Manual General Ledger Journal Entries

The following steps illustrate a basic General Ledger Journal entry. Keep in mind that you must build your General Ledger accounts before you can make Journal entries that will affect those accounts. Refer to Autobuilding G/L Accounts in the Fund Management module for more information.

FIMS automatically creates most routine Journal entries through the posting process in various modules: Gifts, Pledges, Grants, Scholarships, Accounts Payable, FACTS, Spending Policy, and Administrative Fees (in the Fund Management module). Refer to each module for more information.

Before creating manual Journal entries, you should consider whether you can use any of FIMS’ Automatic Entry routines to create the entries for you. Refer to Working with Automatic Entries for more information.

Note: These steps may not mention every field that is available for making manual Journal entries. Refer to the Journal Entry Tab for more information about all of the available fields.

1.In the General Ledger module, click the Journal Entry super tab and then click the Journal Entry tab.

2. Click the New button on the toolbar.

3. Select the code associated with the type of entry you want to make and then click the arrow in the Journal Key drop-down box.

Note: You can set a default Journal Key code for manual Journal entries. Refer to System Options – General Ledger for more information.

4. Enter the Apply Date for the entry. This date indicates the G/L period that will be impacted by the transaction.

5. (Optional) Enter information in the Reference and / or Batch fields to help identify the entry. Any information that you enter in these fields will automatically flow into any subsequent entries that you make during the current session.

6. Enter the G/L Account Key for the account that you want to credit.

Note: The easiest method for selecting the appropriate account key is to enter the Fund ID code, press the Tab key on your keyboard, and then enter the Natural Account number. If you are not sure of the account number, click the arrow in this field to select the appropriate account from a lookup list.

7. Enter the Debit or Credit amount for the entry.

8. Enter a Journal Description for the new entry.

9. (Optional) If you want the entry to create a Check Reconciliation entry in Accounts Payable when it is posted, enter Yes in the Create AP field.

10. Click the Save button on the toolbar. FIMS automatically starts a new entry below the one you just saved. The Credit field is automatically populated with the same amount you entered in the Debit field for the initial entry, (but you can change it if necessary) and the appropriate Fund ID code is automatically entered in the G/L Account Key field (you still need to select the appropriate account).

11. Enter the full G/L Account Key for the account that you want to credit.

12. Click the Save button on the toolbar.

13 Repeat these steps to create any additional entries. When you are finished, click the Cancel button to end the entry session.

Tip: Keyboard Shortcuts

If you prefer to keep your hands on the keyboard (rather than back and forth from the keyboard to the mouse), you can use the following shortcuts:

Tip: Unbalanced Journal Entries

If entries are unbalanced when you leave the Journal Entry super tab, you will be prompted to enter the username and password of a FIMS System Administrator.

When you enter a valid username and password, the debit / credit tally will be artificially reset to zero. You can complete the entries later (though once again you will have to exit using the Administrator’s password, because the offsetting set of entries will be out of balance).

Note: If you do not return to balance the entries, you will receive errors when you run the G/L Journal Edit report.