Getting Started with Addsworth Accounting

Addsworth Accounting is a double-entry accounting application for Canadian small and medium-sized businesses. It runs natively on macOS and keeps your books on your Mac, with optional iCloud sync to Addsworth Companion on iPhone and iPad. It maps your accounts to the CRA's General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) for the T2 schedules. The tax code on each journal line writes its GST/HST to the sales tax accounts and into the GST/HST report.

This guide walks you through the essential workflow: creating your first company, exploring the dashboard, and understanding how the core features fit together.

Who is this for?

Solo accountants, bookkeepers, and entrepreneurs who manage financial records for Canadian corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships.

Prerequisites

• Addsworth Accounting installed on your Mac.
• An Apple ID with iCloud enabled (optional; needed only to sync with Addsworth Companion on your iPhone and iPad).

Step 1: Create Your First Company

You create a company on your Mac. On an iPhone or iPad, read the companion topics: Using Addsworth Companion on iPhone, Using Addsworth Companion on iPad, and iCloud Sync and Your Data.

When you launch Addsworth Accounting for the first time, the welcome screen offers two choices: Use Sample Company opens Ambrenta Machining Ltd., pre-loaded with accounts, journals, and a GST/HST report marked as filed, so you can explore every feature free for as long as you like; Create Company starts your own books. Creating your own company is the one-time Addsworth Core purchase. Until it is owned, Create Company shows the unlock offer, and a purchase continues straight into the form. Tap Create Company to begin.

1. Enter the company Name (required).
2. Pick the Type, which is the Business Type (Corporation, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship, etc.); there is no default. Choose carefully: it decides the return your books lead to, the opening equity accounts and the account your year-end close targets. A corporation, professional corporation or cooperative also picks its type under Corporation, as the T2 asks it.
3. Tap Save to create the company.

If the screen says cloud sync is starting, wait. Saving is off until iCloud sync starts.

The Quick Start form asks only for these. Add the country, the sales tax jurisdiction, the address and the rest later, in the company editor (see Managing Your Company).

Addsworth Accounting seeds default GIFI and configures Canadian tax jurisdictions automatically. Tax jurisdictions can be edited if a tax regime changes.

Saving also gives the company a starter chart of accounts for the Business Type you chose. The Quick Start form asks for no province, so the chart has no provincial sales tax accounts. Add them in the Chart of Accounts if the company needs them. The chart holds: a bank account, receivables and payables, the sales tax accounts with their tax roles, revenue, cost of sales, common expenses and the equity accounts, each mapped to its GIFI code where RC4088 has one. A not-for-profit or Other company starts with an empty chart. See Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts.

Tip: To explore before entering real data, choose Use Sample Company on the welcome screen. Later, you can choose Create Sample Company in Settings on your Mac. The sample company needs no purchase, and you can delete it and create a fresh copy at any time.

Step 2: Explore the Dashboard

After creating a company, Addsworth Accounting opens the Dashboard.

The Dashboard shows:

• Quick Actions: capture a new transaction as a draft, or review pending drafts.
• Liquidity, Obligations, and Net Worth: cash and receivables, what the business owes, and the equity position — all from posted entries only.
• Financial Health: six key ratios, each with a formula popover.
• Account Health: the number of active accounts, the share of postable accounts that have a GIFI code (aim for 100% before you file), and a count of accounts by type.
• This Week: A count of recent journal entries.

Use the company switcher in the toolbar to move between companies if you manage more than one.

Step 3: Set Up Your Chart of Accounts

Navigate to Chart of Accounts in the sidebar.

If you chose Create Sample Company, a full chart of accounts is already populated. A company you create starts with the starter chart; use it as it is, or change it. There are two ways to change it:

• Import from a previous system: On your Mac, go to Settings → Data Management → Import / Export Data → Import (JSON/CSV) to import a chart of accounts file. The import merges the file into the starter chart and shows each change for review. Import it before the company's first posted entry; after that entry the import refuses. See Importing Data for format details.
• Edit accounts manually: Select an account to rename, renumber or recode it, or click the + button in the toolbar, fill in the account number, name, type, and sub-type, then click Save to add one.

Each postable account can be linked to a GIFI code for CRA reporting.

Tip: Addsworth Accounting suggests a matching GIFI code based on your account description, type and sub-type. Accept the suggestion or choose a different code manually.

See Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts for detailed instructions.

Step 4: Record Journal Entries

Post an entry on your Mac. A companion captures drafts.

Navigate to Journals in the sidebar. You can also click Create Entry from the Dashboard's Quick Actions.

Addsworth Accounting uses double-entry bookkeeping: every journal must have at least two lines, and total debits must equal total credits.

1. Tap New Journal (the + button).
2. Enter a journal name, select a date, and choose a journal type (e.g., General Journal).
3. Add line items: select a GL account, enter a debit or credit amount, and optionally assign a tax code.
4. Verify the balance indicator shows the journal is balanced.
5. Tap Save to keep it as a draft, or Post to finalize it.

Tip: Posted journals cannot be edited directly. To correct a posted journal, reverse it and create a new entry.

See Creating Journal Entries for the complete workflow.

Step 5: Reconcile Bank Accounts

Regular bank reconciliation ensures your books match your bank statements. Navigate to Banking in the sidebar, select a bank account, and start a reconciliation session.

Match cleared transactions against your statement, resolve outstanding items, and complete the reconciliation to lock in the results.

See Bank Reconciliation for step-by-step instructions.

Step 6: Track GST/HST

If your business collects GST/HST, Addsworth Accounting tracks tax collected and Input Tax Credits (ITCs) on each journal line. Open Tax Centre in the sidebar to view summaries by reporting period.

See GST/HST Tracking & Reporting for details on tax jurisdiction setup and CRA-oriented workflows.

Step 7: Generate Financial Reports

Navigate to Reports in the sidebar to access your report templates. Addsworth Accounting includes seeded templates for the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Trial Balance and Cash Flow.

1. Select a report template from the list.
2. Tap Generate and choose a date range or fiscal period.
3. Review the report and export to PDF or CSV as needed.

See Running Financial Reports for a full guide to the reporting system.

Step 8: Back Up Your Data

Back up, restore and reset the database on your Mac.

iCloud sync is not a backup, because a deletion syncs too. Make local backups. Navigate to Settings → Data Management and tap Backup Database to create a timestamped archive.

See Backup & Data Management for backup and restore procedures.

Navigating Addsworth Accounting

Addsworth Accounting uses a sidebar to organize its features:

• The sidebar lists Dashboard, Banking, Journals, Company, Chart of Accounts, GIFI Codes, Settings, Tax Centre and Reports, in that order, in five groups. An iPhone has a tab bar instead: Dashboard, Taxes, Journals, Reports and Settings.

The Dashboard is always your starting point. From there, the typical accounting workflow is:

Company Setup → Chart of Accounts → Journal Entries → Bank Reconciliation → Reports

What's Next

Explore these guides to learn each feature in depth:

• Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts: Account structure, numbering, and GIFI code assignments.
• Creating Journal Entries: Double-entry journals from draft through posting.
• Bank Reconciliation: Matching statement activity and resolving outstanding items.
• GST/HST Tracking & Reporting: Tax collection, ITCs, and CRA reporting workflows.
• Running Financial Reports: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and report templates.
• Backup & Data Management: Creating backups, restoring data, and managing your database.