A journal entry handles adjustments that don’t fit deposit or paid-expense flows — bank fees, interest, transfers between your own financial accounts, and category reclassifications. Open it from the register via New entry → Transfer / Journal entry.
Simple Entries
The Simple tab is “From: account → To: account, amount. It covers the common cases without making you think in credits and debits.
| You want to record | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| A bank fee | Checking | Bank Fees |
| Interest income | Interest Income | Checking |
| Transfer between your accounts | Checking | Savings |
| Reclassify spending | Office Supplies | Office Equipment |
| Refund of an expense (cash came back) | Bank Fees | Checking |
The Simple tab lets you mix financial accounts and budget categories on either side.
The Detailed tab is a traditional credit/debit accounting journal entry. This is what you might find in software like Quickbooks. Use this if you’re splitting a source between two destinations or have other complex entries.
| Account | Credit | Debit |
|---|---|---|
| Checking | $50 | |
| Carnival Income | $50 |
Reclassifications work without a financial account involved
A journal entry that moves money between two budget categories (no financial account on either side) is allowed and useful — typical case: you posted spending against the wrong category and want to move it. Other entry kinds (deposits, expense payments) always touch a financial account, but journal entries are the exception.
Transfers between financial accounts
Moving money between two of your own financial accounts is just a journal entry with both ends set to financial accounts (e.g., Checking → Savings). It won’t touch any category’s “Actual” — it’s just cash rearrangement — so it stays out of budget-to-actual comparisons.
If your bank charges a fee on the transfer, record it as a separate journal entry against your “Bank Fees” category. Two entries keep the principal traceable and the fee allocated.