Posting Subsidiary Books to Ledger: Entries vs Totals

You have three credit purchases, two suppliers and one Purchases Book total. How many times should Purchases Account be debited?

If your answer is “once for every purchase, then once again for the total”, you have found the exact trap this lesson will help you avoid.

When posting a conventional Purchases Book, credit each supplier for the individual purchase and debit Purchases Account with the periodic total. Those are the two sides of the same transactions. The total is not an extra purchase.

Think of threads entering a loom. You can trace each thread separately, or look at the cloth they form together. The cloth does not contain a second set of threads. In the same way, individual postings and a book total preserve different views of the same amounts.

Let’s turn that idea into a method you can use confidently in a ledger question.

Why subsidiary books have two posting routes

A subsidiary book groups similar transactions in date order. A ledger groups transactions by account.

Suppose a shop buys goods on credit from Tara for Rs 8,000 and from Kabir for Rs 5,000. The owner needs two answers:

• How much was purchased on credit altogether? Rs 13,000.
• How much is owed to each supplier? Tara Rs 8,000 and Kabir Rs 5,000.

One Purchases Account can hold the combined debit. Separate supplier accounts retain the individual credits. Total debits still equal total credits: Rs 13,000 on each side.

There is no need to rewrite those purchases in Journal Proper before posting them. The Purchases Book is already their book of original entry.

The standard textbook method uses daily or frequent party postings and a periodic total, commonly at month-end. Follow the period stated in your question. NIOS explains these posting routes in its Purchases and Sales Book lesson.

The posting map you should understand

Use the following table for the conventional books without separate tax columns. Dr means debit; Cr means credit.

Book	Individual party posting	Periodic total posting
Purchases Book	Supplier Cr	Purchases A/c Dr
Sales Book	Customer Dr	Sales A/c Cr
Purchases Returns Book	Supplier Dr	Purchases Returns A/c Cr
Sales Returns Book	Customer Cr	Sales Returns A/c Dr
Bills Receivable Book	Customer or party from whom bill is received Cr	Bills Receivable A/c Dr
Bills Payable Book	Supplier or party in whose favour acceptance is given Dr	Bills Payable A/c Cr

The first four rows become easier when you ask what happens to the amount owed.

A credit purchase increases what we owe a supplier, so credit the supplier. A return to that supplier reduces what we owe, so debit the supplier.

A credit sale increases what a customer owes us, so debit the customer. A return from that customer reduces the amount recoverable, so credit the customer.

For bills, receiving a customer’s acceptance replaces an ordinary receivable with Bills Receivable. Giving our acceptance to a supplier replaces an ordinary payable with Bills Payable. The purchase or sale was recorded earlier; accepting a bill does not create another purchase or sale. The NIOS senior secondary accountancy text, Lesson 8, includes the bills-book posting method.

Before posting, choose the correct book

A neat ledger cannot rescue a transaction entered in the wrong book.

For a business that trades in notebooks, credit purchases of notebooks belong in the Purchases Book. An office chair bought on credit goes to Journal Proper. A cash purchase of notebooks goes to the Cash Book.

Similarly, the Sales Book records credit sales of trading goods. Selling an old office chair on credit does not become a Sales Book entry merely because the sentence uses the word “sold”.

A named party does not automatically mean credit. “Bought goods from Tara and paid immediately by bank transfer” belongs in the Cash Book’s bank column.

Trade discount also matters before posting. Goods listed at Rs 10,000 less 10% trade discount enter the relevant goods book at Rs 9,000, assuming no tax or additional charges. There is no separate Trade Discount Account posting.

A complete worked month: from books to ledger

Mira Stationers begins this illustration with no customer or supplier balances. All purchases and sales below are trading goods on credit. Ignore tax, carriage and cash discounts. Use the traditional Purchases Account method.

These assumptions let us focus on posting without mixing in unrelated calculations.

Step 1: Prepare the four subsidiary books

Purchases Book for April

Date	Supplier and invoice	Working	Amount (Rs)
April 2	Tara Traders, invoice T101	10,000 less 10% trade discount	9,000
April 6	Kabir Supplies, invoice K208	Net invoice	6,000
April 18	Tara Traders, invoice T132	Net invoice	4,000
April 30	Total to Purchases A/c Dr		19,000

Sales Book for April

Date	Customer and invoice	Amount (Rs)
April 4	Asha Stores, invoice S01	12,000
April 9	Dev Mart, invoice S02	8,000
April 21	Asha Stores, invoice S03	5,000
April 30	Total to Sales A/c Cr	25,000

Purchases Returns Book for April

Date	Supplier and debit note	Amount (Rs)
April 12	Tara Traders, DN01	900
April 24	Kabir Supplies, DN02	600
April 30	Total to Purchases Returns A/c Cr	1,500

The Tara return relates to goods whose original list price was Rs 1,000, subject to the same 10% trade discount. The return is therefore Rs 900, not Rs 1,000.

Sales Returns Book for April

Date	Customer and credit note	Amount (Rs)
April 15	Asha Stores, CN01	1,200
April 26	Dev Mart, CN02	800
April 30	Total to Sales Returns A/c Dr	2,000

The totals are directions for posting, not additional transactions with a party called “Total”.

Step 2: Post each supplier entry

Tara appears twice in the Purchases Book. Keep both transaction dates in Tara’s account. Do not merge them into a single Rs 13,000 entry if the question asks for detailed ledger posting.

Tara Traders Account

Debit date	Debit particulars	Rs	Credit date	Credit particulars	Rs
April 12	To Purchases Returns A/c	900	April 2	By Purchases A/c	9,000
April 30	To Balance c/d	12,100	April 18	By Purchases A/c	4,000
	Total	13,000		Total	13,000
			May 1	By Balance b/d	12,100

We owe Tara Rs 12,100: purchases of Rs 13,000 less the Rs 900 return. The balance c/d appears on the debit side only to equalise the two columns. The balance brought down is a credit balance.

Kabir’s account receives a credit of Rs 6,000 dated April 6, “By Purchases A/c”, and a debit of Rs 600 dated April 24, “To Purchases Returns A/c”. Its closing credit balance is Rs 5,400.

Total amount owed to suppliers: Rs 12,100 + Rs 5,400 = Rs 17,500.

Step 3: Post each customer entry

Asha Stores Account

Debit date	Debit particulars	Rs	Credit date	Credit particulars	Rs
April 4	To Sales A/c	12,000	April 15	By Sales Returns A/c	1,200
April 21	To Sales A/c	5,000	April 30	By Balance c/d	15,800
	Total	17,000		Total	17,000
May 1	To Balance b/d	15,800

Asha owes us Rs 15,800. The debit balance follows from sales of Rs 17,000 less returns of Rs 1,200.

Dev’s account receives a debit of Rs 8,000 dated April 9, “To Sales A/c”, and a credit of Rs 800 dated April 26, “By Sales Returns A/c”. Its closing debit balance is Rs 7,200.

Total amount due from customers: Rs 15,800 + Rs 7,200 = Rs 23,000.

Step 4: Post each book total once

These are the four common-account entries dated April 30:

Ledger account	Side	Particulars	Amount (Rs)
Purchases A/c	Debit	To Sundries as per Purchases Book	19,000
Sales A/c	Credit	By Sundries as per Sales Book	25,000
Purchases Returns A/c	Credit	By Sundries as per Purchases Returns Book	1,500
Sales Returns A/c	Debit	To Sundries as per Sales Returns Book	2,000

“Sundries” means the several entries summarised by that book. You do not open a Sundries Account.

Notice that Purchases Account receives Rs 19,000, not Rs 17,500. The Rs 1,500 return has its own account. Similarly, Sales Account receives Rs 25,000, not net sales of Rs 23,000.

Step 5: Check the result from both directions

First reconcile the personal balances:

• Purchases Rs 19,000 less purchases returns Rs 1,500 = suppliers owed Rs 17,500.
• Sales Rs 25,000 less sales returns Rs 2,000 = customers owing Rs 23,000.

Those equalities work here because there are no opening balances, receipts, payments, bills or other adjustments.

Now check the ledger balances produced by this limited set of transactions:

Debit balances	Rs	Credit balances	Rs
Purchases	19,000	Sales	25,000
Sales Returns	2,000	Purchases Returns	1,500
Asha Stores	15,800	Tara Traders	12,100
Dev Mart	7,200	Kabir Supplies	5,400
Total	44,000	Total	44,000

This is a check of our illustration, not a complete set of financial statements. We have not calculated closing inventory or profit.

Agreement is useful, but it does not prove every entry is correct. A purchase posted to the wrong supplier can leave total debits and credits equal.

The Cash Book needs a different approach

Do not apply “post the whole book total to one account” blindly to the Cash Book. Its receipts may include capital, sales and collections from customers. Its payments may include rent, purchases and payments to suppliers.

In the usual manual system, the Cash Book itself serves as the Cash Account and, when a bank column is maintained, the Bank Account. The other accounts receive the corresponding postings. You do not open duplicate Cash and Bank ledger accounts for the same columns.

For example, extend our illustration with these two independent settlement transactions:

Receive Rs 15,500 from Asha and allow Rs 300 discount in full settlement.

The receipt side of the Cash Book shows Rs 15,500 in cash or bank and Rs 300 in discount allowed. Asha’s account is credited with Rs 15,500 for cash or bank and Rs 300 for Discount Allowed. Her Rs 15,800 debt is cleared.

The discount allowed column’s periodic total is debited to Discount Allowed Account. Do not debit that account separately for this Rs 300 and then include it again in the total.

Pay Tara Rs 12,000 and receive Rs 100 discount in full settlement.

The payment side shows Rs 12,000 in cash or bank and Rs 100 in discount received. Tara’s account is debited with Rs 12,000 for cash or bank and Rs 100 for Discount Received. Her Rs 12,100 liability is cleared.

The discount received column’s periodic total is credited to Discount Received Account.

A transfer between the cash and bank columns is a contra entry. Both sides are already in the Cash Book, so it does not need another ledger posting. See the worked layouts in our three-column Cash Book guide.

Journal Proper and analytical columns

Journal Proper has no single common account corresponding to the total of the entire journal. Post every debit and credit to the accounts named in the entry.

For office furniture bought on credit from Naman for Rs 7,000, debit Furniture Account and credit Naman’s Account. Neither Purchases Account nor the Purchases Book is involved.

A compound journal entry may name several accounts. Transfer each amount to its proper account; do not treat the journal’s grand total as a separate ledger entry.

An analytical book also needs care. If a Purchases Book has separate goods-value and recoverable-tax columns, the supplier’s credit can include the full payable amount while the debit is split between Purchases and the relevant tax accounts. The ordinary single-column shortcut does not override the column headings. Our Purchases Day Book guide develops that situation separately.

Dates, particulars and folio references

A correct side and amount are essential, but a usable ledger also lets someone trace the entry.

Use the transaction date for a party posting and the relevant period-end date for a book-total posting. In a party account, the particulars normally name the corresponding account: “By Purchases A/c” for a supplier credit, for example.

The subsidiary book’s L.F. column identifies the destination ledger page or account reference. The ledger’s folio column points back to the source book page; its heading may be J.F. or another reference label in your prescribed format. Folio numbers are references, not monetary amounts.

In the worked tables above, folio columns are omitted because no page numbers were supplied. In a written answer, draw the columns required by the question and enter references when available.

Five errors to catch before you finish

1. Posting the total to every supplier. Tara receives her own purchases of Rs 13,000, not the entire Rs 19,000 book total.

2. Posting purchases individually and again by total to Purchases Account. In our example that would create Rs 38,000 of purchases instead of Rs 19,000.

3. Netting returns before posting the original book. Keep the four books’ totals separate when separate returns accounts are maintained.

4. Treating a credit supplier as someone who must always be credited. A return, payment or acceptance can debit that supplier. Decide from the transaction, not the label “creditor”.

5. Forgetting that a party account combines several sources. Asha’s account may contain sales, returns, receipts, discounts and bills. The Sales Book alone cannot tell you her final balance once those other transactions exist.

If balance c/d and balance b/d still feel confusing, work through ledger balancing and account closing after this lesson.

Try these before reading the answers

1. The Sales Book totals Rs 46,000. Of this, Rs 18,000 relates to Noor. State the two relevant posting amounts and sides.
2. Purchases returns to Rishi are Rs 700 and to Sana Rs 300. Where does the Rs 1,000 total go?
3. Goods listed at Rs 20,000 are bought on credit less 15% trade discount. What amount is credited to the supplier, ignoring tax?
4. A customer’s opening debit balance is Rs 2,000. Credit sales are Rs 9,000, sales returns Rs 500 and bank receipts Rs 8,000. Find the closing balance.
5. Bills Receivable Book totals Rs 11,000, including an acceptance from Dev of Rs 4,000. State the postings.
6. Office equipment is bought on credit for Rs 14,000. Should the Purchases Book total include it?
7. The Purchases Book is overadded by Rs 200, but individual supplier postings are correct. Which side is overstated?
8. A cash-to-bank transfer of Rs 3,000 is correctly entered on both sides of a two-column Cash Book. What further ledger posting is needed?

Answers with the reason

1. Debit Noor Rs 18,000 and credit Sales Account Rs 46,000 for the book total. The other customers receive their own debits totalling Rs 28,000.
2. Credit Purchases Returns Account Rs 1,000. Debit Rishi Rs 700 and Sana Rs 300 individually.
3. Rs 17,000: Rs 20,000 less Rs 3,000 trade discount. The same net amount enters the Purchases Book.
4. Rs 2,500 debit: Rs 2,000 + Rs 9,000 - Rs 500 - Rs 8,000.
5. Debit Bills Receivable Account Rs 11,000 for the total; credit Dev Rs 4,000 and the other relevant parties Rs 7,000 altogether.
6. No. Debit Equipment Account and credit the supplier through Journal Proper.
7. Purchases Account’s debit is overstated by Rs 200. With all other figures correct, trial-balance debits exceed credits by Rs 200.
8. None. The contra entry already records both Cash and Bank effects.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is posting from subsidiary books to ledger?

It is transferring transactions from books organised by transaction type and date into the accounts they affect. Some accounts receive individual entries; designated common accounts receive periodic column or book totals.

2. Why are suppliers credited individually from the Purchases Book?

Each supplier needs a separate record of what the business owes. The combined debit goes to Purchases Account, while individual credits identify the parties entitled to payment.

3. Is the Purchases Book total debited or credited?

In the conventional single-amount-column format used here, it is debited to Purchases Account. Each supplier is credited for that supplier’s individual invoices.

4. Where does the Sales Returns Book total go?

To the debit of Sales Returns Account. Each customer returning goods is credited for the relevant amount, reducing that customer’s debt.

5. Are individual entries and periodic totals counted twice?

No, when posted correctly. They record opposite sides of the same transactions in different accounts. Duplication occurs if you post individual amounts to the common account and then post their total there again.

6. Must book totals always be posted monthly?

No. Monthly posting is a common teaching convention. Use the period required by the question or the accounting system, and date the total posting accordingly.

7. Does every subsidiary book have one total posting?

No. The Cash Book has different posting rules, analytical books can have several relevant column totals, and Journal Proper requires account-by-account posting of each entry.

8. Is a supplier’s ledger balance equal to purchases from that supplier?

Only if nothing else affects the account. Opening balances, returns, payments, discounts, bills and adjustments can all change the final amount payable.

9. Should I prepare journal entries again for transactions in a subsidiary book?

Not as an additional accounting record. The subsidiary book already records those transactions. You may use the underlying debit-credit entry as rough working to understand the posting.

10. What is the quickest way to avoid posting mistakes?

Identify the book, name the individual account, decide its debit or credit from the transaction, and then post the common-account total once. Finish by reconciling party balances and checking the source references.