Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

[Guest]

This may sound REALLY dumb and maybe its the fact that I practacally grew up with Accounting. I worked for a CPA when I was still in HS.

Everything always has to balance. I've never heard of NOT using debits & credits. Ok, I have "heard" of it but I never understood it. Even when I did "paper books" I entered a credit for every debit. Can someone give me an example of Single Entry Bookkeeping?

[Guest]

Gina:

From Barons Dictionary of Accounting Terms: Single entry bookeeping is a simple bookkeeping system in which transactions are recorded in a single record. An example is a checkbook showing expenditures. For example, an accounts payable listing may represent purchases on account; no journal entries are made or ledgers kept. It is an incomplete form of Double Entry Bookkeeping because it does not rely on equal debits and credits. Although financial statements cannot readily be be prepared in single entry systems, they are generally derived from inspection or count and comparison of beginning and ending totals. Pluggin is usually necessary to derive owner's equity for the balance sheet.

[Guest]

Jack, that was an excellent explaination. Thank you.

[Steve890]

Single Entry bookkeeping is used in various countries as a standard.