Journal entry template
A layout for manual journals, the entries you post straight to the general ledger to fix a mistake, clear a holding account or record an adjustment at a period end. Each entry's debits equal its credits, and its narration explains it.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
Most transactions reach the books through a sales invoice, a supplier bill or a line on the bank statement. A manual journal covers what those can't: moving an amount posted to the wrong account, emptying a suspense account once you know what its amounts were, or recording something at a period end that no document has brought in yet. business.gov.au's glossary describes double-entry bookkeeping as recording each transaction as both a debit and a credit, and places debits on the left-hand side of the ledger or journal. Every journal therefore has at least one debit line and one credit line, and its debits and credits come to the same total.
The example entries are a correction, the clearing of a suspense account and an accrual. An accrual puts a cost into the period it belongs to before the bill arrives, in line with business.gov.au's explanation that accrual accounting puts a cost or a sale in the books at the time it happens, whatever date it is paid. Which period-end entries your books need, if any, is a question for your accountant.
The narration is the part that matters months later. It should say what was wrong or missing, how the entry deals with it and which document supports it. For a company, the Corporations Act requires written financial records that accurately show and explain its transactions, kept for 7 years after the transactions are completed. This template is a CSV file for keeping a readable record of your journals, and it opens in a spreadsheet program.
Download the template
The template as a CSV file, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileWhat's in the template
| Date | Journal number | Account | Debit (AUD) | Credit (AUD) | Narration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-031 | Office supplies | 186.50 | Correction: printer ink on bill SD-2291 from Supplier D was entered against repairs and maintenance; moves it to office supplies | |
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-031 | Repairs and maintenance | 186.50 | ||
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-032 | Bank fees | 96.00 | Clears the suspense account: a bank fee on the March statement and a stationery purchase matched to receipt R-77 | |
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-032 | Office supplies | 154.00 | ||
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-032 | Suspense | 250.00 | ||
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-033 | Utilities | 412.00 | Accrual: electricity used in March, bill from Supplier E not yet received; amount estimated from the meter reading, to compare with the bill when it arrives | |
| 31 Mar 2026 | JNL-033 | Accrued expenses | 412.00 |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Date: The date the entry takes effect in the ledger, which decides the period it falls in.
- Journal number: A number that runs in sequence and is shared by every line of one entry, so the lines stay together and a gap stands out.
- Account: The ledger account the line is posted to, named as it is in your chart of accounts.
- Debit (AUD): The amount debited to the account on that line, or blank for a credit line.
- Credit (AUD): The amount credited to the account on that line, or blank for a debit line.
- Narration: Why the entry was made and the document behind it, written on the first line of each entry.
How to use it
- Keep journals for what an invoice, bill or bank line can't carry, such as moving an amount to the right account, clearing a suspense account or a period-end entry. Don't use one in place of a bill, invoice or payment: a journal posted straight to accounts payable or receivable can change that account's total without changing what any one supplier or customer is shown as owing.
- Give each entry the next journal number and the date it takes effect, with one line per account and each amount in either the debit or the credit column.
- Before posting, check that the entry's debits and credits add up to the same amount.
- Write the narration on the first line, saying what was wrong or missing, how the entry deals with it and the document that supports it, and keep that document with the journal.
- When the bill behind an accrual arrives, compare it with the estimate and ask your accountant how to clear or reverse the accrual as the bill is recorded, including any difference, so the same cost is not recorded twice.
- After posting, take a trial balance to confirm the ledger still balances.
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Choose between cash and accrual accounting
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 13 September 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
- Corporations Act 2001, sections 9 and 286
Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Compilation No. 149, 19 September 2026, released 19 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 15 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
Related guides
Debits and credits explained
Which side increases each type of account, how to work out the entry for any transaction, and worked entries for everyday small business transactions.
Double-entry bookkeeping explained
How double-entry bookkeeping works as a system: the accounting equation, why the books balance, how one ledger gives two statements and how errors show up.
How to do a trial balance
How to prepare a trial balance step by step: get the books up to date, list every balance, total both columns, track down a difference and review each account.