Also known as: general journals · journal
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A record in which a business enters every transaction that does not fit into a specialized journal such as a cash receipts journal or sales journal. Each entry records the date, a description of the transaction, and equal debits and credits.
Grove Manufacturing buys a custom machine through a complex financing arrangement that does not match any of its cash or purchases journals. The bookkeeper records the full transaction in the general journal with matching debits and credits and a brief description of the financing terms.
Galaxy Technologies receives a capital contribution of equipment from its owner. Because the transaction is neither a cash receipt nor a sale, the accountant posts the asset increase and equity increase as equal entries in the general journal with the date and a short explanation.
A business records a transaction in the general journal when the transaction does not fit the pattern of any specialized journal such as cash receipts, cash payments, sales, or purchases journals.
Each entry shows the date, a description of the transaction, the accounts affected, and equal debit and credit amounts.