Ledger DrillBeta
Log inJoin for free

Journals, errors and control accounts

Put the books right: journals, the errors a trial balance hides, the suspense account, control account reconciliations and payroll in the ledgers.

Medium6 of 6 modules open30 rooms
Module 1

The journal

The book of prime entry for everything that has no day book: opening entries, write-offs, one-off transactions and corrections.

  1. 1What the journal is for7 min, medium
  2. 2How to write the opening entries of a new business9 min, medium
  3. 3How to write off a debt that will not be paid9 min, medium
  4. 4Journals for one-off transactions9 min, medium
  5. 5Narratives and who approves a journal8 min, medium
Recap this moduleSix questions, starting with the ones you got wrong.
Module 2

Errors the trial balance hides

Six kinds of error leave the trial balance agreeing. Learn to name each one, see what it does to the figures and write the journal that corrects it.

  1. A transaction left out of the books9 min, mediumPremium
  2. Posted to the wrong person's account9 min, mediumPremium
  3. Posted to the wrong kind of account9 min, mediumPremium
  4. The wrong figure on both sides10 min, mediumPremium
  5. Entries the wrong way round, and errors that cancel10 min, mediumPremium
Module 3

Errors and the suspense account

When the trial balance will not agree: park the difference in a suspense account, find the errors, clear it with journals and redraft the trial balance.

  1. Errors that stop the trial balance agreeing8 min, mediumPremium
  2. How to open a suspense account9 min, mediumPremium
  3. How to clear a suspense account11 min, mediumPremium
  4. How to redraft a trial balance10 min, mediumPremium
  5. A full correction, start to finish12 min, mediumPremium
Module 4

Payables and VAT control accounts

The purchases ledger control account and the VAT control account: what goes into each one, and how to prove the balance is right.

  1. What goes in the purchases ledger control account10 min, mediumPremium
  2. How to reconcile the purchases ledger control account11 min, mediumPremium
  3. Setting off a customer who is also a supplier9 min, mediumPremium
  4. What goes in the VAT control account10 min, mediumPremium
  5. How to reconcile the VAT control account10 min, mediumPremium
Module 5

Payroll in the ledgers

How a month's payroll gets into the books: the wages expense, what is owed to HMRC and the pension provider, and the wages control account.

  1. Gross pay, deductions and net pay in the books10 min, mediumPremium
  2. How the wages control account works9 min, mediumPremium
  3. The journal for the wages expense9 min, mediumPremium
  4. The journals for HMRC and the pension11 min, mediumPremium
  5. Paying the wages and clearing the control account10 min, mediumPremium
Module 6

Month-end checks

The checks a bookkeeper runs before anyone relies on the month's figures: what each one proves, what to look out for, and who to tell.

  1. Why controls matter in a set of books8 min, mediumPremium
  2. A month-end checklist for the books9 min, mediumPremium
  3. Reconciliations as a control9 min, mediumPremium
  4. Signs of fraud and error9 min, mediumPremium
  5. Putting it right: who to tell9 min, mediumPremium