CenterPoint^® Accounting - Enter Beginning Balances

Related Help

After a database is established in CenterPoint with vendors, customers, accounts, etc. you must enter beginning balances so the program can provide accurate financial reporting. Follow the steps below to enter those beginning balances.

Balance Sheet Accounts

Beginning Balance Sales Item

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Inventory

Fixed Assets

Accumulated Depreciation

Starting CenterPoint Mid-Year

Prerequisite: The database must be created (normally this is done using the New Database Wizard) and all setup (customers, vendors, fixed assets, accounts, etc) must be complete.

Balance Sheet Accounts

For all balance sheet accounts (EXCEPT Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, and Fixed Assets) beginning balances are entered through Setup > Accounts > Accounts > Balances tab.

Select Setup > Accounts > Accounts, and then select the Balances tab.
Beginning balances are entered in a spreadsheet type format. On the upper-left hand side of the screen, select the appropriate Company/Fund.
On the upper-right hand side of the screen, click the Beginning Period button. All beginning balances must be entered in the beginning period of the database.
Select Assets and right-click. Select Expand All to view all individual items. You can also expand to view individual items by clicking the plus sign.
Click the Options button and verify that Book Value is selected.
Enter the beginning balance in the Book Value column. If the Market Value is the same as the Book Value, leave it blank. Click Save after completing all of your book values for your asset items. If you need to adjust Market Values, click the Options button at the bottom of the screen and select Market Values and then enter in all of the adjusted market values and click Save.
Complete steps 3-4 again for Liability and Equity accounts.

Note: Do NOT enter beginning balances for Retained Earnings as the system will automatically create it based on the beginning balances entered for other accounts.

Optional: Preview or print a Balance Sheet (Reports > Reports > Financial Statements > Balance Sheet) to review that balances were entered correctly.

Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Inventory

Beginning balances for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Inventory will be entered as transactions. Entries should have a date prior to the beginning date of your database.

Prerequisite

To enter invoices for beginning balances, it will be necessary to setup a Beginning Balance sales item and the beginning balances need to be entered to the Beginning Balance sales item. Please see the steps below.

Setup Beginning Balance Sales Item

Select Setup > Sales > Items.
Click New.
In the Abbreviation box, enter an abbreviation that will help you easily identify the Beginning Balance sales item. For example, BegBal.
In the Name box, enter a name for the Beginning Balance sales item. For example, Beginning Balance.
Leave the Type box as a Non-Tracked Item.
In the Sales Group and Sales Tax Category boxes, select General.
Click the Accounts tab and enter your Retained Earning Account in the Sales, Returns & Allowances and Expense account boxes.
Click Save.
Click Close.

Accounts Payable

Beginning balances for Accounts Payable will be entered from Processes > Purchases > Vendor Invoices (A/P).
Create an invoice using the Beginning Balance sales item for each vendor that is currently unpaid. The date on the transaction should be prior to the beginning date of your database.

To ensure accurate cash and accrual reports, the Beginning Balance sales item should be used in the detail of the transaction. As these entries are being entered prior to your beginning date of your database, the Beginning Balance sales item won't be affected in your actual books. The same Beginning Balance sales item can be used when entering each vendor's beginning balance invoice. Cash reports will use the information in the period the Accounts Payable is paid.

Note: For more accurate aging of accounts payable vendor invoices, enter a separate transaction for each unpaid invoice with the original invoice date, invoice number, and dollar amount.

Optional: Print or preview a Vendor Aging Report (Reports > Reports > Transaction Reports > Purchases & Accounts Payable > Vendor Aging) to verify that all invoices were entered correctly.

Accounts Receivable

Beginning balances for Accounts Receivable will be entered from Processes > Sales > Customer Invoices.
Create an invoice for each customer using the Beginning Balance sales item that currently owes you for previous sales. The date of the transaction should be prior to the beginning period of your database.

The Beginning Balance sales item should be used in the detail of the transaction. Cash reports will use the information in the period the Accounts Receivable is received.

Note: If you would like these beginning balances to reflect accurately on your aging report, all unpaid invoices should be entered as individual invoices with their original invoice number, invoice date, and dollar amount. This is crucial if you are going to be calculating finance charges on unpaid invoices.

Optional: Print or preview an Invoice Aging report (Reports > Reports > Transaction Reports > Sales & Accounts Receivable > Accounts Receivable Aging) to verify that all customer invoices were entered correctly.

Inventory

If you purchased and installed the Inventory module, see the Entering Beginning Balances for Inventory document in the Help on our website at www.redwingsoftware.com select Menu > Accounting Software - CenterPoint Accounting > Help. In the Search bar, enter Enter Beginning Balances for Inventory, click , and then select the document o display detailed instructions.

Enter Beginning Balances for Fixed Assets

If depreciable assets are being tracked, their beginning balances are added from Setup > Fixed Assets > Fixed Assets. The individual fixed assets do not display on a balance sheet. They are summarized by the general ledger accounts associated to the fixed assets.Before adding fixed assets, select Setup > Accounts > Accounts to add the summary accounts. For example add Level 1 accounts under Assets > Machinery & Equipment account category for each summary account you would want displayed on the balance sheet. Examples are Trucks, Tractors, Planting Equipment, Harvest Equipment, Tillage Equipment, Office Equipment, etc. All summary accounts should have the same account level.

Beginning balances for Fixed Assets will be entered from the Setup > Fixed Asset > Balances tab screen.
On the upper-left hand side of the screen, select the appropriate company/fund. Click Beginning Period.
Right-click on Assets and select Expand All to view all individual Fixed Assets.
Click the Options button and verify that Book Value is selected.
Enter the beginning balance in the Book Value column (this should be the value that they went on the depreciation schedule at). If the Market Value is the same as the Book Value, leave it blank. When you save the book value, it will be copied to the Market Value column if the market value is blank. Market values can be adjusted after all book values are entered and saved.
Click Save after completing the book values for the fixed asset items.
If you need to enter Market Values (the value at which the asset can be sold today), click the Options button at the bottom of the screen and select Market Values, enter the market value for each of the assets that you just completed book value for, and then click Save.

Enter Beginning Balances for Accumulated Depreciation (usually entered from a depreciation schedule)

Select Setup > Accounts > Accounts.
Select the Balances tab.
On the upper-left hand side of the screen, select the appropriate company/fund. Click Beginning Period.

Right-click on Assets and select Expand All Child Groups Under Assets.
Select the appropriate Accumulated Depreciation account that you want to enter the balance for, and then click the Detail Balances button at the bottom of the screen.
When maintaining fixed assets in CenterPoint, it is best to enter your beginning accumulated depreciation values by fixed asset so that a Fixed Asset Balances report can accurately report the remaining undepreciated value of an asset. In the grid that displays after you click the Detail Balances button, select each fixed asset in the Associated Account field and enter the beginning accumulated depreciation of that asset in the Book Value column using a negative number. Each fixed asset should have its own row in the grid.
Click Save.

Starting CenterPoint Mid-Year

If CenterPoint is started mid-year, then you should also enter balances to record current year year-to-date income and expenses. These balances are entered as a General Journal entry. To make current year reporting more accurate, a separate entry can be entered for each month instead of one year-to-date entry.

Select Processes > General Journal Entries,
Select the appropriate Company/Fund.
The Date entered will depend on if you are entering one year-to-date entry or an entry for each period in the current year. If one year-to-date entry is being used, then the date should be the month you are starting with CenterPoint. Otherwise, the date will be the month the balances are for.
In the Transaction Type box, select General Journal (Cash/Accrual).
In the grid below, enter a separate line for each Income and Expense account that currently has a balance. Enter the balance amount in the appropriate Debit or Credit column.

Note: An income account with a positive balance should be entered in the credit column. An expense account with a positive balance should be entered in the Debit column.

After all income and expense accounts with balances are included in the grid, enter one last line using the Retained Earnings account. The amount entered should represent the same amount that you see in the Difference field at the bottom of the screen. If the Difference is a positive amount, it should be entered in the Debit column. A negative Difference should be entered in the Credit column.
In the Notation field, enter an appropriate comment explaining that these are year-to-date income and expense balances.
Click Save
Optional: Print or preview an Income Statement report (Reports > Reports > Transaction Reports > Financial Statements > Income Statement) to verify that all Income and Expenses were entered correctly.

Document: 3007

CenterPoint® Accounting - Enter Beginning Balances