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Accounts Hierarchy

Ledgerly supports hierarchical account structures, allowing you to organize your finances in a logical, tree-like structure.

What is Account Hierarchy?

Accounts can have parent-child relationships, creating a tree structure:

Assets
├── Cash
├── Bank
│   ├── Checking
│   └── Savings
└── Investments
    ├── Stocks
    └── Bonds

Expenses
├── Food & Dining
│   ├── Groceries
│   └── Restaurants
└── Transportation
    ├── Gas
    └── Public Transit

Benefits of Hierarchy

  1. Organization: Group related accounts together
  2. Reporting: Aggregate balances at different levels
  3. Clarity: Understand account relationships
  4. Flexibility: Add detail where needed

Account Paths

Each account has a full path that shows its position in the hierarchy:

  • Assets:Cash
  • Assets:Bank:Checking
  • Expenses:Food & Dining:Groceries

The full path is displayed throughout the UI for clarity.

Creating Hierarchical Accounts

Step 1: Create Parent Account

Create the top-level account first:

  • Name: "Bank"
  • Type: Asset
  • Parent: None (root account)

Step 2: Create Child Account

Create the child account:

  • Name: "Checking"
  • Type: Asset
  • Parent: "Bank" (select from dropdown)

Result: Assets:Bank:Checking

Best Practices

1. Start Broad, Then Narrow

✅ Good:
Assets
├── Bank
│   ├── Checking
│   └── Savings

❌ Bad:
Assets
├── Bank Checking
├── Bank Savings

2. Consistent Naming

✅ Good:
Expenses:Food & Dining:Groceries
Expenses:Food & Dining:Restaurants

❌ Bad:
Expenses:Food & Dining:Groceries
Expenses:Dining Out

3. Logical Grouping

Group accounts that are: - Related in purpose (e.g., all bank accounts together) - Used together (e.g., all food expenses together) - Reported together (e.g., all investment accounts)

4. Don't Over-Nest

✅ Good (2-3 levels):
Assets:Bank:Checking

❌ Bad (too deep):
Assets:Financial:Bank:Personal:Checking:Primary

Common Hierarchies

Assets

Assets
├── Cash
├── Bank
│   ├── Checking
│   ├── Savings
│   └── Credit Cards (negative balance)
├── Investments
│   ├── Stocks
│   ├── Bonds
│   └── Mutual Funds
└── Property
    ├── Real Estate
    └── Vehicles

Expenses

Expenses
├── Food & Dining
│   ├── Groceries
│   └── Restaurants
├── Housing
│   ├── Rent
│   ├── Utilities
│   └── Maintenance
├── Transportation
│   ├── Gas
│   ├── Public Transit
│   └── Car Maintenance
└── Personal
    ├── Healthcare
    ├── Entertainment
    └── Clothing

Income

Income
├── Salary
├── Freelance
├── Investments
│   ├── Dividends
│   └── Interest
└── Other

Account Balances

When viewing accounts:

  • Parent accounts show the sum of all child account balances
  • Child accounts show their individual balances
  • The tree view makes it easy to see totals at any level

Moving Accounts

You can change an account's parent:

  1. Edit the account
  2. Select a new parent (or None for root)
  3. Save

The account and all its transactions remain intact; only the hierarchy changes.

Deleting Accounts

Important: You cannot delete an account that: - Has child accounts (delete children first) - Has transactions (delete or reassign transactions first)

This prevents accidental data loss.