Imprest Petty Cash

The journal entry to record replenishing the fund would debit the various accounts indicated by the summary and credit Cash. The staff has used petty cash to pay for the taxi $ 100, office supplies $ 200, and other expenses $ 100. The remaining balance is only $ 100, so it requires replenishing from the cash on hand accounts. If you plan to use petty cash for small business purchases like postage and office supplies, it may be handy to use the petty cash log to keep track of your transactions. Keeping careful records of cash expenditures will be a huge help when it comes time to reconcile your petty cash account.

• In the event that all of the cash in the account is used before the end of the established time period, it can be replenished in the same way at any time more cash is needed.
• 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.
• This will set you up for success, not a petty cash accounting nightmare.
• One of these includes limiting the amount of money they hold in the petty cash system.

Petty cash refers to a system of holding insignificant sums of funds to pay for minor expenses. Companies use this system to keep money at hand to meet small needs as they arise. However, companies may also limit how much a customer can pay into this account. However, keeping significant amounts of money at hand can have some risks.

Reconcile Fund

However, using accounting software, like QuickBooks Online, can make managing petty cash expenses easier and faster because it simplifies the recording of expenses. If the balance in the petty cash account is supposed to be $75, then the petty cash box should contain $45 in signed receipts and $30 in cash. Assume that when the box is counted, there are $45 in receipts and $25 in cash.

• If the amount in the fund is below the amount listed in the general ledger, a check should be written for the difference and the amount credited to Cash.
• Examples of these payments are office supplies, cards, flowers, and so forth.
• This unique feature of the imprest system of petty cash is one of its most important advantages as it allows spot checks on the petty cash fund at any point in time.
• On the DV, use payment reason “K” payble to the custodian of the petty cash account using vendor type Petty Cash Custodian.
• However, petty cashiers cannot spend money from the account without receipts.

Notice that the petty cash account is debited or credited only when the fund is established or when the size of the fund is increased or decreased, not when the fund is replenished. For petty cash reconciliation, subtract the amount in your petty cash fund from the amount stated in your books. Compare this amount to the total amount listed on your receipts to determine if your accounts are equal. Petty cash funds are useful alternatives to writing checks or using your business credit card to cover small expenses. Petty cash funds are used to purchase items for your business, reimburse employees who purchased business items, or to make change.

How to Account for Petty Cash

However, petty cash ensures they have enough money to meet daily needs. For example, the Galaxy’s Best Yogurt maintains a petty cash box with a stated balance of $75 at all times. Upon review of the box, the balance is counted in the following way. Count petty cash the cash remaining in the lock box and add up the receipts. The cash and receipts should equal the opening value in petty cash. If the difference is still there, do not panic; it is common for petty cash to be off by a couple of dollars or less.

Before going to the cashier, she should first complete the bottom of the petty cash log. The reconciliation is straightforward—every time you take cash out of the box, you replace the cash with a receipt for the same amount. Therefore, all receipts plus remaining cash must be equal to the original amount placed in petty cash. The petty cash custodian will keep all petty cash items inside a lockbox. Only the custodian can access the lockbox—and it mustn’t be left opened and unattended.

The Petty Cash Fund

Before joining FSB, Eric has worked as a freelance content writer with various digital marketing agencies in Australia, the United States, and the Philippines. In the next section, we’ll look at one of the most important cash controls, the bank reconciliation process, in detail. Double Entry Bookkeeping is here to provide you with free online information to help you learn and understand bookkeeping and introductory accounting.

The check is cashed and the proceeds are placed in the petty cash box. At the same time, receipts are removed from the petty cash box and formally recorded as expenses. A petty cash custodian should be designated to safeguard and make payments from this fund.

Visit the Bookstore

Whenever someone in the company requests petty cash, the petty cash custodian prepares a voucher that identifies the date, amount, recipient, and reason for the cash disbursement. For control purposes, vouchers are sequentially prenumbered and signed by both the person requesting the cash and the custodian. After the cash is spent, receipts or other relevant documents should be returned to the petty cash custodian, https://www.bookstime.com/ who attaches them to the voucher. Sometimes, the petty cash custodian makes errors in making change from the fund or doesn’t receive correct amounts back from users. These errors cause the cash in the fund to be more or less than the amount of the fund less the total vouchers. When the fund is replenished, the credit to Cash is for the difference between the established amount and the actual cash in the fund.

This process is necessary to maintain the accuracy of the company’s financial records and to ensure that the fund is adequately funded. It is also important to monitor the vouchers used for debiting the general ledger accounts to ensure that the correct accounts are debited. This helps to ensure that the cash balance in the petty cash account is accurately reflected in the general ledger account. Any discrepancies should be quickly addressed with proper documentation.

Establishing a petty cash fund

Every time you replenish your fund, look over the spending log to see where the money’s going. If there are any odd transactions or the numbers don’t add up, you could be looking at theft. In this case, you might want to consider installing a camera or taking away access until you figure out who’s stealing. Ideally, people in this role will be comfortable handling business expenses and have experience with financial statements. Those with prior financial accounting experience are especially great with this, but anyone that’s handled expense accounts should be fine.

Only when the fund is reimbursed, or when the end of the accounting period arrives, does the firm make an entry in the journal. To set up a petty cash fund, the cashier creates a check in the amount of the funding assigned to a particular petty cash fund (usually a few hundred dollars). Alternatively, the cashier could simply count out the cash for the petty cash fund, if there are enough bills and coins on the premises.

Example of Petty Cash Accounting

A petty cash fund is a current asset account that should appear on your balance alongside other cash accounts, such as checking and savings accounts. After recording the journal entry, the custodian should receive $300 cash or check from the owner or cashier. Sometimes the petty cash custodian makes errors in making change from the fund or doesn’t receive correct amounts back from users. We post the discrepancy to an account called Cash Over and Short.