Before you start trading, Setup → Go-live Check runs the checks an accountant would make on a new set of books. Each line is either ticked or tells you what is wrong and where to fix it. Run it when you have finished Getting started, and again whenever you like.
Before you start
- You need Company settings access to open the page.
- To use Move to Opening Balance Equity you also need Journal entries access, because it records a journal entry.
- Enter your opening balances first: customers, suppliers, stock and bank accounts.
What it checks
| Check | What it means when marked |
|---|---|
| Company details | Your business name or address is missing. They print on every invoice, receipt and report. |
| Time zone | No time zone is set, so dates run on UTC. |
| Your books balance | Total debits and credits differ. Usually a posting is still running: press Check again in a minute. |
| Customer opening balances | What customers owed you when you started is counted as income this period. |
| Supplier opening balances | What you owed suppliers when you started is counted as an expense this period. |
| Items without a category | No one can pick these items on a sale or purchase. |
| Roles that can see no items | Staff in these roles see no items when they sell or buy. |
| Items with negative stock | More was sold than was recorded as received. |
Steps
- Open Setup → Go-live Check.
- Work down the marked lines. For most, click the link under the line to open the screen that fixes it, then come back and press Check again.
- For Customer opening balances and Supplier opening balances, click Move to Opening Balance Equity, read the note, and click Move it.
- When every line is ticked, the page says you are ready to go live.
Why opening balances are moved
When you enter what a customer owed you on the day you started, BusinessSensor records it the way most accounting systems do: as a sale to that customer, so the debt is real and can be paid off. The other side of that sale lands in Uncategorized Income, which makes this period's profit look bigger than it is. Supplier opening balances do the opposite through Uncategorized Expenses.
Move to Opening Balance Equity records a journal entry that moves those amounts to Opening Balance Equity, where opening figures belong:
- one entry per opening date, dated on that date, so it lands in the same period;
- what customers and suppliers owe you does not change;
- the entries have the reference GOLIVE-OB-CUST or GOLIVE-OB-VEND and appear under Accounting → Journal;
- pressing the button again moves nothing: only amounts not yet moved are moved. If you add an opening balance later, the line is marked again and the button moves just the new amount.
Tips
- Run the check before your first real sale, and again before your first month-end close.
- A journal that needs approval in your business is sent for approval like any other; the line clears once it is approved and posted.
Common problems
- "Move to Opening Balance Equity" is refused for a date → that date is in a closed period. Reopen the period in Setup → Fiscal Years, move the balances, then close it again.
- "Your books balance" stays marked → note the difference shown and contact support. Do not post a journal to force it to zero.
- The button does nothing for you → you need Journal entries access. Ask an administrator to run it, or to give your role that right.