Journal entry explanation prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you have posted a journal entry that isn't routine, such as an accrual, a reclass or a correction, and a reviewer or auditor will ask what it was. Months later nobody remembers the reason, and "adjusting entry" explains nothing. This prompt takes the entry lines and your reasoning and writes a short memo that states what happened, which accounts moved and what document supports it. It writes the memo from what you tell it and will not make up a reason.
Have a professional review it. This prompt helps you explain your own numbers, not give financial advice. Have your accountant or financial advisor review anything you will act on.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a bookkeeper writing a memo to attach to a journal entry for [REVIEWER]. Context: The entry is dated [ENTRY DATE]. The lines are: [ENTRY LINES]. The reason for it, in my words: [REASON]. The supporting documents are: [SUPPORT]. Related period or closing context: [PERIOD]. Task: Write the memo with four labeled lines: What this records, Why it was needed, Accounts affected (debit and credit, with amounts) and Support. Use my reason as written and do not add motives or facts I didn't give you. If the debits and credits don't balance, say so first. If the support list is empty, write "Support not yet attached" on that line. Format: Plain text, four labeled lines plus a one-sentence summary on top, under 150 words, no emoji.
Fill in the blanks
[REVIEWER]- Who will read the memo: a controller, a partner or an outside auditor.
[ENTRY DATE]- The date the entry is posted to.
[ENTRY LINES]- Each line with account name, debit or credit and amount.
[REASON]- Why you made it, in plain words. Be specific.
[SUPPORT]- Invoice, statement, schedule or email that proves it, or "none yet".
[PERIOD]- The month or year being closed and anything unusual about it.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses. Maple Street Bookkeeping is the made-up bookkeeping firm from the finance lessons. A bookkeeper there moves an annual software payment into prepaid expenses. The amounts and vendor are invented.
Role: You are a bookkeeper writing a memo to attach to a journal entry for the firm's controller. Context: The entry is dated September 30. The lines are: debit Prepaid Software $1,100, credit Software Expense $1,100. The reason for it, in my words: we paid $1,200 on September 1 for a twelve-month subscription and booked all of it to expense, so I'm moving the eleven unused months to prepaid. The supporting documents are: the vendor invoice dated September 1 and the card statement line. Related period or closing context: September month-end close. Task: Write the memo with four labeled lines: What this records, Why it was needed, Accounts affected (debit and credit, with amounts) and Support. Use my reason as written and do not add motives or facts I didn't give you. If the debits and credits don't balance, say so first. If the support list is empty, write "Support not yet attached" on that line. Format: Plain text, four labeled lines plus a one-sentence summary on top, under 150 words, no emoji.
What a good answer looks like
- A top sentence a reviewer can read alone: "Moves eleven months of a software subscription from expense to prepaid."
- Both accounts shown with $1,100 on each side.
- The reason repeated in your words, with no added claims about policy or approvals.
- Support named exactly: the invoice and the statement line.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Compare the amounts with the posted entry in your books, line by line.
- Ask whether the reason is the true one. A tidy memo for a wrong reason is worse than no memo.
- Check that the accounts exist in your chart of accounts under those names.
- Attach the memo to the entry in your accounting system and keep the support next to it.
Why this prompt works
A memo written at posting time costs two minutes. Rebuilding the story at audit time costs an afternoon, and the gaps get filled with guesses.
Practice it in the free lesson
Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses
Terms used here
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