Keep track of petty cash

Summary

How to create a petty cash account in Sage Accounting Start.

Description

Your business may have a petty cash account for everyday purchases or costs. This can include office supplies, parking charges and petrol.

Petty cash transactions can often be cash only. You may also use them reimburse employees or to buy items for small amounts.

We recommend that you create a special petty cash bank account to track these payments. This will also help you report and manage how you spend your petty cash.

Resolution

What you need to know

Here we will explain how to set up a bank account in Accounting Start to represent your cash expenses. Rather than being an actual bank account, we will set up a special bank account for cash only.

As this is an account for cash only, you can't reconcile the bank account.

Create a petty cash account >

Go to Banking.
Select New then Bank Account.
For the Account Type list, choose Cash in Hand.
This account is for recording cash only. This means you cannot:
- Transfer money from a cash account
- Reconcile the account
- Connect it to a bank feed
Enter an account name, for example, Petty Cash.
Select Save.

Enter the opening balance

It's likely that you will already have an amount in your petty cash. You now need to enter this as an opening balance to make sure your balances match up.

Choose the Add opening balance link from the create your bank account page.
Enter the date for your opening balance.
Enter the amount.

Record petty cash payments >

Enter details of money spent to keep track of what you've spent and your petty cash balance.

From Banking, choose the petty cash account.
Select New Entry then Money Out.
Enter details of the payment.
Select Save.

If this is a payment you make regularly, consider making it recurring. Read more about recurring bank payments >

Record a transfer of money in and out of your Cash Account >

When you need to add to your petty cash and you take money from another bank account, record this as a bank transfer:

From Banking, select New then Bank Transfer.
Enter the details of the transfer.
Select Save.

Record cash deposits

When you pay cash into another bank account from your cash accounts, record this as a Bank Deposit.

From Banking, open the cash account.
Select New Entry then Bank Deposit.
Enter the details of the deposit.
Select Save.