{"schema":"exacc.help.page/1","url":"https://exacc.au/help/create-business-file/","title":"Set up a business file","description":"Create your first Exacc business file with your subscriber account, add more files later, or start a demo file with sample data.","category":"Start & Users","summary":"A business file holds one business's books, payroll and invoices. The first time, Exacc creates your **subscriber account** (your team and billing home) and your first business file together. After that you can add as many business files as you need. Both start from **Add New Business** on your dashboard.","lastVerified":"2026-09-29","apps":["my","app"],"processIds":["create_subscriber","create_business_file","create_demo_file"],"start":{"label":"Add a new business","url":"https://my.exacc.au/create-new-exacc-file"},"before":["An Exacc account you can sign in to (see **Create your Exacc account**).","The business name, and its ABN if it has one.","Whether the business is registered for GST."],"steps":[{"step":1,"title":"Choose Add New Business","body":["Sign in at **my.exacc.au**. Under **Your Business Files**, click **Add New Business**. (Once you have six or more files, use **+ Add New Business** at the top of the list.)","If you do not have a subscriber account yet, Exacc opens **Create Subscriber Account and your own Exacc File** instead. That is expected: the subscriber account and your first file are created in one go."],"url":"https://my.exacc.au/user-dashboard","image":"https://exacc.au/help/create-business-file/step-1.png"},{"step":2,"title":"Enter the business details","body":["Fill in the form. Australia is the country for every file."],"fields":[{"name":"Business Name","help":"the legal or trading name.","required":true},{"name":"Short code","help":"up to 7 characters used to identify the file. Leave it empty to use the first 7 characters of the name."},{"name":"ABN","help":"checked as you type. Click **Lookup ABN** to fill the name from the ABN register (choose upper or lower case). Asked for on the first file; optional on later ones."},{"name":"Business Type","help":"e.g. company, sole trader, partnership, trust.","required":true},{"name":"This business is registered for GST","help":"tick if it is. Invoices and BAS use this."}],"image":"https://exacc.au/help/create-business-file/step-2.png"},{"step":3,"title":"Say who owns the business","body":["Leave **I am the owner** selected if it is your business. If you are setting it up for someone else (for example as their accountant), choose **Someone else owns this business** and enter the owner's email, first and last name; their phone is optional."]},{"step":4,"title":"Tax or BAS agent? (first file only)","body":["If you will lodge for clients, choose **I am a Tax Agent** or **I am a BAS Agent** and add your registered agent number, email and phone. Otherwise leave **None**. You can add these details later."]},{"step":5,"title":"Click Create","body":["Click **Create**. Exacc shows \"New subscriber created!\" (or \"New exacc file created!\") and opens the new file's dashboard at **app.exacc.au**. Its address includes the file's number, e.g. app.exacc.au/25815/dashboard.","Changed your mind? **Cancel** asks you to confirm, because what you typed will be lost."],"url":"https://app.exacc.au/{dbId}/dashboard"}],"sections":[{"heading":"Adding more business files later","body":["With a subscriber account in place, **Add New Business** opens **Create new Exacc Business File**. It has the same fields plus:"],"list":["**Subscriber account** (required): which of your subscriber accounts the file belongs to.","**Business activity** (optional).","**Allow {subscriber} Team members to access this Business File automatically**: tick to give your whole team access; otherwise they request access."]},{"heading":"Try a demo file first","body":["Choose **New Demo** on your dashboard and click **Get Demo**. Exacc builds a file with over two years of sample journals, bills, invoices, timesheets and payroll, and waiting bank feeds (**Books › Process Feeds**). Emails from a demo file come to you, and ATO lodging is switched off. Demo files may be deleted without notice after 14 days, so do not enter real data in one."]},{"heading":"Paying for Exacc","body":["Creating a file asks for no payment details. To add a card for charges, open your subscriber account on my.exacc.au, go to the **Details** tab and click **Set up payment for charges**."]},{"heading":"What to set up next","body":["In the new file, the usual first steps are:"],"list":["your business details and logo (**Update business details**);","bank feeds, so transactions flow in (**Set up bank feeds**);","inviting your team or accountant (**Invite users**);","your first invoice (**Create and send an invoice**)."]}],"faqs":[{"q":"What is the difference between a subscriber account and a business file?","a":"The subscriber account is you or your firm: your team, your billing, and the business files you manage. Each business file is one set of books. An accountant usually has one subscriber account and many client files."},{"q":"Can I change the business details later?","a":"Yes, in the file's **Business Details**."}],"related":["https://exacc.au/help/create-exacc-account/","https://exacc.au/help/how-to-update-business-details/","https://exacc.au/help/set-up-bank-feeds/","https://exacc.au/help/how-to-invite-user-permissions/","https://exacc.au/help/create-invoice/"],"linkNote":"Links containing {dbId} open that screen in the business file whose id is dbId. A person can also open this help page with ?db=<dbId> to get the same links as buttons."}