Contents:
4 - Books of Prime Entry
The "books of prime entry" are those books in which the initial transactions are recorded. Along with some memorandum records & "T" accounts, they form the whole bookkeeping system as illustrated below.
You are strongly recommended to return to this section after Section 11 or 12, as you will have a better understanding at that stage - it is included now to show how the whole system fits together.
Click on a book or ledger to find out more.
Nominal Ledger
The Nominal Ledger (or General Ledger) consists of all the "T" accounts. All the double-entry is within this. The cash "T" account will usually be a summary (e.g. monthly totals) of the cash book.
Introduction to control accounts
The debtors (people owing you money) control & creditors (people you owe) control "T" accounts lists sales/purchases made against cash received/paid. This gives a balance equal to the outstanding debtors/creditors. See Section 7 - credit transactions.
The next section looks at the entries peculiar to a soletrader or partnership. If it is a Limited Company you are dealing with, skip to Section 6.