Sage Sole Trader has two types of account for recording your business transactions: bank accounts and cash accounts.

When you set up Sage Sole Trader, you start with one bank account and one cash account.

Bank accounts

A bank account in Sage Sole Trader represents your real business bank account. Use it to record transactions that go through your bank, for example, online payments, direct debits, and bank transfers.

Bank accounts support bank feeds, which import your transactions automatically. They also support bank reconciliation so you can match your records with your bank statements.

When you add a bank account, you can enter the account number, sort code, and bank name. To learn how, see Add a new bank account.

Cash accounts

A cash account tracks the physical cash your business holds. Use it for petty cash spending and any transactions you pay or receive in cash.

Cash accounts don't support bank feeds or bank reconciliation. You enter all cash transactions manually.

To learn more about using your cash account, see Petty cash in Sage Sole Trader.

Transfers between accounts

You can move money between your bank account and cash account. For example, when you withdraw cash from the bank to top up your petty cash.

If you use bank feeds, the bank side of the transfer appears automatically. You then record the cash side manually. To learn how, see Top up your petty cash.

If you don't use bank feeds, you record both sides yourself. To learn how, see Record a bank transfer manually.

Personal withdrawals

If you withdraw money for personal use, this isn't a business expense. This applies whether the withdrawal is from your bank account or your cash account. Categorise the transaction as Non-business money out.

To learn more, see Owner drawings.