SAGE Opening Balance Help Needed please !!

Higs

Hi
I am trying to set up a business on Sage Instant accounts but am getting my knickers in a twist putting on the opening balances.
When I put bank account o/b (using the o/b tab) it automatically posts the opposite entry to the suspense account. surely this cant be right - by the time Ive put on all my o/bs Im left with a massive figure in the suspense account - why???
Any help or advice on o/bs would be greatly appreciated as Im about to chuck my pc out the window:mad:

peugeot

Have you posted trade debtors and trade creditors via the opening balances tab as well?

You are right to enter the opening balances as you have done via the opening balances tab and the corresponding debit/credit entry will go to suspense. However, the balance in suspense after you have entered your opening trial balance should be the difference between the opening trade debtors and opening trade creditors.

You then have to go to customers and suppliers and set them up also. Then go into the opening balances tab in the customer/supplier account and enter these balances.

Then do a journal to credit trade debtors, debit trade creditors and debit/credit the balance in suspense which should clear you suspense account balance.

Kind regards
Steve

claudialowe

Have you got your opening P&L figure in there?

Go through and check you have included every item on the balance sheet, and it should balance!

Claudia

brucemac

Hello Higs,

You dont say if the company is on standard or vat cash accounting however,

In sage every posting you have has a double entry and when you enter the customers and suppliers opening balances this automatically goes to the debtors and creditors control and suspense account.

In order to clear this balance on suspense before entering the full opening trial balance you have to post a journal to reverse the effects of the sales and purchase and supense accounts from updating otherwise when entering your tb these accounts double up.

You need to find the balance on the debtors and creditors control and post the opposite entry normally these would be cr debtors control and dr creditors control and the difference between the two would go to suspense to make it balance.

whiterose

Just to clarify - when you first set up on Sage, you enter all the nominal opening balances by posting a journal of your whole TB brought forward, dated last day of the previous accounting period, eg 31/3. This includes entering the Debtors control and Creditors control nominal balances. You then enter all your customer and supplier opening balances in each individual record, through the OB button within the record, also 31/3. In order to avoid doubling the entries, and to clear the suspense account, you post a journal CR debtors, DR creditors and DR suspense. That clears them all down. You will be warned that this journal will not be reflected in the sales/purchase ledger - and on this one occasion only, that's OK. Normally you should not journal to the control accounts but make entries on the individual suppliers/customers.

lv9783

what happens when cash accounting, ive entered the opening balance as individual transactions, but the sales and purchases goes to the suspense account.

I then entered the trial balance figures and to overvoid entering the opening balances for debtors control account and creditors control account twice, I allocated it against the suspense account, but now im left with the the difference between purchase tax and sales tax.

I think I may have to Journal this out but what accounts do I debit and credit? Or will this happen when I run the VAT return?