What is a single column cash book?
A single-column cash book is a type of cash book with one column for either cash or bank transactions. A single-column cash book is available in most, if not all, accounting software. And in many cases, it is for physical cash.
The use of a single-column cash book in accounting software helps in controlling cash.
More than one cashier can utilize the software and each of them can know their balance at the end of the day and compare it with the cash on hand. Any differences will be reconciled by the cashiers before they can leave their seats.
The use of a single column cash book helps in controlling cash.–Jeremiah
The single-column cash book ensures that the second entry to the account is done immediately. For example, if a sale is made, the accounting software will ensure that the cash book is debited and the sales account is credited.
Format of a single-column cash book
| Date | Details | Folio | Amount | Date | Details | Folio | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NGN | 2025 | NGN | ||||
| 02 Jan | Sales | GL5 | 500,000 |
From the format, the term folio is used for reference purposes. GL5 means that the sales amount can be found in the General ledger on page 5. Also, the format is divided into two halves. The left-hand half is called the debit side, and the right-hand half is the credit side.
The debit side is the receipt side and the credit side is the payment side. Each half has a date, amount, folio, and amount. The amount column can either be for cash or bank depending on the company's activities.
The format can also be in the following form:
| Date | Details | Folio | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NGN | NGN | NGN | ||
| 02 Jan | Sales | GL5 | 500,000 | 0 | 500,000 |
In this format, instead of having two halves, debit (receipts) and credit (payments) are included in separate columns. This makes it easy to post naturally and reduces space compared to the first format. More so, most accounting software uses the second format.
Worked through Example
Mr Kolade is into trading spare parts. The following transactions relate to the first five days of trading in January 2025.
3 Jan. Sales spare parts for N1,500,000.
6 Jan. Purchases spare parts paid by cash N300,000.
7 Jan. Paid for transport N76,000.
8 Jan. Paid for Waste management N35,000.
9 Jan. Paid Utility bill of N123,000.
Prepare a single-column cash book for the above transaction.
| Date | Details | Folio | Debit | Credit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NGN | NGN | NGN | ||
| 03 Jan | SalesPurchases | GL1 | 1,500,000 | 0 | 1,500,000 |
| 06 Jan | Purchases | GL2 | 0 | 300,000 | 1,200,000 |
| 07 Jan | Transport | GL3 | 0 | 76,000 | 1,124,000 |
| 08 Jan | Waste Management | GL4 | 0 | 35,000 | 1,089,,000 |
| 09 Jan | Utility Bill | GL5 | 0 | 123,000 | 966,000 |
Explanatory notes on single column cash book
The first transaction is a sale. Cash is received, so it goes to the debit side. The second to fifth transactions are payments, that is why they are posted to the credit side. Note that the balances change in each transaction. A debit implies increase in the balance and a credit will reduce the balance. At the end of the five transactions, the balance in the cash book is N966,000.
