Accounting

Chart of Accounts: Setup for SMBs by Industry

Your chart of accounts shapes every report you ever read. Here's how to set one up by industry — agencies, e-commerce, real estate, restaurants — so the numbers tell the truth.

By Aparna Devalla, CPA3 min · 5 slidesUpdated June 15, 2026

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Why the Chart of Accounts Matters

The chart of accounts (COA) is the structure your books map every transaction into. A bad COA means gross margin is unknowable, opex categories drift, and management reporting is useless.
Most SMBs start with QuickBooks defaults, which are too generic — every business ends up with 'Office Supplies' and 'Miscellaneous' bloated to meaninglessness.
A good COA is industry-specific: a restaurant tracks food cost % and labor % explicitly; an agency tracks billable hours vs overhead; a real estate operator tracks property-level revenue and NOI.
Once you have years of data, restructuring the COA is painful. Setting it up right at the start (or after a fresh start / new entity) is high leverage.

Agencies & Professional Services

Revenue: split by service line (strategy, design, dev, retainer) AND by client engagement type (project-based vs retainer).
COGS: direct labor (billable hours of senior staff + contractors) + project pass-through costs.
Operating expenses: separate sales/marketing from delivery overhead from G&A.
Track WIP (work in process) and unbilled receivables as separate balance-sheet accounts — critical for accrual accuracy.
Owner draws and partner distributions: equity accounts, not expenses.

E-commerce & DTC Brands

Revenue: split by channel (DTC website, Amazon, wholesale, marketplace) and by product category — never one 'Sales' line.
COGS: product cost + inbound freight + 3PL fulfillment + payment processor fees + returns/refunds reserve. These categories matter for margin analysis.
Marketing: split by channel (Meta, Google, influencer, organic) so CAC by channel is computable.
Inventory: track separate accounts for finished goods, raw materials (if you produce), and reserves for obsolescence.
Sales tax payable: by state — multi-state nexus means dozens of liability accounts at minimum.

Real Estate Operators

Revenue: per property, split by rental income, parking, late fees, vending, other.
Operating expenses: per property, split into property taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, management, supplies, leasing commissions.
Depreciation: separate accounts for building, land improvements, FF&E (5/15/39-year), with subaccounts per property.
Mortgage: principal vs interest splits, with subaccounts per loan and per property.
Track NOI (net operating income) before and after debt service as a managed reporting view.

Restaurants & Food Service

Revenue: per location, split by daypart (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and channel (dine-in, takeout, delivery, third-party platforms).
Food cost: separate from beverage cost (different margins, different vendors). Track as % of revenue weekly.
Labor: split by FOH (front of house) and BOH (back of house), and by tipped vs non-tipped — critical for tip credit / minimum wage compliance.
Operating supplies: separate from food (paper goods, cleaning, smallwares).
Pre-opening and reopening costs: separate accounts that don't pollute current operations.
Need a custom COA for your business? Rubric Financial builds industry-tuned COAs as part of every accounting engagement.

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