FREE 10+ Journal Entry Template for Students in MS Word | PDF

According to business magazine Forbes, there are three reasons a journal can assist a person, whether he or she is a student or a businessman. First, writing a journal will help us reflect and shape our realities. And it enhances our learning and development. Then, a sustainable journal can be a vital part of our performance improvement. Knowing all this, it is imperative that regularly writing a journal has many positive effects. With this level of expression, writing a journal is empowering and helpful. Yet, amidst the benefits, not everyone truly continues their journal writing. Find out more about journal entries and how to encourage people back into journal writing with this article.

Engaging in regular journaling speaks a lot about a person. At times when we cannot contain what we think, we tend to write them down to free our memory. What we think is what we are, and it defines our state of mind. However, we forget some of our memories, and it leaves us with nothing to remember. When we write a journal, either for personal purposes or for work-related tasks, it gives us the chance to record our thoughts and experiences and use what we learn to set plans and future goals. In other words, a journal affects our decision making, as much as it impacts our daily lives.

What Is a Journal?

They say, life is a never-ending road and every day starts with a new destination. But are you keeping track of the places you have been and the thrill it made you felt? If you try to think about it, our experiences molded us into who we are today. Forgetting those memories also means forgetting our history. In this case, writing a journal will capture every detail of our past and record every thought that crosses our minds. Hence, a journal is a record that contains several purposes. It could be a narrative of your feelings or random opinions about certain situations that are current and relevant to our time.

Business Journals

Writing a journal is not only for personal usage. Businesses, especially those that handle several financial transactions, use a journal to keep a record of every business deals. Why is there a need for a business to record these transactions? The amount of capital, effort, time, and everything a business owner invested in putting up his or her firm must result in fruitful outcomes. The way around that is to keep track of the business’s cash flow and financial health. With a journal, accountants or bookkeepers can record accounts that directly affect the business—money owed to the business, money owed to creditors, payroll for employees, cash balance, budget, etc.

Moreover, without journal entries, accounting and bookkeeping systems have no accounts to start with. Business journal entries, like a personal journal, are vital tools for development and improvement. Considerably, journaling is a major game-changer in the business industry.

10+ Journal Entry Template for Students in MS Word | PDF

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How to Make Journal Entries for Student

Making journal entries is not as hard as you think, unless if it is your first time in doing so. Either a student who is an intern in a big accounting firm or a student doing school projects, taking journals could be another level of responsibility. Recording business transactions and writing school journal entries are no small tasks to do, but you can professionally deal with it with the following tips.

1. Set Your Goals

What are the expected outcomes of your journal? Why do you need to make journal entries? These questions will guide you in setting your goals towards journaling. It could be difficult answering these questions since you have not managed your expectations for the task yet. However, once you have figured out the way around it, making journal entries will be easier.

2. Look for References

References are helpful tools in making business journal entries. Unlike school journals, which only involve writing down personal entries, a business journal requires more than that. Journaling for business means dealing with financial transactions. In that case, look for references that you can easily access. With references on hand, starting an accounting journal entry is more convenient. If you are working for a business, you can even ask for their existing bookkeeping system to automatically make journal entries. Yet, if you need to do it by yourself, make sure to be equipped with the right tools: templates, balance sheets, old business journals, general ledger, and accounting books.

3. Identify the Accounts

Personal journals and school journals are more straightforward to make. As long as you have a pen and a blank space, you can close your eyes and reflect on your day, then put it into words. However, a business journal does not contain the writer’s thoughts. A business journal entry contains the following: correct transaction date, the debited and credited amount, and description of the transaction. Aside from that, it includes accounts in which the business relies on. Identifying the accounts should happen before a journal entry takes place. These accounts are the driving force of the business. Without it, a business might discontinue its operations.

4. Record Transactions

Whatever transaction a business makes, especially transactions that directly affect business accounts, will dictate its future. Recording these transactions with a business journal can help accountants in keeping a report of the financial status. If the accounting or bookkeeping system missed even a single transaction, it is a loss for the company.

FAQs

Making a record of our experiences could be a sentimental thing for some. But, some memories should not remain. That said, journaling is not for all. It only benefits those who use it as a tool for development and improvement. A student and business are the same. They record memories and experiences and use them to clarify the future so that they can achieve their goals.