How to Record Opening Owner Balances in VRTrust
This article explains how to record opening owner balances as of your VRTrust Go Live date. These entries ensure amounts owed to or from owners appear correctly on your first month of VRTrust owner statements.
1. What Are Opening Owner Balances? 0:03
Opening owner balances represent:
Amounts owed to owners
Amounts owed by owners
These balances reflect activity before your VRTrust Go Live date and are required to present accurate balances on your first owner statements.
2. Reconcile Pre-Go-Live Distributions 0:15
Before entering opening balances, you must record payouts made in the first month that relate to income earned before Go Live.
Navigate to Bank Reconciliation
Go to the bank reconciliation page and select 'reconcile'.
This is where you will record payouts to owners and property managers for income earned before the Go Live date.
Review the unmatched bank transactions in the left-hand column
3. Identify Pre-Go-Live Distributions 0:28
Look for:
Owner distributions
Property manager distributions
that were paid after Go Live but relate to income earned before Go Live.
Example:
If your Go Live date is December 1st and owner payouts were made in early December for November income, those distributions must be recorded here.
4. Create Expenses for Pre-Go-Live Distributions 0:52
For each qualifying transaction:
Create an Expense
Select the Property Manager as the vendor
Choose the applicable Listing
Set the Expense Account to Opening Trust Account
Do not select Bill to Owner
Save the expense
Repeat this process for:
All owner distributions
All property manager distributions
related to pre-Go-Live income
For example, if there is a $20,000 expense for an owner distribution for November income:
Select the property manager as the vendor.
Choose the listing for the distribution.
Set the expense account to the opening trust account.
Ensure 'bill to owner' is deselected and then save.
⚠️ This process is only required in the first month.
All future distributions will be matched to published owner and property management statements.
5. Enter Opening Owner Deficit or Payable Balances 1:41
After recording pre-Go-Live distributions, enter any opening balances still owed to or from owners.
Create an Opening Balance Deposit
Go to Deposits
Click Add Deposit
Set:
Date: First day of the Go Live period
Bank Account: Trust Account
Deposit Amount:
0
Enter Opening Owner Balances in the description
These entries represent balances as of Day 1 of Go Live.
6. Enter Owner Deficit or Payable Balances 2:12
All opening balances are entered on the Non-Reservation tab.
Line 1: Opening Trust Account Entry
Contact: Owner
Description:
Opening Owner Deficit Balance or
Opening Owner Payable Balance
Select the Listing
Account: Opening Trust Account
For a deficit (owner owes money):
Enter a positive amount
Line 2: Payout Adjustment Entry 2:42
Contact: Owner
Select the Listing
Account: Payout Adjustments
Check Bill to Owner
Enter the amount as a negative value
This ensures:
The total deposit remains zero
The balance appears correctly on the owner statement
How Opening Balances Appear on Owner Statements 3:02
Once saved:
The opening balance appears on the first owner statement
Any income earned in the first month is adjusted by the opening balance
Example:
A beginning owner deficit reduces the first month payout accordingly
Recording Additional Amounts Owed to Owners 3:18
If an owner is owed additional funds from a prior period:
Reverse the signs of the entry:
Enter a negative amount to the Opening Trust Account
Enter a positive amount to Payout Adjustments
Save the deposit
Add additional lines as needed for each listing with an opening balance
This increases the owner payout on the first VRTrust owner statement.
Summary
Recording opening owner balances ensures:
Accurate first-month owner statements
Proper handling of pre-Go-Live distributions
Clean trust account reconciliation from Day 1
This process is performed once at Go Live and sets the foundation for accurate ongoing accounting in VRTrust.