Vendor Opening Balances
Migrate AP balances from a prior system. One document per vendor. Posted to AP from day one.
When you migrate from another accounting system, you carry outstanding vendor balances with you. Vendor opening balances let you record what you owed each vendor at the migration date — without creating historical bills or re-entering years of transactions. Each opening balance is a document that posts the AP entry, linked to the vendor, so it appears in the vendor's Payable figure, statement and the Payables Aging report from day one.
Navigate to Vendor Opening Balances
Path: Finance → Opening Balances → Vendor tab
The page is a document list with a Customer tab and a Vendor tab. Each row is one Opening Balance document. Click New to create one.
Entering Opening Balances
Your opening balance date is the last day of your prior system's last period — typically the day before you went live on Trabalance. Example: if you went live on 1 April 2026, your opening date is 31 March 2026. Date every opening balance document on this day.
Export the outstanding vendor list from your old system as of the migration date. This is your source document. The balance for each vendor must match what your old system shows.
Finance → Opening Balances → Vendor → New. Select the Vendor and set the Date. Add one line with the amount owed (a positive number — what you owe them). A Subject such as "Opening balance at 31 Mar 2026" helps later.
Save posts the document immediately. Repeat for every vendor with an outstanding balance; vendors with nothing outstanding need no document.
Journal Created Per Vendor
For each vendor opening balance saved, the system posts:
| Account | Debit | Credit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance Equity | 12,500.00 | — | The migration balancing account absorbs the entry on the equity side |
| Accounts Payable | — | 12,500.00 | AP balance created for this vendor. Linked to the vendor record for the statement, Payable figure and aging. |
The vendor linkage on the AP credit is what makes the balance visible on the vendor's page. Because the balance is entered as a document that names the vendor, the link is automatic. A negative amount (the vendor owes you) posts the reverse: DR Accounts Payable, CR Opening Balance Equity.
Opening Balance Equity
Opening Balance Equity is a system account used only during migration. It is the temporary counterpart for all opening balance entries — not just vendors, but also customers, assets, and liabilities.
| Opening Balance Type | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor (AP) opening balance | Opening Balance Equity | Accounts Payable |
| Customer (AR) opening balance | Accounts Receivable | Opening Balance Equity |
| Asset opening balance (e.g. equipment) | Fixed Asset Account | Opening Balance Equity |
| Liability opening balance (e.g. bank loan) | Opening Balance Equity | Loan Payable |
| Bank account opening balance | Bank Account | Opening Balance Equity |
When all opening balances across all accounts are entered correctly, the Opening Balance Equity account nets to zero. A non-zero balance after all entries are posted means some balances were omitted or entered incorrectly.
The Opening Balance Equity account should be zero (or close to zero) after all migration entries. If it is not, your books are out of balance from day one. Review what was entered: are all asset balances covered? All liability balances? All AP and AR? Opening Balance Equity is the diagnostic — a non-zero balance tells you something was missed or entered wrong.
Vendor Opening Balance vs Historical Bills
You have two choices when migrating vendor balances:
| Approach | What You Enter | Level of Detail | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance (summary) | One document per vendor with the total owed at the migration date | Vendor-level — one line in AP per vendor | When you only need the total balance, not individual bill detail. Faster migration. |
| Historical Bills (detailed) | Each outstanding bill individually, with original bill dates and amounts | Bill-level — each bill visible in the statement and aging | When you need to track exactly which invoices are outstanding — for bill-level aging and matching individual payments to individual bills. |
For most migrations, the opening balance approach is sufficient. Use the historical bills approach only if your business requires bill-level AP aging from day one.
If you use the historical bills approach, save the individual bills dated in the prior period — before your go-live date. The aging report measures age from the bill date, so each one lands in the right bucket automatically.
Verifying Opening Balances
After saving all vendor opening balances:
- Go to Reporting → Trial Balance as at the opening balance date
- The Accounts Payable total should equal the sum of all vendor opening balances entered
- The Opening Balance Equity balance should equal (or near-equal) zero once every account type has been entered
- Open each major vendor → View statement → confirm the opening balance amount
If AP in the Trial Balance does not match the sum of your vendor opening balances, a document was saved with the wrong amount or the wrong vendor — find it in Finance → Opening Balances → Vendor.
Related
- The record the balance attaches to: Creating a vendor.
- Checking the result: Vendor detail & aging.
- Settling an opening balance: Matching a payment to bills.
- The wider migration: Opening balances.