GlossaryAccounting & Bookkeeping
Journal Entry
Also called: journal voucher
What is Journal Entry?
A journal entry records one transaction with its date, the accounts debited and credited, the amounts, and a narration explaining what happened. It is the atomic unit of the books.
Why Journal Entry matters
Journal entries are where the explanation lives. Six months on, the narration is often the only thing that makes a ₹40,000 adjustment intelligible to anyone, including you.
How Journal Entry works in practice
Write narrations that state why, not just what. Adjusting entries for depreciation, accruals and prepayments are made at period end and are the ones most often reconstructed later.
Frequently asked questions
Enough context to identify the transaction without opening the supporting document — party, reference and reason.