Introduction to the Transaction Register

You should record every accounting event as a separate Transaction in the Transaction register. Depending on the nature of an individual Transaction, you can enter it directly to the Transaction register yourself or it can be created remotely from the Sales and Purchase Ledgers or the Stock module.

You can decide which Transactions are to be entered directly to the Transaction register and which are to be created remotely from other Ledgers (or "Sub Systems"). You should do this in the Sub Systems setting.

Typically, Transactions representing Sales and Purchase Invoices, Receipts and Payments will be generated remotely from the Sales and Purchase Ledgers. Transactions representing inward and outgoing movements of stock and movements of stock between warehouses will be generated remotely from the Stock module, and Transactions representing the movement of cash will be generated remotely from the Cash Book module. You will enter other types of transactions directly to the Transaction register: these might include bank transfers, overhead costs, salaries etc.

Before you start entering Transactions, you must ensure that you have defined the current financial (accounting) year, using the Fiscal Years setting in the System module. You should also have defined a basic journal number series for Transactions using the Number Series - Transactions setting in the Nominal Ledger.

To open the Transaction register, ensure you are in the Nominal Ledger, then click the [Transactions] button in the Master Control panel. The 'Transactions: Browse' window is opened, showing a list of Transactions already entered.

Transactions that have been entered directly to the Transaction register are shown with their Transaction Numbers preceded by the financial year: the Transactions numbered 2007.2023 and 2007.2024 in the illustration are examples of this. The characters representing the financial year are taken from the Fiscal Years setting in the System module. Transactions that have been created from a Sub System are shown with their Transaction Numbers preceded by a code depending on their nature. In their case, the Transaction Numbers themselves are determined in the Sub System in which they were created. For example, Transactions generated from Sales Invoices have a Transaction Number that is the same as their Invoice Number, and are shown in the browse window with a prefix of S/INV.

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You can have different Transaction and Registration Dates in a Transaction. This is particularly important in relation to your external reporting, e.g. the VAT reporting, and your internal accounting, where you may wish Transactions to go into the correct month.


In the Text column you can see the short explanatory text that was entered for each Transaction. For those Transactions created from Sub Systems, the Text column usually shows details of the Customer or Supplier involved and, if appropriate, the Currency and Exchange Rate used.

As in other lists you can change the sort order by clicking on the column headings. The current sort column is shown with its heading coloured blue. You can also scroll the list using the scroll bars. Finally, you can search for a record by entering a keyword in the field in the top right-hand corner. When you press the Return or Enter key, the first record with a match for the keyword in the current sort column will be highlighted. If you need to search for a particular Transaction Number, include the prefix in your keyword e.g. search for "2007.2023" not "2023" or for "DELIV.960077" not "960077".

There are four things you can do with your Transactions:

Entering a Transaction

To enter a Transaction, first open the Transaction register using the [Transactions] button in the Master Control panel.

Then, click [New] in the Button Bar or use the Ctrl-N (Windows and Linux) or ⌘-N (Macintosh) keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, highlight a Transaction similar to the one you want to enter and click [Duplicate] on the Button Bar.

The 'Transaction: New' window is opened, empty if you clicked [New] or containing a duplicate of the highlighted Transaction.

Entering a Transaction - Header

No
Paste Special    Select from another Number Series
The number of the Transaction. The default is the first unused number in the number sequence allocated to the current user on the 'Serial Nos' card of their Person record or specified in the Number Series Defaults setting in the System module, or from the Number Series - Transactions setting. You may change this number, but not to one that has already been used. If you are working in a multi-user environment, the Transaction Number is assigned when you first save the Transaction.

If you are using the Warn on non-sequenced Transaction Number option in the Transaction Settings setting, you will be given a warning if you enter a new Transaction whose Transaction Number is not one greater than the previous Transaction Number used. You will still be able to save the Transaction (assuming the new Transaction Number has not already been used, and assuming it is in a valid Number Series).

Trans. Date
Paste Special    Choose date
The date of the Transaction does not have to coincide with the date when the Transaction was recorded. The last used Transaction Date is offered as a default.

Reference
An optional reference field whose contents are shown in the 'Transactions: Browse' window.

Text
A short description of the Transaction.

Entering a Transaction - Footer

Difference Base 1
Any difference between the sums of Debited and Credited amounts in your home Currency (Base Currency 1) is shown here: the two sums must be the same before you can save the Transaction. A balancing entry shows a zero difference in this field.

Difference Base 2
If you are using the Dual-Base system, any difference between the sums of Debited and Credited amounts in Base Currency 2 is shown here. A balancing entry shows a zero difference in this field. If a Transaction does not balance in Base Currency 1, the Difference Base 1 (above) will not be zero and you will not be able to save the Transaction. If it is balanced in Base Currency 1 but not Base Currency 2, the Base 2 Credit figure in the final row will be adjusted when you save the Transaction and so the Difference Base 2 will be set to zero automatically. If you want to prevent this adjustment, add a final balancing row that posts to a Base Currency Round Off Account before saving. For more details, please refer to the bottom of this page.

Total
These two fields show the sums of Debits and Credits for this Transaction.

Entering a Transaction - Transaction Rows (Journal Postings)

In the centre of the 'Transaction: New' and 'Transaction: Inspect' windows are the rows of the Transaction, where you should list the postings to the individual Accounts. These must balance (the debits must equal the credits) before you can save the Transaction.

The Transaction row matrix is divided into seven horizontal flips. When you click a flip tab (marked A-G), the two or three right-hand columns of the grid are replaced.

To add rows to a Transaction, click in any field in the first blank row and enter appropriate text. To remove a row, click on the row number on the left of the row and press the Backspace key. To insert a row, click on the row number where the insertion is to be made and press Return.

Flip A

Account
Paste Special    Account register, Nominal Ledger/System module
Specify here the Account used by the Transaction row.

You can also enter the Code of an Autotransaction to this field. Autotransactions are used to automate the entry of frequently used Transactions, not only reducing labour but also ensuring the correct Accounts are used every time. Autotransactions are fully described here.

Objects
Paste Special    Object register, Nominal Ledger/System module
You can assign up to 20 Objects, separated by commas, to each Transaction row. You might define separate Objects to represent different departments, cost centres or product types. This provides a flexible method of analysis that can be used in Nominal Ledger reports.

You can use the Skips Object option in the Transaction Settings setting to have the insertion point skip over this field when you press Return or Enter (but not Tab) if you don't use Objects.

If you enter more than one Object, they will automatically be sorted alphabetically when you move to the next field.

If you have specified an Object On All Rows in the Transaction Settings setting, that Object will be placed here automatically when you enter a debit or credit amount.

Description
The Account Name will be entered here automatically when you specify the Account above. You can change it for this Transaction if necessary.

You can use the Skips Description option in the Transaction Settings setting to have the insertion point skip over this field when you press Return or Enter (but not Tab).

If you have entered a Language in the Company Info setting in the System module, you have entered an appropriate translation of the Account Name on the 'Texts' card of the Account screen and you are using the Account Description in Company Language option in the Transaction Settings setting in the Nominal Ledger, then the appropriate translation of the Account Name for the Company Info Language will be used here.

Base 1 Debit, Base 1 Credit
For each row, specify a debit or credit amount. Use figures in Base Currency 1 as specified in the Base Currency setting in the System module or in your home Currency if you are not using the Dual-Base Currency system. The debits total must equal the credits total before you can save the Transaction: each Transaction must therefore have at least two rows. If you are using the Warn On Unusual Amount option in the Transaction setting and a particular Account can only have amounts posted to one side (debit or credit) you will be warned if you attempt to post a figure to the other side. Note that this warning will not be enforced and you can override it.

V-Cd
Paste Special    VAT Codes setting, Nominal Ledger
Default taken from    Account
You can mark each row in a Transaction with a VAT Code. This Code may be brought in automatically when you enter the Account number, or you can enter it manually. No calculation ensues: the field is for reporting purposes only. Nevertheless, take care to ensure you enter the correct VAT Code (if any), since it will affect the accuracy of the figures for Net Sales and Net Purchases in your VAT Return, as shown in the illustration of the VAT Report Definition.
Flips B-D: Multi Currency accounting
If you are using the Dual-Base Currency system, you should enter values in Base Currency 2 on flip B. The Dual-Base system will be useful for companies that have offices in two countries that need to report in both Currencies, for companies operating in countries where there is a second Currency (usually the US Dollar or Euro) in common use in addition to the national one, and for companies in the Euro zone who retain their old national Currency for comparison purposes.

If the Transaction is one that uses a simple conversion from a foreign Currency to the home Currency, you should enter the foreign Currency together with values in that Currency on flip C. If you use an Account where a Currency has been specified, this Currency will be brought in automatically. When you specify the Currency or it is brought in from the Account, the current Exchange Rates will be brought in to flip D.

Please click here for full details of these features.

In the case of Transactions solely in the home Currency where you are not using the Dual-Base or simple conversion systems, you can ignore flips B-D.

Flip E
You can use Flip E to pay off Sales and Purchase Invoices. On one row of the Transaction, specify the Bank Account to be debited (in the case of a Sales Invoice) or credited (in the case of a Purchase Invoice). On the next line, on flip E, specify the Invoice(s) being paid as described below. The Debtor or Creditor Account as appropriate will be brought in automatically from the Invoice.

Invoices and Purchase Invoices paid off in this manner will no longer be treated as open, but records in the Receipt or Payment registers will not be created.

It is also possible to create Invoices and Purchase Invoices using flip E. Again, records will not be created in the Invoice or Purchase Invoice registers, but such Invoices will appear in any Open Invoice 'Paste Special' list until they have been paid off: in this respect they are treated as normal Invoices. On separate rows of the Transaction, specify the Debtor/Creditor Account, Sales/Purchase Account(s) and VAT Output/Input Account. No defaults are offered. On flip E in the row posting to the Debtor/Creditor Account, set the T (Type) field to "C" or "S" as appropriate and enter a Customer or Supplier and an Invoice Number.

If you are going to use flip E, there is no need to turn off the Sub-ledger Checking options in the Account Usage S/L and P/L settings. You can use any Accounts that have been protected by this feature in a Transaction if you set the T (Type) field to "C" or "S". This means that there is no risk you will use the Debtor or Creditor Account accidentally and incorrectly in other Nominal Ledger Transactions, thus rendering their balances inaccurate.

In the case of Transactions generated automatically from Sales and Purchase Invoices, Receipts and Payments, the fields on flip E will contain values if you are using the Cust. Info. on Trans. (in the case of the Sales Ledger) or Supp. Info. on Trans. (Purchase Ledger) options in the Account Usage S/L or P/L settings.

T (Type)
Paste Special    Choices of possible entries
Use this field to specify whether the Transaction row is a debtor or creditor posting. Enter "C" (for "Customer") if you are registering a Receipt or Sales Invoice or "S" (for "Supplier") if you are registering a Payment or Purchase Invoice. The 'Paste Special' lists attached to the Serial No and Company fields will vary, depending on what you have entered here.

You should only use "C" or "S" if the row is a posting to the Debtor or Creditor Accounts. Balancing postings to Sales, Purchase, VAT and Bank/Cash Accounts should carry the default entry of "M". You should also use "M" in all other Transactions.

Ser No
Paste Special    Open, approved Purchase or Sales Invoices
Once you have entered "C" or "S" in the Type field, you must enter a Sales or Purchase Invoice Number here before you can save the Transaction.

Enter an existing Invoice Number to signify the Invoice that you want to be paid off. When you press the Tab or Enter key, its Customer or Supplier Number will appear in the Company field, the appropriate Debtor or Creditor Account will be brought in, and the outstanding amount will be placed in the Credit (Sales Invoice) or Debit (Purchase Invoice) field.

Enter a non-existent number to signify that a new Invoice is to be created.

Due
Paste Special    Choose date
Once you have entered a Sales or Purchase Invoice in the Serial No field, its Due Date will be shown here.

If you are creating a new Invoice, enter a Due Date as appropriate.

Company
Paste Special    Customers or Suppliers in Contact register
Once you have entered a Sales or Purchase Invoice in the Serial No field, its Customer or Supplier will be shown here.

If you are creating a new Invoice, enter a Customer or Supplier as appropriate.

If the Type is "C", the 'Paste Special' list will contain Customers. If the Type is "S", it will contain Suppliers. If the Type is "M", the 'Paste Special' list will not open.
An example Receipt against a Sales Invoice entered using the Transaction screen is shown below (flip E is shown in the illustration).

When you enter "C" or "S" to the Type field and a Sales or Purchase Invoice Number to the Serial Number field, the Debtor or Creditor Account (750 in the illustration above) will be brought in automatically, and the outstanding amount will be placed in the Credit or Debit field as appropriate. If the original Invoice was in a foreign Currency, the outstanding amount will be converted using the Exchange Rate in the Invoice. If the Exchange Rate has changed since the Invoice was raised or received, you can optionally have a new row added automatically to the Transaction, posting the gain or loss to the Rate Gain or Loss Accounts specified in the Rate Gain/Loss setting. If you would like to make use of this option, check the Calculate Rate Differences box in the Transaction Settings setting.

An example creation of a Sales Invoice is shown below (again, flip E is shown in the illustration).

If a company is both a Customer and Supplier, you can use Flip E to set their Sales and Purchase Invoices against each other (contra transactions). If the values of the Sales and Purchase Invoices are not the same, the Invoice with the lower amount will be fully paid off, while the other will be partially paid off, so it will continue to be treated as open. In the example shown below, a Sales Invoice issued to Customer 001 has been set against a Purchase Invoice received from Supplier 504:

Flip F
Corr
If you are using the Check Corresponding A/C Rules option in the Transaction Settings setting, the Accounts used on each side (debit/credit) of a Transaction will be subject to certain rules (the "Corresponding Account Rules"). These rules mean you should enter Transactions in such a way to show clearly how each individual posting is balanced. You will not be able to save a Transaction that does not comply with these rules.

It can be difficult to establish correspondence in some complex Transactions, where, for example, the first two lines are debit Accounts and there are then several credit lines. So, if you are using this option and you need to enter such a complex Transaction, you must establish correspondence manually using this field. Enter an arbitrary number in the Corr field in each Transaction row. Enter the same number in the rows that correspond to each other.

Corresponding Account Rules are fully explained on the page describing the Transaction Settings setting.
Flip G
You can use the Quantity field when you enter Transactions manually from a list produced by the N/L Transfer - Invoices report in the Sales Ledger. There is an option to show quantities in this report. Typically, you will use this field for Transactions representing Invoices raised in the Job Costing module.

Entering a Transaction - Example

There are several shortcuts that you can use to simplify your work when entering Transactions. You can bring a date into a date field using the Ctrl-Enter key combination (Macintosh users can press ⌘-Enter). If you will be entering Transactions of the same type repeatedly (e.g. salaries), you can automate their entry using Autotransactions. Their use is fully described here.
  1. Ensure you are in the Nominal Ledger and then open the Transactions register by clicking the [Transactions] button in the Master Control panel. Then, click [New] or press Ctrl-N/⌘-N or highlight a Transaction similar to the one you want to enter, and click [Duplicate] in the Button Bar.

    The 'Transaction: New' window is opened, containing an empty Transaction or a duplicate of the highlighted one. The suggested Transaction Number will be the first unused number in the correct journal number series, and the Transaction Date will be the date from the most recently entered Transaction.

  2. Enter and edit the data in the normal way. We will show how to enter the various items with the help of a few examples.

    We assume that you have bought some office material from the local stationery store.

    You have purchased two boxes of copy paper at 12.50 each, a box of pencils for 6.00, and a box of adhesive tape for 3.20. The VAT was 5.22, and the total 39.42. You paid by cheque from the company's current account.

    The Transaction will look like this:

  1. Click [Save] to enter the Transaction in the Nominal Ledger.

    The next Transaction records the purchasing of a new desk. Start by clicking [New]. The stationery Transaction is closed and replaced with an empty record ready for data entry.

    The desk cost 247.00 excluding VAT. You are charged 20.00 for transport, and then of course VAT.

    Here you can try the automatic balancing function, since all crediting is done to the same Account. Enter the three debit postings and continue with row 4 until you are going to enter the amount. The Transaction will look like this:

  1. With the cursor in the Base 1 Credit column, press the Return or Enter key. The correct credit amount to balance the entry will be brought in for you. If you press Return or Enter again, the Transaction will be saved, closed and committed to the Nominal Ledger, and a new, empty, Transaction will be opened. You can use this feature when you need to enter several Transactions quickly in one sitting.

Correcting Transactions

In the program you can easily correct Transactions in a legal manner.

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You may not alter an entry in your Ledger just any way you want to. A correction of a Transaction means that you create a new Transaction, which also cancels the old one. The altered Transaction should be marked that it has been cancelled.


When a Transaction is open for data entry, the Operations menu is available in the menu bar, allowing you to make several types of corrections after the Transaction has been entered.

Assume that you have entered the wrong VAT percentage, and that you find out only after entering the Transaction.

  1. Highlight the Transaction containing the error in the 'Transactions: Browse' window and click [Duplicate].

    This creates a copy of the faulty Transaction. First you want to remove the error.

  2. Select 'Swap Debit & Credit' from the Operations menu. This takes the existing Transaction rows and reverses them (what were Credit amounts become Debits). This action thus cancels out the original, erroneous, Transaction.

  3. Then select 'Correction Mark' from the same menu. This will add a new line where you can enter a cross reference to the Transaction containing the error. Note: do not save the Transaction before selecting 'Correction Mark'.

  1. Enter the journal number of the transaction to be corrected, including the financial year prefix, and then on the following rows make new, correct, entries as in the illustration above. Click [Save] when you have finished.

    The new Transaction is saved, and the old Transaction is marked as corrected automatically, as shown in the following picture:

A second method that you can use to correct mistakes emulates that used in manual ledgers, where errors are often corrected or eliminated by striking a line (sometimes in red ink) across the entry. A note is made with the initials of the accountant, and a corrected entry is made with the next unused journal number.
  1. In the 'Transactions: Browse' window, find and double-click the old Transaction you want to change. Select 'Update Mark' from the Operations menu. A new line is added in the Transaction, showing your initials and the original date of the Transaction.

  2. You will now want to cancel - draw a (red) line across - the faulty row. Highlight the row by clicking the number to the left of the row. Press the Backspace key to draw the correction line across the row. Then you can enter the correct information. Save in the normal way.

  1. If the error is in the header area of the Transaction (i.e., the Transaction Date is wrong), you can again use the 'Update Mark' function to make the correction. Select the function and change the date as appropriate. There is no need to use the 'Update Mark' function to change the Text or the Reference.
If you are using the Use Preliminary Transactions option (set in Transaction Settings), you can freely modify any Transaction whose Transaction Date falls within a month that has not been closed. There is no need to use the 'Update Mark' or 'Correction Mark' functions in this circumstance, since postings are not considered to be final until the month has been closed. If you attempt to use the 'Update Mark' function in a preliminary Transaction, pressing the Backspace key will not draw the correction line across the selected row but instead will remove the row altogether. To close a month, use the Locking setting in the System module.

If you discover an error in a Transaction that falls within a closed month, you cannot correct it using 'Update Mark'. This is because 'Update Mark' modifies the Transaction and attempts to save it using the original Transaction Date. This falls in a period when modifications are not permitted. Therefore, the only way you can correct such a Transaction is by using the 'Correction Mark' function to create a new, correcting, Transaction whose Transaction Date must fall within an open month.

Operations Menu

When a Transaction is open in a record window, the Operations menu is available. The menu has eight commands.

Operations Menu - Balance Transaction

If the insertion point is in one of the Transaction rows, selecting this command changes the Debit or Credit value in that row, so that the Transaction balances. This is particularly practical when you have made an error of the amount in just one line.

An alternative to selecting this function is to place the insertion point in the Credit field of the last row and press the Return or Enter key.

Operations Menu - Swap Debit & Credit

This command swaps the entries of a Transaction, transferring all Debit values to the Credit column and all Credit values to the Debit column.

This is useful when you wish to cancel a Transaction with an opposing correction Transaction. To do this, find the erroneous Transaction in the 'Transactions: Browse' window, highlight it and click [Duplicate]. A copy of the Transaction is opened. Select this function and save by clicking [Save]. The erroneous Transaction is now cancelled. Full details are contained on the 'Correcting Transactions' page.

Operations Menu - Update Mark

In the case of a Transaction that contains an error, use this command to insert a special update mark allowing you to record a signature before entering the correct posting on the Transaction. Full details are contained on the 'Correcting Transactions' page.

Operations Menu - Correction Mark

When you use a correction Transaction to correct a Transaction, use this command to enter the number of the cancelled Transaction. The cancelled Transaction will also gain a cross-reference to the correction Transaction. Full details are contained on the 'Correcting Transactions' page.

Operations Menu - Calculate Field

Please click here for full details of this function.

Operations Menu - Change Sign

This function changes the sign (negative to positive, positive to negative) of all Debit and Credit amounts in the Transaction.

Operations Menu - Open Subsystem Record

If the Transaction was created automatically when you approved and saved a Sub Systems record (e.g. an Invoice or Purchase Invoice), you can use this function to open that Sub System record in a new window.

Operations Menu - Update Currency Rates

Please click here for full details of this function.

Create Menu - Transactions

The Create menus for Transactions are shown above. On the left is the Create menu for the 'Transactions: Browse' window. On the right is the Create menu for the 'Transaction: New' and 'Transaction: Inspect' windows. If you are using iOS or Android, you can access the Create menu functions through the + menu.

'New' and 'Duplicate' are standard functions that are provided on every Create and + menu. Use these functions to create new records, in this case in the Transaction register. Please follow the link below for details about the single function on the Create menu:

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The Transaction register in Standard ERP:

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Create Menu - Transaction - Add Account

This page describes the 'Add Account' function on the Create menu in the Transaction record window. If you are using iOS or Android, the Add Account' function is on the + menu.

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The 'Add Account' function provides an easy way of creating a new Account record while looking at a Transaction. When you select the function from the Create menu (Windows/Mac OSX) or + menu (iOS/Android), the 'Account: New' window will be opened immediately. Enter the details of the new Account and click [Save] (Windows/macOS) or tap √ (iOS/Android). Please refer here for full details about the Account register.

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The Transaction register in Standard ERP:

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