Retrospective Opening balances

julie39 · ‎May 08, 2021

The accountant has asked me to set up zero opening balance for the start of 2020/21 (so post 2020 end of year) retrospectively. Is anybody able to explain how I can do this please. Thank you

JessT · ‎May 08, 2021

Thank you for your response with more details, Julie.

I know going through the accounting/bookkeeping and the How-do-I's (software) can be challenging, but the good thing is we can help you with the How-do-I's part. Then, we'll leave the accounting part to your accountant since they are the best resource for that.

Since your business structure is changed to Limited Company (Ltd.), I presume you have a new tax ID for it. Thus, signing up for a new QBO plan can be your choice.

Open this link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/pricing/
Optional: Enable the Free trial switch.
Select a QBO Plan, then add a Payroll plan (optional).
Review the products you've selected and click Proceed.
Click Sign in (blue text) to directly sign in to your Intuit account.
Follow the on-screen instructions to finish your setup.

About the account balances, you would normally have zero balances after setting up your new QBO company. So, all you want to do is enter the transactions from the day you operate as Ltd. Then, to answer your question, we can't copy the transactions in a specific period from one account to another. You will really have to enter them either manually or by connecting your bank account to download them and to add them to your books.

Hope this clears up everything. If you still need help with your setup, please don't hesitate to go back to this thread.

View solution in original post

RCV · ‎May 08, 2021

Thanks for checking in with us, julie39.

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), when creating a new account, you pick a day to start tracking your transactions. Then enter the balance of your real-life bank account for the day you pick. This starting point is the opening balance where it summarises all the transactions that came before it. You enter the same amount in QuickBooks so everything matches your bank records from the start. Just follow the steps and details in the What to do if you didn't enter an opening balance in QuickBooks Online article.

If you forgot to enter an opening balance when you created an account, go back later on and create a journal entry to record it. Then you can get back to business as usual. Just use this method if you haven't reconciled the account yet. If you've reconciled it, or if you have questions, I'd suggest reaching out to your accountant. This can get tricky and they know how to handle the next steps. To learn more about entering an opening balance for the bank, credit card, and other types of accounts, see the Enter an opening balance for an account in QuickBooks Online article.

Feel free to visit our Reconciliation page for more insights about reconciling your bank account with QuickBooks.

I'd like to know how you get on after trying the steps, as I want to ensure this is resolved for you. Please reply to this post and I'll get back to you. Take care always.

julie39 · ‎May 08, 2021

Thank you for your response, The issue is that it is not just bank accounts and opening balances are already in place, the accountant is just saying that I need to set zero opening balances at a set date because the company changes from self assessment to a limited company,

I think what I need to do is set up a new account for the limited company and start afresh. Am I able to copy all the data from a specific date from the present account to a new account?

Also if I were to do this how would it work with the actual payment of quickbooks subscription, Obviously regular payment is already being made and I do not want to stop using one account and set up a new one and have charges for both, as they are basically the same account, Just a change to type of company.

Sorry I am so confused at the moment, I don't think any of this even makes sense now!!!!

Thank you again for your response.

JessT · ‎May 08, 2021

Thank you for your response with more details, Julie.

I know going through the accounting/bookkeeping and the How-do-I's (software) can be challenging, but the good thing is we can help you with the How-do-I's part. Then, we'll leave the accounting part to your accountant since they are the best resource for that.

Since your business structure is changed to Limited Company (Ltd.), I presume you have a new tax ID for it. Thus, signing up for a new QBO plan can be your choice.

Open this link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/pricing/
Optional: Enable the Free trial switch.
Select a QBO Plan, then add a Payroll plan (optional).
Review the products you've selected and click Proceed.
Click Sign in (blue text) to directly sign in to your Intuit account.
Follow the on-screen instructions to finish your setup.

About the account balances, you would normally have zero balances after setting up your new QBO company. So, all you want to do is enter the transactions from the day you operate as Ltd. Then, to answer your question, we can't copy the transactions in a specific period from one account to another. You will really have to enter them either manually or by connecting your bank account to download them and to add them to your books.

Hope this clears up everything. If you still need help with your setup, please don't hesitate to go back to this thread.

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Retrospective Opening balances