CIS opening balances

Summary

Enter opening balances for outstanding invoices from another system into Accounting Start.

Resolution

Things to consider

To include and report on CIS for outstanding invoices, re-enter them using CIS functions and categories codes.
CIS in different categories affects opening balances. See How CIS transactions update your ledger accounts.

Before you start

Ensure you have set up CIS for your business and set up a contact as a contractor for CIS
Check your VAT Scheme and Accounts Start Date is correct
You'll need your trial balance with CIS opening balances to refer to

About entering opening balances

To input your opening balances accurately, follow this process to re-enter all outstanding invoices with CIS.

If your previous system deducted CIS on sales invoices, enter an opening balance for CIS Tax Withheld.

Enter opening balances for your categories, using the trial balance from your old system. This will include the balances of your outstanding CIS invoices.
To prepare for re-entering outstanding invoices in Accounting Start, create a journal entry to reverse their values. You'll need to enter values for:
- Trade Debtors
- CIS tax withheld - if your previous system deducted CIS on sales invoices
- Sales
- VAT on Sales
Re-enter your outstanding CIS invoices so:
- The CIS reduces correctly on each invoice
- CIS invoices show in returns and reports
- The correct categories are updated

Enter category opening balances for your categories

Enter opening balances for all categories, sourced from the final trial balance in your previous system. This will include the balance for:

Trade Debtors
CIS Tax withheld - only if your previous system deducted CIS on sales invoices
Sales
VAT on Sales

Enter category opening balances

From More, select Business Settings, then Category Opening Balances.
You'll have opening balances for:
- Trade Debtors - Debit
- CIS Tax Withheld - (Only if you used this in your old system) - Debit
- Sales - Credit
- VAT on Sales - Credit
Save the opening balance.

Below, with only one outstanding CIS invoice and no CIS deduction, we added the following opening balances:

Category	Debit	Credit
Trade Debtors	120
CIS Labour		100
VAT on Sales		20

You can easily adjust the opening balances if you make a mistake. Just open the opening balance and make the required changes to the category or amount.

Enter a journal to reverse your unpaid CIS invoices

For accurate CIS reporting, re-enter outstanding CIS invoices in Accounting Start.

Before you can do this, reverse the amount already entered as part of your opening balances.

From More, select Journals then New Journal.
Enter the value of all your outstanding CIS invoices.
- Trade Debtors - Credit
- CIS Tax Withheld - (Only if you used this in your old system) - Credit
- Sales - Debit
- VAT on Sales - Debit. Choose "Include on VAT Return" for re-entered invoices, requiring a reverse entry

In our example shown below, as we only had one outstanding invoice, we've entered the following values:

Category	Debit	Credit
Trade Debtors		120
Sales	100
VAT on Sales	20

Re-enter your CIS invoices

After reversal, re-enter outstanding CIS invoices individually for accurate reporting and payment tracking.

This will:

Update your Trade Debtors with the invoice values less the CIS withheld
Update CIS Tax Withheld with the amount of CIS withheld
Update CIS Labour with the net value
Update your VAT on Sales.

From Sales, select New Invoice.
Select the CIS customer with an outstanding balance.

Enter the following information:

Date	Enter your start date in Accounting. This should be the same date that you used for the credit note.
Category	Select the CIS Labour category. If charging for materials, add a second line using CIS Materials category. This ensures CIS deduction from the invoice and correct updating of the category balance.
Amount	Enter the net value of the outstanding CIS invoice. In our example, as we only have one invoice, this is £100.
VAT	If you're on the Standard VAT scheme, select the VAT rate used for the original invoice.

Save the invoice.

In our example below, we've updated the following ledger accounts:

Category	Debit	Credit
Trade Debtors	90
CIS Withheld	30
CIS Labour		100
VAT on Sales		20