San Balance01Give each real balance one home
Create an account for each place whose balance you intend to reconcile: for example, a current account, a savings account or cash. Use a name that will still make sense months later. Avoid creating separate accounts for spending categories such as groceries or transport; categories describe why money moved, while accounts describe where it was held. If two records represent the same real balance, later transfers and reports can double count it.
02Treat the opening balance as history
The opening balance is a starting fact, not an event in the reporting period. Enter the amount that was already present on the date you began tracking. San Balance keeps that amount separate from operating income so a savings balance carried in from last year does not appear as salary earned this month. Record the opening balance once, on the correct account and in the account’s actual currency.
Example: If a bank account already contains AUD 1,200 on the day you start, enter AUD 1,200 as its opening balance. The account starts at AUD 1,200 while this month's income remains zero.
03Use transfers when ownership does not change
Moving money between two of your own accounts changes both account balances but does not create income or an expense. Record one transfer from the source to the destination. Recording the same movement as an expense and a new income inflates both sides of the report and hides the real purpose of the movement. A transfer is also the clearest way to explain why one account fell while another rose by the same amount.
04Reserve adjustments for verified differences
An adjustment is a correction after you compare San Balance with a trusted real balance and find a difference you cannot explain with a missing transaction or transfer. First check dates, duplicate entries, pending payments and the selected account. If the difference remains, record the adjustment with a short reason and the date of the comparison. Do not use adjustments for ordinary purchases, salary or internal transfers because reports display corrections separately.
05Keep currency boundaries explicit
An account should keep the currency in which the real balance is held. Ten dollars and ten euros are not twenty units of one meaningful total. San Balance does not invent an exchange rate, so compare accounts only after choosing a reporting currency and a verified conversion method. When money actually changes currency, document the source amount, destination amount and rate or fee so the two account balances can be checked independently.
06Run a short reconciliation before moving on
Compare each San Balance account with its external statement or counted cash. Confirm the opening date, opening amount, all transfers around the cutoff and any adjustment. A useful diagnostic order is: wrong account, wrong date, duplicate transaction, missing transfer, unpaid payment marked paid, then adjustment. Export a reviewed copy before a large cleanup. Once accounts agree, transaction and report troubleshooting becomes much easier.