Manual journal entries
Recording expenses, capital contributions and corrections the system does not post by itself.
Prestafolio posts the entries for loans, collections and services by itself. But there are things in your business the system cannot guess: the fuel you burned collecting, the money you put in from your own pocket, the rent. For those, there is the manual journal entry.
What it's for and when I use it
A manual entry is an accounting movement you write. The three real uses:
- Recording an operating expense. You paid RD$1,200 in fuel this month. That lowers your cash and is an expense, but no loan generated it.
- Recording a capital contribution. You put RD$25,000 of your own into the business so you have something to lend.
- Correcting something. Through a reversal, never by deleting.
What you should NOT do with a manual entry: touch the portfolio (1200) by hand or fake a collection. Loans and payments have their own flow, and that flow already posts the correct entry. A manual entry on 1200 would leave your books saying one thing and your loans another.
How to create one
- Go to Accounting → Entries and press New entry.
- Set the date, a clear description and, if you want, a reference (invoice number, receipt…).
- Add the lines: pick the account by its code and put the amount either in debit or in credit, never both.
- You'll see the debits vs credits counter. You can only save when the two totals match.
The entry is created and posted in a single step. There are no drafts: either it lands recorded and balanced, or nothing lands.
Example 1: RD$1,200 fuel expense
Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
5301 Operating Expenses | RD$1,200 |
|
1101 Cash |
| RD$1,200 |
Totals | RD$1,200 | RD$1,200 |
Your cash goes down RD$1,200 and a RD$1,200 expense appears. That expense will subtract in your Income Statement, exactly what you want: if you don't record it, your profit comes out inflated.
Example 2: You contribute RD$25,000 of capital
Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
1101 Cash | RD$25,000 |
|
3101 Lender's Capital |
| RD$25,000 |
Totals | RD$25,000 | RD$25,000 |
You have RD$25,000 more in cash, and equity reflects that the money came from you. It is not profit: that's why it goes to 3101 and not to a revenue account.
Rules the system enforces
Rule | What happens if you break it |
|---|---|
Minimum 2 lines, maximum 50 | It won't let you save. |
Each line: exactly one of debit or credit, greater than zero | It won't let you save. A line with both (or neither) means nothing. |
Σ debits = Σ credits | "The entry doesn't balance". It is the golden rule of the ledger. |
The account must exist and be active | "Account not found" / "Account inactive". |
The date must fall within the period you target | "The date is outside the period". |
The period cannot be closed | "The fiscal period is closed". See Periods and closing. |
If you don't specify a period, the open period containing today is used.
Reversing an entry
Nothing is deleted in accounting. If you made a mistake, you reverse it: a new entry is created with the same lines and the debits and credits swapped, so the net effect is zero. Both entries (the original and its reversal) stay visible forever.
How: open the entry under Accounting → Entries, press Reverse and write the reason.
Three things you should know:
- Only MANUAL entries can be reversed here. The entries the system posts by itself (a collection, a disbursement) are not reversed from this screen: they are reversed by undoing the business operation (reversing the payment, voiding the loan), and the entry is reversed along with it. Reversing them on their own would leave your ledger saying one thing and your loans another.
- An entry can only be reversed once. If it already has a reversal, it will tell you.
- If the entry lives in an already-closed month, the reversal does not go into that month: it is posted in today's open period. The closed month stays intact.
Plan and permissions
- Premium plan only (Financial statements module).
- Viewing entries: permission
accounting:read. - Creating and reversing entries: permission
accounting:write, separate from the read permission, because it writes to the ledger. The owner always can.