> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.envoi.no/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Opening balance

> Post what the company owns and owes on the day the books start in Envoi, yourself or from a SAF-T file.

The opening balance is the starting point for the books: what the company has in the bank, what it owes and what its equity is, on the day the books start in Envoi. It is posted once, as the first entry, and cannot be changed afterwards.

## Where you post it

* **When you activate accounting**: in the step **Starting position**. See [Turn on accounting](/en/getting-started/turn-on-accounting).
* **If accounting is already turned on without an opening balance**: choose **Record** on the card **Record the opening balance** on [Overview](/en/accounting/overview).

Only the owner of the company can post the opening balance.

Once it is posted, you see it under **Settings**, **Company and VAT**, with **See opening balance**.

## Two ways

You choose whether you have a SAF-T file from the system you are switching from.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From a SAF-T file">
    If you are switching from another accounting system, you can upload the SAF-T file from it. Envoi takes the balances from the file.

    1. Export the SAF-T file from the old system, for the period that ends the day before the books start in Envoi.
    2. Choose **Upload the SAF-T file**. The file must be SAF-T Financial version 1.30 or 1.40, and at most 50 MB.
    3. Look over **This becomes the opening balance**. Envoi shows where each account is placed. You choose the accounts Envoi could not place yourself.
    4. Open invoices that exist in Envoi are added one by one. The rest become one item per customer and supplier, labelled "Balance from previous system".
    5. Choose which equity account the result for the year is posted to.
    6. Tick that you have checked the figures, and choose **Post the opening balance**.

    Only the balances are moved, not the individual entries. Keep the books from the old system. The file you uploaded is stored in Envoi as documentation.

    The file must be in Norwegian kroner, cover one financial year, have the same organisation number as the company and balance. If you file the VAT return every two months, the file must end at the end of a VAT period.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Enter the figures yourself">
    1. Choose **The books start from**. The date cannot be in the future. If you are switching from another system, use the day after the last completed VAT period.
    2. Under **What you enter yourself** you add one line per account, with an account number between 1000 and 2999. Each line uses either debit or credit.
    3. You do not enter accounts receivable (1500) and accounts payable (2400) yourself. Envoi adds open customer and supplier invoices automatically, under **What Envoi adds**.
    4. If the figures do not balance, Envoi shows **The set does not balance yet** and suggestions for what may be missing, such as a bank account, a loan or equity. A difference of up to kr 1 is posted as rounding.
    5. Tick that you have checked the figures, and choose **Post the opening balance**.

    If you have had an accountant, you find the figures in the balance sheet from the previous accounts.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## If something is wrong afterwards

The opening balance cannot be changed or posted again. Correct mistakes with a [manual journal entry](/en/accounting/corrections).