Accountancy · Ch 3 — Recording of Transactions - II
Single Column Cash Book
Single Column Cash Book
Single Column Cash Book
A single column cash book is a special journal that records all cash transactions of a business in the order they occur. It serves as both a journal (for recording) and the cash account (for ledger posting). Because every cash receipt and cash payment is recorded here, there is no need to maintain a separate cash account in the ledger.
The cash book has two sides:
- Debit side (left) — records all cash receipts
- Credit side (right) — records all cash payments
Each side has only one amount column, hence the name "single column" cash book. The format is:
| Date | Receipts | L.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Payments | L.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The opening balance of cash in hand is written on the debit side as "Balance b/d" (balance brought down). At the end of the period, the cash book is balanced by finding the difference between total receipts and total payments. This closing balance is written on the credit side as "Balance c/d" (balance carried down), and then brought down to the debit side of the next period as "Balance b/d".
Recording Transactions — Illustrated
Consider the following transactions of M/s Roopa Traders for November 2017:
| Date | Details | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 01 | Cash in hand | 30,000 |
| Nov. 04 | Cash received from Gurmeet | 12,000 |
| Nov. 08 | Insurance paid (Annual Instalment) | 6,000 |
| Nov. 13 | Purchased furniture | 13,800 |
| Nov. 16 | Sold goods for cash | 28,000 |
| Nov. 17 | Purchased goods from Mudit in cash | 17,400 |
| Nov. 20 | Purchase stationery | 1,100 |
| Nov. 24 | Cash paid to Rukmani in full settlement of account | 12,500 |
| Nov. 27 | Sold goods to Kamal for cash | 18,200 |
| Nov. 30 | Paid monthly rent | 2,500 |
| Nov. 30 | Paid salary | 3,500 |
| Nov. 30 | Deposited in bank | 8,000 |
These are recorded in the single column cash book as follows:
Roopa Traders — Cash Book
| Date | Receipts | L.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Payments | L.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 | ||||||
| Nov. 01 | Balance b/d | 30,000 | Nov. 08 | Insurance | 6,000 | ||
| Nov. 04 | Gurmeet | 12,000 | Nov. 13 | Furniture | 13,800 | ||
| Nov. 16 | Sales | 28,000 | Nov. 17 | Purchases | 17,400 | ||
| Nov. 27 | Sales | 18,200 | Nov. 20 | Stationery | 1,100 | ||
| Nov. 24 | Rukmani | 12,500 | |||||
| Nov. 30 | Rent | 2,500 | |||||
| Nov. 30 | Salary | 3,500 | |||||
| Nov. 30 | Bank | 8,000 | |||||
| Nov. 30 | Balance c/d | 23,400 | |||||
| Total | 88,200 | Total | 88,200 | ||||
| Dec. 01 | Balance b/d | 23,400 |
The total of both sides must always be equal. The closing balance of ₹23,400 is the cash in hand at the end of November, which becomes the opening balance for December.
Posting from the Cash Book to Ledger Accounts
The cash book is itself the cash account. But every other account that appears in the cash book must be posted to its respective ledger account. The rule is:
- Accounts on the debit side of the cash book (receipts) are credited in their ledger accounts — because cash has been received from them.
- Accounts on the credit side of the cash book (payments) are debited in their ledger accounts — because cash has been paid to/for them.
Let us see how the transactions from our example are posted:
Gurmeet's Account (Gurmeet appears on the debit side — cash received from him)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 04 | Cash | 12,000 |
Sales Account (Sales appears twice on the debit side — cash sales)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 16 | Cash | 28,000 | |||||
| 2017 Nov. 27 | Cash | 18,200 |
Insurance Account (Insurance appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 08 | Cash | 6,000 |
Furniture Account (Furniture appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 13 | Cash | 13,800 |
Purchases Account (Purchases appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 17 | Cash | 17,400 |
Stationery Account (Stationery appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 20 | Cash | 1,100 |
Rukmani's Account (Rukmani appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 24 | Cash | 12,500 |
Rent Account (Rent appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 30 | Cash | 2,500 |
Salary Account (Salary appears on the credit side — cash paid)
| Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) | Date | Particulars | J.F. | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Nov. 30 | Cash | 3,500 |
Bank Account (Bank appears on the credit side — cash deposited) …