A journal entry records a transaction directly as debits and credits, for the moments when no document fits. It is also the clearest window onto how the whole system works, because every invoice, payment and bill, underneath, becomes a journal exactly like the one you can write by hand here.
- What double entry means and why entries must balance
- What the journal screen captures
- Ordinary, adjusting and reversing entries
- How preview, posting and locking work
Anatomy of the screen
- Header – code and date (recorded to the minute, not just the day).
- Advanced options – associate the journal with a project or a sales invoice, and set the entry type (ordinary, adjusting or reversing). Where MyInvois applies, an e-invoice control appears.
- Description – the narrative for the entry.
- Transaction lines – each line names a ledger and a debit or credit amount, with an optional description and a subledger tag (a customer, vendor, director or employee) so control-account lines stay attributed.
- Notes and attachments.
How it behaves
It must balance
The single rule of double entry: total debits equal total credits. The system will not post an unbalanced journal, and only nudges in a tiny rounding line when a multi-currency conversion leaves a sub-cent gap. Every account that gains is matched by one that gives.
Preview before you post
You can preview the exact double entry a journal will create before committing it, which is the safest way to check a tricky posting. The same preview engine sits behind every document, so what you learn here reads everywhere.
Lifecycle and entry types
A journal runs Draft, Verify, Posted, then can be Cancelled. Once posted, fields lock progressively until only notes and attachments remain editable, and cancelling reverses the posting rather than deleting it, so the audit trail is intact. An adjusting entry is a period-end correction; a reversing entry automatically backs out a prior entry, the clean way to undo without erasing history.
Worked example
To accrue 1,200 of rent not yet billed, you debit Rent Expense 1,200 and credit Accrued Liabilities 1,200, preview the balanced entry, and post. Next period a reversing entry clears the accrual so the real bill, when it lands, is not double-counted.
Edge cases and good practice
- Tag the subledger on any receivables or payables line, so control accounts stay attributed to a customer or vendor.
- Reverse, do not edit. Use a reversing entry to undo a posted journal; never try to rewrite history.
- Closed periods are locked. You cannot date a journal into a period that has been closed.
Related
- How to: Record a journal entry
- Reference: Chart of Accounts
- Reference: Accounting Periods