Move ledger balances between branches

Q: Where do I see the result?

Run the trial balance for each branch, choosing the Branch , as at the voucher's date ( Check the books with trial balance and ledger reports ). The ledger shows 0 in the From branch and the moved balance in the To branch .

The Contra journal voucher moves the balance of chosen balance-sheet ledgers from one branch to another, for companies that keep their books by branch. Each ledger keeps its name and the two branches' totals change by the same amount.

Accounting Journals and notes
4 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Accountant

On this page

What it does
Make one
What the form shows
After saving
Common questions

What it does

If your company keeps branch books, a ledger can have a different balance in each branch. A Contra journal voucher moves a ledger's balance from one branch to the other: the From branch gives it up and the To branch takes it over. The ledger itself and the company's total do not change.

The tab is on the Journal voucher screen and appears only when your company switched on the transfer journal in Entry control (Company settings that change buying and vouchers). It needs more than one branch (Branches and projects on sales documents).

Make one

Open the tab
Who
Accountant
Where
Journal voucher > Contra journal voucher > Add (the form is Add contra journal voucher)
What changes
The form asks for the Date, the From branch and the To branch, and a Notes box.
Choose the branches
What changes
To branch lists every branch except the one chosen as From branch.
Needs
Two different branches: "From branch and To branch must be different."
Tick the ledgers
What changes
The screen lists the balance-sheet ledgers of the From branch with their debit or credit balance. Tick each ledger whose balance should move.
Needs
At least one ledger: "Please select at least one ledger row." A ticked ledger needs a balance: "Selected rows do not contain transfer amount."
Save
What changes
"Contra journal voucher (number) saved successfully."

What the form shows

From branch is the branch you are working in. The form fills it in and it cannot be changed there. To move a balance out of another branch, choose Switch branch in your profile menu first, then open the tab (Branches and projects on sales documents).
The balances are worked out as at the Date of the voucher, counting every entry of the From branch up to and including that day. Set the Date and the To branch first, pick some Ledgers if you want a shorter list, then choose Search. If you change the date afterwards, choose Search again.
Only balance-sheet ledgers (assets and liabilities) that have a balance in the From branch on that date are listed. Income and expense ledgers, and ledgers whose balance is zero, do not appear.
Each row is one ledger with one Sub ledger and one Project/Business Unit, with its DR Amount or CR Amount and the Branch. A ledger with balances on two sub ledgers shows two rows. The Selected Total under the list adds up the rows you ticked.
A ticked row moves its whole balance. The amounts on the list cannot be typed over.

Worked example: moving two balances from the head office to a branch

A company keeps books by branch. Its Head office holds the furniture and a bank loan that now belong to the Pokhara branch. Working in Head office, the accountant sets the Date to the last day of the month, chooses Pokhara branch as the To branch and chooses Search:

Ledger	DR Amount	CR Amount	Ticked
Furniture and fixtures	150,000		Yes
Bank loan		50,000	Yes
Cash in hand	12,000		No

Selected Total shows 150,000 debit and 50,000 credit. On saving, the voucher has four lines:

Ledger	Branch	Debit	Credit
Furniture and fixtures	Pokhara branch	150,000
Furniture and fixtures	Head office		150,000
Bank loan	Pokhara branch		50,000
Bank loan	Head office	50,000

As at that date, both ledgers show 0 in Head office; Pokhara branch gains a debit of 150,000 on furniture and a credit of 50,000 on the loan. The cash stays where it was, and the company's total of each ledger does not change.

After saving

Change it with Edit in the tab's list (the voucher's own page does not offer Edit for a branch transfer); Delete works as for any journal voucher (Change or delete a saved voucher). The voucher belongs to the From branch. The number comes from the journal voucher series.

Common questions

Can I move only part of a ledger's balance?

Not with this tab. Each ticked row moves the ledger's whole balance as at the voucher's Date; the amounts cannot be changed on the list.

The ledger I want to move is not in the list.

The list shows only asset and liability ledgers that have a balance in your current branch on the Date. Check the Date, the Ledgers you picked, and that you are working in the branch the balance is in.

I saved the voucher but the branch balances did not change.

Where your company uses approval for journal vouchers, the voucher posts when it is approved (Approvals for purchases and vouchers).

Where do I see the result?

Run the trial balance for each branch, choosing the Branch, as at the voucher's date (Check the books with trial balance and ledger reports). The ledger shows 0 in the From branch and the moved balance in the To branch.