Hi everyone - am a relative newbie here! I have a client who has asked me to start doing his books for him instead of it being done by his accountant. I will be producing management accounts and cashflows etc using Quickbooks Pro. His year end was March 09 and the closing balances/ opening balances for this year are still be ascertained by the accountant (I was not invovled in his last financial year). His accountant does not use Quickbooks or Sage - some programme I have not heard of. His next VAT return is due at the end of July (submission date 31st) and though Iknow it won't take me too long to get it all done he is anxious to have some management accounts (P and L etc ) for the period concerned. Trouble is I am reluctant to start entering any sales and purchase transactions until I can finish setting up Quickbooks with closing balances carried over from the last financial year as the opening balances for this year.
If I start processing transactions am I likelly to make life difficult for myself or is it fairly easy to go back and alter opening balances in Quick books without causing mayhem? Have set up the chart of accounts and opening bank balances but am champing at the bit here.. and under pressure to produce some figures. Advice appreciated.
Welcome to the forum! If your client just wants a simple profit and loss account (as opposed to full on management accounts with a balance sheet) then I would go ahead and start processing the books for the VAT return. When the accountants finished the year end he should send you some opening balance journals to post on.The opening balance journals will primarily deal with tidying up the balance sheet, so the profit and loss figures you produce shouldnt change much. PS. Its normal for accountants to use specialist accountancy software to prepare the year end accounts. Software normally used is IRIS, CCH, or VT etc.
Hi Chilly, I agree with Wendy. I would go ahead and start your clients accounts by entering the figures you already have. I shouldnt imagine that year end adjustments (if any) wont cause too much problems.
