Chart of accounts in XML

The chart of accounts file with the SAT grouping code on every account: what it contains, when it is filed and how to download it.

Documentation · SAT

Getting startedWhat Containn is How it connects to hotel operations Setup: the six first-day steps Glossary of accounting and hotel terms

Paths by roleIf you are the hotel's accountant If you are the general manager If you are the night auditor If you work at the front desk If you are the owner If you are coming from another accounting system

Chart of accountsThe base chart of accounts for Mexico, account by account Account roles: what each one does How to add your own account without breaking the journal entry The SAT grouping code, explained

Hotel transaction codesWhat a concept is and why it exists How to map your codes to your accounts Concepts without an account: what it means and how to fix it Taxes: one account per tax Folio charge categories

Journal entriesThe daily póliza, line by line Manual pólizas Canceling a póliza Why a póliza is not generated: the eleven reasons Póliza numbering and the accounting period

Financial statementsIncome statement Balance sheet Cash flow statement, direct method Trial balance Account ledger

Daily operationsAccounts payable Payroll Fixed assets and depreciation Banks and reconciliation

CloseMonth-end close Year-end close Reopening: when, who, and what gets recorded

SATElectronic accounting: what you file and when Chart of accounts in XML Trial balance in XML Pólizas in XML What Containn does NOT do, and why

InvoicingStamping a CFDI 4.0 invoice Cancelling an invoice Guest self-invoicing Payment complement The digital seal certificate: how to upload it and where it lives

Accounting principlesWhy a signed day is never recalculated Accrual versus cash: why they don't match, and shouldn't The deposit ledger The business date and its cutoff Why a póliza is never edited Precision and rounding: where rounding happens, and why only once

Control and securityThe five accounting permissions Audit trail Safeguarding your information

TroubleshootingThe entry doesn't balance Cash flow doesn't tie to the balance sheet A day shows no activity The tax landed in the general account Bank reconciliation suggests nothing

ReferenceFinancial reports catalog Export formats Frequently asked questions

What it is

It is the file defined in section A of Anexo 24 (the SAT annex for electronic accounting): the list of the hotel's accounts, each with its number, name, level, nature (debit or credit), the account it rolls up to, and its SAT grouping code (código agrupador), the key that maps your account to the SAT's standard classification. Containn builds it from the active accounts in your chart, sorted by number.

When to use it

The first time, together with the first trial balance you file. After that, whenever the chart changes at the level of accounts you already reported (a new general-ledger account or first-level subaccount, for example), no later than the due date of the trial balance for the month of the change.

The file's month and year state when that chart takes effect. If you add a subaccount in October, you file the October chart.

Step by step

In Containn → Configuración (setup), open Catálogo de cuentas (chart of accounts) and check that every account has its grouping code. It is required when you create or edit an account; if you added your own accounts, review theirs with your accountant (see adding your own account).
Go to Containn → Entrega al SAT (SAT filing) and type in Mes (month) the month the chart takes effect, as year-month (for example, 2026-10). The field starts on the current month.
The Catálogo de cuentas card shows how many accounts it carries and the file name: the hotel's RFC (taxpayer ID), year, month and the letters CT. Click the name to download it.
Compress it into a .zip with the same name and submit it with the hotel's e.firma (its advanced electronic signature), as explained in Electronic accounting.

What the file looks like

<catalogocuentas:Catalogo Version="1.3" RFC="HEJ150301AB1" Mes="10" Anio="2026" …>
  <catalogocuentas:Ctas CodAgrup="101" NumCta="101" Desc="Caja" Nivel="1" Natur="D"/>
  <catalogocuentas:Ctas CodAgrup="101.01" NumCta="101-01" Desc="Caja del hotel" SubCtaDe="101" Nivel="2" Natur="D"/>
  <catalogocuentas:Ctas CodAgrup="213" NumCta="213" Desc="Impuestos y derechos por pagar" Nivel="1" Natur="A"/>
  <catalogocuentas:Ctas CodAgrup="213.05" NumCta="213-01" Desc="Impuesto sobre hospedaje por pagar" SubCtaDe="213" Nivel="2" Natur="A"/>
</catalogocuentas:Catalogo>

Sample data. Natur is D for debit and A for credit; SubCtaDe is the parent account of each subaccount.

What can go wrong

A wrong grouping code. The SAT reads your information through those codes. Review them before your first filing, especially on accounts you added. See The SAT grouping code.
You deactivated an account that still has a balance. An inactive account is left out of the chart, but if it still has a balance or activity it keeps showing in the trial balance, and the two files stop matching. Deactivate it once it is at zero.
You changed the chart and did not resend it. Your next trial balance would carry an account that is not in the last chart the SAT received.
No RFC. It comes from the invoicing issuer details; without it, the file is not generated.

The SAT grouping code, explainedWhat the Anexo 24 grouping code is, how Containn suggests it when loading the chart, and why its first digit decides where each account shows up.How to add your own account without breaking the journal entryAdding an account field by field, the example of the account for the year-end close, and what to watch so the daily journal entry keeps coming out.Electronic accounting: what you file and whenWhich Anexo 24 files the SAT requires, the deadlines, which ones Containn produces, and who signs and submits them.Trial balance in XMLThe monthly Anexo 24 trial balance: opening balance, debits, credits and closing balance for each account, computed from the hotel's ledger.

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