Appendix L - Instructions for Beginning Balance Entries

Navigation: Pro Gold XP Main Menu=> Accounting Tab=> Chart of Accounts & Budget Icon=>Beginning Balance Button

Beginning Balance or Transaction Entry?

When you establish an account, you should enter a beginning balance.  The process for this entry is determined by the type of account.  Bank Accounts, Accounts Payable (A/P), and Accounts Receivable (A/R) accounts are normally populated via transactions within their respective module as of a specific target date.  Bank accounts utilize a beginning balance adjustment entry via the bank for each individual bank account.  The A/P balance is accomplished by entering each individual unpaid bill, and the A/R balance is accomplished by entering each individual unpaid invoice.  All other beginning balances are entered directly into the general ledger via a beginning balance entry.  Regardless of the entry method, all entries must be based on a specific target date.

Target Date

Typically companies will be switching from another system to use Pro Gold XP.  The target date is the date balances are finalized in the existing system.  The most logical target date is one that is associated with a specific accounting period such as the end of a month or year.

Target Data

 Once the date is established, the beginning balance target figures are generated by printing a Balance Sheet and Income Statement from the existing system as of the target date.  Once you have your target data, you must print an Income Statement and Balance Sheet in Pro Gold XP as of the target date to verify existing balances in Pro Gold XP which may have been entered as a result of populating transactions from the banking, A/P and A/R modules.   The goal is for the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in Pro Gold XP to be identical to the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in the existing system.   Therefore, you must compare the balances on the Pro Gold XP financial statements to the existing system financial statements and enter a figure that adjusts the Pro Gold XP account balance to match the existing system account balance.

Entering a Beginning Balance (One sided entry)

If you are starting out for the first time there is generally no entry required.  If you are switching from another system, there may be a starting balance.  This can be done in two ways. You can either enter the beginning balances for each account by using the edit feature and entering in a beginning balance, or you can use the Beginning Balance form which will allow you to enter beginning balances for all of your accounts.

To use the Beginning Balance form, click on the BegBals... button. This will open the Beginning Balances form as shown below:

As you can see, you can enter a date that you want to show as the beginning balance date. Once you are ready to start entering beginning balances, you can do so for each account. Make sure you enter the balance under the correct column: Debit and Credit. When you start entering beginning balances, a running total will show at the bottom of your screen in the totals fields.

If you just want to set all of the beginning balances entered to zero to start over again, click on the "Set All to Zero"  button at the bottom of this form. This will then produce a warning message that asks you if you want to continue. If you click yes, then any beginning balance entered will be set to zero. If you click No, then you will be returned back to the beginning balance form with no changes made.

You can print the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in Pro Gold XP as of the target date to verify your progress.  The goal is for the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in Pro Gold XP to be identical to the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in the existing system.  It is recommended that you finish and verify the income statement accounts first since the bottom line of the income statement (profit or loss) is identified in the equity section of the balance sheet in Pro Gold XP as Undistributed Income.  Click Done button and print respective report and return to make adjustments.  Each time you click the Done button the system checks to see if the Debits = Credits. If they don’t equal, the system will display a warning message.  You will be returned back to the Chart of Accounts and all of your accounts will be updated with the new beginning balance amount.  Ignore this message until all balance entries are completed.
 
Once you are finished entering all your balances in this form, click the Done button.  At this point, the system checks to see if the Debits = Credits. If they do not equal, the system will display a warning message.  If you have completed your entries and Debits do not equal Credits, you must adjust/modify an account so that overall Debits = Credits.  The account typically adjusted is the Retained Earnings account.  Once Debits = Credits are equal, you have completed your beginning balance entries.

Once the system is up and running and you have completed the beginning balance entries, you will only change balances by entering balanced (two sided) transactions.