Bookkeeping is the ledger itself. Every income, bill, adjustment and pay record lives here.
You add them as drafts, approve what you have checked, and the rest of NeroBooks reads from the result. Go to NeroBooks → Bookkeeping. The web address says journal — same screen.
Finding an entry
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| From / To | limits the list to a date range |
| Currency | one currency at a time; amounts never add across currencies |
| Search | matches a reference or description |
| Status | all, drafts only, or posted only |
| Payment method | cash, card or payment clearing, bank, or unpaid |
| Entry type | income, expense, journal, payroll or reversal |
💡 Note: Filter by Status: Draft to see everything waiting for you. Those entries count towards nothing until you approve them.
Adding income or a bill
Use ＋ Add income or bill for a sale you invoiced or a bill you received. Take the amounts from the document, not from a bank line.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Entry type | expense / supplier bill, or income / customer invoice |
| Date | the date on the document |
| Description | what it was for, in words you will recognise later |
| Reference | the invoice or bill number |
| Currency | the currency on the document |
| Total including VAT | the full amount |
| VAT shown on document | the VAT printed on it; 0.00 if there is none |
| VAT evidence | what proves the VAT, like the invoice number |
| Payment method | bank account, cash, card / payment clearing, or not paid yet |
| Expense category | the bucket it goes in — see below |
| Attached document ID | links it to a document you uploaded |
| Flag for tax adjustment review | marks it for a second look; it works nothing out |
Save draft stores it. Nothing changes until you approve it — see Drafts and approvals.
⚠️ Warning: Pick Not paid yet if the bill is still outstanding. Marking it paid before the money leaves will make your cash figures wrong.
Picking a category
| Category | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Purchases and direct costs | stock, materials, anything bought to sell on |
| Rent and premises | rent, rates, insurance, upkeep |
| Utilities | electricity, gas, water, broadband, phone |
| Travel and motor costs | fuel, fares, parking, running a vehicle |
| Software and subscriptions | tools and services you pay for monthly or yearly |
| Marketing | advertising, print, promotion, design |
| Professional fees | accountants, solicitors, consultants |
| Bank and payment costs | bank charges, card fees, processing costs |
| Wages and salaries | employee pay |
| Employer payroll costs | employer National Insurance and employer pension |
| Depreciation and amortisation | the yearly write-down of equipment |
| Other business expenses | anything that fits nowhere above |
💡 Note: Keep Other business expenses small. A big pile there makes a profit and loss hard to read and gives your accountant more to do.
Opening balances, transfers and journals
Some records are not a sale or a bill. Opening balances, moving money between your own accounts, and writing down equipment all use a journal.
A journal has two lines. Each names an account and has a debit and a credit box, and the two sides must match. Open Opening balances, transfers and other journals on this screen.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Date | the date it applies from |
| Currency | one currency per journal |
| Reason | why — your future self will want this |
| Line 1 and line 2 | an account on each, with the debit and credit boxes filled |
Worked examples
| What you are recording | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Money in the bank when you started | Bank accounts | Capital and opening equity |
| Moving money between your own accounts | the account receiving it | the account it left |
| This year's depreciation | Depreciation and amortisation | Accumulated depreciation |
| Money the owner took out of an unincorporated business | Drawings and distributions | Bank accounts |
| A supplier bill unpaid when you started | Capital and opening equity | Supplier payables |
⚠️ Warning: These examples are a starting point, not advice for your business, and they assume an unincorporated business. Money taken out of a limited company is a dividend, a salary or a director's loan, and each is treated differently. Journals are easy to get subtly wrong, so check them with your bookkeeper or accountant before you approve.
Accounts you can use
Journal lines can use any of these, plus the twelve categories above: Cash, Bank accounts, Payment clearing, Customer receivables, VAT recoverable, Fixed assets, Accumulated depreciation, Supplier payables, VAT payable, Payroll payable, Payroll deductions payable, Loans and other liabilities, Capital and opening equity, Drawings and distributions, Sales, Other business income, Sales returns.
The entries list
Each entry shows its date, reference or description, currency and status. If a filter finds nothing you will see No accounting entries match these filters — widen the dates before assuming something is lost.
Frequently asked questions
Enter a bill when it arrives or when I pay it?
Most businesses record it when it arrives, with payment method Not paid yet, so it shows as owed. If you prepare accounts on the cash basis — common for sole traders and landlords — the timing that applies to you may differ. Check with your accountant which basis you are on.
The receipt does not show VAT separately. What now?
Enter the VAT the document actually shows. If it shows none, enter 0.00 and note why in VAT evidence rather than working a figure out yourself.
Can entries be in different currencies?
Yes, each entry has its own. Nothing is converted or added across currencies, so reports run one currency at a time.
What does the tax adjustment flag do?
It marks the entry so you or your accountant look again before a tax estimate. It calculates nothing and changes no figure.
Why can I not edit an old entry?
The period may be locked. The account owner sets a lock date in Settings, and it cannot be reopened from that screen.
This article explains how NeroBooks works. It is general information about the software, not accounting, tax or financial advice. Nero Panda Ltd, trading as NeroPay, is not a tax agent, accountancy firm or financial adviser.
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