General Journal Entry

Related topics

 

Perform other Sage 50 General Ledger procedures

You use the General Journal to enter those types of transactions that are not readily categorized in the Tasks menu. Depreciation would be an example of something that would be entered into the General Journal.

In General Journal Entry, you can also enter withdrawal and deposit adjustments you need to make during account reconciliation. Sometimes adjustments must be made to account for errors, service charges, check charges, or unrecorded withdrawals or deposits; such adjustments are necessary to help keep your bank account balanced. When you select the Add New button and then choose General Journal Entry in Account Reconciliation, the General Journal Entry window opens so you can enter this adjustment data.

Unlike other screens in Sage 50, you provide all the accounting distributions in the General Journal. At other times, Sage 50 automatically distributes certain amounts, based on the default General Ledger accounts you set up in maintenance windows.

In the General Journal, you enter both debits and credits, and when the amounts balance, you can post the General Journal by selecting the Save button if you're using the real-time posting method. If you are using the batch-posting method, click Save; then use the Post option from the System selection of the Tasks menu. If you are using the SmartPosting posting method, click Save ; SmartPosting will automatically post the General Journal for you.

Record a General Journal entry

Reversing entries are made to the General Journal on a temporary basis. They're often used to reflect the expenses of a business as shown on a monthly financial statement.

Enter a reversing General Journal entry

Sage 50 has different methods for handling General Journal entries that you make on a consistent basis. Memorized transactions are like a template that you can quickly flesh out for specific transactions. They are not posted to the general ledger. Recurring transactions are complete transactions you set up to happen on a set timetable—monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. An example would be if you have a contract with someone to provide a monthly service. You can also create a new journal entry by copying an existing one.

Copy a General Journal entry

Enter a memorized General Journal entry

Enter a recurring General Journal entry

Click Print to print the journal entry that is shown on the General Journal Entry screen.

If you want to print multiple journal entries, such as all journal entries in a certain period or for a certain account, you can print the General Journal report from Reports & Forms>General Ledger.

For Help with a field in the General Journal Entry window, click the link.

If you're not in the current accounting period, the current date or the first day of the current accounting period defaults in this text box. Enter the actual date of the transaction. This is not necessarily today's date, but it must fall within the current accounting period or within a future accounting period.

Select this check box in the General Journal Entry window to indicate that this is a reversing transaction. A reversing transaction is one that is the exact reverse of an adjusting entry. The amounts and accounts are the same; the debits and credits are merely reversed. On the first day of the next period, Sage 50 will automatically generate the reversing transaction that will be posted to the general ledger.

If you enter a number, Sage 50 automatically adds 1 to the number each time you use the General Journal Entry. You can enter up to twenty alphanumeric characters.

Unlike when you enter other transactions, General Journal entries can have duplicate reference numbers. For example, recurring depreciation entries or accrued monthly estimates of income tax might need common reference numbers.

Enter the ID of the general ledger account you want to debit or credit for this part of the journal entry. To display a list of existing accounts, type ? in the G/L Account ID field, or select the Lookup button. To add a new account, type + or double-click the field, which displays the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.

Enter a description of the transaction.

Enter the debit amount of this transaction. A debit is a charge against an account. Remember that the total debit amount must equal the total credit amount. The balance of the transaction is given in the Out of Balance field.

Enter the credit amount of this transaction. Remember that the total credit amount must equal the total debit amount. The balance of the transaction is given in the Out of Balance field.

This lookup field allows you to select a job ID, if applicable.

The totals are displayed from the total debit and credit amounts. They cannot be edited.

These fields cannot be edited in the General Journal Entry window. The out-of-balance total is either a debit amount or a credit amount that represents the difference between debits and credits. The balance amount must be zero before you can select Save in this window.