Applying account codes, tax types, and departments to bills in OFX ensures your business expenses are accurately tracked, reported, and compliant with your accounting processes. These fields help categorise your bills for better financial oversight and integration with accounting software like Xero.

Prerequisites:

• You have permission to access and manage the Bills section.

• If your account is connected to an accounting platform like Xero or QuickBooks Online, your account codes, tax types, and tracking categories will sync automatically from Xero.

• If your account is not connected to an accounting platform, you can set up custom categories, codes, and tax rates directly in OFX by following the steps outlined in How to set up custom expense categories? and How to set up custom Tax rates and categories?

Next Steps:

1. Log into your OFX account.

2. Navigate to the Bills section from your main dashboard or menu

   

3. Upload or select a bill:

   • Refer to the following article for details on how to upload bills How do I upload bills?

   • To edit an existing bill, select it from the Bills list

     

4. Assign Account codes, Tax types and Custom categories

   1. Using manually set up codes and types within OFX

      • if your account is not connected to an accounting platform, you can use the custom Expense codes, Tax rates and Custom Categories set up within OFX.

      • To assign from the bill details view

        • Click to view the bill

          

        • Select the appropriate Account Code from the Expense category dropdown, Tax type from the Tax rate dropdown, and, if applicable, the Custom categories from the corresponding custom dropdowns (for instance: Department).

        • 

      • Alternately, to assign at the line item level

        • From the Bill details view, tick the checkbox labeled “Extract line items”

          

        • Click on “Edit line items” button

          

        • Select the Expense categories, Tax rates and Custom categories for each applicable line item

          

        • Save the changes

          

   2. Using synced Account codes, Tax types, and categories from Xero or QuickBooks Online

      • If your account is integrated with Xero

        • Select the Account code from Account code dropdown, Tax Type from the Tax rate dropdown, and if applicable, custom categories from the corresponding custom dropdown/s (for instance: Sales).

          

      • If your account is integrated with QuickBooks Online

        • Select the Account codes from the Accounting codes dropdown, Tax type from the Tax rate dropdown, and if applicable, Custom category from the Classes dropdown

          

5. Review and confirm:

   • Double-check that all coding is correct for each line item.

   • Make any necessary adjustments before proceeding.

6. Submit the bill for approval or schedule payment as required.

7. Confirmation:

   • Once saved, your coding selections will be applied to the bill.

   • If integrated with Xero or QuickBooks Online, these details will sync automatically after approval.

Why is this important: Applying account codes, tax types, and departments to bills ensures accurate financial reporting, simplifies tax preparation, and helps you track spending by type or department. This process supports compliance with internal policies and external accounting requirements, and is essential for seamless integration with accounting platforms like Xero.

Related FAQ Articles:

• How do I upload bills?

• How to set up custom expense categories?

• How to set up custom Tax rates and categories?

• How do I categorise Expenses?