Types of adjusting entries
Most adjusting entries could be classified this way:
| Prepayments (Deferral - cash paid or received before consumption) | Accrual - cash paid or received after consumption |
| Expenses | Prepaid expenses: for expenses paid in cash and recorded as assets before they are used | Accrued expenses: for expenses incurred but not yet paid in cash and not yet recorded |
| Revenues | Unearned revenue: for revenues received in cash and recorded as liabilities before they are earned | Accrued revenues: for revenues earned but not yet recorded and not yet received in cash |
Prepayments
Adjusting entries for prepayments are necessary to account for cash that has been received prior to delivery of goods or completion of services. When this cash is paid, it is first recorded in a prepaid expense asset account; the account is to be expensed either with the passage of time (e.g. rent, insurance) or through use and consumption (e.g. supplies).
A company receiving the cash for benefits yet to be delivered will have to record the amount in an unearned revenue liability account. Then, an adjusting entry to recognize the revenue is used as necessary.
Example
Assume a magazine publishing company charges an annual subscription fee of $12. The cash is paid up-front at the start of the subscription. The income, based on sales basis method, is recognized upon delivery. Therefore, the initial reporting of the receipt of annual subscription fee is indicated as:
Debit | Credit ---------------- Cash $12 | Unearned Revenue | $12 |
The adjusting entry reporting each month after the delivery is:
Debit | Credit ---------------- Unearned Revenue $1 | Revenue | $1 |
The unearned revenue after the first month is therefore $11 and revenue reported in the income statement is $1.
Accruals
Accrued revenues are revenues that have been recognized (that is, services have been performed or goods have been delivered), but their cash payment have not yet been recorded or received. When the revenue is recognized, it is recorded as a receivable.
Accrued expenses have not yet been paid for, so they are recorded in a payable account. Expenses for interest, taxes, rent, and salaries are commonly accrued for reporting purposes.
An income which has been earned but it has not been received yet during the accounting period. Incomes like rent, interest on investments, commission etc. are examples of accrued income.
Estimates
A third classification of adjusting entry occurs where the exact amount of an expense cannot easily be determined. The depreciation of fixed assets, for example, is an expense which has to be estimated.
The entry for bad debt expense can also be classified as an estimate.
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Transactions include purchases, sales, receipts and payments by an individual person or an organization/corporation. There are several standard methods of bookkeeping, including the single-entry and double-entry bookkeeping systems. While these may be viewed as "real" bookkeeping, any process for recording financial transactions is a bookkeeping process.
Double-entry bookkeeping, also known as double-entry accounting, is a method of bookkeeping that relies on a two-sided accounting entry to maintain financial information. Every entry to an account requires a corresponding and opposite entry to a different account. The double-entry system has two equal and corresponding sides known as debit and credit. A transaction in double-entry bookkeeping always affects at least two accounts, always includes at least one debit and one credit, and always has total debits and total credits that are equal. The purpose of double-entry bookkeeping is to allow the detection of financial errors and fraud.
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue from interest, royalties, or other fees. "Revenue" may refer to income in general, or it may refer to the amount, in a monetary unit, earned during a period of time, as in "Last year, Company X had revenue of $42 million". Profits or net income generally imply total revenue minus total expenses in a given period. In accounting, revenue is a subsection of the Equity section of the balance statement, since it increases equity. It is often referred to as the "top line" due to its position at the very top of the income statement. This is to be contrasted with the "bottom line" which denotes net income.
An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition is an expense. Buying food, clothing, furniture, or an automobile is often referred to as an expense. An expense is a cost that is "paid" or "remitted", usually in exchange for something of value. Something that seems to cost a great deal is "expensive". Something that seems to cost little is "inexpensive". "Expenses of the table" are expenses for dining, refreshments, a feast, etc.
Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the carrying value of goods sold during a particular period.
Debits and credits in double-entry bookkeeping are entries made in account ledgers to record changes in value resulting from business transactions. A debit entry in an account represents a transfer of value to that account, and a credit entry represents a transfer from the account. Each transaction transfers value from credited accounts to debited accounts. For example, a tenant who writes a rent cheque to a landlord would enter a credit for the bank account on which the cheque is drawn, and a debit in a rent expense account. Similarly, the landlord would enter a credit in the rent income account associated with the tenant and a debit for the bank account where the cheque is deposited.
Tax deduction is a simplified word for meaning income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The difference between deductions, exemptions, and credits is that deductions and exemptions both reduce taxable income, while credits reduce tax.
Financial accounting is a branch of accounting concerned with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial transactions related to a business. This involves the preparation of financial statements available for public use. Stockholders, suppliers, banks, employees, government agencies, business owners, and other stakeholders are examples of people interested in receiving such information for decision making purposes.
In finance, an accrual (accumulation) of something is the adding together of interest or different investments over a period of time.
Deferred income is, in accrual accounting, money received for goods or services which has not yet been earned. According to the revenue recognition principle, it is recorded as a liability until delivery is made, at which time it is converted into revenue.
A deferral, in accrual accounting, is any account where the income or expense is not recognised until a future date, e.g. annuities, charges, taxes, income, etc. The deferred item may be carried, dependent on type of deferral, as either an asset or liability. See also accrual.
A chart of accounts (COA) is a list of financial accounts set up, usually by an accountant, for an organization, and available for use by the bookkeeper for recording transactions in the organization's general ledger. Accounts may be added to the chart of accounts as needed; they would not generally be removed, especially if any transaction had been posted to the account or if there is a non-zero balance.
The revenue recognition principle is a cornerstone of accrual accounting together with the matching principle. They both determine the accounting period in which revenues and expenses are recognized. According to the principle, revenues are recognized when they are realized or realizable, and are earned, no matter when cash is received. In cash accounting—in contrast—revenues are recognized when cash is received no matter when goods or services are sold.
In accrual accounting, the matching principle instructs that an expense should be reported in the same period in which the corresponding revenue is earned, and is associated with accrual accounting and the revenue recognition principle states that revenues should be recorded during the period in which they are earned, regardless of when the transfer of cash occurs. By recognizing costs in the period they are incurred, a business can see how much money was spent to generate revenue, reducing "noise" from timing mismatch between when costs are incurred and when revenue is realized. Conversely, cash basis accounting calls for the recognition of an expense when the cash is paid, regardless of when the expense was actually incurred.
Accounting for leases in the United States is regulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) by the Financial Accounting Standards Number 13, now known as Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840. These standards were effective as of January 1, 1977. The FASB completed in February 2016 a revision of the lease accounting standard, referred to as ASC 842.
Accrued liabilities are liabilities that reflect expenses that have not yet been paid or logged under accounts payable during an accounting period; in other words, a company's obligation to pay for goods and services that have been provided for which invoices have not yet been received. Examples would include accrued wages payable, accrued sales tax payable, and accrued rent payable.
Fund accounting is an accounting system for recording resources whose use has been limited by the donor, grant authority, governing agency, or other individuals or organisations or by law. It emphasizes accountability rather than profitability, and is used by Nonprofit organizations and by governments. In this method, a fund consists of a self-balancing set of accounts and each are reported as either unrestricted, temporarily restricted or permanently restricted based on the provider-imposed restrictions.
An expense account is the right to reimbursement of money spent by employees for work-related purposes. Some common expense accounts are: Cost of sales, utilities expense, discount allowed, cleaning expense, depreciation expense, delivery expense, income tax expense, insurance expense, interest expense, advertising expense, promotion expense, repairs expense, maintenance expense, rent expense, salaries and wages expense, transportation expense, supplies expense and refreshment expense.
A basis of accounting is the time various financial transactions are recorded. The cash basis and the accrual basis are the two primary methods of tracking income and expenses in accounting.
When two or more individuals engage in enterprise as co-owners, the organization is known as a partnership. This form of organization is popular among personal service enterprises, as well as in the legal and public accounting professions. The important features of and accounting procedures for partnerships are discussed and illustrated below.
