Cash disbursement journal definition
/What is the Cash Disbursement Journal?
The cash disbursement journal is a detailed record of the cash payments made by a business. The journal itemizes when checks and other types of payments are made, as well as the amounts paid, the names of the recipients, and the accounts charged. This journal is a good source document for tracking down the specifics regarding individual payments. The information in the cash disbursement journal is periodically summarized and forwarded to the general ledger .
Reconciling the Cash Disbursement Journal
You should compare the ending balance in the cash disbursement journal to the related ending balance in the general ledger as part of the month-end closing process. If there is a disparity, there are two possible causes, which are as follows:
-
Unposted entries . The disparity may be caused by additional entries piling up in the journal that were not posted to the general ledger.
-
Direct entry to general ledger . It is possible that a journal entry was made directly to the general ledger account that was not also entered in the journal.
Related AccountingTools Courses
Example of a Cash Disbursement Journal
The following exhibit contains an example of a cash disbursement journal, which records all cash payments made by a business. The exhibit documents a variety of payment types.
