Work with general journals
Most financial transactions are posted to the general ledger through documents such as purchase invoices and sales orders. However, you can also process business activities such as:
- Purchasing
- Payments
- Using recurring journals to post accruals
- Refunding employee expenses by posting journal lines in journals
Most journals are based on the general journal, and you can process all transactions on the General Journals page. Learn more at Post Transactions Directly to the General Ledger.
For example, you can use post employee expenses for reimbursement. Learn more at Record and Reimburse Employees' Expenses.
However, Business Central also offers journals that are optimized for specific types of transactions, such as the Payment Journal for registering payments. Learn more at Record Payments and Refunds in the Payment Journal.
You use general journals to post financial transactions to general ledger accounts and various other accounts. The other accounts include bank, customer, vendor, and employee accounts. Posting with a general journal creates entries on general ledger accounts even when, for example, you post a journal line to a customer account. The entry is posted to a general ledger receivables account through a posting group.
The information that you enter in a journal is temporary and can be changed while it's in the journal. When you post the journal, the information is transferred to entries on individual accounts, where it can't be changed. You can, however, unapply posted entries, and you can post reversing or correcting entries. Learn more at Reverse Journal Postings and Undo Receipts/Shipments.
Note
The general journal only shows a limited number of fields on the journal line by default. If you want to see additional fields, such as the Account Type field, choose the Show More Columns action. To hide the additional fields again, choose the Show Fewer Columns action. When you see fewer columns, then the same posting date is used for all lines. If you want to have multiple posting dates for the same journal entry, choose the Show More Columns action.
Add context to general journal transactions
When you create a journal, you can add links that give context to its transactions. When you post the journal, Business Central copies the links to the posted journal and ledger entries the journal creates. For example, providing links can make life easier for your auditor. If you keep images of your expense receipts on your company's Sharepoint site, you can add links to the files. When you post the journal to submit your expenses, your auditor can quickly get to the receipt files.
Use journal templates and batches
There are several general journal templates. Each journal template is represented by a dedicated page with particular functions and the fields that are required to support those functions, such as the Payment Reconciliation Journals page to process bank payments and the Payment Journals page to pay your vendors or reimburse your employees. Learn more at Make Payments and Reconcile Customer Payments with the Cash Receipt Journal or from Customer Ledger Entries.
For each journal template, you can set up your own personal journal as a journal batch. For example, you can define your own journal batch for the payment journal that has your personal layout and settings. The following tip is an example of how to personalize a journal.
Tip
If you select the Suggest Balancing Amount checkbox on the line for your batch on the General Journal Batches page, then the Amount field on, for example, general journal lines for the same document number is automatically prefilled with the value that is required to balance the document. Learn more at Letting Business Central Suggest Values.
Tip
You can add or remove fields in journals by personalizing them. Learn more at Personalize Your Workspace.
Validating general journal batches
You can turn on a background check that helps prevent delays when posting. The check notifies you when a mistake in the financial journal you're working on will prevent you from posting the journal. On the General Journal Batches page, you can choose Background Error Check to have Business Central validate finance journals, such as general or payment journals, while you're working on them.
When you enable the validation, the Check Document or Journal Check FactBoxes show issues in the current line and the whole batch. Validation happens when you load a finance journal batch, and when you choose another journal line. The Issues total tile in the FactBox shows the total number of issues that Business Central found, and you can choose it to open an overview of the issues.
You can use the Show Lines with Issues and Show All Lines actions to toggle between journal lines that do or don't have issues. The Journal Line Details FactBox provides quick overview and access to data from journal lines, such as the G/L account, customer, or vendor, and the posting setup for specific accounts.
Check data in documents and journals while you work
Your administrator can enable Business Central to validate the data you enter in documents and journals in real time.
If you enable the feature, the FactBox Pane shows either a Check Document or Check Journal FactBox, depending on the type of document you're working on. The FactBox lists the errors on the page so you can quickly resolve them.
To enable the feature, on the My Notifications page, choose the following checkboxes:
- For journals, choose the Enabled checkbox for Enable Data Check.
- For documents, choose the Enabled checkbox for Show the Document Check FactBox.
The following video explains real-time data check.
Understanding main accounts and balancing accounts
If you set up default balancing accounts for the journal batches on the General Journals page, the balancing account is filled in automatically when you fill in the Account No. field. Otherwise, fill in both the Account No. and Bal. Account No. fields manually. A positive amount in the Amount field is debited to the main account and credited to the balancing account. A negative amount is credited to the main account and debited to the balancing account.
Note
VAT is calculated separately for the main account and the balancing account, so they can use different VAT percentage rates.
Work with recurring journals
A recurring journal is a general journal with specific fields for managing transactions that you often post with few, if any, changes. For example, transactions for expenses such as rent, subscriptions, electricity, and heat. Using recurring journals lets you post fixed and variable amounts, and specify automatic reversal entries for the day after the posting date. Allocation keys let you divide the recurring entries among various accounts. Learn more at Allocating Recurring Journal Amounts to Several Accounts.
With a recurring journal, you create the entries that you post regularly only one time. For example, the accounts, dimensions, dimension values, and so on, stay in the journal after posting. If changes are needed, you can make them each time you post.
Recurring Method field
The Recurring Method field is important. It determines how to treat the amount on the journal line after posting. For example, if you use the same amount every time you post the line, you can let the amount remain. If you'll use the same accounts and text on the line, but the amount varies every time you post, you can delete the amount after posting.
| To | See |
|---|---|
| F Fixed | The amount on the journal line remains after posting. Lines with amounts of zero remain in the journal, but aren't posted. You can update the amount in a later run. |
| V Variable | The amount on the journal line is deleted after posting. |
| B Balance | The posted amount on the account on the line is allocated among the accounts specified for the line in the Gen. Jnl. Allocation table. The balance on the account is set to zero. Remember to fill in the Allocation % field on the Allocations page. For more information, see Allocating Recurring Journal Amounts to Several Accounts. |
| RF Reversing Fixed | The amount on the journal line remains after posting, and a balancing entry is posted on the next day. |
| RV Reversing Variable | The amount on the journal line is deleted after posting, and a balancing entry is posted on the next day. |
| RB Reversing Balance | The posted amount on the account on the line is allocated among the accounts specified for the line on the Allocations page. The balance on the account is set to zero, and a balancing entry is posted on the next day. |
| BD Balance by Dimension | The journal line allocates costs based on a G/L account's balance by dimension. You're prompted to set the dimension filters to be used to calculate the source G/L account's balance by dimension from which you want to allocate costs. As an alternative, choose the Set Dimension Filters action later. |
| RBD Reversing Balance by Dimension | The journal line allocates costs based on a G/L account's reversing balance by dimension. You're prompted to set the dimension filters to use to calculate the source G/L account's balance by dimension from which you want to allocate costs. You can also choose the Set Dimension Filters action later. |
Note
The VAT fields can be filled in on either the recurring journal line or on the allocation journal line but not on both. That is, they can be filled in on the Allocations page only if the corresponding lines in the recurring journal are not filled in.
Recurring Frequency field
This date formula field determines how often to post the entry on the journal line, and it must be filled in. Learn more at Use Date Formulas.
Examples
If the journal line must be posted every month, enter 1M. After every posting, the date in the Posting Date field will be updated to the same date in the next month.
If you want to post an entry on the last day of every month, you can take one of the following actions:
Post the first entry on the last day of a month by entering 1D+1M-1D (1 day + 1 month - 1 day). With this formula, the posting date is calculated correctly regardless of how many days there are in the month.
Post the first entry on any day of the month by entering 1M+CM. With this formula, the posting date will be after one full month + the remaining days of the current month.
Expiration Date field
This field determines the date on which the line is posted for the last time. The line won't be posted after this date.
The advantage of using the Expiration Date field is that the line isn't deleted from the journal immediately. You can enter a later date so that you can use the line in the future.
If the field is blank, the line is posted every time until you delete it from the journal.
Allocating recurring journal amounts to several accounts
On the Recurring General Journals page, you can choose the Allocations action to specify how to allocate amounts on the recurring journal line to several accounts and dimensions. Allocation acts as balancing account line for the recurring journal line.
Like a recurring journal, you enter an allocation one time and it stays in the allocation journal after posting. You don't need to enter amounts and allocations every time you post the recurring journal line.
Note
You can't use allocation accounts in journal batches that have an approval workflow for creating journal lines.
If the recurring method in the recurring journal is set to Balance or Reversing Balance, dimension value codes in the recurring journal are disregarded when the account is set to zero. If you allocate a recurring line to dimension values on the Allocations page, only one reversing entry is created.
Note
If you allocate a recurring journal line that contains a dimension value code, don't enter the same code on the Allocations page. If you do, the dimension values will be incorrect.
To allocate recurring journal amounts based on dimensions, set the Recurring Method field to Balance by Dimension or Reversing Balance by Dimension. If the recurring method in the recurring journal is set to Balance by Dimension or Reversing Balance by Dimension, dimension value codes in the recurring journal are considered when the account is set to zero. If you allocate a recurring line to dimension values on the Allocations page, reversing entries are created that match the number of dimension value combinations that the balance is comprised of. If you allocate account balance through a recurring journal that contains a dimension value code, remember to use Balance by Dimension or Reversing Balance by Dimension to ensure that the dimension values are correctly balanced or reversed from the source account.
For example, your company has a couple of business units and a handful of departments that your controllers set up as dimensions. To speed up the purchase invoice entry process, you decide to require the accounts payable clerks to enter only business unit dimensions. Since each business unit has specific allocation keys for the Department dimension, such as based on the number of employees, you can use the BD Balance by Dimension or RBD Reversing Balance by Dimension recurring methods to reallocate expenses for each business unit to the right departments based on the allocation keys.
Note
Dimensions that you set on allocation lines are not automatically calculated, and you must specify which dimension values must be set on the allocation accounts. In case you want to preserve the link between the source account dimension and the allocation account dimension, we recommend that you use the Cost Accounting capabilities instead.
Example: Allocating Rent Payments to Different Departments
You pay rent monthly, so you enter the amount on the cash account on a recurring journal line. On the Allocations page, you can use the Department dimension to divide the expense among several departments. For example, according to the number of square feet that each department occupies. The calculation is based on the allocation percentage on each line. You can allocate in different ways:
- Enter different accounts on different allocation lines to divide rental expense among several accounts.
- Enter the same account but use different dimension value codes for the Department dimension on each line.
Reversing Journals to Correct Mistakes
When working with journals that have many lines and something goes wrong, it's important to have an easy way to correct mistakes. The Posted General Journal page offers a couple of actions that can help.
- Copy Selected Lines to Journal - Copy only the lines that you select.
- Copy G/L Register to Journal - Copy all lines that belong to the same G/L register.
These actions let you create a copy of a general journal line or a batch, and then specify:
- The journal to copy the lines to
- Whether with opposite signs (a reversing journal)
- A different posting date or document number
To allow journals to be copied to posted general journals, on the General Journal Templates or General Journal Batch pages, choose the Copy to Posted Jnl. Lines checkbox. After you allow people to copy posted general journals, if needed you can turn off copying for specific batches.
Calculate the reversal date
When using recurring general journals to post accruals at the end of a period, it's important to have full control over reversal entries. On the Recurring General Journals page, the Reversal Date Calculation field lets you control the date that reversal entries are posted when reversal recurring methods are used.
Example
Accruals are typically posted with Fixed, Variable, or Balance recurring methods on the journal line. The posting date of the posted amount on the account on journal line is calculated using the recurring frequency. The posting date for the balancing entry is calculated using the Reversal Date Calculation field, as follows:
- If the field is blank, the balancing entry will be posted the next day.
- If the field contains a date formula (for example, 5D for five days), the balancing entry is posted with a posting date calculated using the reversal date calculation.
Note
By default, the Reversal Date Calculation field is not available on the Recurring General Journals page. To use the field, you must add it by personalizing the page. For more information, see Personalize Your Workspace.
Work with standard journals
When you create journal lines that you know you're likely to create again later, you can save them as a standard journal before you post the journal. The same applies for item journals and general journals.
Note
Standard journals might not contain all of the fields you want to include in the resulting ledger entries. For example, if you're using a standard general journal to register a payment, the ledger entries won't contain the Payment Method Code field.
Note
The following procedures refer to the item journal, but the information also applies to the general journal.
To save a standard journal
Choose the
icon, enter Item Journals, and then choose the related link.Enter one or more journal lines.
Select the journal lines that you want to reuse.
Choose the Save as Standard Journal action.
In the Save as Standard Item Journal request page, define a new or existing standard item journal that the lines should be saved in.
If you have one or more standard item journals, and you want to replace one of them with the new set of item journal lines, in the Code field, select the item journal.
Choose OK to verify that you want to replace the content of the existing standard item journal.
To save the values in the Unit Amount field of the standard item journal, choose the Save Unit Amount field.
To save the values in the Quantity field, choose the Save Quantity field.
Choose OK to save the standard item journal.
When you save the standard item journal, the Item Journal page displays so you can post it.
To reuse a standard journal
Note
Standard journals don't always have the same fields as general journals. When you use the Get Standard Journals action to copy the fields to the general journal, the general journal might have less information than if you created it manually.
Choose the
icon, enter Item Journals, and then choose the related link.Choose the Get Standard Journals action.
To review a standard item journal before you select it for reuse, choose the Show Journal action.
Changes you make in a standard item journal are implemented right away, and they'll be there next time you open or reuse the standard item journal. Be sure that the change is important enough to generally apply. Otherwise, make the specific change in the item journal after the standard item journal lines are added. See step 4.
On the Standard Item Journals page, select the standard item journal to reuse, and then choose OK.
The item journal contains the lines you saved. If the item journal already has lines, the new lines appear after them.
If you didn't turn on the Save Unit Amount toggle when you saved the journal, the Unit Amount field on lines added from the standard journal contain the value from the Unit Cost field on the item card.
Note
If you turned on the Save Unit Amount or Save Quantity toggles when you saved the journal, make sure the new values are correct before you post the item journal.
If the inserted item journal lines contain saved unit amounts that you don't want to post, you can adjust it to the current value of the item.
Select the item journal lines you want to adjust, and then choose the Recalculate Unit Amount action. This action updates the Unit Amount field with the current unit cost of the item.
Choose the Post action.
To renumber document numbers in journals
To avoid posting errors caused by the document number, you can use the Renumber Document Numbers action before you post a journal.
In all journals that are based on the general journal, the Document No. field is editable so that you can specify different document numbers for different journal lines or the same document number for related journal lines.
If the No. Series field on the journal batch is filled, then the posting function in general journals requires that the document number on individual or grouped journal lines be in sequential order. Just choose the Renumber Document Numbers action, and relevant Document No. fields are then updated. If related journal lines are grouped by document number before you used the function, they remain grouped, but might be assigned a different document number.
This function also works on filtered views.
Renumbering document numbers respects related applications, such as a payment application made from the document on the journal line to a vendor account. Accordingly, the Applies-to ID and Applies-to Doc. No. fields are updated on the ledger entries.
To renumber documents in journals
The following procedure is based on the General Journals page, but applies to all other journals that are based on the general journal, such as the Payment Journals page.
- Choose the icon, enter General Journals, and then choose the related link.
- When you're ready to post the journal, choose the Renumber Document Numbers action.
Values in the Document No. field are changed, where required, so that the document number on individual or grouped journal lines are in sequential order. After documents are renumbered, you can post the journal.
See Also
Post Transactions Directly to the General Ledger
Reverse Journal Postings and Undo Receipts/Shipments
Allocate Costs and Income
Finance
Work with Business Central
Close Open Item Ledger Entries Resulting from Fixed Application in the Item Journal
Revalue Inventory in the Revaluation Journal
Count, Adjust, and Reclassify Inventory Using Journals
Reconcile Customer Payments with the Cash Receipt Journal or from Customer Ledger Entries
Reconcile Vendor Payments with the Payment Journal or from Vendor Ledger Entries
Work with Intercompany Documents and Journals