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This guide covers creating a Book, bringing existing records into it, and retiring a Book you no longer post to. For how Books, the Primary Book, and Book assignment work, see Multi-Book Accounting.

Before you start

To follow these steps, you need the following:
  • Multi-Book on your organization: Multi-Book may not be enabled for your organization yet. If Books doesn’t appear under Configuration → Accounting Setup, contact your DualEntry account team.
  • Permissions: your role can view Books. Creating a Book needs permission to create Books, starting a sync needs permission to create or edit Books, and editing or deactivating a Book needs permission to edit Books. See User Roles and Permissions.
  • Room for another active Book: an organization can have up to five active Books, including the Primary Book.

Create a Book

Create a Book for each additional ledger you report, such as a local statutory ledger. Decide on its code first, because you can’t change the code after you create the Book.
  1. Navigate to Configuration → Accounting Setup → Books and select New book.
  2. Under Details, enter a Name and a Code. The code can be up to 20 characters and must be unique in your organization, including among inactive Books. DualEntry stores it in uppercase.
  3. Optionally, enter a Description.
  4. To bring existing records into the Book now, select Include historical records under Historical records, then choose the Source book. It defaults to the Primary Book. You can skip this and include historical records later.
  5. Select Create.
DualEntry confirms with Book created and lists the Book on the Overview tab. Records you create from now on go to the new Book by the rules in How records get their Books. If you included historical records, the Book opens with the sync’s progress. Once a second Book is active, journal entry forms show a Books field.

Include historical records in a Book

Include historical records to tag a Book with the records that already exist in another Book. Use it for a Book you created without them, or to pick up records added to the source Book since the last sync.
  1. Navigate to Configuration → Accounting Setup → Books and select the Book.
  2. In the Historical records section, select Include existing transactions. A Book that has never been synced shows “No existing or historical transaction sync has been run for this book.”
  3. Choose the Source book. It defaults to the Primary Book.
  4. Select Start sync.
DualEntry adds the Book to every record in the source Book that isn’t already in it, including contracts, fixed assets, and the postings they generate. The sync only adds Books, so records already in the Book aren’t duplicated and nothing is removed. It also tags records dated in locked periods. The sync works from a snapshot of the source Book taken when it starts. To pick up records added afterwards, run it again. The Primary Book has no Historical records section, because it already holds every record and can’t receive a sync. A Book can run one sync at a time.

Track, repeat, or retry a sync

The Historical records section of a Book shows its latest sync and refreshes while the sync runs. You can keep working while a sync runs.
  • Copy status shows Queued, In progress with a percentage, Completed, or Failed.
  • Source book and Started by show where the records came from and who started the sync.
  • Copy progress shows how many transactions the sync has checked so far.
To run another sync from the same source after one completes, open More actions and choose Sync from followed by the source Book’s name and again, then select Start sync. If a sync fails, the section shows the error and a Retry copy button. To see earlier runs, open More actions and choose View sync history. Each run lists its status, time, Started by, Source book, Target book, Transactions checked, and any error.

Edit, deactivate, or reactivate a Book

After you create a Book, you can change its name and description, and you can deactivate it to stop new records from going to it. DualEntry doesn’t delete Books, so deactivating is how you retire one. Both changes need permission to edit Books.

Edit a Book’s name or description

You can change a Book’s name and description, including the Primary Book’s name. The code can’t be changed.
  1. Navigate to Configuration → Accounting Setup → Books and select the Book.
  2. Select Edit, change the Name or Description, and save.
The new name appears on the Books list, in the Books field on records, and in the report Book filter.

Deactivate a Book

  1. Navigate to Configuration → Accounting Setup → Books.
  2. Open the Book’s row menu and choose Deactivate. You can also select the Book, select Edit, and set Status to Inactive.
After you deactivate a Book:
  • New records no longer go to it, and you can’t select it on a record.
  • Records already tagged to it keep it, and their Books field shows the Book with (inactive) after its name.
  • It no longer appears in the Book filter on reports.
  • It moves to the Inactive tab and no longer counts toward the limit of five active Books.
You can’t deactivate the Primary Book.

Reactivate a Book

To reactivate a Book, open the Inactive tab, open the Book’s row menu, and choose Activate. Reactivating counts toward the limit of five active Books. Records created while the Book was inactive aren’t added to it when you reactivate it; include historical records to fill the gap.

Troubleshooting

The table below lists the messages you might see while managing Books and what to do about each.
Last modified on November 13, 2026