To keep its accounts, the company records chronologically and continuously the various entries in accounting journals, this approach allows him to order the entries made during the year according to their nature (sale, purchase, cash, etc.)
Definition of the Accounting Journal
The regulations require companies to keep a journal that groups all the entries in a general journal. In a practical way, the business centralizes various accounting journals which make it possible to classify the operations according to their nature. The entries in the journal include the following information: The date of the accounting document: The accounting rule requires the transaction to be recorded on the date shown on the accounting document (invoice, etc.), the hectic accounts, the amount of the transaction recorded, The wording of the accounting entry and a posting number which in most cases is unique, the general journal and each journal that composes it must be balanced; this means that the total debit and the total credit of the accounts present in a journal must be equal. The journal should be presented without blanks or erasures to allow quick account control.
The most common accounting journals
If each company can organize its books of account, we usually find the following journals: · The sales journal which includes the accounting records of customer invoices, · The purchase journal which includes the accounting records of purchase invoices, · The bank journal which includes the recording of the collection and disbursement operations, · The cash journal that is used to record cash transactions, The various operations journal which includes the recording of transactions not taken into account in the journals mentioned above (salaries, tax declarations, inventory entries and regularization,).
The sales accounting journal
The sales journal includes all sales accounting transactions carried out by the company. Some accounts include several sales journals to facilitate. There may be different journals depending on VAT rates especially in the building; it facilitates "the framing of VAT". There may be journals for each of the company's activities such as a service activity and a production activity.
The accounting book of purchases
The purchase journal includes all the accounting transactions for purchases made by the company. There will be the purchase entries of: Raw materials and goods, Overhead (rent, maintenance, fees, communication,). Cash journals puzzled character in front of a panel with multicolored arrows giving all directions to highlight the multiple choice of accounting journals. Cash journals include the entries related to banking movements and movements fund. Some accounts include one journal per bank or per fund to facilitate accounting follow-up. It mainly includes balance sheet accounts and receipts and debt repayments.
The OD journal
The Journal of Miscellaneous Operations includes all entries not taken into account in other journals. According to the accounting organization of the company, the journal of the OD can contain writings of very different natures from one accounting to another. Payroll entries, Depreciation and provisions entries, in particular for taxes and duties, VAT entries.
Other journals
Some accountants prefer to create specific journals for VAT, wages, depreciation, or the beginning and end of year entries. This choice is specific to the accounting organization and monitoring implemented in each company. The size of the business and the nature of the business play an important role in determining the number and content of different accounting journals. If you have any questions about your internal accounting organization, do not hesitate to seek advice from accountant Accountancy Knowledge, he will help you find the right organization for your needs.