How to set up a companyكيفية إنشاء شركة

Creating a company in Libra is a two-step wizard. This guide walks through both steps and explains every field on the way. For what the account plans mean, see Old Plan vs New Plan.

1. Open the wizard

On the Main ribbon tab, click Create company. The same ribbon also holds Select company, Move to another year, Change login, Switch server and Manage quick list.

2. Step 1 Of 2 - choose how the accounts start

Pick how the new company's accounts are built, then click Next.

• Blank → Use chart of accounts directly - the New Plan, and the right choice for almost every new company. Leave it selected.
• Blank → Pre-define ledger accounts (Basic Chart) / (Full Chart) - the Old Plan. Legacy; only for a customer who is already working that way.
• Copy structure - start from an existing company's structure (chart, clients, suppliers, settings, users, permissions) without its data.
• Copy company - start from an existing company with its data.
• Iraq chart - tick this to build the company on the pre-defined Iraqi chart that now ships inside the system, instead of importing a chart or attaching a prepared database.

3. Step 2 Of 2 - Characteristics

• Database name - the SQL database name. Normally leave it as generated. If you do change it (for example to match the company name, so it is easy to find when data is moved), it may contain no spaces and no special characters - SQL will not accept them.
• Company - the company name, free text. Required.
• Address and Phone - printed by default on invoices and vouchers. Plain text, no format is enforced, and both can be edited later from inside the company.
• Main currency - always start with LBP, even for a company that works in dollars or for a foreign company. Once you are inside the company, change the base currency to whatever it really trades in.
• Auditor edition - a pre-configured set-up for audit firms, who open many companies and post journal entries only. Ticking it removes the receipt and payment forms.
• With extended journal voucher types - adds multiple voucher types (sales, purchases, returns) instead of one journal voucher. This also removes the receipt and payment forms.

If a customer reports that the receipt and payment screens have disappeared, check these two boxes first. They are turned back on through the system options, not from this wizard.

4. Step 2 Of 2 - Financial info

• Fiscal year - the financial year the system starts in. Libra keeps one continuous database across many years rather than one database per year, so you can report ten years back in a single report - but you cannot post before the year you set here.
• Fiscal month - the month the financial year opens. January for about 99% of companies; schools and some associations start in September.
• Opening voucher date - the real start-of-work date. If the year opens in January but the company actually started trading in May, put the May date here. This date is fixed once the company is created and can only be corrected in the database afterwards, not from the interface - so get it right now.

5. Step 2 Of 2 - VAT policy

• VAT registration # - the company's financial number. A VAT-registered company uses its TVA number: the financial number plus a 601 / 604 / 605 suffix depending on the entity type (for example 111 → 111-601). If the customer does not have the number yet, it can be filled in later.
• VAT - tick it if the company is registered for VAT. The four fields below stay greyed out until this box is ticked.
• Vat Prefix - 442 in Lebanon. Every VAT account in the chart starts with 442, which is how VAT accounts are recognised. Other countries use their own prefix.
• Vat Currency - LBP. In Lebanon VAT must be in Lebanese pounds; in another country you set that country's currency here.
• Start date - when VAT registration begins. Invoices dated before it carry no VAT; invoices dated after it do. It is independent of the opening date - a company opening on 01-01-2026 that registered for VAT in 2024 simply sets 01-01-2026.
• Default Percentage - 11.000 in Lebanon. One value, not a multi-select; a different rate is set from inside the company.

6. Finish and open the company

Click Finish. Then, back on the Main ribbon, click Select company, pick the new company from the dropdown and click OK to log in.

The rule

Fill the financial number accurately. The 601 / 604 / 605 suffix is what marks whether the entity is VAT-registered, and that number drives the top-10 customer/supplier reports and all VAT handling.

Next: How to set up the Quick List - build the Home button before you start working.