The order of setup matters in Bizuno. Some things — most importantly your chart of accounts and default currency — have to be right before you enter any transactions, because they anchor every journal entry that follows. Follow this checklist top to bottom.Important: Do not record any sales, purchases, or journal entries until steps 1 and 2 are complete. If you do, you may have to delete entries and start over.
Step 1 — Chart of accounts and default currency #
Where: Gear icon (top bar) → Admin → Business → Accounting tab.
Bizuno ships with a generic chart of accounts. You can use it as-is, edit it, or import a different one. For Ridgeline Cycles (our running bike-shop example), a typical retail-and-assembly chart would include accounts for Cash on Hand, Bank Checking, Accounts Receivable, Inventory – Complete Bikes, Inventory – Parts, Inventory – WIP (for custom builds), Accounts Payable, Sales Tax Payable, Sales – Bikes, Sales – Parts, Sales – Service, COGS, and the usual operating-expense accounts.
Set your default currency (USD for most US shops) and your fiscal year start in the same screen.
Step 2 — Business information #
Where: Gear icon → Admin → Business → General tab.
Fill in your legal business name, DBA (if different), address, phone, email, logo image, tax ID / EIN, and default country. These values print on invoices, purchase orders, statements, and email headers.
Step 3 — PhreeSoft account link (optional but recommended) #
Where: Gear icon → Admin → Business → PhreeSoft tab.
Linking your PhreeSoft account unlocks the Biz School, extensions marketplace, and hosted mail delivery. You can skip this and come back to it later.
Step 4 — Sales tax and purchase tax #
Where: Gear icon → Admin → PhreeBooks → Sales Tax and Purchase Tax tabs.
Add every tax authority you collect or pay — state sales tax, county tax, any special district taxes. Each authority gets a rate and the GL account the tax posts to (usually Sales Tax Payable for sales and a prepaid or expense account for purchases).
Step 5 — Users and roles #
Where: Gear icon → Admin → Users.
Add a user record for every person who needs to sign in, and assign them to the right role group (Admin, Sales, Inventory, etc.). Each role has its own permissions — you don’t want the front-counter sales team able to void a bank reconciliation.
Step 6 — Default form templates #
Where: Tools → Reports/Forms.
Review the default Quote, Sales Order, Invoice, Purchase Order, and Statement templates. At minimum, upload your logo and double-check that your address shows up in the header. You can fully restyle templates later; the defaults are fine to start with.
Step 7 — Customers and vendors #
Where: Customers → Manager · Vendors → Manager.
Add at least one test customer and one test vendor so you can run through the end-to-end flow. For the Ridgeline Cycles example you might add:
- Customer: Mariela Ortiz (walk-in retail buying a new gravel bike).
- Vendor: Pacific Cycle Components (component wholesaler).
You’ll add the rest as they walk in or send their first invoice.
Step 8 — Inventory #
Where: Inventory → Manager, or Tools → Import/Export for bulk import from a CSV.
Add the items you carry. For Ridgeline Cycles you’d have three broad buckets:
- Complete bikes (SKUs like
RC-GRAV-58,RC-ROAD-56). - Parts and components (SKUs like
SH-105-R7100,CN-CHAIN-11SP). - Assembly items for custom builds (SKUs like
BUILD-GRAV-CUSTOM— see the Assembly article in the Inventory category).
Import from a CSV if you’re coming from another system; it’s much faster than typing each item.
Step 9 — Opening balances #
Where: General Ledger → General Journal.
If you’re migrating from another accounting system, post one journal entry dated the day before your Bizuno go-live date to carry over your opening balances (bank accounts, AR, AP, inventory, equity). Your accountant can usually hand you this entry as a trial balance.
Step 10 — Pilot a full cycle #
Before relying on Bizuno in production, run one complete cycle end-to-end on a real day’s work: create a quote → convert to a sales order → invoice → receive payment → reconcile the bank. If each step prints and posts correctly, you’re set.
Checklist (printable) #
- [ ] Chart of accounts and default currency set
- [ ] Business information filled in
- [ ] PhreeSoft account linked (optional)
- [ ] Sales tax and purchase tax rates added
- [ ] Users and roles configured
- [ ] Form templates reviewed
- [ ] At least one customer and one vendor added
- [ ] Inventory loaded (manually or by CSV import)
- [ ] Opening balances posted
- [ ] Full cycle pilot completed
Where to go next #
Set up your own preferences under Your user profile & preferences, then learn the dashboard in Using the dashboard.