my year ended in august of 2018 for quickbooks pro desktop, I need to change journal entries and now I need to enter new entries for 2019 how do i do that

Hello, sarbie.

We all start at the beginning, and I'm here to help you start your 2019 records.

You'll want to edit the journal entries you want to change, then close your books. You don't have to create a new company file for the 2019 records (if you haven't created another one). You can simply continue on the current file. I'll be explaining these steps, but before that, a quick overview on the journal entries. 

We don't entirely recommend using journal entries to record your transactions due to their complexity. The amount in your books might not be correct, and the posting transactions might not be recorded properly. We suggest using the regular processes when recording the transactions. The general rule of the thumb is to record them as they happen in real life. For example, if your customer paid on the spot, then you would want to use a sales receipt.  

With that out of the way, here's how you can pull up the journal entries and edit them:

1. Click the Company menu, then choose Make Journal Entries.
2. Hit the Show List button (if the list doesn't show up at the bottom).
3. Browse and select the journal entries you want to edit. 
4. Adjust the dates under the List of Selected General Journal Entries.
5. Once done, click Save & Close.

When you're done editing them, you can close your books to avoid making unneeded changes in your 2018 records. Before doing this, you'll want to set up a fiscal year in your company file if you haven't done it already. Here's how:

1. Go to the Company menu again. 
2. Click the Pencil icon on the Company Information section.
3. Choose Report Information.
4. Change the Fiscal Year or the Tax Year. 
5. Once done, hit OK. 

You can go ahead and close your books. You can check this article for more details and steps: Close your books in QuickBooks Desktop.

You're now ready to enter your 2019 financial records. You can easily do this by recording income and expenses. You can check these articles for the steps:

• Sales and customers
• Expenses and vendors

These are our suggestions, but you can still use journal entries for the 2019 records. We recommend consulting an accounting professional to ensure your records are accurate with journal entries. 

If you'd like to dive deeper into other features in QuickBooks Desktop, you can check our general articles page here. 

The Community portal is open around the clock. Please don't hesitate to ask questions here.