Balancivo · Month-end
Post a journal entry
Record an accrual or correction with balanced debits and credits, save it as a draft, and post it when it's ready.
Who can do this: Owners and bookkeepers (bookkeepers post only if an owner allows it; otherwise they save drafts).
Read the transcript
On the Ledger page, the Journal tab lists every journal entry you've posted. Bank transactions don't need one. Use a journal entry for corrections, accruals, or anything that didn't go through a bank account. Click New journal entry to start one. Pick the date, and add a short memo so you'll remember what it's for. On each line, choose an account, and enter a debit or a credit. Here, Marketing gets the debit, and Software and tools the credit. When debits equal credits, you'll see Balanced at the bottom. Not ready yet, or need an owner to approve it? Click Save draft, and post it later. Otherwise, click Post entry. It gets the next number, and it's locked in your books.
Bank transactions don't need journal entries; categorizing them records both sides for you. Use a journal entry for accruals, corrections between categories, or anything that didn't go through a bank account.
Before you start
- Owners can always post. A bookkeeper can post only if an owner turns on Can post for them in Settings under Organization and team. Without it, the bookkeeper saves drafts for an owner to post.
Steps
- Go to Ledger and stay on the Journal tab.
- Click + New journal entry.
- Enter the Date and Memo, for example "Accrue October rent."
- Fill in the lines. For each line, choose an Account, then type a Debit or a Credit (one, not both). Add a Line memo if it helps. If your organization has funds, pick a Fund for each line.
- Add more lines if you need them with + Add line. Use Remove to take one out; an entry always keeps at least two.
- Check the totals. The bottom of the table shows Balanced when debits equal credits, or Out of balance by an amount.
- Click Post entry. Balancivo gives it the next entry number and locks it. If you can't post, or it isn't ready, click Save draft instead.
- To finish a draft later, find it under Drafts and click Review and post (or Open if you can't post). Click Delete to throw a draft away.
Good to know
- This is a Plus plan feature. On Starter or Standard, the page shows what it does and how to upgrade. Free trials and charter subscribers have it. See Your free trial, plans and usage.
- Drafts don't affect any report until they're posted.
- Posted entries can't be edited or deleted. To fix one, reverse it and post a corrected entry; both stay in the books for your CPA or auditor. See Reverse a journal entry.
- Bank accounts aren't in the account list. Money in or out of a bank account comes from its transactions.
- Amounts go to the cent and can't be negative. An entry can have up to 200 lines, and memos up to 300 characters.
- Church books: each fund has to balance on its own. If one doesn't, Balancivo says which fund is off, and Add interfund lines adds the Due to and Due from lines that fix it.
- You can't post into a closed month. Reopen it first in Month close.
- Under Posted entries, search by memo, account or entry number with Search memo, account or #, or filter by source (Manual, Reversals, Payroll, Fund transfers). Click an entry to see its lines.
- Copy as new entry on an open entry starts a new entry with the same lines, dated today.