How to create a bank or cash account

What is it for?

Each bank account and each cash account has a journal in the accounts: that is where movements and statements go. The Create a journal wizard creates the journal and the matching chart of accounts account, in three steps. It works for a bank and for cash, and the bank's IBAN is filled in afterwards, on the journal form.

When to use it?

• When you open an account at a new bank or a new cash account.
• Do not use it to change the IBAN of an existing account: change it on the existing journal.

Where to find it?

Accounting › Configure › General › Create a journal. Existing journals are in Accounting › Reconcile › Banks and cash › What is there to do with the banks? › Supporting lists › Bank and cash journals. Users with the Certified accountant profile see the New button in that list, which opens a blank journal form (see “Important notes”); the Accountant does not see it.

Before you start

• The profile is Certified accountant: tested to the end of the wizard. The Accountant does not have the Create a journal menu.
• You know the journal's name and short code (up to 5 characters). For a bank, have the IBAN to hand: the wizard does not ask for it; it is filled in on the journal form (step 5).

How to use it

1. Open Accounting › Configure › General › Create a journal. The wizard asks What is it for? and offers Sales (customer invoices), Purchases (supplier invoices), Bank, Cash, Credit card and Miscellaneous operations. Choose Bank (or Cash) and click Next.
2. Step 2 of 3: name and code. Fill in the Journal name (for example Banco exemplo), the Short code (BNK2) and, if it is not euros, the Currency. Click Next.
3. Step 3 of 3: accounts. The screen says “Leave the main account empty and it is created for you in the chart of accounts”. You can choose the Main account and the Pending account. For Cash, the step has two more fields: Cash difference gain account and Cash difference loss account. Leave everything empty and click Create journal.
4. The new journal opens. In the bank example it became Banco exemplo, type Bank, code BNK2, with account 122 Banco exemplo created in the chart of accounts, the pending account 120001 Conta Transitória and the gain account 7888 and loss account 6888 (Outros não especificados). The Bank Account Number is left empty. For cash (in the example Caixa exemplo, code CSH1, which is what the wizard proposes for cash) the main account created was 112 Caixa exemplo, with the same pending account and the same gain and loss accounts.
5. Fill in the IBAN (bank only). On the journal form, type the IBAN in Bank Account Number (in the example, PT50000201231234567890154), choose Create “PT50000201231234567890154” in the list that appears (if the IBAN already exists, the list offers it formatted and you choose it) and click Save. The number is saved with spaces, in groups of four: PT50 0002 0123 1234 5678 9015 4.

Expected result

• A new journal in the Bank and cash journals list, and a new account in the chart of accounts: 122 in the bank example (the next after 121, under 12 Depósitos à ordem) and 112 in the cash example (the next after 111, under 11 Caixa).
• For a bank, the IBAN saved on the journal form.
• The wizard posts nothing: it only creates the journal and the account.

Important notes

• The wizard does not ask for the IBAN. It is filled in on the journal form, after creating it (step 5). An IBAN that already exists is not created again: it appears formatted in the field's list, where you choose it. If you try to create it again, the screen says “The operation cannot be completed: A combinação de 'utilizador' e 'número da conta' deve ser única” (the combination of holder and account number must be unique).
• The New button in the journal list. The Certified accountant sees New in Bank and cash journals. It opens a blank journal form, already with type Bank and a suggested code (BNK3 in the example). When you click Save with only the name filled in (in the example, Banco pela ficha), the main account is also created (123). The wizard remains the recommended path, because it first asks whether it is a bank or cash. New was only tried for a bank.
• The Accountant does not create journals. They have neither the Create a journal menu nor the New button in the list. Ask the Fiscal officer, or the Certified Accountant.
• A new account in the chart of accounts should be checked by the certified accountant (class 12 for banks and 11 for cash). Pending validation by a certified accountant: the account the wizard chooses by default for the cash journal.

Common problems

“The IBAN … is invalid”

• Symptom: when you choose Create “…” with a wrong IBAN, the Create Bank Account Number window opens and, when you click Save, a Validation Error appears: “The IBAN "PT50000700000000000000023" is invalid (Portuguese bank account check digits, NIB). Check the number on your bank statement.”
• Cause: the IBAN's check digits do not add up.
• What to do: click Close and Discard, check the number on the bank statement and type it again.

“There is already a journal with the code…”

• Symptom: in step 2, when you click Next, the Invalid Operation window opens: “There is already a journal with the code “BNK1” in Empresa Demonstração, Lda. Journal codes cannot repeat: choose another one.”
• Cause: the short code already belongs to another journal of the same company.
• What to do: click Close and choose another code (the field accepts at most 5 characters).

The “Create a journal” menu does not appear

• Symptom: there is no Create a journal in Configure › General.
• Cause: the profile (for example Accountant) is not allowed to create journals.
• What to do: ask the Fiscal officer to create it.