View the Transaction Journal report in QuickBooks Desktop

The Transaction Journal Report shows debits and credits for each transaction and provides a more focused view of amounts and accounts not visible from the transaction itself.

Purpose of the Transaction Journal report

• It was created for accountants but anyone familiar with dual-entry accounting can use it for calculations, advanced insight or auditing purposes.
• It can be used as a tool to identify transactions that have gone out of balance.
• It can assist in identifying odd entries for accounts on other reports.

How to access and use the Transaction Journal

The Transaction Journal can be accessed in various ways depending on the transaction type. At least one option will always be applicable.

With the transaction (invoice, sales receipt, etc.) screen open, use any of the following methods:

• Go to the transaction toolbar, select Reports, then select Transaction Journal.
• Select QuickBooks Reports menu, then select Transaction Journal.
• For Windows, on the keyboard, press Ctrl+Y.
• For Mac, on the keyboard, press Cmd+T.

Here are some of the things you need to remember when using and reading the transaction journal.

• Accrual only: The report displays as accrual to show the total value of each post to the accounts.
• Current form: The Transaction Journal will only display information for the current transaction form, regardless of filter or dates.
• Customizable: Just like any other detail report, the Transaction Journal can be customized. Columns and filters can be added or removed.
• Sort order: The Transaction Journal report cannot be sorted, it will automatically display in the order of entry to the transaction.
• Source & Targets: The top line of the Transaction Journal is the source line; each entry below is the target.
• Non-posting: Non-posting transactions (sales orders, estimates, purchase orders) will display debits and credits relative to each account as if it were a posting entry.

Sample scenarios

• On an Invoice, the Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory Asset accounts appear for a specific item.
  • This is an expected functionality for inventory parts used on an invoice.
  • Situations where multiple asset accounts appear can be attributed to multiple items with different asset accounts.
• On a transaction receiving inventory, the Inventory Asset and Cost of Goods Sold accounts appear in the Transaction Journal.
  • This can occur when the item these entries occur for has a negative quantity on hand. This is due to QuickBooks creating an adjustment to correct for losses when the inventory was in negative quantity.
• On a Bill Credit, for a return cost at less than the average cost, there is an entry for the Cost of Goods Sold.
  • This is due to QuickBooks creating entries to track the loss on the background of the credit.