Startup chart of accounts: a sample SaaS chart of about 45 accounts, by function

A seed-stage SaaS startup can run on about 45 accounts in seven groups: assets (1000s), liabilities (2000s), equity (3000s), revenue (4000s), cost of revenue (5000s), operating expenses (6000s) and other income and expense (7000s). Split operating expenses by function, R&D, sales and marketing and general and administrative, from day one, because investors, your CPA and the R&D credit all ask for that split.

Updated September 30, 2026 · 6 min read · By the Accountable team

The short version

A small chart beats a long one: Kruze's public SaaS template has over 80 accounts, and most seed-stage startups need about half that.
Number accounts by type: assets 1000s, liabilities 2000s, equity 3000s, revenue 4000s, cost of revenue 5000s, expenses 6000s, other 7000s.
Deferred revenue is a liability, and subscription revenue moves out of it into income each month as it is earned.
Group operating expenses by function so gross margin, burn by team and research costs can be read straight from the books.
Renaming an account keeps its history, so start with the accounts you need and add the rest when the transactions appear.

Assets and liabilities: cash, what customers owe you, and what you owe them

These accounts hold the balance sheet's two sides that change every day. Use one bank account per real bank account and one card account per real card.

Sample SaaS startup chart of accounts: assets and liabilities
Code	Account	What goes in it
1000	Cash, operating checking	The main bank account
1010	Cash, savings and treasury	Savings, money market, sweep accounts
1020	Payment processor clearing	Stripe balance that has not paid out yet
1100	Accounts receivable	Invoices sent and not yet paid
1200	Prepaid expenses	Annual software, insurance, conference fees paid ahead
1210	Deposits	Security deposits on office leases
1500	Computer equipment	Laptops and hardware above your capitalization limit
1590	Accumulated depreciation	Depreciation taken on equipment to date
2000	Accounts payable	Bills received and not yet paid
2010	Credit cards	One sub-account per card
2100	Accrued expenses	Work done or bills owed but not yet invoiced
2110	Accrued payroll and bonuses	Wages earned and not yet paid
2120	Payroll tax liabilities	Withholding and employer taxes waiting to be paid
2200	Deferred revenue	Customer prepayments for service you still owe
2400	Convertible notes payable	Notes that are debt on your books

Equity: separate accounts for common stock, preferred stock and SAFEs tie the books to the cap table

Equity accounts record what investors and founders put in. Keep one for each security you issue, so each can be tied to a line on the cap table. Kruze's template, for example, holds SAFE notes in equity with a sub-account for each investor. Whether a SAFE sits in equity or in liabilities is a call for your CPA.

Sample SaaS startup chart of accounts: equity
Code	Account	What goes in it
3000	Common stock	Founder and employee shares issued
3010	Preferred stock	One sub-account per series (Seed, A)
3020	SAFEs	Amounts received on SAFEs, if your CPA books them in equity
3030	Additional paid-in capital	Paid in above par value, and stock-based compensation credited here
3100	Accumulated deficit	Prior years' losses, rolled forward each year

Revenue and cost of revenue: separating them gives investors your gross margin

Keep recurring revenue apart from one-time revenue so monthly recurring revenue can be read from the books. Put the direct cost of serving customers in the 5000s, so gross margin is revenue minus those accounts.

Sample SaaS startup chart of accounts: revenue and cost of revenue
Code	Account	What goes in it
4000	Subscription revenue	Recurring fees, released from deferred revenue as earned
4010	Implementation and services revenue	One-time setup and consulting fees
4090	Refunds and discounts	Contra-revenue, so refunds stay visible
5000	Hosting and infrastructure	Cloud costs that run the product for customers
5010	Payment processing fees	Stripe and card fees on customer payments
5020	Customer support payroll	Pay of people who serve customers
5030	Third-party software in the product	Licenses and APIs the product resells or depends on

Operating expenses: group them by R&D, sales and marketing, and G&A from day one

The split by function is the single most useful choice in the chart. It shows burn by team, feeds gross margin and operating expense ratios in investor updates, and separates engineering payroll, which matters for the research costs and credit in the section 174 guide and the R&D credit guide.

Sample SaaS startup chart of accounts: operating expenses and other income and expense
Code	Account	What goes in it
6000	R&D payroll and taxes	Engineers, product and design staff
6010	R&D contractors	Outside developers, with the country of the work noted
6020	Dev tools and software	Code hosting, testing and design tools
6100	Sales and marketing payroll	Sales, marketing and success staff
6110	Advertising	Paid channels
6120	Events and travel	Conferences, customer visits
6200	G&A payroll	Founders in admin roles, finance, operations
6210	Legal	Formation, contracts, fundraising counsel
6220	Accounting and tax	Bookkeeper, CPA, filing fees
6230	Insurance	Business, cyber and D&O cover, expensed monthly from prepaid
6240	Rent and office	Lease, coworking, supplies
6250	General software	Email, chat, finance and admin tools
6260	Bank fees	Account and wire fees
6270	Taxes and licenses	Delaware franchise tax and annual report fee, state fees
6290	Stock-based compensation	Non-cash expense for options and restricted stock
7000	Interest income	Interest on cash balances
7100	Interest expense	Interest on notes and loans
7200	Foreign exchange gain or loss	Differences on non-dollar payments
7900	Income tax expense	Federal and state income tax, once profitable

A month of transactions lands in the chart like this

Worked example: seven transactions and their accounts

A $24,000 annual customer payment on October 1: debit Cash 1000, credit Deferred revenue 2200. Each month $2,000 moves to Subscription revenue 4000.

A $42,000 payroll run, with $30,000 for engineers, $8,000 for sales and $4,000 for finance: debit 6000 $30,000, 6100 $8,000, 6200 $4,000, credit Cash 1000.

A $3,100 cloud bill for the product: debit Hosting and infrastructure 5000, credit the card 2010.

A $350 fee on Stripe payments: debit Payment processing fees 5010, credit Payment processor clearing 1020.

A $400 Delaware franchise tax payment: debit Taxes and licenses 6270, credit Cash 1000.

A $6,000 annual insurance payment: debit Prepaid expenses 1200, then $500 a month to Insurance 6230.

A SAFE for $500,000 wired in: debit Cash 1000, credit SAFEs 3020.

Five rules keep the chart small and useful

Do not create an account per vendor. Vendors are tracked separately, and the account says what the money was for.
Add an account only when three or more transactions in a month need it.
Keep the suspense or uncategorized account at $0 when you lock the month.
Do not change the structure mid-year unless you must. Renaming an account keeps its history, but moving spend between accounts changes past reports.
Let your CPA review the chart before the first tax return, because they will map it to the return's lines.

In Accountable, open Accounting › Chart of accounts and press New account to give it a code, a name and an account type. Changes to the chart of accounts by Accountable AI wait for your approval unless you chose Always allow.

Questions founders ask

What accounts does a startup need?

Cash and card accounts, receivables and payables, prepaid expenses, deferred revenue, payroll liabilities, equity accounts for stock and SAFEs, revenue, cost of revenue, and expenses grouped by R&D, sales and marketing and G&A. About 45 is enough at seed.

How should a SaaS startup set up its chart of accounts?

Number accounts by type, keep recurring revenue apart from one-time revenue, put deferred revenue in liabilities, and split operating expenses by function so gross margin and burn by team are simple to read.

Where do SAFEs go in a chart of accounts?

Kruze's template puts SAFE notes in equity, with a sub-account per investor. Some companies record them as liabilities. Ask your CPA which treatment fits your documents.

How many accounts should a startup chart of accounts have?

Fewer than you think. Kruze's public SaaS template has over 80, and suggests choosing the ones that match your operations. Start near 45 and add accounts as needed.

Can I change my chart of accounts later?

Yes. Renaming an account keeps its history. Moving spending between accounts changes past reports, so do it at a year end when you can.

Add an account in a few clicks, with history kept

Accountable's chart of accounts lives in Accounting › Chart of accounts. Add an account with a code, a name and a type, and rename it later without losing its history.

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Sources, checked September 30, 2026: