Behind every bill, return, purchase, payment, expense and stock change, BooksPOS writes a balanced double-entry journal entry, in the same step as the document itself. You never type journal entries; you read them. The Day book shows each day's entries and the trial balance, and the owner can close the books through a date when an accountant has finished with it.
Reading the day book
Open Day book (under Money). The top shows the date and this PC's counter, then the till shift card, then the day's entries.
- Move between days with the arrows beside the date.
- Each entry shows its number, the document it came from (a bill, a purchase, an expense…), a short memo, the party (customer or supplier) where there is one, and its lines: account, debit and credit.
- "Nothing posted on this day" means no document was posted that day.
A bill paid in cash, for example, debits Cash in hand and credits Sales, and in a second pair of lines debits Cost of goods sold and credits Inventory (owned stock) at the average cost.
Day book. Every posting of the day as a balanced entry, with the till shift and the trial balance. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.
The accounts
BooksPOS starts every store with a fixed chart of accounts:
| Group | Accounts |
|---|---|
| Money | Cash in hand, Bank, Card settlements receivable, EasyPaisa wallet, JazzCash wallet |
| Owed to the shop | Customer accounts receivable, Supplier return claims, Advances to suppliers |
| Stock | Inventory (owned stock), Inter-branch transfers |
| Owed by the shop | Supplier accounts payable, Customer advances, Sales tax payable |
| Equity | Owner's equity, Opening balance equity |
| Income | Sales, Sales returns |
| Costs and expenses | Cost of goods sold, Stock adjustments, Supplier return differences, Cash over / short, Operating expenses, Rent, Salaries and wages, Electricity, gas and internet, Transport and delivery, Repairs and maintenance, Bank charges |
The accounts cannot be added to or renamed: BooksPOS posts to them itself. The Chart of accounts tab of Accounts & books (below) lists them with their balances.
The trial balance
The Trial balance card lists every account's balance, with Totals for debits and credits. The two totals are always equal: every posting is balanced when it is written, or it is not written at all. Your accountant can read the balances straight into their own books.
Accounts & books
Accounts & books (under Money) shows the same postings the way an accountant reads them, in tabs. Each tab has CSV, PDF and Print for what it shows, and Expense and Cash and bank are at the top as on the Day book.
- Cash book: a card for each place money is kept (cash in hand, bank, card settlements, EasyPaisa, JazzCash) with its balance, and cash in hand counter by counter. Choose a card to see that account's lines for the dates chosen, each with the balance after it.
- Account ledger: the same for any account in the chart, chosen from the list. The heading says the balance before the start date and at the end of the last day. Choose a bill, return or payment in the list to open it.
- Day book: every journal entry between two dates, newest first, 50 at a time.
- Trial balance: every account's balance on the date typed in On (empty is today), in a debit or a credit column. The two columns always agree.
- Balance sheet: on a date, what the shop owns against what it owes and the owner's share, with the Profit to date (income less expenses up to that day). The two totals are equal.
- Money transfers: cash taken from a drawer to the bank and brought back, with the totals each way.
- Chart of accounts: every account with its debits, credits and balance on a date. Choose one to open its ledger.
Dates are typed as dd-mm-yyyy, or chosen with Today, This month, Last month, Year (from 1 July) and All. A balance is shown on the account's usual side: for cash or stock, what is there; for a supplier's account, what is owed. A figure below zero is unusual, for example a bank account whose opening balance was never entered.
Cash in hand by counter comes from the shift each cash line was posted in. Opening floats are counted into the drawer, not posted, so they are not in these figures.
Closing the books
When the accountant has finished a month, the owner closes it so nobody can post into it by mistake.
- On Day book, choose Close books.
- Type the last day to close in Closed through, for example 31-08-2026.
- Type the Reason, for example August accounts sent to the accountant.
- Confirm. "Books closed through 31-08-2026."
"Nothing can then be posted on or before that day, for example a back-dated opening balance. Today's billing is not affected." Anything that tries is refused: "The books are closed through 31-08-2026. Nothing can be posted on …; post it on a later date or ask the owner to reopen the period."
- Only past days can be closed: "Only past days can be closed; today's sales are still being posted."
- To reopen, choose Close books again and choose Reopen: no period closed, with a reason.
- Closing and reopening need the period-lock permission, which only owners have. Both are recorded with the name and reason.
Closing the books. Nothing can be posted on or before a closed date; reopening needs a reason. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.
Who can see the books
The day book, trial balance and Accounts & books need the accounting permission: owners, managers, accountants and auditors. Cashiers and warehouse staff cannot see them.
On the Cloud edition, from BooksPOS 1.1.0, the store PC also sends each entry to BooksPOS Cloud, and the owner portal shows the day book of any date and profit and loss for any period, away from the shop. See The day book and profit and loss in the owner portal.
Common questions
Can I correct a wrong journal entry?
Not by editing it. Correct the document behind it: a return for a bill, an adjustment for stock, a correction for an opening balance. Each writes its own balancing entry.
Why is there money in "Customer advances"?
Advances are money the shop owes customers until they are used on a bill or refunded. They are not income. See Customer advances.
Why does "Inter-branch transfers" have a balance?
Stock sent to or from another branch is there while it travels. Across the two branches, the balances cancel out. See Transfers between branches.
Can the accountant export the day book?
Yes. On Accounts & books, open Day book, choose the dates and choose CSV for Excel or PDF for an A4 copy. The ledgers, trial balance, balance sheet and chart of accounts export the same way. A very long period is printed in part, and the printout says so; narrow the dates to print the rest.
Related guides
Last updated 30 September 2026. Still stuck? Contact us.