how2gl04.htm

How to create a One-Sided Journal Entry, and WHY this could happen


First of all, you need to know why this may become necessary. It has to do with Windows and computer crashes. Secondly, you need to know that this is the ONLY acceptable reason for using this procedure. Club Data specifically does NOT recommend using this procedure for any other reason. If you do, you do so at your own risk.

Club Office tries to make balanced entries, i.e. debits and credits offset each other and balance to zero. However, the software cannot make two journal entries simultaneously -- first one has to be made and then the other. If Windows should lock up or encounter some unexpected error after the first entry is made but before the second, you'll end up with a journal that's out of balance. In other words, when Windows crashed, it prevented Club Office from making a balanced entry. If this happens when printing A/P checks for instance, all the necessary journal entries may not be created and your journal will be out of balance. You'll need to fix the problem. Luckily, there are a couple basic ways to do this.

How to find an out of balance group

If the G/L journal is out of balance, when you go into it, it will tell you so and by how much. This is a sign to print a G/L Journal Balancing Report, and you should probably pick the current period. The report displays journal entries is "groups," which is the same as saying journal entries that belong together. A "group" of entries is identified by the adjustment date and time, such as 20011014@12:45:42. All the entries having this date/time stamp belong together; the stamp tells the date and time the entries were made. At the bottom of the group is a totalling line and if the group is in balance, you'll either see nothing or, once in a while, you might see $0.00 under the line. If the group is out of balance, you'll see the amount and the warning message, "This group out of balance."

How to create a one-sided entry - Method 1 - acceptable way

  1. Start Club Office using the Administrator account. This will log you in with level 99 (administrator) access.
  2. Go to the Journal, select Adjust, and create a balanced entry in the same period as the group that is out of balance, using the same amounts as the group is out of balance. For the reason, type in something like "fix 20011004@12:45:42" or something that will relate to the group you are trying to fix. The reason gives you the audit trail that proves what you're trying to do.
  3. Quit the adjustment mode and scroll down the journal to get to the pair of entries you just made.
  4. Click EDIT JOURNAL ENTRY.
  5. Highlight the half of the journal entry that needs to be deleted, leaving the other half which will balance the journal.
  6. Press DELETE on your keyboard, then confirm the deletion. The journal is now in balance, even though you'll now have two groups that are "out" of balance with themselves. However, they will balance each other out and the reason code links the two together.

How to create a one-sided entry - Method 2 - BEST way

  1. Start the Administrative Editor (purple lightning bolt).
  2. Select the GLJRNL database, then select the gljournal table. The journal will then appear in the editing grid.
  3. Scroll down to the end of the journal, and click on the first column of the new, unused line.
  4. Type the group in the ADJDATE column, exactly as it appears in the Journal Balancing Report for the group that is "out of balance."
  5. Fill in each column with appropriate data. The column names at the top of the editing grid tell what type of information is required.
  6. For the REASON code, type something like "manual fix" or something that tells that this is a manual entry.
  7. Be sure to fill in the glperiod with the same period and the fiscal column with the same fiscal year as the original group.
  8. When all fields have been filled in, use the UP arrow on the keyboard to move to the previous line. This writes the entry into the journal.
  9. Exit the administrative editor.
  10. Start Club Office and go to the journal. It will now be in balance and your entry will also be part of the original group, so the group will also be in balance.

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