Specifications

2  Lesson 3 Computer Tutorial 3
TOPIC 3.1
Accpac journal entries and transaction batches
When using Accpac, you are required to organize accounting events into transactions that are
entered as journal entries. Each entry or transaction is composed of as many debits and credits
as necessary to describe a complete financial transaction. The debits and credits of a transaction
must balance. Each debit or credit forms a transaction detail within a journal entry. Thus, one
journal entry contains at least two transaction details, one for the debit and the other for an
offsetting credit. A number of journal entries can be grouped together into a transaction batch.
The following example is a three-line journal entry:
Dr. Accounts receivable 45,000.00
Dr. Cash 1,500.00
Cr. Sales 46,500.00
No specific rules exist on how to organize transactions into batches. Given the same set of
transactions, different accountants will organize them into different batches. Although it is
possible to create a batch for each transaction, it is inefficient to do so. Generally, a transaction
batch should comprise all the transactions that logically group together, either because they
describe related financial events, or because they occur within the same time frame (say, within
the same week). In this tutorial, transactions are organized into batches predominantly by time
frame.
As a general rule, enter and post a small number of batches (less than 10) at a time. Remember
to back up before posting.
All transaction batches that have not yet been posted can be modified or deleted. Generally, a
posted transaction batch cannot be modified, deleted, or removed from the general ledger. If it is
necessary to undo a posted transaction, you must make a reversing entry by creating a new
batch.
The batches entered do not affect the accounts and, hence, do not affect the trial balance or the
financial statements until the batches are posted. For example, if you entered all the transactions
for the period from January 1 to January 15 but did not post them, your trial balance and
financial statements printed by Accpac would remain unchanged by these transactions. To make
the trial balance and financial statements reflect the results of these transactions, the batches
must be posted to the general ledger. Transaction posting is not automatic; you must perform
the actual posting function, which is described in Lesson 4.
Error checking
Accpac checks for errors at two points: during transaction entry and during posting.
During transaction entry, the program checks for:
 a valid fiscal period
 an existing source document code
 a valid account number
During posting, the program checks for:
 a valid fiscal period
 existing source document codes
 valid account numbers
 a correct balance of total debits and credits for the entire batch