GL Code List: 150+ GL Code Examples by Account Type

A GL code example is a specific account number paired with what it records, such as 5960 for office supplies or 2000 for trade accounts payable. Numbering follows conventions rather than a standard, so codes are broadly recognisable between companies but never identical. The tables below give more than 150 working examples.

Key takeaways

• Most charts use four digits, with the leading digit signalling the account category.
• Nothing here is a standard. These are conventions, and every business adapts them.
• Leave gaps. A chart numbered consecutively has nowhere to put the account you need next year.
• The same cost sits in different accounts depending on the industry. Hosting is a direct cost for a SaaS business and an overhead for a manufacturer.
• Copy the structure, not the numbers. What matters is that your ranges are consistent and your gaps are deliberate.

Get the free GL Code List Template (.xlsx) — all 150+ codes from this page in an editable spreadsheet, ready to copy and renumber for your own chart.

What a GL code example looks like

A GL code example has two parts: the number, and the account it points to. On its own, 5600 means nothing. Paired with software subscriptions, it becomes usable. For the underlying concept, see what GL codes are.

How to read a composed GL code

Many businesses extend the account number with segments. Reading 5600-200-01 left to right:

• 5600 — the account. Software subscriptions, an operating expense.
• 200 — the department. Marketing.
• 01 — the entity or location. The UK company.

A marketing software subscription bought by the UK entity. The account says what it was, the segments say whose it was and where. Segment count and order vary by system, so treat this as the pattern rather than the format.

Standard GL code list by account type

More than 150 codes, grouped by range. Use them as a starting point and renumber to suit your own chart.

1000–1999: Asset GL codes

2000–2999: Liability GL codes

3000–3999: Equity GL codes

4000–4999: Revenue GL codes

5000–5999: Expense GL codes

Direct costs sit in the lower half of the range, operating expenses in the upper half.

6000–6999: Other income and expense GL codes

GL code examples by industry

The ranges above are common to everyone. What differs is which costs a business treats as direct rather than overhead, and that decision changes the gross margin on the face of the income statement.

Hosting is the clearest case. A SaaS company codes it to cost of sales, because it scales with customers served. A manufacturer codes the same invoice to IT overhead. Same supplier, same amount, different line.

SaaS and technology GL codes

Manufacturing GL codes

Professional services GL codes

Healthcare GL codes

Retail and ecommerce GL codes

GL account code structure: building your own numbering system

Copying a list is faster than designing one, but the numbering has to fit the business. Four decisions do most of the work.

Choosing your code length and block ranges

Four digits suits most companies and gives a thousand slots per category, which is more than enough. Five or six digits are worth it only when you genuinely need hundreds of accounts within a single category, which usually means a large group or a regulated sector with prescribed reporting. Longer codes are harder to remember and slower to type, and both of those show up as coding errors.

Leaving gaps for future accounts

The most common mistake is numbering consecutively. A chart running 5000, 5001, 5002 has nowhere to put a new account that belongs between two existing ones, so it lands at the end and the logical grouping breaks.

Numbering in tens or hundreds solves it. The list above jumps from 5600 to 5610 precisely so that 5601 through 5609 stay available for related accounts later. Leave larger gaps between groups than within them.

Sub-account and sub-ledger conventions

Related accounts should sit adjacent and share a prefix, so that 5800 to 5840 are all travel and a report can roll them up by range. Subledgers work differently: accounts payable, receivable and fixed assets each hold their detail separately and post a summarised total to one control account in the general ledger. You do not need a GL account per supplier. You need one control account and a subledger behind it.

Adding department, location, and project segments

Segments carry the context the account number cannot: who spent it, where, and on what. Each one adds precision and adds a field somebody has to complete correctly. Three or four is workable. Beyond that, requisitioners start guessing, and a guessed segment is worse than no segment because it looks like data.

GL code examples in practice

Coding a software subscription invoice

An annual design tool licence, £4,800, bought by marketing in the UK entity. It codes to 5600-200-01: software subscriptions, marketing, UK. Because it covers twelve months, the portion relating to the next financial year moves to 1330, prepaid software subscriptions, and releases monthly. Coding the whole amount to 5600 in month one overstates this year’s cost and understates next year’s.

Coding a multi-department facilities cost

A cleaning contract of £12,000 covering two floors used by different teams. Split by floor area, sixty per cent to 5530-300-01 and forty per cent to 5530-400-01. What matters is that the basis is recorded somewhere. An allocation nobody can explain six months later will be questioned at audit and repeated wrongly for years.

Coding an intercompany transfer

The UK entity pays a shared licence and recharges half to the German entity. The UK side posts the full cost to 5600-000-01, then credits the recharged half to an intercompany receivable. The German side carries the matching payable. Both legs must reference the same intercompany account pair, because these are eliminated on consolidation, and a mismatch is the single most common reason group consolidation fails to balance.

Free GL code list template

Every code on this page, in an editable spreadsheet: account number, name, category, and a column for your own department and location segments. Copy the sheet, renumber to suit your chart, and delete what you do not use.

Get the GL Code List Template (.xlsx)

Frequently asked questions about GL code examples

What is an example of a GL code?

5960 for office supplies, 2000 for trade accounts payable, or 4010 for subscription revenue. With segments, a full code might read 5960-200-01: office supplies, marketing department, UK entity.

What are the standard GL code ranges?

Conventionally, 1000s for assets, 2000s for liabilities, 3000s for equity, 4000s for revenue, 5000s for expenses, and 6000s for other income and expense. Some charts split expenses across 5000s and 6000s and push other items into the 7000s.

How many digits should a GL code be?

Four is standard and suits most businesses. Five or six only pay off when a single category needs hundreds of accounts, which usually means a large group or a regulated sector.

Do GL codes differ between companies?

Yes. Ranges are broadly shared, but the accounts inside them are built for each business. Two companies in the same industry will have different charts.

What GL code is used for office supplies?

Typically an operating expense account in the 5000s, such as 5960 in the list above. Some charts place it in the 6000s. What matters is consistency within your own chart.

How do I create a GL code list for my business?

Start from the list above, delete what does not apply, and renumber in tens or hundreds so there is room to grow. Agree the ranges with whoever owns the close, then publish it somewhere everyone can reach. See GL coding in accounts payable for how the list gets used day to day.

Stop maintaining your GL code list in a spreadsheet

A chart in a spreadsheet drifts. Someone adds an account without telling anyone, a retired code stays in circulation, and two versions exist with different contents.

Zapro pulls the live chart from your accounting system, so the codes people pick from are the ones that currently exist. Book a demo and we will show you how it works end to end.

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