Setting up opening fund balances

This article covers how to set up your opening fund balances within ExpensePlus.

Before setting up your opening fund balances, you will need to add all of your funds within the Fund Settings screen.

If you are not yet ready to set up your opening balances, you can come back to this later.

You can still use nearly all the features of ExpensePlus before this is done.

If you are still awaiting your exact figures, you can use provisional figures and update these at a later date.

Note: If you are currently trialling ExpensePlus ahead of your new financial year when you plan to begin using it, then you should wait to set up your opening fund balances.

Please send us a message using the yellow 'Send us a message' button above and we will reset your system start date to be the start of your new financial year.

Where do I set up opening fund balances?

When you are ready to set up opening fund balances, within the Fund Settings screen, click the 'Opening Balances' button.

 ExpensePlus opening balances screen with opening balances button circled

This will take you to the Opening Balances Setup screen, which will guide you through the setup process.

1. Checking your opening accounting basis

Your accounting basis was set when you first logged in to ExpensePlus.

You should check that it matches the accounting basis of your prior year accounts.

If it is incorrect, you can edit it.

ExpensePlus Opening Balances setup screen with black box around where the current accounting basis is shown

If your accounting basis is not stated, click the 'Set Accounting Basis' button at the top of the Opening Balances Setup screen:

ExpensePlus opening balances screen showing if you still need to set your accounting basis

This will take you to the Organisation Settings screen where you can check (or change) your accounting basis for ExpensePlus. Click on the edit button to the right, check the selected accounting basis is correct and then click submit in the popup that appears.

ExpensePlus organisation settings screen with a black box around the accounting basis and edit button in the top right corner

Find out more here: Choosing your Accounting Basis when setting up ExpensePlus

2a. Setting cash balances (receipts & payments accounts)

If you selected your accounting basis as 'Receipts & Payments', you will then need to 'Set Cash Assets' for each of your funds:

ExpensePlus Opening Balances setup screen with black box around cash assets button

Enter the information from your prior year's accounts. The amounts in the cash line and the total line for each column should match as represented by the coloured boxes in the image.

ExpensePlus cash assets screen for receipts and payments with fund type totals highlighted

Note: If any of the funds you have set up are not showing on this screen, then you should go to the Fund Settings Screen, click on the fund in question, and set the answer to the question 'Did this Fund exist before you used ExpensePlus?' to 'Yes' as in the image below.

Popup of fund details

2b. Setting balance sheet information (accruals-based accounts)

If you selected your accounting basis as 'Accruals' you will then need to 'Set Balance Sheet Information':

ExpensePlus Opening Balances setup screen with black box around the box to set balance sheet information

ExpensePlus balance sheet information for accruals with fund type totals highlighted

Once done, the totals in the top table should match the totals in the bottom table for each fund type.

What has been entered should match your prior year accounts.

When you click 'Save Progress' you will be returned to the Opening Balance Setup Screen.

Note: If any of the funds you have set up are not showing on this screen, then you should go to the Fund Settings Screen, click on the fund in question, and set the answer to the question 'Did this Fund exist before you used ExpensePlus?' to 'Yes' as in the image below.

Popup of fund details

3. Setting allocation breakdown (accruals-based accounts only)

Once you have completed the setup of your Opening Balance Sheet Information, you will need to allocate the assets and liabilities on your balance sheet to your funds.

Opening balances setup screen with arrow pointing to allocation breakdown section


Cash Mismatch

If the total opening balances of all your bank and petty cash accounts do not match the total cash that was stated on your balance sheet, this additional section will appear at the bottom of the Opening Balance Setup screen.

See more information about opening cash mismatches.

Cash mismatch warning

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