Clothing store chart of accounts
A clothing store takes payment in store and online, sells gift cards and takes garments back for exchange or credit. This chart adds the accounts those habits call for to the general chart of accounts.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- Online orders are paid through a payment gateway or online store platform that pays the shop later, so Online store payouts in transit holds them until the money reaches the bank.
- Gift cards are paid for up front and spent in the store later, and a garment brought back for credit leaves the customer a balance to spend. Gift cards not yet spent and Store credit issued for returns show what the store still owes in goods.
- Selling clothes brings costs of its own: Swing tags and ticketing for pricing garments, Alterations by outside tailors for hems and fittings done for customers, and Online return postage for garments sent back by post.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1510 | Online store payouts in transit | Asset | Online orders paid through the store's payment gateway or platform, waiting to be paid out to the bank |
| 2-1300 | Gift cards not yet spent | Liability | The amount customers have paid for the store's gift cards that is still to be exchanged for clothing or accessories |
| 2-1310 | Store credit issued for returns | Liability | Credit given to customers who return or exchange garments for store credit, until they spend it |
| 5-1100 | Alterations by outside tailors | Expense | Charges from outside tailors and dressmakers for hems, taking in and other alterations done for customers |
| 6-2100 | Swing tags and ticketing | Expense | Swing tags, price tickets, size stickers and tag fasteners used to ticket garments for the shop floor |
| 6-2110 | Online return postage | Expense | Return labels and courier charges the store pays when online customers send garments back |
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
- Strip out what doesn't apply: a store that doesn't sell online can delete Online store payouts in transit and Online return postage.
- Match each gateway payout to the orders it covers, clear them from Online store payouts in transit, and put the fees the gateway keeps into Bank fees.
- Give each gift card and credit note a number, and check the balances of Gift cards not yet spent and Store credit issued for returns against the numbers still open.
- These accounts cover the store's own money. Your accountant can tell you how gift card and store credit balances should be handled in your reports, and whether you need further accounts.
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.
- Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging, Conclusions Paper: Glossary of Key Terms
Reserve Bank of Australia. Conclusions Paper, March 2026, released 31 March 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia 2026 Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Gift cards and discount vouchers
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Current at 23 September 2026, released 23 September 2026. Checked 16 October 2026.
Source: Based on ACCC data or other content Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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