What is chart of accounts mapping?

Definition

Chart of accounts mapping is the crosswalk that lines up one list of accounts with another. Each row says which source account belongs to which destination account.

This is a translation step, not a new set of books. The florist still posts in QuickBooks, and the parent company still reports in its own chart of accounts.

Where it shows up

Balance Sheet: Related to how the same balances appear in two charts.

P&L: Related to how the same income and expense appear in two charts.

Cash flow: Related to nothing extra.

See also: Chart Of Accounts · Account Roll-Up · Consolidation

When two books need to talk, the map sits between them. You see it in a conversion file, a monthly pack, or a reporting tool.

It does not appear as a line on the Balance Sheet. It only decides how a balance already in the books is labeled in the other list.

A complete map means every account the florist uses has a home in the parent's chart of accounts. A missing row means a balance never arrives on the parent's statements.

On the Income Statement, flower sales in QuickBooks 4000 might land in the parent's floral revenue account. The dollars do not change, but the label does.

You will also meet the map when a shop switches software. Opening figures only land in the right new accounts if someone wrote the crosswalk first.

How it works

Someone lists every account in the source chart of accounts. Next to each number they write the destination number, or a note that the account should be combined with another one.

One-to-one maps are the simple case. QuickBooks 1000 cash becomes parent 1010 cash.

Many-to-one maps are common when the parent wants fewer lines. Cafe 1200 and wholesale 1210 both point to the parent's single accounts receivable account.

One-to-many maps are rare and easy to break. Splitting one source account into two destination accounts needs a rule, not just a pair of numbers.

The map is used when balances move. A conversion, a monthly pack, or a group report reads each source balance and writes it to the destination account.

If the florist adds a new account and nobody updates the map, that account is orphaned. The local Trial Balance still balances, and the parent's pack does not.

Opening balances follow the same table. Day-one figures land in the right parent accounts only if the map is complete.

The map does not post on its own. A person or a job has to run it against the source balances, then the destination books or workbook update.

Keep the table in one place and date it. Two competing maps for the same month will not produce the same parent statements.

Example

A florist on QuickBooks uses 1200 for accounts receivable. The parent company uses 13000 for trade receivables.

The mapping table has one row that reads source 1200, destination 13000. When the monthly pack is built, the $4,000 cafe balance appears on the parent Balance Sheet as trade receivables.

The florist also has 4000 flower sales and 4100 workshop sales. Both rows point to parent 4100 revenue, so the parent Income Statement shows one floral income line.

If the florist later adds 1220 for event receivables and forgets the map, $800 stays in QuickBooks and never reaches the parent. The local books are fine, and the group report is short.

Nothing about the cafe invoice changes when the map is written. The map only tells the parent where that $4,000 should sit.

Common mix-ups

Mapping is not the same as renaming accounts in one file. Renaming changes the label the florist sees, while mapping leaves those names alone and only translates them for someone else.

Mapping is not a journal entry. No debit or credit is posted when you write 1200 equals 13000 in a spreadsheet.

People also confuse mapping with an account roll-up inside one chart of accounts. A roll-up groups 1200 and 1210 on the florist's own Balance Sheet, and a map tells a different system where those same accounts belong.

Related terms

• Chart Of Accounts: The organized list of every account used to record transactions.
• Account Roll-Up: How detailed accounts summarize into the lines shown on a statement.
• Account Number: The numeric code that places an account in the chart of accounts.
• Consolidation: Combining multiple entities into one set of financial statements.
• General Ledger: The master record of every account and every posted transaction.
• Trial Balance: A listing of every ledger account balance, used to check that debits equal credits.
• Financial Statement Package: The bundled set of statements and schedules delivered after a close.
• Opening Balance: The balance loaded into an account when the books are first set up or moved to a new system.