You can create journals or other types of record-keeping entries such as accruals and pre-payments. The Journal section allows you to adjust account balances through a single streamlined option. BrightBooks allows Journal entries for rounding off-nominal accounts, opening balance adjustments, advance payments received or advance payments to be made through its Journal. To view the steps to managing Journals, see below.
NOTE: In case of Consolidated or Group Accounts , journal division is now open to edit. However, the edit is possible
if it either is a ZZZ or a HOL entry. To enable the access of the same, the user has to follow the steps mentioned:
1. Click Settings icon and open Users under General Setup.
2. Click on the user email you want to make the changes for.
3. Enable the permission Enable Posting in Divisions under Settings.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Settings icon and open Divisions under Accounts.
6. Enable the option to edit in the below checkbox.
7. You can edit the journal posting for ZZZ and HOL division entries.
Creating a Journal
To create a Journal, complete the following steps.
1. Log in to BrightBooks. The Business page appears.
2. On the Business page, locate the required business by completing either of the following steps.
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- In the Search box on the top right corner, enter the name of the business fully or partially and click the 'search' button. The business summary will appear under the Select a Business heading.
- The business summary is available under the Select a Business heading. If you cannot find it, at the bottom-right corner of the page, click 100 to increase the number of records to be displayed on the page. The business summary will be available under the Select a Business heading.
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3. Under the Select a Business heading, click the name of the business.
4. The Customers page appears. On the Customers page, from the left panel, click General Ledger > Journals.
5. The Journals page appears. On the Journals page, click New.
6. The Journals page appears. There are five types of Journals which are Journals, Opening Balance, Accrual, Pre-payment, and Single Line Journal. The first four details are mentioned below and the Single Line Journal details are mentioned after that.
7. Once you enter the nominal code and look up the same, the Nominal Code window will view the Last Year Balance column as a new addition.
| FIELD | STEP |
|---|---|
| DATE | Depending on the settings, the date can be the current date, last transaction date or no date. You can set the date up to 5 years beyond the current set accounting period. |
| REF NO. | Enter a reference no. for the transaction. If “Reference No” is being selected then it will appear in the “Journal” browse under the Ref. No. column. This is not a mandatory field. |
| TYPE | Choose the type of the journal entry. The “Type” of the entry has been classified into 4 categories. The type of entry has been classified into “Journal"; “Opening Balance”; “Accrual” and “Pre-payment”. The entry type is very important for the chart of accounts and bank reconciliation. This transition type will also be reflected in the “Journal” browse. |
| Add Attachment | Click to attach documents, if needed. |
| Code | Choose the nominal code of the transaction. This nominal code is very important for the transaction. If the nominal code exists, choose from the lookup button. The nominal code has been classified into different nominal groups e.g. Sales, Cost of Sales, Administrative Expenses, Other Income, Profit & Loss Suspense, Tangible Fixed Asset, Stock, Asset etc. Each nominal group consists of a different nominal code. Users can choose the nominal code as per the type of the journal. These nominal groups and the nominal codes are system-defined. |
| Description | The description column is an auto-populated field. By choosing the nominal code from the nominal group the description will auto-populate into the description field. This column is system-defined and the user can not overwrite the description against the nominal code. |
| Notes | Enter the notes of the transaction in the note split field. If you wish to copy the “Header” notes of the transaction in the notes split press the “Enter” button, and it will auto-populate. In case you want to rewrite the notes in the transaction split. This is not a mandatory field. |
| Debit | Enter the debit amount of the transaction in this column. |
| Credit | Enter the credit amount of the transaction in this column. |
| DIV | Add details, if required. |
| ADD NEW LINE | Click on the button, if you want to add a new line to the journal details. |
| DELETE | If required, you can delete a journal line by clicking on the button. |
| DISALLOW TAX | A new feature of Disallow Tax has been introduced in this release. After assigning a nominal code with a selected amount, the button becomes active. You can click it to enter the amount you want to disallow the tax for. |
NOTE: Disallow Tax is active and open only for Multi-Line Journals and Opening Balance Journals in it's Edit form.
8. On the Journals page, for the type Single Line Journal, enter the following details. For Single Line Journal, Date and Ref No are shifted from the header to the details drop-down section.
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| FIELD | STEP |
|---|---|
| DATE | Depending on the settings, the date can be the current date, last transaction date or no date. You can set the date up to 5 years beyond the current set accounting period. |
| REF NO. | Enter a reference no. for the transaction. If “Reference No” is being selected then it will appear in the “Journal” browse under the Ref. No. column. This is not a mandatory field. |
| TYPE | Choose the type of the journal entry. The “Type” of the entry has been classified into 5 categories. Four categories are mentioned above and the fifth is "Single Line Journal". The entry type is very important for the chart of accounts and bank reconciliation. This transition type will also be reflected in the “Journal” browse. |
| Notes | Enter the notes of the transaction in the note split field. If you wish to copy the “Header” notes of the transaction in the notes split press the “Enter” button, and it will auto-populate. In case if you want to rewrite the notes in the transaction split. This is not a mandatory field. |
| Debit Code | Choose the Debit nominal code of the transaction. This nominal code is very important for the transaction. If the nominal code exists, choose from the lookup button. The nominal code has been classified into different nominal groups e.g. Sales, Cost of Sales, Administrative Expenses, Other Income, Profit & Loss Suspense, Tangible Fixed Asset, Stock, Asset etc. Each nominal group consists of a different nominal code. Users can choose the nominal code as per the type of the journal. These nominal groups and the nominal codes are system-defined. |
| Credit Code | Choose the Credit nominal code of the transaction. This nominal code is very important for the transaction. If the nominal code exists, choose from the lookup button. The nominal code has been classified into different nominal groups e.g. Sales, Cost of Sales, Administrative Expenses, Other Income, Profit & Loss Suspense, Tangible Fixed Asset, Stock, Asset etc. Each nominal group consists of a different nominal code. Users can choose the nominal code as per the type of the journal. These nominal groups and the nominal codes are system-defined. |
| Amount | Add the amount that needs to be updated on the single-line journal for both Credit and Debit entries. |
9. To save the journal entry, click Save.
Viewing Journals
To view a journal, click anywhere on the row. The journal lines are displayed.
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If you sort any column other than Date, then the Date column is also sorted accordingly.
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Filter a Journal
To apply a filter to the list of journals, click the filter drop-down and select the required journal type. The journals listed are of the applied journal filter type.
Copying a Journal
You can also create a Journal copying an existing Journal and modifying the details. To copy, complete the following steps.
- Complete steps 1 to 4 as given in Creating a Journal.
- On the Journals page, click the 'drop-down' icon corresponding to the record showing the Journal summary and in the inline menu, click Copy.
- Edit the details, as required and click Save.