# Journals and purchase journal in Exact Online | Glimps > What a journal is, when you need more than one purchase journal and how to set it up in Exact Online, with menu paths, entry numbers and common mistakes. Source: https://useglimps.com/en/blog/dagboeken-inkoopboek-exact-online | Language: en | Updated: 2026-09-24 This Markdown file is the plain-text twin of the page above, generated at build time from the same render. --- Wouter MurmansFounder of Glimps 24 September 2026 8 min read A journal in Exact Online groups entries of one kind, such as bank, cash, general, purchase or sales. The purchase journal (inkoopboek) is the journal of the Purchase type where you post supplier invoices, and every journal has its own series of entry numbers per financial year. You create journals under Company name > Master data > Financial > Journals, and with automatic invoice processing you choose yourself which purchase journal the entries from the Scanning service go to. Journals sound like something you set up once and then forget. That is true, until you get an invoice in dollars, start a second company or your accountant asks why entry number 214 is missing. Below you read how to set it up properly. I checked all menu paths in the Exact knowledge base on 24 September 2026. The sources are at the bottom. ## What is a journal in Exact Online? Exact puts it like this: journals group specific transactions, for example domestic sales or everything that happens in one bank account. Every entry you make, you make in a journal. When you go to **Financial > Entries & G/L Accounts > Entries > Create**, you first select the journal and only then the account and the amounts. Journals are part of the master data of a company (administratie). You create them when you start with a company. Exact asks for two things first: G/L accounts for bank, sales, purchase and cash to link to the journals, and a financial year that has been created. ## The journal types in Exact Online Exact Online has six journal types. This is what goes in them and what Exact itself says about them: | Journal type | What goes in it | Good to know | | --- | --- | --- | | Bank | Transactions on one bank account | Created automatically when you create a bank account. You can only create a bank journal through a bank account. It also needs a G/L account Unallocated. | | Cash | Cash payments and receipts | You link its own G/L account and decide if it is the main journal for payments and receipts. | | General (memoriaal) | Corrections, depreciation, accruals | If you have not set a journal for Item - Transactions, Exact links it to the next general journal you create. | | Purchase | Supplier invoices | You link its own G/L account. The entries from the Scanning service also land here. | | Sales | Customer invoices | You link its own G/L account. | | Payment services | Transactions through a payment service | A separate type next to bank and cash. | If you create several journals of the same type, each journal must get its own G/L account. So that also applies when you want two purchase journals. ## The purchase journal: where your purchase invoices land The purchase journal (inkoopboek, also called inkoopdagboek) is the journal of the Purchase type. Every purchase invoice you post in Exact ends up in a purchase journal. If you receive invoices through Peppol, the digital postbox or the Scanning service, Exact turns them into entry proposals. If you use none of those three, you create the purchase entries yourself. Either way, the entry ends up in a purchase journal, with its own entry number. What turns an invoice into an entry is covered in [posting purchase invoices automatically in Exact Online](https://useglimps.com/en/blog/facturen-automatisch-inboeken-exact-online). What a [purchase invoice](https://useglimps.com/en/begrippen/inkoopfactuur) is exactly, you find in our [glossary](https://useglimps.com/en/begrippen). ## When do you use more than one purchase journal? For most companies one purchase journal is enough. A second one only makes sense when it gives you something: a separate number series, a separate overview or a different currency. These are the situations where we see it: - **Several companies.** Every company (administratie) has its own master data, so also its own journals. If you have a holding with three operating companies, you set up a purchase journal in each company. - **Foreign currency.** Exact gives you two routes. You switch on **Variable: Currency** in your purchase journal, so you can post in more than one currency there. Or you create a dedicated journal per currency and use that for those entries. Variable: Currency and Variable: Exchange rate are only available with the Currency module. - **Type of invoice.** Some companies keep cost invoices and item invoices apart, or give a business unit its own purchase journal. Exact does not force this. It is a choice for your own overview. - **Credit notes.** Exact has no separate journal type for credit notes. So a supplier credit note is also posted in a journal of the Purchase type. Whether that is the same purchase journal or a separate one with its own number series is up to you. Agree on it with your accountant before you start, not halfway through the year. If you work with many companies, also look at our page on [multiple administrations](https://useglimps.com/en/multi-entity). ## Step by step: setting up a purchase journal in Exact Online ### Step 1. Create the purchase journal Go to **Company name > Master data > Financial > Journals** and click **New**. Pick the Purchase type, enter a code and description and link the G/L account on which the transactions of this journal are booked. If you already have a purchase journal, the new one gets its own G/L account. After saving, the journal shows up in the **Overview | Journals** list. Master data > Financial > Journals, the entry screen of a new journal of the Purchase type with code, description and linked G/L account visible. --> ### Step 2. Set the currency The same screen has a Currency section. With **Currency** you add active currencies to the journal. With **Variable: Currency** you can enter transactions in more than one currency. You also need that option if you later want to post currency revaluation entries in this journal. **Variable: Exchange rate** supports more than one exchange rate and can only be switched on once Variable: Currency is on. ### Step 3. Set the entry numbers Every journal counts its own entry numbers (boekstuknummers) per financial year. Open the journal through its **Code** or **Description** and, in the **Financial year: Entry number** section, enter the start number or next number for a financial year. Exact uses that number for the next entry and counts up afterwards. Note: this only changes the numbers of new entries. If you want to change the entry number of an existing entry, you must delete the entry and enter it again with the number you want. ### Step 4. Pick the purchase journal for automatic invoice processing If you use the Scanning service, go to **Company name > Settings** and select **Automatic invoice processing**. There you decide which purchase and sales journal the entries that come through the Scanning service are booked to. If you create a new purchase journal and the Scanning service must post into it, do not forget this setting. Otherwise the proposals keep landing in the old journal. Settings > Automatic invoice processing, with the purchase journal field. --> ### Step 5. Block a journal you no longer use A journal without entries can be deleted: select it in the Journals list and click **Delete**. If it already has entries, you open the journal, click Edit and select **Blocked**. You can then no longer pick it under Entries > Create, but the history stays. ### Step 6. Check for missing entry numbers Go to **Financial > Entries & G/L Accounts > Reports > Missing entry numbers** (Ontbrekende boekstuknummers). Select a financial year and click Refresh. You see per journal which numbers are missing. According to Exact, gaps come from deleted entries or numbers that were skipped by accident. Entries & G/L Accounts > Reports > Missing entry numbers, filtered on a financial year with a result per journal. --> ## Common mistakes 1. **Posting in the wrong journal.** A purchase invoice in the general journal, or in the purchase journal of the wrong company. The amount is right, but your overviews and your number series are not. Under Entries > Create, always check first which journal is selected. 2. **One journal for everything when you need more.** If you want a separate number series or overview for a business unit or a currency, set it up at the start of a financial year. Splitting halfway gives you two half years nobody can compare any more. 3. **Gaps in the numbering.** A deleted entry leaves a gap. Run the Missing entry numbers report before your accountant does, and note why a number is missing. 4. **Foreign invoices in the euro journal.** Without Variable: Currency you cannot enter transactions in more than one currency in a journal. An invoice in dollars then does not fit your euro journal. Switch the option on or create a journal per currency. 5. **The purchase journal not set for automatic invoice processing.** You created a new purchase journal, but the Scanning service still posts in the old one. Or the other way round: you block the old journal without updating the setting. After every change to your journals, check Company name > Settings > Automatic invoice processing. ## How Glimps does it Glimps only works with Exact Online. It takes suppliers, G/L accounts, VAT codes, cost centres, projects, journals, purchase orders and receipts straight from Exact. So a Glimps posting is a real posting in your own company, in the journal you chose. Glimps reads every line of the invoice, codes each line from how you posted that supplier before (see also [GL coding](https://useglimps.com/en/begrippen/grootboekcodering)) and posts the entry in Exact Online itself, per supplier as far as you allow. If you work with several administrations, you manage them from one platform. With the PO matching add-on, Glimps puts every line next to the purchase order and the receipt, as explained in [3-way matching explained](https://useglimps.com/en/blog/3-way-matching-uitgelegd). Who should authorise which invoice is covered in [authorising invoices in Exact Online](https://useglimps.com/en/blog/facturen-fiatteren-exact-online). Eight checks stop or limit a posting. Two of them touch this topic directly: a credit note and a different currency than usual limit automatic posting, so such an invoice comes to you first. And Glimps never pays. Glimps does not support Peppol or UBL. You start today. You connect Exact Online yourself and your first invoice is processed within minutes. You try it free for 14 days. See the [pricing page](https://useglimps.com/en/pricing) or open the [demo](https://useglimps.com/en/demo) first. ## Conclusion One purchase journal per company is enough for most businesses. Create a second one for a different currency, its own number series or a separate overview, preferably at the start of a financial year. Give every journal its own G/L account, check for gaps and remember which journal the Scanning service posts to. ### Wouter Murmans Founder of Glimps Wouter Murmans is the founder of Glimps. He builds Glimps for finance teams that process their purchase invoices in Exact Online, and writes about what goes wrong there in practice and how to fix it. ## Frequently asked questions Short answers to what people ask most. Questions about your situation? ### What is a journal in Exact Online? A journal groups entries of one kind, for example everything on one bank account or all purchase invoices. Exact Online has six types: Bank, Cash, General, Purchase, Sales and Payment services. Every entry is made in a journal, and every journal has its own series of entry numbers per financial year. ### What is the purchase journal in Exact Online? The purchase journal is the journal of the Purchase type. That is where you post your supplier invoices. You link its own G/L account to it, and the entries from the Scanning service go to the purchase journal you pick under automatic invoice processing. ### Do I need more than one purchase journal? Usually not. A second purchase journal makes sense for a different currency, its own number series or a separate overview per business unit. If you have several companies, each company has its own journals. Preferably create an extra purchase journal at the start of a financial year, and give it its own G/L account. ### How do I create a purchase journal in Exact Online? Go to Company name > Master data > Financial > Journals and click New. Pick the Purchase type, enter code and description and link a G/L account. Under Currency, switch on Variable: Currency if you want to post in more than one currency. After saving, the journal shows up in the Journals overview. ### How do I set the entry numbers of a journal? Open the journal under Company name > Master data > Financial > Journals and enter the start or next number for a financial year in the Financial year: Entry number section. Exact uses that number for the next entry and counts up afterwards. An existing entry only gets a different number if you delete it and enter it again. ### How do I find missing entry numbers in Exact Online? Go to Financial > Entries & G/L Accounts > Reports > Missing entry numbers, select a financial year and click Refresh. You see per journal which numbers are missing. According to Exact, gaps come from deleted entries or numbers that were skipped by accident. ### Which journal does Exact automatic invoice processing post to? In the purchase journal you pick yourself under Company name > Settings > Automatic invoice processing. There you decide which purchase and sales journal the entries from the Scanning service go to. If you create a new purchase journal or block the old one, update this setting right away. ### Which journal does Glimps post to? In the journal you chose. Glimps takes the journals straight from Exact Online, so a Glimps posting is a real posting in your own company. Glimps posts per supplier as far as you allow, eight checks stop or limit a posting, and Glimps never pays. **Sources and method · checked on 24 September 2026** [Exact kennisbank: Dagboeken aanmaken en bewerken](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Task-financial-generic-finjrnl-crtjrnlt?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: Dagboeken verwijderen of als inactief instellen](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Task-financial-generic-finjrnl-deljrnlt?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: Boekstuknummers specificeren of wijzigen](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Content-endofyear-startwitheol-finyend-faqentrynumbert?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: Een overzicht ontbrekende boekstuknummers genereren](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Task-financial-glaccounts-fingl-glmissingentrynot?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: Vreemde valuta in een dagboek inschakelen](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Task-financial-currency-fincur-turnonforeigncurrt?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: De scanservice instellen](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Concept-general-scanning-service-genscnsrv-setupc?language=nl_NL)[Exact kennisbank: Inkoopfacturen efficiënt verwerken in Exact Online](https://support.exactonline.com/community/s/article/All-All-HNO-Concept-purchase-purch-efcntprcspurinvc?language=nl_NL)Spot an outdated or inaccurate claim about your product? [Let us know](https://useglimps.com/en/contact) and we will fix it. ## Related articles ### Automatically posting invoices in Exact Online: how to set it up safely How to post purchase invoices automatically in Exact Online: the automatic invoice processing settings with menu paths, the mistakes to avoid and where a tool takes over the work. ### Cost centres and cost units on purchase invoices in Exact Online The difference between cost centre and cost unit, the steps in Exact Online with menu paths, splitting an invoice over several cost centres and the mistakes that break your report. ### Processing credit notes in Exact Online You process a supplier credit note in Exact Online as a negative purchase invoice. How to post it, link it to the invoice, pay only the difference and keep your VAT right.