Skip to content
Why ZeraBooks?ProductsBookkeeping servicesPricingSign in
For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Generate categories with AI

Describe what your business does and ZeraBooks drafts a complete, numbered chart of accounts for it. You review and edit every category before anything is saved.

Generate your chart

Generate with AI is one of the three ways to start your chart of accounts. It's offered while the company has no categories yet.

1

Start from the Category Manager

In the left navigation, click Accounting › Category Manager. Under Set up your chart of accounts, click Generate with AI.

2

Add your banks and cards

The first step is Add your banks & cards first. The AI never guesses your real bank and credit-card accounts, so add every account you'll upload statements for: type its name, choose Bank or Card, and click Add account. Then click Continue. You can also add them later from Banks & Cards.

3

Describe the business

Under What does this business do?, write a sentence or two about what you sell, to whom and how. For example: "Independent coffee roaster — café sales, wholesale beans, and online merch". Then click Generate.

Generate your chart of accounts: describe what the business does, then Generate; you review every category before it is saved

Drafting usually takes 10–20 seconds.

4

Review and add

Under Review your chart of accounts, the draft is grouped by type. Click a name to rename it, or click the minus button to remove a category. Removing a parent also removes its sub-categories. When it looks right, click Add N categories.

You see "N categories added" and the categories appear in the Category Manager, ready for your transactions.

Tip: The more specific the description, the better the draft. Mention each way you earn money (for example "café sales" and "wholesale") so each gets its own revenue category.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the AI create my bank accounts?

No. Bank and credit-card accounts are never generated. Only the real ones you add yourself are used.

Why is Generate greyed out?

The description is too short. Write at least 10 characters about what the business does.

Is anything saved before I click Add?

No. Nothing is saved until you click Add N categories. Closing the window discards the draft.

What if the generation fails?

Click Try again, or Edit the description to change what you wrote and generate again.

Can I generate categories when I already have some?

No. Generate with AI is only offered while the chart is empty. To add to an existing chart, use New Category or import a file. See Import a chart of accounts.

Can I change the generated categories later?

Yes. They're ordinary categories. Rename, renumber, add or deactivate them at any time. See Add, edit and deactivate categories.

Learn more about AI-native general ledger: A double-entry ledger where statements become proven transactions.

Still stuck? A real person reads every message—come say hello.

Contact ZeraBooks Support