The Ledger : journal entry

Create a Cookie Cutter Journal Entry Batch

Geoff Sharbrough — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:35:00 GMT

Do you enter the same journal entry batches each month for utility bills or have a grant that receives the same percentage of funds on a regular basis? Hate having to create the same batch each month? Then recurring batches are here to save you time and the worries of an incorrectly keyed journal entry.

Recurring batches are templates that can be loaded to quickly create regular batches. There are two types of recurring batches: Recurring Amount and Recurring Percent. Recurring Percentage batches are useful if you have regularly occurring transactions that require the same percentage of debit and credit amounts. Recurring Amount batches are useful if the batches post to the same accounts each time. If they post with the same amount you can enter the amount, or if the amounts fluctuate you can omit this information in the Recurring Amount batch.

To create a Recurring batch template, select the type of Recurring batch from the batch type dropdown menu in Journal Entry. Create the batch as normal, giving it a Batch ID and description. You can then enter your transactions and any distributions that you want to include in the Recurring batch. For more information on creating a Recurring batch check out Knowledgebase BB92224.

So you've got a recurring batch template set up, now what? You can easily create a regular batch from the recurring batch template by creating a new regular batch. Once the new regular batch has been created, you can select to load the recurring batch template by selecting Batch, Use Recurring Batch from the menu bar. Select the recurring batch template with the pre-defined transactions that you want to use, then enter a post date and a transaction amount in the appropriate fields, and click OK to populate the preset information into the batch. Enter any additional transactions or edit distributions as needed. You have now created an open batch that you can save, validate, and post!

Due-to/Due-From Vs. Transfer Accounts

Wade Sexton — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:13:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered whether you should use a Due-to/Due-from account or a Transfer account? Well, that I cannot tell you. However, what I can tell you is the difference between the two account types so that you can make a decision as to which one to use.

Due-to/Due-from accounts are similar to liability accounts in that they maintain a balance at the end of the year that is carried forward to the next year. Therefore, Due-to/Due-from accounts appear on your Balance Sheet. This account type is usually used for transferring money between companies.

Transfer accounts, on the other hand, are similar to an expense account whose balance is closed into the fund balance account at the end of the year. Therefore, Transfer accounts appear on your Income Statement. This account type is usually used for balancing transactions across funds.

So, still not sure which type to use? I suggest you speak with a CPA for an answer to that question.

Where Did That Transaction Come From?

Donna Moss — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:27:00 GMT

Ever been in a Journal Entry Batch and asked yourself this very question? Well never fear the Journal Entry Tool Bar is here!
While in the Journal Entry Batch, highlight a specific entry, click Batch and then Go To from the menu bar. Under the Go To listing select one of the 4 options: Transaction, Source Record, Account, or Project. Each of these options will help explore specific areas associated with the Journal entry.

Transaction shows a summary of the journal entry line including account number, reference, transaction type, amount, post date, and journal used when the item was posted.
Source Record shows the item the transaction originated from. This can be an invoice, check, credit memo, deposit, payment, and pretty much any item that posts activity.
Account shows the account record used in the transaction.
Project shows the project record used in the transaction. This option will only be available if the transaction includes a project distribution.

So from now on when you ask yourself where a transaction came from, simply check out the Go To menu and all your questions will be answered.

Have a great day!

Shortcuts to Journal Entry Batches

Heather Robinson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:27:00 GMT

"Ugh, manual journal entries take forever!" Sound familiar? Well I have a few tricks to speed up the process!

Journal Entry batches can have a default row that will store information you type over and over again, such as post dates, journal and account numbers.

First, let's make sure you have a default row. Select Tools and Options from the menu bar. Select the Records tab, highlight Journal Entry, and make sure Yes is selected for Display first row of batch as default row. Now, we can set user preferences. Are you more of a keyboard person or a mouse person? Well, there is an option for both! In the Enter batch default row, select either by field with the F2 key or by row when placing cursor in row. Now you're all set to give your fingers a break.

Next time you enter journal entries, you'll see a D row at the top of the batch. Enter your default information in this row. As you enter transaction information, the defaults will auto populate based on the Enter batch default row option selected.

Check out the Journal Entry Quick Reference Guide and the Tired of Mouse Clicks blog for more shortcuts.

I hope this makes your life a little easier!

Is it Okay to Cancel Out of Posting, Copying, or Reversing a Batch?

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:42:00 GMT

Do you ever notice your workstation task manager shows The Financial Edge is not responding? Just because it shows not responding on your workstation doesn't mean that FE has stopped working. Many times the process is still running on the server. If you cancel the process at the wrong point it could result in data corruption and who wants that?

Pardon the interruption, but this is a great example of why you should regularly back up your database. Check out the Backup and Recovery series on Inside the Edge for more details about the importance of backing up your database and testing it on a regular basis. Now back to you regularly scheduled program.

Here are some helpful tips:

Before initiating the process, disable any applications running unnecessarily, including those running in the background that may be using up system resources.
Post regularly, and assign a specific time of day to complete your posting.
Large batches with complex distributions, attributes, transaction codes, and projects will take longer to process because more information must be validated for each element of the transaction. If you have large distributions, post in smaller batches.
Allow sufficient time for the process to finish.
If you think you have performance issues, check out Knowledgebase solution BB8626 for performance considerations.

So remember, the next time you're posting, copying, or reversing a batch and your workstation's task manager indicates that the software is not responding, wait before you cancel the process.

Talk to you soon!

Importing into The Financial Edge

Daniel Dalnekoff — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:04:00 GMT

Ahh spring. Around this time of year a few things happen....it warms up so I can laugh at myself trying to improve my golf game, it becomes unbearably hot to play paintball, and I can finally get my bike out of the shed. Oh, and we will see an increase in the number of import transactions questions in FE. Over the next few weeks I will share my tips and tricks for the most common imports.

Let's begin with one of my personal favorites, the Journal Entry Batch. The required fields will ultimately depend on what you are trying to import, so I find it helpful to build a template by creating a blank batch. Save the batch to ensure all required fields are listed and note the batch number. Then export the batch through the Export module in a .csv (comma separated values) or .txt format. Now you have a template to build your import.

Now begin entering the transaction information into the file. I recommend not using any formatting, such as date, or any special symbols, such as a dollar sign ($), to the text. Save your file as a .txt or a .csv to make it import nicely into the software. Open the blank journal entry batch and select Batch Import Transactions or press Control + I on your keyboard to start the import process.

If you have transactions distributed to multiple projects, make sure they are grouped together by using the same extension. For example:

project_ID_0 <extension 0>
project_amount_0 <extension 0>

project_ID_1 <extension 1>
project_amount_1 <extension 1>

project_ID_2 <extension 2>
project_amount_2 <extension 2>

Ok, so this may have been a rough overview, but try to walk through it and let me know where you may get stuck. Leave a comment to share helpful tips of your own or to request an import for me to cover in an upcoming post.