Loading historical data - just account balances

syell · ‎October 13, 2020

We just purchased QB Enterprise in order to do bookkeeping for a client that has 9 different companies that all consolidate. Can I load the General ledger balances for prior periods en masse, somehow? I do not need detail, we don't have purchasing, payroll, etc, only financial transactions. I only need historical balances for reporting purposes as they are used to seeing their balance sheet with columns for 'current quarter', 'prev quarter', 'last year this quarter', and '12-mo change'. Do I post a journal entry with the balances for each quarter in order to get that reporting capability and do I need to worry about any type of year end for the 2019 data I'm putting in? Help, I'm new at this - we use MS Dynamics GP for our company accounting, but this is a side project we are piecing together. Any help is SO appreciated!

Jovychris_A · ‎October 13, 2020

Thanks for posting to the Community, @syell.

Yes, you can load the general ledger balances for prior periods en masse. Also, the date will matter for the detail of your report. You won't need to create a journal entry to get the reporting capability. If you plan to open a monthly reporting, then you can fasten it to monthly. If quarterly, then you can set it quarterly.

You can go to the File menu and then select Utilities. Choose Import and then pick General Journal Entries.

Also, you may need to have a reference if you're going to import general ledger balances from a different program, you can check this article: IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers. The general ledger balances must have to be an IIF (Intuit Interchange Format) file to save it in QuickBooks.

Additionally, you may want to use journal entries to adjust your clients' books and make some minor corrections.

I'm always around here to help if you have more concerns. Stay safe and well!

View solution in original post

JonpriL · ‎October 14, 2020

Hello @syell,

Yes, you'll have to make sure that the date of your file corresponds to the date you wanted to show up on your report. This way, importing your company data is easy and it'll post the correct balances of your accounts.

Additionally, you can also consider reading through the steps outlined in this helpful article to understand more about your financial reports after importing your file: Customize company and financial reports.

If you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know by leaving any comments below. Stay safe!

View solution in original post

Jovychris_A · ‎October 13, 2020

Thanks for posting to the Community, @syell.

Yes, you can load the general ledger balances for prior periods en masse. Also, the date will matter for the detail of your report. You won't need to create a journal entry to get the reporting capability. If you plan to open a monthly reporting, then you can fasten it to monthly. If quarterly, then you can set it quarterly.

You can go to the File menu and then select Utilities. Choose Import and then pick General Journal Entries.

Also, you may need to have a reference if you're going to import general ledger balances from a different program, you can check this article: IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers. The general ledger balances must have to be an IIF (Intuit Interchange Format) file to save it in QuickBooks.

Additionally, you may want to use journal entries to adjust your clients' books and make some minor corrections.

I'm always around here to help if you have more concerns. Stay safe and well!

Fiat Lux - ASIA · ‎October 13, 2020

@syell

If you are not familiar with IIF feature, you may utilize one of these importer tools.

https:// transactionpro.grsm.io/qbd

https:// partners.saasant.com/affiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=5051_2

syell · ‎October 14, 2020

Thank you! I appreciate your detailed reply! I am only importing from Excel so I will check out the IIF import

syell · ‎October 14, 2020

One follow up question...

I will need at least the balances in the GL for each quarter to attach the reporting with the appropriate date, is that right? For example, if I load Q3-19 balances, then the Q4-19 change, etc. I can report on each quarter depending on how I set up my reports? We only have historical quarterly data through Q2-20 and will take over transactions for Jul-20 forward in QB.

And, I do not have to do any type of year end close in QB, correct?

JonpriL · ‎October 14, 2020

Hello @syell,

Yes, you'll have to make sure that the date of your file corresponds to the date you wanted to show up on your report. This way, importing your company data is easy and it'll post the correct balances of your accounts.

Additionally, you can also consider reading through the steps outlined in this helpful article to understand more about your financial reports after importing your file: Customize company and financial reports.

If you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know by leaving any comments below. Stay safe!

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Loading historical data - just account balances