As most of us would be aware, matching principle is one of the most important principles of accounting. In simple words, it prescribes that all expenses and revenues related to the accounting period should be mapped / accounted for in that accounting period itself. (You could learn in more detail in accounting classes at S20).
Having said that, there are times when expenses may be paid in advance or revenues may not have been booked. This calls for adjusting the books of accounts with appropriate accounting entries to reflect the true picture that pertains to that particular accounting period. It is here that the adjustment entries come into play.
Adjustment entries could be on account of two factors: Accruals and Advances. These instances are explained below, alongwith accounting entries to be passed for the same in Tally. These adjustment entries are passed as Journal Vouchers in Tally.
- Accruals
- Expense Accruals
This represents expenses incurred (say on account of goods purchased or services availed), however not yet accounted for (maybe because invoice has not been received). For example, accounting period is April – March. Electricity bill for March is received in April of the following year. Since electricity has been consumed and expenses have been incurred in the true sense, the same should be accounted for in that year ending 31 March as well. When accruing expenses, the expense account would be debited and instead of sundry creditors, credit is taken to provision for expense account / expense payable account. Thus, accounting entry in Tally would be:
- Income Accruals
This represents income accrued/ earned but not recorded, mostly because it is not due.For example, billing cycle agreed with the customer is 3-monthly beginning February. Therefore, while services would have been rendered for February and March, but invoice cannot be raised until April as the right to collect arises only then. As per matching principle, revenue corresponding to the months of February and March should be accounted for. When accruing income, the income account would be credited and instead of sundry debtors, asset account namely income accrued but nor due is created. Thus, accounting entry in Tally would be:
Having passed afore-said entries, the profit and loss account would now truly reflect the revenue and expense for the accounting period.
- Expense Accruals
- Advances
- Expenses Paid In Advance
When expenses are paid for a period falling outside the accounting period, books should be adjusted to capture only the amount that pertains to the accounting period for which books are being prepared.For example, annual insurance of Rs. 12,000 is paid in December while the accounting period followed is April – March. In that case, Rs. 8,000 pertaining to April – November of the following year should be excluded from the profit and loss account. This could be done as under:
Thus, net insurance debited to P/L for the year would be Rs. 4,000 only, pertaining to the period December – April. - Incomes Received In Advance
Contractual terms may require the customer to pay advances upfront. In case where such advances do not get settled within the accounting period under consideration, they should appear as liability account. For example, for a contract signed in March, advance received from customer for the quarter is Rs. 30,000. Assuming April – March year is followed, once services are rendered in March, proportionate part would go to revenues. However, remaining advance should continue to stand as a liability in the books. Entries would be as under:
Thus, at year-end, only revenue of Rs. 10,000 would go to P/L while net advance of Rs. 20,000 would appear as a liability in the Balance Sheet.While this is the gist of the journal entries, a more step by step approach for accounting in Tally can be learnt at accounting classes at Super 20 Training Institute in Ahmedabad.
- Expenses Paid In Advance