Q.Choose the correct option: In accounting software, a transaction is recorded as a —

Accounting software organises data into masters, groups, vouchers, and reports; knowing which of these actually records a transaction is basic to using the software.

A voucher is the electronic equivalent of a journal entry; masters and groups are reference data, and reports are the output.

The question checks whether you can tell apart the four kinds of item in accounting software.

• (a) master — a permanent reference record (a ledger account, a stock item, a tax rate); it is used by transactions but is not itself a transaction.
• (b) group — a classification head under which ledgers are placed; again reference data, not a transaction.
• (c) voucher — correct. A voucher is the electronic record of a single transaction, the software's version of a journal entry.
• (d) report — the output produced from vouchers (day book, trial balance, etc.), not the recording of a transaction.

Do not confuse a voucher (records a transaction) with a master (permanent reference data). Reports are output, not input.