Plumbing business chart of accounts
A plumber's costs follow the job, from the fittings and hot water units that get installed to the certificates, digging and traffic control a drainage or connection job can need. These accounts sit beside the general chart so each of those costs has a home.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- Plumbing supplies for jobs takes the hot water systems, tapware, valves and pipe bought with a particular job in mind, so they can be matched to that job's invoice.
- Plumbing and gas work can attract charges of its own, such as compliance certificates and connection or inspection charges from water authorities and councils. Compliance certificate and authority fees collects them job by job.
- Drainage and sewer connections can call for outside help. Excavation and drainage subcontractors holds invoices for trenching and drain laying by others, and Traffic control for street work holds traffic management when a job reaches under a road or footpath.
- Two running costs of a plumbing business have no place in the general chart: gas for joining pipework, and a service that picks up emergency calls out of hours. Brazing gas and cylinder rental and After-hours answering service give them one.
- Plumbing and gasfitting licence fees gathers what the business pays to apply for and renew its trade licences or registrations, which sit outside any job's costs.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-1100 | Plumbing supplies for jobs | Expense | Hot water systems, tapware, valves, pipe and fittings bought for a particular plumbing job and fitted there |
| 5-1200 | Excavation and drainage subcontractors | Expense | Invoices from excavation contractors and drainers who dig trenches or lay drains on the business's jobs |
| 5-1300 | Compliance certificate and authority fees | Expense | Fees for compliance certificates on plumbing and gas work, and connection or inspection fees charged by water authorities and councils, for individual jobs |
| 5-1400 | Traffic control for street work | Expense | Traffic controllers, signs and barriers hired when a job connects to water or sewer services under a road or footpath |
| 6-2100 | Brazing gas and cylinder rental | Expense | Oxygen, acetylene and LPG for brazing and soldering pipework, and the rental the gas supplier charges on its cylinders |
| 6-2110 | After-hours answering service | Expense | Fees for a service that answers customers' emergency calls outside business hours and passes them to the plumber on call |
| 6-2120 | Plumbing and gasfitting licence fees | Expense | Application and renewal fees for the plumbing, drainage and gasfitting licences or registrations the business pays for |
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
- If the business doesn't do drainage or connection work, leave Excavation and drainage subcontractors and Traffic control for street work out when you load the chart.
- Give each work order or job a reference in your software, and put that reference on the supplies bills, subcontractor invoices and authority fees charged to it.
- Keep the receipt for each compliance certificate or authority fee with the job, so the fee can go on the customer's invoice where your quote allows for it.
- Post gas refills and cylinder rental to Brazing gas and cylinder rental. Rented cylinders belong to the gas supplier, so they stay out of Equipment.
- The plumbing accounts here deal with the firm's own earnings and outgoings. Ask your accountant whether the way your firm is set up needs more 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.
Related guides
How to set up a chart of accounts
How to set up a chart of accounts for a small business: the five account types, choosing accounts and codes, and keeping the list useful as you grow.
How to reconcile accounts payable
How to reconcile accounts payable: agree the payables list with the ledger, check each supplier statement line by line and explain every difference.
How to chase unpaid invoices
What to do when a customer hasn't paid on time: check the invoice and your terms, send reminders, call, agree a payment plan and know when to get help.