For the most part, Abio maintains the general ledger automatically, through the use of control accounts. You can use journal entries to transfer amounts manually between general ledger accounts. As well, journal entries are the only way to make a change to account balances in the previous year if you’ve already run the year-end process.
To create a journal entry, navigate to [d] General Ledger, then [c] Journal Entry.
The list defaults to only show current records.
When journal entries have been applied to the general ledger they are moved to history. So the entries listed haven’t yet been updated to the G/L.
Click on the Details tab to add or change a journal entry.
Journal Entry Actions
A number of actions are available to simplify different kinds of journal entries.
Inquire
This action allows you to view but not change a journal entry.
Add
Add a new journal entry.
Change
Change a journal entry that hasn’t been updated to the general ledger.
Delete
Delete a journal entry that hasn’t been updated to the general ledger.
Cash Flow
This action allows you to redirect some journal entries to different parts of the Cash Flow report. The account and dollar amounts on journal entries can’t be changed once the journal entry has been updated to the general ledger. The cash flow fields don’t affect the general ledger, so this action allows you to update just those fields, regardless of whether the journal entry has been posted or not.
Again
Use this action to duplicate an existing journal entry.
Import
If you’ve built a journal entry in a spreadsheet you can use this action to import it. You’ll be prompted to select a file to import. It should be in the same format as the file created in the Template action.
Applying a Factor
It might be that you have a list of amounts in an excel spreadsheet. You want to create a journal entry for, but you’re dealing with a liability account. That means you need to reverse the sign on the amounts. You can do this by manipulating the spreadsheet, which takes a few steps. To save you those few steps, Abio will allow you to apply a factor to the dollar amounts.
If you accept the default value of 1.00 (by hitting the <enter> key), the amounts will come in exactly as they are in the spreadsheet. If you change the factor to -1.00, the amounts will be negated. For example, this spreadsheet, with negative values in column E:
Is imported with positive values when you select a factor of -1.0.
Validating the Import
You must correct any errors before you can save the journal entry. This imported file contained an invalid G/L account, and it doesn’t balance to zero.
Once the errors are corrected, you can save the imported journal entry.
Opposite
If a journal entry has already been updated to the general ledger, use this action to reverse it out.
Generate a copy of the journal entry suitable for printing.
Note that you can print, export, or email this report.
The export spreadsheet has one tab for the journal entry description fields, and one tab for the journal entry items.
The email option includes a PDF version of the printed report as an email attachment.
Template
This action exports the journal entry to a spreadsheet. The exported version can be used as a template to create a new journal entry that can be imported back into Abio. You’ll be prompted for a file to save the template under.
Abio will confirm the file is successfully saved.
The template that Abio created is available on your taskbar.
This template will be a starting point for the journal entry you wish to import.
You can cut and paste from an existing spreadsheet, or just manually compose the journal entry. G/L account, job, division, amount, and the note field can all be changed. You can also append any number of rows.
This is the file used as an example of the import action. As you can see in that example, Abio imports all non-zero rows from line 9 until the end of the file. It then prompts you for a valid G/L account instead of ‘123456’, and requires you to balance the entry. That results in this entry: