Editing the amount of Owners funds introduced
HI hanlea
That error message indicates that you are trying to delete the account completely. You don't want to delete the account, only edit it. You can change the opening balance amount two ways:
Accounting>>Chart of Accounts>>click on the account name>>overtype the amount in the Opening balance field and click on Save (in my file the account is called Owner's Contributions):
Or go to Accounting>>Chart of Accounts>>click on Edit accounts:
Then enter the amount in the Opening balance field and click on Save:
When entering or adjusting opening balances you need to make sure your debits and credits balance or the software will automatically post the out of balance amount to the historical balancing account. In the Edit accounts window the Remaining balance amount should be $0.00. This post explains opening balances in detail: Entering opening balances
Generally speaking, Owner's Contributions or Introduced Funds would be money that you have actually transferred from your personal bank account to the business bank account. So you wouldn't enter an opening balance amount for that account. You would record a Receive money transaction for the amount transferred and allocate it to the Owner's Contribution account. You can then match those transactions to reconcile your bank account.
If you are paying bills from your personal account on behalf of the business, the business owes you money so this wouldn't be Owner's Contributions it would be a liability account. Typically you would create a Director loan liability account with the Account Type as Credit Card:
When you pay a bill or make a purchase from your personal account, record either a Spend Money or Pay Bill transaction in your software and change the Bank account to the Director loan account. This allows you to accurately track the purchases paid for out of your personal account and the money owed to you by the business. It also accurately reflects the money owed (a liability) by the business.
If the business reimburses you, enter a Spend Money transaction with the Bank account as the business bank account and allocated to the Director loan account.
A good tip for bookkeeping is that what you record in your software should reflect what happened in real life. For example, if you have entered Spend Money transactions for business expenses, was the money actually withdrawn from the account selected in the Bank Account field? Looking at it from that perspective can help you work out what you need to record. I would recommend finding an accountant or bookkeeper to assist with the set up of your file, you can have a look on our website for advisors and also for our free online courses which may help.
Please let me know how you go.
Cheers
Tracey
