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Working in Accounting

How to use the Beam Machine accounting module for accounts, journals, ledgers, reports, and period close work.

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Working in Accounting

This page shows you how to use the Accounting module as the financial source of truth for accounts, journals, ledgers, reports, and close work.

Product: Beam Machine
Module: Accounting
Role: Bookkeeper, Accountant, Finance Lead, Reviewer
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate
Time: 12 minutes first read, 3-5 minutes for repeat use
Last Updated: 2026-03-10
Version: Current Beam Machine app build in this repo

Before You Start

  • You need access to the Accounting module.
  • You should know the active entity and reporting period.
  • You should know whether you are fixing account setup, posting journals, reviewing movement, or closing a period.
  • Keep 98-screen-map.md open if you need the full route list.

What is the Accounting module?

On paper, this is your ledger room. It is where account structure, manual postings, account movement, and financial statements come together. In Beam Machine, that work lives inside the Accounting module and its child pages.

When do you use this?

Use this module when you need to:

  • review or fix the chart of accounts,
  • post or inspect journals,
  • trace balances in the general ledger,
  • run core financial reports,
  • or manage month-end and year-end close.

If you skip Accounting and jump straight to reports, you usually end up reading symptoms instead of fixing the actual source problem.

Where do you find it?

Primary path: Finance -> Accounting
Main child pages: Chart of Accounts, Journals, General Ledger, Reports, Month End

Important routes:

  • /dashboard/accounting
  • /dashboard/accounting/chart-of-accounts
  • /dashboard/accounting/journals
  • /dashboard/accounting/journals/new
  • /dashboard/accounting/ledger
  • /dashboard/accounting/reports
  • /dashboard/accounting/month-end

How to work in Accounting

  1. Open Accounting from the left sidebar.
  2. Check that the active entity is correct in the header.
  3. Decide which of these jobs you are actually doing:
    • fixing account structure,
    • posting a journal,
    • reviewing balance movement,
    • running a report,
    • closing a period.

If you need to manage account structure

  1. Open Chart of Accounts.
  2. Confirm the account number, name, and classification before posting anything new.

If you need to post or inspect journals

  1. Open Journals for the list view.
  2. Open New Journal when you need to create a new manual entry.
  3. Check date, description, period, and balancing logic before saving.

If you need to trace a balance

  1. Open General Ledger.
  2. Select the account from the dropdown.
  3. Review detailed transactions and the running balance.

If you need to produce finance reports

  1. Open Reports.
  2. Choose the report you need:
  • Trial Balance
  • Income Statement (P&L)
  • Balance Sheet
  1. Confirm the period and entity before exporting or circulating the result.

If you need to run period close

  1. Open Month End.
  2. Confirm the active financial year and current period.
  3. Run the month-end checklist.
  4. Read the checklist results instead of blindly trusting status badges.
  5. Close the period only when open issues are resolved.
  6. Close the financial year only after all periods are closed.

āœ… Checkpoint: At this point, you should know which accounting child page matches your actual job. If you still feel lost, you are probably trying to do banking, invoicing, or tax work from the accounting module.

Common Questions & Issues

"The report is wrong"

Why this happens: The report usually reflects underlying journals or account setup problems.

Fix: Open General Ledger and Journals first. Confirm movement and account classification before blaming the report.

"I can see Month End, but I am not sure I should close the period"

Why this happens: The close action is visible before users are operationally ready to use it.

Fix: Run the checklist, confirm unresolved items are genuinely resolved, and only then close the period. If you are unsure, escalate to the finance lead.

"Some advanced accounting screens feel more roadmap than routine"

Why this happens: The module includes visible routes such as close-agent and autonomous-close that are broader than the day-to-day core truth flow.

Fix: Use the live, proven accounting workflow first. Check 99-functionality-gap-map.md before promising advanced automation behavior.

What's Next

Related Pages

SA Compliance Reference

  • Companies and tax reporting rely on accurate books and period control. This page does not replace your firm accounting policy or tax signoff process.

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