Journal Entries

Version: As of version 16.03

Purpose

DEACOM creates most general ledger entries automatically based on ERP transactions such as purchasing receipts and invoicing, sales shipments and invoicing, and production. However, there are other transactions that a company needs to make via Journal Entry. These transactions may include depreciation, payroll, interest expense, transfers between cash accounts, etc. The system allows for four types of Journal Entries:

  1. Normal - to record a one-time entry.
  2. Reversing - to record an entry that will be reversed at a future date or to reverse an erroneous entry.
  3. Recurring - to record the same entry a pre-determined number of times on different general ledger dates (e.g. every month for 12 months).
  4. Closing entry - refer to the Completing a Year End Close page.

Note: Do not book Journal Entries directly to AR, AP, or Inventory accounts. This will cause the sub-ledger to go out of balance. Journal entries provide an audit trail and a means of analyzing the effects of the transactions on an organization's financial position.

Security and Configuration

Security/Permissions

The following are required for this process. Note: Additional security may be required. See your system administrator for security access.

  • Accounting -- create journal entry

Configuration

Chart of Accounts, Fiscal Years, and Fiscal Year Groups must be setup prior to posting a Journal Entry.

In addition, The GL Detail report also contains an optional button to "Approve" or "Un-approve" GL transactions that have already been posted. The button acts as a toggle switch between "Approve" and "Un-approve". The security settings "Accounting -- approve transactions" and "Accounting -- unapprove transactions" control the ability to use this button. This button is only available on the GL Detail report. The "apprfname" and "apprlname" fields may be added to the report grid to see who approved GL transactions. If users do not have these security settings, the button is displayed, but disabled on the form.

Related Processes

Procedure

Entering a new Journal Entry

  1. Navigate to Accounting > Journal Entry.
  2. Enter the Date with which the transaction should post.
  3. Enter a Description (up to 60 characters). If a description is entered here, it will remain for the whole entry. If a description is not entered here, it will need to be entered on every line item on the entry.
  4. Select a Currency. This will default to the “home” currency; but can be changed if needed.
  5. The optional "Copy Entry" field allows users to copy a previously made entry.
  6. The "Copy Template" field allows users to select a previously created temporary entry to copy for the new Journal Entry. Many publicly-held companies will have a clerk create the entry as a template and then have a supervisor or manager change it to an entry. This ensures they are SOX compliant.
  7. Choose a Journal Type from the pick list.
    1. If reversing entry was chosen, enter the date the entry should reverse on. If reversing entry was not chosen, the field will be grayed out.
    2. If recurring entry was chosen, enter the number of occurrences. If recurring entry was not chosen, the field will be grayed out.
  8. Click the "Add" button. This will direct the user to the Edit Journal Entry form.
  9. Choose an account. Do not book Journal Entries directly to AR, AP, or Inventory accounts. This will cause the sub-ledger to go out of balance.
  10. Enter the amount on either the debit or credit.
  11. Enter a description (up to 60 characters) if one was not entered on the header form. The description can be modified if needed.
  12. The currency will default to the currency on the header form; but can be modified if the user has the security setting "Accounting -- edit currency on journal entry line" set to yes.
  13. Click "Next".
  14. Repeat Steps 9-13 until the entry is complete.
  15. When all the lines have been entered; click "Save".
  16. The "Debit" and "Credit" fields will be populated with the totals from the entry. The debits and credits must equal in order to post the entry.
  17. If you want to attach documents to the entry, click the "View Documents" button and add the document.
  18. Once the entry is complete and any documents are attached, click the "Post" button. Users also have the option to print the entry, if desired.

Using the Import Excel function

Journal entries can be imported into DEACOM by clicking the "Import Excel" button on the New Journal Entry form, accessible via Accounting > Journal Entry. The spreadsheet must have the following columns headers:

  • ch_account (DEACOM account number)
  • gl_debits (debit amount)
  • gl_credits (credit amount)
  • gl_descrip (description for the GL line, up to 60 characters)

A properly formatted spreadsheet is as follows:

ch_account

gl_debits

gl_credits

gl_descrip
4000-0   1000 Test Name
4000-1 1000   Test Name

Notes:

  • Hidden columns can cause an Excel import to error.
  • When using a spreadsheet to import a journal entry in the web versions of DEACOM, only the modern Excel format (XLSX) is supported. Also, the DEACOM software no longer requires Excel to be installed on the web server, provided that the spreadsheet imports will be performed with the modern Excel format.
  • In the Excel file, all Account Numbers should be formatted as text. Otherwise, if an Account Number is significantly large, Excel will strip characters.
  • If a user attempts to import an Excel sheet without the "gl_descrip" column, the system will present a prompt indicating a need for four columns.
  • If a user has a "gl_descrip" column, but no description for a particular line, then the system will not import that line. The description can be up to 60 characters.
  • If a user enters a description on the Journal Entry form, and does not have a description in the excel doc for a line, it will use what is on that line as its description.
  • Entering a zero in cells that have no value ensures the data is imported correctly and is useful for items like payroll and credit card entries.
  • It is not necessary to enter a column containing the Currency name. The Currency selected on the New Journal Entry form will be used for each line when the spreadsheet is imported.
  • The spreadsheet should not include any hidden columns or blank lines and Debits and Credits must be on separate lines.
  • When using the Import Excel option, the system checks to see if the user has access to the accounts being imported. If the user does not have access to any of the accounts being imported, that account is not imported and the user receives a message stating which account numbers they do not have access to.

Additional Information

Using Recurring entries

When posting a new Journal Entry, select a Journal Type of "Recurring" and fill in the "Occurs On" and "Occurrences" fields to force a Journal Entry to automatically post recurrences.

Using Reversing entries

If an entry was posted in error and needs to be reversed, navigate to Accounting > Journal Entry. Enter the date the entry should post on. In the "Copy Entry" field, select the Journal Entry that needs to be reversed. Click the "Reverse Entry" button to flip all of the debits and credits; review and post. Alternatively, users can select a Journal Type of "Reversing" and manually enter the details then post.

Using the Closing Entry function

The Closing Entry function, which is only done at Year End, takes all the Balance Sheet accounts (Assets, Cash, Inventory, Liabilities, and Capital) and posts their fiscal year-end totals on the first day of the new Fiscal Year. Certain GL reports use the Closing Entry description to identify this entry as the year’s starting balance, which is why, when posting a Closing Entry, the description should never be changed. For more information, refer to the Completing a Year End Close page.

What other options exist when entering Journal Entries?

  • Attaching Documents - Pre-defined Documents may be added to a Journal Entry by clicking the "View Docs" button on the header. On the Documents form, click "Add". In the "Name" field, select the document from the computer, enter a Description if desired, then select a Document Category. Multiple documents may be added; once all additions are complete, save and close the form. Documents must be added before posting the Journal Entry.
  • Adding Templates - Using the Journal Entry function, users may fill in details as desired then save the entry as temporary using the "Save to Temp" button. Later, users may use the same form and use the "Copy Temp" pick list to select a previously created template entry, edit the details as necessary, then post it to the ledger. Companies may have a clerk create the entry as template and then have a supervisor or manager modify it to a final entry as a means of reviewing all entries before they are posted.

How can Journal Entries be audited?

Using the "General Ledger Detail" report - Users with appropriate security can generate an Accounting Reporting "General Ledger Detail" report, which lists all GL entries posted in the specified time frame. The "Approve" and "Un-Approve" buttons available to this report are used to track which entries have been reviewed and approved. The apprfname and apprlname fields and the gl_apprdate field can be added to the grid layout of the report to list the name of the user who approved the entry and the date it was approved. More information on generating reports can be found on Accounting and Finance Reporting.