Entering opening balances for accounts

The opening balances for accounts can be entered in the “Opening Balances” screen that is accessed from the “Accounts” menu, or they can be set individually in each account record on the “Account” screen.

Screen: Opening Balances

Opening balances are only required for accounts on the balance sheet and not for any accounts on the profit and loss statement.

The most convenient method is via the opening balances screen as all accounts can be set at once and the screen will calculate any variance and display this in the title of the screen. When entering opening balances there must be no variance (i.e. It must show $0.00 in the title).

Opening balances are the values as at the start of the first day of the financial year of the book. You cannot enter an opening balance for an account (e.g. A bank account) that is opened after the start of the first day of the financial year of the book. In these cases you simply enter a transaction to record the movement of funds into the new account on the date when this occurred.