Definition
The journal book, or book of original entry, lists every posted journal entry in date order with all of its lines, accounts and amounts. It is the chronological record of the business's transactions. The general ledger regroups the same lines by account, so the journal answers "what happened when" and the ledger answers "what happened to this account".
How it works
Because entries appear in sequence with their numbers, the journal is the place to check completeness: a gap in the numbering or an entry dated far outside its neighbours stands out at once. Auditors and tax inspectors often ask for the journal for this reason.
A useful journal report shows the entry number, date, description, voucher type and each line with account code, account name, party and debit or credit, with totals per entry and for the whole period. Filtering by voucher type turns it into a sales or payments journal on demand.
In many jurisdictions the journal is a statutory book that must be kept for a fixed number of years. A cloud system that keeps every posted entry immutable, with its edit history, makes that requirement easy to meet.
Example: two days of a journal book
Entries are listed in order; each one balances on its own.
| No. | Date | Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 2 May | Bank | 4,000 | |
| 101 | 2 May | Accounts receivable: Alpha Trading | 4,000 | |
| 102 | 3 May | Office supplies | 180 | |
| 102 | 3 May | Cash on hand | 180 |