Beginning balances are a critical detail of any account that retains its balance from year to year. These accounts include Asset, Liability, Equity, and Dedicated accounts. A beginning balance is set when an account is created, and is only updated at the start of each new fiscal year, as it represents the balance of the account at the start of the year. The integrity of account balances and reports depend on beginning balances being a fixed figure. Therefore, in Shepherd's Staff, once you have entered a beginning balance on an account, and the account has been used in at least one transaction, the beginning balance of that account can no longer be edited, and this is indicated by a lock icon by the beginning balance field in the "Edit Account" window.