Opening balances: start your books on the right foot

Updated 10 October 2026 · 5 min read

The three parts of an opening balance — accounts, unpaid invoices and stock — and why each one matters for your reports from day one.

Your opening balances are the bridge between your old books and your new ones. Get them right and every report — Balance Sheet, Aging, Stock — is correct from your first day. In TechnoCount they come in three parts, each under Import & Export › Opening balances.

1. Account balances

The balance of every account on the day before your go-live date: bank, loans, capital, retained earnings and the rest. The source is your old system's Trial Balance at that date. Debits must equal credits; if your file is off by a little, you choose an equity account (usually Retained Earnings) to take the difference — and TechnoCount tells you how much it was, so nothing is hidden.

2. Unpaid invoices and bills

Don't enter your receivables as one big number. Bring in each unpaid invoice — number, date, due date and the amount still outstanding — so your Customer Aging, statements and overdue reminders work from day one. Do the same for supplier bills. The source is the aged debtors and creditors in detail.

TechnoCount works out your Debtors and Creditors control accounts from these lines, so they always agree with the aging.

3. Stock on hand

Quantity and cost for each stock item. Give either the unit cost or the total value; when you give the total, the books open at exactly that figure. Your Inventory account is worked out from these lines too.

Check before you carry on

Run the Trial Balance, Customer Aging and Stock Balance as at the day before go-live and compare them with your old system. Once they agree, start entering new transactions.