Module 1 · Foundation · 9 min read

Journal vouchers

You will be able to: Post a balanced journal voucher with a narration and a party where required; Explain Draft, Post, Amend and Cancel on a journal and what each does to the ledger; Decide when a journal is the wrong tool and a document or Taxable Journal is needed.

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A journal voucher puts an entry straight into your ledgers: you choose the accounts and the amounts. Use it for entries no other screen covers, such as an accrual, a correction or a depreciation entry. For ordinary sales and purchases use the sales and purchase documents instead, because they also handle stock, VAT and customer balances for you.

Post a balanced journal voucher · 0:56 · no sound yet, captions are on
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1. Open Accounting, then Journals 2. Press + New 3. Type a Narration: it is required 4. Pick the first account and type the Debit amount 5. Pick the second account and type the same amount as Credit 6. Check the Balance box: Difference must be 0.00 7. Press Post & Print. The voucher number appears

The Journals register with the status filters All, Draft, Posted, Amended and Cancelled, and a list of journal vouchers with date, narration, amount and status.

Accounting, Journals: every journal voucher with its status.

Accounting, Journals: every journal voucher with its status.

Posting a journal

  1. Open Accounting, then Journals, and press + New.
  2. Check the Date (today is filled in). It must fall in an open fiscal year.
  3. Type a Narration. It is required, and it is what the ledger, the printed voucher and reports show.
  4. On each line pick the Account by code or name and type an amount in either Debit or Credit, never both and never negative.
  5. Use Add line for more lines. Watch the Balance box: Difference must be 0.00. The 'Before posting' box lists anything still missing.
  6. Press Post & Print. The voucher number appears and the status changes to Posted.
The new journal voucher form with the date, narration, the line grid with Account, Debit and Credit columns, and the Post and Submit buttons at the top.

The journal form: date, narration, then account lines that must balance.

The journal form: date, narration, then account lines that must balance.

Only active ledgers that take postings are listed, so a group cannot be chosen. Currency starts on your base currency; the Rate is fixed at 1 for it.

Accruing rent not yet paidAt month end the landlord has not yet invoiced AED 3,000 of rent, but the cost belongs to this month. Date: the last day of the month. Narration: 'Rent accrual'. Line 1: Rent (Expense), Debit 3,000. Line 2: Accrued Expenses (Liability), Credit 3,000. Debits 3,000 = credits 3,000, so Post is allowed. The expense now shows in this month's Profit & Loss and the amount owed shows on the Balance Sheet.

Lines on customer and supplier accounts

If you pick a Receivable or Payable ledger (Trade Receivables or Trade Payables in the standard chart), a Party box appears on the line and is required: say which customer or supplier. To settle particular open bills, use Allocate on that line, enter an amount against each bill and press Apply. Anything not allocated stays on the party's account.

Draft, Amend and Cancel

  • Save (under More) keeps a draft. A draft changes nothing in your books and has a temporary number starting with DRAFT.
  • Post gives the journal its voucher number and writes the ledger.
  • A posted journal is never edited in place. Open it from Accounting, Journals and press Amend. Zeyto reverses the original entry and posts the corrected one under the same number with /A1 added.
  • Cancel Voucher reverses the journal and the status becomes Cancelled. It cannot be undone, and the original entries stay on record.

Amend and Cancel are refused while another live document depends on the journal, for example a settlement posted against one of its lines. Cancel that document first.

What a plain journal does not do

  • It never touches stock.
  • It never touches VAT. If an entry must appear on the VAT return, use the Taxable Journal.
  • It is rounded to 2 decimals per line when saved, even for a currency that normally uses 3.
Watch outDo not record a sale with a journal. The customer's balance would change but no stock would leave, no VAT would reach the return, and no invoice would exist to print or to receive payment against.
TipThe Journals list shows each voucher with its status: DRAFT, SUBMITTED, AMENDED or CANCELLED. Taxable and Adjustment Journals appear there too.

Try it in the demo

  1. Open https://demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in (user admin, password demoAdmin123). This is a public demo with sample data, so nothing you do there affects a real business.
  2. Open Accounting, then Journals. Note the Status column and click a voucher to see its lines in the side panel.
  3. Press + New, enter the rent accrual from the example (use any Expense and Liability ledger), and stop before pressing Post. Look at the 'Before posting' box.
  4. Use More, then Save to keep a draft if you wish, and find it in the list with the status DRAFT.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • Debits must equal credits and a Narration is required before a journal can be posted.
  • Lines on Receivable or Payable ledgers need a Party.
  • Posted journals are corrected with Amend (/A1) or Cancel Voucher; both add reversing entries instead of erasing.

Check yourself

5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. What must be true before Zeyto lets you Post a journal voucher?

2. A posted journal voucher is corrected by reversing it (Amend or Cancel Voucher), not by editing it in place.

3. A journal line uses the Trade Receivables ledger. What extra information does Zeyto require?

4. You posted a journal with the wrong amount. What happens when you press Amend and save the corrected figure?

5. An accountant wants a manual entry that must appear on the VAT return. Which screen should be used?

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Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet