When you start using Blackpurl with a new accounting package — either QuickBooks Online or Xero — you need to ensure your historical financial balances are correctly carried across. This article explains how opening balances and conversion balances work, who is responsible for entering them, and how to approach each balance type.
Which Section Applies to You
This article is divided into two sections. Follow the section that matches your dealership's situation:
Section 1 — New dealership with no previous accounting package
Section 2 — Dealership moving from a previous accounting package
Section 1 — New Dealership with No Previous Accounting Package
If you are a brand new dealership, you will not have any opening balances or conversion balances from an old accounting package.
If your dealership did not provide a list of unit inventory and/or parts inventory for importing into Blackpurl, no further action is required.
If your dealership did provide a list of unit inventory and/or parts inventory for importing into Blackpurl, those values become the starting inventory balances in Blackpurl. The Blackpurl Activations team will have entered these inventory values into your QuickBooks Online or Xero against the relevant inventory General Ledger accounts, and will email you to confirm what was journaled.
Section 2 — Dealership Moving from a Previous Accounting Package
This section applies if you are starting Blackpurl with a new accounting package (QuickBooks Online or Xero) and have also been using a previous accounting package.
Opening Balances for Unit Inventory and Parts Inventory
As part of the Blackpurl activation process, your dealership would have provided a list of unit inventory and/or parts inventory for importing into Blackpurl. The value of that inventory forms the starting inventory balances in Blackpurl.
The Blackpurl Activations team will have entered these inventory values into your QuickBooks Online or Xero against the relevant inventory General Ledger accounts. Ideally these figures will match the inventory figures in your previous accounting package. If they do not match, your accountant will need to make an adjustment entry in your new accounting package.
For a detailed explanation of what the Blackpurl Activations team completed on your behalf, see Opening Balance for Unit and Parts Inventory in Your Accounting Package.
All Other Opening Balances — Dealership Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the dealership to enter all other opening balances and conversion balances from their old accounting package into QuickBooks Online or Xero during activation or shortly thereafter. Blackpurl is not an accounting firm and does not provide QuickBooks Online or Xero support — opening balances and conversion balances fall outside the scope of the Blackpurl integration and the Blackpurl Activations process.
If you need assistance, contact your accountant or bookkeeper and refer to the official resources from your accounting package provider:
What Are Opening Balances and Conversion Balances
Opening balances (also called conversion balances) are the closing balances from your old accounting package that you carry forward into your new one. When you start using a new accounting package, you need the last known balance for each General Ledger account from your old system — these become the starting point in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Entering these balances accurately is critical. You want a clear, unbroken set of accounting figures carried over from your old system so that your financial history remains continuous and complete.
Where to Start
Before loading any opening balances into your new accounting package, gather your closing balances from your old system. Run the following reports from your old accounting package:
Full balance sheet
Profit and loss statement
Trial balance showing closing balances
Full Accounts Payable (AP) listing
Full Accounts Receivable (AR) listing
Once you have those reports, review the official resources from your accounting package provider to understand the steps involved:
Recommendations for Specific Balance Types
Several General Ledger balance types require a specific loading approach. Follow the guidance below for each.
Accounts Receivable
Load the Accounts Receivable opening balance in two steps to ensure the balance is recorded correctly against individual customers:
Load the total Accounts Receivable opening balance into a clearing account.
Load each individual customer balance (completed and finalised invoices awaiting payment — not open jobs or orders) directly to the customer record, using the same clearing account General Ledger to load the invoice.
This process clears the clearing account, records the outstanding amount owed by each customer, and creates the Accounts Receivable balance in your accounting package.
Accounts Payable
Load the Accounts Payable opening balance in two steps to ensure the balance is recorded correctly against individual vendors:
Load the total Accounts Payable opening balance into a clearing account.
Load each individual vendor balance (completed and finalised invoices awaiting payment — not open jobs or orders) directly to the vendor record, using the same clearing account General Ledger to load the outstanding invoice.
This process clears the clearing account, records the outstanding amount owed to each vendor, and creates the Accounts Payable balance in your accounting package.
Customer Deposits
How to handle customer deposits is typically discussed with your Blackpurl Activation Specialist during the activation process. Two options are available:
Option 1 — Load the deposit to the customer in your accounting package via the Accounts Receivable opening balance, then use the AR Credit payment method button in Blackpurl to apply the deposit to the Customer Order (CO). For guidance on the Blackpurl side of this process, see AR Credit Payment Method.
Option 2 — Load the deposit directly into Blackpurl on the relevant Customer Orders. You then need to go into your accounting package and remove the deposit from the undeposited funds account, offsetting it against the General Ledger the deposits are currently sitting in — for example, the clearing account you used for Accounts Receivable.
Parts Inventory and Unit Inventory
Based on the information your dealership provided, the Blackpurl Activations team will have entered the opening inventory balances in your new accounting package under the relevant inventory General Ledger accounts. Your Blackpurl Activations team will have sent you an email confirming the amounts posted and which General Ledgers were used.
In theory, these inventory values should match the inventory General Ledger balances from your old accounting package. If they do not match, it is the responsibility of the dealership or their accountant to make any adjustment entries to ensure all inventory General Ledger accounts balance to what is recorded in Blackpurl.
Questions
If you have any questions about opening balances or conversion balances, reach out to your Activation Specialist — this topic will have been discussed with you during the activation process.
