When switching to Bookem, you may need to transfer client balances from your previous system. This includes both credit (positive) and debt (negative) balances.
To ensure accurate reporting, account balances must be transferred as payments — not by adjusting invoice line items. You’ll need to create a special payment method for opening balances. This article guides you through the steps.
First, set up a dedicated payment method to record opening balances correctly.
To create an opening balance payment method:
Click Payment methods in the top bar
Click + New payment method
From the drop-down, select Other as the payment method
Enter Opening balance as the name
Once the payment method is set up, you can begin adding opening balances to client accounts.
To add an opening balance:
Go to the client’s profile and select the Account tab
Click + Create a payment
Fill in the Payment date and Received amount
Select Opening balance as the payment method
(Optional) Add a note for context or record-keeping
Bookem lets you transfer both credits and debts. Here’s how each is handled:
Credit (positive balance):
Used when a client has paid a deposit or has credit from a previous system
Can be applied to an outstanding invoice later
Debt (negative balance):
Used when a client still owes you money
Enter the amount as a negative value
Cannot be applied to invoices - will be balanced out by future payments
If the client has credit from a previous system, you can apply this to an invoice.
To apply an opening balance payment:
Go to the client’s profile and open the Accounts tab
Click on the Opening balance payment
Click Add invoice and select the relevant invoice
Here's a video to show you how:
Tip: If you date the opening balance payment before the start of your statement period (e.g. 1 Nov when the statement starts 1 Dec), it will be excluded from that statement.