How does a journal entry work?
The two sides are not philosophy but bookkeeping. Debit and credit are simply the two sides of the same event, and the requirement that they are equal catches most typing errors immediately.
The completeness of an entry lies in what surrounds it. An entry without a reference to the underlying document is a number without proof. In an audit, the link between entry, invoice and bank line is the first thing asked for.
Manual entries, in Dutch often called memoriaalboekingen, are where errors get in. They bypass the automatic control of an invoice flow or a bank import, so they deserve a stricter description than the rest.
Where is a journal entry in the law?
For this term there is no statutory basis to refer to, and that is not an omission but the state of affairs. It is a term from bookkeeping practice, not a legal obligation with its own article.
What does apply sits one level higher: under Article 52 of the Dutch General State Taxes Act (Algemene wet inzake rijksbelastingen, AWR), your bookkeeping must be verifiable within a reasonable time. How you set that up is not prescribed by law.
What does basestep do with a journal entry?
In basestep, entries arise from the event itself, so from an invoice or a bank line, with the reference added automatically. Every entry shows its origin, so in an audit you can show the link instead of having to reconstruct it.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with a journal entry?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Booking without a reference
An entry without an invoice number or bank line is a puzzle in three years. Record the origin while you still know it.
Fixing everything with manual entries
A manual correction bypasses the controls that make your bookkeeping reliable. Find the cause first; correct afterwards.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.