Recognizing the ledger entries SamBooks generates on its own from documents

Not every general-ledger line is something you typed: many are created automatically when you issue an invoice, record a cash sale, or pay a tax form. Here's how to recognize them, understand how they're built, and trace them back to the document that created them.

What this is for

In the General ledger, every entry carries an Origin: it tells you whether you recorded it by hand, or whether it was generated by a document — an invoice, a cash sale, a tax payment form, a bank transaction, and so on. "From document" entries are deterministic: SamBooks always applies the same debit/credit account scheme for the same document type, never a randomly picked account or one "decided by AI." And they can't be edited from here: you fix them on the source document, which regenerates them automatically.

Before you start

Viewing entries doesn't require any special permission beyond access to Accounting; manually recording a purchase invoice or fixing a document requires a role with write permissions (Manager or Administrative).

How to do it, step by step

1. Recognize the origin from its own column

In the General ledger, the Origin column always tells you what generated the row. The possible values are: Sales invoice, Purchase invoice, Cash sale, Expense report, Cash receipt / payment, Stripe payment, Fixed asset, Accrual / deferral, Adjustment, VAT settlement, Withholding tax payment, Tax payment form, Withholding taxes suffered, Deferred taxation, Customs bill, Physical inventory, Fiscal year closing, Migration import, Sales delivery note, Purchase delivery note, Bank transaction, Payroll — and Manual entry for the ones you wrote yourself. The "Origin" filter above the table isolates entries of a single type, handy when you're looking for every entry of a certain kind.

2. A sales invoice books itself at issuance

When you send a sales invoice to SDI (the moment it receives its number, not when you create it), SamBooks automatically writes an entry with this scheme:

• Credit Revenue — one line for every distinct revenue account used on the invoice lines (the system account 7.05.10.001 if a line doesn't specify a different one);
• Credit VAT payable (2.25.05.001) — one line for every VAT rate present on the invoice;
• Credit Stamp duty (6.55.05.001) — only if the invoice crosses the threshold that makes the virtual stamp duty due, charged back to the customer;
• Debit Trade receivables — on the sub-ledger for the customer's country (Italy 1.25.05.001, EU 1.25.05.002, non-EU 1.25.05.003), for the full amount of the document.

On the invoice detail page, "Accounts" tab, you'll find the "General ledger" section with the status ("Recorded in the general ledger," or the reminder that this happens automatically at issuance) and the "See the entry" link to open it directly.

3. A credit note (TD04) uses the same scheme, reversed

When you issue a credit note against an invoice, the resulting entry has exactly the same scheme as the sales invoice, but with every line flipped debit↔credit: it's a decrease reversal of revenue and VAT payable, not a new entry with different logic.

4. A purchase invoice books when you confirm it, not when it arrives

Unlike sales invoices, a purchase invoice does not generate its entry on its own as soon as you receive it: first you need to assign an account to every line ("Details" tab of the document), then you record it in the general ledger from here, "Accounting" tab. If an account is still missing on any line, you'll see the notice "Assign an account to each line first," telling you to complete the accounts and use "Confirm and record." Once the accounts are assigned, you have two equivalent paths: the manual "Record manually" button (with just a "VAT date" field, which determines which settlement the tax gets deducted in) or the "Record in general ledger" button, which goes through chat with Sam. Once recorded, the scheme is:

• Debit Cost — one line for every distinct cost account assigned to the lines;
• Debit VAT receivable (1.50.05.001) — for the deductible share of the tax at each rate (a non-deductible line doesn't go to receivable, it's added to the cost instead);
• Debit Stamp duty (6.55.05.001) — if due;
• Credit Trade payables — on the sub-ledger for the supplier's country (Italy 2.20.10.001, EU 2.20.10.002, non-EU 2.20.10.003);
• Credit Withholding taxes payable (2.25.15.002) — only if the invoice carries an IRPEF withholding tax (typical of professional fee notes).

A purchase invoice that has been credited (a credit note received against it) can't be recorded in the general ledger: the notice states it plainly, "A credited document cannot be recorded in the general ledger."

5. A cash sale books itself the moment you enter it

A cash sale always generates its general-ledger entry the very instant you record it, with no further step: debit on the receipt's cash/bank account, credit on cash-sale revenue and VAT on cash sales.

6. Receipts, payments, and bank transactions have their own dedicated actions

An entry with the "Cash receipt / payment" origin comes from the due-dates ledger when you record a receipt or a payment; its row carries the "Open due-dates ledger" action to trace back to the linked due date. An entry with the "Bank transaction" origin comes from reconciling a bank statement; it carries the "Open bank transaction" action. Both are undone with their own dedicated action (Reverse / Undo match) described in the guide on fixing entries, never by editing them directly.

7. Every other document has its own origin

Fixed assets (depreciation and disposals), tax payment forms (tax and withholding payments), VAT settlements (period-closing entry), adjustments (accruals/deferrals), fiscal year closing, expense reports, payroll, delivery notes, and customs bills each generate their own entry with their own domain's scheme: here you recognize them by their Origin label, and the detail for each lives in its own area's guide.

8. Always trace back to the document with "Open source"

On the row of a non-manual entry you'll find "Open source" (tooltip: "Open the source document — that's where you fix it."): it takes you straight to the document. Opening the entry's detail (click the row) also shows the "Direct origin" and "Document chain" sections, with an "Open document" button at every step — useful when an entry comes from a document that itself derives from another one (a credit note reversing an invoice, for example).

9. Why you can't edit an entry that comes from a document

An entry whose origin isn't "Manual entry" has neither the pencil "Edit entry," nor "Fix," nor "Delete entry": the only action is "Open source." The reason is simple: the entry mirrors the document, it isn't independent data. If you change the revenue account on an invoice line, for example, you do it from the invoice's own "Accounts" tab — the general-ledger entry realigns itself, with nothing for you to touch.

Documents that don't generate an entry from here

Not every invoice type goes through this automatic posting: reverse-charge self-invoices (TD16-TD21), self-consumption/gifts (TD27), sales to San Marino (TD28), advance payments (TD02/TD03), and fixed-asset disposals (TD26) each follow their own accounting path, different from the one described here. If you open one of these documents and don't find the entry with the scheme covered in this guide, that's not a bug: it's a document type with its own dedicated recording logic.

If something goes wrong

• I don't see the entry yet for a sales invoice I just created: that's normal until the invoice has been sent to SDI. Creation only sets the status to "Ready"/"Draft"; the entry is created on send, when the invoice gets its number.
• The purchase invoice won't record and I see "Assign an account to each line first": go to the "Details" tab and assign an account to every line before going back to "Accounting."
• I can't find the button to record a credited purchase invoice: that's by design — a document credited by a received credit note can't be recorded.
• I changed an account on the invoice but the entry looks outdated: reload the page or reopen the entry from the "See the entry" link; the update is automatic, but the drill-down view you had open might be showing cached data.
• I'm looking for the entry of a specific tax payment form or VAT settlement: use the "Origin" filter in the general ledger to isolate them, instead of scrolling through the whole list.

Ask Sam

For a purchase invoice that already has its accounts assigned, you can ask Sam to record it in the general ledger — Sam shows you a preview of the debit/credit entry first and waits for your confirmation, exactly like the "Record manually" button. For a sales invoice there's nothing to ask: the entry is created on its own once you confirm the send to SDI, with or without Sam involved. To trace an origin or read the document chain, you can also ask Sam directly "where does this entry come from," and it reads the same information you'd see in the "Origin" tab of the detail page.

Frequently asked questions

When I issue an invoice, is it recorded in the books automatically? Yes, but not at creation: it happens the moment you send it to SDI and it gets its number. Before that it's just a document, with no linked entry.

Where do I see the accounting entry for an invoice? On the invoice detail page, "Accounts" tab (sales) or "Accounting" tab (purchases), you'll find the recording status and a link to open the entry in the general ledger.

How do I know which invoice this entry comes from? Look at the Origin column in the general ledger, or open the entry's detail: the "Direct origin" section shows the document with an "Open document" button.

What accounts does SamBooks use when it records a sales invoice? Revenue (usually 7.05.10.001), VAT payable (2.25.05.001), any stamp duty (6.55.05.001), and trade receivables on the sub-ledger for the customer's country.

How is a credit note recorded? With the same scheme as the sales invoice, but with every line reversed: it's a decrease reversal, not an entry with different logic.

Does receiving payment on an invoice generate an entry? Yes: when you record the receipt from the due-dates ledger, an entry with the "Cash receipt / payment" origin is created, linked to the due date via the "Open due-dates ledger" action.

Why can't I edit the invoice's entry? Because it mirrors the document: you fix the document (or its accounts), not the entry. The only entries you can edit directly are manual ones.

How do I change the revenue account used by the invoice? From the invoice detail's "Accounts" tab, in the per-line revenue account section: the general-ledger entry realigns itself after the change.

What does the "Bank transaction" origin mean? That the entry came from reconciling a bank statement transaction: you can trace it back with the "Open bank transaction" action on the row.

I see an entry but I can't tell where it came from. Open the entry's detail (click the row) and look at the "Direct origin" section: it shows the document type and a button to open it. If the entry comes from a chain (e.g. a credit note reversing an invoice), the "Document chain" section shows every step.

Does a cash sale go into the general ledger? Yes, always and immediately: every recorded cash sale generates its entry right away, with no separate confirmation step.

Does a paid tax form generate an accounting entry? Yes: it has its own origin ("Tax payment form"), distinct from the VAT settlement that generated it — you'll find both by filtering by Origin in the general ledger.

Related guides

• Recording a general ledger entry