The General Journal: Your Most Versatile Accounting Tool
The General Journal: Your Most Versatile Accounting Tool
The General Journal (GJ) serves a major purpose. In many small business situations, the Cash Disbursements (CD) Journal is the only journal used in conjunction with the GJ. The CD journal you may recall is essentially your checkbook register. That being the case, one side of the transactions always results in a credit (decrease) to Cash. Your computer system automatically decreases cash and you decide which GL accounts to debit the checks. This is pretty straightforward.
But, how do you enter information into your computer that is not related to the checks you wrote? Consider for instance, items such as: bank charges; correction of mistakes; deposits to the bank; sales; sales tax; non-sufficient funds (NSF) from customer checks that bounce; depreciation expense; gain or losses from the sale or trade of fixed assets; notes payable; inventory adjustments; accounts receivable and accounts payable entries; payroll; and, any other unusual transactions that might occur.
Use of the General Journal sets apart the person who knows how accounting works from those who don’t. Why? Because one must understand how debits and credits work in order to write the adjusting journal entries. This simple knowledge is what gives power to the user. This ability allows a person to solve problems, straighten out messes, bring order to disorder, and not be fooled or intimidated by anyone. I remember one day I was in a client’s office and was getting ready to leave for another client appointment. I mentioned I was working on organizing a corporation’s books that were in chaos, and the principals had no idea what they were doing. I was a little surprised when the client I was with said, “Wow, I would love to have that kind of power”. I had never thought about it that way before, but she was right. There is power with knowledge and it feels good.
The people who "know they know” how accounting works can explain or communicate information confidently to those that need to know, such as the boss, board of directors, partners, CPA or staff. The General Journal is one of the most versatile tools found in the accountant’s toolbox.
The General Journal Your Most Versatile Accounting Tool - To learn more about this author, visit John Day's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
A journal is a record of transactions that shows the accounts and amounts of both the debit side and credit side of the entry. A General Journal is the primary journal or place to record transactions that do not fit into any other journal.
The General Journal (GJ) serves a major purpose. In many small business situations, the Cash Disbursements (CD) Journal is the only journal used in conjunction with the GJ. The CD journal you may recall is essentially your checkbook register. That being the case, one side of the transactions always results in a credit (decrease) to Cash. Your computer system automatically decreases cash and you decide which GL accounts to debit the checks. This is pretty straightforward.
But, how do you enter information into your computer that is not related to the checks you wrote? Consider for instance, items such as: bank charges; correction of mistakes; deposits to the bank; sales; sales tax; non-sufficient funds (NSF) from customer checks that bounce; depreciation expense; gain or losses from the sale or trade of fixed assets; notes payable; inventory adjustments; accounts receivable and accounts payable entries; payroll; and, any other unusual transactions that might occur.
Use of the General Journal sets apart the person who knows how accounting works from those who don’t. Why? Because one must understand how debits and credits work in order to write the adjusting journal entries. This simple knowledge is what gives power to the user. This ability allows a person to solve problems, straighten out messes, bring order to disorder, and not be fooled or intimidated by anyone. I remember one day I was in a client’s office and was getting ready to leave for another client appointment. I mentioned I was working on organizing a corporation’s books that were in chaos, and the principals had no idea what they were doing. I was a little surprised when the client I was with said, “Wow, I would love to have that kind of power”. I had never thought about it that way before, but she was right. There is power with knowledge and it feels good.
The people who "know they know” how accounting works can explain or communicate information confidently to those that need to know, such as the boss, board of directors, partners, CPA or staff. The General Journal is one of the most versatile tools found in the accountant’s toolbox.
The General Journal Your Most Versatile Accounting Tool - To learn more about this author, visit John Day's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| |||
 |
No article feedback found. | ||
|
Leave Your Feedback | ||
|
|||
 The General Journal: Your Most Versatile Accounting Tool
| |||
| A brief explanation of what a general journal entry is and how it used in the bookkeeping process. |
|||
|
Why an Integrated Financial Accounts?
| |||
| I've often heard that retailers want different system for inventory control and financial accounts.
They always says that it confuses our accountants and pos operators. Secondly, people who are not designated to vi... |
|||
|
Home Accounting has Many Uses
| |||
| Home accounting is used for many different functions. Individuals and businesses alike, utilize home accounting to track and report on financial figures. |
|||
|
Future of Hotel Call Accounting
| |||
| Call accounting plays a vital role in hotel/motel management and is as important and beneficial for hotels/motels today as it ever was, and in so many ways. |
|||
|
ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES & STANDARDS: AVOID THEM AT YOUR PERIL
| |||
| Accounting principles are the basic assumptions, rules of operation, and essential characteristics that make up the framework for the construction of accounting financial statements. This article discusses the diffe... |
|||
| |||
Bernard ReberBack in late 1992, MS Access hit the streets. About that time the company I managed needed new software to handle their growing client base and I decided to try this new product. I had little difficulty writing and adapting a database to suit us and discovered a hidden talent for programming. A business was born. With business studies and 25 years of management experience in three different countries under my belt, I could offer a unique combination of skills and my customers agreed. From these humble beginnings my software 'invoiceit' emerged in 1999 and has since been taken to 49 states (hello Wyoming, won't you join us?), all across Canada and more than 70 other countries. From the very beginning the program included cashbook accounting, the simplest form of keeping financial business records. The Dictionary.com defines 'cashbook' as "A 'book' in which to record money received and paid out". For 'book' substitute 'simple software' and that's what I'm about. Now I have published Simple Accounting, an inexpensive spreadsheet solution which even you can master. For just $14.95 it costs less than a takeout meal! More at http://www.scrambled-card.com/simple_accounting_main.htm - Visit Bernard Reber's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
 John Day (Visit John's Website) John W. Day, MBA is the author of two courses in accounting basics: Real Life Accounting for Non-Accountants (20-hr online) and The HEART of Accounting (4-hr PDF). Visit his website at www.reallifeaccounting.com to download his FREE e-book, "Dream or Nightmare: Four Must Do's Before Starting A Small Business", and his monthly newsletter, "The Journal Entry" where he discussing small business accounting issues and solutions. Ask John questions directly on his Accounting for Non-Accountants blog at blog.reallifeaccounting.com.
|  |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 |
 Sale Systems Networking Impacts Income NichePreneur Mindset Referral Strategies CAN-Spam Checklist |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 Debt Blogs
Learn To Get Out Of Debt | |
| ||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
