Journal Entries are the part of bookkeeping people put off. Not because they are difficult, but because they mean stopping what you are doing, remembering which account is which, and getting the debits and credits the right way round.
You can talk them instead. Say what happened in plain words, and AI Assist drafts the entry — accounts chosen, sides balanced — for you to check and post.
You say:
“I paid four hundred and twelve dollars for insurance from the business account on the third.”
It comes back as a drafted Journal Entry: insurance expense debited, the bank account credited, dated the third, four hundred and twelve dollars, balanced. You read it, change anything that is wrong, and post it.
What you did not do is open the Chart of Accounts, work out which side insurance goes on, or check that the entry balances before it would let you save.
The lightning-bolt button, on any page. You do not need to be on the Accounting screen first.
Describe the transaction the way you would describe it to your Bookkeeper. Amount, what it was for, which account the money moved through, and the date.
All four matter. If you leave the date out it will assume today, which is usually right and occasionally very wrong.
Check three things: the accounts it chose, the direction, and the amount. The direction is the one worth a second look if the transaction is unusual.
Change the account, the date or the figure directly in the form. Corrections are how it learns what your account names mean in practice.
Now it is in your books. Until you press post, it is a draft and nothing has moved.
These work:
These do not work as well:
Say the account names you actually use. If your Chart of Accounts calls it “Vehicle & Fuel”, say vehicle or fuel rather than motoring.
Do it while you remember. The value of dictation is that the entry gets made at all. An entry you meant to do on Friday is worth less than a slightly rough one made on Tuesday.
Always say the date for anything not today. The single most common correction people make.
Check the direction on unusual entries. Routine expenses are reliable. Loans, transfers between entities and anything involving equity are worth reading twice.
Do not use it to learn double entry. It is a faster route for someone who knows what the entry should be, not a substitute for knowing. If you are unsure, ask your Accountant — they can have their own login.
A posted Journal Entry is in the General Ledger immediately. It shows on your Financial Statements, it appears in Bank Reconciliation if it touches a bank account, and it is there at Year End with nothing to reconstruct.
That is the reason dictating entries is worth anything. The words become real bookkeeping, not a note about bookkeeping you still have to do.
It picked the wrong account. Change it in the form. Using your own account names when you speak is the fix that sticks.
The entry does not balance. It will not let you post an unbalanced entry. Usually one line is missing an amount.
It used today's date. That is the default when you do not say one. Change it before posting.
I posted it wrong. Reverse it rather than editing history — there is a reverse option on posted entries, and reversing is what your Accountant will want to see.
It could not work out which entity. If you run more than one Business Entity, say which one.
The amount is out by a decimal. Say “four hundred and twelve dollars” rather than “four twelve”.
For anything beyond routine expenses, yes. The assistant is faster than the form; it is not a replacement for knowing what the entry should be.
No. It drafts, you post. Nothing reaches the ledger without you.
Say which one. If you do not, it will ask rather than guess.
Say the transaction includes tax and it will split it. Check the split before posting, especially on anything partly exempt.
Yes, if their permissions include Accounting. It is often more useful to them than to you.
No. Once posted it is an ordinary Journal Entry, indistinguishable from a typed one.
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