Balancing the Journal

A journal can only be posted if it is in balance. If you try to post a journal and it is out of balance, Ledger Entry (LEN) displays an error message.

Note: If the Automatic option was selected for Base Currency Amount Balancing in Business Unit Setup, Ledger Entry forces the journal to balance by posting the balancing amount automatically to one of the balancing accounts selected for the business unit. See 'Balancing a Journal in the Base Currency'.

You may need to balance the transactions:

  • within the journal as a whole.
  • for an accounting period.
  • for each transaction reference, journal type, transaction date, or any of the ten transaction analysis dimensions, depending on the Balance By option in Ledger Setup (LES).

In a multi-currency environment, you may also need to balance the transaction currency amounts, if any of the other transaction currency balancing options are set to Manual in Business Unit Setup. See 'Balancing a Multi-Currency Journal'.

If you are unsure of which part of the journal is out-of-balance, you can use the Totals and Balances options on the Action menu to help you. See 'Checking the Journal Totals and Balances'.

Once you have identified the amount of imbalance, you should try to identify the reason for this and amend the journal to correct the problem. You may need to:

  • amend the amount on a journal line. If you amend one currency value, the remaining values are recalculated automatically.
  • amend the accounting period, date, journal reference, or analysis codes on selected journal lines, depending on the Balance By selection.
  • enter additional journal lines.
  • remove incorrect journal lines.

If you are unable to balance the journal, you should place it on hold while you investigate the problem further. See 'Holding a Journal to Delay Posting'.

Note:  SunSystems includes a Balance Override function that can be used as a last resort. This function is not available from any of the forms delivered with SunSystems and must be added to a form via Form Designer prior to use. It must be used with appropriate caution and access restrictions.