Remember - it is beyond the scope of this manual to teach accounting and accounting methods...
Accrual or Cash Basis
Cash basis accounting is when nothing is recorded - goes on the books - until money has changed hands. With Cash accounting, there are no receivables or payables, only received and paid items.
If using accrual accounting, all items are recorded as they happen. You will have receivables, payables, as well as received and paid entries. If you do not have an overwhelming need for accrual accounting, do not do it. Accrual accounting will make things more complicated without any real improvement in accuracy.
Transaction
All "entries" are a transaction of some sort.
All amounts have two entries - visible or not - one positive and one negative. If you have income from sales, you will be increasing your bank account with a positive entry. The other entry will be a negative entry to the income account. The entries should be for the same amount, one positive, one negative - where the money came from, and where it went to. An expense will lower your bank account, so there will be a negative entry to your bank account, and a positive entry to an expense account.
Journal Entry
Journal Entry - One of the transaction entry screens. Journal entries are usually items which are not a check or deposit. Examples are adjustments and inventory entries.
Journal entries are to be made in the "double entry" style. For example, if there was a deposit error made, and you need to increase your bank balance by $100, and your sales by $100
Adjustment to Bank 103 100.00 (Bank Acct)
Adjustment to Bank 511 -100.00 (Sales)
The Journal Entry screen is similar in operation to the Transaction Screen in the older Medlin General Ledger software.
Check and Deposit Entry
On this screen, you DO NOT have to make double entries. Items posted here are one sided, and posted to accounts "other" than your bank account. This screen is similar in operation to the Checks and Deposits entry screen in the older Medlin Accounts Payable software. On this screen, deposits are normally a negative entry to one of your income accounts, and a check is normally a positive entry to one of your expense accounts.
Invoice
Items you have not yet paid.
Paid Invoice
In Medlin Accounting, all invoices become "checks" when paid.