Create a journal

User permission: Financial Statements > Data Entry

Before you add your first journal, please read the Journals page, as there are some prerequisites to consider.

The process of creating a journal can be split into the following steps:

1. Get started

You can start creating a journal from two locations:

Within a financial statement: Click the Settings button > Create journal. This is the quickest method if you're already in a financial statement, as the database is automatically selected.
From your Financial Statements homepage: Click the Data Entry tab, then click Create journal in the top-right corner.

Then:

Enter a name for your new journal.
Select (or confirm) the database upon which to base the journal.
Click Create.

The journal page opens with the default template coming from the database setup. It includes the following elements:

Title: View the journal name and number.
Status: View the status of the journal.
Users: View the initials of other users currently viewing the journal.
Filter bar: Filter the rows by keyword.
Menus and toolbar: Select dimensions, properties, measures and source data to add as columns in the grid; undo or redo actions; or add new rows to the grid.
Formula bar: Enter formulas for the selected cell.
Grid: Enter rows of journal entries.
Action buttons: Close or publish draft journals or duplicate or reverse published journals.

2. Review the default template

The journal opens with a default template based on the database setup. The template includes placeholder rows and columns for your journal entries.

Review the template to identify the items you need to enter for this journal. You must enter data for these items to ensure your journal contains the correct information and keeps your data clean.

Learn more about the mandatory items in the default journal template

The default template contains mandatory items from the database setup.

These items:

Appear as columns in the grid and are managed via the menus above the grid.
Display with yellow backgrounds to let you know that you must enter values into their cells.

When you enter a value, corresponding details automatically display in the white columns. For example, selecting an account code will automatically show the account name.

Every journal row includes these mandatory items:

Date
Account
At least one value

Values in the measure column are validated to ensure they sum to zero.

Some journals include additional mandatory items, depending on your organization’s Phocas setup. These are selected by default in the menus above the grid and displayed as columns. Examples:

Multi-mapping of Retained Earnings: The selected dimension ensures Retained Earnings map consistently with your actual data.
Multi-currency: The selected dimension identifies the currency. The Local and Reporting measures are also included by default, so you can enter data against both.

You can extend the template by:

Adding columns to adjust the level of detail.
Adding rows to adjust the number of entries.

If the template looks correct, you can start entering your journal entries.

3. Add journal entries

The template starts with two rows. Enter your data into these rows and add more rows as required. To capture additional details for each entry, add more columns to the grid.

Enter data manually

In the yellow cells, either select the required items (dimension entities) from the dropdown lists or manually enter data, as applicable.

Data entry tips

Some data entry techniques work the same way as in the Budgets & Forecasts module. See these pages for more information: Copy and paste values and Use formulas.

Type directly into the yellow cells using your keyboard.

The following features help you work more efficiently:

Copy and paste: Copy a formula or value from one cell (Ctrl+C) and paste it into another (Ctrl+V).

Drag and copy: Drag a value from one cell across the row or down the column.
Copy down: Copy the value from one cell (or multiple cells in a row) into the rows beneath.
Formulas: Enter formulas as you would in other spreadsheet software, either directly in a cell or in the fx bar above the grid. Cells with formulas display a blue fx indicator. Hover to preview the formula, or click the cell to view it in the fx bar.

Undo and redo: Use the Undo and Redo buttons above the grid to quickly undo or redo your data entry.
Delete: Press Delete to clear a cell. You can select multiple cells to clear them in bulk.
Escape: Press Esc to deselect any selected cells. Coming soon: The ability to deselect selected rows.

Add rows

To add another row, click the Add row button in the top-right corner. The row is added to the bottom of the grid.

To delete an individual row, click the kebab menu at the end of the row and click Delete. The row is deleted instantly.

To delete multiple rows in bulk, click the row numbers on the left of the grid to select those rows, then click the kebab menu at the end of any selected row and click Delete. The rows are deleted instantly.

Add columns

You can add more items to the default journal template to capture extra details. The options available depend on your database structure. These details are saved with the journal and will be available when you analyze the data in the Analytics module.

To add columns, select the required items from the Dimensions, Properties, Measures, or Source data menus above the grid. The corresponding columns are added to the grid.

Dimensions

Add more of the dimensions (segments) you use in your financial statements, such as Trading Entity or Department.

Child dimensions (for example, Department > Size or Account > Category) are automatically populated when you select a value for the parent. These cells have a white background, meaning the values are derived and not editable.

Properties

Add more properties, including transaction properties such as Description and Exchange Rate, to record against the general ledger.

These properties follow the setup in Designer. If you have permission to do so, check the data types in Designer before entering data here. You might want to make changes in Designer to suit your journal-entry needs. For example:

If Description is a text field in Designer, you must type text.
If Exchange Rate is a value field in Designer, you must enter a number.

Measures

If your database has multiple measures (for example, Local Value and Budget Value), you can choose which measures to include in the journal.

Source data

View information Phocas uses in the background. This data updates automatically if it changes in the future. Examples include:

Retained Earnings code: The account where Profit and Loss transactions are automatically recorded against in the Balance Sheet. This is determined by the combination of the Trading Entity dimension and the Retained Earnings account code.
Statement type: The nature of the stream type we publish to, such as Profit and Loss or Balance Sheet (Balance Brought Forward) stream type.

4. Review the journal entries

Check your journal entries and confirm they're correct before publishing.

Published journals are fixed; you can't edit the details later. You can't delete them either, but you can reverse them.

If you click Close at this stage, you'll return to the Data Entry tab on your Financial Statements homepage, where you'll see your draft journal in the grid. You can delete the draft journal if you no longer need it or click it to open it again for editing or publishing.

5. Publish the journal

When you publish a journal:

You can't edit or delete it.
You can duplicate or reverse it.
It's added to the list of journals on the Data Entry tab on your Financial Statements homepage.
It's automatically available in Financial Statements; no database build is required. You can find it in the Streams and scenarios menu.

Click Publish. You can now proceed to add the journal stream to a scenario.

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Last updated 2 days ago

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