Create custom balances

You can create custom balances in the Trial Balance to accommodate a wide variety of business needs, such as including amended budgets. Custom balances can represent balances in the past (e.g. a budget balance), or balances in the future (e.g. a forecast balance), and can accommodate up to five years of data.

To create a custom balance:

  1. On the ribbon, click Tools | Options | Custom Balances.
  2. Click New.... The New Custom Balances Item dialog displays.

  3. Complete the dialog options as required.

    Option Description
    Balance Identifier Enter a two-character identifier to display in the BL database.
    Name Enter the full name of the custom balance.
    Abbreviated Heading Enter an abbreviated name for the custom balance to use as the column heading in the Trial Balance.
    Years

    Select whether the custom balance represents past or future balances.

    Click OK.

The custom balance is created. By default, only the current year of the custom balance displays in the Trial Balance. To display additional years, right-click any column in the Trial Balance and select Reorder Columns, then add the Budget or Forecast years to the displayed columns.

Notes:

  • To delete a custom balance, select it in the Custom Balances list and click Delete. If a custom identifier is deleted as a result, then a warning displays to indicate that all balances associated with the identifier will be deleted.
  • Each custom balance displays on the Split-up Accounts screen (current year only, as with budgets). Custom split-up balance amounts will be rolled forward.