First steps checklist

A practical order for setting up a new company, from an empty system to your first invoice. Each step links to a detailed article. You don't need every step; skip the parts of the app you don't use.

1. Company settings

• Finish or skip the setup wizard.
• Check your company profile and logo (they print on every document): Company profile.
• Confirm the base currency before entering anything else, and add other currencies and their rates if you work in more than one: Currencies.
• Check the financial year dates: Financial years and closing.
• Set up taxes if you charge VAT or sales tax: Taxes.
• Turn on the features you need (POS, batches, variants, multiple units...): Preferences.

2. People

• Add your employees as users and give each one a role: Users.
• Adjust what each role can do: Roles and permissions.

3. Lists you will choose from

• Projects, if you track profit by branch, site or job: Projects. To compare branches or cost centers side by side and split costs between them, see Branches and cost centers.
• Warehouses (Main Warehouse is created for you; rename it or add more): Warehouses.
• Units, categories and brands (standard units, General and No Brand are created for you; check the list): Units, categories and brands.
• Items and services, entered one by one or imported from Excel: Items and services, Import items.
• Customers and suppliers, entered one by one or imported from Excel: Customers, Suppliers, Import customers, Import suppliers.
• Bank accounts: Bank accounts.

4. Opening balances

If the business was already running before Zhmara X, enter where things stood on your start date:

• Opening balances of accounts (cash, capital, loans...) in the Chart of Accounts.
• What each customer owes you and what you owe each supplier.
• Bank balances on each bank account.
• Stock on hand, as opening stock.

All of this is explained in Opening balances.

5. Start working

• Sell: Quotation → Invoice → Payment received, or POS for walk-in sales.
• Buy: Purchase bill → Payment made.
• Record running costs: Expenses.
• Check results: Profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance.