The Standard Chart of Accounts (SCOA) is a centralized accounting hierarchy that lets franchisors define one unified chart of accounts for the entire organization. Instead of relying solely on each unit's individual QuickBooks Online structure, SCOA creates a standardized layer that maps all unit accounts into a consistent format — making consolidated P&L reports reliable and uniform across every location.
Your existing mapping setup is not affected. SCOA is an optional layer you turn on when you're ready. Both systems work side by side.
Every franchise unit may have a slightly different QuickBooks chart of accounts — different account names, different nesting, different categories. This makes consolidated financial reporting messy. SCOA solves this by giving you a single, organization-wide hierarchy that all unit accounts map into.
For example, one unit might have "Advertising Expense" while another has "Marketing — Digital Ads." With SCOA, both can map to a standard "Marketing Expenses" line in your consolidated P&L.
SCOA adds a new layer between your unit-level QuickBooks Online accounts and your reports:
Traditional flow: Unit QuickBooks Online Account → Data Point → Reports
SCOA flow: Unit QuickBooks Online Account → SCOA Account → Data Point → Reports (with P&L rendered in COA hierarchy)
Mapping changes apply to your whole history. P&L values are calculated from your mappings each time a report loads, so a mapping change takes effect on the next report — including every closed month. Nothing needs to be re-synced or recalculated. If a figure moves from one line to another, it moves for every period you've reported, which is why it's worth confirming a mapping before circulating reports built on it.
The SCOA feature has three tabs in Organization Settings (Configuration, Mapping, and Smart Mapping Rules), each handling a different part of the setup. The Configuration tab holds separate P&L and Balance Sheet hierarchies.
Who can open it: Org Admins and Org Master Admins can now reach and manage the Chart of Accounts screens themselves. These screens used to be limited to Fran Metrics staff. The one setting still reserved for us is Enable COA in Unit Mapping, since it changes how unit-level mapping behaves across your whole organization.
This is where you define your standard chart of accounts.
<aside> ⚠️
CSV import replaces your entire chart. Import is for initial setup. It deletes the existing chart of accounts and every unit-level mapping attached to it — it does not merge new accounts into what's already there. Once your chart is live and units are mapped, add or edit accounts individually in the Configuration tab instead. If you need to apply a substantially revised chart across the network, see When Your Chart of Accounts Changes.
</aside>