When would I unpost a journal entry?

Note: A journal entry cannot be backed out once a period is closed and the status is History.

You can unpost an incorrect journal entry from the current period by backing out the journal entry. This process of removing the transaction balances from the current period is called unposting or backing out. After you back out the journal entry, you can correct, release, and repost it.

Sometimes you may not want to unpost a journal entry. For example, to have an audit trail for the original entry, you should reverse the original entry instead of unposting it. After reversing the incorrect journal entry, you can create a new, correct journal entry.

Example

LGE interfaced journal entries from a non-Lawson system. One of those journal entries contained estimated revenue numbers. When the actual numbers became available after posting, they backed out and unreleased the original journal entry. They changed the amount to the actual number, released the journal entry, and posted it again.