Journal Entries (JEs) are used to correct errors in accounting transactions, to record entries from bank reconciliations (i.e., interest, fees, etc.), to record debt service entries, to record investment transactions, and to record accrual entries, closing adjustments and other financial events. They are created and updated on the JEM (Journal Entry Maintenance) command.
A Reference ID should be entered in the correct format. The correct format should be used so that others may look up information easily. (Refer to the Reference ID field help screen for appropriate formats.)
There are no restrictions on the company, cost center, or account number that may be used on a JE, except that the cost center must be valid (if an invalid cost center is entered, the system will not allow the document to be saved), the account number must be valid for the company, and the category class must be valid for the account class entered. Up to 98 lines can be entered per JE.
A Data Type 1 is used for "unbalanced" JEs. The net difference between the debits and credits is entered in the Total field and a debit or credit code (D or C) must be entered to indicate whether the total is a debit or a credit. The explosion code varies based upon the associated cash pool and bank accounts that can also be used.
A Data Type 2 is used for "balanced" JEs (where the debits equal the credits). The debit/credit code does not have to be entered if the total of the debits equals the total of the credits. The explosion code of 52 is usually used for balanced journal entries.
A JE may be saved without being completed or balanced, but the user must balance it before it can be submitted in TARGET.
A primary purpose of this facility is to allow you to provide reviewers with supporting documentation and justification for document approval. In the case of interdepartmental invoices, this information may be minimal. For funds transfers, however, you may need to include several lines of details justifying the transfer. For this reason, the extended description facility lets you enter and save up to ten lines. If you need more lines for supporting information, you'll need to send a memo to the appropriate reviewers, and identify the location of this supporting memo in the extended description facility.
Transactions can also be withdrawn (W in the Action field) if the transaction has not gone through final approval. This would be used if the creator of the document realized that a company cost center, account number, etc., was incorrect and needed to be changed.
Reviewers can approve, hold, or disapprove transactions. Transactions put on a hold or disapproved status require the entry of a comment.
Once submitted, the transaction is routed automatically to the appropriate desks for review. After approval, the JE record is posted to DART and the general ledger via a batch program (usually performed nightly).