Correcting a journal posted to the wrong account

How a brokerage should fix a journal posted to the wrong account or month, by reversing and reposting, and what to do when the month is already closed.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Insurance businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya

The management accounts are on the principal's desk and something looks off. Interest received is suspiciously high, and commission income from one insurer is missing. A quick look shows why: last month's commission deposit was posted to the wrong income account. In another corner of the ledger, the office rent for one month has been dated into the next.

The instinct is to open the journal and change it. Achekam will not allow that, and for good reason. This article explains how a brokerage in South Africa, Nigeria or Kenya corrects a posted journal properly, what to do if the month is already closed, and how to stop the same mistake recurring.

Why a posted journal is left alone

Once a journal is posted, other things depend on it. Management accounts have been printed. A VAT figure may have been worked out from it. Your accountant may have reviewed the month. If the journal could be edited in place, every one of those would silently stop agreeing with the books, and nobody could tell what had changed or why.

Achekam therefore corrects a posted journal only by a reversal. The original stays in the ledger, the reversal cancels it, and a new journal records what should have happened. Anyone looking later sees all three and can follow the story.

Two related rules apply to every manual journal: an unbalanced journal is refused, and so is one dated in a closed month.

Reverse, then post it again

Take the commission example. The original journal debited the bank and credited interest received with the commission deposit.

1. Reverse the original. The reversal debits interest received and credits the bank with the same amount. Interest received is back where it should be, and so, for a moment, is the bank.
2. Post the correct journal. Debit the bank and credit commission income with the deposit.
3. Describe both. In the description of each, say what was wrong and refer to the original, so the trail explains itself.

The bank balance ends up exactly as it was, because the money really did arrive. Only the income account has changed.

The rent example works the same way, except that the account was right and the date was wrong: reverse the journal, then post the same entry with the correct date.

When the month has already closed

Achekam lets months be soft-closed, hard-closed and locked, and a closed month refuses postings from every source, including your correction. That leaves two honest choices:

• Correct it in the current month. Date the reversal and the new journal in the open month, and describe them clearly. The error stays in the closed month's figures, but the year's totals are right. This suits a small misclassification that nobody has relied on.
• Reopen the month. If the error matters to figures already used, such as management accounts sent to a lender or a VAT figure, reopen the month, correct it there and close it again. Reopening a hard close needs a second approver, so this is a decision two people make together.

Agree with your accountant which errors justify reopening. A short written rule, decided in advance, saves arguments when the next one turns up.

Check the trial balance afterwards

After any correction, run the trial balance. Achekam shows each account for all time, for a period or at a date, and says whether debits equal credits. Look at both accounts the correction touched, for the month in question and for the year so far. Investopedia's explainer on the trial balance covers how this listing of ledger balances is used to check that total debits equal total credits.

If something still looks wrong, the general ledger lists every posted line, so you can see the original, the reversal and the replacement side by side and confirm the net effect is what you intended.

Stop it happening again

Most misposted journals come from a chart of accounts that makes the wrong choice easy. In a brokerage, the usual culprits are two income accounts with similar names, or standard accounts the business never uses sitting next to the ones it does.

Each business in Achekam has its own chart of accounts, created when the books first open, and accounts can be added, renamed or switched off. A tidy-up worth doing once:

• Rename for clarity. "Commission income: short-term" and "Commission income: life" are harder to confuse than "Commission" and "Commissions received".
• Switch off what you never use. Every unused account you switch off is one fewer wrong choice on the list.
• Add what you need. If broker fees and commission are different income for you, give each its own account rather than sharing one.

Commission deposits are the most common source of misposting in a brokerage, which is why the monthly check in reconciling commission paid by insurers is the best place to catch them early. Payroll journals follow similar disciplines of separate preparation and approval, set out in payroll in a small brokerage.

A correction checklist

1. Find the original journal and note its date, accounts and amount.
2. Decide whether the month it sits in is open or closed.
3. If closed, decide with a second person whether to reopen or correct in the current month.
4. Post the reversal.
5. Post the correct journal.
6. Describe both, with a reference to the original.
7. Run the trial balance and check the accounts affected.
8. Ask whether the chart of accounts made the mistake easy, and fix that too.

A correction that shows the original mistake is not an embarrassment. It is evidence that the books are kept honestly. Reverse, repost, describe, check, and then make the chart of accounts a little harder to get wrong.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.