Accounts Receivable Opening Balances
The customer opening balance is the document you use to record, in a single entry, how much each customer owed you when you started using AdmCloud (or when you turned on the Accounts Receivable module). Instead of re-entering every old invoice from your previous system one by one, you summarize that outstanding balance in a single document per customer.
What is it and what is it for?
When a company starts using AdmCloud, it almost always has customers with balances pending from a previous system. The opening balance lets you carry that balance over without rebuilding every old invoice: you enter the customer, the total amount they owe you and the date, and AdmCloud creates the corresponding receivable balance, just as an invoice would.
The difference from a regular invoice is the accounting offset: instead of posting against a sales income account, the opening balance is credited against whichever ledger account you choose (typically an opening-balances bridge account or an equity account), because it does not represent a new sale — it represents a balance that already existed.
When you save it, the system adds the amount to the customer's outstanding balance and generates the accounting entry in the general ledger (if your company uses the Accounting module): a debit to the customer's receivable account based on its currency, and a credit to the account you selected.
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| Opening balances list | Lists every opening balance recorded, with filters by customer, customer class, subsidiary, location, sales rep and date range. You can customize which columns are visible and save your configuration. From here you can create, delete or open the opening balances report. |
| Create / Edit | The opening balance form: customer, document number and date, currency, payment terms, account to credit, total amount and, depending on your configuration, subsidiary, location, department, division, item class, project and fiscal document. It lets you attach supporting files and customize the form. |
| Details | The same opening balance in read-only mode, with its activity history and action buttons: edit, duplicate, delete, void and review the generated accounting entry, plus any applied documents (payments) linked to it. |
How to record one, step by step
- Open the list and click New. You need the "add" level of the invoices permission; if you don't see the button, ask your administrator for access.
- Select the customer whose outstanding balance you want to record.
- Type in the document number. Unlike other transactions, AdmCloud does not auto-number this one: you would normally use the same number it had in your previous system, so you can identify it later.
- Enter the date, currency and exchange rate of the balance, and the payment terms used to calculate its due date.
- Enter the total amount the customer owed you as of that date.
- Select the account to credit. This is the ledger account the offsetting entry posts against (typically an opening-balances bridge account, not a sales account).
- Fill in the fiscal fields if your country uses fiscal documents, and attach a supporting file if you need to (for example, the account statement from your previous system).
- Save. The system validates the data and generates the accounting entry: a debit to the customer's receivable account based on its currency, and a credit to the account you selected.
Key fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Number | The document's identifier. It's typed in manually (AdmCloud does not assign it); it cannot be repeated on another opening balance, and it can't be changed once saved. |
| Customer | Who the balance belongs to. Must be an active customer. |
| Document date | The date the balance is recorded on; together with the payment term, it defines the due date. |
| Currency and exchange rate | The balance's currency and its rate against the local currency; must be greater than zero. |
| Payment terms | The payment condition used to calculate the balance's due date. |
| Account to credit | The ledger account the balance posts against. It's required: without it, the system cannot generate the accounting entry. |
| Total amount | The amount the customer owed as of the document date. |
| Reference | Free text, for example to note the number the document had in your previous system. |
| Subsidiary / Location | Which subsidiary and location the document belongs to for accounting purposes; only shown if your company has subsidiaries enabled. |
| Department / Division / Item class / Project | Additional accounting dimensions, shown only if your company uses those modules. |
| Fiscal document (NCF) | Only visible in countries that use fiscal documents. |
| Attached files | Supporting documents for the migrated balance, subject to your plan's file limit. |
Validations when saving
- Document number is required and must be unique among opening balances; it can't be changed once saved.
- Active customer. If the customer is inactive, the system rejects the save and names the customer.
- Account to credit is required. If it's missing, the system can't generate the accounting entry and blocks the save.
- Exchange rate greater than zero when the balance is in a foreign currency (if left at zero, it's automatically set to 1).
- Location consistent with the subsidiary indicated on the document.
- Active sales rep, when one is specified.
- Active payment term and a validly formatted fiscal document (NCF), when your country requires it.
- Open accounting period for the document's date in the Accounts Receivable module; you can't record it in an already closed period.
- When editing: the document number can't change, and if the balance already has payments or other documents applied to it, you also can't change the customer, currency or exchange rate.
- When deleting or voiding: not allowed if the opening balance has linked documents (for example, collections already applied to it); unlink or void those first.
Managing the document
From the details of a saved opening balance, depending on your permissions, you can:
- Edit it as long as it has no applied documents blocking changes, or duplicate it to create a new one from its data.
- Delete it, if it has no linked records.
- Void it, if it has no valid linked records; a voided balance can't be edited again.
- Review the accounting entry it generated, if your company uses the Accounting module.
- View the applied documents (for example, any collections the customer has already made against that balance).
Additional capabilities depending on your setup
- Column customization: in the list, you can choose, reorder and save which columns to display.
- Custom fields: if your company added its own fields marked as visible on customer opening balances, they show up on the form.
- Bulk upload from a file: instead of entering balances one by one, you can import all of them at once from the Data Migrator tool, uploading a file with each balance's number, customer, date, currency, account to credit and amount.
- Departments, divisions, item classes and projects: additional fields that only appear if your company has those accounting dimensions enabled.
- Transaction types and fiscal documents: only available if your company uses them.
Availability and permissions
- Access is controlled by the "Invoices" permission of the user group, with separate levels for browsing, adding, editing, deleting and voiding.
- With subsidiaries enabled, each opening balance is tied to a subsidiary and filters by it in the list and the report.
- The fiscal document (NCF) field only appears if your country uses fiscal documents.
Tips and common mistakes
Use this screen only for the balance you're starting off with in AdmCloud. To record new sales, use a Credit Invoice or a Cash Invoice; the opening balance is exclusively for carrying over balances that already existed before you started using the system.
Don't credit a sales income account. The account to credit should be an opening-balances bridge account or an equity account, since this document doesn't represent a new sale; crediting an income account would duplicate your sales for the period.
Do you have many customers with outstanding balances? Before entering them one by one, check the Data Migrator tool: you can upload all of them at once from a file.
Can't change the customer, currency or exchange rate while editing? That's because the opening balance already has a collection or another document applied to it; unapply or void it first, or correct the balance with a credit note instead.