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Getting Started

From signup to your first transactions

Getting Started

Reading time: 6 minutes

Go from sign-up to your first transactions in Atlas. This checklist walks you through the essential setup steps to get your accounting running.

Step 1: Sign Up and Verify

  1. Visit the Atlas signup page
  2. Enter your name, email, and password
  3. Check your inbox for the verification email
  4. Click the verification link to activate your account

Step 2: Create Your Organization

After verifying your email:

  1. Enter your organization name (your business or group name)
  2. This is the top-level container for all your companies and users
  3. You are automatically assigned the Owner role

Step 3: Create Your First Company

  1. Enter the company name
  2. Set the base currency (cannot be changed later)
  3. Choose your industry — Atlas generates a default Chart of Accounts based on this
  4. Set your fiscal year start month (defaults to January)
  5. Click Create

You are now inside your company dashboard.

Step 4: Configure Company Settings

Go to Settings > Companies, then click Edit company to review and complete the core company details:

SettingWhy It Matters
CountryDrives the available tax forms and jurisdiction features
Base CurrencyThe reporting currency — cannot be changed once transactions exist
Fiscal Year StartSets your reporting periods and year-end
Accounting MethodAccrual or Cash — the default basis for your reports
TimezoneUsed for transaction dates and audit timestamps
Tax IdentifiersTax registration numbers shown on official documents

The Edit Company screen under Settings > Companies, showing Country, Company Name, Base Currency, Fiscal Year Start Date, Accounting Method, and Timezone.The Edit Company screen under Settings > Companies, showing Country, Company Name, Base Currency, Fiscal Year Start Date, Accounting Method, and Timezone.

Invoice appearance (layout, fields, and columns on invoice PDFs) is customized separately under Settings > Invoice Templates, and tax rates live under Settings > Tax Rates.

Step 5: Set Up Your Chart of Accounts

Atlas created a default COA based on your industry. Review and customize:

  1. Open Chart of Accounts from the sidebar (under Accounting)
  2. Click Add Account for accounts you need (e.g., specific bank accounts, revenue streams)
  3. Remove accounts you will not use
  4. To bring in an existing chart, use Settings > Import COA (CSV or XLSX) — the parent/child hierarchy is set via the Parent Account Number column

See the Chart of Accounts guide for details.

Step 6: Add Your Bank Accounts

  1. Open Banking from the sidebar
  2. Click Add Account for each account
  3. Enter the bank name, last 4 digits, account type, and opening balance
  4. Open the account and use Import Statement (CSV or Excel) to start reconciling

See the Banking guide for import details.

Step 7: Invite Your Team

  1. Go to Settings > Team Members (Admin or Owner role required)
  2. Click Invite and enter each team member's email
  3. Assign roles based on their responsibilities:
    • Admin — full access
    • Accountant — accounting and period close
    • Bookkeeper — daily transaction entry
    • Viewer — reports only

See the RBAC guide for role details.

Step 8: Import Your Data

If migrating from another system:

  1. Chart of Accounts — Import via CSV or XLSX at Settings > Import COA
  2. Customers, Vendors, Invoices, Bills — Import via CSV (or IIF) at Settings > Import Data, which provides downloadable templates for each
  3. Opening Balances — Create a journal entry with your starting balances as of your go-live date
  4. From QuickBooks Online — connect the native integration at Settings > Integrations (Admin/Owner)

See the Quick Start Guides for platform-specific migration paths.

Step 9: Your First Transactions

You are now ready to start transacting:

ActionWhere
Create an invoiceInvoices > New Invoice
Enter a billBills > New Bill
Record a journal entryJournal Entries > New Entry
Import a bank statementBanking > [account] > Import Statement
Log an expenseExpenses > New Report (or Quick Expense)

Step 10: Run Your First Reports

  1. Navigate to Reports
  2. Start with:
    • Trial Balance — verify your opening balances are correct
    • Profit & Loss — see income and expenses
    • Balance Sheet — see your financial position

Setup Checklist

Use this checklist to track your progress:

  • Account created and email verified
  • Organization created
  • First company created with correct base currency
  • Company settings configured (country, fiscal year, accounting method, timezone)
  • Chart of Accounts reviewed and customized
  • Bank accounts added
  • Team members invited with appropriate roles
  • Data imported (if migrating)
  • First transaction created
  • First report run and reviewed