Entering beginning balances can be a very nuanced endeavor.
If you did not have a comprehensive conversion from your previous application, you will need to enter Beginning Balances for your asset, liability, net asset, and dedicated accounts.
NOTE: Using the Process → Other Processes → Beginning balances does 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.
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.
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.
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.
Step 2: From your old system, run trial balance or other report that would show the MTD activity for January, for February, and for March. Enter each month's net change with a journal entry.
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.