Journal Entry
Proper double-entry bookkeeping — debits on the left, credits on the right, always balanced.
Scenario library
Not sure which account to debit or credit? Pick the transaction — the correct entry loads below, ready to edit.
New journal entry
Lines (debits must equal credits)
Dr ₹0.00·Cr ₹0.00Not balanced
Recent entries
No entries yet
Posted entries appear here and flow into the General Ledger and Trial Balance tools automatically.
What is a journal entry in double-entry bookkeeping?
A journal entry is the first record of a business transaction: the date, the accounts it touches, the amount on the debit side, the amount on the credit side and a narration saying what happened. In double-entry bookkeeping the journal is called the book of original entry, because everything else, from account ledgers to the trial balance and final accounts, is built from it. Read in date order, it is the day-by-day history of your business.
If you have used Tally, you have already made journal entries, even if the screen called them payment, receipt, contra, sales or purchase vouchers. Each of those is a debit-and-credit record underneath. Your CA/CPA, and the auditor in a tax audit, trace figures in the final accounts back to these vouchers, so an entry with a clear narration and a bill or cheque reference saves time and follow-up questions at year end.
Many errors in small-business books come from picking the wrong account rather than from wrong arithmetic. GST collected gets credited to sales, the owner's withdrawals get booked as salary, and a cash deposit into the bank is recorded as income. Each of those entries balances perfectly and is still wrong. Choosing accounts deliberately, and asking what an entry does to profit and to what you owe, matters more than speed.
Features of the journal entry tool
33 ready scenarios
Common transactions across nine categories, from cash sales and salary payments to depreciation, GST and owner drawings, load with the right debits and credits.
Why this entry, and the common mistake
Each scenario explains the entry and names the usual error, such as crediting sales again when a customer pays an old credit bill.
Checks before posting
Post entry stays disabled until debits equal credits, at least two lines carry an account and an amount, and the narration is filled in.
Compound entries
Add as many lines as a transaction needs, such as a ₹10,000 loan EMI split into ₹8,000 principal and ₹2,000 interest against one bank payment.
Uses your chart of accounts
Account dropdowns list your Chart of Accounts by code. If you have not set one up, the starter small-business chart is used.
Recent entries panel
The 15 most recent entries by date are listed with each Dr and Cr line, so you can check your latest postings at a glance.
How to use the free journal entry tool
- 1Not sure which accounts to use? Search the scenario library or tap a category such as Sales & Revenue, Taxes or Payroll, then pick a transaction. Its debit and credit lines, sample amounts and a narration load into the form.
- 2Set the date and edit the narration. An entry cannot be posted without one.
- 3On each line, choose an account from your chart and type the amount in either Debit or Credit, replacing any sample amount. Typing in one column clears the other.
- 4Click + Add line for entries that touch more than two accounts, such as a sale with GST, and Remove for lines you do not need.
- 5Check the totals bar. It shows total Dr and Cr and reads Balanced only when the two match.
- 6Click Post entry. It appears under Recent entries and in the General Ledger, and the Trial Balance tool can pick it up with Pull balances from my journal.
What every journal entry should include
- The transaction date as shown on the bill, receipt or bank statement.
- At least one debit line and one credit line, with equal totals.
- The right account on each line, chosen from your chart of accounts.
- A narration naming the party and the document, such as the bill number, cheque number or UPI reference.
- GST on its own line whenever tax was collected or paid.
- The supporting bill or receipt filed where you can find it for your CA/CPA or auditor.
Frequently asked questions
Every transaction touches at least two accounts, and total debits must equal total credits. Paying ₹10,000 rent by bank: debit Rent Expense ₹10,000, credit Bank ₹10,000. The tool blocks unbalanced entries.
Into a journal stored in your browser. The General Ledger and Trial Balance tools read the same journal, so your books stay consistent across all three.
Yes — one click exports the full journal as CSV, ready for Excel, Google Sheets or your accountant.
A compound entry has more than two lines. A cash sale of ₹11,800 that includes ₹1,800 GST is one: debit Cash ₹11,800, credit Sales Revenue ₹10,000 and credit GST Payable ₹1,800. Click + Add line to add as many lines as you need. The tool only asks that total debits equal total credits.
Posted entries cannot be edited in place. Delete the entry, after confirming, and post a corrected one; the General Ledger reflects the change straight away. Many accountants prefer to keep the original and post a correcting entry instead, so the history shows what changed and why. Either way, write a narration that explains the correction.
It stays disabled until four things are true: the narration is filled in, at least two lines have both an account and an amount, total debits equal total credits, and the total is more than zero. Check the badge beside the totals; it reads Not balanced while the two sides differ.
No. You type the amounts yourself. The starter chart includes a GST Payable account, and the scenario library has ready entries for a sale with GST collected, a purchase with GST input credit and a GST payment to the government. In those entries GST paid on purchases is debited to the same GST Payable account, so its balance is the net of tax collected and input credit.