> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hyperline.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Getting started with accounting
> Set up accounting in Hyperline: create your first ledger and let Hyperline generate journal entries from your billing activity automatically.
Hyperline's accounting module turns your billing activity into journal entries automatically. Every invoice, payment, and credit note posts to your books following rules you control, so your books always match what you billed and deferred revenue is recognised on schedule. No spreadsheets, no manual bookkeeping.
The accounting module is not enabled by default. [Contact our team](mailto:support@hyperline.co) or reach out via the in-app chat to have it enabled on your workspace.
The module is built around five building blocks:
| Building block | What it does |
| ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **[Ledger](./ledgers)** | One set of books attached to an invoicing entity. You can keep several ledgers per entity, for example a statutory ledger (the official books you file with tax authorities and auditors) next to a management ledger for internal reporting. |
| **[Chart of accounts](./accounts)** | The list of general ledger accounts used in journal entries: accounts receivable, revenue, deferred revenue, tax payable, and so on. Each ledger has its own. |
| **[Accounting rules](./rules)** | Define which accounts to debit and credit for each billing event, with filters to scope them to specific products, customers, currencies, or payment methods. |
| **[Journal entries](./entries)** | Generated automatically when billing events occur, based on your rules. Posted entries cannot be edited: corrections are made via reversal entries. |
| **[Revenue recognition](./revenue-recognition)** | When revenue has to be spread over time, tied to a future date, or matched to usage, Hyperline defers it and recognises it on schedule automatically. |
## Before you start
Make sure you have:
* The accounting module enabled on your workspace (see above)
* Billing activity to account for (invoices, payments, credit notes), current or upcoming
* The accounting standard your books follow (IFRS, US GAAP, UK GAAP, French GAAP, or another local GAAP)
* A decision on whether you will sync entries to an external accounting tool, such as Xero, QuickBooks, Pennylane, NetSuite, Exact Online, or Rillet
## Setup flow
### 1. Create your ledger
A ledger is one self-contained set of books, with its own chart of accounts, rules, and journal entries. Most companies start with a single ledger mirroring the official books they report on.
Go to **Accounting** and click **Create ledger**.
You will be asked to configure:
* **Name**: a label to identify the ledger (e.g. "Statutory IFRS")
* **Invoicing entity**: the entity this ledger is attached to
* **Currency**: the **functional currency**, the single currency this ledger keeps its books in. Invoices in other currencies are converted using the exchange rate at invoice time
* **Journal entry pattern**: the numbering format for journal entries (e.g. `JE-{YYYY}-{number}`)
* **Ledger type**: the accounting standard, which determines the starting chart of accounts and rules
Start with **one statutory ledger** (the official books you file with tax authorities and auditors) and pick the type matching your jurisdiction:
| Your books follow | Pick |
| ------------------------------------ | ---------------------- |
| French GAAP (Plan Comptable Général) | `FR GAAP` |
| US GAAP (ASC 606) | `US GAAP` |
| UK GAAP (FRS 102) | `UK GAAP` |
| IFRS or another standard | `IFRS` or `Local GAAP` |
If you plan to sync this ledger with an external accounting provider, select the standard that matches your provider's chart of accounts. It simplifies the account mapping later.
Leave the `Management`, `Consolidation`, and `Audit adjustment` types for later. They serve advanced setups such as tracking annual and monthly recurring revenue or group-level eliminations, and the consolidation and audit types ship without default rules. See [Ledgers](./ledgers#ledger-types) for the full list.
### 2. Accounts and rules are created for you
Setting up a chart of accounts and mapping every billing event to the right accounts is usually the tedious part. Hyperline does it for you, based on the ledger type you picked:
* A **chart of accounts** matching the selected standard, such as ASC 606 revenue accounts for US GAAP
* A complete set of **accounting rules** mapping each billing event (invoice posted, invoice settled, credit note created) to the right accounts
Entries post correctly without any extra configuration. You can review everything in **Accounting** > **Settings**, and customise [accounts](./accounts) and [rules](./rules) at any time, for example to map a specific product to its own revenue account.
Syncing to an external accounting tool? Instead of using the default accounts, you can [pull the chart of accounts directly from your provider](./accounts#sync-accounts-from-your-accounting-provider) so account codes match exactly.
### 3. Watch entries post
From here on, you never write these entries by hand. Each time an invoice is finalised, a payment settles, a credit note is issued, or usage is consumed on a usage-based product, Hyperline applies your rules and posts the matching debits and credits.
You can browse them in two places:
* **Accounting** > **Journal entries**: all posted entries, filterable by account
* The **Accounting** section on any invoice page: the entries and recognition schedules for that specific invoice
**Entries are not retroactive.** A new ledger only posts journal entries and recognition schedules for events that happen **after it is created** (new invoices, settlements, credit notes, usage). Nothing is generated for your existing billing history. To bring past periods into the ledger, [contact our team](mailto:support@hyperline.co) or reach out via the in-app chat: we can replay them from a specific date for you.
### 4. Verify a first invoice
Once a first invoice has been issued, open the invoice page and scroll down to its **Accounting** section: accounts receivable should equal the total owed, revenue (or deferred revenue) the net amount, and the tax line the tax. If those match, every future invoice will post the same way.
To understand exactly which debits and credits Hyperline posts for each event, see [how entries are computed](./entry-mechanics).
## Next steps
Scope rules to specific products, customers, or currencies, and understand priorities.
Recognition is driven by your accounting rules. Adjust how revenue is deferred and recognised: over time, at a point in time, or based on usage.
See the exact debits and credits posted for each billing event.
Push invoices to Xero, QuickBooks, Pennylane, NetSuite, and more. Once connected, you can also pull the provider's chart of accounts into your ledger.
You can also export financial reports as spreadsheet (XLSX) files: general ledger, income statement, balance sheet, and the revenue recognition waterfall, from the chart of accounts and revenue recognition views. See [Export financial reports](./accounts#export-financial-reports).
Is something still unclear? Don't hesitate to reach out to our team via the in-app chat if you need additional support.