Setting Up Categories | Chart of Accounts

Setting up categories (also known as a chart of accounts) allows you to pull specific reports and process important tax documents such as 1099s directly from the software. The software includes some common transaction categories but it's easy to customize these and add additional categories as needed.

How To Create a New Category

In your Rentec Direct account: 

1. Click Settings from the main menu.
2. Under the Financial heading choose Income & Expense Categories.
   
   Note: A few default income and expense categories have already been entered for you.  
3. Click the Add Category button.
4. Enter a Description for your category. 
5. Choose from one of the three transaction types: 
   1. Income
   2. Expense
   3. Other
      
      System Note: The Other category is used for ledger adjustments and will not be reflected on the income/expense reports. 
6. If desired, select a Class. The default is Standard. Other options include:
   1. Security Deposits
   2. Management Fees
   3. Owner Distributions
7. Set a Reference Number or allow the system to AutoNumber them for you (you can edit these numbers at any time).
8. Check the box if this category should influence your Schedule E.
   
   Important Note: We recommend you speak to your accountant to discuss your specific tax requirements. 
9. Click Post New Category to save. 

Tip:  We offer a Category Ledger Report that is very useful for analyzing the transactions posted to each category.

More information about financial reports can be found here:  Financial Reports

Editing Categories

You can edit categories for your unique business needs quickly and easily. 

In your Rentec Direct account:

1. Click Settings.
2. Choose Income & Expense Categories.
3. Click on the paper/pencil icon to edit. 
4. Click Save Changes when finished. 

Organizing Categories (creating sub-categories)

There are many reasons you may wish to reorganize your categories. For instance, you may get a request from your accountant to use specific categories, you may need to match categories for uploading to Quickbooks or other accounting software, or desire to have categories numbered and arranged to your business needs. To accomplish this, simply use the instruction above to edit.  

Tips: 

• The system doesn't use sub-categories per se. Instead, categories are organized by a reference number which can be edited in a subcategory fashion. 
• To help with this process, the system will allow you to use decimal points. This can be very handy when pulling category ledger reports which allow you to pull by one single category or multiple categories at once.