This help item is relevant to when you are migrating from another accounting system or process and you have old unpaid Sales for previous tax periods. In this example we will add a Sale sent to a customer that hadn’t been paid prior to migration.

Step 1: Enter the unpaid Sales you have issued

1. Click add icon next to Sale
2. Enter the Sale date and Invoice Number
3. Enter the Contact, Due date, Summary and Line Items as required
4. For the Account select the Equity: Historical Balancing
5. Select the appropriate tax code for each line item
6. Enter the amount inclusive of any tax and save the transaction

Step 2: Adjust your opening balances

Assuming you have entered opening balances:

1. Go to the opening balances screen by clicking on the Accounts > Opening Balances
2. Reduce the Asset: Money Owed to Me amount by the total amount of the invoices you have entered for the prior year
3. Reduce the Loan: Tax Collected from Sales entry by the total amount of any tax in the invoice(s) just entered

If you enter in opening balances at a later date, you will need to subtract all invoices entered prior to the opening balance date (as described above) from the appropriate entries on the Opening Balance screen.

Step 3: Check your entries

1. We have created a Sale which you will be able to record payment for once it has been received. Check the Who Owe Me report to ensure that the Sale is listed. The Sale will be stored as unpaid until you apply a payment.
2. If you have adjusted your opening balances then you may choose to view the Balance Sheet report as at the opening balance date of you file to ensure the Asset: Money Owed to Me and Loan: Tax Collected from Sales Account has correct balances according to the closing balances of your previous accounting system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to change my opening balances?

Your opening balance for the Asset: Money Owed to Me Account is the sum total of all the outstanding Sales. When you enter Sales the web finance engine creates hidden line items entries behind the scenes that allocate the correct amount to the Asset: Money Owed to Me Account. Subsequently, once you have entered all your unpaid Sales then you may not need to enter an opening balance for the Asset: Money Owed to Me Account.