Help & Documentation

Getting Started

Xage Accounting gets you from zero to fully operational in four steps. The setup wizard guides you through the essentials — follow it in order and you will be ready to record real transactions within minutes.

Step-by-step setup

1. Complete the company setup wizard — Enter your business name, registration number, VAT number (if applicable), financial year-end, and base currency (ZAR). This configures your chart of accounts and VAT settings correctly from the start.
2. Add your bank account — Go to Bank Accounts → Add Account and select your bank (FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa, Capitec, or other). Enter your account name and number — this is the account you will import statements into.
3. Import your first bank statement — Download your bank statement in CSV or OFX format from your online banking portal. Go to Bank Accounts → Import and upload the file. Xage auto-detects the format and imports your transactions.
4. Create your first invoice or bill — Go to Invoices → New Invoice. Select or create a contact, add line items with descriptions and amounts, set the due date, and click Save or Send. Your first double-entry journal entry is created automatically.

Once you have completed setup, explore the Reports section — your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet update in real time as you record transactions.

Bank Import

Xage Accounting supports direct import from all major South African banks. Download your statement from your online banking portal and import it — no manual data entry required.

Supported formats

Each bank uses a slightly different CSV column layout. Xage automatically detects which bank format your file is in based on the column headers. If your bank is not listed, try exporting in OFX format — this is a universal banking standard supported by most South African banks.

How to import

1. Log into your bank's online banking portal
2. Navigate to your account's transaction history and choose the export or download option
3. Select CSV or OFX format for the date range you want to import
4. In Xage, go to Bank Accounts and click your account
5. Click Import Statement and upload the downloaded file
6. Review the imported transactions and use the categorisation interface to match them to accounts

Double-Entry Bookkeeping Basics

Xage Accounting uses true double-entry bookkeeping — the same system used by every professional accountant and required by SARS for business record-keeping.

What is double-entry?

In double-entry bookkeeping, every financial transaction affects at least two accounts: one account is debited (increased or decreased depending on type) and another is credited by the same amount. The fundamental equation is:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

This equation must always balance. Every transaction you record keeps this equation in balance, which is why your trial balance always balances in Xage.

Why does it matter?

• Accuracy: Errors are immediately visible — if the books do not balance, something is wrong
• Fraud detection: Every rand must go somewhere. Money cannot disappear from a double-entry system unnoticed.
• SARS compliance: SARS requires proper records. Double-entry creates a complete, traceable audit trail.
• Financial statements: Your P&L and Balance Sheet are direct outputs of the double-entry ledger

What Xage does automatically

You do not need to create journal entries manually for most transactions. When you:

• Create an invoice → Xage debits Accounts Receivable and credits Sales Revenue + VAT Output
• Record a payment received → Xage debits Bank and credits Accounts Receivable
• Create a bill → Xage credits Accounts Payable and debits the Expense account + VAT Input
• Import a bank transaction → Xage creates the bank side; you allocate the other side via categorisation

VAT in Xage Accounting

If your business is VAT-registered, Xage handles all VAT calculations automatically. The standard South African VAT rate is 15%.

How VAT is calculated

On every invoice or bill line item, you can set the VAT type:

• Standard (15%) — Most goods and services in South Africa
• Zero-rated (0%) — Exports, certain food items, petrol
• Exempt — Financial services, residential rent, certain educational services
• No VAT — For transactions with non-VAT vendors or where VAT does not apply

Xage calculates the VAT amount automatically: VAT = line subtotal × 15%. The total line amount = subtotal + VAT. Your invoice total is the VAT-inclusive amount.

VAT201 box explanations

The VAT201 return has several key fields that Xage populates from your accounting data:

• Field 1 — Standard rated supplies: Total value of taxable sales at 15% (excl. VAT)
• Field 1A — Output tax (VAT on sales): 15% of Field 1. This is the VAT you collected from customers.
• Field 15 — VAT on imports: VAT paid to SARS on imported goods at the border
• Field 16 — Input tax credits: VAT you paid to your suppliers (on valid tax invoices). This reduces your liability.
• Field 20 — Tax payable/refundable: Output tax minus input tax. Positive = you owe SARS. Negative = SARS owes you a refund.

In Xage, go to Reports → VAT Return and select your VAT period to see all these figures populated from your transactions.

Frequently Asked Questions