Introduction
Opening balances represent the financial position of your business at the start of using Bukku. They include amounts carried forward from your previous accounting system—such as outstanding invoices, bills, and account balances—so that your books in Bukku remain accurate and up to date.
For example, if your latest financial year ended on 31st December 2024, you can use the Trial Balance as of that date to determine your closing balances. These closing balances will then become your opening balances in Bukku on 1st January 2025, and you can start recording all new transactions from that date.
If you’re setting up a brand-new business and have no prior records to bring over, you can safely skip this step.
Prepare Your Bukku Setup Before Entering Opening Balances
Before entering your opening balances, we recommend setting up the following in Bukku to make the process smoother and more accurate:
Having these set up first ensures that your opening balances are assigned correctly and linked to the appropriate accounts, contacts, and products or services.
About the Opening Balance Page
On the Opening Balance page, you’ll find several sections—Account Balance, Outstanding Stock, Outstanding Invoices, and Outstanding Bills—designed to help you bring in balances from your previous accounting records.
To access each section, ensure that the relevant balances are entered under the appropriate account codes.
The guide below will walk you through how to enter your opening balances in Bukku. Let's go!
Step 1: Account Balance
This step records the closing balances from your previous accounting system so that they become the opening balances in Bukku.
Access the Opening Balance Page
Go to Accounting > Chart of Accounts.
Click the ⋯ (3 dots) next to + New and select Opening Balance.
Set the Opening Balance Date
Enter the Closing Balance Date based on your previous accounting records (use the “As of” date from your Trial Balance).
Enter Balances
Use the Account Balance section to enter lump sum balances for each account code from your previous Trial Balance.
Debit Accounts: Assets, Expenses
Credit Accounts: Liabilities, Income, Equity
You can record balances in two ways:
Enter the amount directly in the Debit or Credit columns, or
Enter the value in the Amount column, and the system will automatically assign it to the correct side (Debit or Credit) based on the account type.
Note:
If you enter a negative value in the Amount column, the system will automatically move the balance to the opposite side.
If you are entering balances for accounts in a foreign currency, provide the applicable exchange rate so the system can calculate the correct amount. For example, a Cash at Bank – SGD account:
Review and Continue
After entering balances for all accounts, check that the Total Debit and Total Credit amounts are equal.
Once they match, click Continue to proceed to Step 2: Outstanding Stock.
Step 2: Outstanding Stock
This section allows you to enter detailed stock balances for each product carried over from your previous financial year. To access this page, you must have a balance entered under the Inventory account code.
Before you begin:
Ensure all Products are created in Products & Services.
Track Inventory must be turned on for those products.
Steps:
Click Add Item.
Fill in the following details:
Product * – Exact product name from Products & Services.
Description * – Short note or detail about the product (e.g., model, batch)
Location * – The inventory location or warehouse where the stock is stored
Quantity * – Units on hand from previous financial year
Cost Price * – Unit cost based on historical data
Amount – Auto-calculated by the system as Cost Price × Quantity
Review and Continue:
Check that Total = Applied in the summary table.
Once confirmed, click Continue to proceed to Step 3: Outstanding Invoices.
Step 3: Outstanding Invoices
This section allows you to bring in each individual unpaid customer invoices carried forward from your previous financial year. To access this page, you must have a balance entered under the Accounts Receivable account code.
Before you begin:
Ensure all related Contacts are created.
Each contact must have Customer ticked.
Correct Accounts Receivable is set for each contact.
Steps:
Click Add Invoice or Add Credit Note.
Add Invoice – Use this to record any unpaid customer invoices carried forward from your previous financial year.
Add Credit Note – Use this to record any outstanding credit notes, or cases where a customer has made an advance payment (shown as a negative balance).
Fill in the following details:
Customer * – Select from contact list
No. * – Invoice or credit note number
Reference No. – Optional internal reference number
Date * – Original invoice / credit note date
Currency * – Applicable currency
Description * – Brief explanation for the invoice / credit note
Amount * – Total outstanding amount
Tax – Apply relevant SST tax code, if applicable
Tags – Optional tags for filtering
Review and Continue:
Check that Total = Applied in the summary table.
Click Continue to move to Step 4: Outstanding Bills.
Step 4: Outstanding Bills
This section allows you to bring in each individual unpaid bills carried forward from your previous financial year. To access this page, you must have a balance entered under the Accounts Payable account code.
Before you begin:
Ensure all related Contacts are created.
Each contact must have Supplier or Employee ticked.
Correct Accounts Payable is set for each contact.
Steps:
Click Add Bill or Add Credit Note.
Add Bill – Record any unpaid supplier bills carried forward from your previous financial year.
Add Credit Note – Record any outstanding supplier credit notes, or cases where you made an advance payment to a supplier (shown as a negative balance).
Fill in the following details:
Contact * – Select supplier / employee from contact list
No. * – Bill or credit note number
Reference No. – Optional internal reference number
Date * – Original bill / credit note date
Currency * – Applicable currency
Description * – Brief explanation for the bill / credit note
Amount * – Total outstanding amount
Tax – Apply relevant SST tax code, if applicable
Tags – Optional tags for filtering
Review and Complete:
Check that Total = Applied in the summary table.
Once confirmed, click Continue to complete the opening balance setup.
Step 5: Final Confirmation
After completing all four steps, the system will display a confirmation message.
Ensure you see the confirmation message — this indicates that your opening balances have been successfully saved.
Once confirmed, you can begin recording new transactions in Bukku with your correct starting balances.
Additional Notes & Frequently Asked Questions
Save Opening Balance as Draft
If you’re not ready to complete the Opening Balance, you can save your progress in Draft mode by clicking Save as Draft in any section. This lets you return and finish later. The Opening Balance will remain marked as Draft until you finalize it.
Back Button
Use this to return to the previous step if you need to review or make changes before continuing.
Some debtors have overpaid. How do I record their negative balances in Opening Balance?
Use a Credit Note in the Outstanding Invoices template. This covers both outstanding credit notes and customer advance payments (shown as negative balances). Enter the amount as a positive value.
Why is the Applied Amount missing for Account Receivable / Payable in the summary table?
This usually happens when the account selected for a contact does not match the account used in the opening balance.
How to fix it: Check that the contact in the outstanding invoice or bill is linked to the correct Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable code.
Why is the Applied Amount missing for Inventory in the Summary Table?
This usually happens when the product is not linked to the correct Inventory account code.
How to fix it:
Check that the product in Products & Services has Track Inventory turned on.
Make sure it’s assigned to the same Inventory account code used in your Opening Balance.
Which report should I refer to when preparing my Opening Balance?
You can prepare your Opening Balance using either your last closing Trial Balance or your Balance Sheet from the previous accounting system / year-end report.
What date should I use as the Opening Balance Date?
Always use the “as of” date from your closing Trial Balance (e.g., 31st Dec 2024). The next day (e.g., 1st Jan 2025) becomes your first transaction date in Bukku.
Which Report and Date Should I Use for My Opening Balance?
The best practice is to use your year-end closing report from your previous accounting system — either a Trial Balance or Balance Sheet — rather than mid-year figures.
For businesses has been running for a few years with previous financial closings:
Use the latest Trial Balance or Balance Sheet from your most recent closed financial year.
On the Opening Balance page in Bukku, enter the Closing Balance Date exactly as shown in that report.
Example: If your last financial year closed on 31 Dec 2024, enter 31 Dec 2024 as the Closing Balance Date in Bukku. Your Opening Balances will reflect these closing figures, and your first new transaction will start on 01 Jan 2025.
For brand-new businesses or first-year operations with no prior closing:
There is no need to enter an Opening Balance.
You can simply start recording transactions directly in Bukku from day one.
Can I edit the Opening Balance after saving?
Yes. You can edit anytime by going to Accounting > Chart of Accounts > ⋯(3 dots) beside +New > Opening Balance. Update the balances as needed, and the system will automatically reflect your latest entries.
Do I need to enter my outstanding invoices and bills in both the Opening Balance and the Sales/Purchases modules?
No — only enter them once in the Opening Balance section.
Once uploaded, your outstanding invoices and bills will automatically appear in the Sales > Invoices and Purchases > Bills listings. If you also key them in separately under Sales or Purchases, the balances will be duplicated.
Tip: After setting up your Opening Balance, you can continue to issue new invoices and new bills directly from the Sales or Purchases modules as usual.
Can I enter my Opening Balance later and start recording transactions first?
Yes! If your Opening Balances aren’t ready yet (for example, pending audit or final review), you can start recording new transactions in Bukku right away. Just make sure your Chart of Accounts, Contacts, and Products & Services are already set up.
You can also enter your latest financial year’s balances first — even if not audited — and save them as Ready. These balances can be updated or adjusted anytime later once your figures are confirmed.
