Setting Up Your Category List

Applying the correct nominal code to your purchases and expenses is an essential part of accounting. Dext Prepare makes it easy to set up your Chart of Accounts, whether you’re working with a cloud or desktop accounting solution.

In Dext Prepare we refer to each section of your Chart of Accounts as ‘Categories’. You can set them up differently depending on if you’re using the application with an integrated accounting software.

Learn how to set up your Category Lists:

  1. With an integration
  2. Without an integration

With an Integration

When you integrate a Dext Prepare account with cloud accounting software, we’ll automatically pull across your Chart of Accounts. To view these click on Business Settings in the bottom left of the screen, then Lists, and finally Categories.

Any edits you make to your Chart of Accounts within your accounting package will also take effect within Dext Prepare. We check and renew your Chart of Accounts every 24 hours, but you can also manually update these lists by pressing the green Reload button. 

If you don’t want a certain nominal code to be available to view or assign to transactions, you can hide specific Categories by turning the toggle in the Visible column to OFF.


Without an Integration

There are two default lists of nominal codes; simple and comprehensive. You can use these and chose to import or create your own Chart of Accounts:


  • Import your Chart of Accounts

Download your Chart of Accounts from your accounting software as a .CSV file.

To do this click Import from CSV at the top of the page.

From there simply select the CSV file you wish to upload.


  • Manually Create your Chart of Accounts

To manually create your chart of account:

  1. Go to Manage groups at the top of the page, then click Add group. You can also duplicate an existing category if desired by clicking Duplicate group.
  1. Enter the name of the categories and their codes, then click Save.

You can edit you categories at any time from the Category page by clicking on the category Name or Code and making the necessary changes.

If you don’t want a certain nominal code to be available to view or assign to transactions, you can hide specific Categories by turning the toggle in the Visible column to OFF.

You can also remove a category if desired by clicking Delete next to the category.