A general journal is a daybook or subsidiary journal in which transactions relating to adjustment entries, opening stock, depreciation, accounting errors etc. are recorded. The source documents for general journal entries may be journal vouchers, copies of management reports and invoices. Journals are prime entry books, and may also be referred to as ''books of original entry'', from when transactions were written in a journal before they were manually posted to accounts in the general ledger or a subsidiary ledger. It is where double entry bookkeeping entries are recorded by

debit Debits and credits in double-entry bookkeeping are entries made in account ledgers to record changes in value resulting from business transactions. A debit entry in an account represents a transfer of value ''to'' that account, and a credit e ...

ing one or more accounts and crediting another one or more accounts with the same total amount. The total amount debited and the total amount credited should always be equal, thereby ensuring the

accounting equation Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...

is maintained. In manual accounting information systems, a variety of

special journal Special journals (in the field of accounting) are specialized lists of financial transaction records which accountants call journal entries. In contrast to a general journal, each special journal records transactions of a specific type, such as ...

s may be used, such as a

sales journal A sales journal is a specialized accounting journal and it is also a prime entry book used in an accounting system to keep track of the sales of items that customers(debtors) have purchased on account by charging a receivable on the debit side o ...

purchase journal A purchase journal is a specialised accounting journal and it is also a prime entry book/daybook/main entry book which is used in an accounting system to keep track of the orders of items placed using accounts payable. Simply a purchase journal c ...

cash receipts journal A Cash receipts journal is a specialized accounting journal and it is referred to as the main entry book used in an accounting system to keep track of the sales of items when cash is received, by crediting sales and debiting cash and transactions ...

disbursement journal A disbursement is a form of payment from a public or dedicated fund. Alternatively, it means a payment made on behalf of a client to a third party for which reimbursement is subsequently sought from the client. It is a term most commonly used by s ...

, and a general journal. The transactions recorded in a general journal are those that do not qualify for entry in any special journal used by the organisation, such as non-routine or adjusting entries.

Manual processing

A bookkeeper or accountant would usually maintain the general journal. A general journal entry is a record of financial transactions in order by date. A general journal entry would typically include the date of the transaction (which may be dispensed with after the first entry of the day), the names of the accounts to be debited and credited (which should be the same as the name in the

chart of accounts A chart of accounts (COA) is a list of financial accounts set up, usually by an accountant, for an organization, and available for use by the bookkeeper for recording transactions in the organization's general ledger. Accounts may be added t ...

), the amount of each debit and credit, and a summary explanation of the transaction, commonly known as a narration. Each debit and credit account and the narration would be entered on consecutive lines, and typically at least one line would be left blank before the next journal entry, and entries should not be split over more than one page. Though not a requirement, it is widespread practice to enter the debits first, followed by the credits and then the narration. Whatever format is adopted, it should be applied consistently. There may be multiple debit or credit entries, but the sum of the debits must be equal to the sum of the credits. For example, multiple expenses (debits) may be paid with one payment (a credit).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Journal Accounting journals and ledgers

Manual processing

See also

References