Skip to main content

Xero - Maintaining your Chart of Accounts

Written by Michael Mulligan
Updated this week

BMS maintains its own chart of accounts that mirrors your Xero chart of accounts. Keeping these in sync ensures that journals and invoices post to the correct GL accounts in Xero. Navigate to Admin → Accounts to manage GL accounts in BMS.

The Accounts Screen

The screen lists all GL accounts configured in BMS. Each row shows: Code (the GL account code, which must match Xero), Name, Account Class (Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense), Account Type, Tax Rate. Use the search bar to find a specific account by code or name.

Syncing Accounts from Xero

Click Sync from Xero to pull the current chart of accounts from Xero into BMS. This is the primary method for keeping BMS accounts up to date when accounts are added or modified in Xero. New accounts added to Xero will appear in BMS after a sync. Run this sync whenever your Xero chart of accounts changes.

Comparing Accounts

Click Compare to Xero to view a side-by-side comparison of accounts in BMS and Xero. This highlights accounts that exist in one system but not the other, and accounts where names or tax rates differ. Use this before a billing run or journal push to identify discrepancies that could cause sync errors.

Creating Accounts Manually

Click New Account to add an account to BMS directly. Enter the Code, Name, Account Class, Account Type, and Tax Rate. The Code must match the corresponding account code in Xero exactly — this is how BMS maps posted transactions to the correct Xero account.

Product Account Defaults

Navigate to Admin → Accounts → Settings to configure which GL accounts are used by default for different product transaction types:

  • Sales — the revenue account for invoice line items (for example, 41110 - Hardware Sale - Machine)

  • Cost — the cost of goods account for product cost (for example, 51110 - Hardware Cost - Machine)

  • Stock — the stock on hand asset account (for example, 14410 - Stock on Hand - BMS)

  • Expense — the general expense account (for example, 57110 - Sales Expense General)

Special accounts are also configured here:

  • Purchase Accruals — used for stock accrual journal entries

  • Stock In Transit — used for inter-warehouse stock transfer journals

These defaults determine the GL account applied to new transactions unless overridden at the product or contract level.

Did this answer your question?