Overview
Journal entries record financial transactions within accounting. Each journal is made in a double entry system where debits and credits are equal.Journal entries consist of two main parts:
- The header contains general information to identify the journal
- The lines contain the individual lines, dollar amounts, and the ChartFields that are affected.
Notes
- Corrections for expense reports that have already been paid should made by submitting a ticket or form through the OneSource Service Desk so that the correction can be made in the Expense module.
- Some departments may require the Reference field in the chartstring.
Supporting documentation must be attached to all General Ledger Journals and should reflect the entry being made. A good rule of thumb is to include an electronic copy of what was used to create the journal entry. For intra-university charges (tickets), invoices should be attached that equal the revenue amount being credited. For correcting/moving a transaction, provide supporting documentation that shows where the transaction originally posted. Remember to be concise with journal entries and combine documents when reasonable; reviewing fewer documents can be helpful for your approvers! Documents included are also available during auditing and historical review. Examples of supporting documentation:
- UGA_GL_LEDGER_DETAIL query results can be included to show what transaction is being corrected/moved.
- Any analysis/spreadsheet that was used to determine the amounts included in the journal entry.
- Invoices and agreements for Intra-University charges.
In this article, you will learn the steps to create and submit a GL journal to reclassify an expense from one account code to another in the UGA Financial Management System.
In this example, the journal you will create is changing an account code on a transaction because it was charged incorrectly.
Note: Data has been redacted to protect employee information. These pages can also be accessed from the Business Management WorkCenter.
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To navigate to the Journal Entries page, follow this navigation in the left side menu:
Journal Transactions > Journal Entries
Click the Journal Entries link.
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Click the Collapse Menu button to create a larger workspace.
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The Business Unit should default to 18000. If not, enter the business unit for the transaction.
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The system will automatically assign the next Journal ID number when the transaction is saved. Do not change the default or type anything in this field.
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The Journal Date defaults to the current date. This date determines the month (accounting period) and budget year in which the transaction will be posted. You can change the default entry, if needed.
Note: You can enter the date in the Journal Date field or select the date by clicking the calendar icon next to the Journal Date field.
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The Header page is displayed. This page contains general information that applies to the entire journal (for example, the description, who created the journal, and the journal source). The entries you made on the previous page appear at the top.
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The Long Description field allows you to enter more details about the transaction. The first 30 characters will appear in search lists when you search for transactions.
Note: Charges should always be corrected in the module in which they originate.
Example shown here: Enter "To correct intra university charge" in the Long Description field.
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Online journals are entered into the default option, ACTUALS, Ledger Group. Do not change this value.
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Leave the default option of Non-Adjusting Entry in the Adjusting Entry field.
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The Fiscal Year and Period are based on the Journal Date that you entered for the transaction.
The ADB (Adjusted Daily Balance) Date is not used at UGA.
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The Ledger field should be left blank.
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Journals that you enter on this page should default to ONL (Online) in the Source field. This should not be changed.
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The Reference Number and Journal Class fields should NOT be used.
The Transaction Code should retain the default of GENERAL.
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You have the option to save an incomplete journal which allows you to save your work before you have completed the entry or processing.
This will save the transaction in a status of "T - Journal Entry Incomplete". This should default.
Note: The remaining checkboxes are not used.
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The Currency Defaults hyperlink opens a page where the currency can be changed. UGA uses USD (US Dollars) as the transaction currency as shown, so there is no need to change it.
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Attachments are used to justify and document the journal entry. The number displayed in parentheses beside Attachments indicates the number of documents that have been added.
To include related documents, click the Attachments link.
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The Journal Entry Attachments dialog box is displayed.
Click the Add Attachment button.
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The File Attachment dialog box is displayed.
Click the Browse button.
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The Choose File to Upload dialog box is displayed. Navigate to find the correct file to attach.
With the appropriate file selected, click the Open button.
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The Show to Approver? option prompts the approver to make a decision about the document.
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Enter appropriate information about the document in the Description field.
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You can repeat these steps to include additional documents as needed.
When all files are attached, click the OK button.
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To enter line information, click the Lines tab.
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The Lines page is displayed.
The ChartFields and amount for the transaction are entered here to credit a charge that has posted to the General Ledger.
Some things to consider when completing a journal:
• The credit or the debit can be entered on the first line as long as an offsetting credit/debit is also included on another line.
• The credit must match the chartstrings in relation to the how the charge posted to the GL.
• A partial amount can be credited/debited; however, the amount cannot exceed the original charge.
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If you have a SpeedType with the correct values, you may enter it here. The SpeedType will fill in other values on the line, which can still be changed as needed.
Note: Bud Ref must always be entered manually.
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If you do not use a SpeedType , you will need to enter the chartstring manually.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Account field.
Example shown here: Enter "714110" in the Account field.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Fund field.
Example shown here: Enter "11300" in the Fund field.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Dept field.
Example shown here: Enter "17101200" in the Dept field.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Program field.
Example shown here: Enter "12200" in the Program field.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Class field.
Example shown here: Enter "11200" in the Class field.
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Enter the Budget Reference, which is the current open funding year.
Example shown here: Enter "2024" in the Bud Ref field.
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Scroll to the right to enter the appropriate information into the Amount field.
Note: In this example, we are entering the credit on the first line. Since the original charge was posted as an operating account code (714100), we will use a negative amount to credit this chartstring.
Example shown here: Enter "-1624.23" in the Amount field.
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The Open Item Key field is used when a charge is on an employee travel account code (64xxx).
Note: Put the EMPLID of the employee associated with the charge here.
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Enter the Reference number if required by the department. The Reference field is optional and utilized differently from one department to another.
Note: The Reference field is displayed on the majority of reports for additional information about the charge. For a GL Journal to correct a charge, it is suggested to retain the reference from the original charge.
Example shown here: Enter "INV 12345" in the Reference field.
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The Journal Line Description field is optional and utilized differently from one department to another.
Note: This field will show up on the majority of reports for additional information about the charge. When doing a GL Journal to correct a charge, it is suggested to retain the line description from the original charge.
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Note: Each journal transaction must balance. The debits must equal the credits.
You now need to enter the information using the chartstring that should be debited. This will require that you add additional lines. If you need to add multiple lines, you can enter the total number of lines in the Lines to Add field.
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![Lines to Add [+] button highlighted.](https://uga.teamdynamix.com/TDPortal/Images/Viewer?fileName=cb658a4d-6559-44c7-be3a-ff43e0add5d6.jpeg&beidInt=175) |
You can [+] insert lines or [-] delete the selected journal lines.
Click the [+] Insert Lines button.
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The new line copied all information from the previous line. You will only need to enter information in the fields that need to be changed.
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Change the appropriate chartstring information to the correct the transaction.
Example shown here: The Account field will remain the same.
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Continue to change ChartFields as needed.
Example shown here: 10500 in Fund field, 11800 in Class field.
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When the line was copied, the system entered the debit (in this example, a positive number) in the new line, assuming that you are making a balancing entry.
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The Totals section indicates number of lines and whether the debits and credits equal. If these are not equal, you may have entered incorrect amounts or you may need more lines.
Note: The Credits and Debits can be more than the actual total of the amount being moved if you are moving a charge from one fund to another (in this example, from 20200 to 10500).
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Enter the Reference number if required by the department. The Reference field is optional and utilized differently from one department to another.
Example shown here: Enter "INV 12345" in the Reference field.
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Enter the appropriate information into the Journal Line Description field.
Example shown here: "CAES Distr Postage" in the Journal Line Description field.
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Both the Journal Status ("T" means Journal Entry Incomplete ) and Budget Status ("N" means No Status - Needs to be edited ) show that this journal is not ready to be posted.
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When saving with an incomplete status, your journal will show a " T " in Journal Status.
You will also see this message. The journal is saved, but you will need to finish the entry before you can post the transaction.
Click the OK button.
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52. Step 52
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After you save the journal, a Journal ID is assigned. You should record the assigned Journal ID in the event that you need to search for it at a later date.
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You are now ready to edit the journal to perform the system budget check.
Note: This will check the credit side of this journal to ensure your credits do not post back a value that is greater than the amount of debits on your chartstring.
It will also check your debit to ensure there is an adequate funding balance to accept the charge. This will ensure that the journal is balanced.
Click the Process drop-down menu.
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Click the Edit Journal option to run the system budget check.
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Click the Process button.
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A pop-up message lets you know that the edited journal has been saved.
Click the OK button.
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A pop-up message asks if you would like to wait for confirmation that the Edit process has completed.
Example shown here: Click the Yes button.
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If your journal is balanced and ready to move to the next step, the Journal Status should be V (Valid Journal - Edits Complete).
If there is money in the budget to cover the transaction, the Budget Status will change to V (Valid Journal - Edits Complete).
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When creating a GL Journal that crosses between funds (in this example F: 20200 to F: 10500), you will receive control lines balance the ledgers.
Accordingly, the Total Lines column in the Total section has been updated to number the combined total of both the control and journal lines. The Total Credits and Debits will also reflect the balancing credits and debits in the from the control lines.
For this example, 2 control lines were generated, and the Total Lines column has been updated to 4.
Note: Control lines are system generated lines used to keep Funds in balance. They will always be at the end of the journal.
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Once the status is Valid (V), you can submit the journal for approval.
Click the Process dropdown list.
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Click the Submit Journal option.
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Click the Process button.
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The journal has been submitted.
To view approvals information, click the Approval tab.
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The Approval page shows the status of the approvals for the journal. Here, you see that the approval is Pending.
Note: In this example, the employee submitting is also in the approval path for this department ID. In this case, the system will remove them from the approval path since you cannot approve your own transactions.
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The boxes at the bottom show the approval routing and display a status for each. You can return to the journal to monitor where the approval status stands.
You can also see who is in the approval pool.
Click the Multiple Approvers link.
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Any of these approvers can approve the journal to advance it to the next level of the approval process.
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Until the first approval is complete, the second approval will show a Not Routed status.
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