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BOOK-KEEPING

As defined by Carter, ‘Book-keeping is a science and art of correctly recording in

books-of accounts all those business transactions that result in transfer of money or money’s

worth’. Book-keeping is an activity concerned with recording and classifying financial data

related to business operations in order of their occurrence.

Book-keeping is a mechanical task which involves:

= Collection of basic financial information.

=Identification of events and transactions with financial character i.e., economic

transactions.

= Measurement of economic transactions in terms of money.

= Recording financial effects of economic transactions in order of its occurrence.

= Classifying effects of economic transactions.

= Preparing organized statement known as trial balance

Distinction between Book-keeping and Accounting

Book-Keeping Accounting
1. Output of book-keeping is an input for 1. Output of accounting permit informed
accounting. judgments and decisions by the user of
accounting information.
2. Purpose of book-keeping is to keep 2. Purpose of accounting is to find results of
systematic record of transactions and events of operating activity of business and to report
financial character in order of its occurrence. financial strength of business.
3. Book-keeping is a foundation of accounting. 3. Accounting is considered as a language of
business.
4. Book-keeping is carried out by junior staff. 4. Accounting is done by senior staff with
skill of analysis and interpretation.
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5. Objects of book-keeping is to summarize the 5. Object of accounting is not only

cumulative effect of all economic transactions bookkeeping but also analyzing and
of business for a given period by maintaining interpreting reported financial information for
permanent record of each business transaction informed decisions.
with its evidence and financial effects on
accounting variable.

The Cash Book

A cash book is what it says, namely a record of all changes in cash and a record of all cash

transactions. In other words, it records cash receipts and expenditures (or expenses).

For farms with a bank account the cash book also records changes in the bank account since a

bank account may be considered as an extension of the cash box at home.

A cash book has separate columns for receipts and for expenditures.

In addition there is a column for the date and one for a (brief) description of each

transaction. So, the cash book in its simplest form is as follows:

Specimen 1. All transactions recorded on the same page.

Date Description Amount (K)

Specimen 2

Date Description Receipts (debit) Expenditures (credit)

Each transaction starts with a new line in the cash book.

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To check whether the amount of money in the cash box (or purse) is equal to the cash balance in

the cash book, the total expenditures in the cash book must be subtracted from the total receipts.

In principle, the total cash receipts must be a larger sum than the total cash expenditures.

But where a cash book also records bank account changes, the total receipts may be less than

the total expenditures because a bank account can be overdrawn.

To keep the cash book neat and tidy the above calculation is done in draft. Then the difference,

which is called cash balance, is entered in the expenditure column because, in accounting,

debits and credits must always be equal. This procedure is called ‘closing the books’.

If there is a difference between the cash balance and the actual cash in hand, the farmer

will usually be able to discover the error (by checking all entries) provided that the previous

closing of the books did not take place too long ago.

Therefore checking should be done weekly, or at least monthly. The ‘opening’ is done by

entering the previous cash balance from the expenditures column in the receipts column and then

calling it ‘cash in hand’.

Example of a Cash Book

Cash Book of Porkra Farm, 1st of January to 28th of February 2023

Date Description Receipts (K) Expenditures (K)

1. 1.23 Cash in hand 20,000

12.1.23 10 kg cattle minerals sup. 400
21.1.23 Milk cheque, Dec. 2022 1,480
23.1.23 1 heifer sold 5,500
23.1.23 2 kg 2” wire nails at K50 each 100
23.1.23 Paid for Veterinary services 1,080
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31.1.23 Paid Wages 10,500

31.1.23 Private drawing 8,200
31.1.23 Cash balance *6,700

31.1.23 Total (closing January) 26,980 26,980

Date Description Receipts (K) Expenditures (K)

1. 2.23 Cash in hand * 6,700

2. 2.23 Maize seed 1,400
2. 2.23 Fencing wire 4,500
2. 2.23 sold 10 cows 50,000
10.2.23 Artificial insemination 1,175
15.2.23 Fencing posts 10,150
22.2.23 Milk cheque, Jan. 2023 5,500
25.2.23 Sales from irrigated crops 5,600
28.2.23 Wages 10,500
28.2.23 Private drawing 8,200
28.2.23 Cash Balance * 31,875

28.2.23 Total (closing February) 67,800 67,800

Remarks on Porkra Farm’s Cash Book

The purpose of a cash book is to record receipts and expenditures whenever they

occur and to balance both sides at any time. That may be daily, weekly or monthly,

depending on what is desirable or necessary.

Always keep two rules in mind:

 At the beginning (opening) of an accounting period the balance in cash is always entered

in the receipt column, and at the end (closing) the cash balance is entered in the

expenditures column;

 Sales and purchases are only entered after payments (by cash or by cheque) have taken

place.
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Sometimes farms use a petty cash book in which expenditures and receipts for cash in

hand are re- corded when they occur (‘petty’ means small). Once a week or once a month the

totals are entered in the cash book.

The Design and Use of the Cash Analysis Book

It is not possible to calculate the Net Farm Income from the cash book as such. To make

this possible, receipts and expenditures have to be sorted out, kind by kind. And, what is more,

for management purposes the farmer needs to know more than the total receipts and expenditures

which the (simple) cash book can provide.

To be able to manage the farm in such a way that the most profitable use is made of the farm

resources, the farmer must

1. Distinguish

1 receipts for farm produce from other receipts, such as sales of capital goods and loans;

2 expenditures for production purposes from expenditures for other purposes, such as

investments and repayments;

2. Calculate the costs and revenues of his separate farming activities (also called enterprises);

3. Compare the output and costs of each activity with the results of previous years and also

with the results of other farms.

The Cash Analysis Book

The Cash Analysis Book is an extension of the cash book.

In order to analyze receipts and expenditures, the Cash Analysis Book adds several columns to the

total receipts and total expenditures columns of the cash book.

In these columns receipts and expenditures of one and the same kind are recorded a second time.

The totals of such columns enable a farmer at the end of the year to analyze each particular farm
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activity (or enterprise).

The number of these added columns depends on the number of activities (operations, enterprises)

on the farm, and also on how many details the farmer requires about costs.

So, the first three columns in a Cash Analysis Book are like those in a cash book: date, brief

description, total.

Then follow different types of columns, as required:

1. columns in which the output and costs are entered for each activity (enterprise or

operation) for which separate information is wanted; examples: maize, poultry, citrus,

milk, cattle, beef;

2. a column ‘other output’ on the receipts side and a column ‘overhead costs’ (or general

costs) on the expenditures side, in which output and costs are entered which cannot be

allocated to a specific activity;

3. a column for livestock sales on the receipts side and a column for purchases on the

expenditures side;

4. a column for non output receipts and a column for non cost expenditures on the

expenditure side

5. a column for receipts from the household (private) and a column for expenditures for

the house- hold;

6. other columns.

It should be noted that all entries are made twice and on the same horizontal line: once in the total

column and once in the appropriate analysis column.

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An example of a Cash Analysis Book is shown below.

Cash Analysis Book for Porkra Farm, 1st of January to 28th February, 2023
Receipts
Date Description Amount Slip No. Contra. Crops Milk Livestock Other
(K) sales out- put
01.1 Cash in hand 20,000 20,000
12.1 Milk cheque Dec. 2005 1,480 1,480
23.1 1 heifer Sold 5,500 5,500
02.2 Sold 10 cows 50,000 50,000
22.2 Milk cheque Jan. 2023 5,500 5,500
25.2 Sales from irrigated crops 5,600 5,600

Total (K) 88,080 5,600 6,980 55,500 20,000

Expenditures
Date Description Amount Cheque Contra Seed Cattle Overhead Other Private
(K) No. costs costs exp.

12.1 10 kg cattle minerals 400 400

23.1 2 kg 2” wire nails at K50 each 100 100
23.1 Vet.services Dec. 2023 1,080 1,080
31.1 Wages 10,500 10,500
31.1 Private drawing 8,200 8,200
2.2 Maize seed 1,400 1,400
2.2 Fencing wire 4,500 4,500
10.2 A.I. 1,175 1,175
15.2 Fencing posts 10,150 10,150
28.2 Wages 10,500 10,500
28.5 Private drawing 8,200 8,200

Total (K) 56,205 1,400 2,655 21,100 14,650 16,400