CenterPoint® Accounting - General Journal Entries

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General Journal Entries Video - Duration: 19 min 27 sec

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View a Debit/Credit Table to help with General Journal Entries

General Journal entries record activity between accounts using a debit/credit transaction entry screen. Adjusting entries at the end of the month or at the end of a year are common examples of General Journal Entry. The General Journal screen allows the entry of debits/credits to multiple accounts. Before the transaction can be saved, the total debits and credits must balance.

General Journal entries can be entered with various options

  • Enter standard General Journal entries where you supply all of the information, including the debits and credits.
  • Enter General Journal entries with an offset option, where you set an offset account for all entries and you supply only one debit or credit. The offset account will be entered automatically with either a debit or credit depending on the entry you supplied.
  • Enter General Journal entries with a template option, where the template controls which accounts and details are entered. The detail of the General Journal entry is entered by clicking Template Detail rather than entering information into the General Journal Entry grid.
  • Enter General Journal entries with an auto-reversing option. This option can be used when you know you have a liability against your company at the end of a month, for example, you may know you have a payroll wage liability but have not yet entered the Payroll. If the General Journal entry is entered with an auto-reversing entry at the beginning of the next month, the payroll wage liability you entered at the end of the month will automatically be reversed so that the General Ledger is updated with the true Payroll information.
Note: The transaction grid on a General Journal screen varies from the other transaction screens a little bit. On other transaction screens, each line in the grid can represent an entire journal entry. On the General Journal grid, each line represents a single account. There is no detail screen. The detail for each account is entered on the grid. The Distribution column allows you to determine if a distribution should be implemented for the account you enter on the line of the grid. If you always want a distribution to be implemented if a distribution is setup for an account, you can set a preference to always have the Distribution column selected. To set this preference, select File > Preferences > Accounts > Distributions , select the Distribution tab, and then change the Check Distribution Check box by Default to Yes. If the check box is checked during the Save of the transaction the amount associated with the account on that line will be distributed according to the distribution assigned to that account. The grid can also include a line description that will allow you to make an entry about each line in the grid. To add the line description, right click on the grid, select Add/Remove Columns, then select the Line Description box and click OK. A column for Line Description can be added to the following General Ledger reports: General Ledger, General Ledger Account Activity, Cash Basis General Ledger, General Journal, General Journal Activity by Account, and Transactions Journal.

This topic identifies the methods of recording General Journal Entries:

Enter a General Journal Entry

  1. On the Processes menu, click General Journal Entries.

  1. In the Company/Fund box, enter the company/fund name that this general journal is for.
  2. If you have recurring general journal transactions for this company/fund, click the right-arrow icon and select the recurring transaction from the Set Recurring Transaction screen, and click Save. The transaction will display at which time it can be verified or changed using the steps below.

Note: Recurring general journal entries can be created from a balanced general journal entry displayed on your screen by clicking Recurring, entering a Description, determining if amounts and quantities are saved, and then clicking Save. The transaction can be retrieved by clicking and selecting the transaction by the Description it was saved with.

  1. In the Name box, enter an optional name this general journal is for.

Note: If a vendor name is entered in the Name box (at the top of the screen), and the vendor qualifies to receive a 1099, the General Journal entry will be included on the 1099. If you have multiple vendors that need the detail from the General Journal Entry included on their 1099, separate General Journal entries must be entered for each vendor.

If a Name column is added to the data entry grid, and vendor names are included on each detail line in the grid, the detail will not be included on the 1099.

To review transactions in a Transaction Search screen for the selected name, entry screen, and current year, right-click in the Name box, and select Review Transactions.

  1. In the Transaction Type box, select the default  General Journal (Cash/Accrual), General Journal (Accrual), or Tax Adjustments. .

    • General Journal (Cash/Accrual) - Normally this transaction type is selected. These journal entries will affect the cash income statement. This transaction type might also be used to identify transactions that are intended to correct or reclassify previous entries. If, for instance, you had previously entered several transactions that increased the value of a fixed asset only to find that your accountant felt they should have been entered as an expense, you could assign this transaction a transaction type of General Journal (Cash/Accrual).

      • Since many reports in CenterPoint can be filtered by transaction type, this gives you the ability to include or exclude these cash/accrual transactions on various reports. Your tax reports are prepared using a user-defined report. You could choose to include General Journal (Cash/Accrual) transactions for some or all accounts and choose not to include other General Journal transactions.  This would affect your tax reports, your cash basis Income Statement, and your General Tax Summary reports. You can also use the filter tool in Transaction Search to find transactions by transaction type displaying only transactions that were assigned the transaction type of General Journal (Cash/Accrual).

    • General Journal (Accrual) - In certain industries where an entry is needed that does not affect a cash income statement, the General Journal (Accrual) type can be selected.
    • Tax Adjustments - Can be used to identify transactions that are intended to be tax adjustments. These transactions post like the General Journal (Cash/Accural) transaction type and since reports can be filtered by transaction type, this gives you the ability to include or exclude the adjustment transactions on various reports. An Adjustments column can be added to the Schedule F and Lacerte reports to display these journal entry transactions.
  1. In the Current Batch box, leave the No Batch selection to update balances in real-time (immediately) or enter a batch name to update balances at a later time. For more information, see the Batch vs. Real-Time Transactions topic.
  2. In the Transaction Number box, a sequence number will be assigned automatically. You can also select a sequence number. This is optional information for General Journal transactions. Giving your General Journal transactions a number allows easier retrieval of the transaction later if editing is required and also aids in identifying the transaction from other General Journal transactions.
  3. In the Date box, enter the transaction dateenter the transaction date.
Note: The transaction grid on a General Journal screen varies from the other transaction screens. On other transaction screens, each line in the grid can represent an entire journal entry. On the General Journal grid, each line represents a single account. There is no Detail screen. The detail for each account is entered on the grid. The Distribution column allows you to determine if a distribution should be implemented for the account you enter on the line of the grid. If you always want a distribution to be implemented if a distribution is setup for an account, you can set a preference to always have the Distribution column selected. To set this preference, select File > Preferences > Accounts > Distributions > , select the Distribution tab, and then change the Check Distribution check box by Default to Yes. If the check box is checked during the Save of the transaction the amount associated with the account on that line will be distributed according to the distribution assigned to that account.
  1. In the Account box, select or enter the account that will be debited/credited. If you enter an account that creates an invoice (AP, AR, Credit Card Liability, or Payroll Liability account categories) into the transaction grid, the Select Offset Account screen displays. In the Offset Account box, enter the account that should be offset for the account you entered. When profit center/department and production center/location details are entered to accounts that require an offset account entry, the details are also posted to the offset account.For example, you would probably select an expense account for a Payroll Liability account. This allows CenterPoint to determine which accounts affect cash basis reporting.
  2. Enter the value for the account in either the Debit or Credit column. In the Debit Total box, the total value of all journal entry lines in the Debit column of the General Journal Entry will display. In the Credit Total box, the total value of all journal entry lines in the Credit column of the General Journal Entry will display. The Total Debits and Total Credits must equal before the transaction can be saved. In the Difference box, the difference between the Debit and Credit column displays. If the last line in the grid has an account and the debit/credit box equals zero, you can click the Difference button to automatically enter the amount in the Difference box in the appropriate Debit/Credit box.
Note: The Difference button will work only if you have not selected the Use Template, Offset to Account, or Auto-Reversing Entry option.
  1. Repeat these steps 8-9 until all affected accounts are included and your total Debits and Credits are in balance.
Note: If you want to attach a document to this transaction, see the Attach Documents to Transactions topic for detailed information.
  1. To save this transaction as a recurring transaction, click Recurring, enter a Description, determine if you want to Save amounts and quantities, and then click Save.To view the recurring transactions for a company/fund, click the right-arrow icon next to the Company/Fund box.
  1. In the Memo Line 1 box, enter an optional memo for the transaction. In the Line 2 box, if the transaction is assigned a name that was setup with a default memo, it will display automatically and can be overridden.
  2. When the transaction is complete, click Save.
  3. To print the journal entry, click the Printer icon, select the Print check box, select the Printer (if other than your Windows default printer), number of Copies, and select the Report that you want your journal entry to print on, for example General Journal, Sales Journal (Detail), etc, or one of your favorite reports. Note: After defining the above for this journal entry, if you want future journal entries to print as your default for this screen, right-click the Printer icon and select Set as Default.

Modify the Journal Entry Grid

Modify the Columns Displayed

The General Journal Entry grid can be customized for your specific data entry situation.

  • One of the columns you may want to include on the grid is the Line Description that will allow you to make an entry about each line in the grid. To add the line description, right click on the grid, select Add/Remove Columns, then select the Line Description box and click OK. A column for Line Description can be added to the following General Ledger reports: General Ledger, General Ledger Account Activity, Cash Basis General Ledger, General Journal, General Journal Activity by Account, and Transactions Journal.

  • If you add the Name column and enter a vendor name for each detail line in the General Journal entry, the information will not be included on a 1099 for each vendor. The Name box in the header of the General Journal Entry (from step 4) is the box that the 1099 information is gathered from. If you have multiple vendors that need the detail from the General Journal Entry included on their 1099, separate General Journal entries must be entered for each vendor.

Apply Distributions

The Distribution column allows you to determine if a distribution should be implemented for the account you enter on the line of the grid. If you always want a distribution to be implemented if a distribution is setup for an account, you can set a preference to always have the Distribution column selected. To set this preference, select File > Preferences > Accounts > Distributions , select the Database tab, and then change the Check Distribution check box by Default to Yes. If the check box is checked during the Save of the transaction the amount associated with the account on that line will be distributed according to the distribution assigned to that account.

Add a Notation to a Journal Entry

Notations provide a way to record your own text information. Enter your own information about this general journal entry, or to recall a previously entered notation, click Notation, under Available Notations, select the notation you want to recall., and then click OK. To create a new notation, follow the Create a NotationCreate a Notation procedure.

General Journal Entry Options

Review Transactions

  • To review the last ten transactions entered on a transaction screen, click Options, and then click Review Transactions. Transactions can be modified from this screen by selecting the transaction and then clicking Edit.

    • Custom Field/Comments

  • To enter a 3200 character comment for the general journal entry, click the Options button and select Custom Fields/Comments.

    • Use Template

    • If you need to select a template to use on a general journal entry, select Options > Use Template and a new Template field will be displayed at the top of the General Journal Entry screen.

    Offset To Account

    • If you would like all entries in a transaction to be offset to a particular account (instead of entering that account manually), select Options > Offset to Account.

    Auto Reversing Entry

    • If you are entering a transaction that should be reversed back out the next month (accrued payroll entries, for example), select Options > Auto Reversing Entry to specify the Reversing Date.

    Transaction Type Assignment

    • This option allows you to specify whether the journal entry should keep the transaction type selected at the top of the General Journal Entries screen, warn you if the transaction type is changed by CenterPoint, or allow CenterPoint to change the type if a more appropriate type can be found. For instance, CenterPoint would change a general journal transaction involving two bank accounts to a bank transfer or a transaction with one cash account and the rest of the accounts are not AP, AR, Credit Card, etc.to a cash receipt or cash payment depending on whether cash was debited or credited.

    Document: 3106

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