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Trial Balance screen

Enter beginning balances for a client's Chart of Accounts

If you need to set up or establish beginning GL account balances for a client's Chart of Accounts, follow these steps to enter a prior-year journal entry.
  1. Go to
    Setup
    ,
    Clients
    , then the
    Accounting Information
     tab. Make sure that the date in the
    Current fiscal year end date
     is in the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year when their activity started. If it isn't, select
    Actions
    , then
    Change Posting Period
     to move to the last posting period of the prior fiscal year.
  2. Select
    Actions
    , then
    Enter Transactions
    .
  3. Select
    Journal entry
     from the
    Type
     field in the Transaction Detail section. Follow the steps to enter a transaction with the beginning balance amount for each GL account.
  4. Select
    Actions
    , then
    Change Posting Period
     to close the fiscal year and move to the 1st posting period of the next fiscal year.
    While the preferred method to establish a beginning balance is to create a prior-year journal entry, you could use either of the following methods instead. Note that the application recalculates beginning balances based on year-end close figures. So if you use either of the following methods, the application will overwrite beginning balances if you move to a prior year and the re-close that year.
    • Enter the beginning balances in the Enter Trial Balance screen
      :
      1. Select
        Actions
        , then
        Enter Trial Balance
        .
      2. In the Beginning Balance column for the fiscal year, enter the beginning balance amount for each GL account. If the Enter Trial Balance screen doesn't include the necessary Beginning Balance column, add a Beginning Balance column now.
    • Import the beginning balances from a spreadsheet
      :
      1. If your client's beginning balances are available in a spreadsheet, follow the steps to import the Chart of Accounts tab from a spreadsheet. Select
        File
        ,
        Import
        , then
        Spreadsheet
         to access the Spreadsheet Import Wizard.
        note
        In the Column Mappings screen of the wizard, make sure to map at least the Account Number column and the necessary Beginning Balance column.

This article applies to:

  • Product: Workpapers CS
  • Subject: Trial balance

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