For all the buzz around finance transformation, one critical process has been left behind: journal entries. Despite massive efforts to modernize the close, many finance teams are still stuck in spreadsheets, emails and late-night manual entries. The result? Delayed closes, increased risk and exhausted teams.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
The Hidden Opportunity in Journal Entries
Journal entries are the foundation of financial reporting. They feed the general ledger and directly impact the timeliness and accuracy of actuals—data that downstream teams rely on for forecasting, planning and decision-making. Yet, journal entry processes remain some of the most manual and error-prone activities in accounting.
Manual journal entries not only slow the close — they introduce risk, inflate costs and pull valuable resources away from strategic work. According to EY, automation could eliminate over 70% of journal entries while cutting days off the close cycle.
A Smarter, Safer, Faster Way Forward
Automating journal entries doesn’t mean replacing judgment — it means reducing repetitive, rules-based tasks that don’t add value. With the right solution, accounting teams can automatically extract data, apply allocation rules, validate entries and post to the ERP — all with a full audit trail and proper controls in place.
This new approach enables:
- Speed to accurate results – Close faster with fewer errors
- Speed to financial insights – Analyze trends and discrepancies earlier
- Speed to strategic insights – Enable agile forecasting and real-time decisions
Making Automation Real: Start with Repeatable Tasks
The best place to begin? Recurring entries like T&E accruals, allocations and intercompany transactions. These processes follow clear rules and are prime candidates for touchless automation.
Leading organizations are adopting continuous accounting — spreading journal activities across the period instead of cramming everything into month-end. This shift frees teams to focus on what matters: analysis, not administration.
BlackLine Makes it Possible
BlackLine’s Journal Entry solution is designed to help accounting teams automate, standardize and streamline their processes — without relying on IT. With prebuilt templates, built-in controls and real-time ERP integration, BlackLine delivers:
- Centralized journal creation, review and approval
- Real-time data validation and posting
- Seamless collaboration and audit-readiness
Transform the Close – Elevate Accounting.
Automating journal entries is more than a process upgrade — it’s a mindset shift. It’s about giving finance teams the tools and time they need to become true business partners. And it starts with eliminating the manual work that holds them back.
Ready to stop surviving the close and start mastering it?
Download the white paper to learn how to get started with journal entry automation.
