## Documentation Index

Access the complete documentation index at:
https://www.zoho.com/ca/books/kb/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available documentation pages before proceeding.

[Back](./)

# How do I record the opening balances for my organisation when I migrate to Zoho Books from my current software?

When you migrate to Zoho Books from another software, you must enter the opening balances for your organisation. The opening balance you enter will be the closing balance as on the date of migration in your previous accounting software.

For example, if you are migrating to Zoho Books on 1 January 2020, and your closing balance as on 31 December 2019 in your existing accounting software is $10,000. This $10,000 will be your opening balance in Zoho Books.

To enter the opening balances in Zoho Books:

*   Go to your Zoho Books organisation.
*   Go to _Settings_ and then _Opening Balances_.
*   Click **Edit** and enter the relevant balances for all the accounts or click the **Import Opening Balances** option in the top right corner of the page to import the balances.

To import:

*   Click the **Choose File** button next to Upload File. You can also download the sample CSV/XLS file for your reference.

**Insight:** The file size cannot be more than 1 MB.

*   Choose the _Character Encoding_ and _File Delimiter_ for your file.

**Insight:**

*   **Character Encoding** Character Encoding is used to pair numbers with characters. By default, the Unicode Transformation Format (UTF-8) encoding is used which supports a wide range of characters that go beyond 8 bits.
*   The **Field Delimiter** The Field Delimiter is used to separate two values in a row. While importing opening balance, the default file delimiter is comma (,).

*   Click **Next**.
    
*   Ensure that all the fields are mapped correctly in the Map Fields page.
    
*   Mark the box **Save these selections for use during future imports** if you want to use a similar import format next time and click **Next**.
    
*   In the Preview page, click **Import**.
    

**Insight:** Zoho Books will auto-match the file headers of the imported file to the closest matching field in Zoho Books. You can manually edit each field to match the headers, and save these preferences. On proceeding, Zoho Books will show you any unmapped fields you may have left out or could not match. You can map these by adding new fields with matching headers.

**Notes:** Ensure that the balances are entered as on the date of migration.

In case a particular account is not available in the predefined list, you may **add an account** to be included in the opening balance.

To add a new account:

*   Go to the Accountant tab and select Chart of Accounts.
*   Click the **\+ New Account** button and the Create Account screen will appear as shown in the screen below.
*   Provide the **Account Name**.
*   Mention the **Account Code**, if necessary.
*   Select the **Account Type** from the options provided.
*   Enter a **description**, for better understanding.
*   Click on the check box to add this account on the watch list of your dashboard. This will track your account’s transaction and present an overview.
*   Click **Save** to publish and exit.