Entering data in sheet Data column SRC Notes on Opening Balance

Notes On Entering Opening Balance Data

No double entry

Note that the opening balance data does not involve double entry (Debit and Credit) transactions. It is merely a listing of balances from closing of previous accounting year.

When you enter a Debit item data, there is no corresponding Credit account and amount to write. So, just leave blank the Credit account column and Credit amount column. For the remaining cells in the row, just write NR (for Not Relevant).

Similarly, when you enter a Credit item, there is no Debit account and amount to write. So, just leave blank the Debit account column and Debit amount column. For the remaining cells in the row, just write NR.

However, instead of a blank, you can create an account name such as OPENING BALANCE.

Put Debit and credit items on different rows

Do not write a Debit item data on the same row as a Credit item data. This is because you will encounter difficulties when you want to add a note (comments) to both items since there is only one note column. Also, if sales invoice is pitted against purchase invoice, both will chase for only one 'due date' column.

However, if you can manage these problems, you can put Debit and Credit items data on the same row. This can save rows.

More details

It is better that the opening balances items data contain more details. For instance, instead of one figure for a customer, list down all unpaid invoices for that customer. Instead of one figure for whole staff advance, list down all unpaid staff advances for every staff. Also, instead of one figure for a supplier, list down all unpaid purchase invoices for the supplier, etc.

If you are transferring data from other system, you may need lots of time to record the details, especially if the system is not compatible with Excel.

If you already using this system, transferring details to the following year file is very easy. This is because you will have a ready list of unpaid invoices etc row by row. It is just a matter of selecting and transferring (or copying and deleting) the data.

Check data

After you finish entering the Opening Balances items data, check that its absolute total debit amounts agree with total credit amounts. Just look at the cells H1 and J1.

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