Yes. SparkReceipt gives you four ways to set up your expense and income categories, all from the Categories tab in the web app's Settings:
- Pick a pre-defined template. Start from a ready-made chart of accounts — IRS Schedule C, US Small Business, European VAT, Finnish Tilikartta, or the SparkReceipt default. SparkReceipt highlights the one that best matches your country, tax system, and business type. See Pre-defined chart of accounts templates.
- Upload your own file (with AI). Drop in any CSV or Excel chart of accounts — including ones exported from your accounting software or your accountant's spreadsheets. An AI step extracts the categories, account codes, and hierarchy, and gives you an editable preview before importing. See AI-based chart of accounts import.
- Build categories manually. Add, rename, and nest categories one at a time from the Categories settings tab. This is the right choice if your category list is small or you want full control from the start.
- Sync from QuickBooks Online. If you use QuickBooks Online, SparkReceipt's deep integration syncs your GL accounts (Assets, Revenue, Expenses, Liabilities) and uses them to auto-categorize new documents.
Existing accounts are never overwritten
Switching templates or re-importing categories never modifies your existing chart of accounts unless you ask it to. By default, applying a template or importing a file adds new categories on top of what you already have. If you want to swap your chart of accounts wholesale, set Replace existing categories to Yes before applying — SparkReceipt will then re-categorize open-period documents into the matching new accounts and archive any categories still referenced by closed-period documents.
FAQ
Q: Can I switch templates later? A: Yes. Open Settings → Categories → Import categories any time and pick a different template. Choose whether to add it on top of your existing categories or replace them.
Q: Do I need to reformat my CSV before uploading? A: No. The AI importer is designed to handle whatever column layout your file already has, including subtotal rows and other clutter typical of accounting exports.
Q: Do I need QuickBooks to use custom categories? A: No. The built-in categories, templates, and file import all work without QuickBooks.