Section 5, Page 1
Revised 15/Nov/10
5.
Journal Voucher – General Information
Overview
Goal
The goal of this section is to provide UniFi users with the knowledge to
prepare and successfully submit Journal Vouchers
Content
•
•
•
•
•
Purposes of Journal Vouchers
Important Features of Journal Vouchers
Journal Types
Use of Debits and Credits
Tips for Preparing Journal Vouchers in UniFi
Purposes of Journal Vouchers
Journal Vouchers are a common transaction prepared in all University units and are
used to initiate a variety of accounting transactions:
• Transfer Funding for projects or initiatives
• Make corrections to previously recorded transactions
• Move expenditures or revenues between CFOAPALs
• To record sales of services and products to other University units
• To record sales of services and products to external customers of the University on
Accounts Receivable
• Journal vouchers are not used to transfer salaries and/or benefits. Instead an
“About US - Journal Voucher” form should be used. See the FSD’s Form & Guideline
page for more information on Journal Voucher –About Us:
http://www.usask.ca/fsd/resources/forms/index.php
Important Features of Journal Vouchers
When preparing journal vouchers, there are a number of pieces of information that are
important in preparing a complete transaction:
• The transaction date will determine the accounting period that the transaction is
recorded to. It is only possible to record transactions to open accounting periods
• Descriptions are important to identify the nature of the transaction and to provide
reference to any document numbers that are being corrected or adjusted
• When correcting entries ensure the CFOAPAL used for the original transaction is
known
• Identify the journal type that is appropriate for the transaction you wish to process
For assistance: phone 966-8783 or email unifisupport@usask.ca
Section 5, Page 2
Revised 15-Nov-10
Journal Types
Depending on the nature of the transaction being recorded there are different journal
types that should be used to identify the nature of the Journal Voucher. Journal types
that can be used and a description of their purpose is identified below:
Journal Type
UniFi Plus
Self Service
JV1
JS1
JV2
JV3
JV4
Purpose of Journal Type
•
Record corrections of previous transactions. This includes
moving expenditures or revenues between CFOAPALs
•
Record sales of services or products to external customers of
the University on Accounts Receivable
•
Record the sale of services and products to other University
units. These transactions should always be recording the credit
to Internal Cost Recoveries (accounts 78001 - 78003)
•
Transfer or provide funding for programs or initiatives. These
transactions must use accounts in the 80000 range on both
the debit and the credit
•
Record transactions between the University in Chart 1 and
non-University entities recorded in Chart 2
JS2
JS3
JS4
For assistance: phone 966-8783 or email unifisupport@usask.ca
Revised 15/Nov/10
Section 5, Page 3
Use of Debits and Credits
In UniFi most transactions relate to the recording of revenues and expenditures within
a particular Fund. As a result, journal vouchers are often created to record the
movement or correction of revenues and expenditures between CFOAPALs.
To assist you in preparing journal vouchers, below are identified common accounting
transactions and the appropriate use of debits and credits
Recording a charge or expenditure
• When a charge is originally recorded to a CFOAPAL, it is recorded as a debit
• To correct or move a charge, a credit should be recorded to the same CFOAPAL as
the original charge, with the new CFOAPAL recording the charge as a debit
Recording revenue
• When recording revenue to a CFOAPAL the revenue is recorded as a credit
• To correct or move the revenue, a debit should be recorded to the same CFOAPAL as
the original revenue, with the new CFOAPAL recording the revenue as a credit
• Revenue resulting from sales to University units should be recorded to account 78001
or 78002
• Revenue resulting from sales to non-University customers will normally be recorded
as account 56001 or 56002
Recording transfers of funding
• If funding is being transferred between two Funds, Organizations or Programs, the
CFOAPAL the funding is transferred from should record the debit with the CFOAPAL
receiving the funding recording the transfer as a credit
• Transfers of funding must be recorded using account codes 80001 – 80006
For assistance: phone 966-8783 or email unifisupport@usask.ca
Section 5, Page 4
Revised 15-Nov-10
The job aid* below provides a quick summary to assist in determining whether to use a
Debit or a Credit when preparing transactions. First, identify the account code you are
using, then decide whether you want to increase that account or decrease it.
Assets
Liabilities
Revenue
Expense
Accounts
1XXXX
2XXXX
5XXXX
7XXXX
Increase
Debit
Credit
Credit
Debit
Decrease
Credit
Debit
Debit
Credit
To move transactions involving Salaries and Benefits (Accounts 6XXXX), use a
About-Us Journal Voucher instead of a regular JV form. See page 1 – Purposes of
Journal Vouchers.
For determining whether a transfer is a Debit or a Credit, determine which fund the
money is being transferred from and which fund it is being transferred to.
Accounts
Transfers
8XXXX
Transfer Funding
From
Debit
Transfer Funding
To
Credit
*Job aid courtesy of Introduction to Accounting
For assistance: phone 966-8783 or email unifisupport@usask.ca
Revised 15/Nov/10
Section 5, Page 5
Tips for Preparing Journal Vouchers in UniFi
• All journal vouchers are reviewed and approved prior to posting. If there are any
errors in your journal voucher or if there are questions about the transaction, Financial
Reporting will contact you.
• If you are correcting or transferring a previous transaction, ensure you include the
original document number in the description
• The Document Total of a journal voucher is equal to the sum of all of the amounts,
regardless of whether they are debits or credits.
• A journal voucher cannot be posted if the sum of the debit amounts does not equal
the sum of the credit amounts.
• Budget periods are not necessary for journal voucher transactions and can be
ignored.
• Journal Types JS1 - JS4 will use “+” and “-” as Debit and Credit
• Journal Types JV1 - JV4 will use “D” and “C” as Debit and Credit
Self Service UniFi
• Debits are identified by a plus (+) and credits by a minus (-)
• Only press the complete button once. If you receive an error - you can confirm
whether your voucher was submitted by using the View Document option to search
for journal vouchers you have prepared.
UniFi Plus
• Documents can be left In Process rather than being completed. However you must
ensure that the Transaction Date is within an open month
• UniFi Plus will allow you to use a Self Service Journal Type (JS1 - JS4). If you are
using a Self Service Journal Type in UniFi Plus, you must use “+” and “-” otherwise all
UniFi Plus Journal Types require the use of “D” and “C” to identify debits and credits
• Document text can be added to journal vouchers prepared in UniFi Plus. This feature
is available when you are in the journal voucher header by selecting Document Text
[FOATEXT] from the Options pull-down menu
For assistance: phone 966-8783 or email unifisupport@usask.ca