Definition
The PCG, or Plan comptable général, is the official general chart of accounts in France, set by the Autorité des normes comptables. It organises accounts into numbered classes, from class 1 for equity and long-term liabilities to class 7 for revenue, so every account number tells you its nature and the statement line it feeds.
How it works
The first digit is the class: 1 equity and long-term financing, 2 fixed assets, 3 inventories, 4 third-party accounts (customers, suppliers, staff, tax), 5 financial accounts (bank and cash), 6 expenses and 7 revenue, with class 8 for special accounts. Further digits refine the account: 401 is suppliers, 411 customers, 512 bank, 607 purchases of goods and 707 sales of goods.
Because the numbering is standardised, auditors and tax authorities can read any French ledger at a glance, and the statutory balance sheet and income statement are built by mapping account ranges. Belgium, Luxembourg, Morocco and many other countries use charts based on the same class logic.
The European PCG chart of accounts template follows this class numbering, so you can start a continental European business with familiar codes in Ledgeriano.
Example: a purchase recorded with PCG accounts
A French company buys goods for 1,000 plus 20% VAT on credit.
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 607 Purchases of goods | 1,000 | |
| 44566 Deductible VAT on goods and services | 200 | |
| 401 Suppliers | 1,200 |