Journal Entries

Journal entries are the first step in the accounting cycle and are used to record all business transactions and events in the accounting system. As business events occur throughout the accounting period, journal entries are recorded in the general journal to show how the event changed in the accounting equation. For example, when the company spends cash to purchase a new vehicle, the cash account is decreased or credited and the vehicle account is increased or debited.

Identify Transactions

There are generally three steps to making a journal entry. First, the business transaction has to be identified. Obviously, if you don't know a transaction occurred, you can't record one. Using our vehicle example above, you must identify what transaction took place. In this case, the company purchased a vehicle. This means a new asset must be added to the accounting equation.

Analyze Transactions

After an event is identified to have an economic impact on the accounting equation, the business event must be analyzed to see how the transaction changed the accounting equation. When the company purchased the vehicle, it spent cash and received a vehicle. Both of these accounts are asset accounts, so the overall accounting equation didn't change. Total assets increased and decreased by the same amount, but an economic transaction still took place because the cash was essentially transferred into a vehicle.

Journalizing Transactions

After the business event is identified and analyzed, it can be recorded. Journal entries use debits and credits to record the changes of the accounting equation in the general journal. Traditional journal entry format dictates that debited accounts are listed before credited accounts. Each journal entry is also accompanied by the transaction date, title, and description of the event. Here is an example of how the vehicle purchase would be recorded.

Example

Company A was incorporated on January 1, 2010 with an initial capital of 5,000 shares of common stock having $20 par value. During the first month of its operations, the company engaged in following transactions:

Date	Transaction
Jan 2	An amount of $36,000 was paid as advance rent for three months.
Jan 3	Paid $60,000 cash on the purchase of equipment costing $80,000. The remaining amount was recognized as a one year note payable with interest rate of 9%.
Jan 4	Purchased office supplies costing $17,600 on account.
Jan 13	Provided services to its customers and received $28,500 in cash.
Jan 13	Paid the accounts payable on the office supplies purchased on January 4.
Jan 14	Paid wages to its employees for first two weeks of January, aggregating $19,100.
Jan 18	Provided $54,100 worth of services to its customers. They paid $32,900 and promised to pay the remaining amount.
Jan 23	Received $15,300 from customers for the services provided on January 18.
Jan 25	Received $4,000 as an advance payment from customers.
Jan 26	Purchased office supplies costing $5,200 on account.
Jan 28	Paid wages to its employees for the third and fourth week of January: $19,100.
Jan 31	Paid $5,000 as dividends.
Jan 31	Received electricity bill of $2,470.
Jan 31	Received telephone bill of $1,494.
Jan 31	Miscellaneous expenses paid during the month totaled $3,470

The following table shows the journal entries for the above events.

Date	Account	Debit	Credit
Jan 1	Cash	100,000
	Common Stock		100,000
Jan 2	Prepaid Rent	36,000
	Cash		36,000
Jan 3	Equipment	80,000
	Cash		60,000
	Notes Payable		20,000
Jan 4	Office Supplies	17,600
	Accounts Payable		17,600
Jan 13	Cash	28,500
	Service Revenue		28,500
Jan 13	Accounts Payable	17,600
	Cash		17,600
Jan 14	Wages Expense	19,100
	Cash		19,100
Jan 18	Cash	32,900
	Accounts Receivable	21,200
	Service Revenue		54,100
Jan 23	Cash	15,300
	Accounts Receivable		15,300
Jan 25	Cash	4,000
	Unearned Revenue		4,000
Jan 26	Office Supplies	5,200
	Accounts Payable		5,200
Jan 28	Wages Expense	19,100
	Cash		19,100
Jan 31	Dividends	5,000
	Cash		5,000
Jan 31	Electricity Expense	2,470
	Utilities Payable		2,470
Jan 31	Telephone Expense	1,494
	Utilities Payable		1,494
Jan 31	Miscellaneous Expense	3,470
	Cash		3,470