The journal first answers “what happened, and when?” Each entry translates an event into at least one debit and one credit with equal totals, carrying enough references to return to the source. A sales list with no counterpart is not an accounting journal.
A usable entry contains
- Transaction date.
- Unique number or reference.
- Debited and credited accounts.
- Equal totals on both sides.
- Precise description.
- Source-document reference.
- Link to the original entry when corrected.
1. The journal’s role
The CGNC calls for chronological recording, operation by operation and day by day. Same-nature events at the same place on the same day may be summarised on one source document. At-least-monthly summaries remain possible where retained documents reconstruct each day.
| The journal shows | It does not prove alone |
|---|---|
| event order | reality without evidence |
| accounts moved | sound inventory valuation |
| debit-credit equality | sales completeness |
| references | automatic tax validity |
| traceable corrections | accounts approval |
Subsidiary sales, purchase, bank or cash journals can provide detail and be centralised under applicable rules.
2. Read debit and credit without calling them plus and minus
Debit and credit are sides, not judgements. An asset increase is debited; an income increase is credited. Liabilities and expenses follow their conventions.
| Teaching transaction | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| MAD 1,200 cash merchandise sale | 516 Cash: 1,200 | 711 Sales: 1,200 |
| Deposit that cash at bank | 514 Bank: 1,200 | 516 Cash: 1,200 |
The example deliberately assumes no VAT or other split is shown. A live file’s tax treatment, invoice and approved accounts may require a different entry.
3. Move from sales export to entry
Centralise the total only after controlling transactions, credits and tenders.
- Freeze the exported period.
- Check missing numbers and duplicates.
- Total sales by validated nature.
- Total cash, card, transfer and customer credit.
- Separate refunds and credits.
- Attach the daily report as evidence.
- Compare total debit with total credit.
A card processor’s net settlement is not sales: preserve the gross amount and identify fees under the chosen treatment.
A balanced entry can still be wrong
Equal debit and credit proves arithmetic. It does not detect an omitted sale, wrong account, false document or wrong period.
4. Correct without erasing
The CGNC requires an error correction to leave the original record readable. It refers to reversal or negative-number correction within an organisation able to recover movements without the error’s effect.
- Wrong account: reverse/reclassify with reference
- Wrong amount: remove effect, then post correct amount
- Cancelled document: retain original, reason and correction document
- Closed date: follow approved reopening or later-period procedure
- Trail: who, when, why and approval
BelloPOS retains sales operations and corrections according to configured rights. Converting them to entries belongs to the accounting organisation.
Mistakes to avoid
- Calling a ticket export the journal.
- Treating debit as spending.
- Recording net card settlement as sales.
- Summarising without reconstructable detail.
- Deleting the error.
- Inventing VAT in the example.
Frequently asked questions
Is the journal chronological?
Yes. Transactions are recorded in order, with permitted grouping and the ability to reconstruct detail.
Must every sale be a line?
Same-nature events in the same place and day may be summarised on one source document when detail remains retained.
Why do debit and credit match?
Double entry translates each movement using at least two accounts and requires equal totals.
How is an error corrected?
Keep the original readable and use a traceable correction such as reversal under the approved procedure.
Is BelloPOS the accounting journal?
No. Its export may become source evidence or journal input after controls and mapping.
What to take away
A sound journal tells the event through time, in balance and with evidence. If nobody can return to the ticket, invoice or settlement, the entry is under-documented.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
Preserve detail behind the total
Close sales, control corrections and export a dated report before accounting centralisation.
Read next
Other practical guides on the same subject: