How to automate the creation of journal entries in your ERP
Every accounting team feels the friction around journal entry preparation—from pulling data out of disconnected systems and wrangling spreadsheets to managing accruals, reclasses, and adjustments under tight close deadlines. The work is repetitive and detail-heavy, and because so much of it is manual, it introduces risk: small mistakes can ripple into misstated financials, extra review cycles, and painful audits. Parabola helps teams automate both the preparation and downstream handling of journal entries, bringing structure and consistency to a process that’s often fragmented.
After journal entries are prepared, Parabola enables accounting teams at companies like On Running and ShipBob to automatically create and post JEs through live ERP integrations or generate upload-ready CSV files for review and approval. With native integrations across ERPs like Cin7, Microsoft Dynamics Finance, and NetSuite, Parabola replaces spreadsheet-driven handoffs with reliable, repeatable workflows—so teams can move from JE prep to posting faster, with cleaner data, clearer logic, and stronger controls at close.
Video overview
Why Parabola
Parabola takes away the boring, low-value work so we can focus on what actually matters. It’s faster, more accurate, and honestly—less soul-crushing.
What does it mean to create journal entries in your ERP?
Creating journal entries in your ERP means formally recording financial activity in the system of record that drives your books and reporting. It involves taking prepared transaction data or adjustments and posting them to the general ledger with the correct accounts, amounts, and accounting periods so they’re reflected in financial statements. This step is especially critical during period close, when accruals, adjustments, and reclassifications must be accurately entered to ensure the books are complete. Because creating journal entries in an ERP often relies on manual uploads, templates, and reviews, it can introduce delays and risk if the process isn’t well controlled or consistently executed.
How to automate journal entry creation in your ERP with Parabola
- Pull raw data from your ERP, bank accounts, AP/AR platforms, or spreadsheets using steps like Pull from Google Sheets, Pull from NetSuite, or Pull from Email Attachment.
- Clean and standardize your data with steps like Edit columns, Extract with AI, and Standardize with AI to normalize GL codes, vendors, dates, and amounts.
- Reconcile datasets using Combine tables and Stack tables to join datasets from siloed systems.
- Generate ERP-ready journal entry formats and validate balances, accounts, and periods before posting.
- Automatically create and post journal entries into your ERP using live integrations (including NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics Finance, and Cin7), or export upload-ready CSV files for approval and import.
Tips for creating journal entries in your ERP with Parabola
- Use the Custom transform step to handle complex data cleanup and reformatting
- Start by automating a single close task, like reconciling Shopify payouts or generating a recurring accrual JE for freight costs.
- Normalize vendor names, GL codes, and date formats early in your Flow to prevent downstream mismatches.
- Attach relevant documents (e.g. invoice PDFs or email confirmations) directly in your Flow to reduce audit scramble later.
- Standardize JE output format once and reuse it across multiple Flows to simplify ERP uploads.
What other resources are available on native journal entry creation?
- To start automating journal entry in your ERP with Parabola, check out the Template above and Parabola University.