A manual journal entry is a way to directly record transactions in your company's General Ledger without using Dappr's automated tools like bank reconciliation or reimbursement claims. It gives you direct access to the debits and credits that form the foundation of your accounting records. It is the accounting equivalent of making a direct, surgical intervention into your company's financial DNA.
This guide explains what manual journal entries are for, the critical importance of using them correctly, and how to create, view, and manage them in Dappr.
Important: Use This Feature with Caution
The manual journal entry feature is an advanced tool intended for users with a strong understanding of double-entry bookkeeping principles. Think of Dappr's automated tools (for bank reconciliation, expenses, invoices, etc.) as smart, guided workflows that ensure your accounting stays balanced and accurate. A manual journal entry bypasses these safety rails.
Dappr's standard tools are designed to generate balanced and accurate journal entries automatically. For over 99% of your business transactions, these automated tools are the best and safest method to use.
Creating a manual journal entry incorrectly can have serious consequences. A mistake could unbalance your books, lead to inaccurate financial statements, and cause significant problems for tax preparation and audits. For example, incorrectly debiting an expense account instead of an asset account could understate your company's assets and overstate its expenses, making the business appear less valuable and less profitable than it actually is.
If you are not familiar with terms like debits, credits, and the accounting equation, we strongly recommend that you do not use this feature. It is best reserved for accountants or experienced bookkeepers who understand the precise impact of each entry.
When to use a manual journal entry
This feature should only be used for specific, non-routine transactions that cannot be recorded through Dappr's standard workflows.
Making Adjusting Entries: These are typically made at the end of an accounting period (like a month or year) to accurately reflect the company's financial position under the accrual method. For example, your accountant might instruct you to make an adjusting entry to record revenue that has been earned but not yet invoiced, or to account for expenses that have been incurred but not yet paid.
Correcting Complex Errors: While most mistakes can be fixed using the "Remove & redo" function, some complex errors may require a manual entry. For instance, if an expense was miscategorized months ago and the error wasn't caught until after several financial reports were run, a manual journal entry might be the cleanest way to reclassify the amount between the correct accounts without disturbing other records.
Recording Owner Contributions/Distributions: This is for tracking non-cash transactions between the owner and the business. For example, if an owner contributes a personal laptop worth $1,200 to the company, a manual journal entry is needed to record this. The entry would debit the "Office Equipment" (asset) account by $1,200 and credit the "Owner's Equity" or "Contributed Capital" account by $1,200, increasing both the company's assets and the owner's stake.
How to create a manual journal entry
If you have determined that a manual journal entry is necessary, you can create one from the "Advanced" section of Dappr Accounting.
From the main menu, navigate to Accounting, select Advanced from the top menu, and then click on Manual journal entries.
Click the blue Add journal entry button in the top-right corner. This will open the journal entry editor.
Fill in the details:
Date: Select the date the transaction should be recorded. This date determines which accounting period the entry will affect.
Description & Notes: Enter a clear, specific description explaining the purpose of the entry. A vague description like "Fixing error" is not helpful. A good description would be "To reclassify software expense from Office Supplies to Software Subscriptions for Q2." This is crucial for your future self, your accountant, or an auditor to understand the transaction.
Debits and Credits: This is the core of the entry. You must add at least two lines. For each line, select an account from your Chart of Accounts and enter an amount in either the Debit or the Credit column.
Ensure the entry is balanced. The system will show you the running totals for the Debit and Credit columns at the bottom. These two totals must be equal before you can save the entry. This is the fundamental rule of double-entry bookkeeping.
Once the entry is complete and balanced, click the Save entry button in the top-right corner.
The entry is now saved directly to your General Ledger and will be reflected in your financial reports.
Managing manual journal entries
You can view and manage all your manually created entries from the Manual journal entries page.
To View an Entry: Click on any entry in the list to open its dedicated page, which shows the full details of the debits and credits.
To Edit an Entry: From the dedicated page view, click the Edit entry button in the top-right corner. This will reopen the editor, where you can make changes.
To Void an Entry: From the dedicated page view, click the three-dot actions menu next to the "Edit entry" button and select Void manual entry. Voiding an entry is the proper accounting procedure for reversing it. It creates a new entry that is the exact opposite of the original, effectively canceling it out while preserving the original record. This maintains a clear and transparent audit trail, showing that an entry was made, and then intentionally and properly reversed.