NZ Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks with GST Codes (Free)

This is a New Zealand chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, using the GST code names New Zealand bookkeepers work with. It comes as a readable CSV mapping every account to its GST code, and an import CSV for the account structure. Because of how QuickBooks handles tax and importing, the two files do different jobs, and there is one New Zealand quirk worth knowing before you start.

QuickBooks does not preload New Zealand GST codes

This is the part that surprises people moving from another country’s file. QuickBooks Online automatically creates a default set of GST or VAT codes only for a defined list of regions, and New Zealand is not among them. So a new New Zealand company does not arrive with named rates waiting. You turn on GST under Taxes, set up the GST agency, and create the rates yourself. The names this CSV uses (GST on Income, GST on Expenses, Zero Rated, GST on Imports and No GST) follow Inland Revenue’s GST-return convention, which is what most local bookkeepers adopt.

Why the structure and the codes are separate steps

QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import carries four columns only: Account Number, Account Name, Type and Detail Type. There is no tax column. QuickBooks does support account-level GST defaults, but you set them separately from the import. So the workflow has two parts:

1. Import the structure with the CSV, which creates the accounts with the right Type and Detail Type.
2. Assign the GST codes from the CSV mapping, once your GST rates exist. QuickBooks Online lets you bulk-assign default codes to the chart of accounts.

The CSV is therefore the file that matters for GST: it lists every account with its default GST code and the other valid codes, ready to apply.

The default code prefills, it does not lock

A default GST code on an account simply prefills the transaction line; you override it whenever a transaction needs different treatment. That is why the mapping lists alternatives: a sales account defaults to GST on Income but shows Zero Rated for exports, and a software account defaults to GST on Expenses but shows Zero Rated for an overseas vendor not registered for New Zealand GST.

The New Zealand treatments worth getting right

• GST on Income on sales, GST on Expenses on most purchases, both 15%.
• Insurance is standard-rated and claimable; general business cover is not exempt in New Zealand.
• Travel within New Zealand is standard-rated; international travel is zero-rated.
• No GST on wages, bank fees, interest and residential rent, which are exempt or out of scope.
• GST on Imports for the GST that Customs charges on consignments over NZ$1,000.

Using it

1. Open the CSV and adjust the account names to the business.
2. In QuickBooks Online go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. On the wizard, confirm the Type and Detail Type for each account.
4. Turn on GST, create the rates above, then bulk-assign the default codes from the CSV.

Keeping the coding right on every transaction afterwards is the ongoing job:

• Dext extracts the GST and supplier from photographed receipts.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, applies the correct New Zealand GST code for the supply, and posts it into QuickBooks Online against the right account, so the coding stays consistent as you scale.
• Hubdoc pulls recurring bills in with their GST itemised.

The numbering is range-based (assets 1000s, liabilities 2000s, equity 3000s, income 4000s, cost of sales 5000s, expenses 6000s), and the import sets each account’s Type and Detail Type, which QuickBooks shows as dropdowns on the wizard so you can confirm any label that differs in your version.

Using Xero instead? See the NZ chart of accounts for Xero, where the import sets the GST codes directly. For the codes themselves, see the NZ GST codes in QuickBooks reference.