Bookkeeping Journal & Ledger
Turn a messy list of transactions into a proper set of books. You paste your real transactions (date, description, amount, GST status) and get back a professional double-entry general journal plus a running general ledger with balances carried forward, all GST-aware for Australia. Every entry proves debits equal credits, the GST is split out to a GST clearing account, and a self-check confirms the ledger ties out. This is not a blank template like the Document Studio drafts; it takes your own numbers and produces a calculated, analysed set of bookkeeping records with plain-English notes on what the balances mean.
Your accountant asks for a general ledger and you send back a bank export. That gap — between a list of money in and money out, and an actual set of books with accounts sitting behind it — is where a lot of sole traders and small companies live. It holds up fine until the BAS falls due, or someone wants to know what the GST clearing account is actually carrying, or you need the working underneath a profit and loss you have already had prepared.
The Bookkeeping Journal and Ledger costs A$29 one-off and runs in about five minutes. You paste the transactions you already have — date, description, amount and GST status on each line — along with your trading name, GST registration, accounting basis and the period they cover. Back comes a dated double-entry general journal and a running general ledger per account, as an on-page report plus a Markdown download you can print to PDF or paste into Word. Two free AI revisions come with it.
The GST question that moves every figure
Whether the amounts you type are GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive does more work than any other field on the form. It is the difference between a $110 line being $100 of expense plus $10 of GST, and being $110 of expense outright — and it applies to every taxable transaction in the set, not just one. Your answer is carried through consistently: GST is split out to a GST clearing account rather than buried inside the revenue or expense line, and GST-free and input-taxed items are treated as what they are instead of being swept in with the taxable ones. Your registration status feeds the same treatment.
The boundary is worth stating plainly. This is bookkeeping output, not a lodgement. There is no BAS form at the end of it, no connection to the ATO and no link into accounting software — a registered BAS or tax agent should review the figures before anything is filed.
Every entry carries its own working
Double-entry only earns its keep if it balances. Each journal entry is dated and carries its debit and credit lines with the arithmetic shown, so you can follow how one bank transaction became two or three postings instead of taking the allocation on trust. The ledger then runs account by account — opening balance, movements through the period, closing balance — and a trial-balance-style check totals every debit against every credit and sets the two sides against each other.
That is the layer a profit and loss or a balance sheet gets summarised from. If your accountant has asked for source books rather than a bank export, or you want the working beneath a statement you already hold, this is the piece that fills it. Alongside the ledger you get plain-English notes on what your balances mean and three practical bookkeeping moves drawn from what your transactions show — organised records to hand to a qualified professional, not accounting or tax advice.
What you get
- A dated double-entry general journal with debit and credit lines for every transaction
- GST split out to a GST clearing account, GST-free and input-taxed items handled correctly
- A running general ledger per account with opening balance, movements and closing balance
- A trial-balance-style check proving total debits equal total credits
- Plain-English notes on what your balances mean plus 3 practical bookkeeping moves
- 2 free AI revisions included
Turnaround: ~5 minutes. Delivery: On-page report + Markdown download (print to PDF / paste to Word).
Frequently asked questions
What does my transaction list need to look like?
Each line wants a date, a description, an amount and its GST status. You can type it out or paste it in, and it does not need sorting or grouping into accounts beforehand. Clear descriptions are the thing that pays off, because the description is what the account allocation is built from.
Cash or accrual — which basis should I pick?
Whichever one your business actually reports on. The books are built on the basis you nominate, and that basis changes when transactions are recognised and therefore what the closing balances come out at, so it is not a field to guess at. If you are unsure, ask your accountant before ordering.
What if the trial-balance check does not tie out?
That usually points at an incomplete or ambiguous line in what you supplied rather than at the maths. The two free AI revisions exist for exactly this — correct the line or add the missing one and have the journal and ledger rebuilt.
Can prior-period balances be carried in?
Only if they appear in what you paste. The ledger shows opening balance, movements and closing balance per account, but it works purely from the transaction list and period you enter on the form. Nothing is pulled in from an earlier order or an outside system.