How to Generate Journal Entries for My Accounting System
This page explains how to generate journal files from xAssets for export to your general ledger or accounting system. Journal entries are the output of the period-end depreciation process and contain the debit and credit entries needed to record depreciation, disposals, and other financial movements.
Before You Begin
- Ensure you are in the Fixed Asset Management profile.
- Depreciation must have been calculated for the current period.
- You should have reviewed the depreciation results and confirmed they are correct. Once journals are exported and posted, correcting errors requires manual reversals in both systems.
- Nominal codes must be correctly configured to match your accounting system's chart of accounts.
Step-by-Step Procedure
Step 1: Calculate Depreciation
If you have not already calculated depreciation for the current period, do so first. Navigate to Financial > Asset Accounting > Period End Processing and click the Calculate button. See How to Run Month-End Depreciation for the full procedure.
Step 2: Review Results
Review the depreciation reports before producing journals. Run the Depreciation in Current Period report and check for outliers, unexpected totals, and zero-charge assets. See How to Review Depreciation Before Posting for the review procedure.
Step 3: Produce Journals
- Navigate to Financial > Asset Accounting > Period End Processing.
- Click the Journals button.
- The system generates journal files based on the journal transformation configured for your environment. The transformation controls the output format (CSV, XML, fixed-width, etc.) to match your accounting system's import requirements.
Step 4: Access the Journal Files
Journal files can be accessed in two ways:
- From the Journal Files list displayed below the period-end processing options.
- From Financial > Asset Accounting > List of Journals, which shows all journals across all periods.
Step 5: Export to Your Accounting System
Download the journal files and import them into your general ledger following your accounting system's standard import procedure.
Step 6: Close the Period (Recommended)
After exporting journals, optionally close the period to prevent further postings. This is especially important at year-end to ensure closing balances are not disturbed.
How Journal Entries Map to Your GL
Nominal codes determine which general ledger accounts each entry posts to:
| Transaction Type | Debit Account | Credit Account |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation charge | Depreciation Expense (P&L) | Accumulated Depreciation (Balance Sheet) |
| Asset acquisition | Fixed Asset Cost (Balance Sheet) | Bank / Creditors |
| Asset disposal | Accumulated Depreciation (Balance Sheet) | Fixed Asset Cost (Balance Sheet) |
| Disposal proceeds | Bank / Debtors | Disposal Gain/Loss (P&L) |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Journal file is empty | Depreciation not calculated | Calculate depreciation first |
| Wrong GL account codes | Nominal codes misconfigured | Review nominal codes in Financial Setup |
| Journal import fails in GL | Format mismatch | Check the journal transformation configuration |
Related Articles
- Financial Transactions — Viewing and managing financial transactions
- How to Run Month-End Depreciation — Running the monthly depreciation process
- Nominal Codes — Setting up nominal codes for general ledger integration
- Month End Results — Understanding month-end depreciation results
- The Monthly Accounting Process — The complete monthly accounting workflow