Add/Edit Journal Entries

A journal entry can serve many different purposes in your church's accounting functions. What makes a journal entry unique from other transaction types is that you have direct control of whether an account is debited or credited. Typically, you'll find journal entries used to process bank fees, interest income, or to handle mistakes made in other transactions, after those transactions are no longer available to be edited. 

All journal entries will, at minimum, involve two different accounts, one being debited, and one being credited, however, more than two accounts can be used. You must make sure before you are able to save your journal entry, that the debit and credit balances equal.

• Journal entries can be added, edited, copied and voided within the Journal Entry window. You can filter your journal entries by status within the Status drop list.
• The grid will show your journal entries with their document number, date, amount, description/memo, status, Vendor (if a vendor was listed on your journal entry), if there is a note on the journal entry and its internal transaction ID
• You can select which book's journal entries you're viewing in the "Book" drop list.
• By default, this view will show the last 24 months of journal entries. If you wish to see beyond that, uncheck the "Last 24 months" checkbox.
• Click the "Add" button to add a new journal entry

1. In the window that appears, you'll see the document number. This number will automatically increment up from the last document number used for a journal entry, but you are able to change this number if you wish.
2. Next, set the date and status for your journal entry. Select "Completed" if you want this journal entry to affect your balances right away, or choose "Pending" if this is a journal entry you're entering in advance, and you want it to take effect later.
3. Fill in a description for you journal entry, if desired. This description is applied to the transaction as a whole.
4. If this journal entry is being applied to a vendor, check the "Assign to a vendor" box. In the drop list below this checkbox you can select which Vendor you want to assign to this journal entry.
5. In the dark gray area of the window, you can enter the line items for your journal entry. Every account type is available by default, but, if you would like to filter your accounts, you can click the filter button to the left of the account drop list to select which account types you can pick from.
6. Enter any description you want for this line item in the 'Description" field.
7. Next, you'll select if you're going to be debiting or crediting the account you chose. An arrow pointing up or down will be next to where it says debit or credit, indicating what will happen to the account if it is debited or credited.
8. Click the add button to add this line item to the journal entry. Repeat steps 5-8 until you have added each line item you need to the journal entry. Remember that your Debits and Credits must be equal.
9. If you need to change a line item you've added, click on it, and click the "Edit' button at the bottom of the window. If you need to delete a line item, click on the line item and click the "Delete" button at the bottom of the window.
10. If you have any attachments, such as an image of a receipt, you can click the Paperclip icon on the right side of the window to bring up the attachments window. There are three slots to enter attachments, click the green plus sign next to one of the slots to search your computer for a file to attach to the check payment. Click the paperclip with the red x if you want to remove the attachment in that slot. Click OK when finished.
11. Click the thumbtack icon to add a note to this journal entry.
12. If you need to add multiple journal entries at once, make sure the "Add multiple?" box is checked.
13. Click Save to save your journal entry.

If you need to make changes to a journal entry, after it has been written, you can edit your journal entry, as long as it has not been cleared, voided or is from a prior fiscal year.

1. On the Journal Entry window, search for the journal entry you want to edit.
2. Once you have found the journal entry, click on it to select it, and then click the "Edit" button at the bottom of the window.
3. The journal entry window will appear. If you need to edit any line item, click on the line item you wan to make changes to, and then click "Edit" at the bottom of the window.
4. If you need to delete a line item, click on the line item you need to remove and click "Delete". Remember that debits and credits still need to equal in order to save the journal entry.
5. You can also add any line items through the dark gray area of the window.
6. Click "Save" when finished.

If you need to void a journal entry, you can do so as long as it is not from a prior fiscal year, or cleared through the bank account reconciliation utility.

1. On the Journal Entry window, search for the journal entry you want to void.
2. Once you have found the journal entry, click on it to select it, and then click the "Edit" button at the bottom of the window.
3. At the bottom left-hand corner of the journal entry window, if this journal entry has not been cleared and is from your current fiscal year or later, you will see the void option. Click this option to void the journal entry. A window will appear to confirm you want to void the journal entry. Click "Yes" to mark the journal entry as "Void".