A Beginner’s Guide to Petty Cash: Managing and Recording It - Goclick App

Ideally, the petty cash cashier (in a plumbing company, for example) would need to show past receipts to prove that previous money put into the petty cash account has been taken out. By having a petty cash cashier and a petty cash custodian, the dual-process helps to keep the funds secure and ensure that only those authorized have access to it. Do you have to record these transactions on financial statements? Occasional errors may cause the petty cash fund to be out of balance.

When a petty cash fund is in use, petty cash transactions are still recorded on financial statements. The journal entry for giving the custodian more cash is a debit to the petty cash fund and a credit to cash. The person responsible for the processes described above is the petty cash custodian. Custodians are in charge of disbursing necessary funds, recording transactions, and approving reimbursements to petty cash accounts. They reconcile petty cash receipts against petty cash expenses, monitor the petty cash balance, and safeguard the petty cash drawer or petty cash box.

This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post. Bench assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein. Eric Gerard Ruiz is an accounting and bookkeeping expert for Fit Small Business. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines.

Why Is It Called Petty Cash?

A petty cash custodian should be designated to safeguard and make payments from this fund. At the time the fund is established, the following journal entry is needed. This journal entry, in essence, subdivides the petty cash portion of available funds into a separate account.

• You must document all of your petty cash expenses if you want to write them off on your taxes, just like you would any other income or expense.
• Read this article to discover what petty cash is, its different procedures, and how to manage it.
• In the upper right portion of the window, click the green New button to create a petty cash account.
• Petty cash is used to cover business and employee expenses and is not (normally) exchanged with customers.

The petty cash is controlled through the use of a petty cash voucher for each payment made. The expenses will be recorded in the company’s general ledger expense accounts when the petty cash on hand is replenished. Petty cash or a petty cash fund is a small amount of money available for paying small expenses without writing a check. Petty Cash is also the title of the general ledger current asset account that reports the amount of the company’s petty cash.

Record All Petty Cash Transactions

Oversight of petty cash is important because of the potential for abuse. But if you find that most of your petty cash is not being used, the fund amount might be too large. You should deposit the surplus petty cash into the company bank account. Next, total the amount of all the outstanding slips (plus attached receipts).

Every month, or as cash is needed, the custodian should summarize the petty cash log by expense account and record a journal entry debiting each expense and crediting petty cash. The bottom portion of the petty cash log won’t be completed until the cash in the lockbox needs to be replenished. There’s no need to make journal entries when expenses are reimbursed from cash in the lockbox. The petty cash custodian is the person accountable for the petty cash fund.

Where petty cash appears in the balance sheet

They’ll be in charge of handling and disbursing petty cash and ensuring that the petty cash fund is used for its intended purpose. They’re also responsible for the safekeeping of the physical cash and possess the key to the lockbox where the cash and receipts are kept. Your available cash should always match the amount recorded in your petty cash log. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to account for any cash over and short. Once the account is reconciled, you’re ready to record your expenses into your general ledger. Whatever you decide, it’s important that only one person have access to the fund at any time, to avoid unaccounted for withdrawals and/or theft.

• To use petty cash, simply grab however much cash you need from the lockbox (say, $10).
• It saves the hassle of reimbursing people or expecting them to pay out-of-pocket for work-related items.
• Also, take a few minutes to see what you’re spending petty cash on.
• Once your running balance hits your replenishment amount, you’re ready to write a check to bring the petty cash total back to the original funded amount.
• The English word “petty” derives from the French petit, which means “small” or “little.” Likewise, “petty” means minor or insignificant.

Any expense that’s too small to write a check for can be paid with cash from the petty cash fund. Note that it’s a good idea to set a maximum adp tool automotive pulleys dollar amount for allowable expenses. The biggest downside of petty cash is that it can be easy for employees to abuse or misuse.

Free Accounting Courses

There are some financial terms in the world of business that might throw managers off a little. We have put together a detailed guide, providing the definition of this important term and what exactly it’s used for. After a designated interval—usually, the same time each month or week—it’s time to reconcile or balance the petty fund account. This sum is the total withdrawn from the account during that time period.

It can be in the form of actual money, like amounts you haven’t yet deposited in the bank or smaller bills and coins that you keep in the cash register to make change for customers. Typically, companies that set up a fund (or funds, if the company is large, with many departments) also appoint someone to handle and monitor it. This person – the petty cash custodian – is in charge of managing petty cash, saving the receipts, and making out slips, and attaching them to the receipts to ensure that no money goes unaccounted for. Restricting access to the fund lowers the chance of theft or misuse. Policies should be established regarding appropriate expenditures that can be paid from petty cash. When a disbursement is made from the fund, a receipt should be placed in the petty cash box.

How Do You Balance Petty Cash in Accounting?

The owner of this website may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). SuperMoney strives to provide a wide array of offers for our users, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.

It might seem tedious to log every tiny expense in this way, but there’s nothing petty about petty cash expenses. You must document all of your petty cash expenses if you want to write them off on your taxes, just like you would any other income or expense. In our example above, we asked for $315 as replenishment because it’s the amount of total receipts.

The amount of petty cash will vary by company and may be in the range of $30 to $300. Then, get the total of the Amount column to determine total petty cash expenses. The ending balance is the difference between the beginning balance and the total petty cash expenses. The currencies inside the lockbox should be equal to the ending balance.

Uses for petty cash funds

For example, say your small business provides specific services for local business owners. Another business owner walks into your office at 10 a.m., and you decide you need some refreshments for the meeting. So you ask an employee who doesn’t normally make business purchases to pick up the refreshments. That employee could be reimbursed later using petty cash, or you could give them money from petty cash and have them bring you the change and receipt. The petty cash account covers business-related expenses generally categorized as miscellaneous expenses.

These costs can be urgent, and you may have to handle them immediately. While it shouldn’t be a habitual practice, petty cash in a pinch can be used to make change for customers, if the till’s running short. Making a single person responsible for petty cash cuts down on confusion and minimizes the risk of theft. It might be tempting to wing it for as long as you can, but setting up a proper petty cash system early is crucial. Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you.