Creating journals on Tyms requires careful attention to formatting and accounting rules. This guide covers the most common errors to avoid when creating journal entries with Ask Adam or importing bulk journal data using Import from Excel.
Section 1: Manual Journal Entries (Fill in the Form)
Double-Entry Principle
Journal entries on Tyms follow the double-entry accounting principle; every debit must have a matching credit.
Common Mistake: Unequal Debit and Credit Values
You can't save a journal entry unless the debit and credit sides are equal.
For example:
Debit: Bank – ₦10,000
Credit: Sales – ₦10,000
If the values don't match, Tyms will not allow the entry to be saved.
Section 2: Creating Journals with Ask Adam
When importing journals or creating journals using prompts with Ask Adam, keep the following in mind:
Text limit: Keep the text content in your document under 15,000 characters (roughly 100 entries) and no more than 10 pages for PDF files. Exceeding this will cause the import to fail.
Clean data: Ensure the data on your sheet is clean, with well-specified columns.
Journal number and date: If the journal number is the same, the date must be the same too. If the date differs while the journal number stays the same, Ask Adam will assume a date on your behalf, so keep the journal number and date consistent for every line in the same entry.
Prompts: If you're issuing a prompt instead of uploading a file, make sure the prompt includes all the details needed to create the journal.
Balanced entries: As with manual entries, the debit and credit sides must be equal.
Section 3: Import from Excel
When importing journals using the Tyms Excel template, ensure the data is clean, properly formatted, and balanced.
Note: Save your file as CSV, not XLSX. If saved as XLSX, the date format can change unexpectedly and be read incorrectly once it reaches the system. Max 500 rows
Required Columns and Field Descriptions
Journal_no: Unique reference number for the journal entry. All line items with the same journal number must have balanced debit and credit totals, and must carry the same date. If entries with the same journal number have different dates, the system will save the wrong date on your behalf.
Date: Journal entry date. Use one of the supported formats:
YYYY-MM-DD,DD-MM-YYYY, orYYYY/MM/DD. Avoid text formats like "12th Jan 2024."Account: Account name from your chart of accounts. Must match exactly (spelling and case) what exists in Tyms.
debit_amount / credit_amount: For each row, provide either a debit or a credit amount, not both. One of the two must be zero.
Journal_group_ref: Optional. Use this to group related journal entries.
Description: A detailed explanation or narration for the journal entry.
Journal_title: A short, general title for the journal entry.
Currency: Transaction currency in ISO format (e.g., NGN, USD).
Exchange_rate: The exchange rate used for the transaction. If the journal currency matches your base currency (e.g., both USD), use 1. If the currencies differ (e.g., base currency USD, journal currency EUR), provide the applicable exchange rate at the time of the transaction (e.g., 0.86 EUR per USD).
Bank: Required only for bank accounts. Enter the bank account number. Must match what's saved in Tyms.
Branch_name: The name of the branch originating the transaction. Must already exist in Tyms.
Project_name: The associated project, if any. Must already exist in Tyms.
Department_name: The department responsible for the transaction.
Contact_name: The customer or vendor involved in the transaction.
Common Import Errors and Fixes
Column | Error | Fix |
Branch Name | "Row A uses "Branch A" in branch_name, which we could not find in your records." | Confirm the branch exists in Tyms with the exact name |
Account | Row A uses "Abeokuta Petty Cash" in account, which we could not find in your records. | Confirm the account exists in Tyms with the exact name |
Department Name | "Row A uses "Finance" in department_name, which we could not find in your records." | Confirm the department exists in Tyms with the exact name |
Final Checklist Before Upload
Each journal_no has balanced debit and credit totals.
Each journal_no uses one consistent date across all its line items.
Dates use a supported format.
All accounts, branches, projects, and departments already exist in Tyms.
Bank account numbers are specified where necessary.
The file is saved as CSV, not XLSX.