Set up accounting
Activate and set up accounting: basic settings with checklist, four-eyes principle, VAT special cases, chart of accounts, tax codes, personal accounts, booking categories, booking rules, cost centres, opening balance, payment providers and statement mapping
→ Open basic settings · Open chart of accounts · Open opening balance
In the Administration → Accounting area you set up accounting and maintain its master data: chart of accounts, tax codes, booking rules, cost centres and opening balance. The day-to-day work – journal, bank, taxes, closing – is explained in Accounting overview. Which rights you need for which page is described in Grant accounting permissions correctly.
The subpages only appear once the accounting module is unlocked; otherwise SimpliServ reports that it isn't unlocked for your tenant. Accounting supports businesses in Germany and Austria.
Activate accounting
If accounting isn't set up yet, General settings shows the Accounting setup wizard.
Check the country
If the country is missing in the company details, the wizard asks you to add it first – chart of accounts and tax rules depend on it.
Choose the chart of accounts
In Germany SKR03 (most widespread) or SKR04 (follows the balance sheet structure), in Austria the Einheitskontenrahmen (EKR). If in doubt, ask your tax advisor.
Tax profile and fiscal year
Choose legal form, Profit determination and VAT details. A non-calendar fiscal year is only possible with balance-sheet accounting; a first short fiscal year (founding, conversion, closure) is set with start and end.
Activate
Activate accounting switches accounting on. Existing documents can be booked retroactively right away.
Basic settings
After activation the General settings page (Administration → Settings → View) shows:
- Setup checklist – what is still missing for clean accounting: tax profile, account mapping, fiscal year, bank accounts, tills, opening balances, advisor and client number, existing documents. Each step has an Open link.
- Post existing documents – Start posting books all documents since the accounting start that have no booking yet; locked periods are skipped.
- Overviews of Tax profile, Chart of accounts and assignment, Fiscal years and periods and Opening balance with links to where each is maintained. You maintain the tax profile itself in the company details.
- Bookkeeping obligation – checks per year whether double-entry bookkeeping is required.
- Four-eyes principle – which actions a second person must approve, such as incoming invoices, manual bookings, payment runs, submitting the VAT return or locking, optionally only From amount (gross). Under Approval steps you define approval chains by amount, cost centre or supplier, under Deputies deputies during absence. Only management can change these settings.
- VAT special cases – small business turnover, Small business ended on, Waiver of the scheme declared on, Cash-basis VAT from, total difference under the margin scheme and chamber levy.
- OSS and Intrastat – OSS registered from, Voluntary destination country taxation and Default mode of transport.
- Bank accounts and registers – which ledger account each bank account and each till books to.
- Voucher expiry – when unredeemed vouchers are written off as income: Country default, After the statute of limitations, After the expiry date or Only manually, plus Grace days.
- Tax advisor handover – DATEV, BMD or RZL numbers for the export, maintained on the export page.
Chart of accounts
The Chart of accounts page (Accounting → Accounts → View, changes with Accounting → Accounts → Manage) has four areas:
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | all ledger accounts with Number, Name, Class, Type, Function and Origin, filterable by System accounts, Automatic accounts and Customised. With New account you create your own accounts with type and Default tax code |
| Account mapping | which account SimpliServ automatically uses for revenue, receivables, bank, till etc.; missing required mappings appear in the checklist |
| Tax codes | Key, rate, direction, tax case, country, VAT return boxes and validity. If a tax rate changes, you create a new version – the previous one ends the day before |
| Personal accounts | Debtors and Creditors with balance As of date or for a Period, the Number ranges for new numbers and the General ledger and subledger reconciliation |
Clicking an account opens its account sheet with all bookings, contra accounts and the running balance. More: Chart of accounts.
Booking categories
Booking categories are the plain-language categories employees choose from for expenses and documents (e.g. "Fuel", "Office supplies"). Each category points to an Account and sets the Input VAT. With Keywords you help the recognition. Predefined categories can be adjusted and later reset to the template; with Own category you add your own.
Booking rules
Posting rules automatically assign accounts to recurring documents and bank transactions. With New rule you define:
- Conditions – Applies to (e.g. incoming invoices or bank transactions), Supplier, Direction, Bank account and a Search pattern (regular expression). Via Level you check the whole document or individual lines.
- Assignment – Book as, Category or Account, Tax code, Cost centre and for bank transactions also Customer or supplier, Payment provider or a Recurring entry.
- Book automatically books without confirmation; the Priority decides which rule wins when several match.
The table shows Hits and Last hit per rule, so you can spot unused rules.
Cost centres and cost objects
Under Cost centres (Accounting → Cost centres → View, changes with Accounting → Cost centres → Manage) you create cost centres using New cost center with Code and Name. A cost centre can be linked to a till or a Warehouse, serve as Default for area or be Default for purchases. In the second area you maintain cost objects (New cost object), such as projects or vehicles.
Opening balance
The Opening balance (Accounting → Journal → View, editing with Accounting → Opening balance → Manage) records the balances at the start of the first fiscal year:
Create or confirm
Create opening balance creates a draft. For a newly founded business you confirm No opening balances (new business) instead.
Enter ledger accounts
In the Ledger accounts area you enter the balance per balance-sheet account with Add line (account, side, amount, optional cost centre) or load a trial balance from the previous system with Import. Bank balances booked on the bank account are taken over.
Enter open items
Under Open items you enter unpaid invoices from before the start per customer or supplier. When payments arrive for them, you record them with Record payment.
Reconcile and post
Reconciliation shows whether debit and credit balance. Post posts everything on the key date. After that a change is only possible via Correct, which creates a new revision as a draft.
An opening balance is only posted in the first fiscal year. Later years take over the closing balances of the previous year.
Payment providers
Card, PayPal and marketplace payments wait on a clearing account until the payout arrives at the bank. The Payment providers page (Accounting → Bank → View) has three tabs: Reconciliation (balances of the clearing accounts), Payouts (with gross, fees and payout; you load provider reports with Import report) and Cash in transit – money in transit between till and bank, with possible bank matches.
Statement mapping
Statement mapping (Accounting → Journal → View) defines in which line each account appears in the balance sheet, P&L and other reports – including the E-Bilanz per fiscal year. The Notes column flags questionable mappings. Reset all resets your own mappings to the template.
Related topics
- Accounting overview — journal, bank, taxes and closing
- Chart of accounts — accounts in detail
- Bank reconciliation — match bank transactions
- Accounting export — hand-over to your tax advisor
- Grant accounting permissions correctly
- Set up your company & organisation — tax profile and bookkeeping obligation
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