There are two elements to a Journal Entry representing the Master (Journal Entry [Header]) and Detail (Journal Entry Lines) relationship. To create a Journal Entry, you must maintain this Master-Detail relationship by first creating a Journal Entry [Header] prior to creating the Journal Entry Lines associated with it.
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. Note that 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. See Fix Transactions in Closed Periods
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
- Navigate to Accounting Home and under General Ledger Entry, click Journal Entries.
- Click the New Journal Entry button.
- Enter required fields for the Journal Entry [Header]:
- Journal Entry Name. It is best practice to use a consistent naming convention for your journal entries.
- 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 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.
- Currency. This applies if you are using Multi-currency.
- Click Save.
- On the Journal Entry page, click New Journal Entry Line or Mass Add/Edit Rows.
- 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 your Accounting Settings, 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 your Accounting Settings.
- Enter additional information in the optional fields, as needed.
- Save the Entry:
- Click the Save & Complete button to save the entry, but not have it post to the ledger yet. This is beneficial if you have an approval process in place and want to approve this prior to posting.
- Click the Save & Post button to both save and post the entry to the ledger.
Note: If the GL Account selected is the AR Control GL Account or the AP Control GL Account (defined in Accounting Settings), 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.
- Navigate to the Journal Entry you wish to clone.
- 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.
- In the intermediary screen, enter the date for the new journal entry. This will populate on the journal entry header and lines.
- Adjust or edit the new journal entry as needed by clicking into the Mass Add/Edit Rows button.
- Save the Entry:
- Click the Save & Complete button to save the entry, but not have it post to the ledger yet. This is beneficial if you have an approval process in place and want to approve this prior to posting.
- Click the Save & Post button to both save and post the entry to the ledger.
