Opening Balances

Set your starting account balances when beginning with Rebased. Essential for accurate financial reporting and bank reconciliation.

If you are moving from another accounting system, use the Migration specialist rather than entering migration balances by hand. See How Migration Works.

Overview

Opening balances are the starting point for your accounts in Rebased. They represent the value of your assets, liabilities, and equity at the moment you begin using the platform.

Who needs opening balances:

Businesses migrating from another system
Businesses that have been trading before using Rebased
Any business with existing assets, liabilities, or equity

Who can skip this:

Brand new businesses starting from zero
If you applied the Fresh Start template and have no prior activity

When to Set Opening Balances

Fresh Start Path

After applying the template:

Go to Settings → Accounting → Opening Balances
Enter balances for accounts that have value
Leave zero-balance accounts empty

Migration Path

Opening balances are prepared from your Trial Balance and applied only after Rebased proves the position and you approve the exact migration in Intelligence:

Provisional opening position — proven against the available evidence while named source-finalisation items remain; Rebased may issue a Provisional Migration Certificate and you may go live
Final opening position — supported by final source books and the later updated reports; Rebased issues a Final Migration Certificate. If you already went live on a Provisional Migration Certificate, the first drop of those reports is held for comparison only and does not change your books unless you approve a ledger adjustment.

See How Migration Works for what each Migration Certificate means.

Do not also enter those balances manually, because that can duplicate the opening position. After go-live, Settings → Accounting → Opening Balances is for inspection — the conversion journal and lock date are already set. If something looks wrong, tell the Migration specialist what you expected; it will inspect the evidence and explain the safe correction.

If your cutover date is still in the future, early chart-of-accounts setup prepares accounts only. Openings stay empty until the cutover export is proven and you approve it.

Understanding Opening Balances

What Are Opening Balances?

They represent your financial position at a specific date:

Account Type	Example Opening Balances
Assets	Bank accounts, equipment, inventory, amounts customers owe you
Liabilities	Loans, amounts you owe suppliers, tax owing
Equity	Owner investment, retained earnings from prior periods

The Accounting Equation

Opening balances must satisfy:


Assets = Liabilities + Equity

Or in journal entry terms:


Total Debits = Total Credits

Rebased validates this balance automatically.

Conversion Date

Your opening balances are as at the day before your conversion date:

For Fresh Start: Usually business start date or today
For Migration: The final position immediately before your cutover date (the first Rebased-owned ledger day)

All transactions before this date are represented by these balances.

If your conversion date is in the past, bring transactions from that date into Rebased and reconcile forward. If you have payroll already processed by an old provider after that date, treat those bank payments as external payroll accounting rather than creating Rebased pay runs for them. See Migration Best Practice.

Setting Opening Balances

The steps below are for a Fresh Start business that has existing balances but is not importing from another accounting system. Migration users should provide these records to the Migration specialist instead.

Step 1: Gather Information

From your previous system or records:

Bank statements (current balances)
Loan statements (outstanding amounts)
Asset register (equipment, vehicles value)
Customer list (amounts outstanding)
Supplier list (amounts owing)
Equity/owner investment records

Step 2: Navigate to Opening Balances

Go to: Settings → Accounting → Opening Balances

You’ll see a table with:

Account code and name
Account type
Current opening balance field (editable)
Running total of debits and credits

Step 3: Enter Balances

For each account with a non-zero balance:

Find the account in the list
Enter the balance amount
Use positive for normal balance direction:
- Assets: Positive = Debit balance
- Liabilities: Positive = Credit balance
- Equity: Positive = Credit balance
- Revenue: Positive = Credit balance
- Expenses: Positive = Debit balance

Example entries:

Account	Type	Opening Balance
Business Bank Account	Asset	$15,000
Accounts Receivable	Asset	$8,500
Equipment	Asset	$25,000
Accounts Payable	Liability	$4,200
Bank Loan	Liability	$20,000
GST Collected	Liability	$1,800
GST Paid	Asset	$650
Owner Capital	Equity	$23,150

Step 4: Balance Validation

Rebased automatically checks:


Total Debits = Total Credits

If balanced: ✅ You can save

If not balanced: ❌ Review and correct

Common causes of imbalance:

Missing accounts
Transposed numbers
Wrong sign (debit vs credit)
Math errors

Step 5: Save

Once balanced, click Save Opening Balances.

The balances are recorded and will appear in:

Balance Sheet
Trial Balance
General Ledger
Bank reconciliation starting point

Account-Specific Guidance

Bank Accounts

Enter: Current bank balance as of conversion date

Verification:

Check against bank statement
Include all bank accounts (checking, savings, term deposits)
Exclude pending transactions not yet cleared

Note: This becomes your starting point for bank reconciliation.

If your bank accounts were imported from a Trial Balance, set them up from the Bank page under Ready to Set Up (from Chart of Accounts). Choose Connect live feed or Use statement/manual import there. The opening balance remains on the imported Chart of Accounts bank account and Rebased links the Bank account to it.

Accounts Receivable

Enter: Total amount customers owe you

Verification:

Sum of outstanding invoices
Check Aged Receivables report from old system
Include partially paid invoices (balance only)

Link: AR opening balance should equal imported outstanding invoices (if migrating)

Accounts Payable

Enter: Total amount you owe suppliers

Verification:

Sum of unpaid bills
Check Aged Payables report from old system
Include partially paid bills (balance only)

GST/VAT Accounts

GST Collected (Liability):

GST you owe the tax authority
From prior period BAS/tax return
Net position if refund due

GST Paid (Asset):

GST you’re owed by tax authority
Input tax credits carried forward

Tip: These should reflect your last BAS position.

Fixed Assets

Enter: Current written-down value

Not original purchase price (unless newly bought)

Include accumulated depreciation already recorded in old system.

Example:

Equipment cost: $30,000
Accumulated depreciation: $5,000
Opening balance: $25,000

Loans and Liabilities

Enter: Outstanding principal amount

Exclude interest not yet accrued — this will be recorded as it occurs in Rebased.

Equity Accounts

Retained Earnings:

Profit/loss from prior years
From your old system’s balance sheet

Owner Capital/Drawings:

Money invested by owners
Less any drawings taken

Balancing Tips

Use Your Previous Balance Sheet

If migrating, your old system’s Balance Sheet as of the conversion date should match the proven opening position. Ask the Migration specialist to investigate any difference rather than changing imported balances by hand.

The “Plug” Account

If you’re slightly out of balance and can’t find the error:

Check for missing accounts
Verify all amounts
For a Fresh Start manual entry, ask your accountant whether a temporary suspense account is appropriate
For a migration, tell the specialist about the difference so the source can be checked before approval

Common Balancing Issues

Issue	Solution
Off by small amount	Check rounding, GST cents
Off by large amount	Missing account or transposed digits
Can’t balance	Ask the Migration specialist or your accountant to investigate the source
Assets don’t match	Check bank, AR, inventory
Liabilities don’t match	Check AP, loans, tax

After Setting Opening Balances

Verification

Check these reports:

Balance Sheet — Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Trial Balance — Debits = Credits
General Ledger — Individual accounts show opening balance

Bank Reconciliation

Your bank account opening balance becomes the starting point:

Go to Bank → Reconciliation
Opening balance should match bank statement at conversion date
Reconcile transactions from conversion date onwards

First Reports

Run these to verify setup:

Balance Sheet — Should reflect your position
Trial Balance — Should show all opening balances
Aged Receivables/Payables — Should match opening AR/AP

AU-Specific Notes

BAS Considerations

Opening GST balances should reflect your last lodged BAS:

GST Collected: Any GST still owing from prior BAS
GST Paid: Any input credits being carried forward

Timing tip: If possible, set the conversion date at the start of a BAS quarter for a cleaner GST position.

EOFY Transitions

Converting at financial year end (June 30):

Cleanest opening balance
Prior year closed in old system
Full year ahead in Rebased
Retained earnings clear

Converting mid-year:

Current year earnings still accumulating
Partial year data in both systems
YTD reports need to combine both

Tax Code Considerations

Ensure opening balance accounts have correct tax codes:

Bank accounts: N/A (no GST on cash)
Receivables/payables: N/A (GST already separated)
GST accounts: N/A (these ARE the GST)

Migration vs Fresh Start

Migration Path

Opening balances imported from Trial Balance:

All accounts and balances transferred
System creates opening balance journal
Rebased proves the position before asking you to approve it
Less manual entry needed

Fresh Start Path

You enter opening balances manually:

Only enter accounts with non-zero balances
Leave zero accounts empty
More control over setup
Takes longer if you have many accounts

Troubleshooting

”Out of Balance” error

Check:

Did you enter all relevant accounts?
Are debits and credits in correct direction?
Any transposed numbers?
Math errors in your source data?

Fix:

Review each entry
Check against source balance sheet
Use suspense account temporarily if needed