Journal Entry - GL Codes

The ability to add General Ledger (GL) codes to your Journal Entry reports without having to leave BambooHR is here and we are so excited to share it with you! Managing your codes independently will save you time with data entry, increase accuracy in payroll recording, and allow flexibility in storing multiple sets of GL codes… a lifesaver when it comes to company restructures or changing accounting software. Let's get started!

Journal Entry in Settings

Where does the magic live? You can manage GL Codes by navigating to Settings > Payroll > Journal Entry. If you have multiple payroll accounts, select the EIN you want to work with. The initial setup page will look like the following:

Once you have successfully added/saved your GL Codes to the first report, you will return to the Journal Entry page in Settings. A table will display with the updated reports. You can perform the following actions on this page:

• Add GL Codes to another report: To add another report, click the gear dropdown and select Add Another Report Configuration. You will then go through the process of adding GL codes to the new report. Once you are done, the report will appear in this table.
• Download file: Hover over the report and click the download icon, to download the GL Code file. This file will include all the plausible rows within the report and any GL Codes that were entered and saved. This is a great tool for you to double-check that each memo is filled out and entered correctly.
• Edit: Click the pen icon to edit the GL Codes within the report. The Add General Ledger Code page will appear. The rows that don’t have a GL Code will populate in a sub-table called “Needs Attention” at the top to help you easily identify the new memos. Search and filter will also be available while editing.
• If there are missing GL Codes within a report, there will be a caution icon next to the Ledger Codes count in the main table.

GL Codes Initial Setup

To create your GL codes, start by selecting the Journal Entry report you want the codes to populate within on the initial setup page. The options available match the Journal Entry report options found within Payroll Reports and include:

• Summary (No Segmentation)
• Segmented by Division
• Segmented by Department

After selecting the report type, the Preview Report link is available for you to verify you are working with the right data. You can sort the data by category and division or department. The data shown will populate from the last two years and one month into the future to capture as many permutations from your payrolls as possible. Click Download Report to gather the necessary GL Codes more efficiently. You can also send this file to your accountant to fill out and return, or use Excel to do Vlookups, sort, copy/paste, etc.

Add General Ledger Codes

You can add GL Codes on the initial setup page by clicking the Add General Ledger Codes button or by creating another report after the initial setup. Either way, you will land on the Add General Ledger Codes page for the chosen report. In this section, you can view all potential combinations in the Journal Entry report, derived from pay types, deductions, and taxes used in your payroll account settings over the past two years and projected one month into future payrolls. This page allows you to input all necessary GL Codes at once, ensuring all required GL Codes are stored for future use. Consequently, all future Journal Entry reports can be generated with complete information from the get-go.

From here, click into the General Ledger Code field to assign a code to each memo captured. The field can accommodate up to 100 characters, including numbers, letters (upper and lower), symbols, and special characters. Click Add General Ledger Codes to complete the setup, or click Cancel to return to the Journal Entry settings page. It is not required that all General Ledger Codes be filled out, but if you click the Add General Ledger Codes button, an alert will let you know not all codes have been entered. You will have the option to save what you've entered by clicking Yes, Add General Ledger Codes, or you can click Cancel to return to the General Ledger Code page.

Once the GL Codes have been assigned, you can run your Journal Entry reports with Payroll Reports and the GL Code field will now populate.

Permissions

By default, the Account Owner, Full Admin(s), and Payroll Admin(s) can view and manage the Journal Entry section of Payroll Settings for the EINs they are assigned.

You can also grant custom access payroll users permission to the Journal Entry section by checking Payroll within the Settings section of Custom Access Level settings.

As always, we love your feedback! To provide product feedback on this feature and more, head over to our product feedback page and let us know how we’re doing.