This article explains how to review and post your monthly prepayments journal.
Before posting your journal, see Prepaid Expenses: Best Practices and Quick Start Guide.
Getting started
Before opening the Prepayments Journal, complete the first two stages of the prepayment workflow:
- Select Prepayments — flag which bills should be treated as prepayments, confirm auto-selections, and choose the expense account each releases to.
- Review Prepayments — confirm the schedule and dates ScaleXP has inferred for each bill.
For full detail on both, see How to automate expense recognition journals in ScaleXP.
Note: In consolidated companies, the Prepayments Journal must be reviewed and posted at the subsidiary level, in line with the accounting connection.
Step 1. Open the Prepayments Journal
Go to the Journals tab and open Journal: Prepayments.
The page defaults to the month-end you have selected on the main Journals page. Use the Months to display picker in the top-right to choose the month — or range of months — you want to review. The Download icon next to the picker exports an Excel copy you can attach to your journal entry as backup.
The page is built around seven numbered sections. Section 1 is the suggested journal you post; Sections 2–7 are the supporting detail that show how that figure was calculated.
Step 2. Review the suggested journal (Section 1)
Section 1: Suggested Journal(s) is the net journal ScaleXP recommends for the month. Each line is one account, with the debit and credit ScaleXP wants to post.
In the example above, ScaleXP suggests adding £2,500.05 to the prepayments balance sheet account and crediting £2,500.05 against Expense Account 250 — the net of everything ScaleXP believes should be in this month’s prepayments journal, less anything already posted to your accounting system.
The figure is calculated as:
- Section 2 (the complete prepayments journal ScaleXP would post for the month under IFRS/GAAP), less
- Section 3 (journals already posted to the prepayments account in your accounting system).
If you use Xero Tracking Codes or QuickBooks Classes or Locations, click the down arrow next to the account code to reveal the post by code. For setup detail, see How to add Xero tracking codes or QuickBooks classes to prepaid cost journals proposed by ScaleXP.
If the suggested figure looks right, jump to Step 3 to post. If it looks wrong, work through the supporting sections below to investigate.
Understanding the supporting sections (Sections 2–7)
Sections 2–7 give you a complete audit trail for the figure in Section 1. You don’t need to read them line by line every month — they’re there when you want to investigate a number or attach evidence to a journal.
Section 2: Comprehensive Journal
Open Section 2 to see the gross movements behind Section 1 — every new prepayment being added to the balance sheet this month and every release of a prior-month prepayment back to the P&L. Use this view when you want the full journal for the month, not just the incremental changes to be posted.
Section 3: Journals Already Posted
A summary of journals that have already been written to the prepayments account in your accounting system, split into two sub-sections:
- 3a: Journals posted in month — journals relating to the same month as posted and reported.
- 3b: Journals posted as late adjustments — journals relating to this month but posted in a later period, the result of incremental journals after closing a period in Xero or QuickBooks.
ScaleXP subtracts both 3a and 3b from the IFRS/GAAP-allocated total when calculating Section 1, so you never double-post.
Section 4: Balance Sheet Movements
The balance sheet reconciliation for your prepayments account.
ScaleXP shows:
- Opening Balance on the prepayments account at the start of the period.
- Movements by P&L account — click the Opening Balance down arrow to reveal these.
- Closing Balance after the suggested journal in Section 1 is posted.
- Accounting system closing balance (labelled “Xero closing balance” or the equivalent for your system).
- Difference — any gap between the ScaleXP closing balance and the accounting system balance.
A non-zero Difference is your prompt to investigate. The most common causes are prior-month journals that have not yet posted, bills coded to the wrong account, or manual bills missing from the feed. See Prepaid Expenses: Best Practices and Quick Start Guide for the full playbook.
Section 5: Prepaid Bills, as Allocated (IFRS/GAAP excluding accruals)
Every prepaid bill line item, organised by P&L expense account, showing both the amount recognised this month and the closing balance sheet position. Expand any account to see the supplier and bill detail, including the issue date and any descriptive label.
If a bill has been coded to the balance sheet prepayments account in your accounting system, use the Review Prepayments page to confirm which P&L account it should release to when expensed.
Accruals are handled in a separate journal — see How to automate accrued cost journals. For background on the IFRS/GAAP view used here, see As Spent versus IFRS / GAAP view.
Section 6: Bills as Coded (in Xero or QuickBooks)
The same bills as Section 5, but summarised by the account they were originally coded to in your accounting system rather than where ScaleXP allocates them under IFRS/GAAP.
This is what makes Section 1 reconcile — ScaleXP proposes a journal only for the difference between Section 5 (where the cost should sit under IFRS/GAAP) and Section 6 (where it currently sits in the accounting system).
Section 7: Prepaid Bills by Supplier, as Allocated (IFRS/GAAP excluding accruals)
The same allocated totals as Section 5, but organised by supplier rather than by account. Expand a supplier to see each prepaid bill from that supplier.
This view also lets you add bills that aren’t in your accounting feed via the Add Manual Bill button under each supplier. Use it for prepaid costs that need to flow through the journal but aren’t yet in Xero or QuickBooks. For a full walkthrough see How to add a missing bill or cost supplier.
Step 3. Post the journal
Click Post journal in Section 1.
ScaleXP writes the journal directly to Xero or QuickBooks, dated to the current open period. The button label shows you which period that is — for example, “Post journal May 2026” if April 2026 is the last locked period.
Use the Download icon next to the Months picker — or in the post journal screen — to save an Excel copy and attach it as backup for your journal.
See Prepaid Expense Download Options for download options from this page.
That’s it — your prepayments journal is posted
Your prepayments journal is posted, your balance sheet ties back to your accounting system, and every supporting figure is available for audit. Carry on with your month-end close:
How to automate accrued cost journals
How to review bills by issue month
Related articles
Prepaid Expenses: Best Practices and Quick Start Guide
How to Automate Expense Recognition Journals in ScaleXP
How to Automate Prepaid Expenses: Setting up Prepaid Expenses in ScaleXP
How to Automate Accrued Cost Journals
How to Review Bills by Issue Month
As Spent versus IFRS / GAAP view
How to Add a Missing Bill or Cost Supplier
How to Set and Change Expense Journal Settings
Prepaid Expense Download Options