Setting up your company in AccBooks AI

Overview

Setting up your company correctly in AccBooks AI takes around ten minutes and unlocks every feature — from automated bank reconciliation to one-click VAT filing. This guide walks you through each step in order.

Step 1 — Create your account

If you haven’t already, sign up at accbooks.co.uk with your email address. You’ll receive a confirmation email; click the link inside to activate your account.

Step 2 — Add your company

After logging in, click Add company on the dashboard. You’ll be prompted for:

• Company name — your registered trading name.
• Company type — limited company, sole trader, partnership, LLP or charity.
• Company registration number — for limited companies, this is your Companies House number (8 digits).
• VAT number — optional at this stage; you can add it later under Settings → VAT.

AccBooks automatically looks up your Companies House record and pre-fills your registered address, SIC code and officers list.

Step 3 — Set your financial year

Go to Settings → Company → Financial year and enter:

• Year-end date — the last day of your accounting period (e.g. 31 March or 31 December).
• Accounting basis — accruals or cash. Most limited companies use accruals; sole traders on the simplified expenses scheme often use cash.

The financial year setting determines how AccBooks groups transactions into periods and which VAT return dates are shown in the MTD filing module.

Step 4 — Choose your chart of accounts

AccBooks ships with three starter charts:

Chart	Best for
Standard (FRS 102)	Limited companies and LLPs
Simplified (FRS 105)	Micro-entities
Sole trader	Self-employed individuals

You can also import a custom chart from a CSV if you’re migrating from another system. Go to Settings → Chart of accounts → Import.

Step 5 — Connect your first bank feed

Click Bank feeds → Add bank and follow the Open Banking authorisation flow. AccBooks connects to over 2,500 UK and EU banks. Most connections complete in under two minutes.

Once connected, AccBooks imports up to 90 days of historical transactions automatically. These will appear in the Reconciliation queue ready for classification.

Step 6 — Invite your team

Go to Settings → Team → Invite member. Enter your team members’ email addresses and assign a role:

• Owner — full access including billing.
• Accountant — can post journals, file returns and generate reports.
• Bookkeeper — can classify transactions and upload documents.
• Read-only — can view reports but cannot make changes.

Each person receives an invitation email and sets their own password — you never share credentials.

You’re ready

Once your chart of accounts is set, your bank is connected and your team is invited, AccBooks will begin processing transactions automatically. Head to the Dashboard to see your first real-time P&L and cashflow view.

Next steps

• Importing historical data — bring in prior-year data from Xero, QuickBooks or Sage.
• Understanding the dashboard — learn what each panel shows.
• Inviting your team — more detail on roles and permissions.