QuickBooks Online: Review the Chart of Accounts

Why This Matters

CoMetrics uses financial data directly from your QuickBooks Trial Balance file to generate your benchmarking reports. For that process to work correctly, every account in your Chart of Accounts needs to have both a name and an account number. Accounts that are missing either one will cause your file upload to fail in our system.

This guide walks you through how to check your Chart of Accounts and fix any gaps.

Step 1: Make Sure Account Numbers Are Turned On

QuickBooks Online does not enable account numbers by default. Before reviewing your accounts, confirm this setting is active.

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of your screen (this is your Settings menu)
2. Select Account and Settings
3. Click the Advanced tab on the left side
4. Look for the Chart of Accounts section
5. Make sure Enable account numbers is toggled on
6. Click Save, then Done

If this setting was already on, no action needed - move to Step 2.

Step 2: Open Your Chart of Accounts

1. From the left navigation menu, click Accounting
2. Select Chart of Accounts

You'll see a list of all your accounts. Each row shows the account name, type, detail type, and (if enabled) the account number.

Step 3: Look for Missing Names or Numbers

Scan through the list and look for:

• Blank account names - The Name column will appear empty or show placeholder text
• Missing account numbers - The Number column will be blank even though numbering is turned on

Tip: If your list is long, use the browser's Find function (Ctrl+F on Windows, Cmd+F on Mac) and search for obvious blanks, or sort by the Name or Number column to group any empties together.

Step 4: Edit Accounts to Fill in Missing Information

For any account that is missing a name or number:

1. Find the account in the list
2. Click the down arrow on the far right of that row
3. Select Edit
4. Fill in the Name field and/or the Number field
5. Click Save and Close

Repeat this for each account that needs to be updated.

A few naming tips:

• Use a clear, descriptive name that reflects what the account tracks (e.g., "Grocery Sales - Frozen" rather than "Sales 1")
• Avoid special characters like slashes, quotes, or brackets in account names
• Account numbers should follow your existing numbering scheme

Step 5: Confirm Your Changes

Once you've made updates, reload the Chart of Accounts page and do a final scan to confirm no blank names or numbers remain.

If you have a large number of accounts to review, QuickBooks Online also allows you to export your Chart of Accounts to Excel. To do this, click the Export icon (a small spreadsheet icon) in the top-right area of the Chart of Accounts page. Reviewing the export in a spreadsheet can make it easier to spot gaps across a long list.

Need Help?

If you're unsure how to number an account, whether to keep or merge an account, or have any questions about how your Chart of Accounts should be structured, reach out to your Accountant or CPA. These are accounting decisions that should be made with your financial professional. QuickBooks Online also offers their own support resources for technical issues within the platform.

If you have questions about how CoMetrics ingests or maps your account data - such as why a specific account isn't appearing in your benchmarking report or how a particular account type is being categorized on our end - contact the CoMetrics Help Desk.