Accountancy · Ch 7 — Subsidiary Books – II
Cash Book — Meaning and Types
Cash Book — Meaning and Types
The Cash Book is a unique book in the accounting system — it is simultaneously a subsidiary book (a book of original entry, since every cash and bank transaction is first recorded here from a receipt/payment voucher, cheque counterfoil, or similar source) and a principal book (a ledger account in its own right — the Cash Book itself IS the Cash Account and, in its bank-column form, the Bank Account too). Because of this dual role, once a transaction is entered in the Cash Book, it is NOT posted again to a separate Cash Account or Bank Account in the ledger — only the OTHER account affected by each transaction is posted from the Cash Book.
All receipts of cash/cheques are entered on the debit (left-hand) side, and all payments of cash/cheques on the credit (right-hand) side — this mirrors how a Real Account behaves (debit what comes in, credit what goes out).
Depending on how much detail a business needs, the Cash Book takes one of several forms:
| Type | Columns |
|---|---|
| Single Column (Simple) Cash Book | Cash only |
| Double Column Cash Book | Cash + Discount (the more common variant), or occasionally Cash + Bank |
| Triple Column Cash Book | Cash + Bank + Discount |
| Petty Cash Book | A separate, subsidiary record for small, routine cash expenses, usually kept on the Imprest System |
Each later section of this chapter builds on the one before it — the Triple Column Cash Book is really just the Double Column Cash Book with one more column added.
A book that is both a book of original entry and a ledger account (a principal book), recording every cash and/or bank receipt on its debit side and every payment on its credit side.
A ledger account maintained directly, without a separate journal entry — the Cash Book is the standard example, serving as the Cash Account (and, with a bank column, the Bank Account) itself.