Entering a beginning trial balance for accrual basis

A trial balance is a listing of the balances for each account in your financial reports.

If the > Setup > Company > Beginning Balances > Trial Balance option is not available, make it available by clicking > Setup > Company > Preferences and clearing the Beginning Balances Complete check box.

To enter a beginning trial balance for accrual basis

  1. From the > Setup menu, click Company > Beginning Balances > Trial Balance.
  2. Multi-company only. Select a company.
  1. For the accounting basis, click either Accrual or Cash. If you want your entries to reflect both an accrual and cash accounting basis, click Accrual and enter your accounts and then click Cash and enter them again.
  2. Ajera enters the Balances As Of date from the Beginning Balances date you entered in company preferences. This date appears as the accounting date for each beginning balance entry.  
  3. Enter a reference number and description that helps you to identify the entry of the beginning balances.
  4. If you want to include more descriptive information, enter notes. For example, you may enter a comment such as: Still waiting for information from our CPA.
  5. You are now ready to enter amounts for all your accounts, as follows:
For Do this

Account

View only - An account from your chart of accounts

Department

View only - The department associated with the account

Type

View only - The type of account

Debit amount,
Credit amount

Depending on the normal balance of the account, you can enter either a credit or a debit. Type the amount for the account in the credit or debit field, as applicable. You can also enter it using the calculator.

Note:
  • You cannot enter a negative value for an account; however, if necessary, you can enter a credit to an account that normally contains a debit, or a debit to an account that normally contains a credit.
  • To enter a zero balance, leave both debit and credit blank.
Note:

As you enter your balances, the credit or debit amount that currently causes your balances to be out of balance appears at the bottom of the table. In Balance appears when the credits and debits are equal.

If you were not previously tracking work-in-progress (WIP) in your financials and you want to begin doing that in Ajera, debit your WIP asset account and credit your Unbilled Revenue account. WIP appears on the Balance Sheet. 

  1. Click Save.

If your entries are not in balance, a message appears asking if you want to save your changes. If you click Yes, you can finish entering your balances later.