Enter the date the company began using quickbooks in

• Enter the date the company began using QuickBooks in the “Date” field.
• Enter a number in the “Entry No.” field to identify the journal entry.

NOTE
QuickBooks automatically enters journal entry numbers unless
the preference is turned off. To turn off the preference, users
should select “Preferences” from the “Edit” menu. Then select
the “Accounting” icon from the scroll-down menu. On the
“Company Preferences” tab remove the check mark in the
“Automatically assign general ledger journal entry number” box
and select “OK.”
• Select “Sales Tax Payable” from the drop-down list in the “Account” column.
• Enter the amount of sales tax due as of the QuickBooks start date in the “Credit”
column. (Enter an amount in the “Debit” column if the company pays sales tax in
advance or if a credit is due the company.)
• Select the name of the applicable tax agency from the drop-down list in the “Name”
column.
• Enter separate sales tax payable lines for each tax agency to which taxes are due.
• In a new line of the journal entry, select “Opening Bal Equity” from the drop-down list in
the “Account” column. QuickBooks automatically calculates the debit amount.
NOTE
The general journal entry screen on QuickBooks Accountant
Desktop includes a list of journal entries that were created
previously. Users can customize the view to include journal
entries from a designated time period (e.g., current month,
previous year, current fiscal year, etc.). This feature makes it
much easier to find previous journal entries—especially if the
user completes the memo field describing the transaction.
203.37 Alternatively, QuickBooks users can record the opening sales tax payable balance by
selecting “Chart of Accounts” from the “Lists” menu and double-clicking on the “Sales Tax
Payable” account. This opens the “Sales Tax Payable” register. On the first blank line of the
register, users should enter the following information:
• Date. Enter the QuickBooks start date.
• Vendor. Enter the tax agency.

• Account. Select “Opening Bal Equity” from the drop-down list.
• Billed. Enter the sales tax payable balance for the specified tax agency.
• Record. Click on the “Record” button and repeat the preceding steps for each tax
agency with a sales tax due amount as of the QuickBooks start date.
203.38 QuickBooks users that created the opening sales tax payable balance by entering
historical sales transactions for the current period also may have a sales tax payable balance
carried over from the prior year. In that case, the prior year balance should be set up via a
journal entry or via the “Sales Tax Payable” register, as described in the preceding
paragraphs. QuickBooks users should verify that the beginning sales tax payable amount is
included when they select “Sales Tax” and then “Pay Sales Tax” from the “Vendors” menu.