---
title: "Chart of Accounts (COA)"
slug: "chart-of-accounts-coa"
updated: 2026-07-24T22:19:47Z
published: 2026-07-24T22:19:47Z
canonical: "help.wrapbook.com/chart-of-accounts-coa"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.wrapbook.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Chart of Accounts (COA)

> [!NOTE]
> Chart of Accounts are permission based
> 
> To update, your account must have one of the following [roles](/v1/docs/permissions-and-access-control) enabled:
> 
> - Role: *Company Admin, Accountant*
> - Custom role with: *Accounting settings* - *Full access*

## Overview

A Chart of Accounts (COA) is the structured list of account codes and descriptions that organizes all financial activity on a production. In Wrapbook, every [PAS-enabled](/v1/docs/about-production-accounting) project has its own COA that maps how transactions — payroll, AP invoices, journal entries, and more — are coded and reported.

## Project-level vs. company-level COA

You can manage COAs at two levels:

- **Project-level COA:** Built and managed within a specific project. Every PAS project has one.
- **Company-level COA template:** A standardized chart built once at the company level and applied to any new project. Projects created from a template start with the company chart as their foundation.

**Note:** When a company COA template is created or revised, all existing projects using that template are updated automatically.

## Company COA templates

**What it does:** Lets you build a library of COA templates once and reuse them across every new project — no rebuilding from scratch for each production. You can maintain a separate template for each studio or partner relationship (for example, a Netflix template, a Warner Bros. template, and your own house standard), and apply the right one instantly when setting up a new project.

### How to access your company COA templates:

1. In the left-side navigation, click the dropdown and select **All projects**
2. Click **Company settings**
3. Click **Production accounting chart templates**

### How to add a company COA

You can add a company-level COA in three ways:

1. [**Import a COA file**](/v1/docs/chart-of-accounts-coa#import-a-coa-from-a-file) **-** add a file thats saved to your computer
2. [**Create manually**](/v1/docs/chart-of-accounts-coa#manually-create-a-coa) — use the template editor to add, organize, and label your accounts, including header, detail, and sub-account structures using the nested-grid editing experience
3. [**Convert a project COA**](/v1/docs/chart-of-accounts-coa#convert-a-project-coa-into-a-company-template) — promote an existing project's active chart to a reusable company template

#### Import a COA from a file

If your company already has a COA in another format, you can import it directly into Wrapbook instead of building it manually.

**Supported file formats:** CSV, tab-delimited (.txt), Excel (.xlsx), XML, PDF

**Note:** Files exported from Movie Magic Budgeting and other industry-standard tools are typically in one of these formats and are supported.

**How to import a COA:**

1. From the *Production accounting chart templates* page, click the **Add new chart** button
2. In the *Create new chart template* dialog, enter a **Chart name**
3. Select **Import** as the creation type
4. Click **Browse files** and select a file saved to your computer
5. Click **Continue**
6. Review the **import preview grid** — Wrapbook analyzes your file and predicts:
  - Account mask format
  - Ranges
  - Account type categorization
  - Sub-account usage and separator format
  - Parent-child account relationships
7. Navigate to the **Errors tab** to review any rows that couldn't be mapped to the predicted structure. Resolve all flagged items before proceeding.
8. Once everything looks correct, click the **Activate** button

**Important:** Import always creates a **Draft COA**. The template is not available for use on new projects until you activate it.

#### Manually create a COA

You can also build a company-level COA from scratch using the template editor.

**How to manually create a COA:**

1. From the *Production accounting chart templates* page, click the **Add new chart** button
2. Enter a **Chart name** and select the **Manual** creation type
3. Configure your COA mask (the format defining account number length and structure) and ranges (account number ranges mapped to account types such as ATL, BTL, and Post)
4. Add header accounts (summary/parent accounts), then add detail accounts underneath. The system auto-suggests the next account number as you tab through rows.
5. When your chart is complete, click the **Activate** button

#### Convert a project COA into a company template

If a project is already using an active chart of accounts that was **not** created from a company template, you can promote it to a reusable company-level template directly from the project's accounting settings — no rebuilding required.

**Who can use this**

The **Save as template** option is only visible to users with permission to create company-level chart templates (typically Company Admin or Accountant role). It does not appear if:

- The project's COA is already a derivative of a company template, or
- The user does not have the required permission

**How to save a project COA as a company template**

1. In the left-side navigation, click the dropdown and select the project
2. Click **Project settings**
3. In the PROJECT SETTINGS submenu, click **Accounting**
4. Scroll to the **Chart of accounts** section
5. In the *Chart of accounts* row, click **Save as template** (appears to the left of the **Manage** button)
6. In the *Save as template* popup, enter a **Chart name** — this is a required field
7. Click **Save template**

**Note:** The popup cannot be closed by clicking outside of it. Use **Cancel** to dismiss without saving.

While Wrapbook creates the template, a loading indicator appears in the Chart of accounts row and the **Manage** button is temporarily disabled. This typically completes within a few seconds.

**What happens after you save**

- A success banner appears: *“Chart of accounts successfully saved as template”* with a **View template** link that takes you directly to the new company-level template
- The **Chart of accounts** row updates to show the template name the project is now derived from (e.g., *“Configured: [Template name]”*)
- The **Save as template** link no longer appears — the project's COA is now a derivative chart
- The new template is immediately available in **Company settings → Production accounting chart templates**, where you can edit it, add accounts, and apply it to future projects. Any edits to the template will push down to all derivative projects.

**What gets copied to the new template**

The new company template is created with the same:

- Account mask format
- Account ranges
- All active accounts

**Note:** Existing COA mappings are **not** migrated when you save a project COA as a company template. Mapping migration is not yet supported for this workflow.

### How to apply a company COA template to a project

1. In the left-side navigation, click the dropdown menu and select the project
2. Click **Project settings**
3. In the PROJECT SETTINGS submenu, click **Accounting**
4. On the *Accounting* settings page, click the **Manage** button next to *Chart of accounts*
5. Select an activated company template — the COA is applied to the project instantly

**Note:** For information on mapping your COA to a 3rd party's or studio's chart of accounts, see [COA Mapping (PAS)](/v1/docs/coa-mapping-pas)

The master list of all the accounts used to track production costs, expenses, assets, liabilities, and income. These also can be referred to as Cost Accounts. In commercials, typically AICP line numbers are utilized in its stead.

(Chart of Accounts)The master list of all the accounts used to track production costs, expenses, assets, liabilities, and income. These also can be referred to as Cost Accounts. In commercials, typically AICP line numbers are utilized in its stead.

(Accounts Payable) Cash disbursements through the payment of vendor invoices and other payables

(Above the Line) Budget and production cost category given to the story, talent, and producing elements of a production (i.e., story rights, writer, producer, actors, and related costs).

(Below the Line) Term derived from the top sheet of a production budget, that refers to the separation of cost categories incurred during the day-to-day shooting, editing, scoring, etc. Elements of a production which normally occur during prep, principle and post-production; includes salaries for crew hired on hourly or daily basis, technicians, materials, labor, raw stock, processing, and all other production costs. (see above the line for all other costs).