Sage 50 software has a feature that creates an equity account called "Beginning Balance Equity" to contain the difference or Sage 50 Balance Sheet out-of-balance amount in the General Ledger Accounts window. This account does not appear in the Beginning Balances window, but it will appear on financial statements and general ledger reports. It is recommended to find and correct the cause of the out-of-balance situation before proceeding. If the error cannot be found, selecting OK in the warning message will allow you to proceed with setting up the company, and prior-period adjustments will need to be entered instead of Sage 50 beginning balances when posting transactions.

To resolve this situation, it is recommended to find the cause of the out-of-balance situation and correct it. If the beginning balances are taken from financial statements provided by a previous accounting system or accountant, make sure that all data is entered correctly and that no accounts or balances are missing. If the error cannot be found, selecting OK in the warning message will allow the user to proceed with setting up the company and entering transactions. However, once transactions are posted, prior-period adjustments must be made instead of Sage 50 beginning balances. The Beginning Balance Equity account can be deleted once it has no transactions associated with it.

To enter beginning balances for accounts in Sage 50, select the Beginning Balances button in the Chart of Accounts window, choose the period in which to enter balances, and enter all the amounts for each account. A running balance is kept for each period, so changes made to one period affect subsequent periods. Negative amounts can be entered if necessary.

To enter General Ledger Account Beginning Balances, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Maintain menu and select Chart of Accounts to display the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.
2. Select the Beginning Balances button to display the Select Period window.
3. Select the period in which you want to enter beginning balances and click OK to display the Chart of Accounts Beginning Balances window.
4. Add amounts to the white cells in the grid and enter all beginning balances for the accounts.
5. Click OK when finished.

To add a new account in G/L Beginning Balances:

1. In the Beginning Balances window accessed from the Maintain Chart of Accounts window, select the New button to display the Enter New Account window.
2. Enter an account ID and description for the account.
3. Select a type for the account and click OK.

The Maintain Chart of Accounts window is used to add, define, modify, or delete an account.

In conclusion, it is important for companies to take corrective action when their balance sheet is out of balance in order to improve their financial health and build a sustainable future.