Excel template for accounting general journal
Excel template for accounting general journal
This article provides details of Excel template for accounting general journal that you can download now.
Microsoft Excel software under a Windows environment is required to use this template
These Excel template for accounting general journal work on all versions of Excel since 2007.
Examples of a ready-to-use spreadsheet: Download this table in Excel (.xls) format, and complete it with your specific information.
To be able to use these models correctly, you must first activate the macros at startup.
The file to download presents five templates Excel template for accounting general journal:
- Three Simple Excel template for accounting general
- Excel template Budget Journal Entry
- Advanced Excel template Journal Entry Form
Section 2
Move the cursor to the yellow shaded area in Line 1 of the Section 2. The Journal Entry form will accept up to 26 separate transaction lines.
DESCRIPTION - Each Journal Entry line must contain a description. The description can be up to 30 characters long and should include the original Banner Document Code for any transaction that is being corrected. The Description provided will be entered into Banner when the Journal Entry is posted.
DEBITS/CREDITS - Only one transaction, either a Debit or a Credit, can be entered on each line of the Journal Entry form. A valid journal entry must have at least two lines of information (a Debit and a Credit). All Debit and Credit values must be entered as positive numbers. The sum of all Debits must equal the sum of all Credits. Debits and Credits are not applicable to Budget Transfers.
Section 3
Move the cursor to the yellow shaded area in Line 3. This area should be used to provide a more detailed explanation for the Journal Entry. It is not an optional field. The explanation will not be input into Banner.
Section 4
The Journal Entry is now ready for sending. Before sending is initiated, look in the space reserved for the Approval Signature to make sure no error messages appear. If an error message does exist, find the cause of the error by reading the error messages listed immediately below the Journal Entry. Once all errors have been cleared, send the Journal Entry by clicking on the SEND button. Also make sure to print a copy and get appropriate signiatures for back up.
ACCOUNTING
- Accounting is a service activity. Its function is to provide quantitative information, primarily financial in nature, about economic entities that is intended to be useful in making economic decisions.
- Accounting is an art of recording, classifying and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at lest, of a financial character, and interpreting the results thereof.
- Business transactions are economic activities of a business.
- Money serves as a medium of exchange and a measure of value. It is the common financial denominator.
The (general) journal is THAT book of original entry used for transactions for which there is no other book of prime entry.
The journal is therefore used for the following entries/transactions-:
- Purchase and sale of items OTHER than stock in trade. [fixed assets, shares]
- Opening entries in a new set of ledgers
- Transfers between accounts [such as closing entries]
- Adjustments to accounts [such as prepayment of expenses]
- Corrections to errors which occurred during posting to the ledgers
- The journal should provide the following information -:
- The types (classification) of accounts involved in the transaction [asset, liability, expense, revenue]
- The effect of the transaction on the accounts [did they increase or decrease?]
- The action taken as a result of the effect of the transaction [which to debit or to credit]
- The brief explanatory narration of the reason for the entry.
The journal should always show the account to be DEBITED before the one to be CREDITED.
The journal follows the general rules associated with the double-entry principle of accounting, such that if the transaction causes -
- the value of an asset to INCREASE then DEBIT the account of that asset;
- the value of an asset to DECREASE then CREDIT the account of that asset;
- the value of a liability to INCREASE then CREDIT the account of that liability;
- the value of a liability to DECREASE then DEBIT the account of that liability
Journal entries regarding certain types of activities:
Shares- These represent (shareholder’s) equity or capital investment in the business entity. They may be classified as common (ordinary) shares or preference shares. They may have been issued at par, at premium (in excess of par), [at discount (under par)] or at no par value.
Par is the face or nominal value of the share [note: it may differ from the issue price or the current market price]. Par value is the least amount a share of stock can be sold for. No par shares can be issued and sold at any price. Issued shares or share capital are thus displayed as equity
Dividends - These represent the return on the investment made by the shareholders in the entity.
Dividends reduce the entity’s retained earnings, but they are not treated as an (operating) expense. Dividends are paid at the determination of the board of directors [that is if, when, and how much]!
Dividend transactions necessitate two accounting actions:
- On declaration – it requires shareholders to be disclosed as creditors since the entity now has a legal liability to pay.
- On payment – it requires retained earnings to be reduced in the process of honouring the legal debt created (at declaration).
Liabilities
A liability – is an obligation to pay cash or provide goods/services to another entity.
Liabilities can be
- current (settlement is due within 12 months of the balance sheet date) or
- long-term (settlement is due beyond 12months of the balance sheet date)
Bonds –
A formal agreement of indebtedness represented by a promise to pay interest in cash at a specific annual rate; and the principal amount at a specific maturity date.
They are issued above or below face value (principal amount). The interest (coupon) rate is the lender’s return on their investment. Thus the bond interest is an expense to the borrower.
A bond issued at discount - the amount is less than its face value; the difference is disclosed as discount on bonds. The discount is DEBITED to the bond interest expense account.
Bonds may be callable (redeemable before maturity at the option of the issuer); and may be so done at a premium (in excess of par).
Mortgages and debentures
Mortgage – a formal agreement of long-term indebtedness secured by the pledge of specific property.
Debenture – a formal agreement of indebtedness secured by a general claim against all assets (rather than a specific claim)