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Quick Start — Accounting

For businesses using eSecured ERP as a standalone accounting and invoicing platform — no logistics or fleet modules required.

1. Log in​

Go to erp.co.tz and enter your access credentials. Your administrator will provide your email and access key.

First time?

Change your access key immediately after first login: Settings → Users → your account → Change Access Key.

Command palette

Press Ctrl+K (Windows) or ⌘K (Mac) at any time to jump to any page, customer, invoice, or journal entry without using the menu.

2. Review your Chart of Accounts​

Your account is pre-loaded with the Tanzania Standard Chart of Accounts — a double-entry structure aligned with TRA and IFRS for SMEs.

  1. Go to Accounting → Chart of Accounts
  2. Review the default accounts. Most businesses can use them as-is.
  3. To add a custom account, click New Account, choose the account type (Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense), enter a code and name, and save.
Tanzania Standard CoA

The default chart covers: Current & Non-Current Assets, Accounts Receivable (10100), Accounts Payable (20100), VAT Payable (20200), VAT Input (10300), WHT Payable (70120), Revenue accounts, and all standard expense categories. You rarely need to add accounts from scratch.

3. Configure posting setup​

Posting Setup maps key transaction types to the correct GL accounts so journals are created automatically when you approve invoices and vendor bills.

  1. Go to Settings → Accounting → Posting Setup
  2. Confirm the default mappings:
    • Accounts Receivable → 10100
    • Accounts Payable → 20100
    • VAT Payable → 20200
    • VAT Input (Purchases) → 10300
    • Bank / Cash → your main bank account
  3. Adjust if your CoA uses different account codes, then save.

Getting this right once means every invoice, vendor bill, and payment posts to the correct GL automatically — no manual journal entries needed for routine transactions.

4. Add your first customer and vendor​

Customer:

  1. Go to Customers → New Customer
  2. Enter company name, TIN, email, and contact person
  3. Save

Vendor:

  1. Go to Vendors → New Vendor
  2. Enter company name, TIN, and contact
  3. Save

5. Issue your first invoice​

  1. Go to Invoicing → New Invoice
  2. Select the customer
  3. Add line items with description, quantity, unit price, and VAT rate (18% standard, 0% exempt)
  4. Set the invoice date and due date
  5. Click Send to mark it as sent, or Save to keep it as draft

Withholding Tax (WHT): If your client is required to deduct WHT before paying you, enable the Subject to WHT toggle on the invoice and select the applicable rate (2% resident supplier, 5% non-resident transporter, 10% other services). The invoice will show the gross amount, WHT deduction, and net payable to you — with a compliance notice to your client. Record the WHT Certificate number once your client provides it.

PDF download

Open any invoice and click Download PDF to get a TRA-compliant A4 invoice you can email or print.

6. Record a vendor bill​

When you receive a bill from a supplier:

  1. Go to Accounting → Purchase Invoices → New Bill
  2. Select the vendor
  3. Add lines — map each to the correct expense GL account
  4. Click Approve — this posts the liability to Accounts Payable automatically

When you pay: Click Mark as Paid. If the vendor is subject to WHT, the payment modal will calculate the deduction and split the GL entry: debit AP in full, credit Bank for the net amount, credit WHT Payable (70120) for the withheld amount. Enter the WHT Certificate number you issue to the vendor.

7. Run your first financial report​

  1. Go to Accounting → Financial Reports
  2. Select a report type:
    • Profit & Loss — revenue vs expenses for a period
    • Balance Sheet — assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time
    • Trial Balance — all account balances to verify the books balance
    • VAT Report — output and input VAT for TRA filing
  3. Set the date range and click Generate

Click any account row to drill through to the underlying GL entries, and from there to the source document (invoice, vendor bill, or journal).

8. Record opening balances (migration only)​

If you are migrating from another system, post opening balances before entering new transactions:

  1. Go to Accounting → Journal Entries → New Journal
  2. Enter a description: "Opening Balances — [date]"
  3. For each balance sheet account, enter a debit or credit line
  4. The journal must balance (total debits = total credits) before you can post

Alternatively, use Settings → System → Data Import to bulk-import opening balances from the Excel template.

See the Data Import guide → for the full recommended sequence.

9. Fixed assets (optional)​

If your business owns vehicles, equipment, or property:

  1. Go to Assets → New Asset
  2. Enter asset name, TRA depreciation class (Class 1–4), acquisition cost, and purchase date
  3. Save — the asset is added to the register

Run Monthly Depreciation at month-end to calculate depreciation across all active assets and optionally post a GL journal (DR Depreciation Expense / CR Accumulated Depreciation).

See the Fixed Assets module guide → for disposal, maintenance logs, and TRA compliance notes.

Next steps​

  • Data Import → — bulk-load Chart of Accounts, customers, vendors, opening balances, and historical invoices
  • Invoicing → — invoice templates, dual currency, TRA compliance
  • Purchasing → — full vendor bill lifecycle and GL posting
  • Accounting → — GL engine, journals, financial reports, bank reconciliation
  • Fixed Assets → — TRA depreciation classes, disposal, maintenance log