A journal entry generator that also builds the ledger and trial balance
Type each transaction as the account to debit, the account to credit and the amount, and this journal entry generator writes the journal in the textbook format — “Cash A/c Dr. To Capital A/c (Being …)” — posts every entry to its ledger account with a running balance, and prepares the trial balance.
It is built for accountancy students checking homework (class 11, B.Com, foundation courses) and for small businesses keeping simple books. Common transactions are one click away, account names such as “cash a/c” and “Cash” are treated as one account, and odd balances are flagged. Print it or download a CSV for Excel. Nothing leaves your browser.
How to use the Journal Entry Generator with Ledger and Trial Balance
- Pick a common transaction (for example “Paid rent”) and press “Add transaction”, or add a blank row.
- Check the date, the debit (Dr) and credit (Cr) accounts, and type the amount and narration.
- Repeat for every transaction, in date order.
- Read the journal, open the ledger accounts, and check the trial balance and any warnings.
- Print the journal and trial balance, or download the CSV to open in Excel.
Journal Entry Generator with Ledger and Trial Balance features
Textbook journal format
Date, particulars with “Dr.” and “To”, L.F., debit and credit columns, narration and totals.
Ledger posting
Each account with “To”/“By” entries and a running Dr/Cr balance.
Trial balance format
Name of account, L.F., debit and credit balances, totals that must agree.
Common transactions
14 ready entries — capital, purchases, sales, rent, salaries, drawings, loans and more.
Sense checks
Warns about a credit balance in cash, or an expense or income on the wrong side.
Rules of debit and credit
| Account | Debit when it | Credit when it | Golden rule (traditional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets (cash, bank, furniture) | increases | decreases | Real: debit what comes in, credit what goes out |
| Liabilities and capital | decreases | increases | Personal: debit the receiver, credit the giver |
| Expenses and losses (rent, wages) | increases | decreases | Nominal: debit all expenses and losses |
| Incomes and gains (sales, commission) | decreases | increases | Nominal: credit all incomes and gains |
| Drawings | increases | decreases | Personal: the owner receives |
Worked example: from journal to trial balance
Ram starts a business with ₹1,00,000 cash, deposits ₹60,000 in the bank, buys goods on credit from Mohan for ₹25,000, sells goods for ₹18,000 cash, pays rent of ₹5,000 and pays Mohan ₹15,000 by cheque. The journal debits Cash and credits Capital, debits Bank and credits Cash, and so on.
After posting, Cash shows ₹53,000 Dr, Bank ₹45,000 Dr, Purchases ₹25,000 Dr and Rent ₹5,000 Dr — ₹1,28,000 — while Capital ₹1,00,000, Sales ₹18,000 and Mohan ₹10,000 are credit balances, also ₹1,28,000. The trial balance agrees.
What a trial balance can and cannot prove
- Equal totals prove only that every debit has a matching credit.
- It will not show a transaction left out, posted to the wrong account of the same kind, or two errors that cancel out.
- Before closing the year, reconcile the bank with the bank reconciliation statement maker and work out depreciation with the depreciation calculator.
Journal Entry Generator with Ledger and Trial Balance FAQ
How does the journal entry generator work?
Each row is one transaction: an account to debit, an account to credit and an amount. The tool writes the journal entry, posts both sides to the ledger and adds up the balances into a trial balance.
What is the trial balance format?
A list of every ledger account with its balance in a debit or credit column, the ledger folio, and totals at the bottom that must be equal.
How do I know which account to debit?
Use the rules table: debit assets and expenses when they increase, credit liabilities, capital and income when they increase. The common-transaction list fills in the usual answer.
Can I use it for GST entries?
Yes — add accounts such as “Input CGST” and “Output CGST” as you would by hand. It does not calculate the tax for you; use the GST calculator for that.
Why does my trial balance agree but my answer is still wrong?
Because errors of omission, wrong-account postings and compensating errors keep the totals equal. Check each journal entry against the question.
What does L.F. mean in the journal?
Ledger folio — the page or number of the ledger account the entry was posted to. Here each account gets a number in the order it first appears, shown in the journal, the ledger heading and the trial balance.
Is my data saved?
No. Everything stays in this page; download the CSV or print before you close it.