Hi all. Does anyone know how to add an entry for the initial balance to the bank ledger so that the bank ledger balances with the general ledger? I have a beginning balance entry that shows up in the chart of accounts but does not appear in the bank ledger. Using bank reconciliation with a “difference”-type entry does not work because this does not post to the bank ledger. “Bank ledger entry”-type does not post because there is nothing to apply it against. Thanks in advance. Peter
Hi Peter I am presuming to start with it is just a balance brought forward, so enter a General Journal for the amount with the account type set to Bank Account, which via the bank account posting groups will debit the relevant ledger bank account, and then the other side of the transaction, the balancing account type should be set to G/L Account and the account selected should be that which is posted to by the debit entry. This gives a net result of zero, but whilst the general journal from the trial balance gives us the balance of the account, this transaction pushes the entry through into the actual bank account sub ledger. The situation is a little more difficult if you are using the bank reconciliation function. For example The balance of £23,499.21 may have gone through the company’s books but the last bank statement may only show a closing balance of £18,164.37, meaning either a single receipt or many debits and credits make up the missing balance of £5,334.84. To handle this situation we would need to split the general journal into a reconciled balance and then enter the other un-reconciled entries individually. You will need the last bank reconciliation for each bank account to do this. You will also need to manage the statement numbers and reconcile off the £18,164.37 to the last statement number so that when the next reconciliation process is run it will only show the open entries. This process will have to be run for each individual bank account. If you have currency bank accounts the balance on the account will be in the relevant currency, but the value on the books will be in sterling, determined by a variety of transactions at different currency rates. In these instances an opening rate would be determined, but you would need to be aware of the exchange rates to ensure other entries are not put into the system at this defined rate. Alternatively the currency code could be brought forward onto the journal line, and the assist button used in the field to determine the rate for the individual entry. I hope this helps. [:D]
Steven, Thanks. That worked like a charm.