Entering beginning balances for a client's Chart of Accounts

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If you need to set up or establish beginning GL account balances for a client's Chart of Accounts, you can enter a prior-year journal entry in the Enter Transactions screen as follows.

  1. Be sure that the date in the Current fiscal year end date field (in the Accounting Information tab of the Setup > Clients screen) is in the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which their activity started. If it is not, choose Actions > Change Posting Period to move to the last posting period of the prior fiscal year.
  2. Choose Actions > Enter Transactions.
  3. Select Journal entry from the Type field in the Transaction Detail section, and then follow the steps to enter a transaction with the beginning balance amount for each applicable GL account.
  4. Choose Actions > Change Posting Period to close the fiscal year and move to the first posting period of the next fiscal year.

Note: While the preferred method for establishing a beginning balance is to create a prior-year journal entry, you could use either of the following methods instead. Note, however, that the application recalculates beginning balances based on year-end close figures. Therefore, if you use either of these methods, the application will overwrite beginning balances if you move to a prior year and then re-close that year.

  • Enter the beginning balances in the Enter Trial Balance screen.
    1. Choose Actions > Enter Trial Balance.
    2. In the Beginning Balance column for the appropriate fiscal year, enter the beginning balance amount for each applicable GL account. If the Enter Trial Balance screen does not include the necessary Beginning Balance column, add a Beginning Balance column now.
  • Import the beginning balances from a spreadsheet.

    If your client's beginning balances are available in a spreadsheet format, follow the steps to import the Chart of Accounts data from a spreadsheet (by choosing File > Import > Spreadsheet to access the Spreadsheet Import Wizard).

    Note: In the Column Mappings screen of the wizard, be sure to map at least the Account Number column and the necessary Beginning Balance column.

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