Considerations for converting balances and/or summary activity
Entering beginning balances can be a very nuanced endeavor.
Gathering Information
You will need to enter Beginning Balances for your asset, liability, net asset, and dedicated accounts.
NOTE: Using the Process → Other Processes → Beginning balances do not allow entry of income and expense accounts.
We recommend you take the Statement of Financial Position (i.e., Balance Sheet) as of the last day of your previous fiscal year from your previous application and use this as your base when entering beginning balances.
The timing of your conversion and other factors affect how you enter start-up data. In the examples below, we will use the calendar year as the fiscal year.
You can convert at the beginning of a fiscal year, during the year, or run parallel systems. If you convert during the year, you have to decide whether you want to have comparison totals in the new software for the months prior to your conversion or if you want to start in the new software where you left off in your old system. Running parallel systems requires entering every single transaction (checks, deposits and journal entries) in both systems.
In the following examples, two methods are used to enter information prior to going live:
- Beginning Balance Entry: this feature is used to enter A,L,D, and N type accounts beginning balances, as of the first day of the fiscal year.
- Journal Entries: Either enter your starting trial balance in a single journal entry, and/or enter the month-to-date (MTD) account totals. Enter the MTD totals if you want comparison data.
The chart below summarizes the four examples described in this article:
Example 1
Converting at the beginning of the fiscal year
Step 1: Enter the December 31 balances using Process→Beginning Balances. You can get the balances you need to enter by running a Statement of Financial Position from your old system.
Step 2: Stop using your old system and begin using ParishSOFT to record all transactions.
Example 2
Converting April 1 and do not need Jan-Mar monthly totals for comparison data
Step 1: Using a journal entry, enter the March 31 Trial Balance from your old system.
Step 2: Begin using ParishSOFT to record all transactions beginning with April.
Example 3
Converting April 1 and need Jan-Mar monthly totals for comparison data
Step 1: Enter the beginning balance using the ending balance from your prior accounting system. If you have checks that need to be voided in your previous system you should do that prior to running your reports from your prior system.
Enter outstanding checks and deposits as pseudo transactions.
Step 2: Entering Summary Data: From your old system, run trial balance or another report that would show the MTD activity for January, for February, and for March. Enter each month's net change with a journal entry.
Because you are entering summary data you will need to back out any outstanding checks or deposits and enter them in as live transactions. This will allow you to reconcile your bank account.
Step 3: Continue entering summary data as shown in step 2 until you get to the month you are entering live data. In this example, you will enter summary data for January, February, and March. Live data will begin in April.
Example 4
Run parallel systems: this means you have to enter transactions in both your old system and ParishSOFT. You would compare the two systems to make sure your records are accurate.
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