You can set up a General Ledger for each entity using Global Payroll. For each entity, we will need to establish a Chart of Accounts and create a template for the General Ledger which will record the different settings including the account code mappings against each G2N item in your report. Once the initial set up is complete, you will be able to export General Ledger Journal Reports that accurately reflect the transactions that have occurred via Global Payroll.
Note: Global Payroll must be active for the entity in order to set up a GP General Ledger.
In order to set up the General Ledger template, we must first establish a Chart of Accounts.
The Chart of Accounts (COA) is a full list of the asset, income, and expense accounts that will be used to fund different G2N items/item categories for payroll. You will assign each G2N item an account code and import the data into Deel. The account codes will direct payroll to withdraw the cost of specified payroll items from the specified accounts assigned.
In this article:
Generate Chart of Accounts
Create General Ledger Template
Generating GL Journal Reports
Regenerate GL Journal Reports
Error Validations for GL Journal Mapping Upload
FAQ
Generate Chart of Accounts
✅ Step 1 – Import/Add Chart of Accounts
Navigate to Organization Settings > Global Payroll Tab
Scroll down to the “General Ledger” Section. Select Add under “Chart of Accounts”
✅ Step 2 – Select to either add Individual Chart of Account item or Bulk Add Chart of Account Items

[ACCORDION] Add an individual Item
Select Individual Chart of Account item. Click Continue |
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Assign an Account Code and Account Name for the entry. Select Add |
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The new COA record for the entity will be visible in Deel under Global Payroll Tab > Chart of Accounts |
[ACCORDION] Bulk Add COA items
Select Bulk Add Chart of Account Items. Click Continue |
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Download the CSV template | |
Fill the CSV template to provide list of Accounts and assign Account Codes | |
Drag & Drop or click to Browse and Upload filled CSV template. Click Save |
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All COA records for the entity will be visible in Deel under Global Payroll Tab > Chart of Accounts |
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Create General Ledger Template
Once the Chart of Accounts has been established, we will create a template for this entity’s General Ledger. The settings from the GL Template will be applied to GL Journal Reports that can be exported from the Deel platform. You can personalize the GL Journal reports generated via Deel by adding GL Dimensions and User Defined Fields.
✅ Step 1 – Add a General Ledger Template
Navigate to Organization Settings > Global Payroll Tab
Scroll down to the “General Ledger” Section. Select Add under “Templates”
✅ Step 2 – Name your GL Template
Enter a name that will be used to identify this GL Template record. Select Continue
✅ Step 3 – Define Consolidation Settings
Define the Consolidation Settings by selecting By Entity or By Dimension.
- By Entity:
Choose this option if you do not require further segmentation of GL transactions. You will simply use the Account Codes assigned in the Chart of Accounts (COA) to generate the GL.
- By Dimension:
Choose this option if you wish to slice and dice the data into smaller segments based on employee groupings.
[ACCORDION] Add a Dimension
Select Add to create a custom dimension.
List of fields found in the Job Information section that can be used as dimensions:
- Division
- Department
- Job Title
- Cost Center
- Employment Type
- Location
- Custom Fields (See Note below)
Note: If you need more fields, Custom Fields may be created and selected as Dimensions here. (See Usage of Dimensions for more information)
Select a Dimension from the dropdown menu. To customize the way the dimension appears in the GL Journal Reports, enter your desired Label name.
Toggle Show Dimension in GL Report?
If toggled to ON, Dimension will visibly aggregate transaction lines on GL based on these employee “groupings”
If toggles to OFF, Dimension will only be used to assign appropriate GL Accounts to G2N items based on employee “groupings”
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✅ Step 4 – Define Additional GL Settings
Set Posting Date, File Generation Format, and (optional) User Defined Fields. Select Continue
Select Posting Date - Employee Pay Date Use this option if you want to have Employee Pay Date appear as GL Posting Date in GL Report - Pay Cycle End Date Use this option if you want to have Pay Cycle End Date appear as GL Posting Date in GL Report |
Select File Generation Format - Standard GL Report Includes fixed transaction GL transaction columns such as posting dates, account codes, and debit credit amounts, with additional functionality of custom user fields and dimensions. -Workday This option will include the ability to assign Debit and “Credit Spend Categories” against G2N items |
(Optional) Add User Defined Fields |
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- Fixed String Allows to create columns in GL report that are static in nature |
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- Concatenation of Strings Creates a column that includes multiple data points by appending one string to the end of another string. Ex - {{String name}} + {{Payroll Cycle MM/YYYY}} = Journal Cycle 10 10/2023 |
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✅ Step 5 – Set your Column Order
Drag and Drop to place the template columns in desired order from left to right. Select Continue
Note: Position 1 = Left most column in GL Report
✅ Step 6 – Download and Fill the GL Mapping Template
The template will include the G2N items which may be used for this specific entity. You may specify different dimension values and debit credit accounts to use for each G2N item in this document.
Note: ALL of the columns in the exported template need to be filled.
✅ Step 7 – Drag & Drop or Browse and Upload filled GL Mapping template. Select Continue
Note: The platform will flag any issues found within the uploaded file. Download the CSV with Errors to review and resolve the issues. Once all of the issues have been addressed, try to upload the data again. See Error Validations for GL Journal Mapping Upload below for more information.
✅ Step 8 – Review Details and Submit
The GL template settings you created will be saved in Deel under Global Payroll Tab > General Ledger
Generating GL Journal Reports
Once you have completed your GL Template, GL Journal Reports can be generated via Deel.
✅ Step 1 – Initiate GL Report for Payroll Cycle
Go to Global Payroll > Select your Entity > Select Payroll Tab
Note: Ensure that the page is set to the payroll cycle that you want to generate a report for.
Under Payroll Documents, select After Approval
Under General Ledger, select Generate
✅ Step 2 – Define Report Details
Select the Journal Template that you's like to use to format this report. Select Continue
✅ Step 3 – Define G2N Mapping
The G2N Mapping for the report will pull from the GL template you selected. Review the mapping details. You may edit and add entries to the G2N mapping from this screen.
To Edit existing G2N items:
Scroll to the right within the table to access the Actions Column. Select to Edit
Edit the details of your G2N item for GL mapping as needed. Select Save
To Add a new G2N item:
Select Add Item
Enter G2N item mapping details and Save
✅ Step 4 – Review Changes & Create Report
Select Submit to generate the report
✅ Step 5 - Access GL Journal Reports
Return to your entity's Payroll Tab. Under After Approval > General Ledger > Select Download
Your GL Journal Report CSV file will download in your web browser. Select to open the downloaded file to review your GL Journal Report.
Regenerate GL Journal Reports
After generating a GL Journal report, you may need to make changes to the final document. You can select to regenerate the report from Global Payroll at any time. This will allow you to go through the entire GL creation process from the beginning for this payroll cycle.
Deel keeps a log of all GL reports generated. You will be able to review the original report as well as the updated version that replaces it when you regenerate a GL Report.
✅ Step 1 - Select to Regenerate General Ledger
Return to your entity's Payroll tab. Select After Approval
Under General Ledger, select the Actions icon (three dots to the right of download) to access the menu.
Select Regenerate General Ledger
✅ Step 2 - Complete steps to generate GL Report
Complete all of the steps for Generating GL Journal Reports as prompted, making changes as needed.
In Step 3: Review Changes, you will confirm GL creation to create an updated version of the GL report for this payroll cycle.
Check the box to confirm. Then, select Submit
✅ Step 3 - Download Regenerated GL Report
Once the updated GL has been generated, you can download it right away.
Return to your entity's Payroll Tab. Under After Approval > General Ledger > Select Download
Error Validations for GL Journal Mapping Upload
When you upload the General Ledger Mapping template, the platform will flag any issues found within the uploaded file. (See “✅ Step 6 – Download and Fill the GL Mapping Template" in section above) Download the CSV with Errors to review and resolve the issues. Once all of the issues have been addressed, you can try to upload the data again.
✅ Step 1 – Download CSV with Errors
Select Export CSV with Errors to download a copy of the file with an additional Error column.
Each row with an error will describe the issue and what is needed to resolve it.
✅ Step 2 – Update the document as needed to address each error
[ACCORDION] Error Example
Error states "Credit Amount and Debit Account are required"
Credit Account Field for this row is blank. Fill in the missing information to resolve.
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See How To Handle General Ledger (GL) Errors for more information on the types of errors you may encounter and how they can be resolved.
✅ Step 3 – Remove Error column
Once you have addressed all of the issues, delete the error column only. Save the updated file.
✅ Step 4 – Re-Upload corrected mapping CSV
Next, use the Reupload CSV option to upload the revised mapping file. Select Continue
Note: If the revised file upload is flagged for errors as well, repeat the previous steps until you can upload without any errors.
✅ Step 5 – Review Details and Submit
The GL template settings you created will be saved in Deel under Global Payroll Tab > General Ledger
FAQ
[ACCORDION] What happens to the original GL report if I regenerate one on the same payroll cycle?
Deel keeps a history of every GL report generated. Each time you regenerate a report, the latest one becomes available for download under the entity's payroll tab.
You can access and download historic GL reports in the payroll cycle under After Approval > General Ledger > Action Menu (Three Dots icon)
Select View Details
Select to Download any GL versions in the history to review