opening balances

WCE2016 · ‎June 25, 2022

Hello, I am new to QB and have QBO Simple for one company and Plus for another company. I started with creating my chart of accounts in the Simple plan first to see how it works. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I should have been entering the beginning balance as I created the account. So, how do I enter the beginning balances now? I tried to go to journal entry, but nothing pulls up for accounts, it just wants me to add an account. Also, when I am entering the beginning balances, can I just make one offsetting entry to the opening account or do I have to do a debit/credit to that account for each opening balance I enter? This is such a learning curve from Sage and I can't just delete something in QB if I do it wrong the first time like I can in Sage. Ughhhh! Any and all tips are appreciated. I am an accountant and I can't believe how dumb this system makes me feel! I have tried searching up videos, but it seems like a giant time waste to wade through all of them to find out if it will answer my questions. I have already watched 3 videos that ended up being no help whatsoever. Thanks! (sorry for venting!) (and as I tried to do a screenshot of what I mean by no accounts showing in the drop down...the page is unresponsive....grrr.......)

Charies_M · ‎June 25, 2022

Welcome to the Community, WCE2016.

I can guide you with the reconciliation process and get familiar with QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You're on the right track in trying to create a Journal Entry (JE). In QBO, once you forgot to enter an opening balance when you create an account, you can just go back and create a JE.

If nothing pulls up for accounts while creating the JE, it's either you need to perform some browser troubleshooting or there isn't really an account added and you need to add one.

Here's how to check if it's the browser that's causing this issue:

First, log in to your QBO account using an incognito or private browser. Since this doesn't store data in the cache, it the best place to isolate browser issues. Kindly use either of the following shortcut keys:

Google Chrome, press CTRL + Shift + N
Mozilla Firefox: press CTRL + Shift + P
Internet Explorer: press CTRL + Shift + P
Safari: press Command + Shift + N

If it works, you may want to clear the browsing history of your regular web browser. This will remove previously-stored browsing data that might have caused the issue. Otherwise, you can try using other supported browsers to be thorough.

Otherwise, you'll need to create an account. Check out this article for the steps: Add an account to your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.

Here's an article for more details on how to handle beginning balance when creating an account: What to do if you didn't enter an opening balance in QuickBooks Online.

Regarding your question whether to make an offsetting entry to the opening account or create a debit/credit to that account for each opening balance, this requires an accounting expert's advice.

You might these links about reconciliation helpful:

Since you're knew to QuickBooks, we have easy-to-access articles, webinars, and video tutorials that will help you in familiarizing the different tasks, features, and functions of QBO: QuickBooks Online learning guides.

Of course, you're always welcome to visit us again if you need help while working with QuickBooks. It will be my pleasure. Stay safe and have a great day ahead!

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Charies_M · ‎June 25, 2022