An account number is not a tax label. The PCGE is a shared architecture classifying how a business is financed, what it owns and owes, what it consumes and what it earns. Understanding it helps you read a trial balance; selecting it correctly still requires the real transaction.
Class map
- 1: permanent financing.
- 2: fixed assets.
- 3: current assets excluding treasury.
- 4: current liabilities excluding treasury.
- 5: treasury.
- 6: expenses.
- 7: income.
- 8: results.
- 9: analytical; 0: special accounts in the normal chart.
1. Read the first digit first
Classes 1–5 describe position: durable resources, assets, receivables, liabilities and treasury. Classes 6–8 follow expenses, income and the result. Classes 9 and 0 cover analytical and special accounts in the normal architecture.
| Owner’s question | Class to explore |
|---|---|
| How is the business financed? | 1 |
| Which durable assets does it own? | 2 |
| What stock or amounts remain receivable? | 3 |
| What is owed in the short term? | 4 |
| Where is treasury? | 5 |
| What did it consume and sell? | 6 and 7 |
| How is the result formed? | 8 |
The simplified model contracts detail. A sector chart can adapt the nomenclature; verify the framework actually used.
2. Descend through decimal coding
Each added digit narrows the family. In the normal chart, 342 identifies customers and related accounts, 441 suppliers, 514 banks, 516 tills, 611 merchandise purchases resold and 711 merchandise sales.
- Start from economic nature.
- Choose the class.
- Read heading, then account.
- Open a useful subaccount where CGNC permits.
- Keep the rule stable between periods.
- Document each company-specific account.
The commercial name of a product does not choose its account. One physical till may also contain several tenders to reconcile.
3. Adapt without breaking statements
The CGNC permits necessary subdivisions when PCGE accounts are insufficient, or grouping where too detailed within allowed limits, provided required statements remain producible.
- Useful: a subaccount for each bank, till or significant customer
- Excessive: a general-ledger account for each ticket
- Dangerous: miscellaneous hiding different natures
- Prohibited: free netting of asset/liability or expense/income
- Documented: title, use, owner and PCGE correspondence
The enterprise chart is a living but controlled document referenced to PCGE.
A nearby account is not necessarily correct
VAT, a capital purchase, a supplier advance and an immediate expense may begin with the same commercial document but receive different treatment.
4. Read a trial balance with the chart
Take an unusual account, trace its class, then open ledger and evidence. The number supplies a hypothesis; entries and source documents supply explanation.
- Check nature against class.
- Compare balance with normal behaviour.
- Look for suspense and miscellaneous.
- Control uncleared subaccounts.
- Ask the reason before reclassification.
BelloPOS exports sales, payments and stock using operating categories. The accountant maps them to validated accounts; POS software should not guess the PCGE.
Mistakes to avoid
- Memorising numbers without meaning.
- Selecting by keyword.
- Multiplying useless subaccounts.
- Using miscellaneous as a bin.
- Netting customer and supplier.
- Changing logic monthly.
Frequently asked questions
What does PCGE mean?
Plan Comptable Général des Entreprises, the enterprise chart within the CGNC.
How many classes are there?
The normal chart presents classes 1–8 in general accounting, 9 for analytical accounting and 0 for special accounts.
May I create a subaccount?
Yes within CGNC possibilities where useful and statement-compatible; document it.
Does the simplified model use all the detail?
It uses a more contracted chart. Confirm the company’s model and any sector chart.
Does BelloPOS choose accounts?
No. It supplies operating categories to map under a validated accounting decision.
What to take away
Read PCGE left to right: nature, class, heading, account, subaccount and finally source evidence. The code organises the question; it does not replace analysis.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
Export stable categories
Keep sales families and payment tenders consistent so the accountant can map them reliably.
Read next
Other practical guides on the same subject: