QuickBooks Account Mapping for CT600

When you import your trial balance from QuickBooks Online into TinyTax, the system automatically suggests which accounts belong in each CT600 category. But the mapping tool works best when you understand how QuickBooks account types correspond to the sections of your company tax return.

This guide explains how to export your trial balance from QuickBooks, how the account types map to the categories TinyTax uses, and how to handle accounts that don't map automatically.

Export Your Trial Balance from QuickBooks Online

Before you can import into TinyTax, you need to export the trial balance from QuickBooks Online. The trial balance shows all account balances at a point in time — exactly what the importer needs.

1. Click Reports in the left menu
2. Type "Trial Balance" in the search field
3. Select Trial Balance from the list
4. Set the date range to match your company's accounting period end date
5. Click the Export icon
6. Select Export to Excel

You'll receive an Excel file with account names and their balances. Copy the contents and paste them into the TinyTax trial balance importer.

If Trial Balance is not available: Some QuickBooks subscription plans restrict which reports you can access. In this case, export the General Ledger report instead and use the closing balances for your period.

For step-by-step guidance on the export process, see our dedicated guide to exporting your trial balance from QuickBooks.

How QuickBooks Account Types Map to CT600 Categories

QuickBooks Online organises accounts into types. Here is how each type maps to the sections TinyTax uses when preparing your company tax return.

Profit and Loss Mappings

QuickBooks Account Type	TinyTax CT600 Category
Income / Sales / Revenue	Turnover
Other Income	Other income
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)	Cost of raw materials and consumables
Payroll Expenses / Wages	Staff costs
Depreciation	Depreciation and amortisation
All other Expenses	Other charges
Corporation Tax Expense	Corporation tax

Turnover is the simplest mapping. Any QuickBooks account with a type of Income, Sales, or Revenue belongs here. This is the top-line trading income of your company.

Cost of Goods Sold maps to cost of raw materials. This includes direct costs like stock purchases, materials, packaging, and subcontractor costs directly tied to delivering your product or service.

Staff costs covers salaries, wages, employer's National Insurance contributions, and employer pension contributions. In QuickBooks, these typically appear as Payroll Expenses or may be split across several accounts such as Salaries, Employer NI, and Pension.

Other charges is the catch-all category for general business expenses: rent, utilities, insurance, software subscriptions, professional fees, advertising, travel, and anything else not captured by the categories above.

Depreciation should be mapped to the Depreciation and amortisation category rather than Other charges. Capital allowances (Annual Investment Allowance, Writing Down Allowances) are calculated separately in TinyTax and are not taken from your QuickBooks depreciation figure.

Balance Sheet Mappings

QuickBooks Account Type	TinyTax Balance Sheet Category
Fixed Asset	Fixed assets
Bank / Other Current Asset / Accounts Receivable	Current assets
Accounts Payable / Other Current Liability	Creditors due within one year
Long-Term Liability	Creditors due after one year
Equity — paid-in capital	Share capital
Equity — retained earnings	Retained earnings

Using the TinyTax Mapping Tool

When you paste your trial balance into TinyTax, the importer analyses account names and suggests categories using keyword matching. You review the suggestions in a drag-and-drop interface before confirming.

The mapping process:

1. Paste your QuickBooks trial balance data into the import field
2. TinyTax analyses the account names and proposes categories
3. Review each category — accounts appear as cards under their suggested heading
4. Drag any misplaced account to the correct category
5. Click Confirm Import to apply the values to your company tax return

Once confirmed, the mapped values populate the P&L and balance sheet sections of your return automatically. The mapping is remembered, so if you re-import after making adjustments in QuickBooks, your previous category assignments are pre-filled.

Common QuickBooks Accounts and Where They Go

Some accounts cause confusion because their names don't obviously suggest a category.

Directors' salaries These belong in Staff costs alongside any employee wages. Directors' salaries are allowable deductions for corporation tax purposes.

Dividends paid Dividends are not a business expense. They should not appear in your P&L at all. If QuickBooks has recorded dividends as an expense, exclude them from the import — dividends are distributions of profit after tax, not a cost of trading.

Interest received on bank accounts Map this to Other income unless your company is a financial services business where interest is your primary trading income.

Loan repayments Capital repayments on loans are balance sheet transactions, not P&L expenses. If you see loan repayments appearing in the P&L section of your QuickBooks trial balance, your bookkeeping may need adjusting before you import.

Accountancy and professional fees These are business expenses. Map them to Other charges.

Subsistence, travel, and mileage These are also business expenses and belong in Other charges.

Depreciation and amortisation QuickBooks may record these as a combined account or split them. Either way, map both to the Depreciation and amortisation category in TinyTax.

Accounts to Exclude from the Import

Not every account in your trial balance should be imported. The following should be excluded or handled differently:

• Nil-balance accounts — if an account has no transactions in the period, you can safely ignore it
• Dividends paid — not a trading expense
• Owner drawings — relevant to sole traders and partnerships, not limited companies
• Corporation tax liability — enter this on the balance sheet via the Corporation tax payable field rather than mapping it from your P&L
• Intercompany balances — if you have related companies, these need careful treatment; seek advice from your accountant

After Importing Your Trial Balance

Once TinyTax has your P&L and balance sheet figures, you can make adjustments directly on the form:

• Capital allowances — claim AIA and writing down allowances on qualifying assets
• Directors' loans — enter any outstanding directors' loan account balances
• Prior year figures — TinyTax can fetch the prior year figures automatically for your accounts
• R&D tax credits — add R&D claims through the relevant CT600 boxes

All of these adjustments work on top of your imported figures. You don't need to go back to QuickBooks to make tax-specific adjustments.

If you use Xero rather than QuickBooks, the process is very similar. See Xero Account Mapping for CT600 for Xero-specific guidance.

Summary

Mapping QuickBooks accounts to CT600 categories is straightforward once you understand how the account types correspond. Income and Sales accounts go to Turnover, payroll expenses go to Staff costs, and most other expenses go to Other charges. Use TinyTax's drag-and-drop mapping tool to correct any automatic suggestions, and your company tax return figures will populate without manual entry.