--- title: Journal number assignment in companies integrated with QuickBooks Online description: duplicate journal, QuickBooks Online journal number --- [Skip to content](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/journal-number-assignment#main-content) [Go to Customer Portal](https://hub.acctivate.com/tickets?hsLang=en) ![Acctivate - A CAI Solution](https://hub.acctivate.com/hubfs/Images/Logos/acctivate-cai-logo-svg.svg) - [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles) - [Go to Customer Portal](https://hub.acctivate.com/tickets) - [Support Resources / Create Ticket](https://acctivate.com/support) [Support Resources / Create Ticket](https://acctivate.com/support) Hello. How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Knowledge Base](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles?hsLang=en) 2. [QuickBooks](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/quickbooks?hsLang=en) 3. [QuickBooks Online](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/quickbooks?hsLang=en#quickbooks-online) July 7, 2026 # Journal number assignment in companies integrated with QuickBooks Online ## This article explains how journal numbers are assigned in companies integrated with QuickBooks Online When Acctivate syncs journal entries to QuickBooks Online, it does not assign the journal number directly. Instead, QuickBooks Online generates the journal number automatically. Acctivate then checks that number against the journal number format defined in the [Company Numbers settings](https://docs.acctivate.com/docs/ConfigurationCompany.html#company-numbers). If the QuickBooks journal number matches the expected format, Acctivate accepts it and updates the Next number in the sequence. If the number doesn’t match the expected format, Acctivate will overwrite it with the correct journal number based on your configuration.   ### Example If your journal number format in Acctivate expects "ACCT01001" next, but QuickBooks Online assigns "Adjustment 1234" (from a previous manual entry), Acctivate will overwrite it with "ACCT01001" to stay consistent with your numbering pattern, even if it results in a duplicate. If QuickBooks assigns "ACCT01003" because someone manually created "ACCT01002" earlier in QuickBooks, Acctivate will accept "ACCT01003" and automatically update the Next number to "ACCT01004". This process ensures your journal numbers remain consistent and follow the pattern you’ve set up in Acctivate while also preventing Acctivate journals from using a journal number that may be a duplicate of an existing QuickBooks journal number. The Acctivate development team has identified a scenario where QuickBooks Online assigns a journal number that has already been used, **resulting in different journals using the same journal number**. To reduce the change of duplicate journal numbers, Acctivate will select the higher value between: - the next number in QuickBooks Online's journal sequence, and - the next number from Acctivate’s sequence in Configuration Management. For example, if QuickBooks Online returns **10001** as the next number but rejects it during sync because it is already in use, Acctivate will increase the number to **10002** and compare it to Acctivate’s own next number. The higher of the two values will be used. **Acctivate will sync the journal with this number even if it results in a duplicate journal number.** - [Getting Started](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Basics](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#basics) - [User Interface](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#user-interface) - [Manager windows](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#manager-windows) - [List windows](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#list-windows) - [Transaction windows](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#transaction-windows) - [License and Users](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#license-and-users) - [Email](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#email) - [Getting Help](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/getting-started?hsLang=en#getting-help) - [Installation](https://hub.acctivate.com/articles/installation?hsLang=en#main-content) - 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