User Roles AdminStaff contributor ✗External contributor ✗Pulse user 

The Balance sheet movement template is a general-purpose account template you can apply to any balance sheet account to build up and evidence the movement between the opening and closing balance for the year. It comes in two modes: a manual mode for building the movement up line by line when there is no clean transaction listing to work from, and a mode designed to work with imported or synced transaction detail, which reconciles automatically.

Table of contents 

When should I use this template?

Use this template on any balance sheet account where you need to evidence how the closing balance was arrived at, and there is not already a dedicated Working Papers template for that type of account. Choose the manual mode when you will be typing up the year's movements yourself from bank statements, invoices or a client-supplied schedule. Choose the imported or synced mode whenever detailed transaction data is available for the account and you want the reconciliation to run automatically from it.

Before you start

Have to hand a breakdown of what has moved on the account during the year, meaning each increase and decrease with a description and amount, along with any supporting documents you want attached against each line.

Background

This is a generalised reconciliation working paper rather than a note or disclosure. It exists to evidence that the account's closing balance is fully explained by identifiable movements during the year, not to satisfy a particular accounting standard.

Steps

  1. Choose the template type. A dropdown at the top offers No detailed ledger and Detailed ledger. Pick No detailed ledger to build up the year's movements manually. Pick Detailed ledger to use the version designed for imported or synced transaction detail, which drives the automatic reconciliation. The default offered depends on the period, but you can switch it at any time.
  2. If you have chosen No detailed ledger:
    • Choose whether the opening balance should be checked against the previous year or the previous period using the second dropdown. This determines which prior trial-balance figure the opening balance is pulled from.
    • The Opening row shows the opening balance, pulled through automatically from the account's closing balance in the prior period or prior year. It is sign-adjusted so it reads correctly whether the account is an asset or expense account, or a liability, income or equity account. You can attach a supporting document against this row.
    • Add a row for each movement: a description of the increase or decrease, an attachment, an extra description if needed, and the amount. Add as many rows as you need.
    • The Closing balance row is there to attach supporting documentation for the year-end balance.
    • The running total of the opening balance plus every movement is compared to the account's actual value, with an unreconciled indicator showing the account value, the template's total, and the difference if the two do not match.
  3. If you have chosen Detailed ledger: the table instead shows a row per transaction, each with its own date, attachment, description and amount, followed by a closing balance row dated at the period end. The same reconciliation check applies: the total of the transaction rows must match the account's actual value, with an unreconciled indicator showing any difference.

What flows through to the rest of the accounts/workflow?

Nothing beyond reconciling the account itself. This is a standalone working paper, so it does not feed a note, a disclosure, or any other template.

What rolls forward next year?

The template type and previous year or previous period choices you have made carry forward automatically, so you will not normally need to reselect them. The individual movement or transaction rows you have entered also carry forward as they stand, as nothing clears them automatically at the start of a new period. Remove or amend last year's rows before adding this year's movements, rather than leaving them in place, otherwise the total will include entries that relate to the wrong year. The opening balance itself always recalculates fresh from the account's actual prior-period value, regardless of what was entered as opening balance previously.

Where the data comes from

In manual mode, everything is user-entered: the description and amount of each movement. In the detailed-ledger mode, the transaction rows are intended to come from imported or synced ledger data for the account. In both modes, the opening balance is pulled automatically from the account's value in the trial balance for the comparative period you have selected.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the opening balance change if I switch between "previous year" and "previous period"?

This setting determines which prior trial-balance figure the opening balance is compared to. "Previous year" uses the account's balance at the same point in the previous accounting year. "Previous period" uses the immediately preceding period, which matters more on files with sub-annual periods.

Why is my table still showing last year's movements?

Rows you enter carry forward automatically into the next period rather than clearing themselves. Delete or update anything that no longer relates to the current year before entering this year's movements.

Why is there a difference shown against my total?

The unreconciled indicator compares the account's opening balance plus every movement you have entered to the account's actual value in the trial balance. A non-zero difference means a movement is missing, entered with the wrong sign, or the opening balance does not match the account's actual prior-period value.

Which mode should I choose?

Choose "Detailed ledger" whenever the account has importable or synced transaction detail available, since the reconciliation runs automatically from it. Otherwise, use "No detailed ledger" and build the movements up manually.