When you start a new FINSYNC business account, you must choose an accounting start date. Generally, you should use opening balances for most General Ledger accounts. However, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable need special attention.
Note: this article assumes you have already finished updating your Chart of Accounts and created necessary Payees.
If you had an accounts payable balance on your accounting start date, follow the steps outlined below:
1. Sum all of your bills with a date prior to your accounting start date.
2. Create a new entry to your Opening Balances:
- Mouse over the Company Profile Icon in the top right hand corner and select Profile Settings.
- Select Opening Balance found in the lower left-hand menu.
- Click the green New icon on the right. Putting the sum in the Credit cell. Click the green Set button to save the change.
Once you complete this step, your Balance Sheet will show the correct amount for Accounts Payable on your accounting start date.
3. Click Payments from the top menu. Click on the plus symbol on the right of Bills to create a new bill for each of your unpaid bills dated before your accounting start date.
If you did this correctly, these bills will populate your Accounts Payable Aging Report, but have no impact on your Balance Sheet, which should already be correct from successful completion of steps 1 and 2 above.
Going forward, you'll want to be sure your AP Aging and Balance Sheet continue to match. In order to do this, you'll want to ALWAYS manage Accounts Payable through Bills.
Note: If you categorize a bank transaction to Payable and don't match it to a bill, your AP Aging and Balance Sheet will no longer match.
Note: If you create a journal entry that touches your Payable account, your AP Aging and Balance Sheet will no longer match.