In order to complete your year-end activities, your accountant may propose that you record journal entries in QuickBooks. When making journal entries in QuickBooks, you need to know which account receives the debit and which account receives the credit side of the transaction.
Detailed instructions:
- Choose Company > Make General Journal Entries.
- In the Make General Journal Entries window, change the Date field to the date provided by your accountant.
- The Entry No. field is optional.
- Enter General Journal Entry details – distribution lines:
- In the Account column, enter the first account in your transaction. If you are using an accounts receivable or accounts payable account, the first account in the General Journal transaction should be the accounts receivable or accounts payable account.
- In the Debit or Credit columns, enter the debit or credit amount for the account you selected in the previous step.
- Enter the memo provided by your accountant in the Memo column. This memo will appear on reports.
- Enter or select the customer (for accounts receivable) or vendor (for accounts payable) – This is required.
- In the Account column, enter the next account in your transaction.
- Click Save & Close to save the journal entry and close the window, or click Save & New to save the journal entry and open a blank general journal entry window.
If you have old accounts receivable or accounts payable in your aging reports, contact your accountant to determine the correct journal entry to eliminate them.
I manage tax return preparation, review, and audits for businesses, individuals, and nonprofits. I also handle financial statements and provide accounting and payroll services to various industries. Additionally, I serve on the Firm's Estate and Trust Planning and Community Service Day Committees.
