ticket starts over.
• Set Current Ticket As Default loads that ticket every time the POS opens. Reload Default brings it back.

Open the Ticket Menu to see saved Tickets, Edit Details such as custom fields, and manage Line Items.

2. From Ticket to Estimate or Invoice

• Click Estimate to quote the job first. See Estimates.
• Click Invoice to bill the customer or take payment now. See Invoices & Payments.
• Invoice List and Estimate List show your existing documents so you can reopen them.

Bookkeeping Tasks

Perform essential bookkeeping tasks to keep your financial records accurate and up-to-date:

1. Workflow and Objectives in Account Simple

When working in Account Simple it is important to understand your objectives clearly.

Your primary objective is to balance out your assets, liabilities, and equities.

As long as all transactions in Account Simple have assigned credit and debit accounts, the system will automatically balance your books.

Your secondary objective is to make sure all your physical accounts show the correct balance.

When all the accounts have the correct balances and all the transactions in those accounts are assigned to the correct credit and debit accounts, your books will be accurate.

Errors are not possible when these criteria are met.

Note: Account Simple does not have a formal reconciliation process. It is up to you to make sure all your accounts are correct and to know what you are doing in your business.

Working With Transactions

The transaction is the core of your bookkeeping. Account Simple was designed around the transaction.

Account Simple allows you to search for transactions by date, date range, amount, description, customer, vendor, and account.

There are many ways you can use the transaction table to find the information you need.

Note: When an account is loaded into the transaction table, the total credits and debits will be displayed in the header. The difference will be displayed and the greater side will be indicated.

For more information on how to use the transaction table, please refer to the Transactions Overview section.

Working With Accounts

Accounts are the foundation of your bookkeeping system. Each transaction in Account Simple affects two accounts, ensuring that your books remain balanced.

Accounts are categorized into five main types: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, and Expense. Understanding how these account types interact is crucial for accurate bookkeeping:

• Asset Accounts: Represent resources owned by your business, such as cash, inventory, and equipment. Debits increase asset accounts, while credits decrease them.
• Liability Accounts: Represent obligations your business owes, such as loans or accounts payable. Credits increase liability accounts, while debits decrease them.
• Equity Accounts: Represent the owner's interest in the business. Credits increase equity accounts, while debits decrease them.
• Revenue Accounts: Represent income earned by your business. Credits increase revenue accounts, while debits decrease them.
• Expense Accounts: Represent costs incurred by your business. Debits increase expense accounts, while credits decrease them.

Each account type has many subtypes. Subtypes affect how the account is displayed in reports. For example, a Current Asset will be displayed in the Assets section of the balance sheet report.

When working with accounts, ensure that each transaction is assigned to the correct accounts to maintain accurate financial records. Proper categorization of accounts allows you to generate meaningful reports, such as balance sheets and income statements.

For example, if you purchase office supplies, you would debit the "Office Supplies" expense account and credit the "Cash" asset account. This ensures that your books reflect the reduction in cash and the increase in expenses.

Working With Customers

Customers are an essential part of your bookkeeping process, as they represent the source of your revenue. Properly tracking customer transactions ensures that your income is accurately recorded and categorized.

When recording transactions involving customers, assign a customer to the transaction.

This will allow you to quickly look up customer transactions and generate reports based on customer activity.

Working With Vendors

Vendors are an essential part of your bookkeeping process, as they represent the source of all your money being drained from your pockets. Properly tracking vendor transactions ensures that your expenses are accurately recorded and categorized.

When recording transactions involving vendors, assign a vendor to the transaction.

This will allow you to quickly look up vendor transactions and generate reports based on vendor activity.

Reports

Generate reports from the dashboard and download them as PDFs.

Navigate to:

Dashboard → Report Balance Sheet, Report Cash Flow, or Report Income Statement

• Balance Sheet: Assets, liabilities, and equity as of the date you pick.
• Income Statement (Profit and Loss): Revenue and expenses between the start and end dates next to the Go button.
• Cash Flow: How cash moved between the start and end dates next to Report Cash Flow, split into operating, investing, and financing activities and reconciled from cash at the beginning to cash at the end of the period.

The cash flow statement counts an account as cash when Is Cash Account is checked on it. Only asset accounts can be cash; set the checkbox when you create or edit an account on the Data page, the Transactions page, or the Plaid setup guide. If any asset account has not been set yet, you are asked to mark them before the report runs.

Balance sheet and income statement reports can be grouped by Sub Type or by Account. Which reports you can run depends on your role.

POS Setup

These settings must be in place before the POS can record payments. They are marked with a red * on the Data page, and the POS page shows a warning listing any that are missing.

Navigate to:

Data → POS → Settings and Data → POS → Payment Methods

You can also change most of them from the gear and configure buttons inside the POS invoice and estimate windows.

1. Required

• Payment methods: At least one payment method (for example Cash, Check, or Card), each with a Deposit Account where that money lands, such as Undeposited Cash.
• Default Credit Account: The revenue account credited when you issue an invoice. Individual line items can override it.
• Default Debit Account: The account debited when you issue an invoice, usually Accounts Receivable.
• Payment Credit Accounts: The accounts you can choose when recording a payment, usually Accounts Receivable plus your revenue accounts.
• Sales Tax Account: Required only if you set a tax rate above 0.

2. Recommended

• Default Issued Invoice Payment Account and Default Pro-Forma Payment Account: Pre-selected in the payment form.
• Invoice and Estimate Number Prefix, Invoice Due Date terms, and Default Invoice Notes.
• Business Address, Phone, and Email, and the Reply-To emails, which appear on documents you send.
• Display options such as grouping line items by category and showing custom details.

Card payments need Stripe. See Card Payments.

Line Items & Categories

Line items are the products and services you sell.

Navigate to:

Data → POS → Line Items, or POS → Ticket Menu → Line Items

Each line item has:

• Item Name, Description, and Price.
• Category: (optional) Groups items on invoices and estimates.
• Credit Account: (optional) The revenue account for this item. Leave it blank to use the Default Credit Account.
• Inventory Item: (optional) Links the item to tracked inventory so sales reduce stock.
• Quick Item: Shows the item as a tile on the POS for one-tap entry.

Manage categories in Data → POS → Categories or the POS Manage Categories window.

Estimates

An estimate is a quote you send before doing the work. Estimates do not post anything to your books.

1. Create and Send

• Build a ticket on the POS and click Estimate.
• Review the estimate and click Issue to save it. Use Email, Print, or Save PDF to share it.
• Estimate statuses are sent, accepted, declined, revision requested, and expired.

2. Customer Responses

Turn on Let customers accept or decline estimates online in Estimate Settings to add a no-login link to estimate emails. This requires the Default Credit and Debit Accounts to be set.

• When a customer accepts online, an issued invoice is created automatically and you are notified.
• You can also record the customer's answer yourself with Accept or Decline.

3. Deposits

In Estimate Settings, choose a Deposit Line Item, a Deposit Percentage, and a Deposit Credit Account (a liability account such as Customer Deposits).

For an accepted estimate, choose Send Full Amount to Invoicer, Send Deposit to Invoicer, or Adjust Deposit Amount and Send to Invoicer. The deposit invoice is paid as a pro-forma invoice and is credited to the Deposit Credit Account.

Invoices & Payments

Click Invoice on the POS to open the Invoice & Payment window.

1. Issue Invoice or Pay Now

• Issue Invoice: Bills the customer now and records the sale (revenue and Accounts Receivable). Use this when the customer pays later.
• Pay Now: Creates a pro-forma invoice and takes payment right away. Nothing is posted until the payment is processed, and a pro-forma invoice must be paid in full in one payment.

Invoice statuses are issued, partial, paid, overdue, pro-forma, void, partially refunded, and refunded.

2. Record a Payment

• Enter the amount, or click Full Amount.
• Choose the payment method (it decides the deposit account) and the credit account.
• Check the Transaction Preview, then click Process Payment.

Split payments: Turn on split credit or split debit to divide one payment across several accounts or payment methods, for example part cash and part card. Each side needs at least two rows that add up to the payment amount.

3. Other Actions

• Email and Print send or print the invoice. Receipts for completed payments can be downloaded as PDF, emailed, or printed.
• Void cancels an invoice and reverses its transaction.
• Refund appears once an invoice has payments. See Refunds.

Card Payments (Stripe)

Account Simple takes card payments through Stripe Connect. Funds go to your own Stripe account.

1. Connect Stripe

Navigate to:

POS → Invoice → Invoice Settings → Card Payments (Stripe Connect) → Connect Stripe

Complete Stripe's onboarding. Stripe must enable charges on your account before cards can be taken. Then add a payment method of type Card with a deposit account such as Undeposited Cards. Stripe can only be connected or disconnected from the POS page.

2. Online Invoice Payments

Turn on Let customers view and pay invoices online to add a no-login payment link to invoice emails. Choose the Public invoice card method that customers' card payments are recorded under.

3. Passing Card Fees to Customers

Turn on Pass credit card processing fees to the customer to add a surcharge to eligible credit card payments. Debit and prepaid cards are excluded.

• Processor estimate: A percentage plus a fixed amount in cents.
• Maximum fee: A percentage cap. Confirm the legal limit in your state.
• Fee recovery income account: Where the surcharge is recorded as income. Required to turn surcharges on.

The total customer fee includes Account Simple's 0.1% fee and is capped by the maximum.

4. Stripe Fees

Set a Stripe fees expense account. Stripe deducts its processing fee before depositing your funds, and Account Simple records that fee there so your deposit account matches what actually arrives.

Refunds

Open a paid or partially paid invoice on the POS and click Refund.

• Each payment is listed with the amount that can still be refunded. Change the amounts for a partial refund.
• If the invoice credited more than one account, such as revenue and sales tax, choose how much of the refund comes off each.
• Card refunds are sent back through Stripe and usually take 5-10 business days to reach the customer. A card fee the customer paid is only refunded if you check Also refund the card fee; the processor does not return it to you.
• Refunds do not restore inventory. If the goods came back, record them as a purchase or adjust the quantity on the Data page.

Inventory

Track products you buy and resell, along with what they cost you.

Navigate to:

Data → Inventory

1. Inventory Items

Each item has a Name, SKU, Inventory Asset Account, Cost of Goods Sold Account, and Costing Method (FIFO or LIFO).

2. Purchases & Adjustments

Record each purchase with a Received Date, Quantity, Unit Cost, the account it was Paid From, and an optional vendor. Use Adjust Batch Quantity to correct counts.

3. Selling Inventory

Link a POS line item to an inventory item. When you sell it, the quantity is taken from your purchase batches in FIFO or LIFO order and its cost is moved to Cost of Goods Sold. The POS warns you if you sell more than you have on hand.

Jobs

Jobs track work you do for a customer.

Navigate to:

Data → Jobs

• Each job has a Title, Status (Scheduled, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled, or On Hold), Customer, and optional linked Estimate and Invoice.
• Record the Scheduled, Started, and Completed times, the job address, a description, and notes.
• Click Create New Job, Update Job, or Delete Job. Job Transactions lists the transactions tied to the job.

Settings

Customize your Account Simple experience by managing application settings.

To open settings, click the gear icon in the top right corner of the page. Some sections only appear for the company owner or for roles with the matching permission.

1. General Settings

• Change Color Scheme: Choose Dark, Light, Ocean, Desert, Forest, Volcano, Night Sky, or Psychedelic. The change applies immediately.

2. Dashboard Settings

• Open Accounts In New Tab: When on, clicking an account on the dashboard opens it in a new browser tab.

3. Company Settings (Owner)

• Require At Least One Form Of Contact For New Customers: New customers must have a phone number or an email address.
• Company Name, Company Description, and Company Time Zone: Edit them and click Save Company Profile. The time zone controls how dates and times are shown.
• Add Accounts From Template: Add a starter set of accounts: assets (including Accounts Receivable and Undeposited accounts), liabilities, equity, income and common expenses. Your own bank, credit card and loan accounts start unchecked, so check the ones you want and rename them to match. Accounts that already exist are skipped, so you can reopen this any time.
• Invite New User, Pending Invitations, Manage Members, and Roles & Permissions: See Team & Roles.
• Administrative Tasks: Manage Subscription opens your billing page (see Plans). Delete This Company permanently removes the company.

4. Transaction Checkpoint

Available to roles with the checkpoint permission. Setting a checkpoint date locks every transaction dated on or before it, so it cannot be created, updated, or deleted. This protects periods you have already closed and also speeds up dashboard loading.

• Pick a Checkpoint Date and click Set Checkpoint.
• Click Reverse Checkpoint to unlock it again.
• Bank sync is never blocked. If a synced transaction lands on or before the checkpoint, the checkpoint is reversed automatically.

5. Account Settings

• Receive Newsletter and Updates: Turn the newsletter email on or off.
• New Company Invitations: Accept or decline invitations to join other companies.
• My Companies: Switch your active company or create a new one. See Multiple Companies.
• Active Tokens: Lists the devices and apps signed in to your account, with the IP address, sign-in time, last use, and expiry. Revoke any you don't recognize.

Plaid Sync (Premium Users)

Automatically sync your bank transactions using Plaid integration:

1. Connect Your Bank Account

To connect your bank account to Account Simple:

• Open the task pane and select Connect a Bank Account.
• Follow the prompts to securely log in to your bank.
• Authorize Plaid and Account Simple to access your transaction data.

Once connected, transactions will be imported automatically into the Transactions section.

If you have set up transaction import rules, they will be applied to the imported transactions.

2. Benefits of Plaid Sync

Using Plaid Sync helps you:

• Save time by automating transaction imports.
• Reduce errors by eliminating manual data entry.
• Keep your financial records up-to-date in real time.

Note: Plaid Sync is available for premium users only.

Upload Transactions from CSV (Premium Users)

Import transactions from a CSV file to quickly update your records:

1. Prepare Your CSV File

Your CSV file must have a header row with these columns:

• Date: The date of the transaction, formatted YYYY-MM-DD.
• Amount: The transaction amount. Use negative amounts for money going out.
• Description: A brief description of the transaction.

Example:

Date,Amount,Description
2026-03-10,150.00,Customer payment
2026-03-09,-75.50,Supplier refund

2. Upload Your CSV File

To upload your CSV file:

• Open the task pane and select Upload transactions from a CSV file.
• Click Browse... to select your CSV file from your device.
• Select an account to upload for.
• Click Upload to upload the transactions.

If you have set up transaction import rules, they will be applied to the imported transactions.

3. Benefits of CSV Upload

Using CSV upload helps you:

• Easily import large batches of transactions.
• Simplify data entry and reduce errors.
• Quickly update your financial records.

Note: CSV upload is available for premium users only, and your role needs the Upload CSV permission.

Transaction Import Rules

Set up rules to automatically categorize imported transactions. Rules apply to transactions imported through Plaid Sync or CSV upload, which are Premium features.

1. Create a New Rule

Navigate to:

Data → Transaction Import Rules

Steps to create a rule:

• Fill in the blanks of the rule sentence: credit or debit, the account, contains or matches, the phrase, and the account to assign.
• Optionally check Omit this transaction to skip matching transactions.
• Click Create Rule.

2. Delete Existing Rules

Navigate to:

Data → Transaction Import Rules

Steps to delete a rule:

• Locate the rule in the list.
• Click the red trash icon to remove the rule.

Note: Once a rule is deleted, it cannot be recovered. You will need to create a new rule if needed.

3. Benefits of Import Rules

Using transaction import rules helps you:

• Save Time: Automate transaction categorization and reduce manual effort.
• Ensure Consistency: Apply the same logic to similar transactions for accurate bookkeeping.
• Focus on Analysis: Spend less time on data entry and more time analyzing your financial data.
• Eliminate Duplicates: Omit duplicate transactions when importing from multiple accounts.

4. Example Use Case

Suppose you frequently send payments to "Magic Hay Co" from your checking account. You can create a rule to automatically categorize these transactions:

• If: The transaction is a credit in the Checking Account and the description contains "Magic Hay Co".
• Then: Assign the Magic Hay Expense account as the debit account.

This rule ensures that all payments to "Magic Hay Co" are consistently categorized as Magic Hay Expense.

Receipts & Inbox (Premium)

Keep your records organized by uploading receipts and attaching them to transactions. Uploaded receipts are scanned for viruses, and text such as the date and total is read from them automatically.

1. Upload Receipts to the Inbox

Navigate to:

Data → Inbox

Drag and drop files onto the upload area, or click it to browse. You can also use Upload receipt/image to Inbox in the task pane from the Dashboard, Transactions, or POS pages. On a phone you can take a photo directly. Supported formats are JPG, PNG, GIF, and PDF.

2. Attach a Receipt to a Transaction

Each receipt in the Inbox appears as a card. To attach it:

• Type the transaction ID into the Transaction ID box, or click the search button to find the transaction.
• Click the green check button to Assign the receipt. It leaves the Inbox and is linked to the transaction.

You can also upload a receipt straight onto a transaction from the Transactions page with Upload Receipt. The receipt indicator column shows which transactions have one.

3. Archive, Restore, and Delete

• View: Opens the receipt in a new tab.
• Archive: Moves a receipt you want to keep, but not attach, to the Archive tab. Use Restore to Inbox to bring it back.
• Delete: Removes the receipt. Deleting a receipt never changes the transaction itself.

4. Benefits of Receipt Storage

Storing receipts helps you:

• Maintain Accurate Records: Attach receipts to transactions for tax purposes and audits.
• Verify Transactions: Easily verify the details of a transaction using the attached receipt.
• Stay Organized: Keep your bookkeeping paperless and well-documented.

Receipts are securely stored and can be accessed at any time from the transaction table.

AI Assistant (MCP)

You can connect an AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Claude or ChatGPT, to one of your companies. The assistant can then look up and work with your Account Simple data in plain language. The AI assistant requires a Premium plan.

1. Connect

• In your AI app, add a custom connector with the URL https://accountsimple.online/mcp.
• Sign in to Account Simple when prompted, choose the Company, and click Approve.
• Only the owner, Full Access users, and custom roles with the Connect AI Assistants permission can connect a company.

2. What It Can Do

• Look up accounts, transactions, customers, vendors, jobs, line items, invoices, estimates, and receipts.
• Create and update accounts, transactions (including split transactions), customers, vendors, jobs, tickets, and line items.
• Draft estimates and invoices from tickets, and send estimates.
• Read receipts, find the matching transaction, and attach or archive them (Premium). To upload a new receipt, the assistant requests a one-time upload link (valid for 10 minutes, one file) and sends the file to it. Assistants that cannot make HTTP requests should have you upload in the web app instead.
• Sync your Plaid bank accounts (Premium).

3. Staying in Control

• The assistant can only do what your role allows.
• Most changes are prepared first and only saved after a second confirming step, so you can review them. Sending an estimate, moving a receipt, and syncing Plaid happen immediately.
• To disconnect, remove the connector from your AI app.
• If the company moves to the Basic plan, the assistant stays connected but its tools stop working until you upgrade to Premium.

Team & Roles

Invite people to work in your company and control what each person can do. Only the company owner can manage the team.

Navigate to:

Settings (gear icon) → Invite New User / Manage Members / Roles & Permissions

1. Invite and Manage Members

• Enter the person's email, confirm your password, choose a Proposed Role, and click Send Invitation.
• The invited person accepts under New Company Invitations in their own settings.
• Pending Invitations lists invitations not yet answered. Manage Members lets you change a member's role or remove them.

2. Built-in Roles

3. Custom Roles

Under Roles & Permissions, click Create New Role, name it, and check the permissions it should have. Permissions are grouped by area, such as Pages, Transactions, Invoices, Integrations, and Reports, and risky ones are flagged. Assign the role when inviting someone or from Manage Members.

Multiple Companies

One login can work in several companies, each with its own books and its own role for you.

Navigate to:

Settings (gear icon) → Account Settings → My Companies

• Switch To: Opens another company. The page reloads, so save your work first.
• Active radio button: Sets the company you land in when you log in.
• Create New Company: Starts a new, separate set of books.

Plans: Basic vs Premium

Every company is on the Basic plan or the Premium plan. The current plan is shown in the top right corner of the page.

The owner manages the plan from Settings → Administrative Tasks → Manage Subscription. If a payment fails, Premium features keep working for a 3-day grace period.