Xero Chart of Accounts

Overview

The chart of accounts (COA) in Xero defines the general ledger structure for your organization. Every invoice line item, payment, and bank transaction references an account code. For MSPs, a well-structured COA enables tracking revenue by service line (managed services, projects, hardware sales), expenses by vendor category, and provides the foundation for meaningful financial reporting.

Core Concepts

Account Classes

Xero organizes accounts into five standard accounting classes:

Class	Description	MSP Examples
`ASSET`	Things you own	Bank accounts, accounts receivable, equipment
`EQUITY`	Owner's stake	Retained earnings, owner's equity
`EXPENSE`	Costs of business	Software licenses, salaries, ISP costs
`LIABILITY`	Things you owe	Accounts payable, loans, tax liabilities
`REVENUE`	Income earned	Managed services, project revenue, hardware sales

Account Types

Each class contains specific account types:

Class	Type	Code	Description
ASSET	`BANK`	BANK	Bank accounts (used for payments)
ASSET	`CURRENT`	CURRENT	Current assets (AR, inventory)
ASSET	`FIXED`	FIXED	Fixed assets (equipment)
ASSET	`PREPAYMENT`	PREPAYMENT	Prepaid expenses
EQUITY	`EQUITY`	EQUITY	Equity accounts
EXPENSE	`EXPENSE`	EXPENSE	Operating expenses
EXPENSE	`DIRECTCOSTS`	DIRECTCOSTS	Cost of goods sold
EXPENSE	`OVERHEADS`	OVERHEADS	Overhead expenses
LIABILITY	`CURRLIAB`	CURRLIAB	Current liabilities
LIABILITY	`LIABILITY`	LIABILITY	Long-term liabilities
LIABILITY	`TERMLIAB`	TERMLIAB	Term liabilities
REVENUE	`REVENUE`	REVENUE	Revenue accounts
REVENUE	`OTHERINCOME`	OTHERINCOME	Other income
REVENUE	`SALES`	SALES	Sales revenue

MSP Chart of Accounts Structure

A typical MSP chart of accounts includes:

Revenue (200-299)
  200 - Managed Services Revenue
  210 - Project Revenue
  220 - Hardware Sales
  230 - Software License Revenue
  240 - Cloud Services Revenue
  250 - Consulting Revenue

Cost of Sales (400-499)
  400 - Software License Costs
  410 - Hardware Costs
  420 - Cloud Platform Costs (Azure, AWS)
  430 - ISP/Connectivity Costs
  440 - Subcontractor Costs

Expenses (500-699)
  500 - Salaries & Wages
  510 - Employee Benefits
  520 - Office Rent
  530 - Insurance
  540 - Marketing
  550 - Professional Development
  560 - Tools & Subscriptions

Field Reference

Core Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`AccountID`	string (UUID)	System	Auto-generated unique identifier
`Code`	string	Yes	Account code (e.g., "200", "400")
`Name`	string	Yes	Account name
`Type`	string	Yes	Account type (REVENUE, EXPENSE, BANK, etc.)
`Status`	string	No	ACTIVE or ARCHIVED
`Description`	string	No	Account description
`TaxType`	string	No	Default tax type for this account
`EnablePaymentsToAccount`	boolean	No	Whether payments can be made to this account
`ShowInExpenseClaims`	boolean	No	Show in expense claims
`Class`	string	Read-only	Account class (ASSET, LIABILITY, EQUITY, REVENUE, EXPENSE)
`BankAccountNumber`	string	No	Bank account number (BANK type only)
`BankAccountType`	string	No	BANK or CREDITCARD (BANK type only)
`CurrencyCode`	string	No	Currency for bank accounts
`ReportingCode`	string	No	Reporting code for financial statements
`ReportingCodeName`	string	Read-only	Reporting code name

System Accounts (Read-Only)

Field	Type	Description
`SystemAccount`	string	System account type (e.g., DEBTORS, CREDITORS)

Xero creates these system accounts automatically:

System Account	Description
`DEBTORS`	Accounts Receivable
`CREDITORS`	Accounts Payable
`GST`	Tax collected/paid
`GSTONIMPORTS`	Tax on imports
`HISTORICAL`	Historical adjustment
`REALISEDCURRENCYGAIN`	Realized currency gains
`UNREALISEDCURRENCYGAIN`	Unrealized currency gains
`ROUNDING`	Rounding adjustments

API Patterns

List All Accounts

curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

With Filters:

# Revenue accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Class==%22REVENUE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Bank accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Type==%22BANK%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Active accounts only
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Status==%22ACTIVE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# Expense accounts
curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts?where=Class==%22EXPENSE%22" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Get Single Account

curl -s -X GET "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

Create Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "Code": "245",
    "Name": "Cloud Services Revenue",
    "Type": "REVENUE",
    "Description": "Revenue from cloud hosting and Azure/AWS resale",
    "TaxType": "OUTPUT"
  }'

Update Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "AccountID": "'${ACCOUNT_ID}'",
    "Name": "Cloud & Hosting Revenue",
    "Description": "Revenue from cloud hosting, Azure, AWS, and SaaS resale"
  }'

Archive Account

curl -s -X POST "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "AccountID": "'${ACCOUNT_ID}'",
    "Status": "ARCHIVED"
  }'

Delete Account

curl -s -X DELETE "https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0/Accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
  -H "xero-tenant-id: ${XERO_TENANT_ID}"

Note: Accounts with transactions cannot be deleted. Archive them instead.

Common Workflows

Set Up MSP Revenue Accounts

async function setupMspRevenueAccounts() {
  const accounts = [
    { Code: '200', Name: 'Managed Services Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Monthly recurring managed services contracts' },
    { Code: '210', Name: 'Project Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'One-time project and implementation work' },
    { Code: '220', Name: 'Hardware Sales', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Hardware sales and procurement markup' },
    { Code: '230', Name: 'Software License Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Software license resale (M365, security, etc.)' },
    { Code: '240', Name: 'Cloud Services Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE', Description: 'Cloud hosting and IaaS/PaaS resale' },
    { Code: '250', Name: 'Consulting Revenue', Type: 'REVENUE',

Xero Accounts

How to add

Drop this on your repo README

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