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Create or Clone a Journal Entry

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Overview 

Each Journal Entry [Header] MUST have a minimum of two Journal Entry Lines associated with it and MUST have balancing debits and credits in order to post. If your debits and credits do not balance, the Out of Balance field will display the difference. You will still be allowed to create the Journal Entry. However, you will be unable to post the Journal Entry until it is in balance. 

Journal Entries can only be posted to open Accounting Periods. If an entry needs to be posted to a closed period, the period must first be opened so the entry can be made. The period can then be closed once the adjustment has been made.

If you are using a Consolidations Ledger(s), Journal Entries can be created for an Eliminations Transactional Ledger(s).

A Salesforce approval process can be added to the Journal Entry object to enable an approval process prior to posting the Journal Entry.

Create a Journal Entry

  1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Create Entries tab. Then, under the Ledger menu, click Journal Entries.
  2. Click New.
  3. Enter required fields for the Journal Entry [Header]. Required fields display with a red asterisk (*).
    • Journal Entry Name - it is a best practice to use a consistent naming convention for your Journal Entries.

      If a Journal Entry is added from Bank Direct Connect, the naming convention for the Journal Entry Name will automatically display on the Journal Entry record from Bank Direct Connect in the following format: BDC-<Source>-<Bank Transaction Name>-<Journal Entry Creation Date>. For example, if the Source is Plaid as the Aggregation Provider, the Journal Entry Name will display as: BDC-Plaid-BT-00065-12/12/2022. Another example would be if the Source is from a Financial File Import, the Journal Entry Name will display as: BDC-FinancialFileImport-BT-00047-12/13/2022.

    • Journal Date - Accounting Seed is a period based accounting system. Therefore, if the Accounting Period is left blank, the transaction will post by default to the period that the date of the Journal Entry [Header] falls within.
    • Posting Status - the default posting status is Approved, however, you can customize this to default to any status you wish. In order to post a Journal Entry, the Journal Entry must first be in the Approved status.
      Note: If the daily Scheduled Post job has been created, all Journal Entries that have a posting status of “Approved” will automatically post based upon the Next Run Date and Preferred Start Time. 
    • Currency - this applies if you are using Multi-Currency.
  4. (Optional) Enter the following fields, as necessary:
    • Type - select one of the following from the Type drop-down list to indicate the kind of Journal Entry that is being created or the reason for the creation.
      Note: When creating a Journal Entry from a Recurring Journal Entry, if one of the below options was selected as the Type on the Recurring Journal Entry, it will automatically be populated in  the Type field when the Journal Entry is saved.
      • Bank Transfer
      • EOM Adjustment
      • Intercompany
      • Sub-ledger Adjustment
    • Source - the Source drop-drop list is used to identify the origin of the Journal Entry. The Source will be automatically updated per the information below. The Source can be manually selected, if necessary.
      • Manual - when using the “New” button to create a Journal Entry or it is created from the Import wizard/Data Loader, the Source field defaults to “Manual.”
      • Recurring Journal Entry - when a Journal Entry is being created from a Recurring Journal Entry, the Source field will automatically populate with “Recurring Journal Entry” when the record is saved.
      • Bank Direct Connect - when a Journal Entry is added using Bank Direct Connect, the Source field will automatically populate with “Bank Direct Connect” when the record is saved. 
      • Import - when a Journal Entry is added using the Payroll File Import, the Source field will automatically populate with “Import” when the record is saved.
    • Recurring Journal Entry - click the Lookup icon to search for and select the associated Recurring Journal Entry name.
    • Accounting Period - click the Lookup icon to search for and select  the associated Accounting Period for financial reporting.
    • Ledger - click the Lookup icon to search for and select the appropriate Ledger.
    • Reference - enter any external source document information or description.
  5. Click Save.
  6. On the Journal Entry page, click Mass Add/Edit Rows. Otherwise, click New.
    Note: When a new line is added (using the New button or Mass/Edit Rows), the Date field for the line will automatically populate with the Journal Date from the Journal Entry header record. The Date field can be modified to select a different date, if necessary. If the date field on a new or existing Journal Entry Line is modified, the date cannot be greater than the date that is on the Journal Entry header record.

    Best Practice: Any existing Journal Entry Lines with dates that are greater than the Journal Entry header records should be modified to prevent issues with Bank Reconciliations.

  7. Enter required fields for the Journal Entry Lines:
    • Debit or Credit amount:  Each Journal Entry Line will consist of either a Debit or Credit, but not both.
    • GL Account
    • Cash Flow Category: If you have enabled Cash Flow Statement in the Enablements screen, then Journal Entry Lines with a Cash GL Account (Bank checkbox selected in that GL Account details) require a Cash Flow Category to be selected in order to Post.  This is because all cash related transactions (Cash Disbursements, Cash Receipts and Journal Entries to a cash account) in a customer's fiscal year are required to be tagged with a Cash Flow category in order to generate a Cash Flow Statement. If you do not select a Cash Flow Category, it will default to the category defined in the Enablements screen.
  8. Enter additional information in the optional fields, as needed.
    Note: If you add a Project, the Journal Entry can be posted without having an associated Project Task. The validation rule to require a Project Task whenever selecting a Project on the Journal Entry Line has been disabled on all new installations. A user may enable/disable according to their business processes.
  9. From the Mass Add/Edit Rows page, click one of the following:
      1. Save & Refresh - Save your changes and refresh the screen to display the Mass Add/Edit Rows with your changes.
      2. Save & Complete - Save your changes and return to the Journal Entry screen.
      3. Save & Post -  Save your changes and post transactions to the General Ledger.
      4. Save & New - Save your changes and display the New Journal Entry dialog box to create a  new Journal Entry.

Note: If the GL Account selected is the AR Control GL Account or the AP Control GL Account (defined in Default GL Accounts), then an Account (Customer/Vendor) must be specified on the Journal Entry Line.

Clone a Journal Entry

The Journal Entry Clone with Lines feature provides an efficient way to manage the Journal Entry process when you have recurring Journal Entries or if you need to duplicate a Journal Entry.  For example, many customers use the Clone with Lines tool when entering their Payroll Journal Entry. This allows them to copy the entry from the prior period and then simply edit the amounts and dates for this period’s entry.

  1. Navigate to the Journal Entry you wish to clone.
  2. Click Clone w/ Lines or Reverse Clone w/ Lines. A reverse clone will copy the existing Journal Entry Lines and reverse the debit and credit values. This is useful for reversing accruals in a subsequent period.  In most cases, customers will record the reversal at the same time they do the accrual and just post the reversal to a later Accounting Period.
  3. From the intermediate screen, enter the date for the new journal entry. This will populate on the journal entry header and lines.
  4. Adjust or edit the new journal entry as needed by clicking Mass Add/Edit Rows.
  5. From the Mass Add/Edit Rows page, click one of the following:
      1. Save & Refresh - Save your changes and refresh the screen to display the Mass Add/Edit Rows with your changes.
      2. Save & Complete - Save your changes and return to the Journal Entry screen.
      3. Save & Post -  Save your changes and post transactions to the General Ledger.
      4. Save & New - Save your changes and display the New Journal Entry dialog box to create a  new Journal Entry.

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Spring ’23 Preview 2 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

  • If a Journal Entry is added from Bank Direct Connect, the naming convention for the Journal Entry Name will automatically display on the Journal Entry record from Bank Direct Connect in the following format: BDC-<Source>-<Bank Transaction Name>-<Journal Entry Creation Date>. For example, if the Source is Plaid as the Aggregation Provider, the Journal Entry Name will display as: BDC-Plaid-BT-00065-12/12/2022. Another example would be if the Source is from a Financial File Import, the Journal Entry Name will display as: BDC-FinancialFileImport-BT-00047-12/13/2022.  

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Winter '23 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

  • With the Winter '23 release, the Type and Source fields have been included. 

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Release Notes and Schedule

  • If you are using a Consolidations Ledger(s), Journal Entries can be created for an Eliminations Transactional Ledger(s).

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