Isenberg: Startups should cap their chart of accounts at 20 categories max
Greg Isenberg · 9 REQUIRED Finance Lessons for Founders · Nov 17, 2025 · at 24:54
Greg Isenberg advises startup founders against creating overly complex accounting categories with 100+ line items.
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“You actually want to create 15 to 20 categories, categories max. Maybe it's payroll, contractors, cloud and software, marketing, office and rent, travel, just like the big stuff. And that's it. If you can't figure out what category an expense belongs in within five seconds, your chart of accounts is probably too complicated.”
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