When I'm Not Sure How to Make an Entry in QuickBooks, Should I Make a General Journal Entry?

Generally speaking, only your accountant should make general journal entries (debits and credits) in QuickBooks, and typically these are for recording depreciation, amortization or period-end adjustments.

QuickBooks is designed to make accounting as straightforward as possible for the non-accountant. If you are not trained in accounting, making general journal entries will most likely cause further problems.

The QuickBooks homepage flow chart is designed to guide you through the data collection process, and then automatically, general journal entries are made behind the scenes. They are there and can be seen when you look at a report like the general ledger or transaction journal.

The QuickBooks flow chart on its homepage is extremely helpful in directing the functions needed to enter data. For example, icons for “managing sales tax” or “enter credit card charges” tie to other functions, such as paying sales tax and reconciling credit card accounts. Bypassing these data entry points will prevent QuickBooks from correctly relating these entries to all the other data it manages.

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