The term ‘bad debt’ and ‘write off’ are often used together in a sentence but they have different meanings. First, we will discuss them in brief to understand the differences between them. Bad debts We know, debtors for a business are their assets because the business has the right to receive moneyRead more
The term ‘bad debt’ and ‘write off’ are often used together in a sentence but they have different meanings. First, we will discuss them in brief to understand the differences between them.
Bad debts
We know, debtors for a business are their assets because the business has the right to receive money from the debtors due to the goods supplied to them.
But if due to circumstances, there appears no probability that the amount due to one or more debtors will be realised to the business, then such debts are categorised as bad debts.
In short, bad debts refer to the amount of money that will not be received from some debtors of the business due to some circumstances like insolvency of debtor etc.
Bad debt is deducted from debtors account by the following journal entry:
Bad debts A/c | Dr. | Amt |
To Debtors A/c | Cr. | Amt |
(Being bad debts written off from debtors) |
As bad debts are losses to a business, it is ultimately written off from the profit and loss account.
Profit and loss A/c | Dr. | Amt |
To Bad debts A/c | Cr. | Amt |
(Being bad debts written off to profit and loss account) |
Write off
In layman terms, write off means to deduct something out from something. In accounting, write off means to deduct or reduce value of assets by crediting it to a liability account which is usually a reserve account or the profit and loss account.
It also refers to the elimination of an item from the books of accounts particularly losses and expenses.
Generally, writing off is associated with the following:
- Bad debts.
- Damaged Inventories.
- Loss on issue or redemption of debentures.
- Preliminary expenses.
- Bad loans and advances.
Write off can be done in one of the following methods:
- Direct write-off: The write off is directly done by crediting asset account or loss account and debiting the reserve or P/L account.
- Indirect write-off: Here, an intermediate account is involved between the asset account and liabilities account. A common example is writing off of bad debts where the bad debts account is the intermediate account.
Hence, the following differences can be observed between bad debts and write off or writing off:
The value of inventory at the end of the financial year or balance sheet date is called closing stock. Closing stock includes: Raw Material Work-in-Progress Finished Goods Example: If the value of raw material is Rs 10,000, value of WIP is Rs 5,000 and value of Finished Goods is Rs 15,000 then valueRead more
The value of inventory at the end of the financial year or balance sheet date is called closing stock. Closing stock includes:
Example:
If the value of raw material is Rs 10,000, value of WIP is Rs 5,000 and value of Finished Goods is Rs 15,000 then value of Closing Stock will be Rs (10,000 + 5,000 + 15,000) = Rs 30,000
Adjustment entries are done on the accrual basis of accounting, that is, income is recorded when earned and not received and expenses are recorded when incurred and not paid. Adjustment entries are usually made before or after the preparation of the trial balance at the end of the accounting period.
If the entries are made after the preparation of the trial balance, then two adjustment entries are recorded while preparing Trading and Profit & Loss A/c.
Since closing stock is an item outside the trial balance, the double-entry would be:
The journal entry
The second adjustment would be to show closing stock on the balance sheet and since the closing stock is an asset it is shown under the head Current Assets. Â
In case where adjustment for Closing Stock is to be done before preparation of Trial Balance, then it will be shown on the credit side of the Trial Balance, since it is an asset for the company and will have a credit brought down balance as shown in the image.
Later, while preparing Balance Sheet, Closing Stock will be shown on the Asset side of the Balance Sheet.
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