You will not need to take-on any opening balances if -

1. You have converted your data from a previous version of TurboCASH or Pastel version 5.2. (You only need to generate reports to check whether the opening balances have been converted correctly).
   
   
2. If you have started a new business and start to capture your first transactions in TurboCASH.

You may start to use TurboCASH at any point in the normal course of your business. If you have an existing business, you may have already recorded your accounting transactions on a hand system, or on another computerised accounting system. Whichever, is applicable in your circumstances, you should already have a set of figures in a trail balance and / or other financial reports such as an Income Statement and a Balance Sheet, individual Debtor and Creditor balances.

You will, therefore, need to enter the closing balances for all your existing General Ledger accounts and your Debtors Ledger and Creditors Ledger from your accounting records of your previous accounting records into TurboCASH. These balances are called opening balances. It is advisable to enter your opening balances at the time of setting up the system. If you do not enter any opening balances into TurboCASH, your set of accounts will not be complete. You may need to take on opening balances at -

1. The beginning of your financial year - You need to enter your opening balances for your General Ledger from the closing Trial Balance or Income Statement and Balance Sheet from the previous year. You will also need the balances of your Debtors and Creditors Ledger. (For example, if your financial year starts on 1 March 2004, enter your balances at the end of your previous financial year on 29 of February 2004. This will enable you to view comparative figures (This Year and Last Year) on reports).

    

2. During the course of a financial year - You need to enter your opening balances for your General Ledger from the closing Trial Balance for the previous accounting period. You will also need the balances of your Debtors and Creditors Ledger. (For example, if you start using TurboCASH on 1 June 2004, enter your balances at the end of your previous accounting period 31May 2004). You need to enter Income and Expense Account balances from your Trial Balance.

To Take-on Opening Balances:

Opening balances are taken on in the General journal batch type. You need to take on the opening balances for the following Ledgers:

• General Ledger - (the individual General Ledger Accounts, which includes the totals of Control accounts).
  
  
• Debtors Ledger - (the individual debtors account balances which must balance with the Debtors Control Account in the General Ledger).
  
  
• Creditors Ledger - (the individual creditors account balances which must balance with the Creditors Control Account in the General Ledger).
  
  

A - Obtain the closing balances of your General Ledger (Trial Balance / Income Statement and Balance Sheet of the previous financial year or accounting period from your previous accounting system.

These General Ledger opening balances only includes the totals of your Debtors Ledger and is reflected in the Debtors Control Account and the total of your Creditors Ledger is reflected in the Creditors Control account. Should all of your individual Debtors and Creditor Account balances be listed in your trial balance, the Trial Balances could be too large.

To record the opening balances for the subsidiary ledgers (Debtors and Creditors Control), it is recommended that you create the following Sundry Debtors and Creditors accounts to enter the opening balances for your control accounts -

• Debtors Opening Balances D0O-PEN
  
  
• Creditors Opening Balances C1O-PEN

To create the Debtors and the Creditors opening balance accounts, you may click on any of the above links.

When you take on the opening balances from your Trial Balance, you will create a debit balance for the total of your individual Debtor balances and a credit balance for your individual Creditor balances in the Opening Balances accounts for your Debtors. TurboCASH will automatically update the Debtors Control and the Creditors Control Accounts with the totals.

B - Obtain your closing balances of your Debtors Ledger and Creditors Ledger of the previous financial year or accounting period from your previous accounting system.

The total of your debtors and creditors list balances must be the same as the Control Account figures for your Debtors and Creditors Control Account.