Chapter 4
Recording Your Opening Balances
In This Chapter
Choosing the right time to switch to Sage
Getting your opening balances
Recording your opening balances
Checking for accuracy
In this chapter I explain how to transfer the individual account balances from your previous accounting system, whether manual or computerised, into Sage Instant Accounts. Effectively, you’re taking the values that make up what your business is worth on the day you swap from your old system and start using Sage. You need to set up your nominal records before recording balances, so check out Chapter 3 if you haven’t done that yet.
Opening balances give you a true picture of your business’s assets and liabilities to use as a starting point. If you don’t enter your opening balances, you don’t have accurate information about who owes you money, how much money you owe or how much money you have in the bank. You won’t even be able to reconcile your bank balance. In short, without opening balances, the information in your Sage program isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on!
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