Journal Entries
Understanding how Restaurant Revolution creates accounting entries.
Overview
Journal entries are the foundation of double-entry accounting. Restaurant Revolution automatically creates entries to track:
- Daily sales - Revenue by category
- Payment receipts - Cash and card collections
- Tax liability - Sales tax collected
- Tip liability - Tips owed to employees
- Gift card activity - Sales and redemptions
- Deposits - Bank deposits and fees
Double-Entry Basics
How It Works
Every transaction has two sides:
| Debit | Credit |
|---|---|
| Increases assets | Decreases assets |
| Decreases liabilities | Increases liabilities |
| Decreases revenue | Increases revenue |
| Increases expenses | Decreases expenses |
Example: Cash Sale
When a customer pays $50 cash:
Debit: Cash $50.00 (Asset increases)
Credit: Sales Revenue $45.00 (Revenue increases)
Credit: Sales Tax Payable $5.00 (Liability increases)
Entry Types
Daily Sales Summary
Created at end of day:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DAILY SALES JOURNAL ENTRY │
│ Date: January 24, 2026 │
│ Reference: RR-DS-20260124 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Account Debit Credit │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ RECEIPTS │
│ Cash $1,245.00 │
│ Credit Card Clearing $3,856.25 │
│ Gift Cards Redeemed $125.00 │
│ │
│ REVENUE │
│ Food Sales $2,892.50 │
│ Beverage Sales $1,156.00 │
│ Merchandise Sales $178.00 │
│ │
│ LIABILITIES │
│ Sales Tax Payable $334.75 │
│ Tips Payable $643.00 │
│ Gift Card Liability $200.00 │
│ │
│ ADJUSTMENTS │
│ Discount Expense $178.00 │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ TOTALS $5,404.25 $5,404.25 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Credit Card Deposit
When card batch settles:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CREDIT CARD DEPOSIT ENTRY │
│ Date: January 25, 2026 │
│ Reference: RR-CCB-20260125 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Account Debit Credit │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Checking Account $3,748.34 │
│ Credit Card Fees $107.91 │
│ Credit Card Clearing $3,856.25 │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ TOTALS $3,856.25 $3,856.25 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Tip Payout
When tips are paid to employees:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TIP PAYOUT ENTRY │
│ Date: January 25, 2026 │
│ Reference: RR-TIP-20260125 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Account Debit Credit │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Tips Payable $643.00 │
│ Cash $643.00 │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ TOTALS $643.00 $643.00 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Tax Remittance
When sales tax is paid:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SALES TAX REMITTANCE │
│ Date: February 1, 2026 │
│ Reference: RR-TAX-202601 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Account Debit Credit │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Sales Tax Payable $2,456.00 │
│ Checking Account $2,456.00 │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ TOTALS $2,456.00 $2,456.00 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Entry Detail Levels
Summary vs Detail
Choose your entry style:
| Level | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | One entry per day | Most restaurants |
| Daypart | Entry per meal period | Detailed tracking |
| Shift | Entry per shift close | Shift accountability |
| Transaction | Every transaction | High detail (high volume) |
Summary Entry
Daily total: $5,404.25 revenue
Single journal entry with totals
Daypart Entry
Breakfast: $1,245.00
Lunch: $2,156.00
Dinner: $2,003.25
────────────────────
Total: $5,404.25
Three separate journal entries
Account Categories
Revenue Accounts
| Account | Use |
|---|---|
| Food Sales | Food item revenue |
| Beverage Sales | Drink revenue |
| Alcohol Sales | Liquor, beer, wine |
| Merchandise | Retail items |
| Catering | Catering revenue |
| Delivery Fees | Delivery charges |
Asset Accounts
| Account | Use |
|---|---|
| Cash | Cash on hand |
| Checking | Bank account |
| Credit Card Clearing | Pending card settlements |
| Accounts Receivable | Corporate accounts |
| Inventory | Food/beverage inventory |
Liability Accounts
| Account | Use |
|---|---|
| Sales Tax Payable | Tax collected |
| Tips Payable | Tips owed to staff |
| Gift Card Liability | Unredeemed gift cards |
| Accounts Payable | Amounts owed |
| Payroll Liabilities | Wages owed |
Expense Accounts
| Account | Use |
|---|---|
| Cost of Goods Sold | Food/bev cost |
| Credit Card Fees | Processing fees |
| Discount Expense | Discounts given |
| Delivery Expense | Third-party delivery fees |
Viewing Entries
Entry List
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ JOURNAL ENTRIES January 2026 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Date Reference Type Amount Status │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Jan 24 RR-DS-20260124 Daily Sales $5,404 ● Posted │
│ Jan 24 RR-CCB-20260123 CC Deposit $3,748 ● Posted │
│ Jan 23 RR-DS-20260123 Daily Sales $4,892 ● Posted │
│ Jan 23 RR-TIP-20260123 Tip Payout $580 ● Posted │
│ Jan 22 RR-DS-20260122 Daily Sales $5,156 ● Posted │
│ │
│ [View All] [Export] [Filter] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Entry Detail
Click any entry to see full detail:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ JOURNAL ENTRY DETAIL │
│ Reference: RR-DS-20260124 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Date: January 24, 2026 │
│ Type: Daily Sales Summary │
│ Location: Main Street │
│ Status: Posted to QuickBooks │
│ External ID: JE-2456 │
│ │
│ SOURCE TRANSACTIONS │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ 187 transactions summarized │
│ Time range: 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM │
│ │
│ BREAKDOWN │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Cash sales: $1,245.00 (32 transactions) │
│ Credit card sales: $3,856.25 (142 transactions) │
│ Gift card sales: $200.00 (8 transactions) │
│ Gift card redeemed: $125.00 (5 transactions) │
│ │
│ [View Transactions] [Export] [Reverse Entry] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Entry Timing
When Entries Are Created
| Entry Type | Timing | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | End of business | Day close |
| CC Deposit | When settled | Batch close |
| Tip Payout | When paid | Payroll |
| Tax Payment | When remitted | Manual |
Sync Schedule
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SYNC TIMELINE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 11:00 PM Day closes │
│ │ └─ Daily summary entry created │
│ │ │
│ 11:05 PM Sync runs │
│ │ └─ Entry sent to accounting software │
│ │ │
│ 11:10 PM Posted │
│ │ └─ Entry appears in QuickBooks/Xero │
│ │ │
│ Next day Credit card batch settles │
│ │ └─ Deposit entry created and synced │
│ ▼ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Manual Adjustments
When to Adjust
Create manual entries for:
- Correcting errors
- Recording non-POS transactions
- Adjusting inventory
- Accruals and prepaid expenses
Creating Manual Entry
- Go to Accounting > Journal Entries
- Click New Entry
- Enter:
- Date
- Reference/memo
- Debit and credit lines
- Verify debits = credits
- Post entry
Reversing Entries
To reverse a posted entry:
- Find the entry
- Click Reverse
- System creates opposite entry
- Both entries net to zero
Reports
Entry Summary
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ JOURNAL ENTRY SUMMARY January 2026 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Entry Type Count Total Debits │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Daily Sales 24 $142,456.00 │
│ Credit Card Deposits 26 $98,456.00 │
│ Tip Payouts 4 $12,340.00 │
│ Manual Adjustments 2 $1,200.00 │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ TOTAL 56 $254,452.00 │
│ │
│ Sync Status: │
│ Posted: 54 Pending: 2 Failed: 0 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Audit Trail
Complete history of all entries and changes:
| Date | Action | User | Entry | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24 | Created | System | RR-DS-20260124 | Daily sales |
| Jan 24 | Posted | System | RR-DS-20260124 | Synced to QB |
| Jan 23 | Reversed | Admin | RR-ADJ-001 | Error correction |
| Jan 23 | Created | Admin | RR-ADJ-002 | Corrected entry |
Best Practices
Entry Management
- Review daily - Check entries before sync
- Keep references - Use consistent naming
- Document adjustments - Always add memo
- Don't delete - Reverse instead
- Reconcile regularly - Match to bank
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Out of balance | Missing line | Add offsetting entry |
| Wrong account | Mapping error | Update mapping, reverse/redo |
| Duplicate entry | Double sync | Delete duplicate in accounting software |
| Missing entry | Sync failed | Manual resync |
Voice Commands
| Task | Say |
|---|---|
| View entries | "Hey Maximus, show today's journal entries" |
| Entry detail | "Hey Maximus, show entry RR-DS-20260124" |
| Sync status | "Hey Maximus, journal entry sync status" |
Related Guides
- Accounting Overview - Integration overview
- QuickBooks - QuickBooks setup
- Xero - Xero setup
- Reconciliation - Bank matching