In my copy of GnC it is called "General Journal". My wife, the accountant of the family, agrees that the correct terminology is "Journal".
Yes, especially if only one (of each) just "journal" and "ledger". BUT there usually was not just one of each, hence "general" for the all encompassing ones)
Why more than one of each? A little history. Let's go back a century or two, imagining how a general merchandise business might have operated. Out front, a desk with a cashier. All through the day, customers come in making purchases. So the cashier is recording "cash" and "sales" << also recording what sold, but lets ignore that for now >>
This COULD first be in a journal and then posted to a mini-ledger with just "cash" and "sales". But this is a good example where more likely "cashbook accounting", no journal, transaction entered directly in the ledger (like we do with gnucash when the transaction has only two accounts.
At the end of the day, the cashier totals the columns. Then verifies the amount in the cash box matches what it should be (reconciles). Then removes from the box the amount of cash being sent to back room and enters that transaction and closes sales for the day sending that number to the back room along with the cash.
In the back room, the bookkeeper enters one transaction to debit the cash going into the safe and credit sales for the days total into the "general journal" and posts that to the "general ledger"
<< I am ignoring that PROBABLY the cashier starts each day with an amount in the cash box so as to be able to make change, and might during the day have to ask the back room for more change. >>
In other words, all the tiny details of each sale during the day NOT entered in the "general ledger". If the back office wants an answer to "did X come in to buy those widgets he asked us to stock for him?" they don't look in the general journal but in the cashier's records.
Michael D Novack _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
