If this isn't your first accounting period and you had existing bookkeeping before using Springly, setting up your opening balance lets you pick up right where you left off.
To do this, you'll need to enter the state of your books before switching to Springly across your various accounts: bank account balance, petty cash balance, and so on.
- Where to set up the opening balance?
- Setting up the opening balance
- Editing the opening balance
- Restoring the opening balance
👉 Download our accounting user guide on Springly (9 pages)
Where to set up the opening balance?
To set up your opening balance, go to Settings > Accounting, then click Edit or view next to Opening Balance.
Setting up the opening balance
What date should you use for the opening balance?
As a general rule, the opening balance should reflect the state of your books as of the closing date of your last accounting period in your previous tool. This tells the software where your accounts stood at the start of the new period — so you don't have to start from scratch.
If you don't have records for that date, you can run a month-end trial balance in your previous tool and use that date as your starting point in Springly. If you're unsure, consult an accountant.
The opening balance generates beginning balances for any accounts that have been entered. These balances appear in your reports as of the start date of your first accounting period.
If your first accounting period starts on 01/01/2021, your beginning balances will appear in the trial balance:
What information should you enter?
Enter the balances for all your accounts as they stood just before you started using Springly.
For example, if you're using the accounting module for a new period starting January 1, 2021, you should enter your account balances as of December 31, 2020 — since some of your accounts will carry credit or debit balances.
Enter all accounts in classes 1 through 5 that carry non-zero balances in the opening balance.
As a general rule, the accounts you'll need to enter include:
- Bank accounts:
My main bank account has a positive balance of $2,000. - Petty cash:
I have $300 in petty cash. - Checks:
I've issued checks that haven't been cashed yet, or I've received checks I haven't deposited yet. - Accounts receivable / accounts payable:
A client or person who owes me money.
Revenue and expense accounts (classes 6 and 7) do not appear in the opening balance, as they are closed out to zero at the end of each period. The net result (class 1 account) can, however, be entered.
How to enter them
To enter your account balances in the opening balance, click the blue buttons at the top of the opening balance screen.
A panel will appear — fill in all the required information. To enter your bank account balance as of 12/31/2020, click Bank, then enter the balance.
Click Add. The account has been added to your opening balance.
You can do this for all of the following account types:
| Bank | The amount you had in your bank account at the end of the previous accounting period. |
| Petty Cash | The amount you had in petty cash at the end of the previous accounting period. |
| Checks | This option is useful for bank reconciliation. Some checks you've written may not have been cashed yet — those need to be recorded. Similarly, you can record checks you received before the end of your previous period that haven't been deposited yet. |
| Liabilities | Recording your liabilities in detail lets you track and clear them later. |
| Receivables | A receivable is the opposite of a liability — it's an amount owed to you. Recording your receivables in detail lets you track and clear them later. |
| Inventory | This is the inventory you held at the end of your previous accounting period. Entering it here makes it appear on your statement of financial position and in your inventory tracking tool. |
| Invoice not received | Invoice not received (INR): you incurred an expenditure in the previous period but haven't paid it yet because you haven't received the invoice. Important: a reversal entry at the start of the new period will be posted automatically — you don't need to do anything. |
| Prepaid expenses | Prepaid expenses: for example, you paid for a one-year software subscription but only used 3 months of it — 75% of the amount counts as a prepaid expense. Important: a reversal entry at the start of the new period will be posted automatically — you don't need to do anything. |
| Deferred revenue | Deferred revenue: for example, a membership spanning 12 months starting in October — 75% should be recorded as deferred revenue. Important: a reversal entry at the start of the new period will be posted automatically — you don't need to do anything. |
| Book Entry | This option lets you record a carried forward balance as a book entry by specifying the account number. |
Opening balance equity and net result allocation
As explained in the article on closing, two account types are used to handle a surplus or deficit result:
- The net result from the previous period (120/129);
- The cumulative results of all periods, known as opening balance equity (110/119).
The software automatically calculates the opening balance equity (110/119) by deriving the amount needed to balance assets and liabilities. You also don't need to enter a net result allocation entry from the previous period (120/129) to the opening balance equity account (110/119).
If you enter the prior-year net result (120/129), you'll need to post a net result allocation entry using journal book entry.
If the opening balance equity amount doesn't look right, it means there's an issue with one of the other entries in your opening balance (incorrect amount, missing entry, etc.).
Editing the opening balance
The first accounting period is still open
Your opening balance remains editable as long as your first accounting period in Springly hasn't been closed. You have until closing to finalize your entries if needed.
To edit an existing entry, delete it by clicking the orange X and re-enter it.
The first accounting period has been closed
Once your first accounting period has been closed, the opening balance can no longer be edited — it defines the beginning balances that the software uses to perform the closing.
If you need to edit the opening balance after the period has been closed, you'll need to undo the closing.
Restoring the opening balance
A deleted opening balance cannot be restored: the only way to recover it is to re-enter all balances from scratch, provided your first accounting period is still open. If it's not, you'll need to undo the closing.
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