Auto Journals: Streamline your intercompany eliminations
Auto Journals in GATHER.nexus automatically create the consolidation entries you need for intercompany eliminations, saving you hours of manual work each month.
Before you begin:
You'll need:
Admin or Finance Manager permissions in GATHER.nexus
At least two legal entities set up in your group
Xero or QuickBooks connected to your entities
Intercompany accounts mapped in your GRT
Important: Auto Journals work across all Group Reporting Templates (GRTs) - create once, use everywhere.
Step 1: Access Auto Journals
Navigate to Group Financial Reporting from your main dashboard
Select the Auto Journals tab from the top navigation
Click the green Setup New Auto Journal button (located in the top right)
The Setup Auto Journal dialogue will open, ready for configuration.
Step 2: Configure your journal basics
Narration field:
Enter a clear description like "Intercompany Elimination" or "IC Sales Elimination"
This appears on all generated journal entries for easy identification
Group selection:
Choose your business group from the dropdown
All legal entities within this group will be available for selection
Start Period:
Select when you want the auto journal to begin (format: MM-YYYY)
The system displays the currency for your group (e.g., "Currency: USD")
Reference Number:
This auto-generates (e.g., "1313") but you can customise it
Used for tracking and audit purposes
Step 3: Enable draft mode (optional)
Look for the toggle switch: "Do you want to create Auto Journals in Draft?"
Toggle ON (recommended for first-time setup):
Journals are created but won't appear in consolidation until published
Perfect for testing and validation before going live
Toggle OFF:
Journals are immediately active in consolidation
Best for established, tested configurations
Step 4: Set up your first company elimination
First Company section:
Click "Select first company" dropdown
Choose your first legal entity (e.g., "Demo 1")
The system displays the entity's currency (e.g., "Currency: USD")
Inter-Company Account:
Click "Select Inter-Company account" dropdown
Choose the relevant account (e.g., "205 - Intercompany Sales")
This pulls directly from your connected Xero/QuickBooks chart of accounts
Counter Party:
Click "Select counter party" dropdown
Choose from your customers and vendors list
This identifies which transactions to eliminate
Description:
Add a clear description like "IC Sales to Demo 2"
Helps with audit trails and journal identification
Step 5: Configure your second company elimination
Second Company section: Repeat the same process for your second legal entity:
Select the second company from the dropdown
Choose the corresponding intercompany account
Select the matching counter party
Add a descriptive note
Pro Tip: Ensure your counter party selections match across both companies - if Company A shows Company B as a customer, Company B should show Company A as a vendor.
Step 6: Add foreign exchange automation (optional)
At the bottom, you'll see: "Do you want to add Auto FX Journals?"
Check this box if:
Your entities operate in different currencies
You want automatic foreign exchange elimination entries
You need to eliminate FX gains/losses on intercompany transactions
Leave unchecked if:
All entities use the same currency
You prefer manual FX adjustments
You have complex FX requirements needing custom handling
Step 7: Create your auto journals
Click the green Start Creating button
The system begins processing your intercompany transactions
You'll see a progress indicator while journals are generated
Once complete, you can click View Journals to see results
Step 8: Review your generated journals
Click on View Journals to view all the journals
The View Journals for Intercompany Elimination screen shows:
Journal overview:
Date: When the journal was created (e.g., "01 Jan, 2025")
Narration: Your description ("Intercompany Elimination")
Group: Which business group it applies to
Status: "Published" (active) or "Draft" (inactive)
Created: System timestamp and user
Amount: Total elimination amount from your underlying ledger
Available actions:
Edit: Modify journal amounts or details
History: View all changes and updates
Mark As Inactive: Remove from consolidation without deleting
Managing your auto journals
Editing journal entries
Click Edit next to any journal entry
Update the amount field as needed
Click Update to save changes
Changes automatically apply to all Group Reporting Templates
Viewing journal history
Click History to see all modifications
Review who made changes and when
Track journal creation and updates over time
Deactivating journals
Click Mark As Inactive to temporarily remove from consolidation
The journal remains in the system but won't affect your reports
Reactivate anytime by editing the journal status
Confirming your success
You'll know your Auto Journals are working when:
Intercompany transactions automatically eliminate in consolidation
Elimination entries appear consistently across all reporting periods
Check your consolidation reports:
Navigate to Reports tab
Run a consolidated P&L or Balance Sheet
Verify intercompany items are properly eliminated
Common questions
Q: My auto journals aren't being created - what's wrong?
A: Check these common issues:
Ensure your intercompany accounts are properly mapped in GRT
Confirm your entities have intercompany transactions during the selected period
Q: Can I modify the journal amounts after creation?
A: Yes! Click Edit next to any journal, adjust the amount, and click Update. Changes apply across all Group Reporting Templates automatically.
Q: What happens if I mark a journal as inactive?
A: The journal remains in your system but won't applied on Aggregated amounts. You can reactivate it anytime by editing the journal status.
Q: Do I need to recreate auto journals each month?
A: No - once set up, Auto Journals automatically process new transactions each period. You only need to create new rules for different types of eliminations.
Q: Can I use Auto Journals for more than just intercompany eliminations?
A: While primarily designed for intercompany eliminations, you can create auto journals for any recurring adjustments that follow predictable patterns.
What's next?
Set up Working Papers: Create Consolidation Working Papers to review the correct application of Auto Journals - and to add any manual journals needed to perfect the consolidation
Configure Group Reports: Build consolidated financial statements using your clean data
Explore Advanced Features: Learn about multi-currency consolidation and FX eliminations
Schedule Regular Reviews: Set monthly reminders to validate auto journal accuracy
Have questions or need assistance❓
Contact our support team at support@gather.nexus