Create a Starting Balance

Reconciliation account selection for starting balance context

Create the opening journal entry for a bank or credit account, then use Reconcile to establish the formal starting balance that future reconciliations will build from.

When To Use This

Use this workflow when you are setting up a company and need SPRK to recognize the first balance for a bank or credit account before regular reconciliation work begins.

Before You Start

  • An active company is selected.
  • The bank or credit account you want to reconcile already exists in the chart of accounts.
  • You know the opening amount and effective date you want to establish.
  • You know which offset account your team wants to use for the opening entry.

Steps

  1. Open Ledger.
  2. Select New.
  3. Create a manual journal entry dated on the day the opening balance should first appear in SPRK.
  4. Add the bank or credit account line that should carry the starting balance.
  5. Add the balancing line that offsets the opening amount in the account your team is using for setup.
  6. If the journal drawer exposes the bank-register option, leave it off unless you intentionally want this setup entry mirrored into confirmed bank-register activity.
  7. Save the journal entry and confirm it appears in Ledger.
  8. Open Reconcile.
  9. In the account picker near the page header, choose the same bank or credit account from the journal entry.
  10. Select Start.
  11. In the Start reconciliation window, use Opening balance journal entry to choose the journal entry you just created.
  12. Confirm that SPRK derives the first reconciliation values from that journal entry:
  • the opening-balance anchor entry appears in the picker by date and description
  • the statement dates are locked from the selected entry
  • the ending balance is populated from the selected entry amount
  1. Select Reconcile to establish the starting balance for that account.

What Happens Next

SPRK uses the journal entry as the first reconciliation anchor for that account.

  • Saving the journal entry posts the opening balance to the general ledger.
  • Selecting that journal entry in Start reconciliation does not create a second journal entry.
  • Completing the opening reconciliation creates the reconciliation anchor that later statement periods use as their beginning balance reference.
  • Creating linked bank-register rows from the opening journal is optional and separate from choosing the opening-balance journal entry as the first reconciliation anchor.

If Something Looks Wrong

What You See What To Check What To Do Next
You are about to take an action that may affect the result Creating the opening journal entry in the wrong account and then trying to reconcile a different account Confirm the visible company, page, and workflow state before continuing
A needed review step is missing Skipping Reconcile after saving the journal entry and assuming the starting balance is fully established already Go back to that check before continuing
The entered value or selection does not produce the expected result Choosing the wrong journal entry in the Opening balance journal entry picker when more than one setup entry exists Correct the value or selection before continuing
Two similar workflows or fields are easy to mix up Treating the locked dates and derived balance in the start modal as manual entry fields Use the specific workflow or control named on this page