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Create your first company

What you'll do: create a company file, pick the country it keeps its books in, add its tax registration and address, and set up the compliance profile that drives your due dates.

Use a test company with invented data while KhataOS is in alpha.

1. Create the company

  1. Start KhataOS. The Select Company list opens. (With no companies yet, it opens straight on the create form.)
  2. Press Alt+C (Create Company). You can also type a new name in the list and press Enter.
  3. Type the Company name and press Enter.
  4. Check the Company file path. KhataOS suggests a file in its own data folder, named after the company, such as sharma-sons.khata. Change it if you want the file somewhere else.
  5. Press Ctrl+A, or Enter on the last field and answer Y to "Create this company?".

Each company is one file. To open a company file stored anywhere else, choose Open Company File… in the list and type its path.

2. Pick the country

The first time a company opens, KhataOS asks where it keeps its books.

  1. Type to filter the list, or move with ↑ ↓.
  2. Press Enter on the country.
Country Currency Financial year starts Party tax ID
India INR April GSTIN
United Arab Emirates AED January TRN
Saudi Arabia SAR January VAT number
Singapore SGD January GST Reg No
United Kingdom GBP April VAT Reg No
United States USD January EIN
Mexico MXN January RFC
Germany EUR January USt-IdNr
France EUR January N° TVA
Netherlands EUR January Btw-id
Spain EUR January NIF

The country sets the currency, the financial year, the tax rules and the voucher numbering (each voucher type restarts every financial year; sales invoices and notes also carry the year).

The country can't be changed later, and there is no screen to change the financial year start. Pick carefully. Only an Owner can pick it (when the company has users).

3. Look around the home menu

The home screen shows the company, its country and currency, the current period (Alt+F2), the current date (F2), the number of ledgers and vouchers, any to-dos due soon, whether the opening balances agree, who is signed in, and where the company file is.

A new company has the standard groups (Capital Account, Current Assets, Sundry Debtors and so on) but no ledgers, not even Cash. Create the ledgers you need next (see Masters).

4. Add the tax registration and address

  1. Press Alt+K (Company), and choose Company details. Or press Alt+G and type "company details".
  2. Type the company's tax ID (GSTIN, TRN, VAT number…). Leave it blank if the company isn't registered. It is checked as you type, and an invalid ID can't be saved here.
  3. Pick the State (or emirate, region…). For India it fills in from the GSTIN.
  4. Type the Address that prints on invoices. Press Enter on a blank line to move on.
  5. India only: choose how many HSN/SAC digits go on invoices (4 up to ₹5 crore turnover, 6 above it).
  6. Press Ctrl+A.

Only an Owner can change these. For your logo, bank details and invoice terms, see Invoices. For the setup that depends on your country (e-invoicing, MTD, ZATCA…), see your country page.

5. Set up the compliance profile on the Desk

The Desk lists your filing due dates. It needs a few facts about the company to know which dates apply.

  1. On the home menu, press T (To-dos and Due Dates).
  2. Press Enter on Set up your compliance profile, or press F12 (Profile).
  3. Answer the questions. KhataOS asks only those your country uses, for example:
  4. the date of incorporation and the business form (company, LLP, partnership, sole proprietor);
  5. the month the financial year ends;
  6. the date you registered for VAT or GST, or N if you aren't registered;
  7. your return periods: monthly or quarterly GST for India (QRMP), the VAT stagger for the UK, the quarter months for the UAE and Singapore, the sales tax states and frequencies for the US;
  8. India: whether tax audit applies, and whether you deduct TDS or collect TCS.
  9. Accept. The Desk now lists the due dates that apply to you.

The profile is kept in this company file only. It doesn't sync to other computers yet. See Desk.

6. Add users (optional)

With no users, anyone who opens the file can do everything. To make people sign in:

  1. Press Alt+K and choose Users and passwords.
  2. Press Alt+C (Add User). The first user must be an Owner.
  3. Type the name, pick the role, and type the password twice (at least 8 characters). Press Ctrl+A.
Role Can
Owner Everything, including users, company details, tax rates and numbering
Accountant Also alter, cancel and delete saved entries, and set bank dates
Data Entry Enter new vouchers and masters, but not change saved ones
Auditor See reports and vouchers, and change nothing

Each role can do everything the roles below it can. From now on everyone signs in when the company opens. Sign out from the Company menu (Alt+K).

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