Journal Entries
Journal Entries (manual accounting entries) let you record a movement directly on your Chart of Accounts when no other transaction in the system (an invoice, a payment, an inventory adjustment, etc.) generates it automatically. They're used for accruals, manual depreciation, accounting corrections, transfers between accounts, or any other movement that only affects the accounting — nothing else. Every entry is a balanced document: the sum of its debits must equal the sum of its credits.
What is it and what is it for?
Most of your accounting entries are generated automatically when you record an invoice, a payment, an inventory adjustment or any other operational document: AdmCloud builds the entry for you from the accounts configured on each catalog. Journal Entries cover everything else: purely accounting movements that don't have a "business" document behind them, for example recording an expense accrual, correcting how an expense is split between two accounts, transferring balances between divisions or departments, or recording an asset's manual depreciation.
A journal entry has a header (date, number, reference, currency, notes) and one or more accounting lines, each with an account, an amount in either the Debit or the Credit column, and optionally a description and whichever analysis dimensions your plan has enabled (division, department, item class, location, project or related third party).
Screens in this area
| Screen | What it does |
|---|---|
| List | Lists all your journal entries, with column customization (choose which columns to show and in what order) and filters by date range, subsidiary and reference. From here you also create and delete entries, and generate the journals Report. |
| Create / Edit | The entry's full form: header, accounts table with Debit and Credit, and the Debits, Credits and Difference totals calculated in real time. It also includes the file attachments tab and, when creating from an imported receipt, automatic reading (OCR) of its data when your plan allows it. |
| Details | The already-saved entry in read-only mode, with its accounting lines, an indicator of which accounts have already been reconciled in a bank reconciliation, its related documents, its activity history (security log), and the action buttons available depending on your permissions: create, edit, duplicate, void, delete and print. |
| View By Type | A read-only view used elsewhere in the app to show you the accounting entry generated automatically from another transaction (an invoice, a payment, an inventory adjustment, etc.). That's why it includes extra columns that don't show up on a manual journal, such as Fixed Asset, Item or Expense Category, whenever the entry involves them. |
| A printable version of the entry with your company's information, the reference, the affected accounts with their dimensions, the Debit and Credit totals, and the header notes. |
How to record an entry step by step
- Open the Journal Entries list and click Add.
- Check the date (today's date by default) and, if your plan has subsidiaries enabled, choose the subsidiary the entry belongs to.
- Type a reference and, if you need to, notes explaining the reason for the entry; some companies require this description before you can save (see Validations when saving below).
- Add one line per affected ledger account, choose the account and type the amount in the Debit or Credit column as applicable. If your plan has division, department, item class, location, project or related third party enabled, fill them in on the line whenever they apply.
- Repeat until Debits and Credits match. The bottom of the table shows the running totals and the difference between them; while there's a difference, the system won't let you save.
- Attach the entry's supporting file if you have one (for example, the accrual calculation or the email authorizing it).
- Save. If you didn't type a number, AdmCloud assigns the next journal number from your configured numbering automatically.
Key header fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Number | Identifies the entry. If left blank, AdmCloud assigns it automatically according to your configured numbering; once saved, it can't be changed. |
| Date | The entry's accounting date. It determines which accounting period the entry is posted to, and can't be saved if that period is closed. |
| Reference | Free text to identify the entry on the list and on reports. |
| Subsidiary | Which subsidiary the entry belongs to. It only appears and is required if your plan has subsidiaries enabled. |
| Currency and Exchange Rate | The currency the line amounts are expressed in and its exchange rate against your functional currency. The rate must be greater than zero; if left at 0, the system sets it to 1. |
| Distribution Rule | Links the entry to the Accounting Distribution Rule that generated it, when applicable. A field exclusive to Journal Entries; requires the Advanced Financials module of the Enterprise edition. |
| Inventory Import (Liquidation) | Links the entry to an inventory import liquidation, to manually record import costs tied to that liquidation. |
| Notes | Free-form description of the reason for the entry. Some companies require it (see the "Require notes on accounting transactions" preference under Company Configuration). |
| Attachments | Supporting documents for the entry (calculations, emails, receipts), subject to your plan's file limit. |
Key line fields
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Account | The Chart of Accounts account affected by the line. It must be active. |
| Debit / Credit | The line's amount, in only one of the two columns. The sum of all Debits must equal the sum of all Credits. |
| Notes | A description specific to that line, useful when the same entry mixes several different reasons. |
| Division, Department, Item Class, Location, Project | Optional analysis dimensions for the line, each only available if your plan or the matching Enterprise module has it enabled as a cost or profit center. |
| Third Party (Relationship) | The customer, vendor or employee tied to the line. It's required when the account is a Receivables account (must be a customer or employee) or a Payables account (must be a vendor or employee). |
| Reconciled | A read-only indicator: it's checked once the line has already been included in a Bank Reconciliation. A reconciled line can't be deleted or changed. |
Validations when saving
- Date required, and the accounting period for that date (and subsidiary) must be open.
- Debits must exactly equal Credits.
- At least one line with a non-zero amount is required. An entry with no accounts can't be saved.
- Every account used must be active; an inactive account blocks saving.
- Exchange rate greater than zero, validated together with the transaction's currency and your functional currency.
- The same entry number can't be repeated (Number/DocID) on another Journal Entry.
- The entry's number can't be changed once saved, or while editing it.
- A description is required on the header Notes or on each line with an amount, if your company turned on the preference that requires it.
- A cost center is required on income-statement accounts (revenue or expense), if your company requires it.
- The dimensions you pick (division, department, item class, location, project) must be active; a voided one can't be used.
- A project is required on "work in process" account lines when your plan has Projects enabled and none was selected.
- The related third party must be of the right type for the account's class: customer or employee on receivables accounts; vendor or employee on payables accounts.
- Lines already reconciled in a Bank Reconciliation can't be deleted.
- The third party, currency and exchange rate can't be changed on an entry that already has valid related documents.
- The linked Inventory Import can't be changed if import costs are already tied to it and to this entry.
- An entry linked to a valid Bank Reconciliation can't be edited.
- Budget limit: if the entry causes a budgeted account to exceed its configured limit, saving is blocked with the corresponding message (requires the Budgeting module).
- A voided entry can't be edited.
Managing the entry
From the details of an already-saved entry you can, depending on your permissions:
- Edit it, as long as its accounting period is still open and it isn't voided.
- Duplicate it to quickly create a similar entry, with a blank number and today's date.
- Void it instead of deleting it, to keep it in the history marked as voided; not allowed if it has valid related documents linked to it.
- Delete it, if it has no linked records and the period is still open.
- Print it or review its activity history (security log).
- Mark it as manually deposited when one of its accounts is a cash or bank account and you need to reflect that it was already included in a deposit.
Availability, plans and permissions
- Access is controlled by the "Journal Entries" permission of the user group, with separate levels for view, add, edit, void and delete.
- Available from the Start plan up, on any plan with the Accounting module active (on the Enterprise edition, it requires the Accounting/Core module active).
- Item Class and Project as a line dimension: available from the Standard plan up (or Enterprise with those modules active).
- Division, Department and Location as a line dimension, and automatic reading (OCR) of receipts when creating an entry from an imported file: available from the Premium plan up (or Enterprise with those modules active, or for support/partner users).
- The Subsidiary column and field only appear if your plan has more than one subsidiary enabled.
- The Distribution Rule field and the distribution-scheme column on the list require the Advanced Financials module of the Enterprise edition.
- The Fixed Asset, Item and Expense Category columns, visible only on the "View By Type" screen for entries generated automatically by other documents, require the Enterprise Fixed Assets, Inventory and Purchasing (Core) modules to be active, respectively.
- Custom Fields, Client Scripts and Custom Actions available on this screen require the Enterprise edition.
Tips and common mistakes
Use the list's column selector to show the Reference or the Exchange Rate: they come hidden by default because not every company uses them regularly.
Watch the Difference before saving. The Debits, Credits and Difference totals recalculate in real time at the bottom of the accounts table; while the Difference isn't zero, the entry can't be saved.
If the system rejects saving with "the period isn't open", check under Accounting Periods whether that date's period has already been closed; only an administrator can reopen it.
If you need to review the entry an invoice, payment or other document generated automatically, don't look for it in this list: open it from that same transaction's "View Accounting Entry" link (or similar option), which uses the read-only "View By Type" screen.