Account Balance Question

Sambuccac

Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to print individual expense account reports that do not include a 'Starting Balance'
When I look at the overview of all account balances, there is no data in the Starting Balance column for any of my expenses.
When I click on the individual account to see the transaction detail, there is a starting balance. I assume it is from the prior years transactions? I'd like to be able to print the expenses for 2020 and not include the balance from prior years.
I'm sure I'm missing some vital step somewhere else that would allow me to do this.
Can anyone lead me in the correct direction to fix this?

Thank you!

AlexL

Hey @Sambuccac , the way that Wave works is that your balances always carry over as we never close out year end. This means that your previous years never really "close". All that happens at year-end is that current year earnings get zeroed and added to previous year earnings.

You can make some tweaks to adjust this but you should understand that it will affect your accounting balances across the board, not just in this report.

If you do want your previous year income/loss to roll forward into retained earnings, you will need to manually do this. Here's how:

1. Run an income statement for the year. This will give you all of your income and expense final balances.
2. Save this statement in excel or a PDF so you have all of the balances saved.
3. Click Accounting > Transactions > More > Add journal transaction.
4. Enter the balances as opposite of how they appeared on your income statement.
5. Note that the amount of Net Income on the Income Statement matches the amount of the debit to Owners Equity.

This could get confusing, so if you are concerned about your year-end balances and need some professional accounting help, you might want to get in touch with a professional accountant, which we always recommend!

Sambuccac

Thank you Alex!