Connection Card Pro Help & Documentation




Last Updated: Mar 2, 2026 11:30 AM

Using the Journal in Connection Card Pro

The Journal is your master ledger view in Connection Card Pro. It shows every debit and credit entry across all accounts so you (or your bookkeeper) can review, filter, and troubleshoot your accounting records in one place.

If the Register is like looking at your online banking for one account, the Journal is like laying out your entire general ledger on the table.

Contents

1. Where to Find the Journal

  1. Go to Accounting in the left menu.
  2. Click View Journal.

You’ll see:

  • A filter bar across the top.
  • A Transactions table listing every entry that matches your filters.


2. Understanding the Journal Layout

At the top of the page:

  • Account – Choose All Accounts or limit to a specific account (e.g., 1000 – Checking, 1100 – Accounts Receivable, 2100 – Accounts Payable, etc.).
  • Fund – Filter by All Funds or a specific fund. This helps you review activity for a particular fund across multiple accounts.
  • Dates – Set a From and To date for the entries you want to see.
  • Company / Payee – Optional text filter if you want to see entries for a specific donor, vendor, or payee.

In the Transactions table:

  • Date – The posting date of the entry.
  • Payee / Payer – Who the transaction is associated with.
  • Account – Which ledger account this line of the entry hits.
  • Debit / Credit – The amount for that line, following double-entry rules.
  • Actions – Icons to edit or delete the entry (if your permissions allow).

At the bottom of the table:

  • You’ll see totals for the current date range.
  • Important: These totals are not a “balance” of any account. They’re simply the sum of the debits and credits shown in the current view.

3. What the Journal Is For (and When to Use It)

Use the Journal when you need to:

  • See everything at once
    • Example: “Show me all activity in February across all accounts.”
  • Investigate a specific account or fund across multiple registers
    • Example: Filter Account = 5030 – Software and Dates = this fiscal year to see all software expenses, regardless of which bank or credit card paid for them.
  • Trace how a transaction was recorded
    • Example: You see a weird number in a report. In the Journal, filter by Fund and Dates, then search by Company/Payee to find every line that touches that transaction.
  • Provide detail to a bookkeeper or auditor
    • Example: Send them a filtered Journal export (by account, date range, and/or fund) so they can review GL detail.

For day-to-day “bank-like” views and reconciliations, you’ll still use Registers. When you want the full double-entry detail, you use the Journal.

4. Filtering the Journal Step-by-Step

Here are a few common workflows:

A. Review all activity for a month

  1. Go to Accounting > View Journal.
  2. Set:
    • Account: All Accounts
    • Fund: All Funds
    • Dates: set to the start and end of the month
  3. Click Apply.

You now see every ledger line posted in that month.

B. See everything that hit one account

  1. Account: choose the account (e.g., 1000 – Checking).
  2. Dates: set your range (e.g., 01/01/2026–01/31/2026).
  3. (Optional) Fund: choose a specific fund.
  4. Click Apply.

This is especially useful for non-register accounts (like income and expense accounts) where you want to review how items were coded.

C. Find entries for one donor, vendor, or payee

  1. Set your Dates and any other filters.
  2. In Company / Payee, select a person or vendor.
  3. Click Apply.

Every line that references that donor or vendor will appear, even if the money flowed through multiple accounts.

5. Editing Transactions from the Journal

You can edit entries directly from the Journal:

  1. Find the entry using filters.
  2. Click the edit icon on the row you want to change.
  3. Update the entry details as needed (date, accounts, fund, etc.).
  4. Save.

Any changes you make here will also be reflected in the relevant Registers and in your reports, because the Journal is the underlying ledger.

Note: Deleting or editing reconciled or older entries can affect your balances and reconciliations. If you’re unsure, check with whoever oversees your accounting before making big changes.

6. Best Practices for Using the Journal

  • Start broad, then narrow your filters. Begin with a date range and maybe one fund. If you see too much, then add an account or payee filter.
  • Use the Journal for research, not for daily checkbook views.
    • Daily cash/bank work: use Registers.
    • Detective work, audits, and coding review: use the Journal.
  • Remember totals ≠ balances. Don’t treat the bottom totals as the “balance” of anything. For balances as of a date, use:
    • Registers (for asset/liability balances)
    • Financial Overview / Reports (for fund balances and statements)
  • Keep your chart of accounts clean. The clearer your account names and numbers, the easier it is to read the Journal and spot mis-coded entries.
  • Use consistent date rules. Decide as an organization whether you use strictly cash-basis dates, accrual entries, or a mix (see your cash vs. accrual best-practices guide), and post dates accordingly. The Journal will faithfully show whatever dates you use.

7. When to Use the Register Instead

Reach for Registers instead of the Journal when you want to:

  • Reconcile a bank or credit card.
  • See the current balance and running history for a single asset or liability account.
  • Work with imported bank transactions and clear them against your statement.

Reach for the Journal when you want to understand how and where transactions are recorded across the entire ledger.

If you still have questions or require additional help, please contact our support team by clicking on the Help button > Contact Support.
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