Create or Clone a Journal Entry

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.

Do you want to:

• Create a Journal Entry
• Clone a 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 - this will automatically populate with today’s date. 
   • 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. 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.
   • Ledger - click the Lookup icon to search for and select the appropriate Ledger.
   • Reference - enter any external source document information or description.
     
     
5. Auto-Reverse section – if you want to have the system automatically create a reversal Journal Entry for the following Accounting Period (or period that you specify) when you save this new Journal Entry record, select the Auto-Reverse checkbox.
   
   
   When using the Auto-Reverse feature, keep the following points in mind:
   1. • You can leave the Reverse in this Accounting Period field blank to allow the system to automatically populate the subsequent Accounting Period when the record is saved. For example, in the sample screen above, the Journal Date is 9/25/2023. Since the Auto-Reverse checkbox is selected, when the Journal Entry (JE) is saved, the Reverse in this Accounting Period field will automatically populate with 2023-10.
      • If you want the Auto-Reversal JE to be created in a period other than the next one, then you can enter a different period.
      • When the original JE is posted:
        
        • • The Auto-Reversal JE is created for the period specified.
          • On the original JE, the Auto-Reversal JE field will populate with a hyperlink to the Auto-Reversal JE.
          • The Journal Date on the Auto-Reversal JE will be the first day of the Reverse in this Accounting Period. Additionally, the Posting Status on the Auto-Reversal JE will be Approved. 
      • If you clone a JE that has the Auto-Reverse fields populated, those fields will not be populated on the clone. They will remain blank on the cloned version of the JE.
      • The Auto-Reverse checkbox has also been added to the Recurring JE screen. If the Auto-Reverse checkbox is selected on a Recurring Journal Entry (RJE):
        
        • • The JE created from the RJE record will also have the Auto-Reverse checkbox selected and the Reverse in this Accounting Period field will automatically populate with the subsequent Accounting Period. 
          • On a Recurring Journal Entry (RJE) record that was created with Auto-Reverse selected, if you attempt to create a Journal Entry (JE) from the RJE with a Next Journal Date that is in a period without a subsequent Accounting Period already created, an error message will display. You will not be able to create the new JE record. 
   1. • The Auto-Reverse fields are protected once the original JE is posted and cannot be modified. 
   
   Important Best Practices: 

1. • When using Auto-Reverse, future Accounting Periods should always already exist.
   • The Auto-Reverse validation rules listed below should not be deactivated.
     
     • • No_Reversal_Period_for_Auto_Reverse
       • Reverse_in_this_Accounting_Period_Blank
   • If you unpost the original Journal Entry for any reason:
     
     • • You should immediately unpost and delete the Auto-Reversal JE.
       • Next, clear the Auto-Reversal JE field on the original JE.
       • Once your changes are made to the original JE, post it. This will automatically create a new Auto-Reversal JE for the period specified.
     •  
6. Click Save.
   
   
7. 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.
   
   
8. 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.
     Note: Both the Debit and Credit entry must be the same positive amount (0 or greater).
     
   • 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.
9. 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.
10. From the Mass Add/Edit Rows page, click one of the following:
    1. 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.

Return to top

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.

When you click Clone w/Lines or Reverse Clone w/Lines, only those fields that are included on the respective field set (Journal Entry fields to Clone or Journal Entry Line fields to Clone) will be included as part of the clone/reverse clone process. For more information about field sets, refer to the Edit a Field Set article. 

If you clone a Journal Entry (JE) that has the Auto-Reverse fields populated, those fields will not be populated on the clone. They will remain blank on the cloned version of the JE. Additionally, the following types of fields will be ignored and not cloned: 

• Fields on a parent relationship 
• Formula fields, Rollup fields, or anything that is calc/derived from other records 
• Any bank references to Sola fields, such as Reference or Batch 
• Cross-object reference fields 

Fields that you do not have edit access to will not be cloned. Also, if you add a field that is NOT included in either of the field sets mentioned above, the value will be cloned from the original JE. The value will not be cleared.

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 as 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.

Note: Journal Entry Line limits are documented in the Post/Unpost Limits article. If you have the Large Data Optimizer (LDO) feature enabled, refer to the Large Data Optimizer article for line limit information.

Return to top

____________________

Summer '25 Preview 1 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

With this release, when you Clone w/Lines or Reverse Clone w/Lines, only those fields included on the respective field set (Journal Entry fields to Clone or Journal Entry Line fields to Clone) are included as part of the clone/reverse clone process.

____________________

Spring '24 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

• The Large Data Optimizer feature is available. For more information, refer to the Large Data Optimizer article.
• A new validation rule has been added to the Journal Entry object: No_Reversal_Period_for_Auto_Reverse.

____________________

Winter ’24 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

• The Auto-Reverse JE section was added.