ENTER JEs 

Use this screen to enter Journal Entry (JE) transactions. Journal entries are typically used to record things such as depreciation, accruals, and expensing of prepaids. If you need to correct transactions that were previously entered and posted in another screen, such as cash receipts or timesheets, you should usually make the corrections in the original entry screens to make sure that all necessary detail is recorded.

There are two main types of journal entries: adjusting and recurring. In addition, there are reversal entries, which are the reversal of either adjusting or recurring entries. Numbering is separate for adjusting and recurring entries. Adjusting journal entries (AJEs) are numbered sequentially within each accounting period. Recurring journal entries (RJEs) are numbered sequentially as they are entered, and keep the same number each time they recur. You can create project transfer and multi-job allocations entries.

You can also make entries relating to employee and subcontractor/consultant (vendor) labor via subtasks that you access from this screen. You normally make labor corrections in Costpoint Labor using a correcting timesheet. You should only use the Employee Labor subtask to enter summary transactions that have off-line supporting detail. You cannot use entries made in this screen to generate a paycheck, but they are useful for entering labor amounts from subsidiaries. The information entered is posted to the Labor Summary table and is available for reporting on project reports and any other reports generated from that table.

You can create journal entries in any subperiod in any open accounting period. Recurring entries are automatically generated using the Create Recurring JEs screen. The original recurring entry and all recurrences of it can be accessed through this screen.

For firms with accounting operations policies that include segregation of duties, perhaps to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or for firms otherwise requiring that journal entries be approved, this screen also displays the journal entry's approval status and identifies the approver.

If your firm is not using the journal entry approval feature, or if this journal entry does not require approval, the journal entry displays as approved and the employee who entered the journal entry data is the approver.

The Clone feature is available in this screen.

Screen Elements

This screen consists of the following elements:

• The header fields, such as Type and Number, which apply to the whole journal entry.

• In the table window, the line detail fields such as Account, Organization, and Project.

• The subtask buttons display the dialogs on which you specify related journal entry settings.

Screen Location?

Header Fields

JE ID

Type

From the drop-down list, select one of six types of journal entries:

• Recurring

• Reversal Adjusting

• Reversal Recurring

• Project Transfer

• Multi-Job Allocations

You enter the adjusting and recurring entries.

To designate adjusting and recurring entries as reversing, select the Reversing option in the Period group box. You must post new recurring entries to the General Ledger before you can use them as templates to create future recurring entries in the Create Recurring JEs screen.

Costpoint generates reversals automatically. You can delete them but you cannot change them.

Also, you cannot select the reversal type when you are adding entries. Costpoint checks the status of REV and RRV in the Reversing subtask for the reversal period. If the reversal period is marked as unavailable for the specified fiscal year, period, and subperiod, Costpoint displays a warning message but allows you to save.

Project transfer and multi-job allocations journal entries are numbered sequentially in each accounting period. You cannot edit any information on the project transfer journal entry lines but you do have the option of deleting the entire journal entry if it is incorrect.

You can edit the information on the multi-job allocations journal entry lines. If you edit a multi-job allocation entry before posting, you must also reflect this change in the Multi-Job Allocation Cost History screen in Costpoint Cost and Revenue Processing to ensure the table is up-to-date for subsequent calculations.

Number

Enter the journal entry number in this nine-digit numeric field. This number must be unique within each accounting period. Leave this field blank to have Costpoint automatically assign the next available journal entry number within the accounting period entered on this screen. When you save the transaction, the assigned journal entry number is displayed and cannot be changed. If you allow Costpoint to assign the journal entry number, Costpoint adds one to the number currently stored in the transaction control number table. As an alternative, you can manually assign journal entry numbers.

Costpoint assigns the journal entry number by fiscal year and period. Journal entry numbers automatically begin at 1 for each new accounting period. You can change the last system number in the Set System Assigned JE Number screen whenever the validation for duplicate numbers prevents you from saving a new transaction. You can also use the Set System Assigned JE Number screen to maintain the sequential ordering of numbers from one accounting period to the next.

Adjusting JEs

Adjusting journal entries are numbered sequentially within each accounting period (the numbers restart with 0 for each accounting period).

You can have Costpoint begin a new numbering sequence for adjusting JEs at any time by entering the desired number and saving the journal entry. However, the JE number must be unique within the accounting period. Note that you must use a 9 (or some number other than 0) to fill the left-most position for January through September (months 01 through 09). Because the journal entry number is a numeric field, the data in this field is right-justified and leading zeros are not stored.

If you want to number your journal entries so that you can easily tell the accounting period in which a journal entry was posted, restart the numbering with the first journal entry in each accounting period. For example:

The accounting period is shown on the General Ledger Detail report and on most other inquiries and reports that include journal entry detail.

Recurring JEs

Recurring journal entries are numbered sequentially regardless of accounting period, and always have the same number each time they recur. Once you save a recurring journal entry, its number cannot be changed or used by any other recurring journal entry.

To reuse a recurring journal entry number, you must first delete an unposted version of the recurring journal entry with that number. This frees up the number to be used again. To stop a journal entry from recurring, you can either enter a stop date or delete an unposted version of the recurring JE.

Period

These editable fields display the fiscal year, period, and subperiod into which the entry will be (or was) posted.

These fields display the default settings for fiscal year, period, and subperiod established in your user preferences (Options » Preferences » Change Default Period). To change these settings, enter a new fiscal year, period, and/or subperiod, or select new settings from the drop-down lists.

You can assign journal entries to open time periods only. (The statuses of these time periods are maintained in the Fiscal Year, Period, and Subperiod screens in Costpoint General Ledger.) If you change the fiscal year, period, or subperiod, the values you specify become the defaults for new entries. After you save a journal entry, you cannot change the fiscal year, period, and subperiod.

To correct a wrong fiscal year, period, or subperiod, access the journal entry using Query and Clone it. Change the incorrect fiscal year, period, or subperiod information on the new journal entry, and delete the incorrect entry.

If you do not specify a fiscal year, period, and subperiod, Costpoint displays an error message when you try to save the record.

Reversing

Select this option to create a reversal of your entry. Costpoint creates the reversal when the journal entry is posted. The journal entry number will be the next number in the REV sequence. Click Reverse to indicate the period in which the reversal should be created. This information is required in order to save the reversing journal entry.

Over Budget

Use this option in conjunction with the Encumbrance Tracking feature. Select this check box if the journal entry will exceed any project's budget. This flag identifies transactions that, if posted, will cause you to exceed the line item ceiling placed on the project. If any line on this transaction causes an overrun on a line item ceiling, Costpoint flags the entire entry as over budget, which prevents the entry from being posted.

You can also select or clear the related Set Items On Over Budget Status option on the Calculate Over Budget Transactions screen in Costpoint Budgeting and ETC. See Special Topic (PJ-16) - Encumbrance Tracking, in the Projects help, for more information on this feature.

Billable

Select this option if you want the Post JEs screen to copy this journal entry transaction to the Open Billing Detail table. The Open Billing Detail table contains transactions from journal entries that eventually appear on a bill. In Costpoint Billing, the corresponding option, Update Open Billing Detail, is copied to the Journal Entry History tables; for reversible entries, it is also copied to the reversing journal entry.

Entry Info

User ID and Date

The user entry information displays here. The user ID of the person who last changed the entry displays automatically, along with the date of the last change. When you create recurring journal entries on the Create Recurring JEs screen, you can select recurring journal entries to be created based on the user ID.

Description

Enter descriptive text explaining the reason for the entry. In the G/L Detail, this description is saved for each line of the entry unless a specific description is saved for an individual line.

Approval Info

Approved

You use the JE Approval Settings subtask of the G/L Settings screen to specify whether journal entries require approvals.

The Approved check box is selected if:

• Your firm is not using the journal entry approval feature.

• The amount of the journal entry is below the approval cutoff amount.

• The journal entry has been approved.

The Approved check box is cleared if your firm is using the journal entry approval feature and the journal entry has not been approved.

• If you are authorized to approve journal entries, select this option to approve the journal entry in preparation for posting, or leave it cleared to reject the journal entry.

• If you are authorized to approve your own journal entries, select this option to approve this journal entry.

• If you lack authority to approve this journal entry, Costpoint displays a message to that effect.

Once a journal entry is approved and you save your changes, this check box becomes non-editable. If you make additional changes requiring reapproval—for example, if you change the debit or credit amount of the journal entry to an amount exceeding the approval limit for that type of journal entry—you must use the Approve JEs screen for any further approvals relating to the journal entry.

User ID

This non-editable field identifies the approver of this journal entry. If you are not the approver identified in this field, Costpoint displays an error message if you try to change the Approved status of this journal entry.

Currency

This group box displays the functional currency code (default currency code) of your company's general ledger. In rare instances, you may wish to edit this code and change it to a transaction currency code by using the Exchange Rate subtask. 

Total Debit

This optional field has two purposes. First, it can provide a hash total for you, so you can ensure that the total debits entered equal the total debits on your input document.

Secondly, it can provide a total from which Costpoint calculates percentages. For example, you may want to set up a recurring depreciation entry where each line's percentage of the total is the same, but the total depreciation amount changes each period. Each period, you would only have to change the Total Debit amount and Costpoint would recalculate the amount on each line.

If you change the Total Debit amount after lines have been entered, Costpoint displays the following message:

Changing the Total Debit will cause recalculation of either the Amount column or the % column in the table window.

and displays a Yes/No prompt:

• If you click YES, the Amount column remains the same and Costpoint recalculates the % column.

• If you click NO, the % column remains the same and Costpoint recalculates the Amount column.

Example

Let's say that you start with the following settings:

If you change Total Debit to 10,000 and answer YES to the recalculation prompt, then the values would be:

If you change Total Debit to 10,000 and answer NO to the recalculation prompt, then the values would be:

Sequence No

During posting, this field displays the posting sequence number with which the journal entry is being posted. You will rarely see a value in this field  because it only displays a value during posting. Costpoint uses this information when it is necessary to recover from a posting that does not complete.

Table Window

Line Edits

Once a line is begun, you must either enter all valid information to leave the line or delete the line.

In addition to the validations performed before you can move the cursor from an individual field, Costpoint performs the following validations for the Account, Organization, and Project before you can leave the line. These same validations are performed when you save.

• The account must be valid for the organization.

• If the account requires a project, a project must be entered and the account must be valid for the project.

•  The Account/Organization combination must be valid for the fiscal year, period, and subperiod and must be active.

• If the Validate Project Charging by Organizations option is selected on the Project Settings screen in Costpoint Project Setup, the Project/Account/Organization combination must exist in the Project/Account/Org table and must be active. You can review this setting for a given project on the Accounts subtask of the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup, or on the Maintain Project/Account Validation or Maintain Project/Organization Validation screen, also in Costpoint Project Setup.

• If you enter a Project Acct Abbrev and then change the default account assigned to the abbreviation, Costpoint displays a warning when you tab to a new line, but allows you to save.

Line

To enter a new line into the table window, click New Line. If lines already exist when you tab from the Total Debit field, your cursor is positioned at the last field used within the table window.

• Costpoint increments the line number automatically. You cannot change it. To insert a new line above an existing line, click Line » Insert. All lines below the new line will be renumbered.

• If you tab from the end of the line, Costpoint automatically sets up a new line.

• To delete a line, select the line and click Line » Delete.

• To restore a line that you marked as deleted, click Line » Undelete.

Account

Enter, or use to select, the account. Costpoint performs the following validations:

• The account must be a Detail account.

• The account must be active.

• The accounting period into which you are charging the journal entry must be the same as, or later than, the account's beginning fiscal year/period/subperiod and the same as, or earlier than, the account's ending fiscal year/period/subperiod. However, if the account's beginning or ending fiscal year/period/subperiod are blank, the beginning or ending fiscal year/period/subperiod is considered valid for all periods.

• The account entry group to which the account belongs must be valid for the journal entry screen.

When you use , all accounts display. However, not all accounts may be valid when combined with the Organization and Project.

If you set up project account abbreviation codes in the Project Account Groups screen in Costpoint Project Setup, you should move the Project and Proj Acct Abbrev fields before Account. Entering the project number and project account abbreviation code first automatically defaults the account number assigned to the project account abbreviation in the Project Account Groups screen. Save the new table order in your User Setup. How?

All projects are assigned to project account groups when they are set up in the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup. When you enter the Project and Project Acct Abbrev code in this screen, Costpoint finds the project account group to which the project belongs and then searches for the project abbreviation code and the account assigned to it, within that project account group. Costpoint displays the account number automatically. This allows you to assign accounts from different account groups to the same Proj Acct Abbrev code. Example.

Organization

Enter the organization, or use to select one. If you have assigned organization abbreviations, it may be quicker to enter the Org Abbrev and let Costpoint fill this field. Costpoint performs the following validations:

• The organization must be active.

• The accounting period into which you are charging the journal entry must be the same as, or later than, the organization's beginning fiscal year/period/subperiod and the same as, or earlier than, the organization's ending fiscal year/period/subperiod. However, if the organization's beginning or ending fiscal year/period/subperiod is blank, the beginning or ending fiscal year/period/subperiod is considered valid for all periods.

When you first use , all organizations display. However, not all organizations may be valid when combined with the Account and Project.

If you selected the Default to Owning Org option in the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup, you should move the Project field before this field. Entering the project number automatically fills the Organization field with the number of the organization that "owns" the project. (This is the organization to which all the project's revenues and profits go. The Owning Org is set up in the Projects Basic Info screen). You can edit this organization as necessary. Save the new table order in your User Setup. How?

Project

Enter, or use to select, the project. If you have assigned project abbreviations, it might be quicker to enter the Proj Abbrev and let Costpoint fill this field. Costpoint performs the following validations:

• The project must be active.

• Costpoint displays a warning if the end date of the subperiod is later than the project end date (see the Modifications screen in Costpoint Project Setup).

When you first use , all projects display. However, not all projects may be valid when combined with the Account and Organization.

If you plan to use project account abbreviation codes or if you want the Owning Org of the project to default into the Organization field, you should move the Project and Project Acct Abbrev fields before the Account and Organization fields. If you selected the Default to Owning Org option on the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup, the number of the organization that "owns" this project automatically displays in the Organization field. This is the organization to which all the project's revenues and profits go. The Owning Org is set up in the Basic Info screen. Save the new table order in your User Setup. How?

Proj Acct Abbrev

Enter the project account abbreviation code (up to six digits) or use to select one. Project account abbreviations are set up in the Project Account Groups screen in Costpoint Project Setup. Every project-required account is assigned to a particular project account group in this screen, such as GOV for government projects or INV for inventory projects. When you set up projects in the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup, they are also assigned to these account groups. After you enter the project number and the project account abbreviation here, Costpoint finds the account group linked to the project and looks for the account number designated by the project account abbreviation code. When Costpoint finds the account, it defaults the account number into the Account field.

If you change the default account, Costpoint warns you that the account has changed when you add a new line, but allows you to save. If you change the project number or the project account abbreviation code, Costpoint defaults the new account number into the Account field as well. If the project account abbreviation does not exist in the project account group to which the project is assigned, you will not be able to save.

Trans Amount

Enter the amount for this line of the journal entry expressed in terms of your company's transaction currency. If the amount should be negative, enter a dash ( - ) either before or after the number.

Based on this amount, Costpoint calculates the percentage of the Total Debit field and displays it in the % column of the table window. If you change the Total Debit amount, Costpoint updates either the Amount or the % to reflect the change. (Changing the Total Debit field provides this choice; see the description for the Total Debit field.) If you enter a percent, Costpoint automatically calculates the percent of the Total Debit and overwrites any amount already in this field.

The Trans Amount and Func Amount columns are visible only if you are a Multicurrency user. If you are not using Multicurrency, you see one column titled Amount.

Func Amount

This non-editable field displays the journal entry amount in terms of your company's functional currency.

%

Costpoint calculates the percent of the Total Debit automatically when you enter the Amount. If you want to enter the percent and have the amount calculated automatically, enter a Total Debit amount and only the percent of the total on each entry line.

If you change the Total Debit amount, Costpoint updates either the Amount or the % to reflect the change. (Changing the Total Debit field provides this choice; see the description for the Total Debit field.)

JE Line Description

If you want a description other than the "header" description to be posted to G/L Detail, enter that description here. If you leave this blank, the "header" description is written to each JE line in the G/L transaction detail.

Org Abbrev

If you have set up the organization abbreviation in the Define Org Structures or in Maintain Org Elements screens, you can enter that abbreviation in this column. Costpoint then automatically brings in the organization to which it is mapped. The Org Abbrev must be unique database-wide.

Proj Abbrev

If you have set up a project abbreviation in the Basic Info screen in Costpoint Project Setup, you can enter the project abbreviation in this column to import the project ID into the Project column of the table window automatically. The Proj Abbrev must be unique database-wide.

Ref 1 and Ref 2

These two columns display the labels set up in G/L Settings screen for Ref 1 and Ref 2. For a reference number to be accepted, the following must be true for the reference number's top level: the Use in Data Entry option must be selected on the Define Ref Structures screen and the Reference Heading in that same screen must be the appropriate heading (the label for Reference 1 or Reference 2, whichever column is being validated).

Any reference number can only be valid for one of the two possible data entry columns.

Notes

Use this field to record brief notes about this journal entry line. You can enter up to 254 characters.

Account Name, Organization Name, Project Name, Ref 1 Name, Ref 2 Name

The names of any of the above items that you have entered display automatically for each line in the table window.

Running Balance Fields and One-sided or Out-of-Balance Journal Entries: In order to make a one-sided journal entry or out-of-balance journal entry in Costpoint, you must use an adjusting journal entry that is not set to reverse in the next accounting period. "One-sided" and "out-of-balance" journal entries refer to journal entries for which the debit amount is not equal to the credit amount. The procedure for entering the out-of-balance journal entry is the same as for regular adjusting entries, except that upon saving you will see a dialog box with the following message: "The debit total does not equal the credit total. Are you sure you want to save this journal entry?" You can click Cancel to stop the process or click OK to continue. If you click OK, another dialog box displays, which asks for a password. Enter the correct password in order to save the out-of-balance entry. (The password is set up and maintained in the G/L Settings screen. You may need to either review this screen before entering the out-of-balance journal entry, or have someone with rights to G/L Settings save the out-of-balance entry for you.)

Running Balance (Transaction Currency) - Debit

This field displays the total running debit balance expressed in terms of your company's transaction currency. The Running Balance - Debit and the Running Balance - Credit should be equal before you can save the journal entry.

Running Balance (Transaction Currency) - Credit

This field displays the total running credit balance expressed in terms of your company's transaction currency. The Running Balance - Credit and the Running Balance - Debit should be equal before you can save the journal entry.

Running Balance (Functional Currency) - Debit

This field displays the total running debit balance expressed in terms of your company's functional currency. The Running Balance - Debit and the Running Balance - Credit should be equal before you can save the journal entry.

Running Balance (Functional Currency) - Credit

This field displays the total running credit balance expressed in terms of your company's functional currency. The Running Balance - Credit and the Running Balance - Debit should be equal before you can save the journal entry.

(Input File Number)

This non-editable field displays the journal entry number from the Input File. This field is populated only for journal entries created by the Journal Entry Preprocessor. It appears not as a selection option, but as additional information on the report.

Subtask Buttons

Reverse

Click this button to open the Reversing subtask, where you can determine when a reversing journal entry will reverse. It also displays other important information about the journal entry. Before you can access this subtask, you must select the Reversing option.

Recur

Click this button to access the Recurring subtask. Use this subtask to assign a recurring journal entry to a cycle and to set up starting and ending dates for the time period in which the recurring entry will be used.

Doc Location

Click this button to open the Document Location subtask. Use this subtask to pinpoint the location of a document image containing information that supports the data you are entering.

Empl Labor

Click this button to open the Employee Labor subtask. Use this subtask to enter labor information for employees for the line selected in the table window. This information is posted to the Labor Summary Table as if it had been entered on a timesheet.

Vend Labor

Click this button to access the Vendor Labor subtask. Use this subtask to enter labor information for subcontractors or consultants for the line selected in the table window. This information will be posted to the Labor Summary table as if it had been entered on the Enter A/P Vouchers screen in Costpoint Accounts Payable.

Exchange Rate

Click this button to access the Exchange Rates subtask. The Exchange Rates subtask is available only if you are a Multicurrency user.