Free template
Journal entry template
A one-page journal entry form for Excel: who prepared it, what it's for, the support behind it, and the lines to post. It totals debits and credits and flags the entry if they don't agree.
Download the template
Download the journal entry template .xlsx
What’s in the workbook
- Header: entry number, date, period, description, supporting documents, preparer and reviewer
- Up to 12 lines: account number, account name, line description, debit and credit
- Totals with a difference check that turns red when the entry is out of balance
Blue cells are inputs. Formulas recalculate in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. The sample data below is already filled in so you can see how it works; replace it with your own.
What the sample looks like
- Entry number
- JE-0142
- Entry date
- 2026-10-31
- Period
- October 2026
- Description
- Accrue October wages and employer payroll taxes paid in November
- Supporting documents
- Payroll register for Oct 26-31; timesheets
| Account no. | Account name | Line description | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6100 | Wages expense | Wages earned Oct 26-31, paid Nov 7 | 12,500.00 | – |
| 6150 | Payroll tax expense | Employer FICA at 7.65% on accrued wages | 956.25 | – |
| 2110 | Accrued payroll | Wages earned Oct 26-31 | – | 12,500.00 |
| 2120 | Accrued payroll taxes | Employer FICA on accrued wages | – | 956.25 |
| Totals | 13,456.25 | 13,456.25 |
How to fill it in
Number and date the entry
Use your next entry number and the date the entry belongs to, usually the last day of the period for an accrual or adjustment.
Say why, in one sentence
A reviewer should understand the entry from the description alone: what happened, and why it belongs in this period.
List the support
Name the document that backs each amount: an invoice, a payroll register, a schedule or a calculation. Attach or link it.
Enter the lines
One account per line, with debits and credits in their own columns. The totals must agree before the entry is posted.
Get it reviewed
Someone other than the preparer checks the accounts, amounts and support, and signs off before posting.
What makes a journal entry hold up
- Balanced
- Total debits equal total credits. The template's difference cell has to read zero.
- Supported
- Each amount traces to a document someone else can check.
- In the right period
- An October expense paid in November is accrued in October, as in the sample entry.
- Reviewed
- Preparer and reviewer are different people. Auditors test manual entries because that is where errors and fraud can get in.
- Reversed when it should be
- Accruals like the sample usually reverse on the first day of the next period, so the actual payment isn't recorded twice.
Entries flow into the general ledger, and the ledger's balances make up the trial balance. For the month-end entries most businesses make, see the month-end close checklist.
Journal entry template: questions
- What is a journal entry?
- A record of a transaction or adjustment in the books, showing the accounts affected and the amounts debited and credited. Each journal entry has at least one debit and one credit, and the two sides must be equal.
- What's the difference between a journal entry and a ledger?
- The journal records each entry in date order. The general ledger sorts the same amounts by account, so you can see each account's activity and balance. Posting moves the entry's lines into the ledger accounts.
- What are adjusting entries?
- Entries made at the end of a period to record revenue earned and expenses incurred that haven't been recorded yet, such as accrued wages, prepaid expenses used up, and depreciation.
- Should accrual entries reverse?
- Many accruals are set to reverse on the first day of the next period. When the real invoice or payroll is recorded, the reversal offsets it, so the expense isn't counted twice.