GL Journal Entries

Batch

The 'Batch' field is one of the ways the system differentiates manual journal entries from those generated from sub-ledger registers. When manually entering journal entries, you can enter a batch code of up to ten characters in the Batch field.

The Batch code is used to group manual journal entries together so that the system knows which entries to use when calculating the Batch Totals. Batch codes are also used to create memorized batches. You can also specify a batch when updating journal entries with the GL Journal Entries Register program.

Hold

The 'Hold' flag (true/false) can will set a specific GL Batch ID to 'Hold' status, and will apply to each GL transaction in that Batch. Users can update it in one of three ways:

Since the last method can affect many transactions, the user will be prompted before the update is actually performed. The prompt will indicate how many transactions will be affected. Also, a new column in the group grid will display the number of transactions in the group so user will know how many flags they will reset before they even do the double-click.

Account

You can either key in a general ledger account or open a search form by clicking on the search button to the right of the field.

Name

Once an account is designated in the field above, the description of the account selected is automatically filled into this field from the chart of accounts.

Actual Date

You must supply a date for the transaction. When you are making multiple entries for a batch, this value will default to the date from the last entry. Users should note that the system will not restrict you to entering the same date for the debit and credit sides of a transaction, so you should be careful to not make entries that span multiple periods. As with most date fields in the TruckMate system, clicking on the down arrow to the right of the field opens a calendar which you can select a date from.

Posting Date

This is a read only field which displays the actual date the transactio will be posted to GL. This field was introduced to have a distinction between the date the transaction was actually entered to the system 'Actual Date' and the date the posting will be done (a calculated read-only field).

Description

This free format text field is provided for additional notes to describe the transaction. If you are making many entries, it will default to the description used in the last entry.

Reference

This field is similar to the above field and is provided to enter an alternate description or code for reporting and reference.

Debit / Credit

Enter the amount of the posting into either the Debit or the Credit field. The program will not allow you enter values into both fields.

The Batch / Period Totals Grid shows you the total debits and credits by period for each currently un-posted batch. As you are keying your journal entries, you should refer often to this grid to ensure you are completing balanced entries for the batch and not making entries that span periods as in the example below.

Group By

The 'Group By' option allows you to sort the records in the Batch/Period Totals Grid using 5 new flags: by 'Batch', 'Year', 'b', 'Register' and 'Audit'. You may check any combination of these 5 checkboxes, then select the 'Refresh Batch Totals' option (via the Menu Bar / Toolbar, or by using the <Ctrl><T> hotkey), and the grid will refresh according to your selections. For each grouping you did NOT check, the corresponding column in the grid will be blank. A row will be displayed (with debit / credit totals) for each unique combination of your checked groupings.

For example, if you checked none of the 5 grouping options, the grid will only show a single row with total debits and credits for all non-posted transactions in the system (regardless of batch, period, etc). If you check all 5 checkboxes, you will get the most detailed breakdown (most rows in grid). The status (checked or unchecked) of these 5 options will be "remembered" to the system registry (by user / machine) when you close the program so that they will be the same the next time you run the program. For the first time you run the program on a machine, the default will be that batch, year, and period are checked, and register and audit are not.

The Data Sheet View window is divided into a filter section in the top part of the screen, the journal entries grid, and a batch totals section at the bottom of the screen. As with the main screen, the journal entries shown are un-posted journal entries - that is journal entries which have not been locked by the GL Register and assigned an audit number. Unlike the main screen, this screen will also show journal entries created by the sub-ledger registers, so users should take advantage of the filter options to ensure they are viewing and editing those journal entries they should be viewing and editing.

The Period End Currency Adjustment Window is used to create journal entries that account for currency fluctuations. For example, say that you had $1000 in your US bank account at the end of June. The exchange rate at that time was 1.32%. Now, at the end of July, the exchange rate is 1.35% and your US bank account balance is undervalued. At the end of each accounting period (as defined on the Periods tab of the GL Chart of Accounts program) you can run a Period End Currency Adjustment to create journal entries that account for the fluctuation in currency.

Fiscal Year

Use the Database search button to select the fiscal year for which you wish to make currency adjustments.

Period

Use the Database search button to select the period within the selected Fiscal Year for which you wish to make currency adjustments.

Transaction Date

Will default to the last day of the month for the Period and Fiscal Year selected.

Exchange Rate

Will default to the exchange rate entered on the GL Chart of Accounts program > Currency Tab. The exchange rate entered against the exchange date that most closely matches the Transaction Date will be used.

Currency

Select the currency that you wish to convert. That is, journal entries will be created to account for the change in the difference between the currency selected here and the currency specified as the base currency in the Codes Maintenance program.

Foreign Exchange Expense

Select the account that will receive the offsetting entries. Only accounts of the 'Foreign Exchange Expense' type will be available for selection. Depending on the type of account and its debit / credit balance, the account selected here will be debited or credited for the original exchange amount (according to the currency rate closest to the transaction date) and debited or credited for the exchange amount calculated based on the exchange rate closest to today’s date. For example, an asset account (such as a bank account) has a balance of US$100 on January 31. The exchange rate is 1.32. On February 28, the exchange rate is 1.35. If you create a Period End Currency Adjustment for February 28, the Foreign Exchange Expense account will be credited with the original exchange amount ($32.00) and debited with the current exchange amount ($35.00). If the account were of a liability type, however, the Foreign Exchange Expense account would be debited with the original exchange amount and credited with the current exchange amount.

Account Like

Is used to select accounts that will be included in the currency adjustment. To include all accounts of the currency specified in the Currency field, enter a '%' symbol. To select a specific account, enter the account number in this field. To select accounts according to the account code’s number convention, use the wildcard in conjunction with a portion of the account code. For example, to include all account codes that begin with the prefix '01', '01-%'.

Select

After you have entered all the selection criteria, click the Select button. This will display all accounts that are applicable.

Create Journal Entries

Will create journal entries with the batch code 'Curr Adj'. Four entries will be created for each account included. The original exchange value and the new exchange value will be debited and credited (or vice versa, depending on the account type) to the Foreign Exchange Expense account, as described above. Offset postings will be created for the sub accounts of the selected accounts. For example, if the account that is being adjusted is the Accounts Receivable US control account, the system will create offset postings in the lowest numbered sub account of the A/R US Control account that is of the same currency as the Base currency (as configured in the Codes Maintenance program).

For multi-company databases, GL Journal Entries displays transactions that either a) will be posted to the current login company, or b) were created by a user while logged into the current login company. That is, for inter-company transactions, you will only see all transactions related to the batch in the login company, while in the "other company" of the inter-company batch, you will only see accounts for that company.

For example, suppose you log in to company 1 and:

In company 1, I will see both these transactions as well as a "due from" debit to a company 1 GL account and a "due to" credit to a company 2 GL account. So, in company 1, I see 4 transactions. In company 2, I only see 2 transactions: the first (debit) amount (to account Y) and the "due to" (credit) amount. In company 2, I see neither the posting to account Z nor the "due from" transaction.