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tchikami92
Level 1

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Hi there,

 

Cleaning up books for a new client. On the current year- to- date balance sheet it keeps showing the Shareholder Distributions since the beginning of the company's start. I believe this is because they migrated from QB desktop to QB online at the beginning of the year. It seems that  QB online created a "beginning balance" entry for the Shareholder distribution account that was the entirety of the history of the shareholder distribution account and placed it in the current year. Any help on how to fix this? It won't let me edit that beginning balance entry. I'm at a loss. Thanks in advance!

5 Comments 5
Catherine_B
QuickBooks Team

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Hello there, tchikami92.

 

The Beginning Balance in the Balance Sheet report consists of the transactions entered from last year or period. You can either remove the transactions from last year or create a Journal Entry for the last day of last year. 

 

To create a Journal entry, just go to the +New button and select Journal entry. For more details on how this type of transaction works, please click here

 

Feel free to leave a reply or post again if you need more help. Take care and stay safe!

tchikami92
Level 1

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Hi Catherine,

 

Thank you for the help. So you're saying in order to get all the previous years transactions off the current year's balance sheet I need to create a journal entry for the last day of the previous year (12/31/19). I'm still a bit confused on what accounts I debit and credit in that entry to get it off the current year balance sheet.

 

Thank you again!

Jovychris_A
Moderator

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Thanks for your prompt response, @tchikami92.

 

In addition to my colleague's response, you'll need to create a journal entry for the opening balance to set as the starting point in tracking transactions for your new client.

 

Here's how:

  1. Select + New.
  2. Select Journal entry.
  3. Enter a date that comes before the oldest transaction currently in the account. This is your new opening balance date.
  4. On the first line, select the account you want to enter the opening balance for.
  5. Use your bank statements to enter the opening balance. It should be the balance for your real-life account on the opening balance date:
    • Assets (savings and checking) and expense accounts: Enter the opening balance in the Debit column.
    • Liabilityequity, and income accounts: Enter the opening balance in the Credit column.
    • Accounts Payable: In the Name field, select the vendors you owe money to. Enter the amount as a credit if you want to increase the balance. Or enter it as a debit if you want to lower the balance. You can create separate lines for each vendor. The total amount should equal the opening balance.
    • Accounts Receivable: In the Name field, select the customers who owe you money. Enter the amount as a debit if you want to increase the balance. Or enter it as a credit if you want to lower the balance. You can create separate line items for each customer. The total amount should equal the opening balance.

     

  6. On the second line, select Opening Balance Equity in the Account column.
  7. Write a note in the Description field so you know what the journal entry is for.
  8. When you're ready, select Save.

 

I've added articles as your references on how to enter the opening balance on a client account:

Also, I'd encourage you to reach an accountant for professional advice on what accounts should be used in entering the opening balance on a journal entry.

 

Feel free to place a comment if you need further assistance. I'll be around to help. Take care and more power to your business!

tchikami92
Level 1

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Thank you for the more detailed information. I guess my post wasn't clear enough. There is already a "beginning balance" in the shareholder distribution account. However, it is showing all the owner distributions ever distributed since the company began, not just for YTD 2020 even though this is a YTD 2020 report. How do I change that "beginning balance" that Quickbooks placed in there after the client migrated from Desktop to online?

JenoP
Moderator

All of company's distributions are showing up on balance sheet

Hi there, tchikami92.

 

We're unable to directly change the beginning balance directly in the register, especially that the amount is brought over from Desktop. You can still follow the work around given in the previous reply on how to create a journal entry to change the beginning balance.  

 

If you're using QuickBooks Online for Accountant, you can use this article as a guide: Enter Adjusting Journal Entries In QuickBooks Online Accountant.

 

Let me also share this article for more details with regards to moving from Desktop to QBO: What To Expect When You Switch From QuickBooks Desktop To QuickBooks Online.

 

The Community is always here if you need anything else. 

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