Overview
One of the most important decisions you have to make in DoorLoop is picking your Accounting Start Date. The accounting start date is the day you begin tracking your property accounting in DoorLoop. Everything from before this date is summarized in DoorLoop by setting opening balances, and you enter all transaction details from this date forward in DoorLoop. In other words, this is the day you move away from your old system and begin doing business in DoorLoop.
It is recommended to set an accounting start date for all the bank accounts you plan on adding and tracking in DoorLoop.
Note: Once you implement your Accounting Start Date, DoorLoop recommends not changing it unless you are comfortable with advanced accounting principles. Choose carefully!
Your Options
When choosing your accounting start date, you have several options. You can pick any date, but to keep things simple, we recommend picking either the 1st of the upcoming month or the 1st of the current month. This also requires the least amount of manual data entry.
Choosing 1st of next month
Pro: This method requires the least amount of extra work because you won't be entering in past transactions (other than existing lease deposits), but will start recording all new transactions starting next month.
Con: However, it does require some waiting, because you won't be able to enter in your bank account opening balances and lease carry-forward balances until the end of the current month.
Choosing 1st of the current month
Pro: Because you won't have to wait for your accounting start date, choosing this method allows you to enter your bank account opening balances and lease balances right away.
Con: You will need to manually enter your lease charges, tenant payments, property expenses, and owner transactions for the month.
Choosing Jan. 1 of the current year
Pro: If you aren't confident in your previous system's bookkeeping, you can regain that confidence in your accounting accuracy by recreating all transactions for the year in DoorLoop. This has the added benefit of giving you one location for your year-end reporting for tax purposes.
Con: You will need to manually enter in all lease charges, tenant payments, property expenses, and owner transactions for the year.
Next Step
Set Up a Merchant Account to Accept Online Payments - Powered by Stripe - After setting up your bank accounts in DoorLoop, if you plan on receiving online payments from your tenants, you'll want to set up a Merchant Account for each bank account you want to receive payments into.