Accounting Add-on
Understand how chart accounts connect budgets, the Income Statement, payments, payouts, and registers
The Accounting add-on is the financial workspace behind SettleWise operations. It started as budget planning, but now also includes the chart of accounts, account-based actuals, account detail activity, and the Income Statement.
Budgets are still part of Accounting. The larger add-on is the shared account layer that connects planning, payments, payouts, registers, and financial views.
What You Unlock
| Capability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | Gives the organization one account tree for revenue, costs, assets, liabilities, and equity |
| Budgets | Stores planned amounts by account and period |
| Account activity | Shows payment and payout activity booked directly to posting accounts |
| Income statement | Compares budget, actual, and variance using account-based data |
| Operational posting layer | Connects completed business flows to debit and credit lines under the hood |
Core Concepts
| Concept | Role in Accounting |
|---|---|
| Chart account | The account used for budgets, Income Statement rows, and transaction detail |
| Posting account | A leaf account where operational activity can be booked |
| Register | The bank account, cash drawer, or liability account where money moves in or out |
| Register backing account | The chart account linked to a register so cash movement can be posted cleanly |
| Accounting entry | The balanced record created from an operational event such as a payment deposit or completed payout |
How Payments Connect
When a payment is validated, it must be assigned to a register. That register answers, "where did the money land?"
After validation, SettleWise creates a deposit-style accounting entry:
| Line | Account source | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Debit | The register's backing chart account | Cash, bank, or another asset/liability account increased |
| Credit | Sales revenue account(s) | Revenue recognized on a cash basis |
If the payment is allocated to invoices with product line items, SettleWise can split the revenue side by product category. Product categories can point to sales revenue accounts, so a single customer payment can become revenue across multiple accounts. If no product-level mapping is available, SettleWise falls back to a preferred income account, or creates a local Sales Revenue account.
How Payouts Connect
Payouts represent outgoing money. A pending payout does not hit accounting yet. A completed payout creates the accounting entry.
| Line | Account source | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Debit | Expense account(s) from payout lines or the payout account | The cost was incurred |
| Credit | The payout register's backing chart account | Cash, bank, or another asset/liability account decreased |
Payouts can use one expense account for the whole payout or multiple accounts through line items. Product-linked payout lines can also inherit a commission expense account from the product category unless a user overrides the line account.
Voiding or cancelling a completed payout restores the register balance and removes the linked accounting entry. Editing the amount or account lines on a completed payout replaces the accounting entry so the Income Statement and account activity stay aligned.
How Registers Connect
Registers are operational accounts for money movement. Accounting links each register to a chart account:
- Local registers use SettleWise-created chart accounts such as a cash drawer or checking account
- QuickBooks-linked registers use the matching QuickBooks chart account when available
- Registers can be asset or liability accounts, which supports bank accounts, cash on hand, credit cards, and accountable advances
This link lets Accounting see both sides of a flow: the P&L account, such as revenue or expense, and the balance-sheet account where money moved.
How Budgets and Reports Use Accounts
Budgets are planned by account and period. Actuals come from operational activity booked to those same accounts.
| Workspace | How it uses accounts |
|---|---|
| Budgets | Planned amounts are stored on posting accounts, then rolled up to parent accounts |
| Account detail | Shows activity booked directly to that account |
| Income statement | Reads budget and actual by account, then calculates variance |
The V1 income statement is cash basis. That means invoice creation alone does not create recognized revenue. Revenue appears when payment cash is validated into a register and posted to revenue accounts.
Why Account Mapping Matters
Good account mapping keeps the same operational event useful in many places:
- Payments update receivables workflow, register balances, revenue actuals, and the Income Statement
- Payouts update vendor workflow, register balances, expense actuals, and budget comparisons
- Product categories can steer revenue and commission expense into the right accounts
- QuickBooks-linked accounts keep SettleWise financial views aligned with the accounting system
When a number looks unexpected in Budgets or Income Statement, check the account assignment on the payment, payout, product category, or register that created it.
Related
Budgets
Plan spend and compare actuals inside the Accounting workspace
Payments
See how customer payments are validated and assigned to registers
Payouts
Review outgoing money, expense accounts, vendors, and completed payout behavior
Registers
Understand bank, cash, and liability accounts used by payment and payout flows