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Every business has things of value, and owes money to someone. Bookkeeping starts by naming them.

Every account has two sides, and every transaction is posted twice. This is the rule the rest of bookkeeping stands on.

On credit means the goods change hands now and the money follows later. Until it is paid, someone is owed.

At the end of a period each account is balanced. The balance is the difference between its two sides.

A trial balance lists every account balance in two columns. If the bookkeeping is right, the two columns agree.

Before anything reaches the ledger it is written in a book of prime entry. Credit sales and credit purchases each have their own day book.

The cash book records money in and out of the bank. Petty cash is a small float of notes and coins for small costs.

The cash book and the bank statement rarely show the same balance on the same day. A bank reconciliation explains the gap.

Tick off what matches, list what does not, and prove the two balances agree.

A VAT-registered business adds VAT to what it sells and collects it for HMRC. These questions use the standard rate of 20%.

VAT has its own account in the ledger. Sales and purchases are posted net, and the VAT goes to the VAT account.

A control account holds the total owed by all credit customers. Each customer also has their own account in the sales ledger.

If the control account and the list of customer balances disagree, something was posted wrongly. The reconciliation finds it.

A sale on credit leaves a trail of paper. Learn which document comes when, and which ones the books care about.

Net, VAT and gross: find each figure on an invoice and know what it means for the seller and the buyer.

A credit note puts an invoice right. See when one is needed and how it reverses part of the sale.

A statement lists everything between a seller and one customer for the month. Follow the running balance to what is owed.

When a customer pays, a remittance advice says which invoices the money is for. Use it to match the payment.

Build an invoice in steps: line totals, the net total, VAT at 20% and the gross total the customer pays.

A trade discount comes off the list price before VAT is worked out. See the sum, and what reaches the books.

A bulk discount rewards a large order. Find the rate from the quantity, take it off, then add VAT.

A prompt payment discount is only earned if the customer pays early. See what the invoice shows and what is recorded.

Before a supplier's invoice is paid, match it to the purchase order and the delivery note, and check its sums.

A chart of accounts lists every account a business uses, each with its own code. Learn how the codes are grouped.

Every customer and supplier has an account code. Learn how a code is built, and what goes wrong when the wrong one is used.

One ledger holds the double entry. Two more hold an account for each customer and each supplier. See what lives where.

Coding tells the system where each figure on an invoice goes. Code a sales invoice and a purchase invoice.

Add up a pile of invoices before you enter them, then compare totals afterwards. The difference points to the mistake.

Each invoice for a credit sale gets one line in the sales day book: net, VAT and gross. Write up the lines and total the columns.

Credit notes sent to customers are listed in the sales returns day book. Write it up, total it and post the totals.

The day book is only a list. Post its three totals to Trade receivables, Sales and VAT, and see what the ledger shows after.

Every invoice and credit note also goes to the customer's own account in the sales ledger. Post them and find what a customer owes.

Extra columns split each sale by type, so the business can see what sells. Total the columns and post each one.

List each supplier invoice in the purchases day book with its net, VAT and total, then add up the columns and check them.

When goods go back to a supplier, the credit note goes in the purchases returns day book. Write one up and post its totals.

The purchases day book is only a list. See how its three totals become one balanced entry in the general ledger.

Every supplier has an account in the purchases ledger. Post invoices, credit notes and payments to it and find what is owed.

A supplier may take a little off for paying early. Work out the discount and record it, with its VAT, in the books.

A customer's account lists every invoice, credit note and payment. Read one to find what is owed and what is still unpaid.

An aged receivables report sorts what customers owe by how old it is. Use it to see what is overdue and who to chase first.

Check the account, remind politely, then follow the steps. Learn the order of a credit control routine and what to write down.

A supplier's statement rarely matches your own ledger. Find the differences, tell timing from errors and agree the balance.

Pay what is due, approved and not in dispute. Build a payment run, see what to do when cash is short and weigh an early discount.

Cash and cheques are used less each year, but a business still has to count, bank and record them properly.

Taking cards is quick, but the card provider keeps a fee from every sale. Work out the fee and record it.

Three ways to send money from one bank account to another. Learn how fast each one is, what it costs and when to use it.

Both pay a regular bill without any work each month. The difference is who controls the amount and the date.

Speed, cost, safety and proof: weigh the four and pick the right way to pay or to be paid.