Why

Beginning Balances are Important In order to maintain accurate accounting records, you must enter the precise beginning balance of each account. Every account transaction is calculated according to the account's beginning balance. The beginning balance must be precisely correct in order for accounting records to be correct.

How

The term "beginning balance" refers to the precise amount of money in the account before any transactions are entered to alter the balance of the account. It is recommended that you enter the amount of money currently in the account as the beginning balance, and then enter transactions as they occur in the future. Remember that transactions that are dated as having occurred in the past will still alter the balance of the account. Note that all account types other than Income and Expense will have a beginning balance that needs to be entered upon creating the account.

To enter an account's beginning balance

1. In the left navigation pane, click Accounting > Accounting Management.
2. On the List tab, select the account.
3. On the toolbar, click Edit.
4. In the Beginning balance field, enter the precise beginning balance, including both dollars and cents.
5. On the toolbar, click Save.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 for each new account.

Once you have entered the beginning balances for your accounts, you can begin entering transactions.

Related Links

• Entering Transactions
• Assigning Account Numbers
• Creating Accounts
• Accounting