---
id: "simple-or-expert"
lang: "en"
title: "Simple or Expert accounting"
summary: "Simple gives you one profit and loss with nothing to set up. Expert adds cash and bank accounts, payment routing and transfers; switching never deletes anything."
area: "Money & accounting"
kind: "concept"
url: "https://zeropos.shop/help/simple-or-expert"
alternate: "https://zeropos.shop/help/simple-or-expert?lang=es"
markdown: "https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/simple-or-expert.md"
screens: ["/backoffice/settings/accounting","/onboarding/accounting-mode"]
where_to_find: ["INSIGHTS › Accounting › Accounting mode"]
related: ["cash-and-bank-accounts","payment-methods","accounting-overview","prices-and-vat"]
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Simple or Expert accounting

Simple gives you one profit and loss with nothing to set up. Expert adds cash and bank accounts, payment routing and transfers; switching never deletes anything.

The first time an owner opens Accounting, Zero POS asks which mode to use (**Pick your accounting mode**). You can change it later on [INSIGHTS › Accounting › Accounting mode](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/accounting), which shows the **Current mode** and who set it.

Where to find it: INSIGHTS › Accounting › Accounting mode.

## Steps

### Switch to Expert

1. Open [INSIGHTS › Accounting › Accounting mode](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/accounting).
2. Read the **Switch to Expert** card: it lists what to set up next.
3. If an amber box there names payment methods the till has used, the button reads **Add them and switch**: it adds each one to its region first, so the till keeps taking it.
4. Tap **Switch to Expert**, or **Add them and switch**.
5. Create your accounts ([Cash and bank accounts (Expert)](https://zeropos.shop/help/cash-and-bank-accounts)) and point each payment method at one ([Add a payment method](https://zeropos.shop/help/payment-methods)): the green box that appears links both.

### Switch back to Simple

6. Open [INSIGHTS › Accounting › Accounting mode](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/settings/accounting).
7. In the **Switch to Simple** card, tick **I understand that Holdings and Accounts will be hidden.**
8. Tap **Switch to Simple**.

## What happens next

- In Expert, sales, refunds, expenses, supplier payments and card fees post to their accounts from the moment you switch.
- In Simple, accounts, balances and payment routing are hidden and new sales stop posting to them. Nothing is deleted: switch back and they reappear.
- The till keeps working in both modes. In Expert it shows each region's own payment methods; in Simple, the fixed set.

## Simple

Revenue, cost of goods, gross margin, expenses and payroll in one view, with no accounts to set up.

The till offers a fixed set of payment methods: card, cash, bank transfer and other.

Expenses are logged with a payment method instead of an account.

## Expert

Adds separate accounts for each till, bank, card or Wise account, each with a live balance ([Cash and bank accounts (Expert)](https://zeropos.shop/help/cash-and-bank-accounts)).

Each region keeps its own payment methods, each pointed at an account, with card fees taken off the account they land in ([Add a payment method](https://zeropos.shop/help/payment-methods)).

Adds the holdings row to the Accounting overview, money transfers between accounts and the **Till vs takings check** report.

## Which one to pick

Pick Simple if you don't split your money into separate accounts and mainly want to know what you made.

Pick Expert if you want each till, bank and card account in Zero POS to match its statement.

## Common questions

### Do I lose anything when I switch?

No. Going back to Simple only hides the accounts. Going back to Expert shows them again, but sales made while you were in Simple are not posted to them until you run **Backfill balances** ([Cash and bank accounts (Expert)](https://zeropos.shop/help/cash-and-bank-accounts)).

### Who can change the mode?

Only the owner, by default.

### Are card fees counted in Simple mode?

No. Card fees are recorded only in Expert, against the account each payment lands in.

## If you see this

- ““Not switched: in the last 30 days the till has taken payments with methods Expert mode doesn't have yet …”” — What to do: The till took payments with a method its region has no Expert payment method for, a bank transfer in a test sale, say. Tap **Add them and switch**: each one is added to its region, switched on, and the mode changes. Then connect each to an account ([Add a payment method](https://zeropos.shop/help/payment-methods)).

## Good to know

- Switch at the start of a month: the Accounting overview and your account balances are easier to check against your statements.

## Related guides

- [Cash and bank accounts (Expert)](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/cash-and-bank-accounts.md)
- [Add a payment method](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/payment-methods.md)
- [Read the Accounting overview](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/accounting-overview.md)
- [How prices and tax work: VAT or sales tax](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/prices-and-vat.md)