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CSV with CIS accounts mapped to QuickBooks VAT codes. Import file and VAT code list below.
Download chart of accounts (CSV)Also available
Construction carries its own tax machinery on top of normal VAT, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and the VAT domestic reverse charge, and a generic QuickBooks chart cannot handle either. This is a UK construction chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, with the CIS control accounts and the QuickBooks CIS reverse charge code mapped to subcontractor labour. It comes as a readable reference (CSV) and a QuickBooks import CSV.
How the structure and the codes split in QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import has no tax column, so the work is two steps: import the structure with the CSV, then set the VAT codes from the CSV mapping. For construction this matters most on the subcontractor labour account, which the CSV maps to the CIS reverse charge code.
CIS control accounts on both sides
CIS moves money before anyone records an expense, so QuickBooks needs accounts to track it both ways:
- CIS deductions suffered (an asset): tax contractors withhold from your invoices, recoverable from HMRC.
- CIS deductions payable to HMRC (a liability): tax you withhold from subcontractors and owe to HMRC.
The deduction is 20% for registered subcontractors, 30% for unregistered, and 0% under gross payment status, and it is taken from the labour element only, which is why labour and materials are separate accounts.
The labour, materials, and plant split
The chart replaces the generic single subcontractor line with subcontractor labour (CIS), materials, and plant and tool hire. The CIS deduction applies to the labour line only, and the VAT treatment differs across the three, so they have to be separable on every job.
The CIS reverse charge code in QuickBooks
Since March 2021, construction subcontractor work between VAT-registered businesses, where the customer is not an end user, falls under the VAT domestic reverse charge. QuickBooks Online has a dedicated code for this: 20.0% RC CIS (with 5.0% RC CIS at the reduced rate). The CSV maps subcontractor labour to 20.0% RC CIS, which you apply to that account after importing. The Other codes used column notes that an end user reverts to 20.0% S, and because the code is a default, you override any end-user line. These CIS codes only apply to transactions dated on or after 1 March 2021.
Retentions and PPE
Two more construction touches: retention accounts (receivable and payable) track amounts held back pending completion; and protective clothing maps to 0.0% Z, because industrial safety boots and helmets are zero-rated, with a note that other workwear is 20.0% S.
How to use it
- Open the CSV: each account is mapped to its QuickBooks VAT code, with allowed alternatives and a note. The CIS and retention accounts are the construction additions.
- In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
- After import, bulk-assign the VAT codes from the CSV, applying 20.0% RC CIS to subcontractor labour.
- Keep labour and materials on separate lines on every subcontractor invoice so the CIS deduction calculates cleanly.
The recurring work is keeping each cost coded and split correctly:
- Dext extracts the VAT and supplier from photographed bills.
- ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, codes it to the right construction account with the correct VAT treatment including the CIS reverse charge, and posts it into QuickBooks Online, so the handling is applied at capture.
- Hubdoc pulls recurring plant-hire and merchant bills into the file.
On Xero instead? See the UK construction chart of accounts for Xero, where the import sets the reverse charge code directly. For the full picture of CIS, see the UK construction expenses guide.