# Opening balance

> Opening balance — An account's balance at the start of a period — exactly the prior period's closing balance. A P&L account opens a new fiscal year at zero, because its balance closed to retained earnings.

Source: https://lopifi.com/glossary/opening-balance
Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

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**What is opening balance?** In accounting, opening balance means an account's balance at the start of a period — exactly the prior period's closing balance. A P&L account opens a new fiscal year at zero, because its balance closed to retained earnings.

## Words this system refuses for it

- starting balance
- brought forward in UI copy

- **Category:** Foundations
- **Specified in:** [Lexicon](https://lopifi.com/md/docs/domain/11-lexicon)
- **Rendered by:** [account-register](https://lopifi.com/md/components/account-register)
- **Related:** retained-earnings, fiscal-year, account, period