Deleting and editing journal entries

Although the rule of thumb when it comes to bookkeeping is that you should not delete individual journal entries, the latest findings are that it’s acceptable to have the latest journal entry as preliminary. Consequently, in Bokio you can completely remove a journal entry within 30 days if it has been entered by you and it is the most recently entered journal entry. You can do this by clicking “Remove” on the journal entry on the “Journal” page.

If the journal entry is the last to be recorded by you, you will be given the option to remove it completely. Click if you want to remove the journal entry. If not, the journal entry will be cancelled instead.

If documentation has been uploaded for the journal entry, this will be found under “To do” once the entry has been deleted. To remove the documentation completely, click on it in “To do” and then “Remove” in the top-right corner.

If the journal entry is not the last to be recorded by you

If the journal entry can’t be deleted completely, it can instead be cancelled by creating a “annulment journal entry”. If you click “Remove” we’ll display an explanation of what will actually happen. The first journal entry will be removed, but the history will be left complete which is better from a legal perspective.

Some bookkeeping programs make corrections to the journal entry itself, but we do it this way as we think it makes it easier to follow the bookkeeping records, especially for those who aren’t quite so familiar with bookkeeping.

Editing journal entries

Click “Edit” to cancel a journal entry and create a new one with a correction. This will give you the option to have the journal entry look as you want it to. The first journal entry will be cancelled, and then a new one will be created with the changes you’ve made.

If you want to see the old journal entry from here, click “VXX” in the title. When you’re done with your changes, click “Continue” to see a preview of the journal entry that will be generated.

Although it looks like you’re editing the entry, we’ll make sure your history is correct by retaining the original and reversing it. In this case, V26 will be cancelled by V27, and the new journal entry will be V28. If documentation was uploaded for the original entry, this will be included with the new edited entry.

In the bookkeeping list, these “inactive” journal entries will be hidden, but you can display them by clicking “Show inactive”.