Creating & Maintaining Nominal Journals
Before you can create a journal record, certain prerequisite records must be created, depending on the type of journal you want to create.
- Each journal must identify at least two nominal accounts (to ensure debits and credits are balanced). Nominal accounts are defined using the Accounts command on the Maintenance menu of the Nominal module.
- If you want to enter journals in a foreign currency, at least one currency code must be created using the System Exchange Rates form in the System module.
- If you want to define a VAT journal, at least one VAT code record must be created using the VAT Processing form in the System module.
The total of all debits and credits within a journal must balance before it is posted, However, you can create and store a journal record that does not balance, even though you cannot create postings from it. You can subsequently retrieve the journal for amendments before it is used.
- (Opera II) Open the Nominal folder and then click Journals or (Opera3) click the Financials tab and then click Journals on the Ribbon Bar.
- To create a new record, click the “Create New Record” button on the toolbar or press CTRL+N.
In the boxes provided, enter the journal header details.
- Click Action and then click Details. The Journal Details form appears.
- In the boxes provided, enter the journal details. To add a new line, click the “Create New Record” toolbar button.
- When you have completed the detail lines, press ESC and then click OK.
Notes: You will not be able to post a journal unless the debit and credit totals balance. For foreign currency journals, both the home and foreign currency debit and credit totals must balance.
When you click OK, you are given the opportunity to post the journal provided it balances, if you plan to post the journal to a prior period, select No and save the journal. If it does not balance, you are prompted to save the journal. You must balance the journal later if you choose to save it, before it can be posted.
To post nominal journals
This process posts a journal in the current accounting period from the details stored in the journal record. If the system detects that the journal has been posted at least once previously, you will be asked to confirm that you wish to post it again. You must ensure that the current system date is within the date range of the current accounting period, otherwise the posting will not be permitted.
- Open the Nominal folder and then click Journals or click the Financials tab and then click Journals on the Ribbon Bar.
- Retrieve the journal you want to post.
- Click Action and then do one of the following:
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- To post the journal in the current period, click Post Journal (Opera3 – if Open Period Accounting is used, a form is displayed to enter the posting date).
- To post the journal to a previous accounting period, click Post Prior.
- To post the journal to the last period in the previous accounting year, click Post Prior Year.
- At the prompt, click Yes to post the journal. The Report dialog box appears.
- Under Output Device, click to select the output device you want to use. On the corresponding tab, complete any settings or options you want to apply to the output device.
- To post the journal and print the journal report, click Report. To abandon, click Cancel.
For journals where you have selected the Recurring option, you must use the Post Recurring command on the Utilities submenu in the Nominal module to create the transactions.
To post recurring journals
- Open the Nominal folder and then click Nominal – Utilities – Post Recurring or click the Financials tab and then click Nominal – Utilities – Post Recurring on the Ribbon Bar.
- The Post Recurring form is displayed. Select the recurring journals you want to post by pressing the spacebar or by selecting (UN) Tick on the Action button. To override the posting date press F5 or select Override Posting Date from the Action button.
- Click OK.
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