Australian Construction Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks (GST + Retentions)

A construction business on QuickBooks Online needs more than a generic chart: it needs accounts for subcontractor labour, materials, hired plant, and the retentions that sit on both sides of a contract. This is an Australian construction chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, with those accounts mapped to the correct GST codes. It comes as a readable reference (CSV) and a QuickBooks import CSV.

Structure first, GST codes second

QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import has no tax column, so the work is always two steps: import the account structure, then assign the GST codes in bulk from the mapping. For a trade business the codes that matter most are on subcontractor labour, materials, and tools, and the readable CSV spells out each one.

No reverse charge: subbies charge GST

Unlike the UK construction scheme, Australia has no domestic reverse charge for building work. A registered subcontractor charges 10% GST, so subcontractor labour maps to GST on non-capital, the ordinary purchase code, and the head contractor claims the credit. The real risk is the no-ABN withholding rule: where a supplier in business does not quote an ABN on an invoice over A$75, you generally withhold 47% of the payment for the ATO. The labour account carries a note to verify the ABN before paying, which is the step most often skipped.

Materials, plant, and the import wrinkle

Materials map to GST on non-capital, with GST-free non-capital listed as the alternative for the occasional GST-free line. Imported building materials over A$1,000 attract GST at the border, claimed from the import declaration rather than the overseas supplier’s invoice, so the chart keeps materials separable from a domestic purchase. Hired plant has its own account so equipment rental is never confused with an owned-asset purchase.

Owned tools and the instant asset write-off

Tools you own are capital, and they map to GST on capital. The timing concession is the reason to track them cleanly: a small business under A$10 million turnover can immediately deduct an eligible asset costing less than A$20,000 for 2025-26, per asset, with anything A$20,000 or above pooled. The tools account carries a note to that effect, with a reminder to confirm the current threshold, since it is set year by year.

Retentions and the work ute

Two Out of Scope control accounts handle held-back cash: retentions receivable for what customers hold from you, retentions payable for what you hold from subcontractors. The motor vehicle running-costs account carries a note that a dual cab ute is FBT-exempt only where private use stays minor, infrequent, and irregular, so the question is raised rather than assumed.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV: each trade account is mapped to its QuickBooks GST code, with alternatives and a note.
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. After import, use Batch actions, then Set default GST code, to apply the codes from the mapping.
4. Keep labour and materials on separate lines on every subcontractor invoice so job costing stays clean.

The recurring work is keeping each cost coded and split correctly:

• Dext extracts the GST and supplier from photographed bills.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and tax invoice, codes it to the right trade account with the correct GST treatment, attaches the source, and posts it into QuickBooks Online, while flagging a missing ABN, a possible FBT vehicle, and a sub-A$20,000 asset that may qualify for the write-off.
• Hubdoc pulls recurring plant-hire and merchant bills into the file.

For the full trade picture, including FBT on utes and the write-off detail, see the Australian construction expenses guide. On Xero instead? See the Australian construction chart of accounts for Xero.