You should have a few $20, a few $10, a good number of $5, and a decent amount of $1. Since the petty cash vouchers total only $92.60, the amounts do not agree and the fund is short $ 1.30 ($93.90 needed – $92.60 in vouchers). The petty cash amount may appear as the first or second item listed in the current asset section of the balance sheet. The calculated amount is in a protected field and is displayed as per formula. See some petty cash journal entries below. The opening balance will be created when you move money from the checking account by writing a check or transferring funds. Made payment of $50 on 15th January for purchase of Stationery. Typically, you can customize what goes on a particular report and the date frame in which you would like to use. Petty Cash by: Susan Hello, Thank you for responding to my question re: recording petty cash expense and backing out the tax. Petty cash is the company's reserved money for the payment of routine expenses with small nominal amount. Besides maintaining a main or general cash book, many companies also maintain a small cash book known as petty cash book to record small day to day expenditures of the business.. Otherwise, leave the payee field blank. Petty cash is a sum your business keeps on hand to cover purchases that are paid with cash rather than with a check or credit card. To illustrate, we will close the $100 original petty cash fund by returning the cash to the checking account with a debit to cash and a credit to petty cash. When creating a petty cash account, be sure to document the origin of the cash you use to start with, and also keep a petty cash book to track your every petty cash purchases. The entry to record an increase in the fund debits Petty Cash and credits Cash for the amount of the increase. For example, if the $100 initial balance is insufficient to pay the expenses the majority of time, increase the fund to $200 by writing a check to the custodian for a second $100. The Imprest System of petty cash: The more scientific method of maintaining petty cash so for introduced into practice is theimprest system. When disbursing cash from the fund, the petty cash custodian prepares a petty cash voucher, which should be signed by the person receiving the funds. % of people told us that this article helped them. And each company sets different nominal amounts according to the company's policy and operational scale. In this stage, there has been no actual expense because the money has simply been transferred from one account of the company to another, so the total assets of the company are unchanged. For tips on how to replenish the petty cash fund, keep reading! In this case, 94% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. To permit these cash disbursements and still maintain adequate control over cash, companies frequently establish a petty cash fund of a round figure such as $100 or $500. If you want to top up your petty cash fund using cash sales, you can add a receive money transaction in the petty cash bank account. The custodian should prepare a voucher for each disbursement and staple any source documents (invoices, receipts, etc.) Accounting for petty cash is relatively simple. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. When the account goes below a certain specified amount, the system is replenished. You article has help, "This article helped widen my understanding about the petty cash system and things to put in place before setting up, "Great step-by-step outline, useful for people unfamiliar with petty cash purpose and processes. The entry to increase the petty cash fund by  $400 would be: A company may feel it is time to close the petty cash fund. Can part of the petty cash be stored offsite? A petty cash form can be created in your computer and the columns can be filled out there as well. Petty cash is not used in the replenishment journal entry. A standard petty cash log clearly shows the amount transferred to the petty cash account and all the payments made for petty expenses incurred. He should credit the cash account first for the total amount of the reimbursement to petty cash, which reduces the balance of the main cash account by the same amount. It is difficult to manage the workers' expenditure control and record. The same person is responsible for the appropriate accounting of each cash transaction done through him. But, that is not always the case. The petty cash amount should be a set amount and should be able to be balanced out each time the replenishment of cash is needed. The custodian should then follow the normal procedure for replenishment. The accounts payable staff creates a check made out to the cashier in the amount needed to fund petty cash to its stated limit. The Cash Over and Short account can be either an expense (short) or a revenue (over), depending on whether it has a debit or credit balance. Reporting Petty Cash on the Financial Statements The petty cash amount may appear as the first or second item listed in the current asset section of the balance sheet. If you follow a few steps, it is possible to set up and manage a petty cash account with ease. Can petty cash money be used to buy pain killers for employees? If all the $200 were "office expenses," you would debit the office expense account $200. References You'll also want to purchase a lock box for the cash and receipts. You need to have a box big enough to keep all the money and receipts in, but small enough to be inconspicuous and easily hid. Petty cash or the petty cash fund is a small amount of cash on hand used for paying expenses too small to merit writing a check. The initial cash as a petty cash run rarely goes to 0. Suppose for example a business maintains a petty cash fund of 300. If you already have money to use for petty cash, enter the amount in the Balance field and choose the as of date. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 208,754 times. Petty cash is an easy to understand and familiar method of paying for company expenses. If I make a general journal entry and debit the GST, I get a window coming up telling me: "You are posting directly to a sales tax account. The most common way of accounting for petty cash expenditures is to use the imprest system. Petty Cash. Petty cash is the company's reserved money for the payment of routine expenses with small nominal amount. There is no need to make an entry for each transaction since an individual small expense is insignificant in the operation of the company. These errors cause the cash in the fund to be more or less than the amount of the fund less the total vouchers. Generally, the following expe… Don't take it out of money received from clients (unless your accounting system is extremely casual). Petty cash register shows the following payments in the month of January: Made payment of $10 on 3rd January for purchase of Tea. He has a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin. The journal entry to record replenishment is: Note that the entry to record replenishing the fund does not credit the Petty Cash account. Recording petty cash transactions Many businesses use a petty cash account for everyday purchases or costs, such as one-off groceries, parking charges and petrol. A petty cash log helps in systematic maintaining of all the documentation related to petty expenses and petty payments on daily basis. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. We make entries to the Petty Cash account only when the fund is established or when the amount of the fund is changed or when the fund is closed and we want to add back cash in exchange for the petty cash vouchers. Yes, if the expense is approved by company policy. A Petty Cash account should be in the Current Asset section of the Chart, probably under your Bank Account in the numbering and before your Accounts Receivble and the rest of the assets. Select Save and Close. Petty cash accounting involves establishing a petty cash policy, setting up a petty cash log, creating journal entries, and reconciling the petty cash account. The posting from the petty cash book to the respective accounts in the ledger are made directly in total at the end of every month or any other fixed period. In this case, the cash needed to get back to $100 ($100 fund – $7.40 petty cash on hand) of $92.60 equals the total of the petty cash vouchers. Suppose for example a business maintains a petty cash fund of 300. Cash On Hand. The petty cash account is a current asset and will have a normal debit balance (debit to increase and credit to decrease). Once it is completed, bring it to the Cash Office in Anderson Hall (AH144) along with picture ID to obtain the requested cash. To illustrate, assume in the preceding example that the balance in the fund was only $6.10 instead of $7.40. If I cash an employee check through petty cash, what then should I do with the checks? The custodian can mark the purchase in a log to explain what the purchaser intends to buy with the cash advance and how much is needed. The journal entry is to debit the petty cash … Accordingly, the check for reimbursement should equal the total of receipts and bring the petty cash fund back to original balance. 3.8.8 Imprest, Petty Cash and Other Revolving Funds. Assume the following activities. However, the petty cash amount might be combined with the balances in the other cash accounts and their total reported as Cash or as Cash and cash equivalents as the first current asset. Petty cash is a common form of imprest system (I.E. And, create a petty cash slip indicating the amount, employee’s name, and date when you give employees petty cash. After the vouchers have been examined and approved, a check is created for $92.60 which restores the cash in the fund to its $100 balance. It’s not always appropriate to write a cheque or use a credit card for these expenses, as it may be a reimbursement to an employee or to purchase items totaling only a few pounds. Also, the companies maintain petty cash vouchers to keep a record of each payment made, including the amount, item, and date. The receipts should equal the difference between the initial cash in petty cash account and the remaining cash before reimbursement. However, the petty cash amount might be combined with the balances in the other cash accounts and their total reported as Cash or as Cash and cash equivalents as the first current asset. The transactions that are made to the company's account for opening the petty cash fund should be a credit from the cash account for the amount of the check given to petty cash. The total debit in the expense accounts will equal the credit of the petty cash account. A Petty Cash Fund is one alternative for handling small dollar purchases (not greater than $100). We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Like any other type of transaction, you must record petty cash transactions in your small business accounting books. All the accounting clerk has to do is write a check to the custodian for the additional amount. Disadvantages to a Petty Cash System. You might use money from the petty cash fund to pay for minor expenses such as postage, Uber fares, or reimburse someone $10 for bringing in a box of donuts. Before you start a petty cash fund, you’ll need to decide how much you want the fund to be. A Petty Cash account is named appropriately -- it is only for use if you have a petty cash fund set up that you use to make small purchases from and replenish when it gets low. The entry for replenishment is: The Cash Over and Short account will be used to balance the entry when the cash needed to get back to the petty cash account does not match the total of petty cash vouchers. The petty cash account is the sub account of main cash account. He should then debit the individual expense accounts for the sums spent in each. Set account limits. To determine which accounts to debit, an employee summarizes the petty cash vouchers according to the reasons for expenditure. Simple steps to create dynamic petty cash book with MS excel:Complete list is here : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFHD8_tY83pNT4iDwg5rKoUqz0MJIPMWk The first payment to petty cash should be placed in the log as a petty cash deposit. The most common way of accounting for petty cash expenditures is to use the imprest system. A column for checks which have been written from the petty cash account, A column to document the purpose of any expenses and; A column for information regarding deposits. To set up and maintain a petty cash fund, you must fund it with monies from your business. Cash payment cannot be proved if the same is not settled after taking proper shreds of evidence into account. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. Hidden label . How to create a petty cash account using excelNeed help with Sage or other accounting software? The simplest way to do this is to write a check to petty cash using your business checking account. Sometimes, the petty cash custodian makes errors in making change from the fund or doesn’t receive correct amounts back from users. How to create a petty cash account using excelNeed help with Sage or other accounting software? X Research source Otherwise you can print out a couple of these forms and bind them to have a physical log of all your transactions. Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. Banking>Petty Cash Accounts + (New Petty Cash Account) You can add the Opening Balance at any time. A petty cash account is not a type of bank account but more of a fund maintained inside a business. (Sometimes we refer to this fund as an imprest fund since it is replenished when it becomes low.). At all times, the employee responsible for petty cash is accountable for having cash and petty cash vouchers equal to the total amount of the fund. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Non-cash expenses are recorded as regular expenses and are not part of the petty cash system. At times, every business finds it convenient to have small amounts of cash available for immediate payment of items such as delivery charges, postage stamps, taxi fares, supper money for employees working overtime, and other small items. To account for petty cash, create a transaction log that covers the date, the person who used the petty cash, a description of the transaction, and any other deposits or expenses. By using our site, you agree to our. 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