Manual Journals

The Journals feature lets you record and manage financial journal entries in GEMS. There are two types of journal entries:

• Manual Journals – one-time entries you create individually (e.g., adjustments, accruals, corrections).
• Recurring Journals – entries that repeat automatically on a schedule you define (e.g., monthly rent, depreciation, subscriptions).

Both types share the same core entry structure but differ in a few key ways, explained below.

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Accessing Journals

1. From the sidebar, go to Financial Management > Journals.
2. The list page shows all journal entries with summary counters: Total, Posted, Draft, and Reversed.
3. Use the search bar to find a specific entry by Journal No, Description, Date, or Amount.
4. Use the filter options to narrow the list by Status, Period, Business Entity, Posting Type, or Journal Type (Manual/Recurring).

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Creating a Manual Journal

1. Click + New to open the journal creation form.
2. The system automatically assigns a Journal Number (e.g., JL00001) — this field is read-only.
3. Select the Date for the journal entry using the date picker.
4. Select the Currency for the transaction. This determines the currency symbol shown for all line amounts.
5. Enter the Exchange Rate (up to 5 decimal places). This is used to calculate the local currency equivalent of each line’s amount.
6. Select the Business Entity this journal belongs to. Only entities with an active Chart of Accounts can be selected. Choosing a Business Entity enables the Posting Type field and determines which accounts are available for the entry lines.
7. Select the Posting Type (for example, GL Account Document, Customer Invoice, Supplier Invoice, Credit Invoice, Debit Invoice, Customer Payment, Supplier Payment, Payment to Customer, Payment By Supplier, Asset Posting, or Inventory Posting). This determines whether a source document (like a specific invoice) needs to be linked.
8. Enter a Reference No — a code made up of an alphabetic prefix and a numeric suffix, joined by a hyphen (e.g., SALE-10001). Only letters, numbers, and a single hyphen are allowed, and the text is automatically converted to uppercase.
9. If the Posting Type requires a source document, select the Source Document Type and choose the specific invoice from the dropdown.
10. Enter the journal entry lines. For each line:
    • Choose Dr (Debit) or Cr (Credit).
    • Select the GL Account. Available accounts are filtered by the selected Business Entity and Posting Type.
    • If the account belongs to an Income or Expense category, you may also select a Cost Center. The related Profit Center is filled in automatically and cannot be edited directly.
    • Enter the Transaction Amount. The Local Amount is calculated automatically using the exchange rate.
11. A minimum of two lines is required, and the total debits must equal the total credits before the journal can be posted. A running total and difference are shown at the bottom of the entry lines.
12. Optionally add Notes (up to 25 characters) and attach a supporting file (PDF, JPG, JPEG, or PNG).
13. Click Save as Draft to save without posting, or Post to finalize the entry. Posting requires the journal to be balanced and all required fields completed.

Reversing a Manual Journal

Manual Journals include an optional Reverse Journal feature (not available for Recurring Journals):

1. On the creation form, toggle on Enable Reverse Journal.
2. Enter the Reversal Date — the date the system will automatically post the reversing entry.
3. Enter a Reversal Reason (up to 10 letters/numbers).
4. When the original journal is posted, the system automatically creates a mirrored reversing entry (debits and credits swapped) on the specified date, and marks the original journal’s status as Reversed.
5. A journal can only be reversed once, and the toggle is locked once a journal has already been reversed.

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Creating a Recurring Journal

Recurring Journals follow the same core steps as Manual Journals (Date, Currency, Exchange Rate, Business Entity, Posting Type, Reference No, and entry lines), with these differences:

1. Open the form by clicking + New and switching to the Recurring Journal option, or by using the New Recurring button.
2. Note: the Reverse Journal section does not appear on this form — reversal only applies to Manual Journals.
3. The Business Entity cannot be changed once a recurring journal has been saved.
4. Complete the Recurring Schedule section:
   • Repeats Every – how often the journal recurs (Week, Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, Year, 3 Years, or 5 Years). Defaults to Month.
   • Starts On – the date the recurring schedule begins.
   • Ends On – the date the schedule stops (optional), or toggle Unlimited if there is no end date. Turning on Unlimited disables and clears the Ends On field.
5. Save as Draft or Post Recurring as with Manual Journals.

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Viewing, Editing, and Managing Journals

• View: Click the view icon to open a read-only summary of the journal, including header details, entry lines, and audit trail. Any empty field is shown as a dash (“—”).
• Edit: Click the edit icon to reopen the form with existing values pre-filled. The Journal Number field remains locked.
• Delete: Only Draft journals can be deleted. Posted journals must first be converted back to Draft.
• Export as PDF: Available from the Actions menu on the View page for a single entry, or from the list page for multiple entries (PDF, MS Excel, or Google Sheets).
• Import: Use the Import button to upload journal entries via CSV, XLS, or XLSX. The file must include at least a Journal No or Date column.
• Bulk Actions: Select one or more entries to Convert as Posted, Convert to Draft, Make Manual, Make Recurring, or Export as PDF.
  • “Make Manual” and “Make Recurring” require exactly one journal to be selected, and the journal must not already be marked as Reversed.
  • “Convert as Posted” applies only to Draft journals; “Convert to Draft” applies only to Posted journals.
• Column Settings: Use the Settings icon to show or hide optional columns in the list. The Status and Actions columns are always shown.
• Refresh: Click the Refresh button to reset all filters and reload the list.

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Status Values

Status	Meaning
Draft	Saved but not yet posted. Does not affect financial reports. Can be edited or deleted.
Posted	Finalized and reflected in the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. Can be converted back to Draft.
Reversed (Manual Journals only)	The entry has been reversed; a mirrored reversing entry exists in the system.

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Key Rules to Keep in Mind

• Every journal must have at least two entry lines, and total debits must equal total credits before posting.
• Only journals in Draft status can be deleted.
• Changing the Business Entity on a new journal clears all previously selected GL Account, Cost Center, and Profit Center values.
• Cost Center can only be selected on lines using Income or Expense category GL Accounts; Profit Center is always auto-filled and read-only.
• If a posted journal line uses a Bank sub-category GL Account, the transaction is automatically sent to Bank Reconciliation.
• Access to Journals is restricted to authorized users.