A starting balance is the amount of funds in an account at the beginning of a new fiscal period. It allows you to see the balance of the account without entering the full transaction history.
When adding a new bank account, enter the starting balance for the account at the start of your business's fiscal year.
Enter a starting balance for bank accounts, credit cards, or loans
Enter a starting balance for non-payment accounts
Starting balance when you connect your bank or credit card
Enter a starting balance for bank accounts, credit cards, or loans
- Open the Transactions page.
- Create an income transaction.
- In the Description field, type 'Starting balance'.
- Fill in the date, account name, and amount of the starting balance.
- In the Category field, select an appropriate equity account for your business.
- Select Save.
Enter a starting balance for non-payment accounts
Journal transactions can only be created in the web version of Wave.
- Open the Transactions page.
- Create a journal transaction.
- In the Description field, type 'Starting balance'.
- In the Date field, put in the starting balance date.
- If the account is a liability account, enter the starting balance as a credit, and select the liability account you are entering the starting balance for. Enter a debit to your Owner's Equity account for the same amount.
- If the account is an asset account, enter the starting balance as a debit, and select the asset account you are entering the starting balance for. Enter a credit to your Owner's Equity account for the same amount.
- Select Save.
Starting balance transaction when you connect your bank or credit card
Automatic bank transaction imports are part of Wave’s Pro Plan. Learn more about Wave’s plans or how to subscribe.
When you connect your bank account or credit card for transaction imports, Wave enters the starting balance for you. These starting balance transactions have the description "Starting balance for".
If you enter transactions within the fiscal year with dates before this starting balance transaction, make sure you adjust the date and amount so it's the first transaction for the account.