# What is a journal entry in accounting? > A journal entry is the basic record of one accounting transaction, with debits equal to credits. What it contains and when a bookkeeper writes one by hand. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/journal-entry · Updated 2026-10-02 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Business](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary#topic-business) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) Quick answer A journal entry is the basic accounting record of a single transaction: a date, the accounts affected, a debit and credit for each, and a short description. Total debits always equal total credits, which is how the books stay in balance. Last updated October 2, 2026 Updated October 2, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) ## Why it matters for a small business Most journal entries are created for you. When you pay a bill in accounting software, the program writes the entry behind the scenes. Bookkeepers write them by hand for things the software can't see: correcting a mistake, recording depreciation, moving a charge between accounts or booking a loan. Reading an entry is a useful skill even if you never write one. Each line says which account changed and by how much, so you can follow what happened to the business. A clear description on every entry turns an audit or a question from your accountant into a five-minute conversation instead of a week of digging. ## In a real lesson: Turn a Client Meeting into Action Items and a Follow-Up Email (Accounting Firms) The [Summarize a Client Meeting lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-client-meeting-recap-accounting-firm) includes a moment where a journal entry will eventually be needed. In the transcript, the bookkeeper tells the client, Cedar Lane Landscaping, a made-up customer of Millbrook Accounting, that its thirty-eight thousand dollar truck will be set up as equipment with a loan against it, not as an expense. She also asks the client's contact to send the purchase agreement and loan paperwork. Those documents are what a bookkeeper would use to write the entry, since they show the date, price and loan terms. How to depreciate the truck is deferred to the year-end planning meeting. The lesson itself never shows a journal entry. Its job is to turn the transcript into a summary, a table of action items and a follow-up email. The truck is simply the moment in the conversation where a manual entry becomes necessary, and the paperwork request is the supporting-documents habit that goes with it. [Try this lesson free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/accounting-meeting-summary) or [read the step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-client-meeting-recap-accounting-firm). ## Common confusions ### Journal entry vs general ledger The entry is one transaction. The [general ledger](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/general-ledger) collects the effects of every entry by account. Entries go in, ledger balances come out. ### Debit vs "money out" A debit is not automatically a decrease. Depending on the account, a debit can raise or lower the balance. Learn the rule for each account type instead of guessing from the bank's use of the word. ## Tips - Attach the source document to every manual entry, or note where it lives. - Write the description for someone who has never seen the transaction. Future you counts. - Let AI draft an explanation of an entry if you like, but have an accountant confirm the accounts and amounts. ## Related terms [General ledger](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/general-ledger) · [Chart of accounts](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/chart-of-accounts) · [Fixed asset](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/fixed-asset) · [Accrual accounting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/accrual-accounting) · [Audit trail](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/audit-trail) · [Prepaid expense](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/prepaid-expense) ## More Business terms [Kickoff meeting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/kickoff-meeting) · [KPI (key performance indicator)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/kpi) · [Landing page](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/landing-page) · [Late fee](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/late-fee) ## Where you use it: free lessons - [Turn a Client Meeting into Action Items and a Follow-Up Email (Accounting Firms)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-client-meeting-recap-accounting-firm) (ChatGPT, 9 min) - [Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-ai-agent-categorize-business-expenses-google-sheets) (n8n, 12 min) ## Frequently asked questions **Why do debits have to equal credits?** Every transaction has two sides, such as an asset and the loan used to buy it. Matching totals is the built-in check that nothing was recorded one-sided. **Can I fix a mistake by deleting an entry?** Usually it is better to post a correcting entry so the history stays visible. Your accountant can tell you how your software and your period locks work. [All AI glossary terms, A to Z](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary) · [Free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts)