Introduction
This article shows how to enter beginning balances into Breeze. It assumes a basic knowledge of accounting and some familiarity with transactions in Breeze.
Because each property is a separate accounting entity, you need to perform this procedure for each property.
This procedure is somewhat generic.
Enter outstanding A/R
Unpaid charges should be entered as charges. On the Tenant screen, click the Add Charge button.
The Add Charge screen appears. Complete it and click Save.
If tenants have any prepaid amounts on their accounts, enter receipts.
Example Receipt:
Enter outstanding checks
Enter any outstanding checks--checks that were written in your old system but never cleared the bank. Create a payable, and then pay it.
Example Payable:
After you save it, click Pay Now and pay it using a manual check so that you can record the correct check number and date.
Reset books to zero
After everything is input, you need to create a reversing journal entry to bring the books back to zero (0). This makes entering the opening cash balance at the bank easier.
Run a trial balance (Reporting > Financial Reports > Trial Balance) for the period you used for setup transactions.
The journal entry you create needs to bring all of these accounts back to zero (0).
If the account has a credit balance you will debit it for the full balance of the account.
If the account has a debit balance you will credit it for the full balance of the account.
The journal entry that would reverse the above trial balance to zero (0) would look like this:
After saving the journal entry, run the trial balance report again. All accounts should have a balance of zero (0).
Note: The instructions provided above are based on the assumption you are using a trial balance from your previous accounting system to create your beginning balance journal entry. If you are using your bank statement balance, you should not reset the accounts to zero after entering outstanding checks. Instead, you should use the following sequence:
a. Enter outstanding A/R.
b. Reset your accounts to zero.
c. Enter outstanding checks.
Enter opening balances
Use a journal entry to input the opening balances from your old system. This entry will look different for everybody. It typically includes items such as the cash balance in your various bank accounts, tenant deposits on file, owner contributions, and income or expenses to date. If you are not sure how to prepare this entry, you should speak with an accountant. Then, follow the instructions to create a journal entry in Breeze to post the numbers to the correct accounts.
Here's an example:
In this case, the cash balance is a contribution from the owner and tenant deposits.
The other side of the JE should designate what the money in the Cash account is, for example, tenant deposits, a lump sum from the owner, etc.