Introduction to recurring journals
A recurring journal is a general journal with specific fields for managing transactions that you post frequently with few or no changes, such as rent, subscriptions, electricity, and so on.
With a recurring journal, entries that are posted regularly need to be entered only once. That is, the accounts, dimensions, dimension values, and so on, that you enter will remain in the journal after posting. If any adjustments are necessary, you can modify the recurring journal lines before posting.
The recurring general journal has some fields that you don't find on a regular general journal. These fields are explained in the following sections.
Recurring methods
The Recurring Method field determines how the amount on the journal line is treated after posting. The following table shows the various recurring methods.
| Recurring Method | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Use when the journal amount is the same each period. The amount on the journal line remains unchanged after posting. | Monthly expensing of a prepaid annual insurance premium throughout the year. Recording fixed expense invoices if purchase documents are not used. (for example, rent.) |
| Variable | Use when the journal amount is different each period. The amount on the journal line is deleted after the recurring journal is posted. | Recording variable expense invoices if purchase documents aren't used (for example, stationery or maintenance). Recording regular customer sales if sales documents aren't used. Recording payroll for an itinerant/irregular workforce, where the hours change every week/fortnight/month. |
| Balance | The balance of the account on the line is allocated among the accounts that are specified for the line on the Allocations page. Therefore, the balance on the account on the line is set to zero. Remember to fill in the Allocation % field on the Allocations page. | Periodic allocation of an expense account between departments; Periodic allocation of overheads that are posted to a single overhead account to several specific overhead accounts; Intercompany expense allocations. |
| Reversing Fixed | The amount on the journal line remains unchanged after posting and a reversing entry posts based on the Reverse Date Calculation field. | Monthly accrual of a contract cleaning invoice that isn't received until the following month. |
| Reversing Variable | The amount on the journal line is deleted after posting and a reversing entry is posted, based on the Reverse Date Calculation field. | Monthly accrual of an electricity invoice isn't received until the end of the first week of the following month. Monthly income accrual for the sales value of items that are shipped but not invoiced. |
| Reversing Balance | The balance of the account on the line is allocated among the accounts that are specified for the line on the Allocations page. The balance on the account is set to zero. A reversing entry posts based on the Reverse Date Calculation field. | The same examples as the Balance method, but the allocations are only temporary. (For example, the allocations are temporary because they are only an estimate for periodic reporting.) |
| Balance by Dimension | The journal line allocates costs based on a G/L account's balance by dimension. You will be prompted to set the dimension filters to be used to calculate the source G/L account's balance by dimension from which you want to allocate costs. Alternatively, select the Set Dimension Filters action later. | Monthly allocation of building expenses to each department. |
| Reversing Balance by Dimension | The journal line allocates costs based on a G/L account's reversing balance by dimension. You will be prompted to set the dimension filters to be used to calculate the source G/L account's balance by dimension from which you want to allocate costs. Alternatively, select the Set Dimension Filters action later. | Monthly accrual of the electricity expenses of a certain business unit, allocated to each department. |
Recurring frequency
The Recurring Frequency field determines how often the entry on the journal line will be posted. It's a date formula field, and it must be filled in for recurring journal lines. For example, if the posting date of a journal line should always be the last day of the month, you can enter 1M+CM in the Recurring Frequency field.
Reverse date calculation
With the Reverse Date Calculation field, you can specify a posting date calculation formula for reverse recurring methods. When you post a recurring general journal line with one of the reverse recurring methods, the reversing entry is posted with a posting date that is calculated with the date formula in the Reverse Date Calculation field. For example, if the date formula in the Reverse Date Calculation field is 1M+CM, the reversing entries will have the last day of the next month as posting date.
Document number formats
Instead of using a number series to determine the value in the Document No. field, you can enter a formula to create a document number for each posted entry that is then updated automatically every time the recurring journal is posted.
You can combine simple text with the following text codes to form a number series:
%1 - The current day number
%2 - The current week number
%3 - The current month number
%4 - The current month name
%5 - The current accounting period name
For example, if the entry's document number is R (rent) + current month, enter R%3 in the Document No. field. The document number for January will then be R01.
If the journal contains more than one line, the program will:
Keep the same number on the next lines automatically until the balance for the journal is zero (0).
Enter the next consecutive number on the next line.
Expiration dates
The Expiration Date field determines the date on which the line will be posted for the last time. The line won't be posted after this date.
The advantage of using the Expiration Date field is that the line won't be deleted from the journal immediately, and you can always replace the present expiration date with a later one so that you can use the line further into the future.
If the field is blank, the line will be posted every time you post until it's deleted from the journal.