Payroll journal entries
When you post a payroll run, OnePayroll creates General Journal Lines based on payroll entries and user-configured GL accounts. This article explains how journal lines are created, consolidated, and posted.
When General Journal Lines are created
General Journal Lines are created when you select Post on a payroll run — not during creation or approval. The behavior depends on the General Ledger Posting setting in Payroll Setup:
| Setting | General Journal Lines created? | Automatically posted? |
|---|---|---|
| No Transfer | No | N/A |
| Manual Posting | Yes | No — you must post manually |
| Automatic Posting | Yes | Yes |
| Always Ask | Yes | You choose each time |
How journal lines are generated
1. Buffering
All payroll entries for the payroll run are collected. Each entry's GL account (Account No.), balance account (Balance Account No.), date, amount, and dimension set are recorded into a posting buffer.
2. Line creation
From the buffer, General Journal Lines are created in the journal template and batch configured on the pay group:
- One line for the Account No. with the entry amount
- One line for the Balance Account No. with the inverse amount (if a balance account is specified)
Each line includes:
- Document No. — Formatted using the G/L Document No. Format from Payroll Setup (with placeholders replaced from the payroll run)
- Description — Formatted using the G/L Description Format from Payroll Setup
- Source Code — Set from the SwS Payroll source code in Source Code Setup (if configured)
- Reason Code — Inherited from the journal batch
- Posting Date and Document Date — Set to the entry date
- Dimension Set ID — Carried from the payroll entry dimensions
3. Consolidation
After initial creation, journal lines are consolidated:
- Lines with the same Account No. and same Dimension Set ID are combined into a single line with the summed amount
- Lines with a zero amount after consolidation are removed
This means a payroll with 50 employees posting to the same salary expense account (with the same dimensions) results in a single consolidated journal line for that account.
4. Posting
- Manual Posting: The journal lines remain in the General Journal for you to review and post
- Automatic Posting: The standard BC Gen. Jnl.-Post codeunit runs immediately to post the lines
- Always Ask: The posting confirmation dialog is shown; if confirmed, lines are posted
Reviewing journal lines
Before posting (Manual Posting mode)
If using Manual Posting, review the lines in the General Journal:
- Open the General Journal
- Select the journal template and batch configured on the pay group
- Review each line:
- Account No. — Correct GL account?
- Amount — Expected consolidated amount?
- Posting Date — Correct period?
- Dimension Set ID — Correct dimensions?
- Post the journal when satisfied
After posting
To review posted entries:
- In Payroll Runs, select the posted payroll run
- Select General Ledger Log (in Reporting actions)
Or search for General Ledger Entries and filter by document number and posting date.
Journal batch requirements
Before posting, OnePayroll checks that the configured journal batch is empty (no existing unposted lines with non-zero amounts). If unposted lines exist, an error is raised with a Show Journal action that lets you navigate directly to the journal to resolve the issue.
This prevents accidentally mixing payroll entries from different runs in the same journal batch.
Troubleshooting
"Unposted general journal lines" error
The journal batch still has lines from a previous payroll posting. Open the journal (use the link in the error) and either post or delete the existing lines before retrying.
Journal lines don't appear
- Verify General Ledger Posting is not set to No Transfer
- Confirm the pay group has Gen. Journal Template and Gen. Journal Batch configured
- Check that pay types have GL accounts assigned (Account No.)
Amounts don't match expected totals
- Remember that lines are consolidated by Account No. and Dimension Set ID
- If different employees have different dimensions, their entries won't be consolidated together
- Check if any pay types are missing GL account assignments