Accounting Process
Accounting process or accounting cycle starts off by identifying the transactions by finding out what kind of transactions it is. Secondly prepare the document, it is usually a business document to initiate a transaction, example, an invoice given to a customer. Thirdly identify the accounts, the account database is used to record all the business transactions, example, revenue, profit and expenses. Then record the transactions into the accounting system. It can be done by recording it into the journal entry. Then we need to prepare the trial balance, it is prepared to check the equality of the debit and credit. After that, we need to adjust the trial balance, it is done to correct the errors or to create allowances. Then prepare the adjusted trial balance. Then we prepare the financial statements, it is created after preparing the adjusted trial balance. which is also the end product of an accounting system, it is prepared when all the accounts are up-to-date and the debits are equal to the credits. Next we will close the period, it involves shifting the revenue and expenses to the retained earnings accounts and preparing it for the next accounting cycle. Finally we need to prepare a post-closing trial balance, it is a version of trial balance that zero balances for all revenues and expenses accounts.
Source : https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/what-are-the-steps-in-the-accounting-process.html
7 Books of Prime Entry
To avoid making errors and consuming too much of time by updating their ledgers each time a transaction occurs, books of prime entry was invented. it is a simple note of the transaction, the relevant customer or supplier and the amount. One of the books of prime entry is the sales day book, it is used to write down all the sales made on credit terms. The next one will be the purchases day book, which is used to write down all the purchases made on credit terms. The third one is the sales returns day book, it is used to record the returns of goods sold on credit term. the fourth one will be the purchases returns day book which records the return of goods bought on credit. Cash book is also one of the books of prime entry, which records the transactions involving cash in bank. Some of the businessman will prepare two cash books which are cash payments book and cash receipts books. The cash book is also used to record any discount received or given. The next one will be the petty cash book, which is used to record any small cash transactions. Finally, it is the journal, which is used to record transactions that are not in any of the books of prime entry, for example, year-end adjustments and correction of errors.
Source : http://kfknowledgebank.kaplan.co.uk/KFKB/Wiki%20Pages/Books%20of%20Prime%20Entry.aspx
The two ledgers
The ledgers contain the summarized accounting information that was posted from the books of prime entry by using the double entry system. Financial statements and trial balance needs all the information which the general ledger holds which includes all the assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses. For the subsidiary ledger, we divide them into sales ledger and purchases ledger. The purchases ledger contains an account for every supplier. It carries all the transactions for the suppliers. It forms only half of the double entry bookkeeping. To make the accounting records complete, in the general ledger always have a “representative” for the purchases ledger although they are both different ledgers. The “representative” refers to a control account which exist in the general ledger. The detailed itemization of sales made is a sales ledger. The information are summarized and posted to the sales account in the general ledger.
Source : https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/what-is-a-sales-ledger.html
Double Entry System
Double entry system states makes sure that every financial transaction has equal and opposite effects in at least two different accounts. Assets= Liabilities + Equity is satisfied by using the double entry. In the double-entry system, there will be at least two accounts which is “debit “entry and “credit” entry. The items that will be recorded in the debit side are assets and expenses. Assets are the property owned by the company or someone. Expenses are the resources that have been consumed in a business. At the credit side, we have liabilities, equity and revenue. Liabilities are the supply of resources supplied by outsiders. The equity refers to resources provided by the owner him or herself for business uses. The revenue refers to the total income received by the business. The rules of double-entry system describe that all the transactions have at least two accounts which must have at least one debit and one credit entry and the total debits must be equal to the total credit. The double-entry particulars refer to the name of other account where the other entry in the double-entry is recorded.
