Top 35 Source Documents in Accounting are the first source of information from which the accounting books are prepared. A source document is the document in which data for a transaction is collected. In addition, this supporting document will be used when recording journal entries for transactions. Also, it is a document that serves as the proof or source of the transaction.
Top 35 Source Documents in Accounting are stated below:
1.Purchased order
These are sent by the buyer to the vendor. They will then outline exactly what the order should contain and when it should arrive.
2. Sales Invoice
This is made for account receivables. When an item is sold the seller will issue a document providing all the details of the sale.
3. Purchase Invoice
This is made for account payables. What the seller enters as sales invoice, the buyer will enter it as purchase invoice.
4. Debit Note
This is evidence of reduce in purchases. In customer books, debit note reduces how much they owe to the seller. This support purchases return journal.
5. Credit Note
This is evidence of reduce in sales. In supplier’s books, credit note reduces the amount owed by the customer. This support sales return journal.
6. Cheque
This is a special bank note that represents the cash being paid by the customer.
7. Revenue receipt
This is used to record the receipt of cash. A receipt is proof that the payment has been made.
8. Cash register receipts
This is a business paper that lists the money coming in from customers.
9. Bank advice
They are debit or credit bank advice. Bank credit advice is bank documents informing the business of an increase made in the business’s bank account. Bank debit advice is opposite of bank credit advice.
10. Deposit slips
When one receives cheque or cash from customer, the seller will take it to the bank and presented.
11. ATM cards
Received from the ATM machine as evidence that money was taken from the business bank account.
12. Bank statements
This is a summary of financial transactions that occurred at a certain institution during a specific time period. For example, a typical bank statement may show your deposits and withdrawals for a certain month.
13. Bill of exchange
This is an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specified person, or to bearer.
14. Payroll report
This can also refer to the list of employees of a business and the amount of compensation due to each of them.
15. Cancelled Cheque
This is a check that has been paid or cleared by the bank it was drawn on after it has been deposited or cashed. The check is “canceled” after it’s been used or paid so that the check cannot be used again. A cancelled cheque is a cheque bearing the account holder’s name, account number and has CANCELLED inscribed across it.
16. Cheque Stubs
This is the part of a check that is kept by the payee with information such as the check number, date, and amount.
17. Employee Timecard
This is also called a timesheet, is a method for recording and tracking the amount of an employee’s time spent on each job
18. Board minutes or minutes of meetings
The secretary of the board usually takes minutes during meetings. Written minutes are distributed to board members before each meeting for member’s review.
19. Goods Dispatched Note (GDN)
This a document of the company that lists the goods sent out to a customer. The company will keep one record of goods dispatched notes. This is because, if there is any case of any queries by customers about the goods sent. In addition, one copy is sent to accounts department to process invoice to the customer.
20. Goods Issues Note (GIN)
This is a physical record of the movement of goods or materials from the warehouse or store to production department. It results in a decrease in stock from the warehouse.
21. Stock take Records
This is also called stock counting. It is when you manually check and record all the inventory that your business currently has on hand
22. Stock Record (i.e., Bin card)
A Bin Card is a card indicating quantitative records of the receipts, issues and balances etc.
23. Goods Received Note (GRN)
This is the type of document that shows the goods that a business has received from a supplier. Moreover, this kind of record is used by the buyer for comparing the number of goods ordered to the ones delivered.
24. Remittance advice
This is accounting documents sent to a supplier with a payment, detailing which invoices are being paid and which credit notes offset. It also confirms the amount being paid, so that any discrepancies can be easily identified and investigated.
25. Insurance Endorsement Certificates
This is where one party will add the other party as an “additional insured” on their commercial liability insurance policy.
26. Point of Sales Summaries
This is used to record a number of sales at a cash register.
27. Memorandum
Memo is a written document businesses use to communicate an announcement, policy changes, price increases or notification to take an action, such as attend a meeting, or change a current production procedure.
28. Computer-generated Receipts
This is receipts generated by computer.
29. Lease Agreement
Lease contracts, also known as rental agreements, are formal documents that identify the lessor, lessee. Also, what’s being leased, whether it’s an asset or a property.
30. Sales Tax Returns
This is the taxpayer’s document of declaration. This will enable the taxpayer to furnish the transaction details during a tax period and deposits his Sales Tax liability.
31. Cash Register Tapes
This allows you to keep a record of all customer transactions and/or provide them with a receipt.
32. Adjustment Notes
This is also known as credit notes or refunds which are issued to customers for damaged, returned or undelivered goods
33. Employee Pay Advice
This is any document that provides written evidence of employee income.
34. Payroll Advice Report
This Payroll reports help small businesses understand payroll costs and summarize payroll data.
35. Evidence of Sale or Disposal of Assets
Asset disposal is the removal of a long-term asset from the company’s accounting records.
Conclusion
Kindly add your own source documents not listed amng the Top 35 Source Documents in Accounting listed above. This will help us to update our records accordingly.
Watch several videos of how to prepare financial statements from source documents
There are basic assumptions which underline the preparation of financial statements of business enterprise. There are stated below:
Going concern concept: accounting assumes that the business will continue to operate for a long period of time. In other words, it means continuity in business or Continuity Assumption.
The continue preparation of financial statement in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) is an evidence of going concern. Even the auditor may also carry out investigation see that the going concern is intact.
Example of going concern is prepayment and accrual of expenses. The company accept these expenses because they believe the business will continue to run. If for example any part or section or department or product line is discontinue, it does not means there is no longer a going concern. Going concern is for the entire company.
During Covid19, a lot of companies had financial issues and were unable to pay their obligation. Various government gives those companies a bailout and a guarantee of all payments to creditors. The companies are a going concern despite of its current weak financial position. But if government imposes a restriction on the manufacture of a certain goods and service for the period say 1 year. Then the company will no longer be a going concern since they might not be able to sell any product.
2. Entity concept: This accounting concept separates the business from its owner. Meaning the business is a legal entity. It can sue and be sued. It also means the owners of a business are limited to how much he has invested not his personal resources. So for example, if the owner brings in additional capital into the business, we will treat this as a liability on the balance sheet of the business.Entity concept ensures that each company is tax separately.
Let look at these examples, Mrs. Ese bought a building having 5 office space for $5000 per month. She uses three office for his business and two for personal purpose. In line with business entity concept, only $3,000 (the rent of two offices) is a valid expense of the business
Another example is when owner of a business lends loan to his company. It would be strictly recorded as a liability and that has to be paid back to the owner.
3. Matching Concept:This concept states that the revenue and the expenses of a transaction should be included in the same accounting period. So to determine the income of a period all the revenues and expenses (whether paid or not) must be included. The matching accounting concept follows the realization concept. First, the revenue is recognized and then we match the costs associated with the revenue. So costs are matched with revenue, the reverse would be an incorrect system.
4. Dual concepts: this says that there are two aspects of accounting. It is represented by the assets of the business and liabilities (i.e. claims against it). Assets =liabilities + capital. So for example. Say the business buys an asset worth N10, 000. So now the Fixed Assets of the company will increase by N10, 000. But at the same time, the bank or cash balance will reduce by N10, 000 and so the transaction will have a dual effect in accounting. And also the Balance Sheet will stay balanced.
5. Realization concepts: in accounting, profit should not be recognized until the goods are passed to the customer.
6. Money measurement concept: Accounting is only concerned with the facts that can be measured in monetary terms with fair degree of objectivity. Accounting does not record that the firm has a bad or good management team, poor morale among staff. So for example, if the company underwent a major management overhaul this would have no effect on the accounting records. This concept is actually one of the major drawbacks of accounting.
7. Accrual concept: Revenue and cost are usually recorded in accounts when they are earned or incurred rather than when the money is received or paid.
8. Full Disclosure Concept: This concept states that all relevant information will be disclosed in the accounting statements. A lot of external users depend on these financial statements for their information to make investing decisions. So no information/transactions etc of relevance to any one of them will be omitted from these statements for the benefit of the company.
9. Cost Concept: This accounting concept states that all assets of the firm are entered into the books of account at their purchase price (cost of acquisition + transport + installation etc). In the subsequent years to, the price remains the same (minus depreciation charged). The market price of the asset is not taken into consideration.
10. Accounting Period Concept:Every organization, according to its needs, chooses a specific period of time to complete an accounting cycle. Generally, the time chosen is a year we call the accounting year. The time period is mentioned in the financial statements.
11. Substance over form: usually transactions are recorded and accounted for by their commercial realities rather than their legal form. Substance over form is an accounting concept which means that the economic substance of transactions and events must be recorded in the financial statements rather than just their legal form in order to present a true and fair view of the affairs of the entity.
12. Faithful representation: For financial report to be useful, the financial information must not only represent relevant phenomena but must faithfully represent the phenomena that it purports to represent.
13. Timeliness: It means having information available to decision makers in time to be capable of influencing their decisions. The older the information the less important it become.
14. Relevance: Relevant information is capable of making a difference in the decisions made by users.
15. Comparability: The information about a firm is more useful if it can be compared with similar information about other enterprise and with similar information about the same enterprise for another period or date.
