Journal entries
Create a balanced manual journal entry, read and act on entry detail, post a draft, and void a posted entry.
A journal entry is the most direct way to record activity in LedgerHQ. Every entry is double-entry: it has two or more lines, and its debits must equal its credits before it can be saved. Most day-to-day coding happens automatically through bank feeds and rules, but a manual journal entry is the right tool for adjustments, accruals, reclasses, opening balances, and any transaction that does not arrive through a feed.
This article covers creating a manual balanced entry, reading and acting on entry detail, and correcting mistakes. For entries that should repeat on a schedule, see Scheduled journal entries — this article focuses on one-off manual entries.
The Journal Entries Screen
Open Journal Entries from the company workspace. The Entries view lists every manual and generated journal entry with an inline stats row — Total Posted, Posted, Drafts, and Void — and status filter tabs for All, Posted, Draft, and Void, each with a count.
Search, a From / To date range, and a sort control narrow the list. Rows imported from QuickBooks carry an Imported badge, and a note may report how many non-journal entries are hidden from this view. A second tab, Scheduled JEs, holds recurring templates and is covered in its own article.
Create A Manual Journal Entry
Select New Entry to open the journal-entry drawer, titled New Journal Entry. Fill in:
- a Date;
- a Description, such as
Office rent payment; - an optional Reference, such as an invoice or document number;
- two or more Journal Lines.
Each line takes an Account, an optional line memo, and either a Debit or a Credit amount. Use Add line for a third or fourth line, and the trash icon to remove one (an entry always keeps at least two lines).
The drawer totals debits and credits as you type. The entry is only accepted once it balances — total debits equal total credits and the total is greater than zero. Until then, Create Entry stays disabled and a message reads that debits must equal credits. When you save, LedgerHQ creates the entry as a draft and opens its detail page.
Enter each amount on the correct side. Increasing an asset or expense is a debit; increasing a liability, equity, or revenue account is a credit. If the two sides will not balance, one line is on the wrong side or has the wrong amount.
Read And Act On An Entry
The entry detail page opens on Entry #N with a status badge — Draft,
Posted, or Void. Below it, a document card shows the entry number, date,
reference, source, and timestamps, followed by the journal lines with their
Debit and Credit columns and a totals footer. The Difference line
reads $0.00 in green when the entry balances.
What you can do depends on the status:
- A draft entry shows Post and Delete. Post commits the entry to the general ledger, at which point it starts affecting reports, registers, and reconciliation. Delete removes the draft.
- A posted entry shows Void. Voiding reverses the entry in the general ledger and requires a reason, which is recorded on the entry. A posted entry cannot be deleted — voiding is how you undo it while preserving the audit trail.
Posted entries are not edited in place. To correct a posted entry, Void it with a reason and create a new, corrected entry. This keeps the ledger's audit trail intact rather than silently rewriting posted history. To fix a draft before it is posted, delete it and create it again.
Deleting A Draft Is Permanent
Deleting a draft journal entry from the Journal Entries screen removes it immediately, and the in-app confirmation warns that the removal cannot be undone. There is no separate recovery step for a deleted journal entry, so delete a draft only when you are sure it is not needed.
To reverse a posted entry, use Void rather than delete — voiding keeps the entry and its reason in the audit trail. Delete is only for drafts that were never posted.
Chart of accounts and registers
Build and maintain the chart of accounts, manage account types and settings, and read an account register with its running balance.
Scheduled journal entries
Create repeatable journal-entry templates, control due posting, and trace generated entries back to their schedules.