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Accounts

Record opening balances

Accounts have no starting-balance field. Every balance in Estate Bookkeeper comes from transactions. To record what the estate held on the starting date, usually the date of death, enter one opening transaction for each asset and each debt against Opening Balance Equity. Every matter has this equity account from the day it is created.

Record an asset's opening value

  1. Open the matter and click the Transactions tab.
  2. In View transactions for, choose the asset account, for example Estate Checking.
  3. The Add Transaction row appears below the ledger. If you don't see it, click Add Transaction.
  4. Set the date to the starting date.
  5. Enter a description, for example Opening balance.
  6. Enter the value in the Deposit column.
  7. In the Account column, choose Opening Balance Equity.
  8. Press Enter or click the save icon.

The asset's balance goes up by that amount, and so does Opening Balance Equity.

Record a debt's opening value

  1. On the Transactions tab, choose the liability account in View transactions for, for example Mortgage.
  2. Set the date to the starting date and enter a description.
  3. Enter the amount owed in the Increase column.
  4. In the Account column, choose Opening Balance Equity.
  5. Save the row.

The liability now shows the amount owed, and Opening Balance Equity goes down by the same amount. Equity then equals assets minus liabilities, the estate's net value.

Check your work

  • Run the Inventory Report with its As of Date set to the starting date. It lists each asset and liability at its opening value, and Net Estate Value equals Total Assets minus Total Liabilities. See Run a report.
  • The totals at the top of the matter show Equity as assets minus liabilities.

Tips

  • Give opening balances the starting date, and don't date any other transaction earlier. Reports use the matter's earliest transaction date as their default start date, and the first entry on an account with no transactions defaults to that date too.
  • For property with no bank account, such as a house or a car, create an asset account for it and record its value the same way.
  • Activity after the starting date is recorded as ordinary transactions. See Enter a transaction.