Recording transactions and using them as investigative tools is nothing new. In fact, this is a common exercise in accounting practices. Nearly all transactions are recorded as Journal Entries and that is the first step in the accounting cycle.

It all starts at the beginning of an accounting period and continues during the whole cycle. Transaction analysis is a process which helps verify whether a particular business event has an economic effect on the assets, liabilities or equity of the business. It also involves identifying the size (and magnitude) of the transaction i.e. its currency value.

At the end of the analysis, accountants usually categorises and record the events using journal entries according to debit-credit rules. Frequent journal entries are usually recorded in specialized journals, for example, sales journal and purchases journal. The rest are recorded in a general journal.

Example

Here is an example showing how to record journal entries:

The following are the transactions of a company in May 2000:

May 3Paid $60,000 cash on the purchase of equipment costing $70,000. The remaining amount was recognized as a one year note payable of $10,000.
May 4Purchased office supplies costing $16,600 on account.
May 13Provided services to its customers and received $18,500 in cash.
May 13Paid the accounts payable on the office supplies purchased on May 4.
May 14Paid wages to its employees for first two weeks of May, aggregating $19,100.
May 18Provided $43,000 worth of services to its customers. They paid $31,900 and promised to pay the remaining amount.
May 13Received $15,300 from customers for the services provided on May 18.
May 15Received $4,000 as an advance payment from customers.
May 18Paid wages to its employees for the third and fourth week of May: $19,100.
May 31Received electricity bill of $1,460.

 

And here are the journal entries.

DateAccountDebitCredit
May-03Equipment70,000
Cash60,000
Notes Payable10,000
May-04Office Supplies16,600
Accounts Payable16,600
May-13Cash18,500
Service Revenue18,500
May-13Accounts Payable16,600
Cash16,600
May-14Wages Expense19,100
Cash19,100
May-18Cash31,900
Accounts Receivable11,100
Service Revenue43,000
May-13Cash15,300
Accounts Receivable15,300
May-15Cash4,000
Unearned Revenue4,000
May-18Wages Expense19,100
Cash19,100
May-31Electricity Expense1,460
Utilities Payable1,460

 

Non-Accounting Journal Entries

While accounting journal entries are useful, some journal entries are also used in non-accounting practices. Examples include Stock and Production Journals.

 

Accounting