How do I get the balance sheet accounts to populate from one year to the next?

Think of the balance sheet at the beginning of the year as the egg in the reproduction cycle.

Now, the sperm must travel and build up the egg to arrive at the child (ending numbers)

The sperm builds up the numbers by making journal entries of the transactions and posting the changes to the accounts.



In other words…

If I tell you I mowed a client's law and he paid me $40, you would:
Dr. Cash 40
Cr. Sales 40.

Then you would update Cash on the Balance Sheet by $40 and update Sales on the Income Statement by $40