Quickstart

This guide walks you from a brand-new account to a working, trustworthy dashboard. Follow the steps in order; each one builds on the last. By the end your books will reflect real activity and you’ll know how to keep them that way.

1. Create your account

Go to the sign-up page and create your account, then follow the setup steps below. Existing users can sign in.

If AccountFUN asks you to set up two-factor authentication, follow the MFA setup guide. It explains authenticator apps, passkeys, and which option to choose.

2. Set up your organization

After signing in you’ll complete a short onboarding form:

• Your name — your first and last name, required for Free activation.
• Organization name — your business name.
• Base currency — the currency you report in (defaults to USD). This is locked once chosen, so pick the one your books will always use.
• Financial year-end — month and day (e.g. December 31).
• Timezone — auto-detected from your browser. You can change it later in Settings → Financial Settings; existing transaction dates never move.

Verify your email and complete these details to activate Free; no card is required. AccountFUN then seeds a sensible default chart of accounts (sales, expenses, bank, tax, equity, and more) and a starter bank account called “Main Bank” — so you’re not starting from a blank page. You can rename, add to, or renumber any of these later under Settings → Organization and the Chart of Accounts.

3. Add your real bank account

You’ll want your actual operating account in here:

1. Go to Bank Accounts → Add Bank Account.
2. Enter an Account Name (e.g. “Business Checking”), the Institution Name, your Account Number, and the Currency (defaults to your base currency).

You can keep the seeded “Main Bank” too, or edit/rename it to match a real account. Every bank account has its own balances and reconciliation screen.

You can also connect your US bank with Plaid instead — it signs you in securely and can create the bank account for you. See the next step.

4. Bring in your bank data

There are three ways to get transactions in — pick whichever suits your bank:

• Plaid bank feed (US banks) — the hands-off option. Click Setup Bank Feed on the account, pick your bank, and sign in once through Plaid’s secure window. Transactions then import themselves — nothing to click. See Connect your bank with Plaid.
• CSV upload — from the account’s Bank Statements tab, export a statement CSV from your bank and drag it in. Only Date and Amount are required; payee, description, and reference are optional. You can Download sample CSV to see the format.
• Spreadsheet feed — connect a shared Google Sheets or OneDrive file (shared as “Anyone with the link → Viewer”) and AccountFUN fetches new rows a few times a day, or whenever you click Fetch Bank Feed.

In Hong Kong? The HSBC Hong Kong bank feed gives HSBC accounts the same hands-off flow.

Duplicate lines are skipped automatically, so re-importing overlap is safe.

Start small

If you’re importing statements by hand, grab the last one to two months first. A small batch is the best way to learn reconciliation — don’t try to import your entire history at once.

5. Reconcile your transactions (the important bit)

This is the core habit. Open the account’s Reconciliation tab. You’ll see a two-pane screen: statement lines on the left, actions on the right, with a Total · Reconciled · Unreconciled counter at the top.

For each line, clear it one of four ways (AccountFUN suggests the right one):

• Match — the line pays off something already entered (an invoice, bill, or payment). Tick it, confirm, done.
• Find & Match — search wider; match one bank line to several documents, or to an outstanding invoice/bill.
• Create — no existing transaction fits; create a new Spend Money or Receive Money and pick the category.
• Transfer — it’s money moving between your own bank accounts.

Clear lines until the badge reads green Reconciled. Full detail and a worked example are in the Bank reconciliation guide — it’s the most important guide here.

Why this matters

Imported statement lines alone don’t post to your books. Approved invoices and bills, recorded payments and other posted entries can already appear in your dashboard and reports before their bank lines are matched. Reconciliation checks those records against your statement and creates entries for activity you have not recorded. Aim to clear your lines weekly.

6. Raise your first invoice

Now record some sales:

1. Go to Invoices → New Invoice.
2. Pick a Customer (create one inline if needed), set the Due Date, and add a Line Item — Description, Qty, Price, Account (e.g. Sales Revenue), and Tax.
3. Click Create & Approve if your role has Approve Documents (Admin, Accountant and Standard by default), or Create Draft Invoice to review later.

Approval posts the invoice to your books — your revenue goes up and the customer owes you. See the Invoices guide for the full lifecycle, including quotes, credit notes, and recurring templates.

7. Check your dashboard

With transactions reconciled and an invoice raised, your Dashboard now shows Total Revenue, Total Expenses, and Net Profit/Loss for the selected period. Click any total to drill into the transactions behind it.

When a customer pays that invoice, Record Payment on the invoice (or just match the deposit during reconciliation) and watch the dashboard update.

What’s next

You’ve got the essentials. Deep-dive into any area:

• Bank reconciliation — master the core habit (start here).
• Connect your bank with Plaid — import your US bank transactions automatically.
• Dashboard — read your numbers accurately.
• Invoices and Bills — money in and money out.
• Contacts — customers and suppliers.
• Reports — balance sheet, P&L, cash flow, aging, tax.
• Chart of accounts — customize your books.
• Settings — currencies, tax rates, members, templates.

Need a hand?

Email support@accountfun.com and a real person will help you.