A presentation by
Queen’s University
Financial Services
1
Alternative formats for this presentation can
be found on the Financial Services website.
Website: Financial Services Training page
Email:
[email protected]Phone: 613.533.2050
2
Journal Entries – PART 1 Basics
3
What is a Journal Entry?
A journal entry is the recording of a financial transaction in the
general ledger (GL).
Transactions are events that change the balance in your assets,
liabilities, revenue, and expense accounts.
Journal entries are one way to record changes in these balances.
Other events that take place through the Accounts Payable or
Student subsystems are other examples of transactions that will
change these balances.
4
Processes or Types of transactions that would
require a Journal Entry
Examples of transactions that would require a journal entry include:
Accounts Receivable
Coding Error Corrections
Internal and External Cost Recoveries
Internal Sales Revenue
University Revenue Transfers
5
The Accounting Behind the Journal Entry
Ask yourself
“What is the purpose of the my journal entry?”
“How will the journal entry impact the GL?”
6
Understanding the Accounting Procedure/Process
Understanding the Accounting Procedure/Process
before creating the journal entry is essential.
Visit the Financial Services Learning Catalogue and learn how to record:
Accounts Receivable – Accounts Receivable tutorial
Coding Error Corrections – Accounting 101 tutorial
Internal & External Cost Recoveries – Revenue & Cost Recoveries tutorial
Internal Sales Revenue – Revenue & Cost Recoveries tutorial
University Revenue Transfers – Revenue & Cost Recoveries tutorial
7
Guidelines and Rules
Here are a few basic guidelines and rules to keep in mind when preparing
and/or processing a journal entry via the online journal entry system:
Total debits must equal total credits
Every journal line requires a Fund, Department, and Account
Research journal lines require the Research Fund, Department, Account, Project
CFI research lines require the Research Fund, Department, Account, Program, Project
Journal entries must be approved by someone other than the person processing the entry
8
GL Workflow and Approvals
All journal entries must be approved by someone other than the person
who is preparing the entry and/or processing the entry via the online
PeopleSoft Journal Entry system.
The approver might be a supervisor, department manager, administrative
assistant or faculty/school business officer.
It is the approver’s responsibility to ensure the expenses charged and
recovered between funds and projects have been incurred for legitimate
university business activity, and are in accordance with university policy, with
applicable granting agency guidelines, or with the terms of the specific award,
whichever imposes greater restrictions.
9
GL Workflow and Approvals (Cont’d)
The PeopleSoft Journal Entry workflow functionality is not operational.
For this reason, compensating manual controls are required to facilitate the
approval process and must take place prior to posting an entry to the GL.
To facilitate the manual approval process, the user will:
1. Perform the ‘edit’ process, followed by the ‘incomplete status’ process
2. Print the hard copy and have approver sign and date hard copy (or save
the entry and approval as a PDF and file it electronically).
3. Remove the ‘incomplete status’ and repeat the ‘edit’ process
4. Ensure the edit passes final journal and budget check
Evidence of approval, i.e. records demonstrating the approval process was
followed must be retained on file and available for auditing purposes.
10
Timelines and Cut-offs
Approximately 5 business days prior to when the General Ledger (GL) month-end is
scheduled to close, Financial Services will send a notice to the Finance PeopleSoft
community advising users of the date the current fiscal period will close.
System users are reminded to review journals not yet posted, uncheck the Save Journal
in Incomplete Status box, perform the final edit and ensure the entry is a valid entry in
preparation for PeopleSoft to post the entry to the GL.
To view the month-end schedule, visit the Financial Services website, Faculty / Staff
page, Timelines & Cut-offs link.
11
System Access and ChartField Security
Access to the PeopleSoft Journal Entry system
To request access, complete the Financial Systems Security Access Request form located
on the Financial Services website Forms page and scan the form to
[email protected]. This 2-part form includes the Undertaking Regarding
Confidential Information form that must be completed by first time system users.
Department ChartField Security is applied to the user’s access which means the user can
process entries applicable to the Department IDs for which they have been approved (e.g.
user’s department).
Journal Exception Override role if approved for a user will allow the user to post an
entry to any department. Example: when a user is frequently required to process shared
costs or cost recoveries impacting units outside of the user’s home Department ID.
12
How may we help you today?
Contact us:
Tel: 613-533-2050
Fax: 613-533-6433
Email: [email protected]
Website: Financial Services
Location: Financial Services
207 Stuart Street,
3rd Floor, Rideau Building
Hours: Monday – Friday
Open 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
13
To learn more or to review additional
Training Resources
and Video Tutorials
visit the Financial Services Training page
14
