Creating Manual Journal Entries
Manual journal entries let you create multi-line transactions that affect multiple accounts at once. This is the standard way to record adjustments, allocations, opening balances, and other entries that do not originate from invoices or bill payments.
Opening the Journal Entry Form
Navigate to Business > Journal Entry from the main menu. This requires the FIN_CREATE_TRANSACTION permission.
Form Layout
The journal entry form contains:
- Location dropdown — Select the business location for this entry
- Description field — A brief summary of the journal entry (for example, “Monthly depreciation entry”)
- Memo field — Additional notes or references
- Journal lines grid — The table where you add debit and credit lines
- Totals bar — Shows Debit Total, Credit Total, and Difference in real time
- Save button — Enabled only when the entry is balanced
Adding Journal Lines
Each line in a journal entry specifies an account and either a debit or credit amount:
- Click in the Account column of an empty row
- Select an account from the dropdown (accounts are shown with their type for easy identification)
- Enter an amount in either the Debit or Credit column (not both)
- Repeat for each additional line
A journal entry must have at least two lines — one debit and one credit.
Real-Time Balance Validation
As you enter amounts, the totals bar updates automatically:
- Debit Total — Sum of all debit amounts across all lines
- Credit Total — Sum of all credit amounts across all lines
- Difference — Debit Total minus Credit Total
When the difference is zero (the entry balances), the Save button becomes enabled and the difference label shows green. When there is a discrepancy, the Save button is disabled and the difference shows in red.
Example: Monthly Depreciation
To record monthly depreciation of equipment:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation Expense | $500.00 | |
| Accumulated Depreciation | $500.00 |
The debit increases the expense (debit-normal account) and the credit increases accumulated depreciation (credit-normal contra-asset).
Example: Opening Balances
To record opening balances when starting AccuArk:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | $10,000.00 | |
| Accounts Receivable | $5,000.00 | |
| Equipment | $25,000.00 | |
| Accounts Payable | $8,000.00 | |
| Owner's Equity | $32,000.00 |
Total debits ($40,000) equal total credits ($40,000).
Saving the Entry
When you click Save, AccuArk:
- Validates that total debits equal total credits
- Validates that all lines have an account selected
- Validates that the transaction date is not in a closed period
- Creates the parent transaction record with an auto-generated TXN number
- Creates split records in the account_transaction_splits table for each line
- Updates the balance for every affected account
- Logs audit entries for the new transaction
Tips
- Use the description field to identify the purpose of the entry (for example, “Jan 2026 depreciation” or “Opening balance as of 01/01/2026”)
- Review before saving — Once saved, edits are tracked in the audit trail. Double-check all accounts and amounts before clicking Save.
- Multi-line flexibility — You can have as many lines as needed. For example, allocating rent across three departments would have one credit line (Cash) and three debit lines (one per department)