I am first time user of Manger software, also a senior citizen.
I need to know how to add Starting Balance to my bank accounts.
To enter Starting balances for Income and Expenses account, I have created journal entries.
Where the accounts involved are Income, Expenses and Retained earnings.
Please note that the forum rules at FAQ - Manager Forum state:
- Read the Guides first. They explain many features and functions of Manager. They include helpful illustrations and examples. We are always adding new ones and updating existing ones as capabilities of the program improve.
- Search before you post. Chances are good you are not the first person with a similar question. If you cannot find what you need in the Guides, thousands of topics with tens of thousands of postings make it likely the answer to your question is already here on the Forum. Before starting a new topic, tap into our huge, crowdsourced knowledge base.
The answer to your question is here: https://www.manager.io/guides?bank-and-cash-accounts
Thank you for the assistances.
Would like to suggest that your “User Guides” be updated. Some of the links are not found;
Also, when writing User Guides, please assume that the user is not as familiar with the software as you are.
Thank you.
Note that except for @Lubos all Forum members are users like you and me. Some with more experience than others with Manager, Accounting or both. Please note that the guides clearly state (see also screenshot):
These guides are work in progress. You can visit our previous guides.
The older guides are far more comprehensive see https://www2.manager.io/guides, there is even a discussion why the new guides (search the forum) but it boils down to the guides becoming helpful while doing something in Manager (more interactive).
In addition note from the forum rules at FAQ - Manager Forum that:
Manager advances very quickly, simplifying and adding features and capabilities. Sometimes, bugs occur with new releases. But these are usually fixed rapidly, often within minutes. So if you encounter a problem with the desktop or server editions, update Manager, even if you recently did. (The cloud edition is always up to date.) You can check the latest version at https://www.manager.io/desktop/download/ .
Also pay attention to the age of Forum postings. We generally do not close topics that might be useful to someone. So be aware that responses to old questions might be out of date. Look for the most recent replies when searching the Forum.
So of importance here is that Manager seems to be developed using so called Agile software development as explained at for example https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-engineering-agile-software-development/
If you are used to more traditionally developed applications then you must consider if adopting Manager is agreeable to your way of working.
The method of entering starting balance has changes so unfortunately the old guides are no longer current and the new guides are not as helpful.
That leaves a forum search such as Search results for 'starting balance @lubos order:latest' - Manager Forum
However the answer to your question is, enter a starting balance to a bank account with a journal entry or receipt/payment dated prior to you using Manager.
This was already explained in my earlier post, see
We now have a new source of help using Manager Accounting: AI (the artificial intelligence craze sweeping the world). I find no single AI always provides the best answer. And the answer on one day can be different from the next day. As of 7:16 AM, July 16, 2024, here are the answers (in order from worst answer to best answer, in my opinion) to the question “Manager Accounting: How do you enter starting balances in cash accounts?”
Google’s Gemini (https://gemini.google.com/)
Entering starting balances in cash accounts depends on the specific accounting software you’re using. Here’s a general guideline and some resources for popular options:
General Steps:
- Gather Information: You’ll need your current cash account balance (checking, savings, etc.) as of a specific date. This date will be your starting point for tracking finances in the software.
- Locate Chart of Accounts: Find the section in your software for managing accounts. It’s often called the “Chart of Accounts.”
- Identify Cash Account: Locate the specific account for your cash (e.g., Checking, Savings).
- Enter Opening Balance: There might be a dedicated field for “Opening Balance” or “Starting Balance.” Enter the amount you gathered in step 1.
- Set Date: Select the date the balance reflects (usually the day before you start using the software).
Software-Specific Resources:
- QuickBooks Online: [QuickBooks enter opening balance ON intuit.com]
- QuickBooks offers automatic download of historical transactions from connected accounts, which can set the opening balance for you.
- You can also manually enter the balance in the Chart of Accounts.
- QuickBooks Desktop: [QuickBooks desktop opening balances ON intuit.com]
- Provides options for entering opening balances through the Chart of Accounts or using general journal entries.
Additional Tips:
- If unsure about any step, consult your software’s documentation or customer support.
- Consider consulting an accountant, especially for complex situations.
By following these steps and using the provided resources, you should be able to enter starting balances in your cash accounts effectively.
Microsoft’s Copilot (https://www.bing.com/chat)
To enter starting balances in cash accounts using Manager Accounting, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings: Click on the “Settings” tab in the main menu.
- Select Starting Balances: Find and click on the “Starting Balances” option.
- Choose the Cash Account: Click the blue hyperlink next to your cash at bank account.
- Edit the Account: Click “Edit” next to the account you wish to add the starting balance for.
- Enter the Balance: In the “Statement Balance” field, enter the starting balance amount
This process ensures that your cash accounts reflect the correct starting balances when transitioning from a previous accounting system.
If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!
Perplexity AI (https://www.perplexity.ai/)
To enter starting balances for cash accounts in Manager Accounting, follow these steps:
- Create the bank or cash account if you haven’t already done so.
- Once the account is created, its initial balance will be zero.
- To set the starting balance, you need to enter either a New Payment or New Receipt transaction, depending on whether the starting balance is positive or negative.
- For a positive starting balance:
- Go to the Cash Accounts tab
- Click “New Receipt”
- Select the appropriate cash account
- Choose a date that corresponds to your start date in Manager
- Enter the starting balance amount
- Select an appropriate account (like “Owner’s contribution” or “Retained earnings”) for the contra entry
- Add a description (e.g., “Starting balance as of [date]”)
- Click “Create” to save the transaction
- For a negative starting balance, follow the same process but use “New Payment” instead of “New Receipt”.
- Verify the balance is correct by checking the cash account’s balance sheet or account history.
It’s important to note that starting balances should only be entered when transferring an existing business to Manager from another accounting system. The date you choose for these transactions should correspond to the day you begin using Manager, often referred to as the start date. Remember to set your start date in Manager before entering starting balances, as this affects how the software handles these initial transactions. By following these steps, you’ll accurately reflect your cash account balances in Manager as of your start date, ensuring your financial reports are correct from the beginning of your use of the software.
Notice that this forum has a gpt4_bot:
To the question: “Manager Accounting: How do you enter starting balances in cash accounts?” it provided:
Gemini did not seem to understand the question was about Manager Accounting.
Copilot at least answered the question, albeit with an outdated procedure that no longer works.
Perplexity actually gave a valid procedure.
It took me quite awhile to see eko’s humor. The very first gpt4_bot recommendation is this forum thread!
At the same time, eko pointed out gpt4_bot as a valuable tool. A person can have difficulty knowing which search terms to use. With the gpt4_bot, you can try to describe what you want and it likely enough can figure out what you want.
This was not humour because whatever you found I almost wanted to flag it because you seem to promote some IA platforms and none were that fine. Also your query is not enought. For IA to know that Manager is an accounting applicatin you need to say so. No wonder you get some vague Quickbooks references.
My experience with AI is that you need to ask follow up questions and then it gets better and better. Your current contribution is maybe humorous too.
@indinfer note when you add to the query “Manager io is an Australian accounting package so please make your answer relevant” then you get:
In Manager.io, entering starting balances for cash accounts is quite straightforward. Here’s how to do it:
1. Accessing Cash Accounts:
- Go to the Settings tab.
- Click on Chart of Accounts .
2. Locating Your Cash Account:
- Look for the cash account where you want to set the opening balance (e.g., Checking, Petty Cash).
3. Setting the Starting Balance:
There are two main ways to achieve this:
- New Cash Account: If you’re creating a new cash account:
- Click on the Add Account button.
- Fill out the account details.
- In the Starting balance field, enter the actual cash balance in the account as of your starting date.
- Select whether the balance is a Debit (positive for assets like cash) or Credit (unlikely for cash accounts).
- Click Save .
- Existing Cash Account: If you already have the account:
- Find the cash account in the list.
- Click the Edit button next to the account name.
- Locate the Starting balance field.
- Enter the opening balance and choose Debit or Credit as required.
- Click Update .
Additional Notes:
- Manager.io also allows setting starting balances through Journal Entries . This involves creating an entry with the cash account on one side (debit) and an offsetting account (usually equity like Owner’s Capital) on the other side. However, the above methods are generally easier for cash accounts.
- If you’re new to debits and credits, Manager.io offers a guide specifically for entering starting balances which explains these concepts: https://www2.manager.io/guides/15718
By following these steps, you can easily set the starting balances for your cash accounts in Manager.io.
Yes, even the instructions you found seem outdated, eko. I checked whether I could follow the given directions you got by including “Manager io is an Australian accounting package…” I could not. Manager no longer seems to have a Starting Balance field as in the picture:
However, you can enter a starting balance by using Payments or Receipts.
Finding answers to Manager IO questions from AI can be more complicated than just asking.
A big advantage you demonstrated with the Manager Forum Chat Bot is that at least the answers should have something to do with Manager Accounting.
I am impressed with the answer given by Perplexity AI.
Perplexity AI is not as perplexing as other AI bots! 
I did some investigating in the Manager.io new guides - https://www.manager.io/guides - and found that there is a link to an AI bot in these guides.
Here is the question that I asked and the answer.
Conclusion: use the Manager.io guides AI bot if you want an accurate answer. Also, use the guides AI bot before posting the question to the forum
I am also new to manager and would like to post opening balances for my banks accounts, kindly assist with this, as I am working my way around manager
If you have many bank accounts use a journal - Like this:
Note that opening balances go to Retained Earnings account
