Make journal entries

• Payroll (earnings, deductions, taxes and fees)
• Bank and credit card merchant fees
• Transfers of funds between banks
• Depreciation and Amortization
• Other bank account items not covered through A/R or A/P transactions

• A journal entry cannot be deleted once it is posted.  A second entry must be made, using the same period and date as the original, to completely reverse or adjust.
• A journal entry can be posted to the current fiscal year only.  This information is displayed at the bottom of the posting window.  Making an entry in a closed year requires you to reopen the year. 
• A journal entry cannot be saved unless the Control Total is zero.  If the entry is long and the difference cannot be found, consider using a Template to temporarily save it until further research can be done.
• An accrual journal entry will make a reversal in the next accounting period. If you need to move an item to a different period, use 2 separate and opposing regular entries.
• Every journal entry should be posted with consistent date and period.  The system will always prioritize the period over the date if they are different, but this will cause difficulties with bank reconciliation.

This type of entry generates one transaction in the specified accounting period.

1. Go to Accounting > General Ledger > Journal Entry. 
2. The system defaults to the Regular Entry type.

   

3. From the Calendar Period, choose the accounting period and then press the Tab key.  Inform translates to the appropriate fiscal period.
4. For audit purposes, type a Description of up to 30 characters.
5. To assign a system number to the Reference ID, click Next.  Although you may type your own number, it is not recommended because there is a risk of repeating a number over time and that could have adverse effects if a bank account G/L is involved.
6. When making a manual journal entry, you can bypass the Template option.
7. Assign a journal entry date in accordance with the calendar period in the Transaction Date.  This step is critical for overall system integrity and proper ordering on a Bank Reconciliation.  The system will issue a warning is the selected transaction date falls outside the accounting period.
8. Type or search for a G/L account. 
9. In either the Debit or Credit column, type a dollar amount, and then press Tab to proceed to the next line.  Debits and Credits must be equal in order to save the entry. The Control Total indicates whether the entry is in balance.
10. Click Save. The journal entry posts immediately into the General Ledger.  A General Journal Report will be offered upon posting.

This type of entry posts the original transaction in the specified accounting period, followed by a reversal in the next sequential accounting period.  It is common for system users to accrue merchandise inventory in an accounting period and reverse the entry in the period in which the vendor invoices are entered. Other common uses for accruals include end of year expenses and payroll.

1. Go to Accounting > General Ledger > Journal Entry. 
2. Click Accrual.

   

3. From the Calendar Period, choose the accounting period and then press the Tab key.  Inform translates to the appropriate fiscal period. The period selected applies to the first portion of the entry.
4. Follow the steps above used to make a regular journal entry.
5. Verify the transaction by inquiring on one of the affected accounts for an entire fiscal year. The original will use a regular sequence number (0615-10 in this example). The reversing portion will use the sequence number followed by a letter A (0615-10-A in this example).

• Saves time when entering recurring and cumbersome transactions such as payroll.
• Reduces the likelihood of errors and inconsistent choice of G/L accounts.
• Can be edited to add, delete, or change accounts and amounts each time it is used.
• Provides a convenient facility to temporarily save a very long or incomplete entry before committing to posting.
• Serves as a convenient vehicle for entering opening balances and other long entries.

1. Go to Accounting > General Ledger > Journal Template.

   

2. Click New.

   Although the system will not post this entry, you must still complete all fields before saving.  The template itself does not create any live entries on your system.

3. In the Template box, type a name for the new template, and then press the Tab key.
4. Type a Description and then press the Tab key.
5. Begin building the template by entering G/L accounts and amounts. Click the Add G/L Distribution button to add new rows to the grid.

   

6. You may save a Journal Entry Template “in progress” even if total debits and credits are out of balance.  A control total at the bottom of the window will indicate the current disposition. Click Save.

1. Go to Accounting > General Ledger > Journal Template.
2. In the Template box, select or search for the one you want to edit.
3. Click Edit, make the necessary changes, and then click Save before exiting.

1. Go to Accounting > General Ledger > Journal Entry. 
2. The system will default to a “regular” entry.  For more about accruals, see the section above.
3. Type the Calendar Period in MM/YY format.  If your fiscal year is different than calendar, the system will translate a calendar period into a fiscal period.
4. To assign a system number to the Reference ID, click Next.  Although you may type your own number, it is not recommended because there is a risk of repeating a number over time and that could have adverse effects if a bank account G/L is involved.
5. Select or search for the Template.  It may take a moment to load.  Wait until the entire entry is loaded before proceeding further.
6. Assign a Transaction Date in MM/DD/YYYY format.  If the chosen date falls outside of the accounting period assigned, the system will issue a warning.
7. Type a Description or use the default description populated from the template.
8. If there are no changes from the template, click Save to post the entry. As with any journal entry, the debits and credits must equal before saving.
9. If there are changes to dollar amounts, you can edit each debit or credit field without affecting the account by overtyping the number.
10. If accounts need to be added, you can insert a blank line by right clicking the line directly below.

    

11. If accounts need to be deleted, click the “X” to the right of the window.

    None of these changes will affect the template itself because this is a “live” entry.

12. To post the entry, click Save.  The system will offer a General Journal Report for printing.
13. The General Journal Report may be reproduced at a later time by entering the Journal Entry function.  Enter the accounting period and click Report to produce a listing of all entries for the period.

    

• A Template may be deleted at any time.  Because it is not a live transaction, a template can be removed if it is no longer relevant.  A good example of this is if a Template was used to build your system-opening journal entry.  To avoid it being used in the future, it can be removed with no effect on the entries already generated.
• A Template can hold accounts and dollar amounts that differ from the actual journal entry.  For example, with a payroll, there will be fluctuations in the dollar amounts used each time it is posted.  There may also be additional accounts added or deleted when the template is switched over to a regular entry, such as “Bonus Payroll.”
• A Template can be used to make a regular or accrual journal entry depending on which option is selected at the top of the screen when the template is converted to a live entry.
• Templates may be “stacked” into a single journal entry.  Simply choose another template and it will appear at the bottom of the active window.

The data must be presented in Excel as indicated below.

1. Follow the instructions to begin a regular journal entry.
2. Select the data to copy by highlighting the G/L accounts and amounts.

   

3. Copy the content to the active clipboard using any method (CTRL + C, right-click, or menu).
4. Click in the G/L Account box, and then paste the data.
5. If there are any errors or blank lines, the system will indicate before allowing to post.
6. Save the entry and print or cancel the report.  Note that canceling the report does not prevent the entry from posting.

Excel copy and paste works for templates in addition to “live” entries.