Recurring Journals
Automate repetitive periodic entries — rent, loan interest, insurance amortization — from a posted journal, on a schedule.
Recurring journals automate entries that repeat on a predictable schedule. Post the journal once, make it recurring, and the system generates a copy on each due date — posted directly, or as a draft you review.
Navigate to: Finance → Journals → open a posted journal → Make Recurring
Creating a Recurring Journal
Create and post the manual journal exactly as it should repeat (Finance → Journals → New). Only a posted manual journal can be made recurring.
On the journal's detail page the Recurring Schedule card offers Make Recurring. The modal "Make this journal recurring" opens.
| Frequency | Additional field | Summary shown |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Day of week — Monday to Sunday | "Repeats every Friday" |
| Monthly | Day of month — 1st … 31st, or Last day of month. Shorter months fall back to their last day. | "Repeats monthly on the last day" |
| Specific date | Recurring date — the schedule repeats monthly, anchored to that date | "Repeats monthly anchored to 2026-09-30" |
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| End date (optional) | Stop generating after this date. Leave blank to run indefinitely. |
| Max occurrences (optional) | Stop after this many journals. "No limit" when blank. |
| Generate as draft | Each cycle creates a Draft for review instead of posting directly. Recommended when amounts vary. |
The schedule is ACTIVE and its card shows Frequency, Next run, End date and Occurrences.
Managing a Schedule
The Recurring Schedule card on the journal, and the schedule's own page (View runs, or Journals → Recurring tab → row), offer:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Generate now | Posts the next scheduled instance immediately and advances the schedule — the same as one scheduler tick. Repeat it to catch up missed cycles. |
| Edit | Change the frequency, day, end date, max occurrences or draft setting. The lines cannot be changed — make a new journal recurring instead. |
| Pause | Stops generation; the schedule is kept. Cycles that fall while paused are not back-filled. |
| Resume | Re-activates a paused schedule from its next due date. |
| Stop / Delete | Removes the schedule. Journals already generated are untouched. |
The Schedule Page
| Element | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Header | Journal number, ACTIVE / PAUSED badge, "Generates as Draft" when draft mode is on |
| Frequency · Amount · Reference · Journals Generated | The cadence, the template total, the reference copied to each instance, and the count (with a progress bar when an end date is set) |
| Start Date · Next Generation · Last Generated · End Date | The schedule's dates |
| Generated Journals | Every instance — Journal Number (opens it), Date, Status (Posted / Draft), Amount, Created |
The Recurring tab of the Journals page lists every schedule with its next date, narration, status and amount; click a row to open its page.
Accruals That Reverse
A recurring schedule posts the same lines each cycle; it does not post a reversal. For month-end accruals that should clear when the real bill arrives:
- Make the accrual recurring (e.g. Monthly, Last day of month) with Generate as draft on, so you can adjust the estimate before posting.
- When the bill arrives, record it in Purchases.
- Post a journal dated in the new period with the accrual's sides swapped (DR Accruals, CR the expense) — or void the accrual if it belonged to no period at all.
Example: Monthly Rent
| Account | Debit | Credit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent Expense | 6,500.00 | — | Monthly office rent — Singapore headquarters. |
| Accruals | — | 6,500.00 | Accrued rent payable. Cleared when the landlord invoice is recorded. |
Post it once, then Make Recurring: Monthly, Last day of month, no end date, Generate as draft. Each month-end a draft appears for review and posting.
Example: Quarterly Loan Interest
| Account | Debit | Credit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest Expense | 1,875.00 | — | Interest on term loan — 250,000.00 at 3% per annum, quarterly. |
| Accruals | — | 1,875.00 | Interest accrued, not yet paid. |
There is no quarterly frequency: make it Monthly on the 1st with Max occurrences or an End date matching the loan term, and adjust the amount to a monthly figure — or keep the quarterly amount and use Generate now on each quarter start while the schedule is paused.
Related
- Manual journals — the New Journal Entry form in full
- Reading a journal entry — every part of a journal’s page
- Journal Entries — the Journals page and its tabs
- Financial Close — the month checklist and what blocks a lock