An editable Excel template for an accounting journal can be a useful tool for small businesses and individuals to track and manage their financial transactions. The template includes a trial balance sheet, which lists all of the account balances in the accounting system as of a specific date. The trial balance is used to ensure that the debits and credits in the accounting system are in balance.
Adjustment entries may be necessary to correct errors or to reflect transactions that have occurred but have not yet been recorded in the accounting system. These adjustment entries should be included in the template as well.
After the adjustment entries have been made, an adjusted trial balance can be prepared. This balance sheet lists all of the account balances after the adjustment entries have been made.
This template also include an income statement, which shows the revenues and expenses of the business over a specific period of time. This statement is used to determine the profit or loss of the business during that period.
Here are some key financial terms related to an accounting journal:
- Account: A record in the accounting system that represents a specific asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense.
- Debit: An entry on the left side of an account that increases the balance of the account.
- Credit: An entry on the right side of an account that decreases the balance of the account.
- Trial balance: A list of all the account balances in the accounting system as of a specific date.
- Adjustment entry: A journal entry made to correct errors or to reflect transactions that have occurred but have not yet been recorded in the accounting system.
- Adjusted trial balance: A balance sheet that lists all of the account balances after adjustment entries have been made.
- Income statement: A financial statement that shows the revenues and expenses of a business over a specific period of time.
Journal Entry Example
Book of Original Entry
One important key to journal entries is that they need to contain enough information to clearly reflect the actual transaction. Moreover, instead of only having account balances, we can look back at journal entries to see what really happened and if anything was recorded incorrectly.
Thus, A journal entry has the following components:
- The date of the transaction
- The account name and number for each account impacted
- The credit and debit amount
- A reference number that serves as a unique identifier for the transaction
- A description of the transaction