What are journal transactions and how to enter them in Wave

The Transactions page is only available in the web browser version of Wave. To view the Transactions page, first log in to your Wave account at waveapps.com.

 

Most transactions in a business occur when money changes hands, or will change hands. A journal transaction, also called a journal entry, is different; it's used to enter business activity that doesn't involve money changing hands. Examples of common journal entries include:

Add a journal transaction

  1. On the left navigation menu, click Accounting > Transactions.
  2. Click More at the top right, then select Add journal transaction.
  3. Enter a date and description.
  4. Under the Debit and Credit columns, enter the amounts, and select the accounts you want to debit or credit.
  5. Click Add line to add additional lines to your journal transaction.
  6. Once you’re done creating the journal transaction, click Save.

Every journal transaction needs to balance, or in other words, the debits and credits have to total to the same amount. In modern accounting, or double-entry accounting, every debit must have a matching credit, and vice versa. If you create a journal transaction that doesn't balance, you'll get a warning message, and you won't be able to save it. Both sides are created automatically in Wave for all other types of transactions.

Your journal transaction will also appear as one transaction on the Transactions page, even though there are multiple lines within the transaction.

To upload journal transactions in bulk, use Wave’s google sheets integration, Wave Connect.