General Journal Tab

This section includes the fields and descriptions for the General Journal tab.

Journal Island

Field	Description
Journal No.	This is the journal number. Maconomy automatically allocates the next available journal number from the window System Numbers in the Set-Up module.
Created by	This is the name of the user who created the general journal. The name cannot be changed.
Date	This is the date the journal was created. It cannot be changed.
Period No.	This field shows the journal’s period number in the current fiscal year. If your company uses periods that follow the months of the year, the field will, for example, show 1 for January, 2 for February, 3 for March, and so on. However, the periods do not necessarily follow the months of the year. The duration of the period is shown in the fields “Period Start” and “Period End” below. When you have completed the first entry line, Maconomy checks the current fiscal year defined in the window Fiscal Year and finds the period covering this entry’s date. This period is assigned to this field, and in this way, the first entry line determines the journal’s posting period. All entries in a journal must be within the same period. This ensures that each period balances. The date in this field cannot be changed manually.
Period Start	This field shows the first date in the period covered by the journal. The period of the journal goes from the period starting date to the date shown in the field “Period End” below. It is only possible to specify entry dates within this period to ensure that each period balances. The date in this field cannot be changed manually. When you have completed the first entry line, Maconomy checks the current fiscal year defined in the window Fiscal Year and finds the period covering this entry’s date. This period is assigned to the journal, and this field shows the first day of that period. In this way, the first entry line determines the journal’s posting period.
Period End	This field shows the last date in the period covered by the journal. For a further description, please see the field “Period Start” above.
Fiscal Year	This field shows the fiscal year to which the journal is assigned.
Balance, Base	This is the journal’s balance in the base currency of the company responsible for the current journal. The currency is displayed in the field “Base Currency” in the island Company. Maconomy updates the balance every time you complete an entry line. A general journal can only be posted when the balance is zero both in base currency for the current company and in the enterprise currency. This guarantees that debit and credit amounts are always the same.
Balance, Enterprise	This is the journal’s balance in enterprise currency. Maconomy updates the balance every time you complete an entry line. The balance must be zero in both the base currency of the current company and the enterprise currency before the journal can be posted, this ensures that debit and credit amounts are always the same.
Prior-Period	Here you can specify if the general journal is a prior-period journal and if so, which prior periods the G/L entries are to be posted to. If a period is selected, the journal is a prior-period journal. The periods are created in the popup field “Prior Periods” in the window Popup Fields in the Set-Up module. That window is also used for specifying whether the prior-period is open and in which G/L period the current prior-period can be used. A user can only select a prior-period if he or she has been granted access to using prior-periods in the window Actions in the SetUp module. The window Journal Listing shows the marked journals and also gives you the choice of having and overview of prior-period journals only. In the window Print Posting Journal it is possible to specify that the posting or the reprinting of journals should include prior-period journals only. In the window G/L Report Columns you can create a report which only contains G/L entries from a given prior period. Prior-period journals are used when posting in closed periods, including closed financial years.
Auto. Trans. No.	You can check this box if you want Maconomy to suggest your transaction numbers. Maconomy raises the transaction number automatically every time the journal balance is zero, otherwise it suggests the same number as the transaction before it. You must enter a transaction number for the first transaction in a journal. If you remove the mark in the “Reuse Entry Information” box, the transaction number will always be 0, that is, blank, regardless of the journal’s balance, and you must enter a number manually.
Post	Here you can mark the journal as ready to be posted. If the field is marked, you can either post the journal directly in this window, or you can include the journal in posting done from the Posting and Print Posting Journal windows. If the field is not marked, you must mark the journal in the “Post” field in the window Posting. In the window G/L Report Columns, it is possible to generate a report which contains G/L entries with a specific prior-period only. Prior-period journals are used for postings to closed periods, including postings to closed fiscal years.
Reuse Entry Info.	If you check this box, Maconomy will reuse entry information from one line on the next. Maconomy reuses the “Entry Date,” “Transaction Type,” “Trans. No.,” “Description,” “Std. Description,” “Offset Entry,” and “Currency” information as long as the journal balance is different from zero. If you remove the mark, Maconomy suggests today’s date in the field “Entry Date” and the base currency in the field “Currency” and leaves the fields “Transaction Type,” “Trans. No.,” “Description,” “Std. Description,” and “Offset Entry” empty, regardless of the journal’s balance.

Template Island

Field	Description
Save Template	If you check this box, Maconomy will keep the journal as a template when you post it. You can create new journals from your templates in the General Journal Templates and Journal Copying windows. If you check the box, you can use the remaining fields in this island and the field “Num. Series” to specify what the template will be used for. All the values entered below can be changed in the window General Journal Templates after posting. It is also possible to create journals based on posted journals that were not saved as templates, for instance, to correct erroneous entries. For a description of this functionality, please see the window Journal Copying. The functionality offered when creating a journal from a previously posted journal is identical to the one offered when creating journals from templates. As a limited number of templates provide a better overview, templates should therefore only be created for journals that you expect to reuse on a regular basis.
Name	Here you can enter the name of your new template journal.
New Entry Date	Here you must enter the new entry date for the template, that is, the entry date which is to be used the first time that the template is copied.
Range (Months)	Here you can enter the range for the template, if you are going to use it repeatedly.
New Trans. No.	Here you can enter the transaction number which is to be used for template copies. If you do not enter a value, any transaction number series specified in the field “Num. Series” will be used. If neither of the two fields is completed, the fields will also be blank in the template created.
New Trans. Type	Here you can enter the transaction type which is to be used for template copies. If you do not enter a value, the transaction specified in the Transaction Type field in the Transaction Numbering island will be used. A value must be entered in at least one of these fields. The value entered in either field must be a transaction type that is valid for the company and for the General Journal journal type.
Reverse Entries	If you mark this field, Maconomy will reverse the entries when journals are created from the current journal (or from the template created upon posting, if the field “Save Template” is marked). This field does not cause the creation of reversing entries when posting the current journal. If you want Maconomy to create reversing entries when the current journal is posted, use the fields in the “Journal Reversion” island.

Transaction Numbering Island

Field	Description
Transaction Type	In this field you can enter a default transaction type to be used when creating the lines. The default transaction type that is set up for the General Journal in the given company will be shown initially.
Number Series	In this field you can select a transaction number series created in the popup field “Transaction No. Series” in the window Popup Fields in the Set-Up module. If you select a number series, Maconomy will automatically number your journal lines. The field is optional. The default number series defined for the transaction type will be suggested initially. The selected transaction number series will be suggested when creating new journals from the current journal in the windows Journal Copying and General Journal Templates. This will not take place, however, if the field “New Trans. No.” in the Template island is completed, as this transaction number will then be suggested instead. If the field “Create Reversing Journal” in the Journal Reversion island is marked, it also applies that a number series in this field will be used on the entries in the reversion journal, unless a transaction number is specified in the field “New Trans. No.” in the island Journal Reversion.

Posting Island

Field	Description
Layout	In this field, you can select which layout to use when the journal is posted. The layout “Standard” includes detailed information on each entry. The layout “Journal Overview” shows summary information with totals for the journal, including any resulting intercompany journals.

Offsetting Entries Island

Here you can select up to five offset codes, for which Maconomy updates the entry sum in the journal’s “Total” column and the resulting balance in the “Balance” column. The following types of entries are included in the entry total and resulting balance of a given offset code specified in this island:

Entries for which you have entered the offset code in question in the “Offset” field.

Entries on which the dimension values comply with the dimension values assigned to the offset code. The dimension values assigned to the offset code are specified in the window Popup Fields by means of a dimension combination. If this dimension combination contains company specific dimension values, an entry is only included in the entry total and resulting balance if the dimension values on the entry comply with those dimension values in the dimension combination that apply to the company responsible for the current journal.

Examples of offset codes are cash, bank, and giro. The totals are shown in the base currency of the company that created the journal and updated after each journal line is completed. Offset codes are maintained in the popup field “Offset Accounts” in the window Popup Fields in the Set-Up module.

When a journal is created, Maconomy automatically retrieves the offset codes specified on the last general journal created by the same user and concerning the same settling company, unless the user has selected one or several offset codes before pressing Enter, in which case no offset codes are transferred.

Batch Total Island

Field	Description
Control	Here you can enter a control sum that is the expected total of the all the entries in the journal. The amount must be specified in the base currency of the company that created the journal. The batch total is the total of all the values in the fields “Debit” and “Credit” in the journal lines. Both debit and credit entries are calculated as positive figures. If you enter a control sum, the general journal can only be posted if the total is the same as the batch total calculated by Maconomy, shown in the field “Current”, that is, the value in the field “Balance” must be 0. If the control sum is 0, the batch total is ignored. A journal can only be posted as long as it balances, that is, that the total of debit entries is equal to the total of credit entries. The control sum is used as an extra check that you have entered the correct amounts in the entry lines. Before you enter any amounts, Maconomy counts up all the entries, regardless of whether they are being credited or debited. If you forget a transaction, or if you enter a wrong amount, the batch total will not balance with the total Maconomy calculates in the field “Current.”
Current	This is the batch total calculated by Maconomy. It is the total of the values entered in the fields “Debit” and “Credit” in the journal. The batch total is shown in the base currency of the company that created the journal.
Balance	This is the difference between the amounts in the fields “Control” and “Current”. The amount is shown in the base currency of the company that created the journal. If you have entered an amount in the field “Control”, the journal cannot be posted before the values in this field and in the field “Balance” in the island Journal are both 0.

Company Island

Field	Description
Name	This field shows the name of the company shown in the field “Company No.” above.
Number	In this field, you can enter the number of the company responsible for the general journal. If you do not enter a value manually, Maconomy will attempt to derive a value, using the order of priority set up in the window Dimension Derivations in the G/L module. If no value can be derived, the standard value is transferred from the window System Information in the Set-Up module. If you create lines in the general journal in which you specify a company different from the value in this field, Maconomy will automatically create intercompany balances between the companies at the posting of the general journal. In the intercompany balance, the company in this field will be the responsible company. However, if the system parameter “Create intercompany entries for companies with same parent company” is not marked, intercompany entries are only created if the two companies involved are not both assigned to the same parent company. See the section about dimension derivation in the chapter “Introduction to the G/L Module” and the window Dimension Derivations for a description of dimension derivation. Intercompany balances are described in the window Intercompany Accounts.
Balance	This is the journal’s balance in the currency of the company responsible for the current journal. A general journal can only be posted when the balance is zero both in base currency for the current company and the enterprise currency. This guarantees that debit and credit amounts are always the same.

Dimensions Island

Field	Description
Location	Here you can enter a value for the Location dimension. When dimension values are derived to the Entries sub-tab, the value in this field will be used as a context value for the dimension Location, and thus in some cases be transferred to table lines. For a description of the term “context values” and the cases where context values are derived, see the section “Deriving Dimensions.”
Entity	The functionality of this field is similar to that of the field “Location” above.
Project	The functionality of this field is similar to that of the field “Location” above.
Purpose	The functionality of this field is similar to that of the field “Location” above.
Spec. 1-3	The functionality of these fields is similar to that of the field “Location” above.
Local Spec. 1-3	The functionality of these fields is similar to that of the field “Location” above.

Journal Reversion Island

Field	Description
Create Rev. Journal	If you mark this field, Maconomy will create a reversion copy of the general journal when posting. This means that Maconomy creates a new journal containing the same lines as the current journal. However, amounts in debit in the original journal will be in credit in the reversing journal and vice versa. The reversing journal is posted automatically if you mark the field “Post Rev. Journal.”
Post Rev. Journal	If the field “Create Reversing Journal” is marked, you can use this field to specify if Maconomy should automatically post the reversing journal when the current journal is posted. If you mark the field, Maconomy will post the reversing copy together with the current journal. If you do not mark the field, the reversing journal is just created in this window when the current journal is posted, giving you the possibility to edit the reversing journal.
New Entry Date	In this field, you must enter the entry date to be used on the entries in the reversing journal.
New Trans. No.	In this field, you can enter a transaction number to be used on the entries in the reversing journal. If you do not specify a value, Maconomy will instead use any transaction number series specified in the field “Num. Series.” If the field “Create Reversing Journal” is marked, you must either specify a transaction number in this field or a number series in the island Transaction Numbering.
New Trans. Type	In this field, you can enter a transaction type to be used on the entries in the reversing journal. If the field “Create Reversing Journal” is marked, you must either specify a transaction type in this field, or in the Transaction Type field in the island Transaction Numbering (if a value is specified in this field, this value is used; if not, the value specified in the other field mentioned will be used.) Either transaction type must be valid for the company and the General Journal type.

Document Archive Island

Field	Description
Document Archive	In this field, you can assign a document archive to the contact company. For further information about the functionality of the field, please see the description of the corresponding field in the card part of the window Contact Companies.
Document Count	This field shows the total number of documents in the Document Archive.