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An opening balance is a method of placing WIP time and expenses onto a client's account. It is often used to post to a new client to provide a starting WIP balance ready for timesheet postings.
To post an Opening Balance:
Enter the Time Ledger.
Click Post WIP.
Click Opening Balances.
Enter the period that the opening balance is to be posted into (defaulted to current period).
The Post WIP Balances to period screen displays.
To post an opening balance the following fields can be entered:
The posting type determines whether the expense posting is either a debit or a credit.
A debit posting will increase the WIP to the client account. For example, posting an opening balance for £500 as a debit will place £500 of WIP onto the client account.
Similarly, a credit posting decreases the WIP to the client account. For example, if a client account had a WIP value of £300 on their account and a credit of £300 was posted, the clients final balance will be nil.
Enter the value of WIP that needs to be credited or debited from the client account. For example, to create an account balance of £-500 of WIP ensure that the posting type is credit then enter 500 into the field provided.
The time WIP field is used to include the time (in hours and minutes) of the opening balance. For example, if an opening balance of £300 is posted (using the amount WIP field) it is possible to record that this was achieved over 6 hours.
Time is entered into this field as a standard unit, as determined in the time ledger options, general tab.
Entering time in the Time WIP field will not produce WIP figures for your opening balance. To produce WIP figures use the 'Amount WIP' field.
Enter the value of the expense posting to adjust the value of the expense postings on the client account. For example, to create an account with an expense balance of £500, ensure that the posting type is debit then enter 500 into the field provided.
Enter the date that the Time Ledger opening balance posting is to be made to, such as 06/07/2002
Type the client or non-charge activity identifier, or select using the magnifying glass.
To post to a client job type the job type identifier, or select using the magnifying glass.
Job Types are the first level of analysis within Time & Fees and can be used in conjunction with Work Types or independently.
Once Job Types have been set up onto the system they can be assigned to the client to become a client job type. Client job types can be registered manually when the client is created, or on-the-fly as you post to the client.
To create a client job type whilst posting:
Enter the job type identifier into the job type field provided. For example, Acc.
You will be notified that the client job does not yet exist for the selected client.
Confirm that the job type is to be used for this client by clicking YES.
Job types created for annual or periodic intervals require additional information. For example, an annual job Acc/2002, or period job SLT/2002/1 to be entered
To enable job types go to the Practice management options and click Use job types. Job types are then available to be used in the time ledger. To used job types in the time ledger go to the Time Ledger Options and ensure that account at job level is selected.
To post to a Work Type enter the identifier, or select using the magnifying glass.
This is not a mandatory field but can be added to provide further information for the adjustment.
Work Types should be considered for describing the type of work the individual is performing on behalf of the client, for example meeting, telephone conversation and bookkeeping, as an automatic form of narrative.
To post to a staff member enter the identifier, or select using the magnifying glass.
This is not a mandatory field for the completion of the opening balance posting but is provided to allow a posting to be used allocated to a single staff member.
A cost rate is used to evaluate the cost to the practice of any time or expense that is posted to the Time Ledger. The use of cost within Time & Fees is optional and can be set in the General tab under Time Ledger Options. Cost rates are usually calculated from the cost to the practice of a staff member working (for example, based on the individual's salary).
Similar to work types, a narrative can be typed to describe the type of work the individual is performing on behalf of the client.
The narrative can provide a record of why the opening balance has been posted, so it is possible to understand the purpose of the posting.
Click Post to confirm the expense posting, or Close to cancel.