Journal Entries (JEs)

See Also:
Double Entry Bookkeeping
Journal Entries For Factoring Receivables
Accounting Principles
Accounting Concepts
Adjusting Entries
Role of a Company Back Office

Journal Entries Definition

A journal entry is a recording of a transaction into a journal like the general journal or another subsidiary journal. Journal entries for accounting require that there be a debit and a credit in equal amounts. Oftentimes, there is an explanation that will go along with this to explain the transaction.

Journal Entries Meaning

A journal entry means that a transaction has taken place whether it is a sale to a customer, buying goods from a supplier, or building a warehouse. These transactions affect both the balance sheet and income statement.
As said before, journal entry accounting requires that there be an equal debit and credit for every transaction. This is also known as double entry bookkeeping. Many journal accounts have a normal balance. For example, assets have a normal debit balance if the account is increased and it is a credit if it is decreased.

Journal Entries Example

The following example will use both balance sheet and income statement accounts to show how they work.
Bill has been looking for a certain toy for his son. He walks into Toys Inc. to find it. After some searching, Bill finds a GI Joe for $14 and buys it to take home to his son. The toy cost Toys Inc. $9 to get the toy from its supplier. Thus, Toys inc. will record the following journal entries into the Sales Journal:
Cash………….$14
Sales Revenue…………..$14
COGS………….$9
Inventory…………………..$9

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