# Set up a company in United States with Ekwo OS

Ekwo OS is open source software for keeping double-entry books in a database you own. This page is generated from the United States pack, version 0.8.0; every code on it is read from the pack.

The United States pack is **community**: contributed, and reviewed by nobody.

> Ekwo is software, not an accountant and not tax advice: a pack is a reading of the rules at the date of its version, and it can be wrong for your situation. Have a qualified professional in United States check your set-up and your first declarations. See [what Ekwo is, and what it is not](https://ekwo.ai/disclaimer/).

## 1. What you need

- A [Supabase](https://supabase.com) project of your own. The free plan is enough to start; Ekwo does not create it, pay for it or have access to it.
- From its dashboard: the connection string (Connect → **Session pooler**), the Project URL and the `service_role` key (Project Settings → API). The key is used once, to create your first administrator, and is written nowhere. The anon (publishable) key, on the same page, is what you sign in with afterwards.
- Node 20 or later on your machine. Nothing else: no Supabase CLI, no Docker, no clone.

## 2. Install

One command. It asks for the rest as it goes.

```sh
npx ekwo-os init --country US
```

- One chart of accounts: United States reference chart of accounts, 236 accounts.
- The books are kept in `en`.
- The State, Local, and District Sales and Use Tax Return (CDTFA-401-A) is filed on one of these cadences: `month`, `quarter`, `year`. The default is `quarter`. Pass `--vat-period <cadence>` to set yours.
- A financial year follows the calendar unless you pass `--fiscal-year-start YYYY-MM-DD`.

The same, with no question asked — every value your own:

```sh
npx ekwo-os init \
  --country US \
  --db-url "postgresql://postgres.<ref>:<password>@<pooler host>:5432/postgres" \
  --supabase-url "https://<ref>.supabase.co" \
  --service-role-key "$SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY" \
  --org "Your Organisation" --company "Your Company" \
  --admin-email "you@example.com" \
  --yes
```

## 3. Before you go live

Four settings of your project no installer can reach: turn off self sign-up, keep two administrators, keep the `service_role` key off every other machine, and read the disclaimer. `init` prints them; [the installation guide](https://ekwo.ai/docs/install/#before-you-go-live-four-things-on-your-project) explains each.

## 4. A first invoice

Sign in as the administrator you just created, pick the company, and write a draft. `--dry-run` shows the entry the database would write, and writes nothing; `post` books it.

```sh
ekwo login --supabase-url https://<ref>.supabase.co --anon-key <publishable key> --email you@example.com
ekwo use "Your Company"
ekwo contact add "First Customer" --country US --ref customer-1
ekwo doc new --contact "First Customer" --ref invoice-1 --line "name=Consulting,price=1000.00,account=4000,tax=US-CA-S-725"
ekwo post invoice-1 --dry-run
ekwo post invoice-1
```

A line names its account and its tax by code, never by rate. `4000` is the account the pack names for sales; the chart may carry a closer one for what you sell — services, a reduced rate — and `list_accounts` lists them.

What the invoice says about your company — its address, its VAT number — comes from the company’s profile, which the MCP tool `update_company_profile` fills; `ekwo init` sets only the name.

The domestic sale taxes the pack carries today. Which one a sale carries is a question about that sale, for you or your accountant: the list is the pack’s, not advice.

| Tax code | Name | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| `US-CA-S-725` | Sale in California, combined state and local rate 7.25 % (US-CA) | 7.25 % |
| `US-CA-S-1075` | Sale in the City of Oakland, combined rate 10.75 % (US-CA) | 10.75 % |
| `US-NY-S-8875` | Sale delivered in New York City, combined rate 8.875 % (US-NY) | 8.875 % |

## 5. With an AI assistant

The MCP server lets an assistant keep the books as you, under your own row level security, and never with the `service_role` key. [Configuring it](https://ekwo.ai/docs/mcp/), and [what an assistant must and must not do](https://ekwo.ai/docs/agents/).

## What the United States pack carries

- Charts of accounts: United States reference chart of accounts (236).
- 11 taxes, at 0 %, 7.25 %, 8.875 %, 10.75 %.
- The State, Local, and District Sales and Use Tax Return (CDTFA-401-A) (`US-CA-SUT-RETURN`), 39 boxes, filed month, quarter, year.
- Financial statements: Balance sheet — Regulation S-X, Rule 5-02, Income statement — Regulation S-X, Rule 5-03.

## What it does not do

- No library of this repository writes the file of the US-CA-SUT-RETURN yet: the return is computed and frozen here, and typed on the administration’s portal.
- No library of this repository reads a `bai2` bank statement yet.
- No library of this repository reads a `ofx` bank statement yet.
- No library of this repository reads a `csv` bank statement yet.
- Nothing is sent to an administration, a Peppol network or a bank by the open source software: transmission is yours, or an operator’s you appoint.
- What the pack leaves out on purpose is in [its README](https://github.com/Ekwo-ai/ekwo-os/tree/main/packs/us).