Opening Balance Equity is Negative

You would not debit opening balance equity when the original loan was recorded.  The correct debit would be to a fixed asset account since you purchased equipment.  You then depreciate the equipment over its useful life and expense the depreciation amount and set up another fixed asset account titled accumulated depreciation.  Accumulated depreciation will show up with a negative balance once the depreciation is recorded reducing the value of the equipment.

Thank you for the reply, but how do we handle this if we take the entire purchase price and depreciate it/deduct it in the year it was purchased rather than spread it over the useful life of the asset?  We usually take the entire purchase price because it helps with the tax burden.  How do I account for that in QB then?  THANKS!

For tax based accounting, your would still record the purchase and also record depreciation in the same amount.  You have to factor is the equipment is new or used.  For 2018, Sec 179 depreciation is $1M with phase out amounts.  You should be under that. Check with your tax preparer if the equipment was used when purchased.

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@AllisonE wrote:

The balance on the equipment shows as a positive on the Balance Sheet   

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How did a balance get into equipment on the Balance Sheet?

The equipment is listed as long-term liabilities on the balance sheet.  Each time I make a payment (split between principal and interest) the amount of the liability decreases until it hits $0.  I did go in and debit the cost of the equipment from a fixed asset account for each piece of equipment (rather than opening equity balance) and the opening equity balance is now positive (only from beginning balances from bank accounts) so I will need to zero that out by transferring to retained earnings (debit OBE and credit retained earnings?).  

When you said that equipment showed as a positive I thought you meant as a fixed asset.. Equipment is a fixed asset of course. If there is a loan then the loan is a liability on the balance sheet; that's not equipment .  It sounds like you've got it sorted out

Each piece of equipment has a loan and is listed as a long-term liability with a balance on the balance sheet.  To enter the loan, I debited the long-term liability account associated with each piece of equipment and credited the Fixed Asset account for that particular piece of equipment.  However, there is also a Fixed Assets section on the balance sheet and for each piece of equipment, it shows the original purchase price.  We also take the full 179 depreciation so what I am needing to do now is figure out how to depreciate the equipment to show a value of $0 since we don't spread it out through the uselife life of the item and just take it all on once.  To do so, I debit the deprecation expense account and credit accumulated deprecation for the full amount of the depreciation/deduction, correct?  I am a little confused by your answer since you said that the Fixed Assets section on the balance sheet shouldn't have a positive balance.  The balances that are showing under the Fixed Assets section are the original purchase of the equipment rather that the amount reflected under long-term liabilities which is the current remaining balance.  Thank you for the help. 

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@AllisonE wrote:

 To enter the loan, I debited the long-term liability account associated with each piece of equipment and credited the Fixed Asset account for that particular piece of equipment. 

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That's wrong.  It sounds like you need some basic accounting training.  You always debit an asset and credit a liability to increase their balances

That's correct, I typed it wrong.  I have credited the long-term liability account and debited the Fixed Asset account for each piece of equipment.  But the Fixed Assets are showing the under the Assets section on the Balance Sheet with the original purchase price.  I need to account for Section 179 depreciation now. 

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@AllisonE wrote:

 I need to account for Section 179 depreciation now. 

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I would not record the Section 179 depreciation in the books as that would distort the P&L and BS reports, when used for management purposes. The depreciation would be in the book to tax reconciliation, which is part of  the tax return for a corporation.  I would record a realistic depreciation based on the life expectancy

But if their accounting records are setup on the tax basis, recording the section 179 on the books is proper.  If they have kept their records on the tax basis in the past, starting to record depreciation for the books now would just muck things up.  In a perfect world folks tend to keep their accounting records on the full accrual basis and then convert things for taxes, but this isn't a perfect world.

Hi Good day!

why is the dividends showing in Opening balance equity as negative?