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The entries take place “behind the scenes,” often with no income summary account showing in the chart of accounts or other transaction records. The balance sheet’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity accounts, however, are not closed. These permanent accounts and their ending balances act as the beginning balances for the next accounting period. All expense accounts are then closed to the income summary account by crediting the expense accounts and debiting income summary. Both closing entries are acceptable and both result in the same outcome. All temporary accounts eventually get closed to retained earnings and are presented on the balance sheet.

• The income-expenditure account of the business organization is related to the corresponding accounting period.
• After financial statements are prepared, businesses conduct the closing process.
• This adjusted trial balance reflects an accurate and fair view of your bakery’s financial position.

The income summary is a temporary account used to make closing entries. To close expenses, we simply credit the expense accounts and debit Income Summary. Closing the books not only helps to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the financial statements but also provides a clean set of books for the next accounting period.

Close all dividend or withdrawal accounts

The four-step method described above works well because it provides a clear audit trail. For smaller businesses, it might make sense to bypass the income summary account and instead close temporary entries directly to the retained earnings account. This process resets both the income and expense accounts to zero, preparing them for the next accounting period. What is the current book value of your electronics, car, and furniture?

Only permanent account balances should appear on the post-closing trial balance. These balances in post-closing T-accounts are transferred over to either the debit or credit column on the post-closing trial balance. When all accounts have been recorded, total each column and verify the columns equal each other. A term often used for closing entries is “reconciling” the company’s accounts. Accountants perform closing entries to return the revenue, expense, and drawing temporary account balances to zero in preparation for the new accounting period. Examples of temporary accounts are the revenue, expense, and dividends paid accounts.

Closing journal entries are used at the end of the accounting cycle to close the temporary accounts for the accounting period, and transfer the balances to the retained earnings account. Many students who enroll in an introductory accounting course do not plan to become accountants. They will work in a variety of jobs in the business field, including managers, sales, and finance. Accounting software can perform such tasks as posting the journal entries recorded, preparing trial balances, and preparing financial statements. Students often ask why they need to do all of these steps by hand in their introductory class, particularly if they are never going to be an accountant.

Step 1 – Close Revenue to the Income Summary

As you will learn in Corporation Accounting, there are three components to the declaration and payment of dividends. The first part is the date of declaration, which creates the obligation or liability to pay the dividend. The second part is the date of record that determines who receives the dividends, and the third part is the date of payment, which is the date that payments are made. Printing Plus has $100 of dividends with a debit balance on the adjusted trial balance.

Closing entries definition

Revenues and expenses are transferred to the Income Summary account, the balance of which clearly shows the firm’s income for the period. Closing entries are journal entries posted at the end of an accounting period to reset temporary accounts to zero and transfer their balances to a permanent account known as retained earnings. This means that it is not an asset, liability, stockholders’ equity, revenue, or expense account. The account has a zero balance throughout the entire accounting period until the closing entries are prepared. Therefore, it will not appear on any trial balances, including the adjusted trial balance, and will not appear on any of the financial statements. Now that all the temporary accounts are closed, the income summary account should have a balance equal to the net income shown on Paul’s income statement.

The Automation of Closing Entries

These accounts are closed directly to retained earnings by recording a credit to the dividend account and a debit to retained earnings. As mentioned, temporary accounts in the general ledger consist of income statement accounts such as sales or expense accounts. When the income statement is published at the end of the year, the balances of these accounts are transferred to the income summary, which how to create a professional invoice is also a temporary account. All temporary accounts with zero balances were left out of this trial balance. Unlike previous trial balances, the retained earnings figure is included, which was obtained through the closing process. Closing entries are journal entries you make at the end of an accounting cycle that movie temporary account balances to permanent entries on your company’s balance sheet.

Step #1: Close Revenue Accounts

The Income Summary account has a credit balance of $10,240 (the revenue sum). Permanent (real) accounts are accounts that transfer balances to the next period and include balance sheet accounts, such as assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity. These accounts will not be set back to zero at the beginning of the next period; they will keep their balances. The next day, January 1, 2019, you get ready for work, but before you go to the office, you decide to review your financials for 2019. What are your total expenses for rent, electricity, cable and internet, gas, and food for the current year? You have also not incurred any expenses yet for rent, electricity, cable, internet, gas or food.

Step 1: Transfer Revenue

After the period ends and the financial statements are generated, all temporary accounts must reset to zero for the start of the next accounting period. Your closing journal entries serve as a way to zero out temporary accounts such as revenue and expenses, ensuring that you begin each new accounting period properly. The first entry closes revenue accounts to the Income Summary account.