The old ledger closes, but Xero opens with a different figure
Illustrative composite client situation: an owner moves a New Zealand business from another accounting system to Xero. The old system has a closing trial balance and a list of customer invoices and supplier bills still unpaid. After the opening balances are entered, the owner cannot see why the receivables total in Xero differs from the unpaid customer list. They ask, “Should I put through a journal to make it agree?” This does not describe an identifiable Pillar client, a completed migration or a result achieved by Pillar.
The useful first step is to locate the difference. A journal made before that work could hide a duplicated invoice, an incomplete list or a cut-off error. Xero NZ recommends working with an accountant when transferring balances from an old system.
Put the old and new records on the same date
Confirm the conversion date set in Xero and obtain the old system’s trial balance dated the day before. Xero’s conversion-balance instructions use that preceding trial balance as the starting point. The account names may differ between systems, so keep a mapping of the old account, new account and balance used. Note any accounts omitted from the import rather than assuming a nil balance.
Next, take the aged receivables and payables lists at the same cut-off. Each list should explain the corresponding control-account balance, including credit notes and amounts already part paid. For a partly paid item, use the balance still unpaid at conversion, rather than the original invoice or bill total. Xero says the totals of unpaid invoices and bills entered at conversion should equal the receivables and payables conversion balances. That check is more informative than comparing two totals on different dates. It also helps identify an item imported twice or entered once as an opening balance and again as a new-period transaction.
The bank needs its own cut-off. Compare the old closing bank balance with the statement at that date, then see where the Xero bank feed or imported statement begins. A line that appears on both sides of the cut-off may make later reconciliation confusing. A line missing from both systems needs the underlying bank record, not a guessed balancing entry.
Decide what the difference actually represents
Make a short list of differences with the source document and date for each one. Typical questions are whether a customer credit was missed, a partly paid bill was entered at its original full value, an account was mapped incorrectly, or a bank transaction crossed the conversion date. These are checks, not findings about this composite business.
Preserve the old reports and the mapping used for the move. Inland Revenue notes that, when computer systems change, it may ask to see the old and new record layouts. A new Xero report alone cannot explain how a figure arrived from the earlier records.
This review has a different purpose from our guide to Xero bank reconciliation and month-end completeness. The conversion check establishes the opening position once; month-end work tests whether subsequent periods are complete. Pillar’s Xero and accounting systems service can help scope the conversion review.
For a first conversation, bring the conversion date, old closing trial balance and aged lists, a chart-of-accounts mapping, the first Xero trial balance and aged lists, and bank statements spanning the cut-off. Contact Pillar with the difference you are trying to explain. A Pillar accountant should review the actual file and tax record before any correction or filing decision.