General Journal Entry

If you need to make an accounting entry for a transaction which does not fit anywhere else in Jewel's accounting process, you can make a General Journal Entry. The General Journal is for entering items such as bank fees, interest earned, deposits that are not offerings (refunds on purchases, rebates, insurance payouts, funds received for local use from the conference), specific types of corrections, etc.

Do NOT use General Journal Entry for anything that has a specific entry method: offering deposits, transfers, checks or other payments, offering reversals, budget allocation, etc.

General Journal Entries do not have their own monthly reports like Transfers have. They appear on either the monthly “Deposit Report” or the monthly “Check Report,” depending on which of these buttons is clicked when you created the Journal Entry. If a deposit is showing up on the Check Report or a payment is showing on the Deposit Report, use “Edit Entry,” correct the circle button and then click “OK √” to save and leave.

Another useful feature of a General Journal Entry is that everything on it can be easily “Edited” or even “Deleted,” as long as the month has not been closed. To delete, if it is in the current month and uncleared, click on “Delete Entry.” Poof, it is gone.

To Make an Entry During the Bank Reconciliation

1. In the Bank Reconciliation screen, click the "Interest Earned or Deposit Correction" or "Bank Fees or Check Correction" button, depending on which report you wish your transaction to appear on.
2. Type in the appropriate date (Jewel defaults to today's date).
3. Type a Memo describing the transaction. It is very important to type a memo for every General Journal Entry so you will be able to keep track of what the transaction was for.
4. Enter the amount being added (Income) or subtracted (Expense).
5. Select the appropriate church fund(s) and enter the Income or Expense for each account.
6. To complete the entry, click Add Entry.
7. Your General Journal Entry will appear in the lists of Deposits or Checks to the left, already checked off.

If your General Journal is entered incorrectly, click the General Journal Entry button right there in the Bank Reconciliation, click the red Previous button until you find the incorrect entry, and click Edit Entry (or Delete Entry). Make your changes, and click OK to finish.

To Make an Entry Outside of the Bank Reconciliation

1. From the Jewel Home Screen, select Accounting then Make General Journal Entry; or click General Journal Entry in the Bank Reconciliation screen. You can also use the "Interest Earned or Deposit Correction" and "Bank Fees or Check Correction" buttons in the Bank Reconciliation screen, as these are simply shortened General Journal entries.
2. Type in the appropriate date (Jewel defaults to today's date)
3. Type a Memo describing the transaction. It is very important to type a memo for every General Journal Entry so you will be able to keep track of what the transaction was for
4. Choose whether you wish your transaction to appear on Deposit reports or on Check reports, by choosing Deposits and Interests Earned OR Checks Written and Bank Fees
5. Select the correct bank account (if using the Bank Rec shortened forms, your transaction will automatically go into the account you are reconciling)
6. Enter the amount being added (Income) or subtracted (Expense)
7. Select the appropriate church fund(s) and enter the Income or Expense for each account.
8. To complete the entry, click OK or “New Entry” (or Add Entry for the Bank Rec shortened forms)

As always in Fund Accounting, the total taken from or added to your local funds must be EQUAL to the amount you are subtracting/adding to your bank account.

General Journals Involving Conference Funds

Remember that Conference Funds are designated for the Conference. They are to be remitted in full at the end of each month. Under no circumstances should they be used at the local church level. For this reason, Jewel heavily restricts how and when Conference Funds can be accessed.

In general, you should not record General Journals involving Conference funds without instruction from an auditor or technical support.

Turn On Option to Allow These Transactions

1. Go to Maintenance / Properties / General tab.
2. Under “General Options”, check “Allow Transfers Between Conference and Local Accounts.” (Yes, transfers. The same option allows you to access Conference funds on both the Transfer and General Journal screens.)
3. Click on the green “OK √” to save and leave that screen.

Record the General Journal

Go to Accounting / Make General Journal Entry and fill in all the lines/boxes one at a time, using the following instructions.

1. Date: Current Date
2. Memo: "To correct 7/26 remittance ck#-783” (for example).
3. Click on the little box to the right of the memo line that says “Transfer To/From Conference Funds”
4. Fill in the Bank Account and Amount
5. Fill in the Account: – 10000 – Tithe (for example), and the Amount for each line you need.
6. Click on “OK √” to save and leave. A warning message will appear, one for each conference fund you are using, but just click “Yes” each time. Then another popup box will say “Transfer Has Been Recorded”.

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