Manual journal entries: support, approval, and review controls

A manual entry should explain the event or adjustment it represents. Include entity, period, accounts, amount, calculation, and supporting documents. A description such as month-end adjustment leaves the next reviewer to reconstruct the reasoning.

Separate recurring schedules from one-time judgments. An ordinary prepaid entry can use an approved calculation, while a financing classification may need a specialist review and signed documents.

Confirm the transaction was not already posted by an integration, subledger, or earlier entry. Review dates, account signs, and references. An adjustment that appears correct in isolation can still duplicate an imported expense.

For illustration, recording a payroll journal manually while the payroll integration posts the same run doubles wages and liabilities. Use run identifiers or another reliable reference to check coverage before posting.

Define which entries require independent review, using amount, sensitivity, and judgment as relevant factors. Include entries affecting revenue, cash, owner balances, and previously closed periods where appropriate.

For a small team, an owner or qualified external reviewer may provide a compensating control. Preserve the approval evidence and distinguish preparing an entry from approving it.

If an entry reverses next month, record the intended reversal date and process. Check that it occurs and that the actual transaction clears the expected balance.

When an entry is wrong, correct it through the documented process and preserve the original trail. Avoid deleting support because the final balance now agrees.

Look for repeated entries to suspense, equity, or the same expense account. Ask whether they reflect a missing integration mapping, unclear policy, or recurring source discrepancy.

Turn stable recurring adjustments into reviewed schedules with an owner. Keep unusual entries in an exception log until the accounting question is resolved. The controls should make the ledger easier to review without requiring equal scrutiny for every routine, low-risk posting.