Salient Points and Knowledge Check

Writing journal entries is the first step in the accounting cycle and involves recording of a transaction as soon as it happens. Journalizing operationalizes several concepts, starting with the accounting equation, the elements of financial statements, debits and credits, accounts, and double entry accounting. Widely accepted conventions in writing a journal entry have evolved and continue to be used today. The use of journals is prevalent in manual systems, and the same principles applied in manual systems to computerized accounting systems.

Before any journal entry can be prepared a transaction is first analyzed to understand its effect on the elements of financial statements. With this understanding, the accounts to be debited and credited are known. The rules of debit and credit are applied. In double entry accounting, there are always debits and credits with equal total amounts. After analysis of the transaction, the corresponding journal entry is entered in a journal page.

A typical two-column journal has rows and columns. The transactions are recorded in rows in chronological order. The columns are for date, the accounts debited and credited, an explanation of the transaction, and the amounts of debits and credits. The amounts are entered in money columns. A reference column contains the account codes of the accounts affected.

Journal entries are written following conventions that have been accepted by the profession and used by generations of accountants. The main procedures are to enter the transactions in chronological order, aligning the accounts and the corresponding amounts, amounts in money columns. All debit entries are written before writing all credits, which are indented from the debit entries. An explanation of the transaction is written below the last credit line.

Special journals are also used for original recording of transactions but contain several more columns than the general journal. The columns contain more details about the transactions, like date, the names of parties involved in the transaction, and references to source documents. There is no specific number of columns in a special journal. An account that is debited or credited consistently in all transactions is assigned a dedicated column in which to enter the corresponding debit or credit amount.

Similarly, other frequent accounts also have dedicated columns for the corresponding amounts debited or credited. A group of columns are reserved for other accounts less frequently used. The use of a special journal facilitates determination of totals. Posting of transactions to the general ledger is done for the total amounts at the end of the reporting period, a one-time procedure, compared to posting individual journal entries in a general journal.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

This is a 30-minute, 20-item quiz and allows five attempts. Score sixteen correct answers (80%) at least once to earn a certificate. You can skip questions for later review but items unanswered upon submission are counted as incorrect. Take the quiz when you are certain of your familiarity with and understanding of the course contents. You may view statistics for the course in your profile page.

Lesson Content