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How to initialize financial balances in Openbravo

Contents

Introduction

The financial balances initialization is an step of the data migration process.

By financial balances we are referring to :

Migration Process

To start managing the business of an organization into Openbravo it is usually require a data migration process.

The data store in the old system needs to be migrated to Openbravo.

It is key to define an efficient migration strategy and process as this part of an implementation is key for the success of the implementation. Besides the migration process has a cost.
The relevance of that cost depends on the type and volume of data the organization wants to migrate.

Having said that and given the migration tools available the recommended option to take is not to migrate transactions such as orders, goods receipts/shipments and invoices but just accounting data
until a given date when the organization is able to enter and manage both transactional and accounting data into Openbravo.

Overall the migration process is detailed below:

Finally, it is important to remark that it will not be possible to launch reports which do require transactional data such as fiscal reports,
until the date when the organization is able to manage transactional and accounting data in Openbravo.

Chart of Accounts definition

First thing is to have the Chart of Accounts of the organization imported in the Account Tree window.

Localization Packs include a Chart of Accounts csv file that is available for selection during the Initial Client Setup or the Initial Organization Setup process.
Those process are the processes which create a "Client" or an "Organization" in Openbravo, respectively.

Therefore, it is possible to:


On the other hand, there is no way to import "customized" ledger accounts in existing "Clients" or "Organizations" as accounting csv files can not be imported/applied
by using the Enterprise Module Management system. The options available to workaround that constraint are:

Import Accounts

Once the "Import Data" module is installed there is no need to apply any reference data. This module creates below folders in the Openbravo menu:

Import Data.png

As shown in the image below the "Import Loader Format" window details the accounting csv file format structure required

Import Loader Format.png

for the csv accounting file to be imported into Openbravo. For additional information about the accounting csv file structure, review this article

Import Account csv file.png

It is important to remark that this tool imports the accounts in the "Organization" selected in the "Profile" window.

Profile.png

That Organization needs to have already defined an Account Tree that do not necessary have elements or accounts, as those are the ones to be imported.

The "Import File Loader" window allows to select the accounting csv file and the "Format File" that needs to be "Accounting - Accounts".
The checkbox "Header first line" needs to be selected to get that the first line which contains the column names is not imported.

Once imported, the "Process" button moves the accounts imported into the window "Import Account".
Once in that window, the imported accounts can be modified or even new ones can be created.

The account's import process ends once the process button "Import Accounts" of the "Import Account" window is used.

Import Account.png

This process creates all the accounts in the "Element Value" tab of the Account Tree of the Organization.

Account Tree Element.png

Master Data import

Master data such as "Products" and "Business Partners" can be imported in Openbravo by using the "Initial Data Load" (IDL) tool.
The initial data load tool is a "commercial" module that can be installed in Openbravo 3 from the "Module Management" window as it is registered and published in the Forge.
An Openbravo Commercial License (OCL) is required to install the initial data load module.

Once installed the corresponding "Reference Data" needs to be applied to the organization. See image below:

Initial Data Load.png

There is an IDL User Manual which explains in deep how to configure and how to use this tool, very briefly:

Financial Balances Initialization

Financial balances can be split into:

This part of the migration process is key to get into Openbravo the correct financial situation of the organization which is being migrated.

This step can be split into below sub-steps:

Opening Accounting entry

First sub-step is about Defining and posting to the ledger a G/L Journal that includes an Opening Accounting entry which reflects each "Asset", "Liability" an "Owner's Equity" account type balance
at a given date (i.e. 1st January, 2013).

This "opening" G/L Journal can be imported into Openbravo by using the "Initial Data Load" tool, Journal Entries entity.

Openbravo recommends not to migrate transactional data such as "Orders", "Goods Receipt/Shipments" and do not paid "Invoices" but just the corresponding accounting information, therefore:

In other words, the opening G/L Journal entry reflects among others do not paid customer/vendor invoices that is the "Outstanding debt" at a given date that is the "Opening" accounting date.

Rest of ledger accounting entries

It is necessary to import into Openbravo all the accounting entries that need to be posted to the ledger within a period that goes from the "Opening" accounting entry date till the date when
the organization it is able to manage transactional and accounting information by using Openbravo (i.e. from the 1st January, 2013 to the 28th February, 2013).

By rest of ledger accounting entries it is meant the accounting entries related to invoice's accounting entries or payments' accounting entries among others
that need to be posted to the ledger within that period of time.

The way to do that in Openbravo is by defining and posting to the ledger a G/L Journal that includes all the accounting entries with an "accounting date" between:

This G/L Journal/s can be imported into Openbravo by using the "Initial Data Load" tool, Journal Entries entity.

It is important to remark that Openbravo "G/L Journals" allows to enter not just accounting information but also Accounting Dimension such as "Business Partner", "Product" and "Project".
That information is very useful while entering the G/L Journal lines or accounting entries of sales/purchase invoices that needs to be posted to the ledger within that period of time.

Accounting dimensional information can be reviewed in the Accounting Transaction Details report.

Pending Payments or Not Paid Invoices

Third sub-step is about entering the payments pending to be received/paid at a given date, that is the date when the organization is able to manage the payment of those pending payments in Openbravo
(i.e. 1st March,, 2013). Otherwise, those payments would have been posted to the ledger as paid in the previous step.

By payments pending to be received/paid, it is meant:

These "Payments" can be imported into Openbravo by using the "Initial Data Load" tool, Payments entity.

Once imported the "status" of those payments is "Awaiting Execution".
Next step is to simply execute them manually by using the process button "Execute Payment" whenever the payment is either received, therefore its status changes to "Payment Received" or made therefore its status changes to "Payment Made".
Please review this article to learn more about payment status.

It is important to remark that this way of doing does not allow to manage partial payments if required. In other words:

To workaround above scenario, this step can be skip if the invoices pending to be paid are imported into Openbravo by using the Initial Data Load Extension for Invoices.
The invoices imported by that tool are disable for accounting, as otherwise that would mean a double posting, same way will never show up in the Not Posted Transactions Report because their "Post" column is 'D' (disable for accounting).

Once imported, the invoice related payments can be managed as normally.

Bank/Cash accounts initial balance

Finally, it is also required to enter the initial balance of the organization's financial accounts in the Financial Account window.

That initial balance needs to be dated on a given data, that date is the date when the Organization is able to manage in Openbravo transactional and accounting data (i.e. 1st March, 2013), in other words, it is able to pay the pending payment by using Openbravo.

The way to do that in Openbravo is by entering the bank/cash balance as of a given date (i.e 1st March 2013) in the field "Initial Balance" while creating the corresponding financial accounts
in the Financial Account window.

Later on the value of the "Initial Balance" field is used as the Bank/Cash "Starting Balance" within the first reconciliation of the bank/cash account into Openbravo.

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