Manual Journals
Manual Journals (also called Journal Vouchers or JVs) allow you to post accounting entries that aren't generated automatically by invoices, bills, or payments. Common uses include depreciation, accruals, prepaid expense recognition, opening stock entries, and error corrections.
When to use a manual journal
Monthly depreciation of fixed assets
Prepaid expense amortisation
Accrued income and accrued expenses
Opening balances for new accounts
Inter-account transfers (reclassification)
Correcting a wrong account used in a transaction
Writing off bad debts
Partner/Director drawings or capital contributions
Create a journal entry
- 1
Go to Accountant → Manual Journals → New Journal.
- 2
Enter the Journal Date — this determines which financial period the entry falls in.
- 3
Add a Narration: a brief description of why this entry is being posted (e.g., 'April 2025 depreciation – Machinery').
- 4
Add line items: each line has Account, Debit amount, and Credit amount.
- 5
Total Debits must equal Total Credits before you can save — ABSS validates this in real time.
- 6
Optionally: attach a supporting document (depreciation schedule, CA instruction, etc.).
- 7
Click Save to post the journal. It immediately appears in the Account Ledger of each affected account.
ABSS requires balanced entries (Debits = Credits) before saving. If you enter only one side, the Save button remains disabled and the imbalance amount is shown in red.
Common journal entries reference
Monthly depreciation
DEBIT
Depreciation Expense (5500)
CREDIT
Accumulated Depreciation – Machinery (1505)
Use a recurring template to post this on the 1st of every month automatically.
Prepaid expense recognition
DEBIT
Office Rent Expense (5200)
CREDIT
Prepaid Rent (1300)
Post monthly as the prepaid amount is consumed over the rental period.
Interest accrual
DEBIT
Interest Expense (5400)
CREDIT
Accrued Interest Payable (2300)
Post at month-end when interest is earned by the bank but not yet paid.
Opening stock entry
DEBIT
Opening Stock (1200)
CREDIT
Stock Account (1201)
Post at the beginning of the financial year for stock-in-trade businesses.
Bad debt write-off
DEBIT
Bad Debts Expense (5600)
CREDIT
Accounts Receivable (1100)
Write off a specific customer invoice that is irrecoverable.
Recurring journal templates
For entries you post every month (depreciation, prepaid amortisation, loan interest), save a recurring template. ABSS will create the journal automatically on the scheduled date.
- 1
Create a journal entry as usual (don't save yet)
- 2
Check 'Save as Recurring Template' at the bottom of the form
- 3
Set the frequency: Monthly, Quarterly, or Custom
- 4
Set the end date (or leave open-ended)
- 5
Save — ABSS creates a template and schedules the next run
Editing posted journals
Once a journal is posted and the financial period is closed (e.g., a prior month), it cannot be edited. To correct an error in a posted journal, create a reversal journal entry with the opposite amounts, then post the corrected entry. This preserves a full audit trail.