Your entry start date determines how far back Mercury Books pulls in your account activity and which periods are available in your reports. This article explains how your entry start date works, how to choose or change it, and what happens when you move it to an earlier date.
What your entry start date controls
- How far back transactions sync. Books pulls transactions dated on or after your entry start date from every connected account — Mercury accounts, external accounts linked through Plaid, and your Stripe, PayPal, and Gusto integrations. Anything dated before it isn't brought in
- Which periods your reports cover. Months, quarters, and years that fall entirely before your entry start date are hidden from the period selector on your reports and excluded from report output
Choosing a date
Pick the first day of the first period you want to keep in Mercury Books. In practice, that's usually the day after the last period you closed in your previous system.
For example, if your 2025 books are closed in QuickBooks Online and you want to start doing your bookkeeping in Mercury Books for 2026, choose January 1, 2026.
Books defaults your entry start date to your business's date of incorporation or January 1, 2025, whichever is more recent. A few things to consider when deciding whether to change it:
- Starting at incorporation gives you the most complete picture, and is the right choice if you've never kept formal books
- Starting at a clean period boundary is usually simpler if you already have closed books elsewhere — you avoid duplicating work and reconciling periods twice
- An older start date means more historical transactions to review and categorize before your reports are accurate
Tip: Choose a date that lines up with the start of a month, quarter, or year. Reconciliation in Books runs on monthly windows, so a mid-month start date leaves you with a partial first period.
Changing your entry start date
You can change your entry start date via Settings > Books Details.
When your entry start date moves earlier, Books backfills the older transactions from your connected accounts. Two things to expect while that happens:
- Reconciliation windows you've already completed can temporarily show as out of balance while older transactions arrive. This resolves on its own once the backfill finishes
- Newly arrived historical transactions need to be reviewed and categorized like any others
FAQs
Can I pull in transactions from before my entry start date?
Not without changing the date itself. Transactions dated before your entry start date aren't brought into your books, including through a CSV import. If you need older history, contact support to have your entry start date moved earlier.
Why can't I select last year on my Profit & Loss?
Periods that fall entirely before your entry start date are hidden from the report period selector. The month, quarter, and year that contain your entry start date remain selectable.
Does my entry start date have to match my fiscal year?
No. It's independent of your fiscal year — it only controls how far back data syncs.
I set the date too recently and my books look empty. What now?
This is the most common cause of missing transactions. See our Why some transactions are missing from Books article, then change date in the Books Details tab.
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