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Balance sheet readers cannot only see the actual cost of the item; they can also see how much of the asset was written off as well as estimate the remaining useful life and value of the asset. The net effect of the contra entry journal is that the balance on the accounts payable ledger is cleared and a balance of 800 remains on the accounts receivable ledger, representing the net amount outstanding from the customer. Occasionally a business has cause to offset an amount owed by a customer (accounts receivable) with an amount owed to a supplier (accounts payable). Contra accounts are used to reduce the value of the original account directly to keep financial accounting records clean. A contra revenue represents any deductions or offsets that need to be removed from gross revenue to provide a clearer understanding of actual income  —  such as in the example just provided. These accounts will typically help track sales discounts, product returns, and allowances (e.g., a price reduction for a good with minor defects).

Double Entry Bookkeeping

The contra accounts will be grouped in the same category on the balance sheet or income statement as their related accounts. Generally speaking, the use of contra accounts is to ensure their related accounts stay clean and to keep track of historical cost easier. Again, the company’s management will see the original amount of sales, the sales discounts, and the resulting net sales. If the following accounting period results in net sales of $80,000, an additional $2,400 is reported in the allowance for doubtful accounts, and $2,400 is recorded in the second period in bad debt expense.

Balance Sheet in Accounting: What You Need to Know

In this way, the historical cost, the amount of write-off, and the book value of an asset can always be seen on the balance sheet. The company may have multiple bank account so they will set up multiple chart account for each bank. The transfer of cash from one account to another is also considered as a contra entry. The first step in accounting for the allowance for doubtful accounts is to establish the allowance. This is done by using one of the estimation methods above to predict what proportion of accounts receivable will go uncollected.

The Accounting Equation

At the same time, our Accounts Receivable Automation software and Accounts Payable Automation software makes tracking, managing, and processing crucial assets and liabilities — and their contras — easier than ever before. A contra account is an asset account that is kept at either a negative or zero balance and is used on a balance sheet to offset the positive balance of a paired asset. To put it another way, a contra account is an account listed within a general ledger with the purpose of capturing the reduced value of a paired or related account when the two are added together.

How to Record Accounts Receivable

• The key example of a contra equity account is Treasury stock, which represents the amount paid to buyback stock.
• Treasury stock differs from other stocks in that it has no voting rights, and no dividends are paid to the treasury stock.
• This liability represents a short-term debt that must be settled within a specific period, typically within 30 to 90 days.
• A contra account is also known as a valuation allowance, because it adjusts the carrying value of the account with which it is paired.
• This helps the firms to evaluate the book value of their assets and liabilities.

A contra liability account is not classified as a liability, since it does not represent a future obligation. Allowance for doubtful accounts is netted from the accounts receivable balance. The company predicts which accounts receivable won’t be paid by customers and writes those off.

Adjusting the Allowance

The initial cost of this upgrade was $8 thousand per limo or $600,000 in total. CCC bought equipment and machinery worth $100,000 at the beginning of the current financial year and estimates that the equipment and machinery will depreciate by $10,000 every year. Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, contra expense account DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling. In other words, accumulated depreciation will be $10,000 each year until the car depreciates to $0 twenty years later. The auditors aim to keep the balances at their adequate levels, but the controller might want to keep them as low as possible to reduce expenses and maximize profit levels. When researching companies, the financial statement is a great place to start.

Differences between Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable

Are you looking for a way to account for accumulated depreciation, returned merchandise, or damaged inventory? You can use contra accounts to record the goods your customers return, inventory that gets damaged, and equipment depreciation. Accounts Payable (AP) manages outgoing payments, ensuring the company pays its suppliers and vendors on time, maintaining good relationships and optimizing cash flow. Accounts Receivable (AR) manages incoming payments, ensuring timely collection from customers to maintain cash flow and reduce the risk of bad debts.

• Home Depot reports that returns are estimated at the time of the sale based on historic returns numbers.
• Then, the company will record a debit to cash and credit to accounts receivable when the payment is collected.
• The debit balances in the above accounts are amortized or allocated to an expense, such as Interest Expense over the life of the bonds or notes payable.
• When the contra account reads $500 and the normal credit balance is $100,000, then your net sales are $99,500.
• In other words, accumulated depreciation will be $10,000 each year until the car depreciates to $0 twenty years later.
• Then, it aggregates all receivables in each grouping, calculates each group by the percentage, and records an allowance equal to the aggregate of all products.

Contra assets

Shaun Conrad is a Certified Public Accountant and CPA exam expert with a passion for teaching. After almost a decade of experience in public accounting, he created MyAccountingCourse.com to help people learn accounting & finance, pass the CPA exam, and start their career. Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Double Entry Bookkeeping. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own.

• Similarly, accumulated depreciation accounts reduce the value of the fixed assets you report on your financial statements.
• The account Allowance for Doubtful Account is credited when the account Bad Debts Expense is debited under the allowance method.
• Or, if the contra liability account balance is immaterial, the accounting staff could elect not to keep a balance in the account at all.
• Be sure to enter the contra account on the opposite column of the account they’re offsetting.
• They are used in case some customers won’t be able to pay the money they owe to the business.