We provide a quick journal option which allows you to quickly change an account balance by entering the new balances you want and AccountsPrep then creates the journal for you.
This generates in the form of a standard journal entry.
The screen appears like a trial balance with the entire chart of accounts listed and their respective balances ('Before change') listed beside each. In the next column the user can enter a new balance ('After change') for any account and the difference will be shown next to it. The difference is the value to be journaled.
The 'After change' column must of course balance before it can be posted.
Note: Bank accounts are disabled as you cannot journal to an account set up as a bank account. You should perform adjustments to a bank account using a statement batch entry.
In the Quick Journal screen you'll also see the following:
- Description - required field to create a standard journal
- Type - required field to create a journal but always defaults with AJE
Quick Journals are particularly useful when entering opening balances for the first time in AccountsPrep.
Remember, when starting out, if you decide to enter comparative balances you should start with the oldest period first. The Quick Journal tool can be very handy with, say, entering three prior period trial balances. Just start with Prior Period 3 and enter the entire trial balance, then got to Prior Period 2 and enter the trial balance for that period and we'll create the adjusting journal for you.