Enter opening balances

Opening balances are what your books hold on the day you start using WbizManager: money in the bank, what customers owe you, what you owe vendors, stock on hand and fixed assets. You enter them once, check that debits equal credits, and post them.

Steps

1. Open Settings › Opening Balance

   In the menu on the left, select Settings, then Opening Balance. The list shows each draft with its Opening Date, Status (Draft or Posted), Prepared By, Total Debit and Total Credit.

   Select New Draft to start, or the pencil to carry on with a draft.

   

   1. Opening Balance in the Settings menu.
   2. New Draft.
   3. Status: Draft until it's posted.
   4. The pencil opens a draft. Posted ones open read-only.
2. Set the opening date

   At the top of Opening Balance Setup, pick the Date your balances are at, for example the last day before you start, and select Apply. You can't enter account balances until the date is set.

   Select Save Draft at any time to keep your work. The time it was last saved shows at the top right.

   

   1. Date and Apply.
   2. Save Draft.
   3. The tabs: one for each kind of balance, then Review and Post.
   4. Bulk Upload and Add Account.
   5. A Control account. Its balance comes from another tab.
   6. Type the balance in Debit or Credit.
3. Enter account balances

   On Account Entry, accounts are grouped by type (Asset, Liability, Equity, Income, Expense). For each account with a balance, type the amount in Debit or Credit. Assets usually have a debit balance and liabilities and equity a credit balance.

   Accounts marked Control (receivables, payables, inventory, fixed assets) can't be typed into. Their balance is the total of the Customers, Vendors, Stock or Fixed Assets tab. Select the arrow on the row to go to that tab.

   Add Account adds an account that isn't listed. Bulk Upload loads balances from a spreadsheet with the columns Date, Account Code, Account Name, Account Type, Debit/Credit, Currency Code, Amount and Exchange Rate.

4. Enter customer and vendor balances

   • Customers: select Add Customer Row, choose the Customer and type what they owe in Debit. Each row creates an opening invoice dated on the opening date and posts a debit to Accounts Receivable.
   • Vendors: select Add Vendor Row, choose the Vendor and type what you owe in Credit. Each row creates an opening vendor bill and posts a credit to Accounts Payable.

   Select Save on each tab when you're done.

5. Enter stock and fixed assets

   • Stock: select Add Stock Row. Choose the Item Type and item, then the Location, Qty and Unit Cost. You can add a batch, dates and serial numbers. The tab shows which inventory account the stock Posts to.
   • Fixed Assets: select Add Asset Row. Fill in the Asset Category, Asset Name, Asset Code, Cost, Accum. Dep. (depreciation so far), Scrap Value, Life (Months), Effective Date and Purchase Date. The Net Book Value works itself out. Each asset becomes a fixed asset record.

   Select Save on each tab.

6. Review and post

   Open Review and Post. It shows Total Debits, Total Credits and the Balance Status, the subledger totals, and every account with its balance.

   

   1. Total Debits, Total Credits and Balance Status. Here it is Not Balanced, with the difference.
   2. Subledger Totals: customers, vendors, stock and fixed assets.
   3. An account and its balance. The arrow opens the details.
   4. Post Entries works only when the totals balance.

   When the status shows Balanced, select Post Entries. WbizManager checks every entry first and lists anything that needs fixing. Confirm to post.

   If an approval workflow applies, you'll see Opening balance submitted for approval. It will be posted once approved. An approver finds it under Accounting approvals.

If something goes wrong

Message	What to do
Please select an opening date	Pick a Date and select Apply.
Please save this draft first	Select Save Draft, then post again.
Total debits (…) do not equal total credits (…).	Correct the balances until Balance Status shows Balanced.
An opening balance has already been posted for this organisation. Only one posted opening balance is allowed.	Enter any later balances as a journal entry instead.
Posting is blocked for the opening date by the fiscal period status. / No configured fiscal period for posting date.	Create the fiscal year that holds the opening date, or reopen its period.
Default Accounts Receivable account must be configured in account settings to post customer opening balances.	Set the receivable account in default accounts. The payable and inventory accounts work the same way.
Base currency is not configured for this organisation.	Set the base currency in currencies.
The asset category for '…' has no asset account configured.	Give the category its accounts in fixed asset setup.
This opening balance is already awaiting approval.	Wait for the approver's decision.

What happens next

Once posted, the balances show in your reports and in each account's history. From here on, record changes with journal entries, invoices and bills.