General journals

You'd use general journal transactions to track business activity that you wouldn’t want to track with other kinds of transactions, such as deposits or payments.Usually, journal entries are used for special situations only, such as when you need to record depreciation of your assets, or when you need to enter year-end adjustments.Each row of information in a journal entry is called a line item. You can enter as many line items in a general journal as you like, but you must have at least two line items—a debit line item and a credit line item to offset it. The total debits and credits in a general journal must balance before it can be recorded. For example, if there's $100 in credits, there must also be $100 in debits.

Recording journal entries

To record a journal entry, go to the Accounting menu and choose Create general journal. Tell me more about recording journal entries

Entering amounts in journal entries

Enter only positive numbers in the Debit and Credit fields.You can’t record a journal entry in which a line item includes both a Debit and Credit amount. The journal entry must balance, which means at least two line items—one with a Debit amount and one with a Credit amount—must be entered.

Viewing journal entries

To view a list of journal entries made over a specific period, go to the Accounting menu and choose General Journals. The Find transactions page appears, filtered to show general journals.You can then enter a date range and search for a particular journal entry based on its description. You can also choose an account to show journals containing that account.To view an individual journal entry, click the journal's Reference no.

Changing and deleting journal entries

Usually, you shouldn’t alter journal entries once they’re recorded. Instead, it’s best to make two new entries (one debit and one credit) to reverse the originals, then make two more new, correct entries. This provides a more transparent audit trail.If you do need to change or delete a journal entry, open the journal entry by clicking on the number in the Reference column on the Transaction list page. Change the journal entry by editing its information then clicking Record.To delete a journal entry, click Delete then click Yes to the confirmation message.If you need help with journal entries, ask your accounting advisor.

Tracking tax on journal entries

You have full control over how tax amounts affect each journal entry. You can calculate and track tax amounts from the Create general journal transaction page.Calculations are made using the Tax code you select for each line item in the journal entry. You can choose whether line item amounts are Tax inclusive or Tax exclusive. The Tax field (in the totals section near the bottom of the page) displays the calculated tax amount.Find out more about adding and finding journal entries.