Manual Ledger Adjustments

Manual adjustments let you create a journal entry by hand when the system hasn't recorded something automatically. This is a powerful tool -- use it carefully.

When to Make a Manual Adjustment

Manual adjustments are appropriate when:

• A wire fee reduced the received amount and the system didn't automatically account for it
• A bank credit or debit needs to be classified to the correct account
• A reconciliation discrepancy needs to be corrected after investigation
• An admin needs to reclassify an amount between accounts

Manual adjustments are not appropriate when:

• A payment needs to be reversed (use the Reverse Entry action instead)
• An overpayment needs to be resolved (use the Suspense Queue instead)
• You're not sure what's wrong (investigate first using the Ledger Health dashboard)

How to Create a Manual Adjustment

1. Navigate to Ledger > Journal Entries in the admin panel
2. Click the Manual Adjustment button in the top-right corner
3. Fill in the required fields:
   • Debit Account -- the account to debit (select from the dropdown)
   • Credit Account -- the account to credit (must be different from the debit account)
   • Amount -- the dollar amount of the adjustment
   • Description -- a clear explanation of why this adjustment is needed (required for audit purposes)
4. Type "adjust" to confirm
5. Click Create Adjustment

The system creates a balanced journal entry and updates both account balances immediately.

How to Reverse a Journal Entry

If a journal entry was recorded incorrectly and needs to be undone:

1. Navigate to the journal entry's detail page (Ledger > Journal Entries, then click the entry)
2. Click the Reverse Entry button
3. Enter the reason for the reversal
4. Type "reverse" to confirm
5. Click Reverse Entry

The system creates a new journal entry that mirrors the original with all directions flipped. The original entry is marked as "reversed." Both entries remain in the ledger for the audit trail.

Safety Guidelines

• Every manual adjustment is permanently recorded with your name, a timestamp, and the description you provide. There is no way to delete it.
• Both the debit and credit accounts must be active. You cannot adjust inactive accounts.
• The debit and credit accounts must be different. You cannot debit and credit the same account.
• The amount must be positive. To reverse the direction of a previous adjustment, swap the debit and credit accounts.
• Always provide a clear, specific description. "Fix" or "adjustment" alone is not sufficient. Describe what you're correcting and why.

After Making an Adjustment

After creating a manual adjustment:

1. Verify the affected account balances on the Ledger > Accounts page
2. Check the Ledger Health Dashboard to confirm no new invariant violations were introduced
3. If the adjustment was related to a specific investment, verify the investment's ledger entries panel shows the correction