A journal is the chronological record of an entity’s financial transactions. Each entry in the journal — a journal entry — records the date, the accounts affected, the debit and credit amounts, and a brief description of the transaction. The journal is sometimes called the “book of original entry” because transactions are recorded here first, before being posted to the ledger.
A journal entry follows a standard format:
| Date | Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-06 | Equipment | $5,000 | |
| Cash | $5,000 | ||
| Purchased equipment for cash |
The debited account is listed first, the credited account is indented below it, and the description follows in italics. When a transaction affects more than two accounts — a compound entry — all debits are listed before all credits, and the total debits still equal the total credits.
In practice, most entities maintain several specialized journals (sales journal, purchases journal, cash receipts journal, cash disbursements journal) alongside a general journal for transactions that don’t fit the specialized ones. The specialization reduces repetition and makes it easier to track high-volume transaction types.
Related terms
- Ledger — the record organized by account, to which journal entries are posted
- Account — the classification that journal entries record against
- Double-entry bookkeeping — the system that structures journal entries as equal debits and credits