Journalized

Journalized is the past participle of the verb journalize, meaning to record a transaction in a journal or to prepare a journal entry. In accounting, journalizing a transaction involves documenting it in the general journal with the date, the accounts affected, and the amounts, recorded as debits and credits, along with a brief description. Journalized entries are the initial phase of double-entry bookkeeping and create an auditable trail before amounts are posted to the general ledger. Each journalized entry must balance, with total debits equaling total credits, and is then transferred to the ledger where account balances are updated and financial statements are prepared. In practice, journalizing ensures chronological documentation and supports verification, adjustment, and reconciliation processes.

In computing contexts, the term is less common but may be used to describe systems that keep a journal of changes. A journalized file system or database records modifications in a dedicated journal before applying them, a technique known as journaling, to improve reliability and recoverability after failures. In modern usage, the more common adjective is journaled, though journalized may be encountered in some texts or in non-technical writing.

Etymology: formed from the noun journal plus the English agent/affix suffix -ize to yield the verb journalize, and hence the adjective journalized.