GL: Entering Beginning Balances in the General Ledger

Use the Adjusting Journal Entries program to enter beginning balances in the General Ledger.

You may want to review the following topics before entering beginning balances in the General Ledger:

To enter beginning balances in the General Ledger

  1. From the General Ledger Menu, click Adjusting Journal Entries.
  2. Use the Date field to enter the date of the Adjusting Entry. Type a date in this field, or use the Date Control to select a date.
  3. Type the Journal ID you want to assign to this adjusting entry. This open entry field lets you generate a scheme of adjusting journal entry identifications. The Journal ID prints on the General Ledger Detail reports. The Journal ID must be a unique code for the batch of Adjusting Entries being entered. You can assign the same Journal ID for each type of journal entry to simplify identification. For instance, you can assign a Journal Type of "Beg Bal" to a Journal ID of 1.
  4. Enter the initials or employee identification number (ID) of the person entering the adjusting entry.
  5. Type the reference you want to assign to this adjusting entry. This is normally a description of the entry, and it prints on various reports.
  6. In the Journal Type field, type or select Beginning Balances.
  7. Enter any Notes that are pertinent to this adjusting entry.

Adding entries to General Ledger Distribution grid

  1. Click in a new row in the General Ledger Distribution grid. You may make the entries in any order you wish, but balanced entries must be made so the Amount Left equals zero.
  2. Type the GL Account Number in this field, or use the Lookup to locate the General Ledger Account Number. If you select an account number that is set up as a 'Balance Sheet' account, the word '[NONE]' displays in the Job Number field and the cursor moves to the Amount field.
  3. Enter the Job Number for this distribution. If you entered a balance sheet account number in General Ledger Account Number, [NONE]' displays in this field, and ‘Balance Sheet’ displays in the Description field.
  4. Enter the beginning account amount in the Amount field. If this is a credit amount, enter a negative sign with the dollar value.