Account Hierarchy

You can organise related accounts into groups by creating header accounts (parents) with sub-accounts (children). This is especially useful on the Profit & Loss report, where grouped accounts collapse into a single line.

How It Works

A header account does not accept journal entries directly — its balance is the sum of its children. When you add a sub-account to a regular account, that account automatically converts into a header.

▶ 4050 Leah's Revenue       KES 300   ← collapsed header (click to expand)

▼ 4050 Leah's Revenue                 ← expanded
    4051 Manicure            KES 100
    4052 Pedicure            KES 120
    4053 Facial              KES  80
    Total Leah's Revenue             KES 300

Creating a Parent–Child Group

1. Create the parent account

   Add a new account (e.g. 4050 Leah's Revenue) as you normally would.

2. Add sub-accounts

   Create child accounts (e.g. 4051 Manicure) and set the Parent Account field to the parent you just created. The parent automatically becomes a header.

3. Post entries to children only

   Record journal entries against the sub-accounts. The parent’s balance updates automatically.

Tip

If the parent already has journal entries, you’ll need to move or reverse them before adding sub-accounts — the system prevents mixed-mode accounts.

Viewing on the Profit & Loss

Navigate to Reports → Profit & Loss. Grouped accounts appear collapsed by default. Click the chevron to expand and see individual children plus a Total footer row.

Viewing on the Chart of Accounts

On the Chart of Accounts page, parent accounts show a chevron and a computed balance (sum of children). You can:

• Click the chevron to expand children inline in the table
• Click the row or use the action menu → View Sub Accounts to open the full sub-accounts modal

Rules & Restrictions

Rule	What happens
Header accounts can’t receive entries	Journal entries and opening balances are rejected for header accounts
Max 4 levels deep	Root → Level 1 → Level 2 → Level 3
Same account type required	Parent and child must both be the same type (e.g. both Revenue)
Deactivate bottom-up	Deactivate all children before deactivating the parent
Delete bottom-up	Remove or re-parent all children before deleting the parent
GL code locked on parent	You can’t change a parent’s GL code while children reference it

Caution

Once an account becomes a header, it stays that way until you manually convert it back — even if all children are removed.

FAQ

Can I move a sub-account to a different parent? Yes — edit the account and change the Parent Account field. If the new parent is a regular account with no entries, it will auto-convert to a header.

What happens to orphaned children if a parent is deleted? They appear as normal top-level accounts in reports. No data is lost.

Does hierarchy affect the Balance Sheet or Trial Balance? Not yet — hierarchical grouping is currently available on the Profit & Loss report only.