Company Setup & Opening Balances
Create a new company, set the financial year, add primary ledgers, enter opening balances and generate a Trial Balance. Follow the step-by-step lab below.
Exercise Brief
Objective: Provision a new company in accounting software and bring in opening balances so that your ledger totals balance. You'll practice entering master data and verifying via Trial Balance.
Pre-requisites
- Installed accounting software / demo company access
- Organisation details: name, address, PAN, financial year start
- Opening balances sheet (sample provided below)
Sample Opening Balances (use these values)
| Ledger | Group | Opening Balance (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Account | Capital | 300,000 (Cr) |
| Cash | Cash-in-Hand | 8,000 (Dr) |
| HDFC Bank | Banks | 22,000 (Dr) |
| Stock in Hand | Assets | 50,000 (Dr) |
| Outstanding Expenses | Liabilities | 4,000 (Cr) |
Expected Outcome
- Create company with correct FY and currency
- Primary ledgers: Cash, Bank, Capital, Stock, Payables
- Opening balances posted (Journal or Opening Balances screen)
- Generate and export Trial Balance (PDF/Excel)
Step-by-step Lab (30–45 mins)
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1Create Company
Open accounting software → Create New Company → Fill legal details (Name, PAN), Financial Year Start (e.g., 01-Apr-2025), Base Currency (INR).
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2Set Preferences
Set number formats, enable multi-currency only if required, enable auto-backup. Turn on "Show Opening Balance" option in Accounts settings.
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3Create Ledgers & Groups
Create ledgers under appropriate groups: Cash (Cash-in-Hand), HDFC Bank (Banks), Capital (Capital), Stock in Hand (Current Assets), Outstanding Expenses (Current Liabilities).
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4Enter Opening Balances
Use the Opening Balances or Journal Voucher screen to enter the amounts. For example: Debit Stock ₹50,000; Debit Cash ₹8,000; Debit HDFC Bank ₹22,000; Credit Capital ₹300,000; Credit Outstanding Expenses ₹4,000.
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5Reconcile & Adjust
If Debits ≠ Credits, add an Opening Adjustment (Capital or Suspense ledger) to balance. Document reasons for adjustments in the narration.
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6Generate Trial Balance
Navigate to Reports → Trial Balance. Choose period "Opening" or the company start date. Export as PDF/Excel and save in backups folder.
Practice Tasks & Quiz
- Create company "DemoCo Pvt Ltd" with FY starting 01-Apr-2025.
- Enter the sample opening balances above and generate Trial Balance.
- Export Trial Balance to Excel and verify totals.
- Bonus: Create a PDF evidence folder with screenshots of company info and trial balance.
