# Update journal entry > Updates the given draft journal entry. Only the fields present in the request body are modified; fields set explicitly to null are cleared. `PATCH https://api.light.inc/v1/journal-entries/{journalEntryId}` ## Note The "null clears" rule in the description holds for valuationDate , documentNumber , description , currency , businessPartnerName , businessPartnerId and the FX overrides only; companyEntityId , ledgerName , postingDate , documentDate , areLinesWithTax and customProperties cannot be cleared. Lines cannot be changed at all (there is no lines field). On anything but a DRAFT , only customProperties may change; sending any other field fails with JOURNAL_ENTRY_CANNOT_BE_MODIFIED . ## Authorization - API key - Bearer token See https://light.inc/docs/getting-started/authentication. ## Path parameters - `journalEntryId` (string, uuid, required) ## Header parameters - `X-Idempotency-Key` (string) ## Request body `application/json;charset=UTF-8` - `customProperties.valueIds` — Catalogue value ids for this group. Required; send `[]` (with an empty `inlineValues`) to clear the group. `SINGLE_SELECT` and `MULTI_SELECT` groups accept nothing else. See [Custom properties on writes](/docs/getting-started/pagination-filtering-errors#custom-properties-on-writes). - `customProperties.inlineValues` — Literal values for `TEXT`, `NUMERIC`, `BOOLEAN` and `DATE` groups, as strings (`yyyy-MM-dd` for dates). Rejected on select groups with `CUSTOM_PROPERTY_VALUE_TYPE_MISMATCH`. See [Custom properties on writes](/docs/getting-started/pagination-filtering-errors#custom-properties-on-writes). ```json { "companyEntityId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "ledgerName": "PRIMARY", "postingDate": "2026-01-15", "documentDate": "2026-01-15", "areLinesWithTax": true, "customProperties": [ { "groupId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "valueIds": [ "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a" ], "inlineValues": [ "string" ] } ], "valuationDate": "2026-01-15", "localCurrencyFxRateOverride": 0, "groupCurrencyFxRateOverride": 0, "documentNumber": "string", "businessPartnerName": "string", "businessPartnerId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "description": "string", "currency": "USD" } ``` Values above are generated from the schema: the shapes and types are real, the values are placeholders, and fields that exclude each other are all shown. Do not send it unchanged. ## Response - `id` — The journal entry id, also its accounting document id. - `companyId` — Your company id. - `documentNumber` — Your own free-text reference for the entry. Not the number Light assigns; that is `documentSequenceId`. - `companyEntityId` — The entity whose books the entry posts to. - `createdBy` — The principal that created the entry: a user or an API key. - `updatedBy` — The principal that last changed it. - `documentSequenceId` — `null` until the entry is posted. - `description` — The entry's description. - `currency` — The currency of the line amounts. - `postingDate` — The ledger date; the accounting period covering it must be open to post. - `documentDate` — The date on the underlying document, informational. - `valuationDate` — The date whose exchange rate converted the lines to local and group currency; resolved at posting when not set. - `localCurrencyFxRate` — Echoes the override you sent; `null` when Light applied its own rate, not the rate that was applied. - `groupCurrencyFxRate` — Echoes the override you sent; `null` when Light applied its own rate, not the rate that was applied. - `areLinesWithTax` — Whether line amounts were entered gross of tax (`true`) or net (`false`, the default). - `failureContext` — The error of the last failed posting attempt, typically from the approval workflow; cleared on the next successful post. The description about vendor onboarding is a copy-paste from another model. - `lines` — The lines as entered. The ledger lines Light derived (tax, rounding) are not here; read them from ledger transaction lines. - `lines.id` — The line id. - `lines.journalEntryId` — The entry the line belongs to. - `lines.netTransactionAmount` — The line amount excluding tax, unsigned with `dcSign`, in the entry's currency. - `lines.netTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `lines.grossTransactionAmount` — The line amount including tax. - `lines.grossTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `lines.taxTransactionAmount` — The tax portion; `null` without a tax code. - `lines.taxTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `lines.description` — The line description. - `lines.targetCompanyEntityId` — For an intercompany line, the entity on the other side ("To entity" in the product). `null` on ordinary lines. - `lines.ledgerTaxId` — Tax code id. Other documents call the same id `taxCodeId`. - `lines.ledgerAccountId` — The ledger account the line posts to. - `lines.costCenterId` — Cost center on the line; `null` when none. - `lines.customProperties` — Custom property values on the line. - `lines.createdAt` — When the line was created. - `lines.updatedAt` — When it was last changed. - `lines.amortizationTemplateId` — Release template id when the line is spread over a schedule instead of hitting the account at once; `null` otherwise. - `lines.amortizationStartDate` — First date of that schedule. - `lines.amortizationEndDate` — Last date of that schedule. - `customProperties` — Custom property values on the entry header. - `businessPartnerName` — Optional vendor or customer shown on the entry. - `businessPartnerId` — Id of that vendor or customer. - `createdAt` — When the entry was created. - `updatedAt` — When it was last changed. - `totalNetTransactionAmount` — Sum of the lines' net amounts as one directed figure. Read the magnitude as the entry's size; its `dcSign` carries no accounting meaning on a balanced entry. - `totalNetTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `totalTaxTransactionAmount` — Sum of the lines' tax amounts, read like the net total. - `totalTaxTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `totalGrossTransactionAmount` — Sum of the lines' gross amounts, read like the net total. - `totalGrossTransactionAmount.amount` — Unsigned integer in minor units. The direction is in `dcSign`; a negative value is rejected. - `multiJournalEntryId` — Set when this entry is one entity's part of a multi-entity journal entry made in the product; entries sharing the id were entered together. `null` for entries created through the API. ```json { "id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "companyId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "documentNumber": "string", "companyEntityId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "ledgerName": "PRIMARY", "createdBy": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "updatedBy": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "documentSequenceId": "string", "status": "DRAFT", "description": "string", "currency": "USD", "postingDate": "2026-01-15", "documentDate": "2026-01-15", "valuationDate": "2026-01-15", "localCurrencyFxRate": 0, "groupCurrencyFxRate": 0, "areLinesWithTax": true, "failureContext": { "name": "string", "type": "BAD_REQUEST", "errors": [ { "type": "string", "message": "string", "path": [ "string" ], "context": null } ] }, "lines": [ { "id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "journalEntryId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "netTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "grossTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "taxTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "description": "string", "targetCompanyEntityId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "ledgerTaxId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "ledgerAccountId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "costCenterId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "customProperties": [ { "groupId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "groupInternalName": "string", "values": [ {} ] } ], "createdAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z", "updatedAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z", "amortizationTemplateId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "amortizationStartDate": "2026-01-15", "amortizationEndDate": "2026-01-15" } ], "customProperties": [ { "groupId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "groupInternalName": "string", "values": [ { "id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "groupId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "groupInternalName": "string", "companyId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "internalName": "string", "label": "string", "context": "string", "createdAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z", "updatedAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z" } ] } ], "businessPartnerName": "string", "businessPartnerId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "createdAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z", "updatedAt": "2026-01-15T09:30:00Z", "totalNetTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "totalTaxTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "totalGrossTransactionAmount": { "amount": 100000, "dcSign": "D" }, "multiJournalEntryId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a" } ``` Values above are generated from the schema: the shapes and types are real, the values are placeholders. ## Code ```bash curl -X PATCH "https://api.light.inc/v1/journal-entries/3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a" \ -H "Authorization: Basic YOUR_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "companyEntityId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "ledgerName": "PRIMARY", "postingDate": "2026-01-15", "documentDate": "2026-01-15", "areLinesWithTax": true, "customProperties": [ { "groupId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "valueIds": [ "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a" ], "inlineValues": [ "string" ] } ], "valuationDate": "2026-01-15", "localCurrencyFxRateOverride": 0, "groupCurrencyFxRateOverride": 0, "documentNumber": "string", "businessPartnerName": "string", "businessPartnerId": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a", "description": "string", "currency": "USD" }' ``` --- Full page: https://light.inc/docs/api-reference/v1--journal-entries/update-journal-entry · Index: https://light.inc/docs/llms.txt