---
key: add-a-ledger-account
title: Add an account to your chart of accounts
audience: staff
section: bookkeeping
routes: ["/bookkeeping/chart-of-accounts", "/bookkeeping/chart-of-accounts/new"]
permissions: ["bookkeeping.accounts.read"]
features: ["bookkeeping"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: "Add, rename or deactivate the income, expense, asset, liability and equity accounts your books post to, and read any account's register."
keywords: [chart of accounts, ledger account, GL account, new category, expense category, income account, account register, deactivate account]
related: [set-up-bookkeeping, enter-opening-balances, categorize-bank-transactions, post-a-journal-entry]
---

In the sidebar, open **Bookkeeping**, then **Accounting**, then **Chart of Accounts**. The page address is `/bookkeeping/chart-of-accounts`. A new account opens at `/bookkeeping/chart-of-accounts/new`.

## Before you start

- Setting up bookkeeping gives you a full chart for your country (see [[set-up-bookkeeping]]). Add an account only when nothing in the list fits, for example a new line of work you want to track on its own.
- Your role needs permission to manage the chart of accounts to add, rename or deactivate an account. Read permission lets you browse and open registers.

## Steps

1. Press **New account**. The **New account** window opens.
2. Type the **New account name**, for example Subcontractors.
3. Under **Type**, choose **Assets**, **Liabilities**, **Equity**, **Income** or **Expenses**. It starts on **Expenses**, which is what most new accounts are.
4. Press **Add account**. It stays greyed out until the name is filled in. Nova shows **Account added.**, closes the window and gives the account the next free code in its type's range (expenses are 6000s, income 4000s, assets 1000s).

## What you see

- The list shows each account's **Code** (which you can copy), **Name**, **Class**, **Type**, **Normal** balance side (debit or credit) and **Status** (active or inactive). Accounts Nova manages itself show (system) after the name.
- Click a row, or choose **Open / ledger** from its actions menu, to open the account. The window title is the code and name. Under **Register** you see an **Opening balance** row, then every posting, oldest first, with its **Debit**, **Credit** and a running **Balance**. The running balance adds debits and subtracts credits, so liability, equity and income accounts usually show a negative number.
- **Filters** narrows the list by **Class**; the search box matches code or name.
- **Opening balances** at the top opens the start-of-books entry; see [[enter-opening-balances]].

## If something looks different

- **New account** is missing: your role cannot manage the chart of accounts.
- Nova shows an error that an account code already exists: the next code in that type's range is taken. Choosing a different name does not change the code, so ask your admin.
- You want to rename an account: open it, change the **Name** and press **Save name**. Nova shows **Account renamed.**
- You no longer use an account: open it and press **Deactivate**, then press **Deactivate** again in **Deactivate account?**. Its **Status** reads inactive and its history is kept. The confirmation says it is hidden from new transactions, but today it still shows in the category and account pickers elsewhere; it only drops out of the **Opening balances** window. Press **Activate** to bring it back; that needs no confirmation.
- The rename and status controls are missing and the window says it is a system account: Nova manages that account's name and status automatically. System accounts cannot be deactivated.
- The list reads that there are no accounts and to set up bookkeeping from the overview: bookkeeping has not been set up yet.

[[route:/bookkeeping/chart-of-accounts|Open Chart of Accounts]]