Journal entries: record adjustments to your books

A journal entry is a manual adjustment to your books. Use one for anything that doesn't come from a bank transaction, an invoice or a bill: accruals, depreciation, moving an amount from one account to another, or money the owner puts in or takes out.

You'll find Journal entries under Accounting in the left sidebar.

Tour of the page

1. Page actions. Import, Export and New journal entry.
2. Totals. Posted entries, Drafts, the amount posted this month and how many entries are accrual basis only.
3. Tabs. All, Posted and Draft.
4. Accounting basis filter. Show entries that affect cash-basis reports, or accrual-basis reports.
5. Basis. The line under each description shows the basis the entry applies to.
6. Accounts. The account debited, then the account credited. A "+" number means the entry has more lines.
7. Status. Posted or Draft.
8. Row menu. Edit, Duplicate, Reverse and Delete.

Create a journal entry

Click New journal entry.

1. Entry details. Date, reference number, accounting basis and description.
2. Lines. The accounts being debited and credited.
3. Entry summary. Total debits, total credits and the difference, with the save buttons.
4. Post entry. The same action as the button in the summary.

Entry details and accounting basis

• Date. The date the entry takes effect.
• Reference number. Tabby suggests the next number in your sequence. Each number can be used once.
• Accounting basis. Which reports the entry appears in.
• Description. What the entry is for.

Add lines and balance the entry

For each line:

1. Choose the Account. Click New in the picker to add an account without leaving the entry.
2. Enter a Debit or a Credit. A line takes one or the other, so typing in one clears the other.
3. Add a Description if it helps. Product or service is optional.

An entry needs at least two lines. Click New line to add another. If the entry is out of balance when you click it, the new line is filled in with the amount needed to balance.

Debits must equal credits before you can post. The note under the lines tells you where you stand.

Class and attachments

Click Add class to tag the entry by client, project or location. Income and expense lines then show up in Profit & Loss by Class. Under Attachments you can add supporting files as SVG, PNG, JPG, PDF or GIF, up to 10 MB each.

Post an entry or save a draft

• Post entry records the entry in your books.
• Save as draft keeps it without posting. Drafts don't touch your books until you post them, so you can save an entry that doesn't balance yet and finish it later.

Changes to an entry that's already posted update your ledger right away.

Edit, duplicate or reverse an entry

• Edit opens the entry.
• Duplicate starts a new draft with the same lines, dated today.
• Reverse starts a new entry with the debits and credits swapped, described as a reversal of the original. Review it and post it.

Delete an entry

Delete removes the entry after you confirm. Deleting a posted entry takes its amounts out of your ledger and reports. To keep an audit trail, reverse the entry instead.

Import journal entries

Click Import and upload a CSV with the columns Date, Reference, Account (name or code), Debit, Credit and Description.

Rows with the same reference become one entry. Everything imports as a draft, so you can check it before posting. Entries that don't balance are skipped, and Tabby tells you which rows have an account it doesn't recognize.

Common questions

My journal entry won't post

Debits and credits don't match, or a line is missing its account. The note under the lines shows how far out of balance the entry is. Save it as a draft if you need to finish it later.

I posted a journal entry by mistake

Reverse it. Open the row menu, choose Reverse, and post the new entry. Both entries stay in your books, which keeps the audit trail.

Updated on: 07/10/2026