Air conditioning chart of accounts
Air conditioning and heating work mixes costly installs with ongoing service work, and each runs through the books in its own way. This chart adds accounts for install deposits, service agreements paid ahead, refrigerant and the other costs of the trade to the general chart.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- When a homeowner pays a deposit before a split or ducted system goes in, Installation deposits received holds it against that install.
- When a client pays for scheduled maintenance visits before they are made, Service agreement payments in advance holds that money against the visits still due.
- Units and parts for jobs holds the equipment bought for a particular install or repair. Refrigerant purchases has a line of its own, since gas goes into new installs, services and regas jobs alike.
- Some jobs need help from outside the trade: Electrical subcontractors for new circuits and power connections, and Crane and lifting hire for getting heavy or rooftop units into place.
- Refrigerant and electrical licence fees records what the business pays for its technicians' refrigerant handling and electrical licences.
Download the chart
The general accounts and this industry's accounts in one CSV file, in code order, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileThe accounts this chart adds
| Code | Account name | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1300 | Installation deposits received | Liability | Deposits homeowners have paid on split system, ducted or heating installs that haven't been done yet |
| 2-1310 | Service agreement payments in advance | Liability | Amounts clients have paid ahead under maintenance agreements for scheduled service visits still to come |
| 5-1100 | Units and parts for jobs | Expense | Split system and ducted units, heaters, copper line sets, ductwork, brackets and replacement parts bought for a particular install or repair |
| 5-1200 | Refrigerant purchases | Expense | Refrigerant gas bought to charge new systems and to recharge existing ones on service and repair jobs |
| 5-1300 | Electrical subcontractors | Expense | Invoices from electricians engaged to run new circuits and connect power for installs |
| 5-1400 | Crane and lifting hire | Expense | Cranes and lifting equipment hired to put rooftop and other heavy units into place on a job |
| 6-2100 | Refrigerant and electrical licence fees | Expense | Fees to obtain and renew technicians' refrigerant handling licences, and any electrical licences the business covers |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Code: A number that sorts the account into its group: 1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for equity, 4 for income, and 5 and 6 for expenses.
- Account name: The name that appears in your books and reports.
- Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense, which decides whether the account appears on the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.
- What goes in it: The transactions to record against the account.
How to use it
- Record each install deposit in Installation deposits received with the customer's quote number, so it can be matched to the final invoice. Ask your accountant how deposits should move into income.
- If service clients pay ahead, keep a list of what each has paid and the visits still due, and check it against Service agreement payments in advance when you reconcile.
- Charge units, parts and refrigerant to the install or service job they went into, so each job's materials can be read against its quote.
- Refrigerant purchases is for the gas alone: recovery units, vacuum pumps and gauges stay in the general Equipment account.
- Use these accounts for the firm's own money from installs and servicing. Your accountant can tell you if the way the business is structured needs others.
The chart is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. It is not set up for importing directly into any particular accounting software, so check the format your software expects before you load the accounts into it.
Related pages
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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